Even volunteers can't keep jobs

As I get ready to do MY time-honored New Year's Eve tradition by turning into bed early, I still shake my head as I read again about Comcast eliminating all their local television production spots.

In a way, I'm not surprised. From the time I began volunteering down there in 1993, they seemed to be condensing operations, moving staff, eliminating this studio, eliminating that service. Every ensuing year would be a letdown as far as expectations go.

Half our shows were aired live. One of them was an hour-long news magazine, complete with correspondents, roll-in footage and everything. And everyone was treated to a breakfast out for their trouble, paid for by Comcast. This past year, all live shows were eliminated. We still had a call-in sports show and a call-in astrology show which had 33 years of airtime combined. When they lost that aspect of being live, the shows went downhill.

I know Sandy, the hostess of the astrology show. I'm not a numerology nut, but I'll listen to any idea once, and Sandy was the only one who could make numerology sound sensible to me. She's been on the air twenty years in this market. We had to turn away calls because she was so popular in the day. Now she wonders where she'll be able to produce the show again.

You could easily suggest Sandy go to the "competitor". Problem is, we've eliminated all those here. Comcast is as much of a monopoly as any company can be, and their only "competition" doesn't even compete as far as local programming goes. There is no viable alternative. Any video production company out there these days are more interested in videotaping weddings and birthdays for private exhibition versus anything that could be seen on TV. We used to have full access to the studio at Henry Ford College. In a precursor of things to come, they shut it down in 1999 because they forsaw "no viable future use" of the medium there.

Most of our volunteers, initially, were seniors. Sixty percent of the volunteers when I hired in were 65 or over. Doing this work was their livelihood; it got them out of their homes and enabled them to be around people in a way that Senior Center activities can't quite do. You always got something educational out of it... whether it was learning a new position, or learning something new about the program itself.

Yes, my college degree has been laying dormant for some time now. But even the most optimistic, proactive person would not have wanted to see this coming.

It's simply another case of one company's short-sighted cost-cutting hurting the people who make that business, as well as the business of the world, go.

I'm doing better than my cab

I forgot to mention this: Although I was in the hospital over Christmas, at least I ended up getting out of there. My cab, on the other hand, didn't.

It was totalled barely three hours after I last drove it. The mechanic spent the whole afternoon trying to replace the radiator on it. Once he did, it was totalled hours later on the I-75 Rouge River Bridge. The driver smacked into a pile-up on the top of the bridge, got out of the cab, and then witnessed a sideways-skidding 18-wheeler plow into it, turning it into an accordion.

The driver was okay, and wasn't cited a ticket for his trouble. All the blame in this case went to the semi-driver. The cab driver was only on the job for a few days, so you can only imagine how nervous he's been to report to work since that time.

It's doubly ironic: that it happened on the day I went into the hospital, and that it happened on the exact bridge I've had nightmares about plunging off of for decades. In this area, there's been one bridge and one off-ramp I've always had nightmares traversing: the ramp being the I-75 ramp downtown where the Fisher Fwy. changes into the Chrysler Fwy.

I've driven with other drivers and they are literal maniacs. I drive normally, and the dispatcher always asks what's taking me so long.

Therein lies the reason why... verified ten-fold.

TV ads set up Toyota's ambitious goal

Toyota Motors has announced their plan to build 9 million cars in 2008. With that volume, barring an increase from GM, Toyota will become the #1 automaker next year.

You can't say you haven't seen this coming. Look at all the local car ads that air on TV today. Lexus... Honda... Toyota... Audi... the only time you see ads for the Big 3 are on local sportscasts. National Prime Time shows feature the foreign car ads.

I like the catchphrase of the redesigned Chevy Malibu: "We're tired of being a foreign car in our own country." If you went just by television ads alone, anything Ford, GM or Chrysler make is foreign. We know that's not the case. We do know the Big 3 have been struggling. But have they completely eliminated advertising dollars?

GM has the power to stop Toyota from becoming #1. The only question is if they are willing to do it, and show the world that America still has manufacturing bragging rights. We need to send some good news out there.

