Shoe Flip

As wacky as life can be, every now and then things happen that can turn your world upside down.  As for me, yeah sometimes life has handed me and my family a big old turd that left me hurt and angry. But sometimes you have to learn to just roll with it and have a sense of humor about the things that happen in your sphere. And if you play your cards right, you can get a kick out of it and learn not to take yourself so seriously. Such was the case with me at a basketball game I was broadcasting.

I was setting up my gear in the corner of a high school gym at floor level. It wasn’t the best viewpoint but it would have to suffice. It was out in the sticks and featured one good team and a terrible one. So I had my work cut out from the start. I was only two feet from the front row of bleachers to my left and had to keep my eyes on the court for the odd stray ball that would come our way and spank the announce table.  Some of the young kids were sitting in the bleachers, being kids and acting innocently silly.  So back to the old geezer blowhard… ME! I am having a lousy day, doing a lousy game and trying to act like I’m interested. I’m bored stiff because the game is a blowout and my eyes start wandering toward the kids messing around in the bleachers. How I wish I could trade places with them! The game was so slow and boring that I could keep up with it whilst watching two mischievous fifth graders pick on each other incessantly. One was sitting behind the other in the low bleachers right next to me and the one on top took off his shoe and when the time was right, he face-planted the shoe in the mug of the kid sitting in the front. Well , the younger one at the front, slapped the hand and shoe that he was breathing in for all it was worth, dislodging the shoe from his face and sending it airborne. Nothing could prepare me for what happened next… as I was calling the game, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw a natty looking tennis shoe in a somersault motion, coming right at me. Before I could even say “and the three pointer is no good”, the sneaker clobbers me on top of the head. I was stunned but I kept it together enough to keep going without acknowledging it. However, the same can’t be said for my broadcast partner.  That goofball made sure to announce that I got clobbered over the head with a tennis shoe… laughing out loud along the way.

After the game, my crew gave me some grief and teased me but after all was said and done, I decided that I have to look at it as funny. I had to loosen up and not take myself so seriously… the more I thought about it… the funnier I thought it was… I got whacked upside the head by a shoe… by a fifth grader no less!!  Gotta love it!

TV Tales....(from the Crypt)

It’s been quite some time since I’ve been writing here… a faux paus that I hope to fix here in 2014. Hope this finds you all well… Me and the future Mrs. are doing fine other than we haven’t gotten to spend as much time together in recent days as we’d like… The weather here in the mid-west has been nothing short of brutal. The snow hasn’t been the worst. But the ice, the wind and the cold have made life a nightmare for a lot of folks on the north coast and great lakes regions. In my case, I’ve gotten to watch more television than I care to and have gotten hooked on a couple of goofy shows as a result. My better half (aka “The BOSS”… with apologies to Bruce Springsteen), well her TV tastes have infected me just a wee bit as I have now gotten more interested in a show that I swore I would never want anything to do with… namely, The Walking Dead. I feel so slimy after I watch it because of all of the gore. It drives me nuts but she just can’t get enough of it. I watch it now when she does so that we have a little bit of television in common. I find myself watching that dang show every week now when it’s on. It’s starting back up in a couple of weeks and she is so stoked. It scares me because I am sort of looking forward to it also. What is wrong with me?? I have a couple of Canadian shows that I enjoy watching also… (Artic Air, and Republic of Doyle). But she has zero interest in my shows. She says she does not like anything Canadian because she hates the cold. That is her rationale. I just roll my eyes and say ‘why bother’? The other show that she has got me hooked on and into her evil clutches…lol… is “Once Upon a Time”. She absolutely loves that show and I am digging it too. WHY? I should just give up my man card for the love of all that is good and kind! Of course, the one show that she got me to watch first was the drama/ comedy… Castle… I even watch the reruns every day on TNT cable when I come home from work. Someone please help me… Castle and Beckett… CASKETT!... aaagh! Helllllllllp!

Crash, Bang, Wallop!

