The Art of Breaking (the alarm) and Entering...

From the files of "Police Squad" (not)... Lt. Frank Drebin would be proud...

So, I go to see my gal pal cause I needed to and the fact that she never fails to amaze me, not only with her beauty, but with her gentleness, kindness, and (when dealing with me) PATIENCE! (ha-ha). I just flat out love that girl. And she loves me too! Always a huge bonus. Well, we go to church on Sunday morning because that is what we do. We also, like always, go down the street to get something to eat afterwards. So we go and eat and her parents are there in the back private room, eating with a large group of folks from Georgia who came up to teach Vacation Bible School for the week. So her parents were going to give them the two dollar tour of where they'd be teaching at. It was a hot, very hot, day and I was dripping with sweat already. So her dad tosses me the key to his house and says "here ya go". The wonderful thought of kicking back in the air conditioned comfort with my best girl made me smile. So the gal pal and I pull up and I help her into her wheelchair. I go to unlock the door, and hear the alarm go off. I stay calm and ask the gal pal if she knows the code to shut it off. She gives me the numbers and they turn out to be wrong. I hear the phone ring in the backround but don't know where it is. So I call her father on his cell and explain to him the noise he hears in the backround is me apparently breaking and entering because there is an alarm going off here!!! He calmly gives me the code to enter and sure enough, the alarm shuts off. Then he asks me "did the phone ring yet?" My heart begins to sink as I reply "uh, yes." He comes back with "oh, that was the security company, they're going to send the law out after you. It was nice knowing you Mik." Everyone loves a smartalec... So I figure I'll explain everything when they get there and hope they have a sense of humor. I get the gal pal out of her wheelchair and onto the sofa so she can get comfortable. I go to the bathroom and change out of my church clothes because they are soaked with sweat (gee I wonder why?) and I change into a t-shirt and shorts. Then the phone rings again. My heart starts to pound as I race towards it from the bathroom. I see the phone in the kitchen, setting in it's recharging station. I pick it up and hit the 'talk' button to answer it. It's only a split second later that I realized that once you lift the phone from the charger when it's ringing, that it will automatically answer. So when I hit the 'talk' button, I actually disconnected the call. I look on the caller ID and sure enough, I had just hung up on the boys in blue!!! I let out a curse word (sh**) and in the other room, the gal pal yells out "what did you just say?" and starts laughing at me. I called the number back on the phone and they answer and I just flowed like a volcano when lava spews out, explaining the situation and even the police person on the other end of the phone laughed at me. So FINALLY we got everything resolved and I was able to sit on the couch with the gal pal and I think I put her to sleep (also known as putting one of my all-time favorite movies on: "Rudy"... the movie about the Notre Dame football player). A little while later, her dad comes home and walks in and looks at me and as he's walking by, he chirps at me "Mik, are you still here?" and starts laughing at me. I told him if he ever thought I might consider a life of crime, this experience should put any such thought to rest. My gal pal had the biggest grin on her face. Probably because it involved something other than watch a movie that was putting her to sleep. Her inept, would be burglar just laid his head on her lap and knew it was all going to be fine when she just ran her fingers through his hair. Man, I really do love that girl!

Doesn't Seem Like Five...

Hmmmmm... had a nice birthday yesterday. Moving into official middle-age didn't seem like to big a deal until I tried to mess around with my sister's dog Lucy. I went over there yesterday cause they wanted to make a nice meal for me for the birthday. I enjoyed it and started getting playful with Lucy. I was in the backyard and thought about running around the yard with her. That's when it hit me... wholly crap I can't run like this dog can. I just smiled at her, left her in the back yard and walked back in to the air conditioning and just said the heck with it.
Well, it was five years ago today that my dad went to heaven. I miss him. He was a good guy and he loved his family. Part of me wishes he was still here. But the overall feeling I have is that I don't wish him back. I know he's in paradise and with my mom whom he loved like crazy. Why would I be so selfish and wish him back to here? It wouldn't be right. I know he's not suffering from the ravages of cancer anymore and he is enjoying life in eternity. That's a pretty cool thing and I won't want him back when he is free from pain and misery. But it's been five years and I know that he's at peace... I still miss him though... Still, thanks dad! I appreciate all that you did for me to show me how to live and to love. Thank you ol' man... you're the best! I love you a ton!

What's In A Name?.... If You're Seven!

