Tears for Fears (or for Van Morrison fans... Dancing in da Escanaba Moonlight)

Watched a beautiful sunrise this morning. Watching it rise up over the lake was very refreshing. I needed to see some beauty to get my batteries recharged. This has been a long week and I've been short on sleep and am now officially in mild panic mode. Reason: Cherokee tryout camps are here starting Thursday and going thru Sunday and I have to find a trainer for the tryouts. My original trainer was all set to go and then on Monday emailed me and told me he can't do it afterall (His wife said NO). I'm trying to find someone that would be willing to do it. Just sit there and watch and hang out and only treat cuts or the odd bloody nose or two from the occasional fight that goes bad. Just little things. Anything major would require a trip to the hospital anyway... so a small amount of work would be all they would be responsible for. Ahhh life! Taylor Hicks was on Fox & Friends this morning. It was funny like always, but I have a small question about the new American Idol: is it just me, or does Taylor Hicks look like Joey Buttafuco???

Long Days and Short Nights

Thinking about coming to the end of a 22 hour day. It started early long before dawn. Went and got up and did some show prep for the return to radio. I wasn't nervous until I got to the station. I figured Mike and Dave would be there but I was the first to arrive at the studio. I got out of my car and just stood in the parking lot, looking at the studios and thinking about the past. My years in radio coming back to me... Going home again, sort of. I had a chance to continue in radio across town at the rival Fox Sports Radio affiliate, but didn't take the chance. I was afraid. I didn't feel right about it. When my buddy Jamo told me about going back to the old station (the ESPN radio affiliate) I was anxious at first. My show got axed because the sales manager got bumped from his time slot because of Ohio State football so guess who was the odd man out? I took the high road about it and have not once said anything negative about the then sales manager nor the program director. Even though I wanted to strangle them both... lol... But I have since worked with the sales mgr who works at the TV station I work at and we had a good heart to heart talk about everything and cleared the air and get along great. The PD is always polite to me whenever I see him but I can tell he was always glad that I was gone. Jamo told me when Norm asked him to do the show, and Jamo told him that Todd, Dave and I were coming back to work with Jamo, that Norm kind of winced and didn't say much. Jamo also told him that I was coming back with the hope of doing my own show again sometime, Norm just rolled his eyes. I know that he doesn't want me there (even though he won't say it). But I'm not going to do anything but be polite and respectful. I'm sure that Norm will listen to every show... Our first show back was okay. We laughed alot and we were a little rusty from not working on air together for over 4 years. But it was still okay. We're going to be a bit rusty starting out but I think we still have a good chemistry and it will work out okay.
Left the radio station and went to the bus and headed to Cincinnati for women's football. We lost 27-14 but played well. I am pulling into Toledo early (as I write this entry, I'm still on the bus) and won't get home until about 3am... I have to get up on sunday morning to go to church. Right after church I have to drive to Detroit to go to an Islamic wedding. A first for me... Should be interesting... I also have to work on Monday (a double header of soccer in the morning for TV, and then 8 hours at the hospital in the afternoon...) My whole next week is like that. yeesh, I'm whipped... I'll yak at y'all later

