Every new beginning

It’s never easy to say goodbye to the ones we love. However, in the same spirit, if you truly love someone, sometimes you have to let them go.

This week, three of our beloved Trib employees took the next step in their lives, leaving those of us here to do the same with the ghosts they leave behind.

Andy Cullen is the sort of kid that, to be blatantly honest, I would have despised when I was in school. A social butterfly, involved in virtually everything, cute, popular and just an all around information guru in the affairs of everyone he knows and sometimes doesn’t.

In short, everything I’m absolutely not.

But Andy, as it turns out, is a little like a fungus. He grows on you. And it was sometime around my second or third month here that I realized I actually liked the little booger (not that I ever disliked him, but you get the idea). No matter how hectic life was or how bad I felt, Andy would find a way to make me smile, even for just a moment.

A smile, as I’ve said before, is a precious thing and far too scarce in the world today.

Perhaps the truest testimony to Andy’s character, however, came when I killed the office fish (which, can I just say, was a terrible accident and totally devastating to me).

My son was deeply attached to Humphrey, and truthfully, so was I.

The next morning, Andy brought in his own fish from home and told my son he didn’t have a name (a lie, but one that salvaged the feelings of a 6-year-old boy and his animally-challenged mother) so that he could name him.

Sharkbait is currently a thriving member of the Trib family and still quite alive, for those interested.
If I’ve never said it before, thanks, Andy. You’ll never know just what that meant to me.

Jess Nall, our reporter-turned-office help, was a tough one to get to know. Often, she worked odd hours, and we seldom saw her.

She was rather quiet, too.

Then one day, something amazing happened: Jess spoke. And from that moment, I don’t think I ever stopped laughing.

She’s an amazingly candid girl, and with just that touch of innocence to remind us all what it was to be young. But the best thing about Jess is her knack for unintentional comedy and wit.

She’s the only person I know to have inspired their own office cartoon.

Jess’ caricature “Haw-Hee” vegetable stand, complete with “country pumpkins” and “hydraulic tomatoes” will be hitting store shelves near you one day. Eventually. Maybe.

And then there was Caitlin.

Caitlin Wardlow is the kind of person that you only meet once in a lifetime, and you can honestly say you’re a better person for having known them.

Caitlin has the uncanny ability to bring a breath of life wherever she goes. In all things she sees, she finds something new and refreshing. As cheesy as it sounds, Caitlin is a little like sunshine.

I am jaded, and I’ve often been known as a pessimist and cynic. Until I met Caitlin, I wouldn’t have had myself any other way. While I wouldn’t say this has changed drastically, I find myself approaching life a little differently at times. I see situations a little more objectively, and I find that instead of getting frustrated at the little things, I feel like I should take them for what they really are: a lesson, and as such, something of a gift.

I guess what it all boils down to is that Caitlin gives people hope somehow, and I think it’s because she blesses all those she knows by having hope and faith in them.

It’s an uncommon characteristic, and one I think we could all use more of. I know the office will be just a little darker once the day is done.

The mark of true friendship is not something that comes easily for me, and of all the people to come and go in my life, I’ll feel her absence more keenly than most.

So kids, the moral of the story is this: When was the last time you really evaluated the people in your life and expressed your appreciation to them for the joy they bring you? Perhaps now would be the time to start, because sooner or later, those people will be exploring new roads, and those avenues won’t always travel the same path as your own.

It’s been my extreme pleasure and privilege to work with these three wonderful people, and I think I’m not alone in my sentiments.

Good luck to you all in your endeavors. I wish you the very best

From your family at the Trib, with love.

Apparently, size does matter

The average clothing size of women in the United States is 16.

Marilyn Monroe, the most prominent sexual icon in the U.S. to date, was a size 14.

It’s a far cry from the rail-thin images we’re all used to seeing plastered on magazine covers and television screens.

So, my question is this: Why exactly is that?

Why do we put ourselves through absolute torture in the name of losing weight to look like people that, quite frankly, aren’t real in the most tangible sense of the word?

We are a very vain culture, and I can’t decide what makes me angrier about that — the fact that we actually allow a plastic world to determine our self-worth by whether or not we can fit into designer clothing, or the fact that we actually buy into that garbage as though it were gospel.

I’m sick to the teeth of seeing shows like “America’s Next Top Model” flashing girls up on the screen as plus-size models in a size eight, telling them they need to lose weight.

The last time I checked, size eight was NOT in the plus-size section of ... well, anywhere.

And we wonder why our kids end up with eating disorders. We wonder why people are stroking out and having massive heart attacks after choking down a bottle of diet pills.

You know what? Life is too short to be so hung up on appearance. How many Barbie dolls do you see walking down the street on a daily basis, anyway?

Hopefully none. If Barbie were a real person, she’d be so malnourished she couldn’t have children, and she couldn’t walk anywhere because her spine proportioned with her chest size wouldn’t allow her to stand upright.

Barbie would be rather grotesque when you get right down to it.

Yet, we’ve been shoving her in the faces of little girls for more than 50 years. Well, guess what, kids? Ken suffers from ‘roid rage and anatomic anonymity.

Maybe it’s time we stop letting the cult of thinness dictate our lives and start getting realistic about things.
When was the last time you looked in the mirror and liked what you saw? If you’re anything like me and the people I know, you can’t remember, either. Until we change the outlook on beauty, what true beauty is, we won’t be able to.

Barbie’s house is broken, kids. It’s time to build your own.

The smallest drop

Every once in a while, we all have that moment of startling clarity. One in which we can put ourselves into perspective with the world around us, and if we are very lucky, realize just how small we are in the grand scheme of things.

Yet, potentially, so very important.

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with representatives of Marshall County’s Caring Needline, an organization in which volunteers donate their time doing what they can to provide for the children, elderly and general population who may be less fortunate than others of the community.