From the 'captain kangaroo meets bart simpson' dept:

Okay, time for your inner, immature, seven year-old to stand out and shine... The following is excerpted from from the children's book "the adventures of captain underpants" and "perilous plot of professor poopy pants" by Dave Pilkey. In this story, the professor (a bad guy) forces everyone to assume a new name. So, with that little nugget in mind, here's a little excercise in useless stupidity. Find your capt. underpants/prof. poopy pants new name... it's easy, and cheesy and downright silly. But hey, I have been busier than all getout and I needed to put out a new entry for my blog. I was hard up for ideas...lol... here's the directions: from the following list of silly names, choose yours based on three letters of your entire name. Here's how you come up with your silly name...

Step one: Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new silly first name...

A= Snickle B= Doombah C= Goober D= Cheesy E= Crusty

F= Greasy G= Dumbo H= Farcus I= Dorky J= Doofus K= Funky

L= Boobie M= Sleezy N= Sloopy O= Fluffy P= Slinky Q= Slimy

R= Dorfus S= Snooty T= Tootsie U= Dipsy V= Sneezy

W= Liver X= Skippy Y= Dinky Z= Zippy

Now, Step Two: Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first part of your new last name...

A= Dippin' B= Feather C= Batty D= Burger E= Chicken

F= Barffy G= Lizard H= Waffle I= Farkle J= Monkey K= Flippin'

L= Frickin' M= Bubble N= Rhino O= Cat P= Hamster Q= Buckle

R= Gizzard S= Lickin' T= Snickle U= Chuckle V= Pickle

W= Hubble X= Dingle Y= Gorilla Z= Girdle

Finally, the last part... Use the third letter of your last name to create the second part of your new silly last name.

A= Butt B= Boob C= Face D= Nose E= Hump F= Breath

G= Pants H= Shorts I= Lips J= Honker K= Head L= Tush

M= Chunks N= Dunkin' O= Brains P= Bisquits Q= Toes

R= Doodle S= Fanny T= Sniffer U= Sprinkles V= Frack

W= Squirt X= Humperdinck Y= Chicken Z= Juice

And presto! you have a new silly name... And I have updated my blog. I hope to hear what your silly names are... For the record, my silly new name is Funky Catdunkin'...

Gone Fishing without a pole...

I needed to get away for a few days and lo and behold my gal pal and her family were vacationing in Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains. I really needed to get away and just relax. So I cruised down there and proceeded to have a blast with her and got to relax and take in the beautiful scenery. I stayed at a nearby motel about 15 minutes from the lake they were staying at and hung out during the day and evening. My goodness, the view was breath-taking. In fact, the gal pal and family are talking about going back next year. Hey, I'm up for it....

Meanwhile, Lou is having a birthday and in a couple of days, my great-nephew is also having a birthday. He's chalking up his first one. Guess who'll get more spoiled and get more gifts? hahaha...

Stormin' Round Two...

Wow... more fun and frivolity weather wise. Last night we had funnel clouds pass over our community and more high wind damage to the west of us. But I'm grateful that we didn't get a direct hit here. It was weird though because the line of storms that were supposed to pass over us, stalled and waited like they were taking a number to hit our area. It had the weather guys on tv a bit perplexed. A town out west of us called Edgerton got nailed this time. Edgerton is right on the Ohio-Indiana border and they had some significant damage to their fire station and their townhall was destroyed. There was some areas that got hit with high winds, lightning, and heavy rain. But fortunately, most of the damage was in rual areas and not near heavy populated areas. As per usual, there were trees knocked down and a few powerlines with electricity knocked out for a while, but the folks will rebuild and bounce back like they always seem to do...

And When They Rock.... THEY ROCK!!

