THE REFLECTION IN THE WINDOW - HAPPY WISHES AND LONG LIFE!

There are many personality types in the world. I have always been the reflective type. I get to learn a lot of things about people. Some people consider me arrogant, while others have a more favorable view. Whatever the truth may be, I was always the last one out, the one who turned the lights out and reflected on the value of what passed rather than its merit.  We get to share another day and that is a blessing regardless your faith.  And tomorrow always brings the promise of something better; the choice is ours.

I am fortunate to have friends of value and I hope to never treat friends lightly. Life is the gift and time is the marker. Transitions serve to mark the space between moments and we should always be respectful of them, no matter where we are in life.

With that in mind, and meant sincerely, I wish you all an excellent close to the year passing and a hearty welcome to the one just ahead. It is a rebirth, of sorts. And by its gift, you have the choice to determine where it goes. May 2009 bode well for you and those you love.

Happy New Year.

MisterWriter

COUNTING DOWN TO A BETTER YEAR

Time is about up for old 2008, a year that left many in despair, reminding us that prosperity is just a word that means too many people are getting rich off our shortcomings.  Such was the case with the housing market greed, the financial sector greed and the greed of many who purchased homes beyond their means and ability to repay hoping for a miracle that would keep things coasting.

But even top surfers know that the wave has to run out sometime. Take heart - it will rise again; such is the nature of the world, especially the world of commerce and politics. While doom and gloom may be on the menu today, and while every job south of the farm has been sent to India, China and other places willing to work for far less than a buck, there will be a resurgence in hope, a drive for that prosperity wave, and the eternal optimism we share in this country that believes in deferring all our bad days until the end and calling it an Apocalypse. No one will care at that point.

As a child I often wondered why we did not have a Superman. After all, a superhero could clean up crime and fix the world in no time flat. The answer is simply that it would be a waste of material. Sure, Superman could fly in and arrest petty criminals, but then what? Traffic duty? Parking tickets? There is just nothing worthy of a Superman to do. It would not be...realistic!

And yet we are not realistic in anything we humans do. We pollute because it is more important to buy cheap products at a megastore and, more importantly, the polluting is not in front of our face. It is not that different from buying clean, nicely packaged cuts of meat at the supermarket, all wrapped up in bloodless white styrofoam packing. There would be a lot more vegetarians in the world if we had to watch the slaughter, or worse, do it ourselves. 

Reality, as portrayed in The Matrix movies, can be a mixed blessing. The blue pill or the red pill. Is the illusion of freedom better than a miserable life truly free?

The premise of The Matrix and that of the economy are not entirely strangers. For a long time consumers chose the blue pill, living the illusion that the ridiculous housing prices would last. People were paying three-quarters of a million dollars for a piece of cardboard, and financing it with adjustable mortgages, no money down and the assumption that they would be able to sustain interest only loans.  I believe in Superman!

So 2008 has come to an end and it ends with the promise of a better 2009. After eight years of presidential drought, there is a new optimism in the election of Barak Obama and the fact that he has already started acting presidential even before the swearing in. How many other presidents started by being more presidential than the one they replace?

I am hopeful that 2009 will bring optimism and hope and start to lift the mood of the country and improve the view of this country by those around the world, many whom we invaded, and many whom we wounded with the collapsing economy.  It is time that America regains some strength of purpose based on tangibles, skills, production, and not just because we have big bombs and a lousy foreign policy.

The cowboy diplomacy of the Reagan years hardly fits anymore. The world is rapidly changing with China becoming a dominant player and assuming a position to overtake the United States. Europe and Asia stand poised to take on the boundaries of space and the future development and survival of humanity as a species, while we fumble with a space shuttle and limited resources to even tackle a decent exploration program. But worse, unless we start fixing education by funding decent programs instead of ridiculous politically inspired testing and actually teach our kids to build, fix and create, we will be a nation with few skills and obsolete within a global marketplace in which we cannot currently compete.

I doubt that 2009 will see that change. But it is a start.  As Albert Einstein once said: "If mankind wants to survive, we will need a new way of thinking."  The purpose of blogs is to inspire thought, dialogue and hopefully, as a result, help ordinary people like you and me to rise to the challenges ahead. That is a choice we have to make. 

I hope you'll join me in 2009 as I try to expand the sphere of this blog to actually make a difference. In the meantime, my personal wishes to you, your family and us all, for a safe, peaceful and hopeful new year and my thanks for your support and readership.

MisterWriter

PS: The photo at the top is what I would look like with Einstein's hair and moustache! That's my little blue pill!

A Katie Grace update...

 

from the family blog...

"Happy almost New Year to you all.

I have been out of the hospital for a week now. Although many of the days have been filled with doctors appointments and a nurse that came to my home for 2 days. My line was getting plugged and it was not bad just it took a long time to get everything done.

Santa did come to our cottage. I got a Snugglekinz baby monkey and my Miss Goodbee play house. I also got a shaving kit and a few other things. I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

On Christmas eve day I had an appointment at Stanford. Traffic was bad and when we got there my line was getting clogged so it took a little while to get the blood out. Then we went and seen other kids in the hospital and took some gifts to them. Some of our friends had went home but there were more kids there.

On Christmas Eve we did what we always do we went to Church. It was different from our normal but it was very fun. We spent time together making crafts and a card for baby Jesus. Then we went home and opened a few gifts from each other and some others had given us. Then we went to bed. I couldn't wait.

