Paper or plastic?

So once again, "the religious right" has determined that a cartoon character is promoting the gay lifestyle.

First, let me say, that I am religious. I am a Christian. I am also fairly conservative.

Having said that, I would like to make it clear that I believe those who label themselves as the "religious right" are usually neither.

Most who consider themselves the "RR" would say that they have been saved by Jesus, his teachings and his passion. Therein lies the challenge. I have not found anywhere in the New Testament ( which is the inspired word of God, testifying to the teachings of Jesus, Christ) any evidence that Jesus would have shunned gays. In fact, he taught us to love one another, even our enemies and those with whom we differ.

Without getting into that discussion any deeper however, allow me to continue with my original topic...

Dr. James Dobson; head of "Focus on the Family" has determined that "Sponge Bob Square Pants" is most likely gay, and is promoting gay lifestyle to our children. "Bob has now joined the ranks of "Bert and Ernie", and the little purple Teletubby." Wake up Dr. Jim, Sponge Bob and the others are either cartoon characters or puppets.

The real problem facing this country is much worse. It has been with us for over forty years with virtually no attention from the "RR". Only God knows how much damage has been done to children over the years because of it. I refer of course to "Barbie".

"Barbie" and her friend "Ken" have cohabitated in thousands of toyboxes across America without the benefit of marriage. They have spent time alone together in "Barbies Dream House". They have travelled together in "Barbies RV". I am told that on occassion they have been found in the back of "Barbies Corvette". Over the years, I have even caught them naked in my own swimming pool.

Having said all of this, I am not suggesting that Barbie and Ken have had illicit sex. In fact, the problem runs much deeper... Ken and Barbie are both androgenous. What does this teach our children...Are we as a society so sick and twisted that we have allowed our children for muliple generations to be exposed to, and associate with such strange and abnormal individuals. What damage has been done to us? What damage has been done to our children? We have allowed "Barbie and Ken" to promote androgenous lifestyle.

One must ask, what sick and twisted behavior must these two be guilty of? With no sex organs, they have obviously found some other form of deviant gratification to satisfy their carnal instincts. I shudder to imagine. And yet, Dr. Dobson, Jerry Falwell and others have allowed this insidious behavior to continue without comment.

Wake up boys, you are missing a headline.

I, the jury

Last year at this time, I was serving on jury duty. On the first day, upon our arrival we were directed to a long hallway to register. At the end of the hallway was a service counter with two service areas. Above each area was a sign. One sign said; “A through M”, the other sign said; “N through Z”. As we were waiting in our designated lines, a woman entered the area, looked up at the signs and asked me; “What those signs A through M and N through Z mean? I asked her what her last name was, she replied; “Smith”. I told her to get into the line marked; “A through M”. That was just my way of being helpful. How would you like to have her on YOUR jury.

American Idol

Another season of "American Idol" has begun. Once again people all across the country will gather at the water coolers of American businesses to discuss the relative talents of several talentless fools who hope to become the next "Idol".

Night after night, the TV news devotes several minutes of airtime to discussing the performance of sports teams and players. Many will be held up as "heroes" and people to be idolized. Many of those will turn out to be drug users, adulterors, and sometimes murderers. ( if the glove fits...)

The Grammy's the Emmy's, American Music Awards, the list goes on and on. We are obsessed with idolizing actors, music stars, sports figures, and TV stars. Wby? because they live lifestyles that most can only dream of. In our country oppulent lifestyle is something to dream about and idolize others for. Believe it or not, this is still the land of opportunity and anyone...no, everyone has the same opportunity to rise to the level of their dreams, if only they dare too. That however is not the purpose of this post...

I spent yesterday riding along with and observing a team of people that have devoted their careers to truly serving others. They are the doctors, nurses, and pilots of MetroHealth Centers' Lifeflight. I had a chance to fly with them, and see first hand how they think and perform.

As we flew I observed their compassion and committment. I observed the compassion of the doctors and nurses on the ground.

When we had a break, I went up to the seventh floor of Metro, where my wife is a nurse. It was the first time I had a chance to see where she works. She is on a trauma floor. Her patients usually earn their 15 minutes of fame on the 11:00 news. They are usually not the cream of society. She and her collegues put up with a lot of crap as they tend to the care and healing of these people. Some of her patients are there due to accidents. Many are there due to violence; shot, or stabbed. Some of her patients are average everyday good people caught up in circumstances beyond their control. Regardless of who they are, or how they got there, they get the same treatment.

Like most of society, the patients that are transported by Lifeflight, or who are cared for by people like my wife, will watch American Idol, The Superbowl, The World Series, The Emmy Awards and so on... They are looking for heroes. They are looking in the wrong places.