Jack Frostless My Sweet Dupa

So now I'm sitting here watching more playoff hockey and yelling at my fridge and frostless freezer. Why you ask? Oh, the answer is simple. The dang thing has ice build up! That's why! When I travel with the Spitfire women's football team down to Cincinnati this weekend, I'm going to unplug it and let the ice melt. Of course I'll have to move all the frozen food that is in there but since I don't have a ton of stuff in there, I'll take my chances...
Nothing new with Doug. Carolyn called today to thank us for sending her a gift basket of munchies etc. for her and her family. She said he had a stable night but things are still very critical. His kidneys are starting to fail and he's on dialysis now. The clots in his stomach are starting to clear up a little but his breathing is still in the toilet. I'm po'd when I think about it because Doug and Carolyn deserve better. They are very good people and I'm just hacked off that they have to go through this... But I guess I should be grateful. There but for the grace of God go I.... Talked to my sister Lou today. She's getting frustrated because her physical therapy isn't going well. When she first had the majority of her foot amputated, they told her it might be a year before she got back to walking again. Well, she thought it would be sooner and actually was doing well ahead of schedule. But now she's got a problem with a nerve in her back. She's going to go see her doc today so I hope it all works out... I'm trying to figure out why I'm in such an ornery mood... there's nothing on my mind that I'm pondering. I'm not in a bad mood, per se'. But I'm feeling cantankerous for some reason. I dunno... Well, I guess this saturday I make my return to radio... sort of. I'm am reforming a golf show with the guy who gave me my first shot in radio all those years ago. I'll be Jamo's sidekick once again... with our other sidekicks Dave and Todd... should be interesting... we'll be on Saturday mornings from 8-9am ET on WLQR 1470 'The Ticket'.... I'm going to try and stream the show on my website http://cherokee.totalink.net and see if that works... I'll be doing the Spitfire-Sizzle women's football game from Cincinnati on Saturday night. I hope they don't break out into a pier six brawl like the last time they did when they played in Toledo...

The 3 amigos

My nephews Dylan and Brendan... with (what used to be) MY DOG!!! This picture made it into a local magazine in a story entitled "kids and their pets" ... My sister and brother-in-law refer to Penney as 'the attention wh*re'... doesn't matter what they're doing... Penney wants to be in the middle of everything...

Me and My Gal

Me and my fat head... getting a smooch from the only girl that matters to me... My nephew is in the backround wondering why we're watching 'Andy Griffin' on the TV...

Pigskin or not to Pigskin? That is the question

My what a weekend...
here we are in the off-season of traditional football, and I actually had a weekend off this weekend from the Spitfire women's football team... a rarity! So what's to do in Toledo on a weekend off? Watch football stuff of course! Tonight instead of going out and catching a birthday party for one of the Spitfire players, I stayed home and caught 'Remember the Titans' on TV. It still is one of the better football movies I've seen. Plus yesterday, Charlie Weis, the head football coach for Notre Dame (one of my old favorites from when I was a kid), was in town to speak on behalf of a local charity for Autism. Charlie truly is one of a kind... Anyway... other stuff... Doug is still hanging on and is baffling doctors at this point. They don't know what's keeping him alive. They asked Carolyn if she wanted to take him off of the machines and she said 'no'. They didn't think he'd make it past last monday and here we are on saturday and he's managed to hang on still... God has got a good guy in his hands... I only pray that he does what is best for Himself, Doug, and Carolyn. What more can we ask for?

No Runs, Mis-hits, Cold Air...

I've decided that I am a pimple of the butt of humanity. I'm cold, tired, and sick of rain. It has rained every day for the last two weeks. I'm sick of it. I had to broadcast a ball game today on the TV station. We couldn't sit in the press box and they stuck us in left field... literally. One of the players hit a line drive right at us. I was cool as a cucumber on the air, but I just about dropped a deuce in my drawers. Then another pop foul ball came down just to the left of me... I had to laugh... plus, the temperature (which this time of year is around the mid 70's) dropped like a rock into the 40's... I didn't bring a jacket cause I thought we'd be in the press box where it was warm... oops! The wind was blowing at about 40 mph... making things down right freezing... I was so cold that I struggled to keep my teeth from chattering on the air. The game was exciting. But I was so cold that I didn't really care. Stopped and got a bite to eat and came home to nod off... Doug update: not too good I'm afraid. His lungs are a little better and clearer, but he is now bleeding internally. I'm afraid it's looking a bit grim for my friend... I'm trying not to think about the whole thing... it makes me sad. It's in God's hands now... his will be done.

A Mom and Pop Shop...