On Christmas day Santa had come and we also opened more gifts. Dad got Pirates he said he will share with me :) Savanha got a Nintendo DS she most have been real good ;) We went to Leanora and Niel's house for BRUNCH. That is how we got this cool picture of our family Julia took it. Then we went to Donnie's and had supper with the rest of our family.

We Hope That your Christmas was just as blessed as ours and that you have a wonderful NEW YEAR!!!!"

I'LL NEVER LOOK AT SUPERMAN or THE BEATLES THE SAME WAY AGAIN...another laugh

And they think America is strange!

AS WE COUNTDOWN THE YEAR END, ENJOY DAVID LETTERMAN'S TOP 10 GEORGE W MOMENTS...

After 8 years we need a good laugh!

MERRY CHRISTMAS OR HAPPY HOLY DAYS, YOUR CHOICE...

 Peace. It comes with a wish, that all your days be filled with hope, and life to be experienced.

Mall battles are done until the next day, after the family is done with the Santa indulgences, hung over from endless piles of gift wrap tossed, at first, then stuffed into a bag for recycling. And gifts, with "oohs" and "aahs" get piled to be exchanged, or put away, or enjoyed for the moment between anticipation and actuality.

Santa came and went, and with him the festive over indulgence of good food and grog, or wine and champagne, toasting, toasted, and snug in furry slippers beneath the Christmas mall shots with this years Santa stand-in.  "Have yourself a merry little Commercemas."

Christmas to me, a time to smile as you see the faces of those you truly care about, not the gifts or the lines of angry, irritated shoppers and angry, irritated cashiers. I wish it were on a different day - December 25 is worn out, pagan amalgamated sun worshippers smashed into a Constantine altered celebration of the birth of that Jewish dude. C'mon, where is Santa in the Bible?  So why not change the day; celebrate the faith in March or April or whenever it was and leave December 25th to be that commercialized prostitution of what it once was.

I so hate the commerce in Christmas. I so love the time to stop and take stock; to toss my complaints into a bucket of yesteryear as I toast my family that we may enjoy the moments together before it all changes as they age or I age more.

You see the worst manners with shoppers. Merry Commercemas.  Make sure you have your gift receipt so you can redeem Christmas on Dec. 26 and get your money back.

MisterWriter

GETTING FRY'D AT FRY'S - part 2 "Who You Gonna Screw?"

Last month I posted a complaint about Fry's Electronics in what I described as a flagrant attempt to get out of a warranty contract on a laptop that I owned when I brought it in for repair over a broken screw. Click HERE to read that posting. 

Well now it seems that Fry's has more bad PR when it comes to screwing people as the guy in charge of purchasing was just arrested for stealing $65 million.  Click HERE to read about that.

As for my problem, I had filed a report with "7 On Your Side," and heard back today that the producers were examining the information for a possible story. Meantime, my laptop is being repaired by a reputable computer company and I will be sending Fry's the bill, followed by a lawsuit if they do not pay.

And I still refuse to shop there.

MisterWriter

A BLESSING OF LIFE AND A REASON TO SHARE

Below my posting here, Katie Grace's mother Kathy reflects on her blessings and the pain of another family. As a parent, one cannot help but read this and realize the good fortune we have to share each day with those we love, no matter what it brings. Life is a myriad of thoughts and feelings and circumstances peppered with hopes and dreams and fears and sadness, and sometimes you feel like you just have to keep running to stay ahead of it all. In the case of Katie Grace, this family has been kept on the edge of life and death and yet, throughout, have found a very real meaning to life, whether the time that they share is short or long; a message that we all must hold to heart. Treat each day as though it were the last. Live it well. And rejoice when you are given another day to spend together.

I would like to thank the many people who responded to this blog, Claycord and everywhere that Katie Grace's story has been played. Even during difficult financial times with a global economy upside down, the generosity of spirit from unnamed individuals to police dispatchers, medical personnel and just the readers who have been touched, have served to make us all grow larger than ourselves, to reach out and do whatever we can do to improve the life of someone we hardly know, except through the words written down. If there is a Christmas story worth telling, this is it.

Below are Kathy Groebner's words. I have no doubt you will find them touching. Thank you for allowing me to share them on this blog. - MisterWriter

from Kathy Groebner...

"On Dec 2nd I left Safeway with a little girl in an ambulance. For that week I could only think for that day. I watched as children came in and out with different things and all I could think was would she make it through the next round of Rigers and how much damage was it doing on her already fragile heart?

But you all prayed and as I sat there and cryed as I watched my 2 little girls sing praises to the God and Lord that continues to have Mercy and Grace on us. Her smile and song filled my heart and the tears of pain turned into the tears of joy and tankfulness that God can again give me ONE MORE DAY!

I have to say that My one more day has made me also feel guilty I am thankful but also sad. I am sad for the children that we left behind. The ones that will spend Christmas at the hospital.

And for the family that had a 3yr old that had the heart and lung transplant we dread to get that did not take. I walked down that hall as the family uknowen to me found out the news. I heard the family and children break into tears and sorrow. The next day as we Katie Grace and I were in the elevator 2 ladies were talking about it. I looked at them and said "That is what my little girl here has" the ladies looked at her and apologized.

As the ladies apologized I did not know what to say I was walking out with my child and I watched unknowingly as another family received the news 3 weeks ago I thought I was going to get.

How do I feel so Guilty yet so thankful? What does God want me to do with these feelings.

I have today and I will cherish every moment that I can"

STAR TREK - A PASSING AND A PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE - MAY 2009 to be exact...