Boy, what a night it was...
I get out of work at five to head over to where the "Game for Giving" charity basketball game was to be played, at Genoa high school. In my head I keep thinking "don't freak out Mik, you're used to getting rosters right before start time and still manage to pull it off. Well, I get there and walk in to find that the ABC affiliate is doing their newscast from there. Cool. But it doesn't help with the fact that I have no rosters to familiarize myself with. And on top of that, I don't know if I'm going to get roster of the faculty and staff that are playing the tv station folks in this basketball game. Well, the Good Lord was with me and I decided to stop being to anal about the whole thing. We had two computers up and running to do the video broadcast online and the other to record it for broadcast on tv later. About 40 minutes before tipoff, the newer computer gives us the BSOD (the Blue Screen Of Death)... Which meant it was fried. Oh perfect! could this not get any better? Ugh. So we decide to take our chances (translated to "pray that it works") and ran everything off of ONE computer. Well, for the most part it worked and we were up and running. Then, I knew it was going to be a good night for us when our polo shirts with the TSR logo came in before the game. Changed into those and as they were announcing the starting line-ups (which we finally got at 8 minutes before tipoff), and when they announced the faculty team, the crowd gave it up for all three schools that were represented on the team. Genoa (the host) got a big response. Delta (who saw some nasty damage to some homes in their area) got some loud cheers. But the biggest response was for the Lake high school staff on the roster. People there not only lost their homes and their high school, but 6 lives were lost there. The Lake contingent got a huge standing ovation that lasted almost 2 minutes. It was very moving. And as the news anchor from the station introduced everyone, they even introduced us at TSR and we got a big ovation from the appreciative (not to mention overflow) crowd there. There were so many people that came out that they had to open the auditorium next door to show our broadcast on closed circuit to accomadate the over flow crowd. The game wasn't too bad. The news anchors were pretty darn good if I do say so myself. They were kicking butt however the teachers kept coming back. At halftime it was very emotional and moving. They had a bunch of little contests and stuff. But then they had the fire fighters and rescue people from Lake Township and Millbury come out to center court to take pictures to commemorate the event. The whole crowd rose as one to give them a 4 minute standing ovation. Tears were flowing from so many people. Some of the people who had lost their homes were in attendance, just to get away from everything for a couple of hours and have some fun. My co-host for the event Steve Taylor put it best when he said "with this, now some of the healing can begin." To top off the night, a lady won the 50-50 raffle and her share of it was one thousand and seven hundred dollars. After the game, she brought it back and asked that it be given to a family that was at the game that had lost everything. The place went beserk and tears were flowing freely from the family that received that money, and the person who gave it, and just about everyone else in the place. It really re-affirmed my belief in the human spirit. That despite all the negatives, that people at their core, are generally good. It was an event such as this that proved that these communities will rally around each other when things get tough and no matter how difficult, they will endure. I walked out of the gym into the hallway and walked over to the bake sale table and bought a big plate of chocolate and vanilla gooey cookies and purposely paid nearly double what they were selling for and took them back to the TSR crew to enjoy. I even had a bite of one despite my diabetes. It was an incredible evening this area of tiny hick towns pulled together and raised over forty thousand dollars to help these families with some of the things they need to start over. God gets the credit in this one. Ain't no doubt about it.

For Those About To Rock... We Salute You...

Thanks to all who sent their best wishes over what was a pretty crappy week last week in north west Ohio. People have been coming in droves to help out those who lost everything. Well I guess everything but their lives. And another person lost his life over the weekend. He couldn't hold on anymore and succumbed to his injuries. The real sad part is that he was the third from his family to perish from the tornado. He was 37 years old. His wife and 3 year old son were killed that night in the storm. The lone survivor is the 7 year old daughter. Of course at church on Sunday, the question was asked "why?"... and of course there are no answers. But my belief is that God has His reasons and I'm not privy to them. Not much I can do about that. But I can do something in the way I respond to those who need help. So of course that also makes me a little nervous. Our local ABC-TV affiliate is putting together a charity basketball game at a local area high school just down the road from where Lake High School was destroyed. The money raised from this game will go towards tornado victims relief. The scary part that makes me nervous? I am (along with a buddy of mine) are going to be the broadcasters doing the game for the station. Now normally, I'd be so geeked because I'm doing something to help out with the relief effort and would consider this a high honor to be a part of something so special. But the problem is that I won't know the lineups or the rosters till about an hour before tip-off. If that early. And to appear on tv on the our local ABC affiliate... and not know the names of everyone involved? Wholly smokes! My biggest concern (read: worry) is that I won't get a handle on all of the names of the people that are participating in this thing. So if you're totally bored and want to watch me go down in flames and have a laugh, you can watch the game online beginning at 7 pm US eastern time tonight (Tuesday June 15th) as our little goofy station Toledo Sports Radio will be providing live tv online coverage. If you have a high speed connection, feel free to stop by and see some mediocre to average basketball for a very good cause. And listen to me stutter and babble my way through it all... ugh... lol...