* Michigan and Rhode Island are the only two states who lost population last year. Michigan lost 30,500 people due to the depressed economy. Look for a repeat next year. People are tired of the same old song & dance.

* If I feel well enough, I may drive around the neighborhood tonight to snap photos of remaining Christmas displays. Some of them are very well thought out.

* Slept solidly last night for the first time in a week. I was hoping to get some stuff done around here, but the headache has recently returned. An omnious sign not to get too much done too soon!

Hospital stay over, recovery needed

I've just returned from 2 1/2 days at Garden City Hospital. Right now I'm not even worried about how I'm going to pay them. Applications have been filed with Medicaid. It's not guaranteed they'll cover me, but at least I'm now applied and in the system.

The diagnosis: Viral pnuemonia stage 2. Had I waited another day to go in, my right lung would have collapsed, according to the doctor. I know my cousin Denny Jr. had a collapsed lung about three years ago and it took him a long time to recover. Of course, his living habits were really on the skids; he went through more depression and a longer funk than even I did.

I went to Garden City (an independent hospital) knowing about the negative feedback that Diane gave me about the place. Every time Irene went there, she ended up transferring to Henry Ford downtown because they didn't want to treat her.

I can honestly say they treated me extremely well down there; better than they treated me at Wyandotte in 1979 (tonsils) and Oakwood in 1994 (gas buildup). The staff truly cared and lifted my spirits.

I always seem to enter the hospital during national observances. In 1979, I went in on Ash Wednesday. I went Thanksgiving Day 1994 to Oakwood, Easter Sunday 2005 to St. Mary's, and now Christmas Day 2007 to Garden City. Is there a major holiday I haven't used yet?

I'm back now, discharged after my white blood cell count went down to high normal range. I feel like I did before Christmas Eve, still coughing bad, still with headaches... but not with chills, no range of motion, or black thoughts.

Reflections of my visit follow below in the next entry.

Reflections on my hospital stay

This "diary" comes totally from short-term memory, which I thought was a total loss entering Garden City Hospital on Christmas Day. Guess some things still work with me.

DECEMBER 24th:
- Came home from a rough day at work; my cab broke down twice due to my stupidity. I set the house temperature to 79 degrees, yet I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my right shoulder blade and tingling in the toes. I felt very drained and just collapsed on the bed, trying to shake it off under the covers.

I woke up an hour later to utter blackness. The only thing I knew is where I was. Normally I have this annoying habit of a song running through my mind. For the first time in nearly 20 years, nothing. No song. Even trying to get a song in my mind did not work. I tried to move -- and I could not. The first thing I thought was "stroke".

Even moving fingers took five minutes to do after the brain commanded them to. You can only realize how long it took me to get out of bed. I had to roll onto the floor to get out, then use furniture to brace myself up. I lumbered very slowly to the couch, collapsed right in. Dustea (the cat) nuzzled up to me, I couldn't feel her. I couldn't remember her name. There was just a feeling of emptiness, an utter blackness I had never felt before. I was completely frozen.

Getting a beverage took over 20 minutes. Time passed so slowly, minutes seemed like mutliple hours. I couldn't call anyone even if I wanted to, I had no voice, just that annoying cough that started to be bloody. "Zombie" got a new meaning Christmas morning.

By 6 AM, I knew this thing couldn't go un-hospitalized.

DECEMBER 25th:
- Still, I tried to fight going to the hospital, in spite of Laura's pleas to do so. I don't have adequate medical coverage, and I didn't want another bill added to my list. Dustea needed her litter box cleaned; it took 15 minutes to get there. Fell full-force on my rump sitting down at the box. Did the deed, but kept dropping the scoop. Sat there 25 minutes, unable to move or talk. Finally slid myself into the bathroom, though that took awhile too.

After another nap, I decided to finally enter the hospital... I'd pay for the risk later, I thought. Somehow got dressed, and by then was able to stand up well enough to where I'd take the risk of driving there myself. Hell, I still owe something on a 2005 ambulance bill, so no way was I going to call 911. I crawled along at 10 MPH, but the hospital is so close to the house, it didn't matter.