For Trekkers, Majel Barrett Rodenberry, also known as Nurse Chapel on Star Trek TOS, the wife of series creator Gene Rodenberry, and the voice of the computer on all the subsequent Treks, including the newest, passed away on Dec. 18 from complications from Leukemia. She was 76. You can read her obituary HERE.

The new Star Trek movie from JJ Adams is scheduled for a May 2009 release, with two available previews that promise much and go a long way to assure fans that the series is about to be reborn the way it likely should have been done after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended.

Here, in true, modern day grit, one can see the building of Enterprise and the crew's first mission that sets the stage for the rebirth of the original mission, albeit with younger actors; Leonard Nimoy does has a cameo.

I first started watching Star Trek at age six, caught up in the possibilities and the hope for a future that was far less Earth bound than the real world. If dreams come from hope then this television show created a wealth of people all striving to make that future a bit more real.  Spawning scientists and astronomers on a mission to the stars, we have, sadly, not come as far as we should have, still fumbling about a return to the moon or a mission to Mars and constantly battling with financial restraints trying to justify the costs. We  forget that most technology has come from various military applications in the past whether they be cell phones or microwave ovens. Why would this be any different?  If humanity cannot own it, conquer it, eat it or have sex with it,  there is generally no use for it.

Star Trek's sixth movie referred to "The Undiscovered Country," a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and a reference to the quest for space. Television shows from Carl Sagan's wildly popular PBS series Cosmos, fueled the fires to bring our mortality into heavenly proportions. The current History Channel series The Universe, continues this with vivid graphics and esteemed scientists explaining everything from string theory on.

So when Star Trek the new movie comes out, it will hopefully inspire the youth of today to believe that space is more than an intangible concept; hopefully it will be seen as a potential salvation for the corruptible stupidity of mankind that teeters ever closer on the brink of economic and societal collapse.  After all, that big asteroid with our name on it is long overdue. It will be the scientists, astronomers and astrobiologists that offer a way out.

Click the link HERE and visit the previews and imagine for a moment that undiscovered country. And then there are those damned Klingons...

MisterWriter

CONCORD/CLAYTON PD DISPATCHERS HELP MAKE KATIE-GRACE'S FAMILY HOLIDAY A LITTLE BRIGHTER.

With all the outpouring of concern for six year old Katie Grace Groebner, an added touch of generosity came from the Concord/Clayton Police Department's dispatchers who raised over $220 to buy the Groebner family some Christmas joy.  Tracey Downing of the CPD who spearheaded the effort, told the Clayton Pioneer staffers that they bought "gift cards and two Toys 'R Us gift cards for the Groebner girls."

Kathy Groebner told me that the family was overwhelmed by the show of support and that she plans to put all the messages that Katie Grace has received into a scrapbook.

Katie Grace has been making steady progress and the family hopes to have Christmas at home in Clayton. You can click on the picture above to read the latest from their blog.

Anyone wishing to purchase items or leave gifts for the family may do so at the Clayton Pioneer office located at 6100 Center Street #H, Clayton (parking lot side behind Ed's Mudville Grill.) The newspaper will make sure the family receives them.

Thank you Concord/Clayton Police Dispatchers for your generosity and thank you Mayor of Claycord for being the first to post this story and the follow-ups so that this family received the attention they deserved.

MisterWriter

INSIPRATIONAL EDUCATION IS WHAT WE NEED - AT LEAST THE MDUSD TEACHERS FINALLY GET A CONTRACT...it is a start.

I'm deferring to the MDUSD blog's announcement of a teacher contract settlement that needs only to be approved by the board of education. Click HERE for the MDUSD blog report and HERE for the CC Times's story.

Claycord.com has posted the superintendent's holiday message which essentially tells employees to have a nice break because hell is gonna break loose after the holiday. Read that post HERE.

But what do I think you ask?

After today, teachers are on their holiday break. I wish them all a happy holidays and urge them to remember that we can always live without a superintendent; but we can't survive without teachers.  Despite the insanity that exists out of Sacramento, Washington D.C. and wherever politats are scheming to fund out failure by extending the national debt, in the end it all comes out in the wash. For education that means no matter how many millions of wasted dollars are spent supporting a test-only mentality that has failed to show gains in college admissions not requiring remedial work , or in the number of dropouts at a high school level,  it comes down to a hard working teacher who makes that difference in their students' lives by sparking the desire to learn. No Federal mandate can create that and certainly no politat understands that, as has been demonstrated over the last lifetime of years, especially with the NCLB policy.

One day, someone might actually ask a working teacher (not a former teacher who took up the admin route) exactly what that spark is. Maybe then education will become inspirational rather than institutional. One can only hope.

MisterWriter

 

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE... PEOPLE WITH WAYYYY TOOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS....

I get the spirit of the season; but what I don't get is flashy palm trees and multiple Santa figurines that shout out "Land your 747 here," rather than "Merry Christmas -I'm from Florida."

The residents of Discovery Way off Pine Hollow seem to make an annual event of this nightmare on PG&E street, proving that the recession is only a figment of the imagination of some and the filament of others.

It is worth dragging the family along to see this festive excess. Certainly you have no trouble identifying the non-Christians on the street. It just makes me wonder whether the symbolism is not more in sync with the excesses that led to the great real estate decline and the downturn in the economy rather than the spirit of the season that should be focused on giving and not receiving.