Strange Daze...

Over the last few days, I've seen a couple of small towns where I live get leveled from tornadoes. I've seen lives devastated, homes and businesses ruined. And to top it off today at work, our former county auditor decides to take a flying leap from the fifth level of the parking garage and end it all. Why did he have to pick my place of employment?? To quote the profound theologian Slim Pickens (he of "Blazing Saddles" fame)... "What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on around here???" I'm sitting here typing this out, still in a bit of shock over everything that's transpired over the last 72 hours. Its just been insane. Just freaking nuts! I'm trying to find the words to convey what I'm feeling right now, but I just can't seem to find them. You can go on different news websites to see the destruction from the tornadoes that came through my neck of the woods. Some only a couple of miles from me. But until you see it first hand, video doesn't begin to do it justice. It looked like a dang bomb went off and now resembles a war zone. In Lake Township, it leveled the police station and destroyed the high school only 14 hours before graduation commencement was to take place there. They ended up holding the graduation tonight at a local junior college. The bad part of that was that of the folks killed, one of them happened to be the father of the valedictorian. I'm very blessed that my small town was spared. Only very minor damage to some fencing. A small silver lining is that I am not surprised at the response of the people to those horrible storms. Trying to pick up the pieces... these people just sprang into action. That is what is so good about small town folks in middle America. People who had just seen their lives forever changed in a matter of seconds, were out there in the blinding rain, and wind... not to mention darkness (this happened at about 11pm on Saturday night and again at 3am Sunday morning) looking for their neighbors to see if they were still alive or if they needed to be rescued. People helping people. They will persevere... That's what it's all about.

A View From The Booth... er... Table

Here's a bizarre day off for you...
I haven't been out and about for a while because of my voice deciding to take a vacation without me. A touch of strep throat is never good from any standpoint. For a guy who broadcasts sports, it's a pain in the bu....er, throat. So I've been on the shelf for a few days and have had to rest my vocal chords with no talking to ANYONE... I've stayed cooped up in my house and have been trying not to go stir crazy. So I decided that today I was going to go out and eat somewhere. I didn't know where, but I was determined to enjoy going outside and eating like a moose.
So I hit the road and driving up and down the road with multiple choices but nothing hit me as really good. Finally, I settled on eating at a Chinese buffet... all you can eat..... mmmmmmmm... Mik likes that! Mik likes that a lot!! mmmmmmmmmm... So I go inside the Chinese restaurant and everything seemed to be normal when I first walked in. But after that, everything I was expecting went out the window but I was going to enjoy my meal. So I am seated by a pretty little girl who didn't speak english well. She was mexican and when she asked me if I wanted to be seated in a booth and I said "sure" and she promptly seats me at a table instead. No big deal. Then my waitress asks me what I'd like to drink and I say a diet soda please. She brings it to me while I'm helping myself to the peanut chicken and other high fat delicacies that looked soooooo good. I never see her again. Now they had chicken wings (a personal weakness) and pizza... I know I have a couple slices when I'm doing my online radio show. For some strange reason, I have an aversion to chicken wings and pizza from chinese buffets... I don't know why. I just never touch them. I tried some korean chicken, and sweet n sour, plus my personal favorites, general tsao and pepper steak. Oh was it good. Handling the refills for me was a late teen or early 20-something mexican kid whose english wasn't the best but he was wearing his Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and was grooving it in his own "Purple Haze"...lol... Now you might think I find it odd that a mexican family is running a chinese restaurant. I don't find it odd at all actually. I'm just painting the picture here... to give you the idea of how out of sorts I was at the time. The only odd time I had in this buffet place was watching an elderly couple who were a couple of tables away from me in a booth. They went up to load up on food and they appeared to be flirting with each other. I couldn't be sure because it was all done in sign language. I know just enough sign language to understand that I really don't know that much sign language. But they had such loving looks on their faces. When I watched them for a brief moment as they dined, I realized that you're never too old to love and be happy. The oriental music playing overhead seemed harmless enough. Until I realized that although it was an oriental instument playing, the song was a familiar hard rock tune from many years ago. My first thought: "alright man, where is that kid in the Jimi Hendrix t-shirt?"