Okay, I realize I am not a spring chicken any more, but I do still enjoy the change of seasons. I'm still a fan of winter even though my better half cannot stand it. She hates cold weather period. I enjoy the cold and the snow more than I should and the first snow we had should have taught me a lesson. I went out early in the morning to scrape the ice and snow off of my car before work. I wasn't exactly dressed for success but I had just figured I'd finish doing that and then head back into the house and get dressed for work. Well I went out and attempted to walk behind my car and head to the passenger side to scrape the winter elements off of my windows. As I started to turn to come up the passenger side, I went to pivot my foot to make the turn and it turned out to be a patch of ice. OOPS! My feet went flying in the air and when I came down, my knees were the impact point (along with my back which I tried to twist onto as I was coming down and failed miserably) and I ended up lying in the street for about 10 minutes trying to absorb the shock, which transitioned to pain. My knees were on fire, my back felt like it was lying on another street and yet all I could think about was the gal pal saying "I hate Siberia" (her term for where I live... gotta love them there southerners...lol) and reminding me that it's warm in the south. My next thought was of getting up and realizing that I had to scoot away from the ice on the street so that I could force my big butt up and I had to get to work yet. I was able to get back up and realized that I'm not 20 any more as every inch of my body felt like it was beat up. If I was a horse, I think that I would be looking at the glue factory. Still pretty sore but lots of ice and the odd medicine or two and I will be fine. I guess maybe now I'll have some extra time to start writing a little more on here...lol

From Halloween with Love...

We were at a Halloween party at church and yours truly channeling my inner Phil Lynott... My better half while trying to be a punk rock chick, ends up looking like Michonne from the Walking Dead tv show... By the way, the tattoos are not real... hope this finds you all well and in good spirits as we come into the winter time and my favorite time of year... the holidays...

Oh yeah, I do have a blog now don't I ?

Wow! It's been since April... where the heck have I been?

The short answer is that I have been working my backside off trying to keep things happening. My regular daytime job has been nothing short of wacky. We've had lots of upheaval and turmoil... in other words, it's business as usual. On the gal pal front, it's never been better. My future wife and her family came for my birthday and we had a big old whizzbang of a cookout. Plus, my family and a couple of longtime friends stopped by and it made it one of my best birthdays ever. No complaints on my end.

A Spinal Tap Moment

Every once in a while, something will happen when life imitates art. This beauty was straight out of the movie "This Is Spinal Tap" from the 80's. It involved our local college basketball team. They were brought in to my place of employment to shake hands, sign autographs, and take the odd photo or two. I happened to be going in the cafe to get a bite and a diet peach tea. I saw the players waiting around and not sure of what they should do. The entire team was sitting in the cafeteria of my work place. The thing was, that no one had promoted or mentioned that the team was going to be there. So at about 11am, the team is there, all dressed in their warm-ups, ready to schmooze and meet their fans. Well, people were just walking by them as they sat at a table in the cafeteria, waiting for someone... anyone... to come up and get an autograph. 11:30... 12 noon... 12:30... no one is going anywhere near them. There are mutual looks of bewilderment between players and employees, wondering what each other was doing there... finally at one o'clock, they got up and left. In the movie, record label rep Artie Fufkin arranges an in-store appearance by Spinal Tap to celebrate the release of the band's new album and when they make the appearance, NO ONE shows up! In utter shame and embarrassment, Artie begs the band to kick his backside because it was such a disaster. After watching my hometown's college basketball team go through a similar fate.... Somewhere, Artie Fufkin (Paul Shaffer) of Polymer Records, has to be smiling.

Back In The Daze...