They do it without selfishness and without artiface.

And they need our help.

We’re all feeling the drain of economic slump in these times, but there are others feeling it much more. If we all rally our efforts, give just a little, children of this community won’t have to go hungry.
What can we do for our brethren?

I urge those who have the means at all in Benton to participate in Saturday’s food drive conducted by the Benton Post Office. Even just a little can go a long, long way.

The smallest drop of water will still make ripples in the pond.

Abortion of Justice

Rev. Al Sharpton couldn't have been more correct when he stated that the case involving the slaughter of Sean Bell in November of 2006 was Justice being aborted. Bell was killed after 50 bullets entered his body outside of a nightclub in Queens, NY. Thirty-one of those shots were fired by a single police officer who had to re-load his gun to carry out his masacre. Bell wasn't armed. Both officers involved were cleared of all charges of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in Bell's death. While the issue is being focused around race, I see it as an example of pure injustice.
Whether white or black, who shoots at someone over 50 times and is aquited. Even in self-defense, why would anyone feel the need to annialate someone so many times. I have always been supportive and thankful for all of our officers who keep us safe every night, but they are not above the law. When I read the story on CNN this afternoon and hear clips of the Bell's agonizing cries, it made me sick to my stomach to think that this 23 year-old man was gunned down hours before he was to be married and no one would be punished.
It is easy to watch primetime news and gawk at other countries abuse of power; to sit in awe while police in Afghanistan or Africa beat people in the streets or shoot at unarmed civilians. It is not so easy to see what is happening in your own country, and be able to realize such brutality is happening time and time again in the United States and no one is punished.
I was outraged by the verdict handed down Friday afternoon to the police officers invloved. I can only hope that such devestation doesn't prompt even more violence by outraged community members. My heart goes out to the Bell family and those involved, tonight I will be praying that they find some sort of peace, because the law has failed them.

Community morale takes a beating at the pump

With gas costs escalating closer and closer to the $4 a gallon mark, the effects are felt that much more.
And it’s not just in the cost of groceries and directly at the pump where we’re feeling the pinch, anymore. When the network of local economy starts to fold, the human spirit takes a beating.

Has anyone noticed the general frustration, helplessness and sense of exhaustion present in the overall community morale?

Every time I stop to put fuel in my vehicle I hear it in the voices of those at the pumps, wondering how much they can budget to get to work the next day and still buy groceries.

I hear it, when those around me start cancelling their vacation plans for the year because “gas is just too expensive.”

I see it on the faces of the elderly who never dreamed 10 years ago that they’d have to scrape to get by and to do the things they’ve earned the right to do once retired.

Or the ones that have to fight just to live at all on the fixed income oil companies are doing their best to obliterate.

I’m tired, and I think it’s safe to say that I’m not alone in the matter.

Three weeks ago, I put out the challenge of silent protest in abstaining from buying gasoline, knowing the idea was far-fetched and idealist, at best. We’re a society forever on the move, the effort and organization for such a campaign would truthfully, only hurt ourselves and likely be ineffective against companies that know they have us by the scruff of the neck.

However, we’re not as helpless as they’d like to think, nor as they’ve made us feel. Not while there are local businesses willing to step up.

What we need is simple: A good old-fashioned gas war.

I am throwing down the gauntlet of challenge, and waiting, as are all of us, for someone to accept.
If you start slashing the price of your fuel, people will come. Period. What you lose in profit, you gain in goods sold and sheer volume of traffic.

And even more so in the spirit of the community at large. When was the last good gas war we’ve had, anyway? 1997? And does anyone else remember the turnout? I certainly do.

It’s a whole lot like watching a professional game of tennis ... only believe me, people will be much more interested and involved.

Each week in the Tribune-Courier, we will be conducting a comprehensive study on gas prices across the county in an effort to help contribute to the cause. I encourage all of the local station owners to contribute now, in your own way.

Double the Numbers

Here's the article I wrote for my JMC 597 class about the Double the Numbers demand Kentucky has given the higher education facilities.

Pressures of Double the Numbers demand increase as time passes quickly

MURRAY – The state of Kentucky has been given a job to do. Not just the leaders of the state, or just the adults, or just the presidents of all the universities – the entire Commonwealth.

In an effort to raise Kentucky's standard of living to the national average by the year 2020, the General Assembly passed the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act (House Bill 1) in 1997 that forces the state to "Double the Number" of college graduates living in Kentucky.

According to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the law states that in order to reach this standard of living and quality of life, educational attainment must be reached. This requires the doubling of the number of Kentuckians empowered by a bachelor's degree.

Council on Postsecondary Education Interim President Brad Cowgill said that it is essential that the education and business sectors work together in each region to reach the goals of the plan.

"The goals of this plan cannot be reached through the effort of the postsecondary system alone," said Cowgill. "While our colleges and universities have a vital leadership role in this effort, the goal requires a vigorous effort in communities across the state."

While this is seen to be the social responsibility for all the citizens of Kentucky, Dr. Randy Dunn, the President of Murray State University has taken the demand very seriously.

I knew about it when I came to university as president [16 months ago], Dunn said. "I was aware of it in the fact that this was kind of a policy driver for the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

But there's a problem…

Dunn said that over the past six months to a year, the Double the Numbers push has taken on greater emphasis with an increased level of scrutiny from the Commonwealth, the coordinating agency for higher education and from the universities themselves to kind of reactivate this goal.

"The requirement, the goal, has been there for 10 years," Dunn said. "Everybody knew about it. As we approach the next 12 years leading up to 2020, people are saying 'wow what we've done isn't getting us there, we really need to ramp up if we're going to have any chance of meeting this goal.'"

The Council says progress is being made, but not fast enough. A recent Kentucky Science and Technology Cooperation report said that if Kentucky doesn't increase its efforts, the state won't reach the national average in per capita income for another 154 years.