At the hospital: couldn't find the ER entrance, and seemed like every parking spot was designated for someone. I had to park in the boondocks and stagger into the main entrance. After some confusion, I found the ER entrance and buzzed my way in.

My spirits perked up as I saw a sign that said it was state law for them to help me, whether I could pay or not. No more embarassment. I struggled to the desk and filled out the forms...

Reflections on hospital stay - 2

DECEMBER 25th, continued:
- I was amazed at how quickly I was called into the Triage room, two minutes. I explained my condition. They were patient with me despite my slurred speech. I went right into the ER and took bed #8. The ward was about 3/4ths full.

Within three minutes (I kid you not), a doctor was there for me. He ordered X-Rays of my chest. Barely five minutes later, the X-Ray tech showed up. Ten minutes later, I was back at #8. Now THIS is emergency service at its best!

Ten minutes after that came the diagnosis: viral pneumonia stage 2. You couldn't see my right lung as it was obscured with the pneumonia. Twenty-four hours later and that lung would have collapsed under the pressure.

The only substantial wait followed while trying to be assigned to a room. It ended up being about a 2-hour wait, but time was still creeping at a standstill for me. I "passed" (to be polite) a mix of liquid & solid, and I actually may have died right there if the nurse had not rescued me.

As I said, Garden City Hospital overall was very very good. But let's try to get OSHA in there to monitor housekeeping. Even two hours later as I was being wheeled to my room, they still hadn't cleaned up the mess adequately. "They make us do all this extra work," one kept saying. Well, a hospital needs to be clean and sanitary... come on!

One guy in the ER with me had to have gauze stuffed through his nose all the way down to his stomach, and he was my roommate. I had to give him kudos for his guts. I didn't know what his problem was at first because he was gasping for air and complaining loudly, but after I found out, he was a trouper to me. He had no complaints about his situation throughout the night.

The hospital bed was a much better fit than the ER table, but I felt as if I were sliding off everything I was laying on. My back pain came back for the first time in months and was debilitating. For the third night in a row, I could not sleep. Nothing for my cough or pain, just a double IV drop of sodium and magnesium.

My magnesium level was zilch. Zinc was near zilch. I had hypothermia, malnutrition, rolling veins, and nearly had a seizure. Blood pressure - forget it - it was stuck at 85 / 40 - dangerously low. Only one check out of 14 I ended up getting had systolic above 100. Turns out I have very low blood pressure, in fact. I ended up with a 103 fever that night, but that was treated. But I didn't know how I would handle food.

DECEMBER 26th:
- Food came in the morning and I ate about 1/2 of it. Watched Price Is Right for the first time in months... Drew Carey's doing a much better job of hosting, by the way. The roomate was discharged in early PM, so I had the room to myself for the remainder of the stay. My thoughts turned to how long I might be in there, and what would happen to my car if security thought it was abandoned.

Finally gained back enough of my voice to where I could finally place a couple calls to friends and local relatives. Phone and TV services were free - and the TV service showed it: hospital channel after hospital channel. They don't bring up newspapers. Their magazines have an average shelf age of two years. I was bored out of my mind because I couldn't read something. I must have gone through at least 14 cups of water today -- at least I knew my system was being cleaned out - it needed it badly...

Reflections on hospital stay - 3

DECEMBER 26th (continued):
- I had a gruff man (Ralph) come in who identified himself as the assistant. This was the only staffer I saw that was not very professional in his behavior. I kinda made a smart remark that may have ticked him off a bit more, too: he replaced a woman named Lolita, yet he didn't change the erase board to put his name down, so I called him Lolita. The nurse laughed, you can guess he didn't. "You gotta get on the ball!", they were telling him. He didn't make very many appearances afterward, and gee I wonder why.

Lunch and dinner, unfortunately, did not go down that well. One-third pound swiss chicken with spice sauce? I was tempted to send the whole damn thing back. I thought you got to order what you wanted off a menu. They still came a long way from my 1994 Oakwood visit, where I had to eat thru cellophane to get at a cold turkey sandwich. At least they have actual working kitchens now.