Revisiting my childhood. What a whacked out experience that was. How, you ask? Like most things in my life, it's a long story. I was at a mortuary paying respects for the passing of a friend. I get a call from my co-founding partner for Toledo Sports Network. He tells me that one of his camera people cancelled on him and he needed me to step in and help out. I haven't used a television camera in a long time. But he was desperate. So I bail out of the mortuary and headed to the International Boxing Club where they were filming for TV, a card of (wait for it) professional wrestling. I grew up with wrestling when I was a little guy in the 70's and when I walked through the doors, it took me back to 1979… the one and only other time I ever went in that place. But back then, it was known as “Fun Spot” and was a roller skating rink for the youth in the area. The one time I went there was for a church sponsored overnight slumber party for a bunch of goofball teenagers. I was 14 and couldn’t skate to save myself but I risked it for a pretty little 15 year old blonde with fewer zits than me. We skated once (well, I tripped, stumbled and fell) and I think she left the building (and took out a restraining order if I remember correctly... lol) but I digress. It did, however, re-ignite my love of two Saturday morning TV staples… Roller Derby and Rasslin’… Back then, I would jump out of bed to see the likes of Pompero Firpo, The Magnificent Zulu, The Stomper, Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, Bulldog Don Kent, Al Costello, and The Curry’s (Flying Fred and his dad Wild Bull who loved to bite opponent’s ears for some reason) just to name a few. I lived for Saturday mornings when I could live out my dreams of being the next Dr. Big Bill Miller. Instead, I ate myself into becoming the next Haystacks Calhoun. 
I have to admit, shooting video was fun. The wrestling made me wax nostalgic for a few hours and it made me feel young again. Of course, reality set in the next day and I was tired and sore from lugging equipment around all in the name of wrestling. It's not often you have to bail from a mortuary to go have fun but...

A Happy Skate

Man, I am whipped. I spent this past week on the shelf with no voice, and my head snotting up to epic proportions. I didn't leave the house and as much as I don't like spending too much time at home doing nothing, I spent this week just shutting up and resting, trying to get better quickly. Playoffs started this week for the Cherokee hockey team and we're doing a special event this afternoon featuring Gliding Stars. They're a program that teaches special needs kids (and adults) how to skate and then they appear in a show where as a group they participate in some skating routines. It's not Brian Orser or Dorothy Hamill in terms of performance, but these folks give it their all and I try to act like I've seen it all and been there before but my heart just melts when I see these beautiful people struggle and then succeed as they skate (with the help of some amazing volunteers out there with them) on the ice. And it's in a small arena, about 1,500 capacity, but the place is absolutely packed. We're going to film it out there to air on TV next week. I just hope I don't blow it by stuttering or being a big idiot on screen. I want those folks to get the full professional broadcast treatment...

A Scary Skate

You know what? Sometimes real life pops in to help clear the vision that has been clouded up by the joy of love. That's not to say that I don't enjoy looking at life through rose-colored glasses... I do... but sometimes things happen that shake you back to reality and remind you how precious and delicate life really is. For me, this happened a few days ago when I went on the road to broadcast a hockey game in Michigan. As I was setting up my gear to broadcast the game online, I was watching a little bit of the game going on before ours. I then walked out to the lobby to warm up a bit. I then heard loud noise coming from the rink. I thought maybe one of the teams scored a goal. Then sheer panic as I head back toward the rink when out pops a hockey player from the game, an absolute bloody mess. It turns out the young man collided with another player on the ice, and as they fell, the other guy's skate blade inadvertently came across the throat area of this guy and sliced him. Safe to say, he was in sheer panic. The EMT's that were there came and calmed him down and laid him on the floor and he went into shock. Thank the Good Lord that the cut did not include the artery otherwise... well, I'd rather not think about it. So they calm him down about as much as you can calm a guy with his throat cut open and they packed the large wound and were able to stop the bleeding. Once they were able to stabilize him, the ambulance came and off he went to the hospital for emergency surgery. He spent the night in intensive care. Everyone was visibly shaken watching this guy screaming for help. When they were taking him out to the ambulance, the two teams and all the fans gave him a huge ovation. After the game, when usually one team will go congratulate their goaltender and the other team that loses will console theirs and then all head to their respective locker rooms. Not this night. The two teams instead immediately headed to center ice and took a knee and prayed. Yes prayed. Thank the Good Lord above that he is expected to make a full recovery but came within less than an inch of losing his life playing a game he loved. It's scary to realize how delicate life truly is...

