Mom's Surgery

To all of those that have been praying for my mom, thanks. She had her surgery on the 20th and according to the plastic surgeon it went well. The cancer on her eyelid was worse than they anticpiated, so they has to do 2 kinds of grafts-- one from behind her ear and the other from her upper eyelid's inner skin. she is understandably frustrated with not being able to see, and not being able to work and from the pain. Just think, if you had something in your eye, or your contact was lost in your eye how annoying that would be-- she has a bunch of stitches and a bandage sewn into her top and lower eyelid until next Thursday.

After that she goes back and gets the bandage off, but the grafts are still growing for a month and then she will have another small surgery to correct the crease of her eye and that sort of thing. Obviosuly I can't see her stitches under the bandage, but behind her ear where they did the graft looks amazing! Such tiny stitches-- for my knee surgery they were Huge! But I guess that is the difference between a plastic surgeon and someone checking for cancer. Also they were so sure I had it that I think that they just assumed they'd be cutting more of me away soon after. (Yay for enlarged muscle tissue instead of malignant cells!)

My mom would still really appreciate your prayers. But she is one hoss tough woman. Today she decided that she needed to go into work to do a certain project that no one else knows how to do. She called to say that dad is picking her up soon (I'm at the library just in case she needed to call me to get her) but she just is so determined to not let this ruin tax season.

Craig Ferguson

I stayed up rather late tonight and the Late Late Show was on and I was very impressed with Craig Ferguson's monologue.

He said that he was taking a break from what he typically did and was going to speak seriously to his audience. He said that he wasn't going to make any jokes about Brittany Spears because he understood what she was going through and that he just had his 15 year anniversary of his sobriety. He said that this was his mea culpa and that the media had been irresponsible as far as reporting things like Anna Nicole Smith and that "people are dying," (loosely quoted) to which the audience laughed somewhat nervously and Craig told them that he wasn't joking.

He also said that in reference to this sort of thing he felt like his comedy had been off the mark lately and that he wasn't going to make light of this situation. He encouraged people who might be having a problem with addiction (he didn't specifically direct this at Brittany but mentioned her frequently) to seek out help from people who understood what they are going through saying, "They are easy to find, they are near the beginning of the phone book."

He also described the trend in Hollywood rehab centers that portray addiction as something that can be overcome in a 28 day stint, as opposed to the truth of rehab preceeding a "lifetime of vigilance." He also said, "I don't have a drinking problem-- I could get one pretty quickly-- I have a thinking problem."

He could just be looking for another Emmy nod, but I really appreciate that he would take the time to be serious and make himself vulnerable. His wikepedia article already has the incident mentioned, as well as several other incidents where he has dropped the shield of humor to reach out to hs audience. I caved and sent a short email to the network saying that I appreciated his perspective and his honor in not mocking so easy a target. Ironically, during the break just after the monologue there was a David Letterman commercial and in it he said something about Brittany's head and the cold-- not so funny after a frank discussion of alcoholism and waking up being covered in one's own urine.

Yes I realize that I sound like I have a girlie crush on Craig, but don't worry, I'm sure as a comedian he will say something soon and put his foot in his mouth. Well, the show is over now and tonight he didn't except for maybe ogling Virginia Madsen's legs a little too much, but hey, they were nice legs.

I Covered President Ford's Funeral

I can't believe that I have forgotten to mention this before now! I looked back over my blogs recently and I was astonished to note that I haven't mentioned that for work on January 2 and 3 I had the honor of covering the Grand Rapids portion of President Ford's funeral. It was an amazing and likely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a State Funeral an hour away from my home, and to be able to have the chance to write about the event was extrordinary.

We drove up on the day that Air Force One landed in GR. We spent many many hours waiting on the footbridge over the Grand River under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service, Army, National Guard, GR Police and some other organizations that are not quite so open about their names.

Blessedly it was not snowy, but the frigid wind still whipped down the Grand and struck us. Nicely we were able to go to the bathroom and visit the cafe in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, and we saw the actress from the movie Signs, Cherry Jones. she is one of those actresses whose name you may not remember, but you would know her by sight. She was very gracious when a few people came up to speak to her-- we didn't-- and was there for something entirely unrelated to the funeral; she was in a play.

We stayed for most of the day, and were allowed in behind the scenes upstairs in the museum to photograph the visitation and to have a space to write and reflect. We also stayed rather late to interview the thousands of people waiting in line to visit the flag-draped coffin. The line stretching through downtown GR was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, as was the attitude of those waiting in line. Nearly everyone was in good spirits and perfectly willing to wait for the 5-7 hours they were told it would take for a few seconds with Grand Rapids First Son.

Someday I will tell you the behind the behind the scenes story, but for now and for the reputation of certain persons I work with, I shall refrain.

Below is the unedited version of my story, and above I pasted in the pic of the page simply so you can see the photograph.