Dunn said there's a responsibility of the legislature and Commonwealth to help with the budget and funding in order for the universities to meet the Double the Numbers demand.

"We continue to see higher education get kind of squeezed more and more every year by the state budget," Dunn said. "I think at this point in time, the university presidents kind of recognize this and are starting to say – and have been saying – to the leadership of Kentucky, 'if you want us to meet this goal, you're going to have to do something things in terms of resources and funding to assist us and help us out.' We can't do it on our own. We don't think it's fair to do it on the backs of our students' tuition payments."

What good is it going to do?

Keeping up with the national average is not the sole goal of Double the Numbers. According to the Council, civic participation and earnings data have shown why it is so important to Double the Numbers.

"The argument they're trying to make is to reinforce the point that is proven in research time and time again," Dunn said. "It's a given – higher education attainment such as a college degree, leads to higher earned income over the course of a career. A college degree gives you at least a million dollars more in lifetime earnings. More educated people are better citizens, they vote more, they're healthier, and they're better parents. All of these quality of life indicators also come with a college degree. Not just the fact that you'll make more money, it makes Kentucky a better state."

Studies have shown that college graduates earn more. The 2007 Education Pays Update said that the median annual earnings of Kentuckians with only a high school diploma is $24,344 while those with bachelor degrees earn $40,603.

The study also shows that college graduates tend to be more engaged citizens, are healthier, more likely to exercise, less likely to smoke, and more like to have health insurance. Also, states with more college graduates have stronger, more diverse economies.

Murray State has a plan

"We're going to announce [our plan] probably in the next couple of months," Dunn said. "We are going to look at a number of enrollment initiatives to kind of respond to this increased focus. Our enrollment here has been flat or slightly declining for some number of years and we've got to reverse that trend. So we're working both on operational issues and policy issues to help us meet those goals that have been set out for us."

Dunn said the "operational issues" include looking at where MSU is recruiting and making sure the right places are visited. Some "policy issues" include working with senior members of the board to help tie MSU's scholarship dollars to the type of students Dunn said wants to be at the school. He also said the process needs to speed up so it can be determined how it can be tied into tuition.

Just "making the pie larger"

According to Dunn's blog on Murray State's website, "Open Book," several students are concerned with the attention that is being devoted to Murray State campuses that are not the main one.

One student made the comment, "I realize [the city of Murray] is not for everyone and some would rather go to some town with a major airport, a mall, etc, and if they can get the same education at Paducah, they are going to go there. Slowly and slowly, MSU will decrease as that campus gets bigger. Before you know it, you'll have two major universities within 45 minutes of each other, competing for students. MSU just couldn't keep up. I have been very impressed with your presidency so far, but this has just hurt me. Hurt the good people of this town. You were hired to be the president of Murray State University, not to start Paducah State University."

However, Dunn said his intention is not to draw away from Murray State, but to give others, such as the citizens of Paducah and McCraken County, more opportunities to attend and finish college.

"I haven't understood how the argument has gotten started and there's no basis for it," Dunn said. "If we're going to meet these goals, it's clear that we're going to have to get our non-traditional students back in school and we're going to have really reinvigorate our online offerings."

Dunn said that just in McCraken County there are 15,000 adults who have some college credit but no degree.

"We think that there's a need for many of them to come back to school, and finish up their degree," Dunn said. "These are people who are non-traditional – they have families, they are parents, they're working a full-time job if not more. They have many responsibilities and they aren't going to come here to Murray to our flagship campus, get an apartment or move into a residential college and go to school. They're people who have all of these other life obligations, but they always want to finish their college degree."

Dunn said that if the right set of programs can be brought to a facility in Paducah, those people will be in school and getting degrees and the university is in a better position to respond to what the state wants it to do.

"This is not something you would refer to as a zero-sum gain;" Dunn said. "Where if one place gains, another loses. This is about increasing the size of the whole pie, not changing the slices. We're making the pie larger by bringing students into the MSU campus system who otherwise wouldn't be here."

Dr. Mark Wattier is a political science professor at Murray State University and is head of the Quality and Accountability Committee for the Council on Postsecondary Education. He agreed with Dunn in that more adults have to come back to school. Wattier said more people have to go through the "educational pipeline" and more students have to go to college. He also said something else was necessary of which people might not think.

"We have to have 200,000 people move to the state," Wattier said. "We don't have enough people to get there."

Wattier said the biggest dilemma is simply the challenge of achieving a goal.

"It's going to take those many individuals deciding they need to change their lives," Wattier said. "Right now it doesn't look like it's going to happen."

Sharing the responsibility

While there are still 12 years until 2020 and the anticipation of a completed Double the Numbers demand, there is still plenty to do yet. Dunn said the university has to show why MSU is the best place for people to come to extend their higher education.

Dunn wants Murray to take the next step and tell the high school students, community college students, and people who are out of school but still have some college credit in the five-state region to continue their education.

"We need to be making the case in southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, all of Kentucky, northwest and central Tennessee, and southern Indiana," Dunn said, "as well as the large cities that surround our area: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Huntsville, Alabama, Nashville, Memphis, that whole horn right around there."

Dunn said students can help out too, especially those who are come from the areas he described.

"The best thing that could happen is for our students from this larger area who have a great experience at Murray State and feel like they've gotten a good bang for their buck and quality education to carry that message," Dunn said. "We can't recruit everywhere, we don't have enough people. So we need our students to serve in that kind of ambassador role for us as they spread to their region. If that happens and our story continues to get told, we'll be fine."

There's something to be said for snail mail...

I've never understood the phenomena of electronic correspondence.

Seriously, text messaging? I don't really understand what could possibly save time in that. You could call someone and leave a voice message in a tenth of the time spent typing in two sentences on that tiny little keypad.