Dollars to Donuts...

how's this for a situation?...
I go into work at the wee hours to do my job and at about 7:30 in the morning, I opt to head to our cafeteria for some breakfast and to get some treats for my co-workers. Now being a diabetic, I know I can't eat what I buy for the folks I work with. I never let that bother me. It's no big deal for me to scoop up some big coffee rolls or donuts or lemon bars... whatever the treat may be. I usually grab for myself some crap like eggs, fruit or something of that ilk. Not as good as what they eat, but then again, I have this thing about wanting to live. I don't want to check out anytime soon so I best not go near the donuts, bagels, or any sweets. Bummer I know, but hey, I got over my passion for italian food and now have learned to live without spaghetti or a rigatoni or the other delectable pastas that end in "I"... sigh... But I do miss them all... it sucks to be a diabetic. Anyway, so I get myself some runny eggs and a terribly bruised Fiji apple and a bottled water. The eggs were mixed with some chopped sausage. It whizzed big time. Meanwhile my co-workers were treated to Cinnamon rolls gobs of frosting. Lemon Bars, Macademia Nut cookies and Banana Nutbread Muffins. And gormet coffee to boot. So I got all of this food on a tray piled high and drawing the most bizarre looks from people as I walk by. I could only imagine the thought that prevailed most was "geez you moose, no wonder you're a freakin' diabetic!"... So to the masses outside of my department, I'm probably a moose for eating cakes, rolls, donuts and cookies. And I sit down to eat my runny eggs and bruised up apple and shake my head and yell at the top of my voice.... CAFETERIA FOOD SUCKS....

In the Tall Grass

I am such a dork!
I finally BORROWED a lawn mower and cut my grass. I guess I should give a little backround. I've gone through and still have THREE lawn mowers (and none of them work). They are now all worthless. It's been raining for the last three weeks in near biblical proportions and I'm not saying I should build an ark or anything, but I have been looking at animals and thinking of them in pairs...lol... but I digress. Anyway, back to the lawn. I went through three, YES, THREE of those stinking things since I put them away late last fall/early winter. I broke them out hoping to get the lawn (uh, okay, actually more weeds than grass) cut. But none of them had oil in them and I didn't know that till it was too late. It's not like I have a gigantic yard or anything. Add to that all of the rain we've gotten so far this spring, and it has the makings of some ridiculously high grass. As I looked out over the lawn, I started to have strange visions of my childhood when I watched "Hee Haw" on television. I remember the people in the corn fields that would tell real corn ball jokes. A much more innocent time to be sure. But then they would dip back into the field and you couldn't see them. Looking out over my lawn, I felt something similar to those "Hee Haw" moments. I was actually feeling more like Clark W. Griswold in the "Vacation" movies but after going through THREE (yes, three) lawn mowers, I humbly borrowed one and mowed the lawn and felt such relief. Until I looked back out at the lawn and it looked like it could use a trim. THAT is how long the grass got. So I ran the lawn mower over it again, returned the lawn mower, and of course, it started to rain. And it rained for two days. At least it wasn't forty... I looked out at the grass this morning and of course, it needs to be cut.... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Thanks Ernie...

As I move on everyday in this journey of mine, I find the highs and lows and try to manage as I go... No big surprise as most all of you try to do the same thing. And when you reach a certain age, you tend to spend just a wee bit of time looking back and reminiscing about happy times in the past. Usually, that involves childhood. At least that is what I do. A huge part of my childhood involved a transistor radio and hockey and baseball games. That was my ticket out from my house of blah that I painted for myself. We didn't have cable tv in my neighborhood until I was an adult. So all we had was about four or five channels on tv and whatever was on radio. Being a big sports fan, I loved listening to sports on the radio. It helped passed the time and it was such an important part of me back then. So it was with such sadness when I saw on tv that one of the most important voices of my childhood had passed away. Ernie Harwell was 92 years old but a VERY spry 92... The cancer in his bile duct took him from here but the memories of him calling Detroit Tigers baseball for 42 of his 55 year broadcast career will always be permanently etched in my head and my heart. The Georgia born but MADE in Detroit icon started his career in a weird way. Back in 1948, the Brooklyn Dodgers announcer fell ill, so their owner traded a minor league catcher to the minor league Atlanta Crackers for their announcer... Ernie Harwell! Ernie did short stints for Brooklyn, the old NY Giants, and then Baltimore, but finally found a home in the Motor City. Detroit and Ernie Harwell was a perfect match. My childhood was surviveable because I got to listen to Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey (a vastly underappreciated announcer in his own right) every day and it made sports such a hoot. I remember sitting on the porch with my ol' man and we'd have 760 WJR radio tuned in and Ernie and Paul would paint such a glorious picture of what was good about the world. It gave a hopeless kid from a rust-belt neighborhood a reason to look forward. It was a very important part of my childhood and now that such a vibrant part of it is gone, the world seems a little darker. But at least I'm glad that I was privelaged to have grown up (no matter how rough) and able to listen to a guy who helped shaped my view not only of sports, but a little bit of life too. Thanks Ern, you've done so much for so many. Now Heaven has their announcer... and he has a Southern accent!