Laura finally came by around 7 pm and stayed for about 45 minutes. She sat on the bed with me, which surprised me; I thought she would sit in the chair. She's nearly seven months into her second pregnancy, and she can't afford to get sick. I was grateful for her company and I let her do most of the talking, I still couldn't do more than two sentences at a time without a coughing fit. I was still uncomfortable because of my limited mobility, the IV cord in my left arm, and that damn back pain.

After Laura left, they finally gave me three pills for the back pain and re-did the sheets on the bed, plus repositioned it. From then on, lying in the bed was much more tolerable, and with more comfort, some range of motion began to come back.

Once again, after Ralph clocked out, everyone they sent me was very caring and concerned. I only wish they treated Irene like this. For whatever reason, they didn't, and it feels a bit discouraging.

DECEMBER 27th:
- Encouraging signs: I finally fell asleep about 8AM after a good French Toast breakfast. I only slept for about 20 minutes at a time, but it was progress. I watched CNN all morning for its coverage of the Bhutto (Pakistan) assassination. It seems like the Middle East doesn't want peace at all. I think our troops are stationed there for life, sadly. President Bush wants World War III; he even mentioned the term "World War III" a few months ago. Is this all he really wants?

The lady representing Medicaid came in and interviewed me. She said there's not a very good chance Medicaid can cover me, because I've not been disabled for too long. Um, ask the airport, ask Concentra, ask me, read this blog's archives... how many months was I down with that bad back, needing a cane to walk around in September / October? Hope she doesn't ask that bonehead from the IME who said I majored in theatrics. One look at how many pain pills I've been given for my back since last night ought to tell her more about my harrowing 2007 with my back.

Aunt Lori came by about midway through the interview and she had to wait outside another 20 minutes. She's doing well, although a week after getting her new car, she got into an accident with it. She brought some newspapers for me, thank goodness, and that carried me through the afternoon. One item I read was that Comcast is closing down ALL their public access studios in Michigan. So now the roots of my TV beginnings are completely gone. This decision is going down to a fight, as Congressman Dingell is threatning some legal action. The basis of his opinion is right on the money, and I hope he carries it through.

Lunch was fantastic, and about two hours later, the doctor came back and said I was good to go. They were waiting for my white blood cell count to go down to an acceptable level. Blood pressure was still very low, but everything else was good: the lungs were beginning to clear out. My range of motion was back. The songs became stuck in my head again. Very good signs.

I got a wheelchair ride all the way to the main entrance. Now I know why those people with Hoverounds like them so much. Everyone waved good-bye, and I told them all how much they helped me through this. These are very giving people, and I'm shocked they don't get recognition from more patients. They seemed genuinely accepting of the praise.

All in all... not an experience I want to go through again medically. But if I'm being treated that well at that facility, then it's not a bad thing. In this war-torn world, it's nice to see human compassion that's not being driven by money. They don't make much for what they do.

I drove home slowly, but very alertly. Came home to a messy kitchen (thanks Steve), and when George came home, he broke the news that my cab was totalled on the I-75 Rouge River Bridge, only an hour after they replaced the radiator I wrecked. That's the bridge I always fear plunging off of. It ended up getting smacked by a semi skidding sideways. So work honored the doctor's request for an additional week off, obviously because now, there's no car to put me into.

I'm not even worried. I'm just glad I'm home!! Now Dustea's reading me the riot act about her food dish. How quickly things get back to normal.

It's been a Christmas to remember.

Merry Christmas to everyone else

It's not likely I would be able to post this tomorrow, so I'm doing it now. Merry Christmas to everyone -- except me.

I am likely headed to the hospital emergency room tomorrow. I cannot move, can't keep my balance when I do move, and starting to cough up blood. I got chills after getting home from work tonight, took a nap, woke up... and everything was literally dead. Thoughts, actions, motion. It took me nearly 15 minutes to get out of bed and just get this computer on. The night has gone on endlessly. I've given "insomniac" new meaning.

I've put off the hospital because of insurance issues up to now. But right now, looks like I have no choice. Keep me in your thoughts.

Random thoughts - December 20th

The mind is racing this morning. Here is a sampling:

* Hopefully, my father and Marilyn had a safe trip going down to Florida yesterday. They will be returning to Arizona on the 9th.