Someone once told me that in an emergency situation, it comes in handy. Honestly, if you're being mauled by a bear, chances are that bear isn't going to take time out to let you text your BFF and say, "Hey, don't think I'm going to make dinner tonight." ^_^

Besides, I'm entirely too old to be talking in initials.

Or what about myspace? I have so many issues with this one. I'm always getting a lecture from someone about the value of myspace and how it enables the people in your life to keep in touch with you.

Here's a thought: How about a phone call?

The vast majority of people I care anything about talking to, I find a way to do so personally. People have lost touch with one another, no pun intended. Seriously, when was the last time you took a moment to let someone hear your VOICE? I'd rather someone put forth the effort of contacting me personally, not through their blackberry or PC.

Write me a letter! Now that's determination to keep in touch with someone you care about. And it says it with every pen stroke. We are a world where convenience has taken the place of ... well, everything.

I find it a little sad.

It's reasons like this that the corporate world dictates the turn of humanity. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think that the Capitalist machine has any human-kind interest at heart.

No one can replace Mr. Wildcat

Anyone who has bled Kentucky blue in the last 40-plus years knows good and well who Bill Keightley is. People across the nation know him as Mr. Wildcat, the long-time equipment manager for UK’s men’s basketball team.

Last night, Mr. Keightley passed away at the age of 81. Here’s a link to one of the Lexington Herald-Leader’s stories on his passing (please ignore my ability to make this a clickable link – just copy and paste it into the address bar) – http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/362648.html

My dad and I had the distinct pleasure of spending a good deal of time with Mr. Keightley on two different occasions. Anyone who knew him will say what a kind, generous, congenial person he was. From personal experience, I can vouch for that.

Both times I met him, I was with my dad at UK’s annual father-son basketball camp – once while it was operated by Rick Pitino, the other time with Tubby Smith. The first time, Mr. Keightley treated us like he had known us for years. The next time, he did the same thing, but it was obvious that he still remembered us from the year before. I have know memory of what we discussed. I just remember being blown away by how down-to-earth he was, considering his storied stature with the country’s most history-rich college basketball program.

His passing removes one more link to the old days of Kentucky basketball, a connection that is impossible to replace.

I can see it now, the negotiation going on well above us – coaches from our past, clamoring to have Mr. Wildcat take a seat next to them on their bench. Somehow, I think he’d find a way to accommodate them all.

Fire-fighters' altruism sets moral example

Altruism is rare these days, it seems. So, when I’m faced with those who devote their time to the good of the world around them so freely, it warms my heart, and I am humbled.

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with some of our local fire-fighters in a one-on-one setting, and I found that for the first time, in a long time, I had reason to feel this way.

It’s so easy to lose faith in humanity and the world around us. Everyday, I see something on the news that will quite literally make my stomach turn. Be it the atrocities of war, the murder of children — senseless death in all its ugly glory dominates what we see and hear, and I admit that I am scared.

And while I find these things frightening, they are not what terrifies me most. It is that we, as a society, have become so anesthetized to it, we don’t even notice anymore. It scares me to think that I’m just as unfeeling as those who commit these crimes in my apathy.

It makes you stop and wonder if there’s anything worthwhile in the world, after all.

And then you meet people like this who remind you that humanity is more than just a commodity.

I never realized just what your average volunteer fire-fighter endures, the amount of training and knowledge that goes into a single unit. The time spent refining that unit in hopes of making our communities a safer place and protecting not just our lives, but oftentimes, our livelihood.
They offer that time freely and without reservation simply because they want to.

It’s nobility at its finest.

After sitting down and talking with them just a bit, I realize how much we take them for granted. At least, I did, and I’m certain I’m not the only one.

Ricky Sirls, the newly appointed chief of the Aurora-Ross station highlighted in this week’s edition of the Tribune-Courier, had a very valid point I think we should all consider. People really have gone and gotten themselves in too big a hurry.

When was the last time you went out of your way to help another? When was the last time you stopped to think about and express gratitude to the help you’ve been given?

A fireman is at once the most fortunate and the least fortunate of men.
He doesn’t preach the brotherhood of man.
He lives it.

UofLoser

Kentucky leads Georgia by three at halftime. How 'bout cheering for a REAL Kentucky team?

Stranger than fiction

"Woman ends two-year toilet stay!" Or so the headline read.

...I'm just not even sure what there is to say about that.

At first, I thought it was some sort of odd play on words, but no, it actually is as it reads. Some woman in Kansas actually sat on her boyfriend's toilet for over two years before he actually thought to call someone about it.

Two years! Until her skin had started to grow into the lid. When police came to investigate, they had to pry the top off of the toilet so they could get her to the hospital to have it removed.

And now they're considering charges against this boyfriend. Honestly, let's think about this for just a minute. These people can't be of the sharpest mental capacity. And he actually did take care of her in that time — brought her food and water everyday and begged her to come out, so it's not like anyone was really hurt. Are charges really necessary here?

Sounds like a waste of taxpayer dollars to me. Either way, the whole thing is just plain bizarre.

Oh well, I suppose the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Nonsensical nothings: Lesson one

You know, I've been racking my brain about blog topics for the last two weeks to no avail. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. I run my mouth enough that you'd think I could find something to blog about.

So, in place of any witty commentary on absolutely nothing, I'm just going to offer bits of sound advice (though why I don't know, no one ever listens to my advice anyway no matter HOW good ^_^) and general nonsense on a semi-daily basis until this must tell blog works its happy little way out of my head.

Lesson number one: Never trust a smiling dog.

There are, after all, teeth involved in there somewhere.