First off, Happy Mother's Day to you all that are Mothers in some form or another. I hope you all had a happy and enjoyable day. My parents are both up in Heaven so I had them on the brain over the last couple of days. Especially my dad. I don't know why. I guess I just miss him right now. I haven't followed the Cubs much this baseball season. I think that I must be in a little funk right now because I've been thinking about him a lot lately. I had a dream about him last night. I dreamt that I was in different places and each place I went, he was sitting there in a chair, watching me. I finally went up to him and hugged him and told him I loved him. I woke up and for a split second, thought he was here on earth again. It was at first scary, but I got rid of that feeling quickly when I realized that maybe my dad really loves me. It wasn't a nightmare. My folks are in a much better place than I am. They're happy. I'm glad they aren't in pain anymore. They aren't suffering. In fact, they are experiencing the ultimate in love... I know that I miss them and love them a ton. Maybe that's why I've been sort of surly today. I went to Church and the topic for today's service was 'marriage'... Oh perfect! I can't even imagine marrying someone but I toughed it out and didn't dismiss it altogether... BUT...
I don't know... Well my dog Penney and my 2 nephews had their picture in a local parenting magazine called 'Toledo Parent'... the boys are 9 and 7 while Pen is a little 3 year old mini-daschund... It was for an article called "kids and their pets"... I let the kids and their mom and dad keep my dog because theirs turned on them. Well, with all of my travelling for broadcasting it wasn't fair to my Penney to be alone for a few days at a time... so I told them they could "borrow" her... Let's put it this way... my sister says of how they feel about "their" dog: "the boys absolutely love her. And as for my husband, after 10 years of marriage, I thought I'd have to worry about him being bored and looking at women... i didn't think the woman in question would be a damn dog!" the little dog sleeps with my sister and brother-in-law... need I say more :)~ Well, another week of work awaits so I'll yak at you folks later... Peace...

Understand

Didn't feel much like anything today... I think this song by Jeremy Camp says it all:

Artist: Jeremy Camp
Album: Stay
Track: Understand

Every time I fall down on my face
I see the one who bore all my shame
To know that you are everything I need you to be
You're my ever present help in time of need

I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again

Every pain I feel inside my heart
It takes a faith I know I can't depart
To know that you hear every cry I raise to you
Bringing thoughts of hope the words I bring I know are few

I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again

You hear me when I call
You're there when I fall
You hear me when I call

I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again

No beers... just a cold case...

Ahhh a day off!
Slept in this morning and felt great waking up. I stayed in bed and tuned in 'Fox & Friends' on Fox News Channel. I would doze in and out and wake up laughing because I love Steve, E.D., and Brian. They really get my mornings off to a good start... even if the news of the day is lousy. I went out to eat breakfast at a local restaurant here and hung out there for a while, talking to the waitresses and the two cooks... I laughed lots and felt good. I was talking with the one waitress who would flirt with me but I let her know that I wasn't trying to hit on her... I know that she was going through a tough time so I found a computer that I could slap a couple of new parts in and it works like new... so I'm going to give it to her... not for money, not for 'anything else', not for any kind of personal gain... I can't do it for any other reason other than to 'be a blessing'... I'm not mentioning it here for any kind of accolades or a pat on the back. I'm just mentioning it because that is how I've spent part of my day. I want the day to go well... and so far it has.
Locally, the big news is the verdict in the Fr. Robinson trial. He was found guilty of in the murder of a nun, Sr. Margaret Ann Pahl, which happened back in 1980... This was a 'cold case'... Lots of famous forensic folks came into town to testify... Henry Li, Dr. Sutton, et al... The case was re-opened 2 years ago and the trail led to him. Court TV was here for the whole thing and downtown Toledo was wall-to-wall satellite TV trucks... This priest was sentenced today also... an unusual occurrence in a trial. He'll get 15 to life. Because of the state statute, that was the only sentence available to him so it was easy for the Judge to pass sentence today. And at age 68, that is a life sentence for him. Wow... It's really shook up the Catholic community here... don't know what to make of it... My only thought is that if he really did it, then I'm glad that justice is served. I don't care if he wears a collar or not. If he's guilty, he's being punished. End of story... After the verdict, he was sent to the Lucas County Jail where he is being kept from other inmates because they all want a shot at him. He is also on a suicide watch. So the TV around here has been nothing but this trial. Thank God for sports. Been watching lots of playoff hockey and have enjoyed the heck out of it. Well, work awaits so I'll talk to y'all later... K?