* Looks like part of my "site survey" has already been completed. I am looking to move to the west coast, and haven't been able to get in contact with stepbrother Dave or his wife Rae. Talking to Marilyn two nights ago, though, she's already put forth the news that I'm interested. Their reaction seems to be very positive. Any trip will be after the New Year, of course, but I will try to talk to them before Christmas. Perhaps by March, I can be out there permanently.

I no longer have ties to Michigan as of this month, so what's the point of me being here? There's jobs in the writing field over there (wow, this blog will make good visual reference, hee hee...).

* What do these airlines want? First, Spirit goes to a la carte pricing (which means you pay $2.50 on a credit card to get water). Now, Steve's job is in jeopardy as Detroit is looking to cut 150 workers from Northwest. If Steve is not spared, he can go to another station, but would also have to move out of Michigan.

This leaves poor George, who just moved here. But his boss is giving him the "Spirit treatment" (I'll pay you when I'm good & ready). George has put applications elsewhere. He's as close to a certified mechanic as there is, and he needs a better place to display his know-how other than "Quickee Lube"... whose name by itself, uh, doesn't warrant being highlighted in boldface on a resume.

* Two weeks since the blockbuster Detroit Tiger deal for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. For some reason, I am having difficulty liking the trade. We have the "win now" philosophy, but we paid Florida 3/4ths of our farm system. What does "win now" mean? That we're back to stinking in three years? I wanted us to be competitive for the long term.

Another reason that baseball is the hot ticket in town, and not hockey. Can't wait to see how this move pans out. But safe to say I need more convincing in order to like it.

* My answer to the baseball/steroids thing? Ban them all. In the case of Barry Bonds, erase his statistics. In the case of Roger Clemens, make him take a lie detector test on live television. And in the case of ex-Tiger OF Nook Logan, who was named in the Mitchell report and has a lifetime total of - what - 5 homers... a grocery stocking job is waiting somewhere. Americans DO want those jobs.

* We survived the ten-inch snowfall over the weekend. But it's still amazing how Michigan drivers can't adjust to the conditions, when they are conditioned themselves to know what weather is coming. Florida & Georgia drivers, I can understand. But we are the northern people! Why can't they show they can drive as such?

I only hope I can get Christmas off this year - it would be my first time in eight years!

The jobs Americans don't want

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted, but things are going pretty well despite me getting the flu, bronchitis, pnuemonia, or whatever it is from two different directions. I'll explain more later. Thank you also to several people who have complimented the blog thus far, and its new look.

At work, I normally patrol the south area of Detroit, namely Downriver. Every day I pass down Eureka Rd. near Southland Mall, I see either one or two people standing at the curbfront, no matter what the weather is, holding signs advertising those "blue tooth headsets"... those things that flash blue that you use with your cellphone, I think.

I keep thinking to a speech President Bush made about two years ago regarding the job situation in the country, and remember part of his quote that ended with "the jobs Americans don't want."

We in Michigan, of course, laugh our rears off at that statement. With an unemployment rate already at 8%, and with predicitions that it will go to 9.5% fresh in our heads, where are the jobs Americans don't want? Michiganders will take them!

Still, I can't believe that people sign up to work at a cellphone store, and don't even get to stand behind the counter to demonstrate the gadgets. Cellphone stores are hot, and it's good to know the technology. But if I work at a cellphone store, I would want to know the technology and develop good customer relations, not stand outside and wiggle a sign telling customers to come in. Incidentally, there are similiar signs littered all over the outside of that building, which is NOT invisible to drivers along Eureka.

True, the Little Ceasars pizza station two miles down uses (or forces the employee to use) creativity when they hold signs. They dance, move the sign around, and definitely make drivers stop and wonder (what they wonder is anyone's guess).

The sign people are out more than the mail delivery personnel, in every conceivable weather condition. If the job description doesn't say "must work outside", why do they have to do that, when they could be learning about the cellphone business?

I can understand that position being on the short list of jobs Americans truly do not want. But the list is not as exhaustive as President Bush claims it is.

Ask any American forced onto the street.