For Everything Else, There's Mastercard...

Okay... When in doubt, I needed to get some time with the boss...

Time spent on the road driving in one day: 14 hours

Sleep I got over two days during that time: less than 6

The look on her face when I showed up after not much sleep: PRICELESS!!!

P.S. I haven't spent much time with her... so I pulled a marathon road trip so we could spend all of a whopping four hours together. Four... Why you ask? BECAUSE SHE IS WORTH IT...

An Occasional Setback...

Terri's in the hospital again as the chemo she had been on before this latest one (that she is allergic to) had done damage to her body and she was feeling like crap. Well, she discovered also that this chemo treatment every three weeks is dehydrating her so bad that it's hurting her kidneys. So when she gets out of the hospital, she's going to have IV therapy at home and see if that works. She's got chemo again on monday. I don't know how she does it. I really don't. She still has her days that she just wants to quit, but overcomes those times a whole lot stronger than I ever could.

When I Need A Reminder...

It goes without saying that behind a semi-decent guy, there's usually a great and awesome woman... For me, I have a great one who doesn't see me much. I'm usually tired and winding down from a busy day when I see her or spend any time with her. She has endured my crankiness, all the pressure i've been under as of late. And she has to put up with my sports schedule and broadcasting games when I could be spending more time with her. But she endures it all and is always encouraging me to do what I love and go for my dreams. I can honestly thank the Good Lord for her because as sure as you're reading this, I can tell you that I absolutely shutter to think what my life would be like without her in it. My life would be an absolute disaster...Sometimes, I need to remind myself that no matter how crappy life can get, I've got a lot that I have to be thankful for. She is a real reminder of just what is right with this world. If for no other reason, for putting up with a dork like me...

I'll Be Home For Easter....

Well, first things first. Happy Easter everyone. He has risen!
The last few weeks have been like Good Friday... Tough, painful, overall pretty lousy. But we endure. And we keep our faith... and before you know it, Sunday comes and He rose. And for me, things are improving, and I feel joy, gratitude, and somewhere in all the chaos, I feel a little bit of peace. Don't know why. But I know that things will work themselves out. He heard my prayers. He heard the prayers of the folks here that read this goofy little part of the world that is me. I can never thank Him enough. I can't thank you folks enough for you prayers. Both of the sisters are back home. Terri is weak, but wants to cook for Easter Sunday. Typical Terri. Lou just got home on Good Friday. Still a little confused, but nowhere near what she experienced while in the hospital. She is so happy to be home. Me, I'm ready to collapse, but i'm glad that we're here to celebrate some wonderful things. He has Risen. My eyes are heavy as I type this, but I wanted to update and express some gratitude because even when things are tough like on Good Friday, we gotta remember that Sunday is coming... Oh and by the way, did I mention: HE HAS RISEN!!

Stress? Never Heard Of It...

I am soooooooo tired.
Lou is starting to get back to her old self... FINALLY! She was moved to the rehabilitation unit which basically is an extended care facility. But for her, it's not permanent. Thank the Lord. In fact, she has been getting real antsy cause she wants to go home. I went and visited her and all she could talk about was that she wanted to get out of there. The problem is that she needs care right now 24/7 and the home visiting nurse is only for part of the daytime. So she needs to strengthen up in physical rehab and that will give Terri a break too as she has to have chemo that she's allergic to and she'll be down for a while. It's been a pretty heavy duty stressful time for our family but life goes on. I have to get my poop in a group cause my car is acting up a bit and needs work and it's just a bunch of little things right now that are making life challenging. But I'm not giving in to the desire to have a pity party. Life can whiz sometimes but I knew that there would be times like this. But like the Good Book says... "Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world..."