Maybe I am just being too cynical and not appreciating the hundreds of man hours needed to align, light up and otherwise embolden the neighborhood this way. It certainly makes a statement. But then, so do a few coins in the Salvation Army kettle, or a little note to a certain six year old in the hospital, or a random act of kindness in this period of uncertainty where many no longer have homes, let alone lights.

This has been a difficult year for most people. And next year holds little promise of any great improvement. We are paying for the excesses of the past and it will take some time and some pain to get out of the hole we so happily dug for many years.

Of course, for a brief moment, you can drive up Discovery Way and forget it all as you wonder what flashing palm trees has to do with Christmas.

Happy 7th day before Christmas....

MisterWriter

Isn't it time for a CONGRESSIONAL EDUCATION BAILOUT? I think education is more deserving than the car manufacturers who still can't make a decent American car.

Frankly, I cringe as I watch the private jet setting corporate big shots from America's car manufacturers coming to Washington to beg for a handout. Having owned many American cars, I can state that most were marginal at best. Big fat ego with not much value for the product. I drive Honda's now - I get what I pay for, I get a decent warranty (100,000 miles) and it is as low maintenance as it can get.  Don't screw me once on the car and once again on an inflated warranty. I'm tired of getting the shaft from business, especially a bunch of numb nuts who come asking for a hand out on private jets.

Let's talk education. Just how many cuts can take place before we are back to "See Dick Run, Run Dick Run" education?  Strip away the programs and limit the NCLB requirements with drug dealer type dole outs and what you have is a state with an incredibly dumb population because there is no money to actually teach anything worthwhile.

It is pathetic. Not that I support MDUSD's Gary McHenry, mind you, but the man accurately quoted seven of his nine years in this district was about budget cuts. Each has been worse than the one before. And now, after massive slashing last year, an added $6.6 million needs to go at MDUSD, not including the other districts all of whom are suffering.

Isn't the future of the state based on what the education system churns out? Why then do prisons fare better than schools? It should not take a genius to figure this out. Train your future and get something worthwhile. Screw with your future and you should not cry when you have lines of future Burger King employees unable to even ask if they want fried with their order. This is where we are.

The sheer amount of wasted dollars spent on asinine standardized testing that proves NOTHING to any one with half a brain is an example of how politics has screwed education and how education is on a downward slope with no parachute, no power and no way to avert smashing onto the rocks at the bottom.

Teachers are not able to survive. The state plans to issue warrants in February. Warrants? A state IOU?  Jesus, I should send the state a "warrant" for my taxes. Think that would work? Teachers cannot survive on warrants. Slashing the school year 20 days will save the state some money and push teachers to get a "real" job - you know , one with benefits and opportunity for growth.

Education either counts for something or shut the program down and lets go back to the 3-R's. If it counts, then Congress needs to tell the auto makers to shove the Cadillac where the sun don't shine and bail out education because without qualified students, the future is even gloomier than the recession we have now. We do not have the facilities to support a nation of morons. If you think the current economic conditions are dire, trust me when I tell you that what is coming down the line is far worse than even you can imagine.

I have confidence that the new MDUSD board majority knows what is at stake. But there is nothing more to cut. Cut all the admin positions and you have not covered your debt. What comes next?  What will happen when the state issues warrants and teachers, unable to support their families, quit their jobs to get regular jobs in the private sector?

This is madness. To relieve the burden on Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and now the auto makers who, for years have screwed the average consumer with their crappy product line, and to do nothing to save education is a disgrace. Bicycles are better for our health. Kill education and you may as well just surrender any degree of freedom you have because you will be and always will be hereinafter, a slave to the one who hires you.

Consider that people, as you stand in those Christmas shopping lines, trying to get those bargains, or, as in the case of the idiots at WalMart who consider trampling people to death an American mainstay of the holiday season - you get what you reap.

I urge every politician who claims to believe in education as the salvation of this country to go to Congress and demand a bailout. Fund education fully. Let's get some smart people out there. It has been far too long!

MisterWriter

Feed the kettle will ya! Our friends at the Army of Salvation need a hand to do their good work this year...

I wrote a story for the Clayton Pioneer on the Salvation Army's trouble getting their bell ringers out front stores. It seems that more stores are turning them away.  Yes, poverty is an awful nuisance, especially when you want to just go spend your money and not be bothered by the poor, the homeless and the hungry.

The thing is that I know Majors Clay and Pam Gardner and the work they do at the Salvation Army. Nice people who make a difference and don't ask for anything but the satisfaction of knowing they have done something worthwhile. Major Clay is a member of the Clayton Valley/Concord Sunrise Rotary club, a service organization that supports good works and charitable causes. Click the link to learn more.

Some of you may not know that Major Pam is waiting to hear whether her offer of a kidney donation to a friend and Rotarian Chuck Graham, featured in the August 2008 issue of The Concordian, in a story called "Brother Can you Spare a Kidney."

The old adage says that what goes around comes around. It may not be in style. It may not be the trend, but when you find some genuine people who make a difference you need to point them out and give them the credit they deserve and spread the word about what they do.

Next time you see a Salvation Army bell ringer, and the well known red kettles, take a moment to say hello and if you are able, drop a little something in the can. It is a painless way to help the Majors do their work in our area, and a vital part of their fundraising efforts.

Click the Salvation Army hyperlink above to learn how to help out this holiday season.

MisterWriter

The new MDUSD board majority takes the helm and what a change there was...