We're a Hit...

So since last I commented here on this little wacky corner of the world, I was elated over the fact that my gal pal was willing to spend the rest of our lives putting up with me. Of course when you've got family and friends like I have, who needs enemies? Most of comments have come in the form of smart alec barbs about my freedom disappearing by saying "I do"... Most were the usual stock comments:

"now who's wearing the pants in the relationship?"

"say goodbye to sports..."

"I can't wait to see you two shopping in the mall and you're holding her purse"

"marriage is a 3 ring circus... engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering"

I just roll my eyes and shake my head and laugh thinking about their attempts to put a scare in me. Well, actually, it's more just them teasing and using humor to congratulate me... They love my gal pal and think that I went way out of my league... That last part is absolutely true. She is way out of my league. But I always tell her that I'm glad that she is missing that one brain cell that allows her to have very discriminating taste in men...lol

It's Official! She said YES!! Oh Yeah, Happy New Year

Well, for all of you that have been waiting... the wait is over. I popped the question to her at church in front of her congregation. The pastor was great and helped me out to set up the proposal near the end of the service. She was completely stunned and didn't know that she had to answer... So I said "yes, no, or maybe"...lol... Then when it dawned on her that I was proposing, she started crying and immediately said yes and hugged me to the point that I didn't think she would ever let go... When my face began to resemble the maroon shirt I was wearing, she finally allowed me to stand back up and I could breathe again. There's no set date yet as we both know that it's going to be an extended engagement. But I wanted her to know that I was in it for keeps. I am forever her big dork! And she is my world...

mik's email

Jaques Pepin I am NOT...

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Me, I had to work but that's alright. It gets me out of having to cook. As for my culinary skills, well, lets put it this way... When I cook, people say grace AFTER they eat! That's why I usually make reservations or buy what's needed and have my sisters cook... For the health and safety of all mankind... I can make a mean Hawaiian cheeseball. But that is so easy my infant nephew could make it... I am looking forward to holidays... not the shopping so much because people can act like brats sometimes but I am looking forward to finding good deals where I can. Both in person and online. I've got more little kids to buy for this year but it's always lots of fun? How about you? Do you dread shopping over the holidays or do you look forward to it?

Jim Morrison Was Right... People Are STRANGE!

I used to be the type of guy that waited till the week before Christmas to START my shopping. Well safe to say, I'm OLDer now and a sure fire indicator that I've changed is that I'm looking at the Wal-mart and other store ads from the Sunday papers to see what kind of sales are going on so I can buy gifts early. I used to pride myself on shopping in the last week before Christmas and finding cool gifts for my loved ones. Now that I'm OLDer, and there are more little ones in my family, I have to be more conscientious about what I get. So that means I have to make a list (and check it twice) to see where I can get stuff for the little ones. I didn't realize how crazy people can be when it comes to shopping. I saw a lady about go nuclear on her son over food. He took it in stride but I was way uncomfortable seeing this unfold in public. I understand we all have bad days and can go off for the whackiest of reasons. But this was very trivial and she was within a gnat's eyelash of going Ma Barker on this kid. I came home and innoculated myself the only way I knew how... food and football...