A wake-up call

A couple of weeks ago I was given the opportunity to cover a story on the non-profit organization Easter Seals. The adult day care center provides services for adults ages 16 to 93 years old. I have walked into many hospitals and nursing homes feeling slightly uncomfortable but virtually unaffected, this wasn't the case when I finished my report on the Easter Seals organization. From day 1 I had grown to like both the nurses and patients that spent their time at the center five days a week but it wasn't until I went to take pictures of the patients that I felt the true impact the center would have on me.

I have always been told that your life can change in a second, no matter your age. And as much as I would like to think that I have always thought that, not once considering that I was above any force that could alter my life, it wasn't until last week that I honestly felt it in every inch of my soul. On the last Friday in February I visited the patients at the Easter Seals program to get some pictures of them scrap booking, an activity that they do twice a week. Being the scrap booker that I am, I saw this an opportunity to get a good picture while enjoying the activity and company of the patients.

By the time I got to the Easter Seals location there were only two patients there, the rest had gone home for the evening. I took a few shots of Mrs. Wilma while a nurse was helping Betsy, a 24-year-old who is quadriplegic and suffers from a brain stem injury. Most of the photos they were putting in their scrapbook were moments that the patients had spent at the adult day care center. After talking with Nurse Nicole about Betsy's condition, she showed me photos of Betsy, before her car crash that left her in her current state.

The photos weren't unusual, they were of an 18-year-old girl with blonde hair and bright eyes making goofy faces on a child's playground. The photos were sweet and kind not unlike many of the photos I have in my albums and scrapbooks. The only difference between Betsy and I is that at 18 she was in a car crash that left her quadriplegic. Betsy was my age when her life was changed forever and the honesty of the fact and what it means, was almost to real for me to bare.

It is hard to believe that I could find myself in Betsy's shoes but what would make me so invincible, so lucky even that a freak accident couldn't put me in the same position?

For me, Betsy was a wake-up call and a slap in the face saying who do you think you are.

Video on www.tribunecourier.com!

Just a little reminder to those of our readers who haven't noticed yet - we've got video on our Web site!

We have posted videos of responses to our Question of the Week on our main page at www.tribunecourier.com. We're also kicking around ideas for other ways we can use our video capability on the Web.

Feel free to send us your ideas!

It's just ice

You may have noticed the recent weather patterns and their impact on local roads. It brings to mind (my mind, at least) how different people here are from people in naturally colder regions.

People around western Kentucky can probably count on their hands the number of times snow, sleet and ice have made roads impassable. People in, say, Michigan or Minnesota certainly could not - unless they have sprouted many, many extra fingers.

Yet, when even the THREAT of snow and/or ice comes our way, people go nuts. Bread and milk fly off of store shelves. Schools close. Roads are barren.

Not to say there isn't some real danger in driving on icy roads, but let's have some perspective. People up North drive in those conditions throughout the winter, but you don't see them going crazy at the drop of a snowflake.

Being cautious is one thing. Being insanely cautious is another.

Last night, I drove to Murray from Hardin at about 5 p.m. I set the cruise at 55 mph and left it there for almost the entire trip. Traveling south, I passed almost no cars. Not that traffic in south Marshall County/north Calloway County is usually bustling at that point, but still, not much traffic. Heading north was a pretty steady line of vehicles, all being driven very, very slowly. I make no remarks about the people driving those cars - I usually like to sarcastically joke about stereotypes in those situations, but I'll leave it be this time. However, I can only imagine they were all worried about ice. Ice, mind you, that was not there. Even in the western Kentucky twilight, it was easy to see the roads were clean and, for the most part, dry.

I'm sure everyone got safely to where they were going, and that's the most important thing, I suppose. I just find it interesting how people overreact to weather sometimes.

The perfect valentine

Valentine's Day. Without doubt the single most overrated holiday of the year.

Let's take a moment to think about what Valentine's Day truly means: Greeting card companies and florists making mass amounts of cash in the name of "love"and mass marketing, and hordes of men worried sick about what to get their sweethearts for that special day, because God knows, you don't want to screw this one up.

So, here's my contribution to the cause. Guys, if you really want to impress your sweetie, avoid the traditional gifts like flowers and chocolate. No matter how hard you try, that $50+ arrangement of flowers WILL DIE, and chocolate won't do anything for your girl but contribute to that 10 pound weight gain she's been trying to work off since Christmas.

Diamonds, perhaps?

Um, no. The next time you think about getting your girl a rock, think about the little kid in the middle of the Congo who probably got his arm hacked off for it.

Do yourselves a favor and go with something simple but heartfelt. Make her dinner, and then actually clean up your mess. You have no idea how many points you'll score just for doing the dishes.

Make a scrapbook. Repaint her bathroom. Get up with the kids so she can sleep in.

Clean out her car. Now there's a Valentine's Day present.

'Gentlemen start your engines'

The greatest spectacle in sports entertainment is finally here. No it isn’t Wrestlemania, even though that event runs a close second.

It is the Daytona 500 and Sunday will mark it’s 50th running.

Aside from the Super Bowl it will be the hottest sports event on television this year. Don’t believe me then listen up.

First and foremost I am a NASCAR fan. However, I do not watch every race, I do not follow the sport vigorously and I do not know where the next race will be, nor the full line-up of every team.

I do know that I am a Jeff Gordon fan and have been since I was like 10 years old. I do know who placed where after each race and I do know the lingo and the happenings from the sport as I check in on NASCAR about twice a week. (Usually before and after a race.)

However, with all of that said I can say this, I will watch the Daytona 500. Not religiously, but I can guarantee that I will tune in for the first 50 and last 50 laps if nothing else.

This seems to be the sentiment of just about every sports fan. Sure the diehards will watch every lap, but even those like me who simply like the sport and just sort of follow it, we will be watching at some point and that is what separates Daytona from other events such as the World Series.