At the start of the public session of the MDUSD board meeting last night, there was a noticeable change in the air.  Across the board desks, nameplates were in disarray, with April Treece's plate still present.

As the board began to filter in the jam-packed board room, with attendees spilling out to the front door of the Dent Center, the crowd started to be silent.

As Sherry Whitmarsh walked through the double doors and into the board room, a resounding cheer and applause followed. She was beaming as she walked in, arms full with binders, and took her place. Treece was not there.

Gary Eberhart also received applause, taking his seat. It was Dick Allen helming the meeting and he spoke with a wavering voice, first recapping the closed session and then noting the change in the board, welcoming Sherry, and noting his thanks to April Treece for her many years of service. But there was more...

Allen noted that there had been much dissension during the year, and with the tumult of the budget cuts, there needed to be a unified board. As such he would not be in a position to be board president, vice-president or as leadership of any kind. It sounded like the first step in a total withdrawal from the board, but that much did not come forth.

 
For the role of president and vice-president, Gary Eberhart received the support from Paul Strange and Paul Strange, in turn nominated by Sherry Whitmarsh, received the support from Eberhart with no dissenting votes and no official abstentions.  For a long pause there was silence and then Allen noted that Eberhart had elected to begin his role with this session, rather than the traditional following meeting, and the two changed seats.

 
At that moment it was clear that the mantle had been passed and the animosity of the past, although no doubt still present, would no longer rear its ugly head in any public way. There was much repair to be done to the district and it needed to begin at once.

Consent items were breezed through with an unheard of - especially over the past year - five to zero voting, and the board hummed through a lot of items with much efficiency and calm.

It was only when issues of cuts emerged that the calm was punctuated by the remarks of Neola Crosby representing the church community who expressed concerns with “the actions of several of the board members regarding the superintendent.” Crosby went on to describe the placement of three African American upper management on the list of potential cuts as being a “hit list” of these employees and threatening complaints to be placed with the NAACP.

In contrast, NAACP representative Darnell Turner, spoke calmly asking that the vote be deferred and offering to meet with the district to help resolve issues of potentially being out of compliance. “We believe that some of these positions have been targeted,” he added. “However we have been accused of using the race card. We have never used the race card.”

As noted by others, there was no allegations of race when the three African Americans were hired by the superintendent for the roles in the first place.

Of the many things that the MDUSD has been accused of, I do not believe that race has been a factor. This is a district with a very distinctive racial mix and, if anything, a good testament to diversity in action. It is when the "race card" gets pulled and played at the mere mention of an African American potentially losing a job that everything becomes quite ugly quite quickly.  The double standard of equal rights is very much in full swing. It is time that efficiency and qualification be the deciding factor in any decisions and not the threat of discrimination based on the potential candidates' skin color.

  
Considering that anything not stapled down was included on the cut list, that seemed to me to be a blatant example of why the race issue is ever clearly in our faces and will continue to be so. Whoever claims that entitlement no longer exists is wrong.

As it turned out, the three were removed from the list of possible cuts by session end with blurred justification that it had to do with contract issues rather than having to deal with not so veiled threats of an NAACP investigation/issue.

This was a district in chaos and now, after the war, is a district in shambles and desperate to begin rebuilding. Not helped by the state's pitiful financial condition, and the every looming additional cuts, there is no doubt that the best we can hope for it a board that is receptive to its constituents, offering good communication and calling for a lot of support. With decisive action at this first board meeting, the stage was set. The superintendent clearly is now expected to answer to the board and to accept the consequences of his choices, as it should have been all along. Whether Mr. McHenry will survive the process remains to be seen. His job function is to do the bidding of the board, and their job function is to be accountable to us. It will be a slow process. It is, at least, a start.

Mr. Allen, if he remains, offers the wisdom of experience having seen this district through quite a lot of changes. Ms. Mayo, ever practical and focused on the details of the process, offers a counter balance of control and resistance to impulse. Ms. Whitmarsh as a new member, will learn the ropes, offer her views as someone less jaded by business as usual politics, and will bring a fresh perspective to the Strange and Eberhart mix, making for an interesting combination of personalities that should produce some tangible results.

It will be an interesting time and I urge everyone to follow along and get involved.

MisterWriter

Katie Grace - good news from Stanford

I will keep posting the updates on this post.

posted from Claycord.com. 12/17/08

click the pic to read the post... it is good news.

----------------------------------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/10/08 5pm

http://www.lpch.org/

If you would like to send me letters or notes you can use this web sight. It will take you right to the hospital I am at. It is called Lucile Packards. You can actually choose a card, write a note, and they will print it here. My ROOM # IS 3215.

Today my aunty Kat and Grandma Janet sat with me while mom went to the my school conference. She said Savanha and I did real well. She said when ever she is depressed a good school conference always makes her feel better:) They did all the stuff with me. We played BINGO in the game room. I won 3 times :o I also went to school here. They have one just down from my room.

The doctors told mom that I may get to go home for by the 20th for Christmas. Please pray that way for me I would not want to miss Santa.

I love to read your letters. Some people have sent them by mail, some post here on my bridge, and today my whole class sent letters with my sister. Mrs. Connie sent me some nice things to do here. Anna and Ava sent me pictures of my husband (mom taped one on my TV) now I can see him ALL THE TIME :)oxoxox). Any way you do it I love to hear from you. I have heard from friends that I have not seen for a long."

It is good news for the family and we hope that everything will continue to improve. If anything more develops I will post it here and you can get the latest by clicking the TOPIC - Katie Grace on the upper right of the blog. 

