The Rockaway Times:- Boyleing Points - Sign of the Times

The Rockaway Times

Boyleing Points - Sign of the Times

Kevin Boyle

Kevin "Boil" holding his "Rockway" Times Sign

Do you live in Rockway? How well do you know Rockway? Last question: how are you at catching typos? Did you see how I spelled Rockaway in the first two questions? Both times I pulled the middle “a.”

Your brain tells you what you want to see. That’s why it’s not a great idea to proofread your own stuff.

Now if you did catch the slip right off the bat, I could have used you three weeks ago when the sign and awning were delivered for The Rockaway Times. I held the misspelled sign in my hands, proud of what was to be adorned on the side of the little building. Never noticed a thing.

Now for at least a couple of weeks before that, I had the logo designed and looked at it, oh, maybe a hundred times. The awning, far bigger than the sign, arrived on a truck. As it passed by the window a few of us grinned at its beauty.

None of us noticed the typo. The awning said The Rockway Times and no one noticed – until they were lifting it. As three men struggled to lift and affix it to the roof and storefront, I yelled “Stop!!!!!!!!!!”

One of the workers thought I was warning him away from a live electrical wire. Take it down, take it down, I said in a voice that a nine year old girl might be ashamed of.

It was too late. The sign was rigged to the roof. As they say online: OMG.

I called the shop and they said they could fix it. I stood there, heart in throat, waiting for a Wave photographer to show.

I stood there expecting a gang of proofreaders to show up and heckle. (You know what those people are like.)

While they made the fix in the shop, I realized I was catching a break. It was Wednesday early evening and no one was around – it was volleyball night. The west end is a ghost town on Wednesday nights.

So, finally, the typo was fixed and the awning proudly boasted the name, The Rockaway Times—though as I’ve noted previously, the sign must’ve not been big enough because every day, and I mean every day, people come in looking for a ride, thinking the place is still home to Belle Rock car service.

I got past the typo and the sign looked sharp, if I don’t say so myself. That is, until last week when a private sanitation truck slammed into it, knocking it from its frame and tearing the canvas. At least that’s who I think was driving the truck – though I do have other suspects. Anyway, the sign looks like a three-legged dog but it’s my three-legged dog.

Step aside, Murphy. It’s Boyle’s Law: if something can go wrong, it will.

I guess I could have just lived with “Rockway.” Not that long ago there was a car service in town called Daytop. I’m figuring it was supposed be called Dayton, as in Dayton towers.

The awning guy told me about another miscue. He said one time a guy’s last name was misspelled on the sign and the sign maker, who was at fault, tried to convince the guy the misspelling looked better than his actual name.

There’s an idea. Kevin Boil. Uh, nah.

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It’d be nice if the City sent as many lifeguards to Rockaway as they do traffic agents. Everywhere you turn the ticket writers are out. So they get you when you’re speeding and they get you when you’re parked.

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Bobby Bruns, long time all-star Graybeard basketball player, is doubling as a Brooklyn sales and deliveryman of The Rockaway Times. And that’s a score.

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Shout out to Frances Sinon and to Kay Devlin. I’ve heard they’ve said good things behind my back.

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Best of luck to TJ McVeigh and Pat Brady. The two local legends just entered the FDNY academy.

[NOTE: If you missed any the previous Boyleing Points from the new Rockaway Times, you can view them online by clicking here.]