If I don’t like a team in the World Series I typically don’t tune in. But, Daytona is a once a year event, like the Super Bowl that you have to watch a little bit of just to keep up with the conversation at the water cooler.

You don’t even have to like NASCAR to check in for just a minute. I mean common you have to be a little bit curious to see how Dale Jr. is going to do in his new ride, or to see if Tony Stewart is going to put Kurt Busch in the wall.

I personally would like to see both men knock each others butts out of the race within the first few laps so I don’t have to hear any more about them.

Bottom line even if you don’t watch the Daytona 500 who will end up knowing who wins. You can’t say that about any other race during the year and you can’t say that about any other regular season game from any of the major sports.

NASCAR is now the second fastest growing sport behind competitive fishing, but really who wants to watch that.

I guess the same thing was once said about cars racing in a circle in Florida.

A simple curiosity...

It wasn't until I was in college that I realized the rest of the world just doesn't see things the way that I do.

No, I'm not talking politics or in any other clever figurative what-have-yous. I'm being quite literal.

Whereas I've come to discover that most people (at least the ones I know) envision things in images, I see words. As in, if someone were to say "bird" I don't see a bird in my mind's eye, I see the word bird. Sometimes on a sign or scrolling marquis, but generally like a little typewriter in my head as the word is hitting the page.

Weird, I know.

So, it's my random curiosity question, and now I'll present it to you, dear reader.

When you see things, do you see them in pictures or words?

This just in...

In one of my Newswriting classes at Murray State, we were talking about what makes news...news. After discussing politics, wars in the Middle East and the Natalie Holloway investigation, the oh so interesting and stimulating topic of the infamous Britney Spears was brought into question. Don't get me wrong, at the tender age of 18 I must confess that I did, at one time in my life, have a copy of the pop tarts latest album (how embarrassing) but that was when she was running around wearing a Catholic School girl uniform and singing "Oops I Did it Again", she wasn't dancing on a stripper pole leaving little (or nothing) to the imagination. Oh how things have changed. Since her loosing battle with the razor last year leaving her bald, Brittany has become more popular than ever, just for the wrong reasons. It isn't only juicy tabloids and gossip columns that are "exposing" the erotic behavior of a superstar gone bad, professional news programs have jumped on the popstar band wagon to cover her every move.
But the Britney craze isn't the only phenomenon that has monopolized news coverage lately. The tragic story of Heath Ledger and his supposed drug use has been top news for weeks now. Lindsay, Paris and Nicole are all names that even my grandmother has come to know because of the massive coverage of their personal lives in the past year. As much as I would like to blame Fox, CNN, NBC and so many others for reporting on such none sense, America is still tunning in to see what mistake these young adults will make next.

Shoulda wore the hat ...

... or Belicheck shoulda cheated again. Maybe both.

Cause and effect. Pre-season, Tom Brady agrees to be Stetson's new spokesman, but the New England quarterback refuses to wear the company's iconic cowboy hat in advertisements. Tonight, Brady and the Patriots lose the Super Bowl and their undefeated season.

Players usually fall to the Madden Curse after being chosen to grace the cover of the Madden video game. Has Brady initiated the Stetson Curse?

Also, don't be surprised if you see one specific fourth-quarter play over and over again for years to come. Patriots ahead by three points with 1:15 to go, New York quarterback Eli Manning appears ready to be sacked, squirms his way out and bombs the ball downfield to receiver David Tyree, who makes a leaping catch by pinning the ball against his helmet and manages to maintain possession while being dragged to the turf. No question, the play of the game.

Glad I watched this year. As a Cowboy fan, I have a responsibility to dislike the Giants. I simply choose to dislike the Patriots, so I would have been fine with the NFL deciding that neither team could win. Until the whole Spygate thing exploded again.

Yeah, Spygate. Google it.

But I gotta say, that was one of the best football games I've ever seen. Low-scoring, sure. But that's really a credit to New York's defense. They dominated the best offense in the league. Kudos.

I WILL have a cow, thank you very much

Oh, Nancy Cartwright. Your work on The Simpsons is the stuff of legend. You helped make Bart a household name. You make Nelson the funniest cartoon bully and Ralph the funniest cartoon buffoon child. You've no doubt made enough money that, if you decided to turn it into gold coins, you could fill a giant concrete room with it and swim around like Scrooge McDuck.

Instead, you decided to donate $10 million to the Church of Scientology.

I don't even know what to say about that. It's hard for me to joke about Scientology since the "religion" itself seems like such a joke to me. Plus, I've already blogged once about the Church's biggest accomplishment, the continued deterioration of Tom Cruise's mental stability.

Still, it's interesting to note that Tom only gave $5 million over a four-year span. Nancy gave $10 million in 2007 alone. Is she trying to usurp the Church's No. 2? Will we soon see her wed to the lifeless remains of L. Ron Hubbard?

Dang, Nancy. You could be swimming in a pool of gold coins right now.

Well someone had to talk about it.

The Super Bowl. For those of you living who don't know, it's this Sunday, Feb. 3.

I love the Super Bowl. And NOT for the commercials; actually I get frustrated with people who are "oh so excited for Superbowl for the commercials." Granted, it's a huge money-maker, and the most sought-after advertising space ever, but still...it's football at it's finest. Don't say you can't WAIT for the Super Bowl when you don't know who's playing.

It's the New England Patriots against the New York Giants. So far, the Patriots are favored to win by two touchdowns. There are several people in Marshall County who don't agree with my choice of sports teams, so I'll just leave out the part about who I'm rooting for.

Tom Brady (the quarterback for New England) hurt his ankle during the AFC Championship, but never came out and told the media about it. Well supposedly he was spotted wearing a boot on his right foot a few days ago and finally told everyone he hurt it, but that he's not "concerned about affecting his play" in the big game.