MisterWriter

-------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/9/08 noon

 

"Today was a good day for me. I got up this morning I eat 1/2 a pancake, Played some games on the computer, watched a little TV, went to the play room, took a nap, eat 1 ravioli 6 tator tots, and then went back to the play room where Build a Bear was having a little event. They told us stories, sang songs, did a craft, and at the end we got an animal. I got the Holly moose like Savanh's. I came back to my room and eat 3 little chocolate chip cookies.

I will not be coming home any time soon. I will be on antibiotics in my IV for at least 10 days. My hemoglobin is still low, and so is a few other things. This bug I have is a tricky one to treat and that is why it was so hard for the doctors to find it. They said I will be able to go to our home her in CA but not back to MN for the Holidays. That made me so sad and I know Savahna is too. But I have to have my Broviac replaced and they want to do it after Christmas. :(

I hope Santa finds our Cottage. Mom said she knows he will."

groebs4@live.com

------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/6/08  11 am
"Katie Grace Graduated to the third floor late yesterday afternoon. They now only have her on the antibiotics and Regular PH meds.

NO RIGERS:) and she looks better too.

Today she eat some eggs and a piece of cookie. She is up and really talking. And she can NOW GO TO THE PLAY ROOM. She is no longer on limited contact.

What a wonderful Christmas Gift."

---------------------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/5/08  8.30pm

"Today was a little better as a matter of fact this picture was taken after they removed the Broviac. The cords in my arm are were the meds are all going. It is called an Arterial line. I may have to go home with it or stay here until the infection is completely gone. Then they will give me a new broviac.:( I have to have it for the Remodulin.

On the up side I have only had one case of RIGERS this morning and it was not as bad as the other ones. Most of my test are still the same but I am looking better as you can tell by my picture. I am alert and talking a little.

The doctor said if I keep up the good work I can go upstairs tomorrow. That is cool because that is where all of the kids stuff is at. I really want to go there.

Keep Praying and Thank you to all who have posted and are praying."

----------------------------
from Kathy Groebner 12/5/08 9:45 am

"They just removed the Broviac from her chest, And this morning she had another episode of Rigers were her pressures all go crazy. It was not as bad as the past few ones but she did start to vomit no blood this time either. So there are many positive things going on today. I know that a seizuer is never positive but the size was. This means that the antibiotics are finaly helping."

------------------------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/5/08 12.01 am

"They have decided to not take the line out tonight. They have found that her hemoglobin is low and her blood is too thin. For months the doctors have preached about how thin it needs to be and now it is to thin for surgery. The will have to give her plasma (blood) in order to thicken up the blood or she can bleed to much when they take the line out. The idea is she will get the blood slowly tonight and they will take the line out in the morning. For now though she has normal pressures and heart rate as good as that is for her now as long as the line is in they know she will rise again. For now she is resting and watching Little Bear"

--------------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/4/08 7:40 pm

"Katie Grace is now in the PICU at stanford.
It has been touch and go. she looses consciousness and has delusions of many things. The doctors have said that this can happen with the fevers. One thing is heart failure with heart rate up to 190 and oxygen at 85 she is critical.
They have found an infection in her Broviac line. Yesterday they place an arterial line in her arm so they can give antibiotics through the broviac. It has not worked. Tonight they will remove the broviac. This also raising the concern that when they do the infection that has built up on the line will release itself into the blood system setting near her heart. Again causing yet more what they call riders or something like that. Basically it is the body's reaction to the infection and is what she has been Fighting. We will be here long enough to get rid of the infection and place a new broviac. All you Pher's and parents of PHer's know how this is.
Just another part of being on the Pulmonary Hypertension Rollercoaster :(
Kathy (mother of Katie Grace PHer 6 yrs old)"

---------------------------------

from Kathy Groebner 12/4/08 3pm

"Now we know IT IS A LINE INFECTION. Katie Grace will continue to get Remodulin through an Arterial line. A cross between her broviac and a regular IV. They will remove the old line treat the infection. And then Place in a new Broviac as soon as the infection is gone.

Please keep in mind that the rest is what happened and how I felt at 1am.

Tonight I set and watch as Katie Grace struggles with life. She has a Gram negative infection. They tell me this is one of the worse and we may have to help her hold on. Now they say a blood transfusion may be needed. Her heart rate goes up to 195 her, blood pressure at 66/29, her O2 (oxygen) is at 85, they have her in a room I am freezing in with NO BLANKET or shirt on. They have laid her on a cooling blanket. The doctor has now brought in information for me to read because a blood transfusion may be needed. I also just seen a young man just feel dead on his High School football field. They believe it was his heart or was it undiagnosed Pulmonary Hypertension? I have to wonder? What kind of life does this all hold for my baby girl? How much pain is she in? Could I have stopped this? And they tell me it could be a few days of this before I see any change or results. The brochure says that the odds of her getting HIV or Hepatitis C is 1 in 2 million. Her odds of getting PH was 1 in 3 million. What kind of odds are those when you look at this from that point of view? I Pray God helps me know what to do. I do not even know what to tell John?"

We know that this family is going through an incredibly difficult time. Keep them in your thoughts.

Read more HERE

MisterWriter

A Friend Indeed? Or is it a friend in deed? Just how many friends do I need? Indeed!

A friend in hand is worth a thousand online unless you are unloved

One of the many virtual fads is that of online friends made popular by social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The logic is simple; my friends become your friends and your friends become my friends and soon we have tons of friends, most of whom we neither know personally, care about, or really need in our lives beyond the status of having 1000 friends.