Rise and Fall...30 years later

Can't wait for Halloween... not cause I'm a ghouls and goblins fan... not even. But I love seeing the little kids get made up and I like passing out candy to them. Lets me get in touch with my childhood. I'm such a dork. But I like being a dork. With the weather turning colder here, I'm in sports broadcasting full bore and of course that means not as much time with the gal pal... But she puts up with me. Instead of flowers for sweetest day, I sent Sherri's Berries (dipped in a couple of different types of chocolate and nuts)... It keeps her happy and in good spirits. And it keeps me in her good graces. 
Last weekend, I had the good fortune of attending my high school reunion for the first time ever. 30 year reunion. Yikes I'm getting old. But it was fun to see some friends from years ago. Sad to find out that for a dozen of those from my class who have gone from here too soon. But I knew how far I had come when I ran into a couple of old flames who both looked fantastic after all this time. One looked at me like I was from Mars when I said hello and smiled and nodded and later kept looking at me when I said so long as I was leaving. I tried to be a cordial as could be but she had her weird snooty look so I just let it go and laughed and walked away. The other was someone I had treasured and thought as a good friend and when she saw me she came over and hugged me. Asked how I was and I gave her my stock response (oh, I have a pulse so I'm good)... We were about to start a conversation when at that very moment, several people came over to say hello to her. Not to me, but just her. She was very popular in high school.... I wasn't... no big deal for me. I just said hello to a couple of other people I knew and hung out with them most of the night. While I was there, I texted the gal pal and she thought it was all funny. I told her I really missed her and wished she was in town and at this shin-dig with me. Having to endure heartbreaks, disappointments, letdowns, only to finally find a little woman from the Appalachians, who in her quietness and strength and from her wheelchair, made me realize what I didn't know 30, 20, 10 or 5 years ago... that she was and is so worth the wait. So much better than any of the females of my past. She is my future...

Time Flies...

Well... so much for keeping up with my blog... ugh... I have been SO busy. Real life has been taking up most of my time. But everything is going alright with all the main characters in my story. My gal pal still (yes, believe it or not...STILL) loves me and puts up with my crazy goofiness. But I think she feels a little better that I'm doing most of my sports broadcasting now while taking my nephew along as an intern. He works with the production crew and is learning the ropes. We, of course, enjoy the free labor from a high school kid...lol. It's really great because of my travels in the past, I haven't been in any of my nephews' lives very much at all. We would see each other at the holidays and whenever there would be an emergency. Since Lou passed away, we've made it a point to start spending more time together. And now, my nephew is working with me and he really loves the work. He had always wanted to be a cop. Now he thinks he'd like to do this type of work for a living. I told him that either choice would be just fine with me. His parents are getting a kick out of what he's doing and how he's been more interested in something other than video games...lol. I'm just glad I get to reconnect with my nephew and my family.

That Was Close...

Wow...
talk about getting a close shave. I had a close call on the way back from spending time with the gal pal. I was on I-75 heading back for home when a truck who was driving in the right lane (I was in the left and it was on a stretch of 75 that had only 2 lanes going each way) and this guy literally yanks his truck over to the lane that I was in. I had less than a second to react or else get t-boned at 70 mph. I yank my car to the left, hoping to ride on the shoulder of the highway. Well, as it turns out... no shoulder, just lumpy grass at a sloping angle so that my car bottomed out and I was able to pull the car back on the road. Good for me, bad for the car... it ripped out the bracket that held my radiator in place and it also smashed up my radiator. Not what I would call good times for your humble scribe. But I limped the car home the final 100 miles and was able to get her repaired so I'm back to being a long distance traveller. But it really made me appreciate life and how delicate and fragile it can be... I never thought of myself as a person who took things for granted. But I really do appreciate the little things a whole lot more...

Sweet Dreams...

ahhhhhhhhh the summer is starting to wind down. Under normal circumstances, a time to be a little sad. But remember, this is not a normal person you're dealing with here. My gal pal LOVES summer. She likes laying out in the sun when she can. I enjoy her doing that for obvious reasons...lol... but I'm not as much into summer as she is. I love the change of seasons. She HATES winter. I love fall and winter. Mostly for sports purposes. Football and then Hockey and your humble scribe is a happy camper. I enjoy that time of year immensely. She cannot stand cold weather and I love a crisp December day and the odd snow storm. Not continual but I like to enjoy the change of chilly weather from time to time. Pre-season football is upon us. I for one am excited. Not just for 3rd rate NFL action in August. But for some action to be on tv for me to enjoy. I've been enjoying the Olympics here recently. Not just for the success of my country, but for the back stories of the different competitors from wherever they have come from. It really makes me feel good to see how these young athletes have overcome such impossible odds and have found a way to achieve. I enjoy the endurance of the human spirit to outlast the odds and make something happen. Regardless of where you come from, it's a testimony to the human condition of making tough choices and sacrifices to have the opportunity to try and succeed. Not that they will be guaranteed success. But the blood sweat and tears that are put out will gain nothing more than an opportunity to achieve a dream. And that's all anyone can ask for...