Really putting Mars within reach

Jay Leno does a "Headlines" segment on the Tonight Show. One reason it's been so funny for so many years is that the headlines are new, and -- if not -- at least have new, humorous twists.

He doesn't recycle headlines verbatim. On the other hand, how many times has this headline been recycled over the years: "Space Shuttle Launch Delayed Again".

Yep, space shuttle Atlantis has had its launch date pushed behind a second time, to January 2nd, after more glitches in three fuel sensors were noted. Even emptying the fuel tanks as a precaution caused one to trip.

Let's see... the space shuttle program began in earnest in 1981, although we're still using the same basic shuttle design as was used in the 1970s. In all those years, has there been a complete retrofit, even though it was implied there was following the Columbia disaster a few years back?

It's the same four or five problems time after time. Since Columbia, concern about the heat shields and the foam around them have dominated headlines more than the actual shuttle mission. The decision to postpone the missions are very wise; we can never be too careful. We've already lost too many astronauts to flight disasters.

But these delays seem to be over the same problems. And it makes me wonder: If the shuttle program has been running for over 26 years, haven't designers & engineers done anything to evolve shuttle design? Why are we using almost the same design and the same parts nearly three decades later?

Think of Ford Motor Company still having the Pinto out as its #1 model in 2008, looking the same in body parts as it did in the 70s... going nowhere with fuel economy or safety. The design of a car model varies year to year as new advancements are discovered & implemented. If something's wrong, the model is recalled, and subsequent models take care of the defect.

We're not saying to redesign the shuttle and bring out a new one every year -- but with these heat shield (tile) problems resurfacing and delaying missions, don't you think someone would have gotten the message that the troubles could be solved by a redesign?

In twelve short years, from the time of the first orbiter to the first Moon landing, technology evolved so many times over, and man's dream to evolve space travel & exploration was realized. What has been realized since 1981? The goals seem to have stayed the same. The missions seem to entail the same details.

Where's the advancement -- not only in technology & design, but in an effort to move forward? Has anything been done towards President Bush's idea to explore Mars in the future?

Nope. Same heat shield problems... same fuel sensor problems... same delays. It's almost newsworthy if an initial launch date actually happens with no problems.

The shuttle looks to be a cash cow. The money would probably be better spent on eliminating other problems in this country (crime, education etc.). I for one am all for advancements in space. But if we're getting the same broken records for launch headlines, perhaps the Hubble Space telescope will be our only logical means of reaching the stars.

Brilliant engineers wanted... apply at Cape Canaveral if we are to win this race for space.

Love in the charted waters

(Image uploaded from upload.wikimedia.org)

This is a chart that would have helped me as far back as 1992 if I knew it had existed. Your feelings about love are supposed to be genuine if they fit in the triangle. You need your eyes opened if they fall outside the triangle.

Amazing what I can see now!

Supposedly, I am to find out tomorrow night if the so-called relationship between me and Jennifer is still on or not. She likes to do this: go into hiding for three days while supposedly thinking about it.

I made my decision within one hour of the incident happening. And I'm tempted not to answer the phone at all tomorrow night. When a guy does one of the most romantic gestures he can for a girl and is shunned, you scratch your head, rub that eye wash into your eyes, cash in your chips, and move on.

Honestly, I've never hit the green area up above, and right now, could care less if I ever do.

Now to see if they have an image, done up in the same manner, for personal life and career choices...

You can't trust the public schools

Years ago, I recoiled at the possibility of going to public school. One of my underlying fears was that I would be bullied around more than I was in the private school. I preferred an environment where the teachers did more than just earn a paycheck.

This article in the Free Press explains why.

What gets me is the administration's role in this incident: doing their own thing, not even thinking twice about what happened to this special-needs student. It's more about their bottom line and less about the children they teach.

Or should I say, "attempt" to teach. Is there any wonder that Detroit suffers such a high dropout rate? Not all of them are the drug-infested kids the papers talk about. Some want to learn. In that environment, however, it's easy to give up, given the distractions.

I was tested for various problems in the 1970s before beginning school. I went to private school against my doctors' wishes - they never gave me a hopeful chance. My parents went against the grain because they chose to. Therein lies the rub: was the potential for a special needs school even considered for this student?