If you have 1000 friends, you are known as a "whale" which is a limit after which it is perceived that you have too many friends, or friends for the sake of having friends. People who know people who know people...

As any user of Facebook or other sites will attest, there is a daily request by people wanting to be your friend. They may have found you by culling the friends list of others, through an interest search they conducted - I want a friend who likes laundry lint - or through the randomized suggestions these sites present.

Celebrities are a magnet for friends. Who doesn't want to be George Carlin's friend? Oh wait, he died, so we can't be friends. Except that frequently the holder of the social networking name may not be that person at all. Think about it, why would Brad Pitt want to be your friend?

Locally, I have a lot of Facebook friends. Many local news reporters and television anchors, most of whom I have not met, have somehow become part of my friends list. Politicians can never have too many friends, especially during election years, as I learned when I became friends with Barack Obama and started receiving daily "Dear Friend," emails from our new president, his wife, Joe Biden, and anyone else they could find to send me messages asking for my money and my support.

I somehow doubt that Barack will invite me to the White House due to my networked friend status, especially now that he no longer needs my support.

The whole thing makes me remember my childhood and the many worries about being unliked by others, especially the "cool" kids. I believe that we have an innate fear of being disliked which fuels the online phenomenon, much like blog sites that thrive on anonymous postings by so-called experts.

 

Mister Rogers promoted the concept of friendship by being the friend of those children in television land who would tune in to watch him don his worn sweater and casual shoes in the world of make-believe. It was certainly acceptable even then, to have friends you never actually spent time with.

As I scan through my Facebook friends list, I can see the updates they post. Sometimes they will post interesting things, sometimes commentary and sometimes they will post micro-commentary. Micro-commentary, or micro-blogging still eludes me. This is a single sentence about what you are doing. Really. "I am going to the bathroom." You will find this on social sites like Twitter that deal only with this instant redundancy. Here, as with other sites, friends follow you. You may follow them and receive their micro-blogs as well. You'll know when they are in the bathroom.

From the early days of the Internet and the advent of America Online chatrooms, friendship and social bonding, as well as the strange an bizarre have always danced in an odd symbiotic relationship. We need to be liked and loved, yet often lack the time, or depth of character, to do so in a real world setting where friendships come with much work, and an ongoing challenge. Online, a friend is a friend, instantly, without the need to commit, without the need for reaching out, understanding, caring or anything that cannot be shut down with the computer, or blocked at the press of the button because you are too busy with your other friends.

I have a friend who knows a friend with a friend that is related to the friend of the new president of our country. How special am I? I can deal with it.

MisterWriter
reprinted from The Clayton Pioneer 12/06/08 issue

Teachers - Finland looks really nice this time of year! MDUSD Board should read this...

An excellent article on the merits of how teachers are reviewed and the expectations of their job functions from Finland.  I suggest every teacher use the email link at the bottom of the article posting to send it to everyone they know.

And I hope the board of education will read it as they attempt to move the MDUSD forward despite what the Terminator has done.

Click the image to read the article or click HERE.

MisterWriter

6 yr old Katie Grace Groebner - a medical update on her condition

[update: 12/3/08 9am: this from Kathy Groebner:
"Katie Grace started running a slight fever yesterday after school. It started with a headache. She seemed fine just sleepy. I thought it was exhaustion from the long weekend and heavy partying.

When we dropped Savanha off at school she seemed fine. Kind of happy to get to stay home. As we reached Safeway just a few blocks away she began to say she was cold. I asured her we only needed to get salt. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went straight to the backing isle. There she began to have a heavy amount of spit on her face and hair. I took her to the bathroom and wiped her off. With everything I needed in the cart I thought we would be fine until I could call the Dr's and get her in.

Handing the lady at the check out the salt and food color I looked over to see her spewing up BRIGHT RED BLOOD. As her eyes rolled in the back of her head I told the checker to just call 911. LUCKY for us a first responder from Clayton fire Dept came. He is friends with Leanora and Niel. He had met and talked with John and knew about Katie Grace. He was able to contact every one for me and take my van back to the fire Dept.

At this time Katie Grace was having seizers. At first they were going to take her to Children's but on the way she begin to spew more blood. We went to John Muir. They were very concerned and showed great care in every thing including noteing her seizer behaviors. She was primarily unconscious from 8am-3pm. They took every test imaginable to them and called Stanford. They felt once stable it was in her best interest to send her here.

Now here we are in our room in the PICU. Her fever is down and she seems to be talking. They let her eat a little after her test were done. So far it is thought that the infection is in her Broviac. That would account for the fever. They are also thinking Pneumonia? But neither are a reason for the siezer's or the blood.

She is in good hands and getting good care. She has had more test including a Brain and Chest CAT scan.

I know that many of you are praying. At this time that is all we can ask for."

-------------------

[12/2/08 6pm]

I received this email from Kathy Groebner, Katie Grace's mom a short time ago. I have no added information.

 "Katie Grace began to spit up blood and have a seizer in Safeway today. After getting her stable they sent her to Stanford. Not much is known at this time but she is finally conscious and talking to dad. I will post more on her caring bridge."

During this time of year we take for granted the many blessings in our lives. This family could use as many thoughts and prayers as readers can spare. I can't think of anything scarier to experience as a parent.

You can stay connected on Katie Grace's Caring Bridge pages HERE or click the picture to take you there.