I found my hero...She works on 7B at MetroHealth Center.

Why not?

I thought it would be fun to pay the turnpike toll for the stranger behind me the other day. The tollbooth operator wouldn’t let me do it. Go figure.

In Blue (part three)

The first shot hit his right wrist. His gun dropped to the ground as the second shot hit his right forearm. He took cover behind his vehicle and retrieved his gun with his left hand. As he returned fire, the third shot hit him in the left arm. His gun once again fell to the ground as shot 4 hit him dead center at the heart. Shot 5 went through his badge. He collapsed into his car, and in his last conscious moment, spoke into the radio, “419 to radio…I’m hit…” He could hear the van speeding away, he could hear the sirens, screeching brakes, and whining engines of his backup. He thought…”the Viet-cong didn’t get me…shit…” and then he blacked out.

The ER staff was startled by the alert tones coming from the squad at the scene…”We have a 42 year old white male with multiple GSW to the arms and upper torso… He is semi-conscious with a weakening pulse and even breath sounds. ETA 2 minutes.”

As the trauma team cut his uniform off, they saw first hand the value of a ballistic vest. The shots to the arms were devastating but this officer will see his kids grow up. The shot to the heart felt like a baseball bat to the chest. It would leave an appropriate bruise and some broken ribs. The shot through the badge…left a burn…congressmen who lobbied for bullet proof vests for all police officers would call in the coming days and ask if he would speak in support of their upcoming campaigns. The Chief made a couple of token visits. The Mayor came by once. His arms would need extensive surgery and rehab. He would need months of counseling. His wife and kids would need months of counseling. His fellow officers would take extra care in wearing their vests. His service record was hailed in the media and he was called a hero by the local news.

The suspect was caught one week after the shooting hiding in the attic of a home in the southwest projects. He apologized in court and got 15 years. It took 18 months for the officer to recover. On his fourth day back to work…he was chasing a blue Cadillac down the interstate…

In Blue ( part two )

The trip back to the station took about 20 minutes. In his mind however, it took about 18 months…

He remembered the first radio transmission: “All Midtown units, an armed robbery has just occurred at the Signature Inn, Interstate and Prospect Street. Suspect is a black male, approximately 5’10” wearing a black sweatshirt, jeans and a blue stocking cap. He showed a blue 9mm, was last seen north bound on the interstate in a white Ford Van, no plate given. “ He had heard this transmission in his mind over and over again, so many times, that he could recite it in his sleep… He didn’t have time to write any of it down, he had already spotted the van and was within 5 car lengths of it. “419 to radio, I have that vehicle in sight, we are north bound on the interstate… “ The dispatcher was calm and collected as she advised the other units and surrounding communities that “One of (her) officers was in pursuit of a robbery suspect, North bound on the interstate, the suspect is armed with a 9mm and traveling in a white Ford van. “ The nearest units were still over two miles away and the gap was widening as the suspect increased his speed.

He thought to himself… in another mile, I will be out of radio range…Against his better judgment, he flipped the switch that would illuminate his light bar and turn on the take down lights. Expecting a chase, he tugged on his seat belt. He advised the radio that he was in hot pursuit, and would be switching to a statewide frequency. As the radio responded… as his back up advised of their ETA… the van suddenly pulled over.

Cars were zipping past. Wind created by the passing trucks was causing the patrol car to shake, and adrenalin took the place of thought… He aimed his spotlight on the van, he opened his car door, and stayed behind it as he exited the vehicle…at the same instant, the suspect exited his van. Without even aiming…he squeezed the trigger as quickly as he could. Approaching sirens grew louder as the bullets flew toward their intended target…

In Blue (part one)

He gripped the wheel a little tighter than normal but didn’t realize it. The siren seemed louder than usual, he noticed that. Although the world was in slow motion, the cars he passed were blurred in his peripheral vision. There was a slight ache in his right arm. Was it his imagination, or was it still hurting a year and a half later? He wished the car he was pursuing would just pull off the side of the road, but he had already been chasing him for over six miles. It should have been a simple traffic stop, but this was not going to end well.

The chatter on the radio was reverberating in his head, which was now starting to hurt as well. After 14 years of law enforcement, this was not new to him. But it had only been 4 days since he returned to work. Six other units were now involved in the chase. Only one other officer in pursuit was from his department, so they were all trying to talk on the statewide channel, and it was cluttered with activity from several other un-involved departments. One more mile, and there would be another department involved. More noise, more confusion.