West Michigan’s First Son Home For the Final Time

Community Perspective

The shockingly mild winter that Southwest Michigan has been experiencing has come as an added blessing to the funeral procession for President Gerald R. Ford and the crowds of thousands that gathered through the night and into the morning Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of those who came to pay their last respects were forced to wait in line for 4-6 hours, but for most, it was well worth the wait to show their appreciation for a man who meant so much to the area and to the nation.

The Grand Rapids portion of the state funeral began at approximately 4:30 with the arrival of the motorcade across the Grand River. A brief, private ceremony was held, and shortly thereafter the line began to form of the general public to pass by the casket. Those admitted first were Boy Scouts and former Scouts, in reference to the time that President Ford devoted to the organization and his rank of Eagle Scout.

Soon the line stretched past the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, down several side streets and through DeVos Place. Melissa Kent, a Grand Rapids resident was just one member of the line, along with her three children, Bryce- age 6, Alayna- age 5, and Wade-age 2. Kent spoke of why she had brought her children to pay respects to a President that served long before their birth. “President Ford was known as a moral leader, and there are not many moral leaders left in the world today. I think it is important to show my children someone with high morals.”

While many families chose to bring their young children to the event, many may not appreciate the significance of the event until their adulthood. Hunter Lammers, 8 year old son of Matt and Tisha from Hudsonville, Michigan was excited to attend the event, but said that he was excited “to stay up late and be in the city with all of the people.” The Lammers waited in line for two hours and were then told that they would possibly have to wait 4 or 5 more and made the decision to leave the line, due to their jobs early Wednesday morning and the age of their son. Their choice was the exception among the crowd.

Mary Mast, a nurse who needed to be at the hospital at a quarter past seven had been in line for 2 ½ hours at 10:30 pm and said that she expected to be in line for several more. Mast commented on her reason for staying in line stating, “I met the president three other times and I just had to come down and see him and thank his family for sharing him with all of us. This is what memories are made of.”

Mast’s comments echo the general consensus of the crowd. Most were more than willing to wait however long it took to participate in this historic event. Lindsay Malloy grew up in Grand Rapids, but has since moved to California. While she returned to Michigan with the intent of visiting family, visiting the President’s body as it lay in repose soon found a place on her schedule. “This is possibly my only chance to do something like this. It was either watch a movie tonight or participate in history. This won.”

After those in line traversed the several-mile long path and entered the Gerald R. Ford Museum, they were allowed to briefly view the flag draped coffin, surrounded by a Guard of Honor which was composed of a motionless member of each branch of the military and presided over by an armed Captain of the Guard. Throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday, Guard of Honor members worked rotating shifts attending the body.

Many visitors reacted with suppressed emotion, and quickly shuffled past the body in near silence. The black-banner festooned lobby echoed as passers-by were greeted by family and Ford Foundation members and given a memorial card thanking them for their part in honoring the President’s passing. A large Presidential Seal carved in the wall of the lobby was illuminated by a simple spotlight. Smaller versions of the seal were featured in the center of wreaths that flanked the coffin.

Ford Family and Friends Reaction

A nameless guest of the Ford’s (later possibly identified as James M. Cannon, President Ford’s White House Domestic Policy Advisor, journalist, and author of the essay on Ford, Character Above All,) gave voice to how touched the family and friends were that so many were so willing to wait so long for just a brief glimpse of his flag-draped coffin as he smoked a cigarette near one of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel’s smaller entrances. While this guest and Air Force One passenger declined giving his name, he did suggest that the Starbucks Coffee connected to the hotel should be opened so that the cold line members could have something hot to drink.

He went on to speak of his, and perhaps the family as a whole’s wishing to express their thanks to the crowd, “What would it take, do you think, to provide coffee for all of these people out here? They need some coffee or just something warm to drink. They look cold, but they don’t seem to care They deserve it.” When it was replied that it would take a great deal of money to give a hot drink to the thousands that were gathered, he stated, “Well, I don’t have the money, but it’s all about who you know.”

Indeed, the mood from the Ford family was one a gratefulness to be in their home state, relief to have the events almost over, and appreciation for the estimated 15,000 citizens who flooded the city to participate in the event. Betty Ford was quoted as being “Bowled over” by the attention that her husband was receiving and appreciative of the press’s positive response to the events taking place.

I'm In Recovery

The laptop that I have had for over 5 years was the floor model and I got it at a discount, which meant that it never quite worked exactly as it should. It has had power problems throughout its life and was on the third power cord and second battery when it finally quit working a while ago.

The new cord is working, and I also have a new battery in it that is functional, just not charged. It had 3% when I brought it home from the store, so I had my computer for the 10 minutes or so that it had left. The problem is somewhere in converting the energy pulled in from the outlet to useable power for the computer.

