It’s All Your Fault!

Playing the Blame Game
I’m a huge hockey fan – having played, coached, and watched the game at all levels for over 40 years. I find lots of creative joy, intensity, and wisdom I can draw from.
A formative hockey moment I can still vividly recall was attending a Cornell v. Boston University game at Lynah Rink in 1969 – the Cornell goalie was Ken Dryden, later to win Stanley Cups with Montreal. BU was a major rival, and the Cornell fans were just insane – the intensity of the game beyond my young imagination (I was in Junior HS and “team manager” (aka waterboy) for our High School team, who was on a glorious weekend roadtrip to Ithaca).
Since that time, I’ve especially enjoyed Cornell hockey. And by many strange and curious meanderings, I ended up going to grad school at Cornell; I married a woman who played varsity women’s hockey for Cornell; we brought our son Travis to his first Cornell game in Boston Garden ECAC playoffs when he was just 8 weeks old; and Travis – who was skating before he was 5 and played through high school – and I manage to make the annual pilgrimage to ECAC playoffs (the tournament left Boston Garden for Lake Placid, and is now held in Albany).
But I digress – bear with me, there is a lesson here. Getting back to my point – it’s all your fault!
Cornell hockey fans have a nasty ritual – all in good fun, mind you, but nasty.

Bill WolfeCornell v. Harvard. ECAC Championship game 2008.
Look closely to see puck just misses upper right hand corner – Cornell lost 3- 1 in a heartbreaker.

After Cornell scores a goal, the fans erupt in a chant “It’s all your fault” to shame and rattle the other team’s goalie.
Well, I just came across a shameful example of “It’s all your fault” that I must share.
Dupont has poisoned groundwater in Pompton Lakes with toxic chemicals. See:
Pompton Lakes council wants independent test for toxic vapors
http://www.northjersey.com/environment/environmentnews/Pompton_Lakes_council

For many years, Dupont has known – but not revealed – that those toxic chemicals have seeped below the residential neighborhood surrounding the Dupont plant. But those facts have outed and Dupont is now scrambling in response to outrage, and has promised to clean up their mess and install “vapor intrusion mitigation” systems in homes to prevent further exposure to these toxic volatile organic chemicals.
But, in reading the fine print buried on page 17 of the Dupont plan, one comes across what appears to be a benign statement:
“A building survey and chemical inventory will be completed during sample collection. The presence of consumer/household products and materials and building characteristics will be documented on a Building Survey Form (see Appendix G), adapted from Appendix B of NJDEP’s Vapor Intrusion Guidance.”
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/community/sites/dupont_pompton_lakes/final_virmwp.pdf
You see, Dupont is suggesting “It’s all your fault!”
Those toxic chemicals poisoning you in your home are coming NOT from the soil and groundwater polluted by Dupont, but from UNDER YOUR OWN SINK OR GARAGE!
You see, It’s all your fault!

Bill WolfeAnother fine Cornell tradition – players graciously acknowledge the support of the fans, after a tough loss in Championship game.
Real hockey players accept responsibility – and never play the blame game.

Bill WolfeAll together now:
“p-r- r-i-n-c-e-t-o-n …… SUCKS!“

Bill Wolfe