Catching Up (part deux)

ARRRRRGH,
Okay, there... I needed to get crap out of my system. This week started out so nice. I had a couple of unexpected surprises to go my way. I thought that this week would be a good one. So much for that! I had a lousy game with the TV station. I made 3 very glaring errors during a broadcast. Boy was I hacked off about that. I could just feel the migrane wanting to kick in but good. I'm wishing at this point to crawl under a rock. So I do what is not in normal range for me anymore. I go back home and walk down the block to the local watering hole, and toss back a few cold beers. Normally, this would be another non-event in my life except that while tipping my cold ones... I was in conversation with the bartender who was also in another conversation with someone else and the other person mistook my comment to the bartender as a comment directed at them. So I'm on that person's black list. Beautiful... I'm having a banner day as the Labatt's are being tossed down. So, after I had enough to eat and drink, I walk home (all 50 yards) and check my email. I find something that one of my hockey friends sent me and laugh. SO... I sent it to my email address book, figuring in my liquid state, that some others might find it amusing as well. Apparently not, as I got about 3 emails saying it wasn't nice... The bad part is that I vaguely remember what it was about since I deleted it from my computer right after I forwarded it. Ahhhh Life! So to any who reads this and were offended by some dumb email I sent after tossing some beers down, hey, I apologize, okay? Nothing I can do to take it back... I'm just not doing anything right this week. I was trying to compliment a co-worker today and it ended up coming across as a slam. Jeez, I feel like Schlep-rock from the 'Pebbles and Bam-Bam' cartoon. Oh wow-zy, wow-zy, woo-woo... Or like eeyore from 'Winnie the Pooh' ... you get the idea... PITY PARTY!!!
All right, enough about my lame-butt... Got word from Carolyn that Doug is doing a little bit better. The swelling is down and his oxygen levels have improved quite a bit. He still is in ICU at UofM but has been able to open his eyes. Never thought I'd get so excited about something that is so taken for granted. He's still in an unconscious state. He still has a trach in and on a ventilator but his B/P and heart rate are strong. Thank God. I'm glad something is going in the right direction. Carolyn says that they think it will take at least another month for him to turn the corner as they still don't know what the virus is that they are battling... She is whipped and will not leave Doug's bedside. Now that's love... Some friends are thinking of getting together and donating some vacation time to help Carolyn out as she is staying up in Ann Arbor which is about 40 minutes from Toledo...
Tomorrow is a much needed day off... I don't know what I'm doing but I'm going to enjoy myself because otherwise, I think I'm going to go batty... ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

Catching Up (part one)

Sorry it's been a while since I've written. I've been on the go, in and out of town, and lots of stuff going on. I've really logged the miles. But that's showbiz, now isn't it? Let's see, since last I wrote, my friends Carolyn and Doug and what Doug has been battling... His body was/is full of edema and it's viral. At first they thought that Doug caught something when they were vacationing in Mexico. But after checking some tests and stuff, it turns out he started showing symptons before they had left. Anyway, Doug's adenoids were so swollen that they had to have an ENT specialist (ear, nose, and throat), come in to try and remove some of the excess fluid off of him... They took 20 lbs... that's twenty POUNDS of fluid off of his face... they also are going to trach him... that really sucks but I guess that it has to be done so he can breathe... It's never fun to see someone who's on a breathing machine in ICU... but to see that ventilator hooked up to a newly created hole in their throat so they can breathe... that just whizzes. But at least he's still alive. They think they might have a beat on what is wrong with him but are not sure... so they transferred him to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor... I've never liked the Wolverines in sports but when it comes to a friend's life... then I say GO BLUE!!!