I am going to use a similie here and I really don't want to offend anyone, so please, please observe the important word LIKE that is being used here. Not having my computer is in a way like having a stroke or some sort of amnesia. All of the things that I have written are there-- I can hold my computer in my hands and know that the stories are contained in the circuits and memory, but I just can't get to them. Eventually I hope to figure out what the true problem with the power wasor at least have the new battery charged so that I can quickly go in and get the most vital pieces that I have written and put them on disk. I was stupid enough to only save a few and I did that far less frequently than I should have.

Now the things that I have poured out my heart into (not just creative writing but letters and old online conversations that I have kept, and pictures.) are trapped there, inaccessible but not forgotten.

I think that this is why I have begun to put some things that I have written here on my blog, even if they are in their very rough forms-- blogger works almost like a separate server. I've also finally put the last of the writings that I do have saved on the wonderful blessing of my graduation laptop, which was a beast of a task since we don't have 3 1/2 disk drives on either our home comp. or my laptop and that is what everything is stored on. Wow, I sound so complainative and meanwhile I'm discussing 2 laptops that I have had or currently have as well as the nice computer here at my house. I know that I am blessed beyond much of the world to even have one computer in my life, and I do appreciate that. I think I am chagrined with myself for the fact that I wasn't more cautious and frustrated at the loss of so many phrases surgically removed lie a piece of my flesh.

Illness

Stomach flu. Paul, me, Melissa, who knows who else eventually. We got sick in that order, and despite this Paul blames me for bringing germs into their house.

I think we all contracted it during the Third Annual Small Group Thanksgiving in February, which we held last weekend. Yes, every year once the holidays settle down we deep fry a turkey (this year it was actually a couple chickens) and have cranberry sauce and a rather traditional meal. For the second year I made bittersweet chocolate cake with white chocolate cream sauce and leaves and rasberry puree. It was better the first year that I made it, but it was still chocolate butter and eggs primarily, so who's to complain if it didn't hold its space quite as nicely as it should.

I feel primarily bad for Melissa since she got it about 2 days after Paul did and so she had to watch him be sick and then feel the flu coming on and know how bad it was going to be. Paul re-scheduled his 30th birthday dinner since Melissa couldn't be there.

Actually it may be all my fault. I should have known better than to read "Empire of the Sun," while eating Chinese food. A story about WW2 Allied prisoners in a concentration camp outside of Shanghi and cheap sweet and sour chicked is sure to incur me that wrath of someone somewhere. That is probably about as bad as at Kati's birhtday at Fandango where I ordered the rabbit and rattlesnake sausage. I think that everyone was watching my first bite to see if I suddenly fell to the floor as my stomach escaped from my body due to teh combination of a predator and its prey in one delicious dish. (Eventually many people tried it and enoyed the combination.)

Freaking Cold!

It is FREAKING cold in Michigan right now. Last Saturday we had a blizzard that was some of the worst weather that I have ever seen. I think that I noticed it more because I was supposed to cover an Ice Festival in Vicksburg, and I made it to the nearby town of schoolcraft but then had to trun back. In truth I found it rather fun. I had no definite time frame and I was able to drive excruciatingly slowly through the back roads of the south of the county. I was driving safely, but I came across many cars that were stuck in the snow. Eventually I came across one that still had passengers in it, and I lent them my shovel. Initially I remained outside near there car to assist them by digging out the snow with my boots, but then the gusts of wind hit me at a wind chill of -30 and I suddenly decided to retreat to the comfort of my car. we ended up blocking a couple cars going each way and so the man in the car asked to borrow my shovel, which reminds me that I need to return his call to get it back. The pictures that are included in this are from 12th street between Portage and Schoolcraft and on Center and 5th Street. I waited until I was out of the worst of it to use my camera since I was driving, albeit at 20 miles an hour, so this isn't the worst of it.

My favorite is the picture that is at the beginning of this post. All schools, churches and businessed were closed for several days, yes we didn't have church last Sunday, but many of the schools are finally opening just in time for mid-winter breaks and teacher in-service days. I felt bad for my fellow CWN writer Callie since our deadline is Tuesday and she typically stays home with her kids when there is no school. Her hubby stayed home on Monday and she had to bring them in on Tuesday. The wind chill is still down and it has been snowing since Saturday, so I'm hoping once it gets up above 0 to break out my snowshoes and take a hike around the island.

I am such a dork

I realized once again this morning just how much of a dork I am. I was laying in bed after I woke up (I didn't have to be in the office at CWN today) and I suddenly recognized that I was mentally composing an email that I had to write later in the day. I do this quite often and I get distracted thinking about each line and what turn of phrase will work best with the tone and intention of the piece. Then I realize just how much time has passed and that I could have already written the damn thing three times over and I am still in bed. I think that has confused my family and roomates when they see me awake but just flat on my back doing nothing, until I suddenly get up and make my way to email.

I'm Back

I finally took the time to reset my password for the new blogger. I don't really notice that much of a difference, but I haven't really had the time to investigate it.