Sum-sum SUMMERTIME!

wholly cow, it's been almost a month! Sorry about that everybody. Its been a whirlwind for me over the last 4 weeks or so. Many thanks to those of you who via facebook wished me a happy birthday. The funny part is that I don't use or visit facebook. The only time I know anything is going on is when I get the e-mails telling me what's going on in the community. That's how I found out people wished me a happy birthday... I don't know much on how to facebook or twitter or any of the other social mediums that are out there. I barely know how to do this blog and have been so busy that I'm doing a lousy job with it.  Mostly busy with getting ready for the fall sports season and have been getting in as much quality with the boss..er... the gal pal... lol... as I can. She is not a big fan of my sports broadcasting travel. However she can tune into most all of my games online so she's never far from me. I'm glad for that...
Football (high school version) will be starting up in a month and college and pro shortly thereafter. Then a month after that the hockey grind starts all over again which brings joy to the gal pal... NOT. Especially when I have to travel far from home. Last year's showcase was in Chicago. This year it's Minnesota. So that's almost a whole week of vacation time where I don't spend it in person with her... Did I mention she doesn't like hockey? lol.. But other than that imperfection, there is no other like her on this earth. She is THE ONE for me and for those of you wondering when I'm going to "pop the question"... it won't be immediate BUT...let's just say it'll be sooner rather than later... MUCH... SO THERE!!

A Comedy of Airs...

It's funny. When worlds collide you never know what to expect or how things or people will react when they're out of their normal environs. I got to experience that first hand when my sisters and my nephews made the six hour trek to visit my gal pal's family. Or as I like to call it: "when city slickers and hillbillies collide"...lol
I was deeply moved that my family was willing to get together and come down to hangout with a bunch of people they didn't really know at all. When everyone met up though, they seemed to hit it off splendidly. And they had a big ol' cookout too and we got to just relax and spend time getting to fellowship and pick on each other as family tends to do. Then on Sunday at church it was another round of people getting to meet my family again and it was weird hearing people tell my family that they like me. But it was neat to hear my gal pal's family tell other people (not knowing I was within hearing range) that they really liked my family. There were a few cultural things that I had to deal with... such as we northerners talk a whole lot faster and the country folks had the deer in the headlights look on a couple of occassions cause they couldn't make heads or tails of what we were saying when we were talking to each other. But we made it through just fine and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. And not one reference to Hee Haw, banjos, or the movie 'Deliverance' the entire weekend...

Moving On But Never Forgetting...

It doesn't seem like two years ago today that a seriously nasty F4 tornado went through this neck of the woods. 100 buildings flattened, a high school destroyed, a fire department and police department heavily damaged. And worst of all, 7 lives lost. Lake Township went through a lot. But they're rebuilding and most of it has been done. The high school is getting ready to open this fall. But today was just a day to pause and reflect and remember. It doesn't seem that long ago. I'm in a pretty okay mood though. Life does go on... A number of members of my family are going to make the 6 hour trip to see my gal pal's family with me. We're going to just hang out for a long weekend and spend time getting to know each other better. My family are true northerners. My gal pal's are true southerners. I don't know if the Hatfields and McCoys have anything on us...lol... My nephew is learning how to play rock guitar. I told him if he was down south, he'd have to learn how to play the banjo. He didn't get the joke but he's only 15 so I didn't expect him to... Hope this finds you all safe and sound and doing alright. We'll talk again soon...