The signs were obvious. Why weren't the signs respected?

-------------------------------------------
I've taken a couple days off work due to a lingering cough, plus the brutal weather. I don't believe in putting passengers' lives at stake due to my questionable winter driving. I've found out in those two days they've fired a driver, and the night dispatcher quit. This may be my chance to finally do what I signed up to do: dispatch. We'll see what happens.

Admit it -- we got suckered in

George, the new roommate, has guts. What was his weekend purchase for his bedroom last week?

A Detroit Lions poster.

So I have a big Lions fan on premises. How ironic it is that they haven't won a game since he moved in. There's been nothing but cursing coming from that bedroom every Sunday. In fact, we mutually agreed not to talk about their latest 42-10 flop to Minnesota on Sunday.

I've not talked to my dad since before that game... wondering if he's still claiming I should be getting Super Bowl tickets?

Anyone who's even a remote football fan knows that the Lions have been underachieving for half a century. But this pre-season claimed things would be different. And through eight games, with a record of 6-2, you have to admit, we were actually suckered in.

Did I jinx? I was in Taylor for the PBA the week they hit 6-2, and I mumbled to myself the same words my mother always would: "There's still time to screw it up."

The power of reverse prayer, I call it. Can you name one good thing going on this team other than Jason Hanson... again?

When your team is either way ahead or way behind, don't you pull some of your starters? (I don't say "stars" because the Lions have none.) Don't you just say "heck with it" and see what the bench-warmers can do?

I only appreciate QB Jon Kitna because he enabled us to get rid of Joey Harrington. He is a gamer. But he has no talent. With my bad hip, I could still be competitive with him in a 50-yard dash. The Lions haven't had a scrambler for a QB since Mike McMahon a few years ago. He would have had plenty of chances to show his scrambling ability if he had the defensive line the Lions currently have. And the point is, they keep him in there even if he's had a laundry list of faults in that game.

Our defensive line is pretty big in size. Why then do I hear, at least once a week, that one of them are "tossed around like rag dolls" en route to a sack?

As little as the Lions like to run the football, I give credit to the opposing defenses for snuffing the run during the two or three times the Lions attempt it per game. The most wide receivers the Lions have had out there in any one play is five. The running game adds at least five or six wrinkles to any offensive play depending on who's running it, and what formation is put together.

This is too simple for the opposition to resist: Double-coverage on each receiver, leave the backfield empty of half-back defenders, blitz the QB... three and out, three and out. Tatum Bell, remember him? Running back acquired from Denver... inactive the last six games. Don't think for a second he'd want a second Lions season on his resume.

The blame game is just like before, passed around as often as blame is passed with Lansing legislators. Kitna says the boat isn't full, just like ex-coach Marty Morhinweg said the bar was raised. They use Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson as potential game-breaking receivers... just not in the same game.

Remember this time last year how the media was speculating (and was being scared by) the prospects of offensive coordinator Mike Martz leaving for a head-coaching job? Everyone reported that it would be the worst thing possible; that this offense had a chance, but needed him here to be the teacher?

Now tell me who, outside of owner William Clay Ford, still sticks by him 100%. I'll be waiting and growing old for comments... book it.

We were suckered in. Traditions have a way of continuing no matter the conditions or who's in charge. Further proof is not needed; all you need to do is check the box scores.

Get my Super Bowl tickets, Dad? Only if you can provide the transportation to go 1,000 miles to see the winning team's victory parade. :)

Playing break-even percentages

"Katie, bar the door"... so that Steve doesn't come back in.

Would an international marriage survive more than a few years with botched plans like Steve's have been? You'd need a pencil & white-out to figure out his itinerary.

He left for the Phillipines today, supposedly. His leave was delayed in the first place because he says he's too big to sit in an aircraft's coach for 18 hours. I say c'mon... if you haven't seen your wife in three months, and get a two-week window to go down there, I say LIVE with the discomfort. I warned him that things would get very dicey in a hurry if he had missed that flight.

So what happens? The date is pushed off again because of a typhoon threatening the area. Not his fault, obviously. But as always happens when his travel plans turn last-minute, Northwest screws him out of preferred seating.