But I think my favorite headline I read about the incident comes from a news station in a city a few hours from here. (I'm not naming any names...) It said, "Brady Acknowledges Injury, Says He'll Play." Are you kidding me? That's the most obvious headline I think I've ever read. If he did acknowledge his injury then I think maybe he's been sacked one too many times. And of COURSE he's going to play...or at least say he will, it's the SUPER BOWL.

And on another Super Bowl note, apparently they're upping the amount of police in Phoenix for the game. Not for the huge crowd, no, but for the prostitutes who are anticipated to appear for the high rollers to fulfill their..."hobby." All right... I'm just going to leave that one alone. But the police in Phoenix have reported that they'll be arresting not only the prostitutes, but their customers as well, so that should make for a good news story on Monday.

Shoes.

Click above for a story on ESPN.com about a college basketball coach on a mission to give shoes to the shoeless in Africa.

Mark it down, the only time you'll see me endorse a reality show

The Baby Borrowers, premiering Feb. 18 on NBC.

I have a severe aversion to reality television – partially because the term itself is incorrect, but mainly because I hate devoting time to something that ends up making me feel dumber for the experience.

Now, I’m not saying you’re dumb if you like American Idol or Survivor, but look at those shows like this: How “real” are they? Sometimes, I think I could convince a surly Brit, a washed-up Laker Girl and Randy Jackson (who?) that I can sing well enough to warrant a record deal.

As for Survivor, comedian Daniel Tosh has found the best perspective: “We wonder why other countries hate us – we have a game show in our country called Survivor. That's a game in our country. Where you can win a million dollars for surviving in a place where people already live. Do you realize what kind of message that sends? Not a good one. ‘Excuse me, I’ve been here for 60 years. May I have some bread?’ Ha ha ha ha, no! We’re Americans! This is a game! We don’t have our cell phones! This is hard!”

Sorry. That’s an hour a week I can spend sleeping - if my son will allow it.

Which, by the way, is the impetus of my desire to see The Baby Borrowers.

Last night, my son Brody went to sleep at about 10:30 p.m. Awesome for him, considering it’s usually 11:30 or 12 before he finally konks out. My initial reaction: More sleep for me. His initial reaction: Uh-uh. He’s up at 11:30 screaming his head off, awake until a little after 12. Up again at 2 screaming his head off, awake until a little after 3. Not our most harrowing evening, mind you, but rather frustrating when I was expecting an extra hour or two of sleep.

The Baby Borrowers pits a teen pair, both of whom think raising a kid is easier than something they consider to be very easy, against a tiny child. OK, that makes it sound more like a fight. So the teenagers have to basically play parents to the kid for a certain amount of time - if NBC bases that length of time on the British version of the show, it will be four weeks. Kids that won’t sleep, kids spitting up, kids that won’t stop crying, kids with the bathroom routine of a very small child (because there’s nothing nastier than that) – they’ll experience it all, with nannies and the toddlers’ parents nearby in case of emergency.

If you’re dealing with a teenager or young adult who is acting cavalier about the prospect of having and caring for a child, chances are you’ll want to suggest they watch this show.

It’s one of the only times I can remember TV producers coming up with a “reality” concept that might actually make a positive change in a person’s life. Maybe not along the lines of Extreme Home Makeover, one of the best do-good shows I’ve ever seen.

If the Hollywood writer’s strike is going to continue (and rumor is there is light not connected to a train at the end of the tunnel), we’re going to be swamped with more and more “reality” shows. At least it looks like one network might have finally stopped appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Britney Lewzader made my blood pressure spike

"Take the deal! Take the deal! Take the deal"

You can't watch Deal or No Deal with me.

Or my wife, for that matter.

Britney Lewzader, congratulations. Emily or I probably would have been the quickest people off of that show if we were getting $200,000-plus offers almost right off the bat. I say that knowing that I'll probably never feel the pressure of having to make decisions like you made on the show, but still, hats off to you.

Because it's worth it

A wise man once asked, "Why is divorce so expensive? ...Because it's worth it."

I've been turning this over in my mind over the last few days, and I can't help but wonder why it isn't the other way around. Seriously, just think about it for a moment; if marriage licenses were as expensive as the average divorce, we'd probably save ourselves a whole lot of headache. The cost of a marriage license is around $36 dollars, but a lawyer's retainer is something like $1,500. And that's only if it doesn't get messy.

It stands to reason that if people had to invest as much into their right to get married as their right to terminate that marriage, people might just put a little more thought into it.

Granted, you might blow a whole bundle on the ceremony itself, but wouldn't you be a little less likely to jump if you've gotta front an additional $1,500 or so?

Better still, make it expensive enough to draw out in a five year plan. If you can still put up with each other when it's over, you might just be a little better off for it.

Or why not have a waiting period or something along those lines? Like buying a gun. Or trapping an animal (it's basically the same thing anyway).

Personally, I think it couldn't hurt to have the option to renew after three years or so, either, but maybe that's just me.

Might just up the stats of that whole 50/50 chance thing.

...Or maybe you'll think it over and decide that given the options, you'd rather just get a dog.

Oh So Serious

When my editor presented this opportunity to begin writing a blog about anything and everything that I wanted, I was a little nervous. I seem to come off a little serious (ok a lot) and I like everything that I write to have a point. I mean what's the point of writing if you don't have some major issue to examine and resolve...right? Well that obviously isn't true. Writing in a blog next to a bunch of comedians is kind of intimidating, I have never written anything even slightly humorous in my entire life. Not all the blogs posted are humorous commentaries fit for the Conan O'Brian show (sorry guys) but nonethless, they seem to take a lighter look at things. But being the sore thumb that I always have been, I doubt that anything that I post will make you leave your office or home whistling a different tune or rolling in your chair. I guess I take the term "serious journalist" a little to serious. Nonetheless, I realize my own faults and I must be true to who I am. I can assure that the next time that I post something it will be an issue that has truly gotten under my skin or a news story that I felt undeniably passionate about. I believe in the philosophy, "when in doubt, just do what you know" and I definitely don't know how to tell a joke.