“419 to radio…we are southbound on the interstate about to leave the county…contact OSP to spike the interstate…he’s not stopping.”
The answer came back; “419, OSP is closing the ramps in the vicinity and will spike at mile 181.” He thought to himself, “that’s two miles from here, we could be out of radio range”. He was suddenly very aware of the other pursuing units and thankful for their presence.

He glanced at the speedometer then reported to the radio; “419 to radio, we are in excess of 100, he’s still weaving in and out of traffic.” As the radio confirmed his transmission, he noticed his temperature gage crossing into the hot zone. When he looked up, he could just make out the OSP units in the distance on the side of the interstate. Faintly he heard on his radio; “radio to 419, OSP advises spikes are down.” Instantaneously, he could see the blue Cadillac swerve abruptly within a cloud of smoke and dust. Everyone including the blue Cadillac began to slow down. He and three other units began to pull into formation to block in the Cadillac in case the spikes weren’t enough. The spikes worked however and the blue Cadillac careened toward the center strip.

The pursuing units seemed to all arrive at once, lights flashing, sirens still blaring, doors flying open, guns drawn, officers yelling, an overhead OSP chopper kicking up dust and driving the decibel level far beyond tolerable levels. The driver of the blue Cadillac emerged from the car. Despite orders to “get on the ground” the driver leveled the rifle at the first officer. There was one command to drop the gun…shouted by several, from multiple directions. The rifle however was pointed squarely at one officer. He fired once. That was enough. The threat was over.

The adrenalin continued to pump. He reached for a cigarette, forgetting that he had quit smoking while he was in the hospital. The internal affairs shooting team was already on its way. The squad was there checking for signs of life. There were pictures being taken, the chopper went away, the world was suddenly quiet. When the squad left the scene with the suspect in the back, it left without lights or siren.

The supervisor arrived, and asked him to hand over his gun, until the investigation was over. As the measurements and photos were taken, he sat in his own zone car… and he thought about his wife.

The sky is falling...again

There they go again… The Cleveland weather forecasters and news anchors are using words like; “treacherous”, "dangerous”, ” threatening”. This is to describe the potential inbound weather. What it really means is, the temperature is dropping and there will be about 3 – 4 inches of snowfall. This is supposed to put Cleveland drivers into a panic.

Here is a revelation. This is Cleveland, Ohio. It is supposed to be cold and snowy. A little ice and snow is not treacherous, threatening or dangerous. Terrorists, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, serial killers, drunk drivers and angry spouses with guns are threatening, dangerous, and treacherous.

Unfortunately for local media, that damned Tsunami is still stealing their thunder, so we are subjected to the ranting of the local anchor trying desperately to make “his story, bigger than their story”. Ratings. Ratings. RANTINGS.

To quote a car commercial… Wake up and drive!

"I'm the tax man."

We built our present home in 1990. We were the first home to go up in our development. One day as we were meeting with the builder to finalize some plans, he mentioned that there would be a water retention area between the properties. This was being mandated by the City. Further, the water retention area needed to be managed since it was common ground for the neighborhood. Consequently, there was a need for a home owners association. I jokingly said; “ I want to be the President.”

There is a lesson here. If you want to be a smart ass, be prepared for the consequences. It’s been 14 years and I’m still the president. My only responsibility is to collect and remit $10.80 each year to the County to cover the property taxes. Now divide that by 26 homes. Yeah… it’s a huge amount of money, but there are still people who I have to chase around for the payment. There is one family that hasn’t paid in three years. I keep hoping they will put their house up for sale so I can file a lien for $1.26 as my way of saying thanks for the cooperation. Anyhow, it’s that time of year again. Wish me luck.

Turn the page

Well, so far this year has started out pretty much like last year. I don’t say that to be negative, depressing, or to sound disappointed. I just think that your personal happiness has less to do with the changing of the calendar and more to do with your decision to move forward. That is a decision that can be made any time, not just NYE. In fact, I think decisions to change, improve, move forward mean more when they are not made on NYE. It is just too easy on NYE to “get into the moment” and say things that you won’t stick too.

We kept things pretty quiet last night. A shrimp and steak dinner, then we met the Fockers. Got home in time to see the ball fall on Times Square, listen to the neighbor’s blow off some illegal fireworks, then zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

David Letterman tapes at 4pm. Consequently he never does a NYE show. Too bad, because I really don’t care for Leno. His ego has gotten way beyond his talent. I read recently that his ratings are higher than Lettermans’. I am on a personal mission to change that. (How about that guest shot now Dave?)

So what will 2005 bring? Whatever comes, I will view it as a challenge to grow.

Keep praying for the people of Asia.

in the immortal words of Bob Seger..."Turn the page."