“Now that is rich, Suzie’ll even give a faux apology to keep a thread going. Stop helping her!”

I’m joining forces with Sandi…. you know this is important!

“I apologize for my last post. I didn’t mean to play into the hands of those trying to divert the topic.”

Oh yeah, you’re a woman on a mission alright.

Since President Obama’s speech in Roanoke hard line conservatives have been taking him to task for saying that no small business person does it alone. The yelps of pain came quick and furious, as if every conservative was insulted by that statement.

I’ve been a small businessman for many years, selling my first written words 1968. The GI Bill kicked in the next year, so I used that to help me finish my degree. Before that, I attended elementary and junior high schools, and, finally, high school, then enlisted in the Marine Corps. The Marines thus helped me get through college, as much as did the tax payers in the towns in which I went to school. To get to schools, I walked, rode city or school buses which used roads built and maintained with taxpayer bucks. My mother pushed me to return to school after my discharge; she helped. I attended the State University of New York (Albany); taxpayers helped. I worked for Channel 17, WMHT educational TV, in ’67 and into ’68; their donors helped. I learned about editing, writing and photography from people like Mary Biggers and Paul Costin.
As a freelance photojournalist, I depended on the Post Office for delivery of my manuscripts and photos and for return of my checks. The banks cashed those checks so I’d have walk-around money. The streets in Albany were safe for me with money in my pocket. When my car was laid up, I depended on the city bus system get around. I depended on the city to clear the streets so I could get to class or to work. In Albany, in winter, that isn’t always easy: One year we depended on Montreal to loan Albany snow blowers large enough to clear the streets. We depended on snowmobile owners for transport for emergency services.

Infrastructure is people, places and governments as well as buildings, bridges and roads. Some of us forget that or take it so much for granted we don’t recognize the help we receive. None of us successful solely because of our own work. Absolutely no one.