Wrestling is real!

Click the headline for the rockin'-est high school wrestling move I've ever seen.

Candidate Matchmaker

Rumor has it there’s an election coming up sometime this year. And in an effort to get more people out to the polls, the media has decided to give us, the public, the power by calling this year’s election “You Decide 2008.” (By the way, I learned in an English class years ago that using the subject “you” in the demonstrative form before a verb sets people apart from each other and allows them to perceive themselves as more powerful.)

Anyway, since it’s my second presidential election I’ve been able to vote in, I want to make sure I learn everything I can about as many candidates as I can so that I can make an informed decision. I don’t want to be one of those people who just votes for someone because it would be cool to have a woman or an African-American in the White House, or because that’s who my mom is voting for.

So I found this website put out by Fox (and being that it’s put out by Fox, it still IS pretty objective) called Candidate Matchmaker. They give you a list of 20 questions to answer and then pair you with the platforms and candidates with whom you would most likely agree.

I was a little surprised with number one and number two choices, but my number three was right one and the person at the bottom of the list was right on the money. So take this little quiz - you might be surprised.

Leave me a comment and let me know if who they paired you up with is who you think you agree with, I’m curious to see how objective, possibly subjective this website is.

Have a wonderful Monday!!

Here's the site:
http://wnyw.4wmt.com/cmm/

A book for fans by referees

I have decided to write a book. A short collection of all of the wonderful experiences I have had as a referee.

It will be about all of the wonderful, amusing and plain out ridiculous things I have heard in my time of wearing the stripes and blowing a whistle.

If I didn’t know any better I would say that a referee is truly the sports equivalent of an IRS agent. They are hated and sometimes despised for simply doing their job to their best of their ability.

Because that is all it is. They aren’t out to get you. They aren’t out to help you lose and that aren’t on your side. They are just simply doing their job the way they determine it should be done. Right or wrong, bad or good each ref is different and each game could be called a thousand different ways.

Yet, fans, and by fans I mean parents of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders believe that each ref should be perfect even if their kids aren’t, and that each call should be a good call even if each decision their coach makes is not.

When a ref blows his whistle it is because he believes that a foul or penalty has occurred. When he doesn’t blow his whistle it is because he does not believe any wrong doing has taken place. Does that mean he is always right no, but you weren’t the one standing next to the play and you weren’t the one that had to make a decision on the play.

Now by no means am I a perfect ref. I have had my good days and my bad. Like a player you are either in the zone or you are not. But bottom line it doesn’t make you a bad person.

However, that is exactly what people will think of you. If you ref a heated game and the losing team thought you were just terrible then you will never be seen in public without them thinking of you as a terrible person who couldn’t call a good game if his life depended on it. When in actuality you are just Brian York a happy go lucky, never hurt a fly and never causes trouble, mild mannered human being that refs, because he does in rare cases enjoys it and could use a little extra money on the side.

That’s right I said that sometimes it is enjoyable, but if you are looking for a quick way to make a lifelong or deeply despised enemy then take up refing.

Oh the things you hear, such as “does that whistle work?” or “are you blind?” or my favorite “BLOW YOUR WHISTLE!”

Because everybody knows that when the fans say it it’s true. It has to be, but then again I never see any of them put on the zebra shirt and take to the court.

All in all my point is this. Next time you are at a game, sit back, relax and enjoy yourself. That is the point of going to the game. Not to get so made that your blood pressure is sky high.

And remember that pathetic no good referee. He is a human too.

If you see Tom Cruise in your neighborhood, run.

Remember when Tom Cruise was fun?

Ah, the good old days.

Word travels fast on the Internet. The nine-minute video of Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of the Church of Scientology is still available on Youtube (as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17), despite the efforts of the Church to have it removed. If you haven’t seen it yet, proceed with caution. I haven’t seen this much concentrated crazy in quite a while.

Among the highlights, besides nine minutes of the same four bars of music looping over and over and over and over (the song, by the way, is an updated cover of the Mission: Impossible theme):

– Apparently, if you have a wreck, you better hope a Scientologist happens to be in the area. They’re the only ones that can help.

– If you’re a drug addict, an alcoholic, a criminal, find a Scientologist. They are “the authorities on the mind.”

– Tom Cruise wants you to “do it.” What “it” is remains unclear. But he says it enough times that it’s almost the only thing you come away with from a viewing of the rant. Maybe this piece is actually a bit of clever viral marketing by Nike.

Get it? “Just do it.” I’m old.

I do my best not to be judgemental, especially when it comes to someone’s religious beliefs. If I think someone is wrong, I can let them be wrong without feeling the need to get militant about it. I’m a Christian, and I believe Christianity is right. It’s not my place to tell someone they’re wrong if they’re not a Christian. All I can do is explain myself to that person without sounding preachy.

Still, Tom’s slip into insanity impacts more people than just Tom. Remember when Katie Holmes was the cute, mousy little chick on Dawson’s Creek? Look at her now. Suri doesn’t stand a chance.

Welcome!

Just couldn't get enough of us, could you?

In the print edition of The Trib, our editorial staff brings you the best news, community and sports coverage in Marshall County. It's pretty standard that each issue also includes an opinion piece written by one of us, but since we're all so opinionated, we decided to invade the Internet and stake a claim to a little part of it so we can bring you even MORE opinion. So, thanks to Blogger for making something like this available to everyone.

The posts you'll find here in the future will cover a wide range of topics, so you're bound to find something interesting, thought-provoking, maybe even irritating. If you feel the need to respond to something, don't hold back - just click the "Comment" link and tell us what you think.

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