No Luck Of The Irish...

Appreciate the kind prayers for Lou and Terri. Terri is hanging in there like always. Lou has had a rough road to travel. She was in the ICU and even though she had head trauma, she was doing decent. Then she was transferred out of ICU and when she got nauseous, the doctor ordered a med that we told them NOT to give her as it makes her confused and disoriented. They gave her the med and sure enough, she got all disoriented and didn't know who we were. I was not happy and Terri, even in her condition, about blew a head gasket. We got the med stopped and Lou is very slowly starting to remember things but is still quite out of it. She is miserable and can't focus on anything and is getting very frustrated. So that is where things stand with that situation. But in a moment that told me that maybe she's doing a little bit better, she had a vintage Lou "moment".
She is in a semi-private room (which means NO privacy) and her roommate is a little 96 year old woman who is all of 4 foot 8. Lou (who is a bilateral amputee- just below her knees) is watching as the woman (who is extremely hard of hearing) is helped to the bathroom. She comes back out, and Lou looks at me and says "y'know what? I bet if I could stand on my stumps, I'd still be taller than her..." I buried my head and nearly convulsed with laughter. My big ol' body was shaking like Jello. That's when I knew I had hope for my sister...

Stress? What's Stress?

Sometimes I wonder....

I know that there is a reason for everything. But my family has had better weeks. Terri had to go get chemo (the chemo that she's allergic to. But it's the only one that works on her) and they gave it to her at half strength. She got sick and they wanted to stop but she told them to keep administering it to her. It took them NINE HOURS to get the full dose into her. Her doctor told her "you know what Terri? I wouldn't blame you if you said you wanted stop doing this anymore." Apparently this doctor doesn't know her very well. I got to feeling under the weather with a fever and general state of dizziness. Thought it might be my sugar, but it was fever and after I hit the Tylenol, I felt better once it popped. But it came back twice and it's gone for now but I don't know what the heck is going on. Then to top it off, Lou had an accident. The ambulette came to pick her up and take her to dialysis. Well, they have to put her wheelchair on a metal riser that lifts her up from the ground into the ambulette. I don't know how, but her safety belt that was supposed to be fastened came loose and she and her chair rolled off from the riser and she ended up falling back, hitting her head something fierce, and ending up in the neuro intensive care unit. Her CT came back negative so they think she'll be okay but there's a little blood at the base of her skull so she's going to be out for a while. It really hit me like a sucker punch because of all the things that I figure that could happen to her, this was the LAST thing I would've figured. It's times like this I still wish I drank because boy I could use a stiff belt right about now...

Pickin' and Grinnin' (my apologies to Hee Haw)

Okay, so when last I wrote on these pages... I was whinning about the Olympics and who to root for... I didn't mind Canada winning the hockey gold medal even though I wanted the States to win. Now looking back, it was an odd Olympics marred by tragedy, perseverance, inspiration, and hope. The poor Georgian national who bought it on the luge track before the games officially opened. That really could've brought things to a screeching halt. But they kept going. One of the two biggest stories to touch my heart was watching the story unfold of JoAnnie Rochette. How she endured the loss of her mom and had the skate of her life two days later. That was unbelievable. That, to me, exemplified the Olympic spirit. I just felt so sorry for her and her father. But the way she gutted through that pain with such a great performance, she won everyone's hearts over. That and the gold medal hockey game between the US and Canada... People who weren't hockey fans watched that and marveled how great that game was. I have to agree. They really put on a show that will also leave a huge mark on the games.
Okay so we got the Oscars coming up tomorrow night. Normally, I'm not one to be the least bit concerned about another self-congratulatory awards show. I don't know... I guess I like making picks and since the football season is over, I'm stuck with the Oscars... I'm usually wrong with the picks I make and who the actual winners are, so I'm picking who my personal favorites were and then who I think will actually win... Just the top five awards...

Best Supporting Actor

My Pick: Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Oscar Pick: Matt Damon (Invictus)

Best Supporting Actress

My Pick: Mo'Nique (Precious)
Oscar Pick: Mo'Nique

Best Actor

My Pick: Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Oscar Pick: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heat)

Best Actress

My Pick: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Oscar Pick: Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Best Picture

My Pick: The Blind Side
Oscar Pick: Avatar