I drove him to the airport (ugh, me driving on an off-day) yesterday and thought: at last, peace & quiet... he shows up at the door again eight hours later... landing gear problem on the plane. How much more scheduling woes will he be able to handle? How much will his wife be able to handle? And how much of his yakking must I endure?

He actually just left a message now - apparently everything is okay. But due to the various nature of things, a two-week trip to the Phillipines will turn into as little as five days.

There's something to be said for preparation. There's also something being said about either proving or disproving the notion that long-distance relationships don't work. This one is as distant geographically as you can get. I will admire the two of them if they stick together through all this mess, which happens quite regularly.

And I would be amiss to not share a photo of the two of them... actually, two:

I've heard of "blended seasons", but...

You tell me something's not quite right with these two photos:

The one at the left was taken across from City Hall, of all places. You might say it's an early snow for Michigan, but actually our first measurable snowfall of the season came about a week later than usual; we normally get it around Thanksgiving. What the heck are leaves doing in the middle of snow? Remember: leaf collections are over for the year.

This is going to make for a very interesting winter season. Never has it taken so long for leaves to fall. This fact actually made the front page of the Free Press about three weeks back. This photo was taken right after the previous one. Can you believe that the leaves on the bottom of the tree haven't even changed color yet?

And, since the camera is finally fixed, allow me to show you visual proof of what I wrote in the blog last year about one certain house simply going overkill on Christmas decorations. Here it is:

Just how many lawn ornaments can one lawn hold? Or has there been an eviction sale at this house?

If my father is reading this, I know what he'll think: "Son, remember when you, your mom and I went down 11th Street (in Wyandotte) every year and saw that whole block done up?"

Yes Dad, I remember. But the point was, that was stretched out over the whole block; eight houses. And it was in the day before all those stupid inflatable lawn ornaments. And also in the day before cities became politically correct and didn't want symbols of the true meaning of Christmas to show up in public.

The commercial icons all in a row are simply disturbing. Now watch this house win the city's decorating contest later this month! Figures, doesn't it?

Best Buy carries miracles

Okay, you can go ahead and question the means of my acquiring my digital camera last year. A co-worker at the airport had it given to him by his son who worked at Northwest; found it on the plane. No one claimed it, so he sold it to me for $50.

It lasted precisely one month before the battery gave out. It was a special battery that had to be purchased for a huge price. At this rate, I was wishing Steve didn't break my traditional AA-battery camera two years ago in the Phillipines. So it sat dormant for 18 months.

After getting swiftly kicked in the rear at work the last few days, which did result in three straight $100 cash days, I finally went to Best Buy, just hoping that I wouldn't get laughed at for having more outdated technology. Surprise! Not only did they have another battery, they had a charger for the brand. So as of tomorrow morning, I will have two fresh batteries, and the pictures, as you've seen above, will just keep on coming.

It's hard to believe that someone who puts so much stock into photo albums holding family history can go nearly six years with only thirty photos taken. That's what's happened, up to now. Best Buys obviously sells miracles!

But tell me about the turnover in technology regardless: I bought the house phone earlier this year... their computer didn't have any record of the battery model from just this year! The salesman said I had an outdated phone. I walked over to the display rack and showed him that very same model they were still selling!

Best Buy also sells migraine headaches, I guess.

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And an unfortunate inner tradition continues with calendars: I buy a wall calendar every year, and the first thing I do is write in everyone's birthdays. I made a few mistakes in getting dates right in 2007, but every year it seems like I fudge up cousin Jeffrey's birthday, by either putting him in the wrong week, putting someone else on his date, or having that entry become the lone smudge because I can't spell names right.

It happened again: the date and name were right, but the blue highlighter I used to highlight birthdays smudged once: at Jeffrey's birthday. Perhaps my luck can change if I promise him a Rolls Royce in theory...

Jeff & Sheila are supposed to be in town at Raymond's Sunday, according to Rose. I've been wanting to go, especially with my "new" camera, but looks like the weather's going to be slop. I'm the most far-out-of-the-way relative, and I know they'll understand my reluctance to drive in that weather.