 

The picture is the catheter she has
delivering medication 24/7 to her heart.
Until this episode the medication had
been working,

The family does accept direct emails at groebs4@live.com although it might be best not to bombard them until more is known.

And go give your kids a hug and a kiss before you do anything else.

You can read the earlier story on Katie Grace HERE.

MisterWriter

PD? Aren't we just becoming a nation of assholes?

More psychiatric studies have now determined that 20% of young people ages 19-25 have "personality disorder." Are you serious?  Given the crap on television we allow children to watch, a society with no value system that promotes celebrity trashiness and felonious musicians and actors, and an education system that as has much nutrition as a Twinkie, it seems that "personality disorder" would be the least of the problems.

"Counting substance abuse, the study found that nearly half of young people surveyed have some sort of psychiatric condition, including students and non-students," the report cites. How 25% became 50% is unclear!

How about raising the bar? These kind of studies should be outlawed during recessions. What a waste of money! Next they will medicate these kids, along with the fat kids with high cholesterol and the ones who have the gene for laziness and the big Rx companies will be even happier than they are already. Do you want the BLUE pill or the RED pill?

You can read the study HERE. 

MisterWriter

Getting Fry'd? Why you want to think twice about those warranties and with whom you are doing business. Check out the law of the sheep!

The American obsession with discounted pricing has, over the years, turned the focus of business from customer service - yes that actually existed at one point in time - to the cattle-herding mentality prevalent at most stores where business is based on price alone.

Case in point - my experience at Fry's that will now be escalating into a conflict.  In August I purchased three laptops at Fry's. Ignoring the cattle loading method of checking out, I got a good deal and, for good measure, purchased replacement warranties on the lot.

One laptop needed to be returned the next day - it would not boot up and, after being made to feel like a criminal by the repair department, I told them to take it back as I no longer wanted it and promptly bought a different one at Fry's.

Last week, one of the laptops had an issue. The retaining screw that holds the monitor/cover hinge to the main board either snapped or fell out. The result was that the left side of the monitor was now loose, popping the plastic casing and pulling the monitor cabling enough to stop it working. No worries! I had the warranty, right?

Wrong. At the repair department I was told immediately and unequivocally that it was physical damage and would not be covered by the warranty and, in fact, voided my warranty.

"Are you kidding me?" I stammered. "This is a defective product."  The service manager, an imposing and defiant man added "There is no way that screw comes out unless someone takes it out."

"Why would I unscrew the thing?" I told him. "That makes no sense." He was done. Now he stood his ground that Fry's would do nothing for me.

I was now upset. I demanded the corporate number and got it. And left.

The next thing I did was pull up Fry's online and check out their customer service record. It appears to be quite abysmal.  In fact, my exact complaint was mirrored by a few other people posting their issues. And the name of the very same, rude and defiant service manager was likewise listed.

When my blood pressure dropped down to normal, two things became apparent. I would no longer be shopping at Fry's and would make it my new religion to share the experience that I have had, and I would be getting the computer fixed, obtaining a professional opinion about the cause of the screw missing - which I am almost certain is caused by it snapping off, and expect the parts to be floating in the innards of the laptop - and then I plan to sue Fry's and the useless sales manager for the amount of my repair and whatever other costs I can add to that.

I am angry at myself for allowing the guile of low prices to offset what will ultimately get you in the end - the need to deal with the company for repairs.

In fairness, the problem is not just Fry's. It is a problem created by ridiculous consumers who have dropped all level of expectation of service and put themselves on the doors of these stores at 4am after their Thanksgiving orgies, that have allowed corporate America to take control, doling out horrible product quality and horrible customer service, at wonderful prices.  You get the price break at the front-end and you get the shaft at the rear. What a deal.

Most of the large chain stores have a terrible track record for customer service.  And in their policies they have maximized their process at our expense. The whole attitude of having sixteen cashier windows and only five cashiers open during a busy shopping time is deliberate. There is a lot of free PR that comes from seeing lines of people waiting to check out - it implies irresistible products and prices and draws you in to find out what the deals are. Yard sale shoppers know this.  If you see no one at a yard sale you will look from your car window. If people are there you will get out to see what deals are there.

Worse still, the exit door moron who has to check your receipt and ultimately draws a smiley face on it. It is insulting that ten feet from the cashier to the door I have to be subjected to this blatant shoplifting deterrent. They will tell you it is designed to ensure you have the merchandise you paid for. That is a lie. It is used to add a mark to the receipt so that if you return merchandise they can see you exited properly - less chance of stolen property, although this makes no sense.

Worse still, this checkout is only legal if it is...voluntary. Yep...it is VOLUNTARY. Searching your bags (even their bags) is a violation of your right to privacy. You CAN just walk out and they will have to stop you if they believe you shoplifted. For that to happen there are 6 criteria that must be met to give that assumption credibility. Stopping you because you did not walk the line opens your right to sue them for unlawful detention or unlawful arrest. More on this another time - I plan a series of articles called "Getting Screwed in America" which will cover this topic and more.

We have allowed ourselves to become the sheep of commerce, lined up for the slaughter after having played the commerce "Let's Make A Deal" game.

I will be posting my progress with Fry's on this site. You are welcome to add your own experiences.

Meantime, some interesting reading on the Fry's topic can be found HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE. If you want to learn about where your REBATE forms may go click HERE.

At finally, I just posted the information on ABC-7 's "7 On Your Side" with Michael Finney. We'll see what happens.

MisterWriter