Memories of 9/11/01

I was a junior at BHS during the 2001-02 school year. I went to school that Tuesday morning and headed to my first class, Geography with Mr. Walker in room A107 in BHS. It was about 9:00 that Mr. Walker received an e-mail from P.E. teacher Mr. Banfield who told him that two planes had hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Mr. Walker turned on the TV and as I went to my second block class, Psychology with Mr. Niskanen. Since Mr. Walker and Mr. Niskanen were both Social Studies teachers it led to a major class discussion. I went to Algebra 2 with Mr. Muffley third block which included lunch in the middle. When I went to lunch, there was a big line of parents who were overreacting waiting to sign their children out of school. BJ and I made some comment about it because our moms always worried about us and they weren’t there to get us.  We knew that the targets were federal buildings, not some high school in Barberton of all places. We had our regular lesson and then watched the TV while doing homework. Mr. Fahey’s Computer 1 class was fourth block and he had us look up stuff about the attacks on the internet.  I found a “10 Most Wanted” poster on the FBI website for Usama bin Laden (as it was originally spelled), whom I never heard off prior to that day.  I read some biographical info about him and his background.

Mom picked me up from school that day since I had yet to get my license. When I got home, I remember Dad was there for some reason. Grandma Muffet had been in the hospital for the last eight days after having a major stroke; at that point we didn’t know how bad it was going to be. The next day, lessons were back to normal at BHS, but the thought of the day remained in our minds ever since.  Soon after security went up everywhere and the BHS Senior Trip to Disney World was relocated to Kings Island. Great-Aunt Mary was in her last semester of serving on the Barberton School Board and I remember she called and when I answered we were talking about 9/11. She said how putting students in an airplane at that time was just too risky.

Kenny Roda, who hosted the afternoon drive sports talk radio show on 850AM Cleveland (he currently co-host the Afternoon Drive with Michael Reghi), decided to start playing different versions of the national anthem at the end of his show.  I can remember every September 11 since then and all the ceremonial activities that occur. It is a day in infamy that we will never forget.  On the one year anniversary, BHS had a ceremony in which the fire captain and police chief attended, along with a presentation by principal Mr. Gaskill and student leaders Rachel Gore, Stephanie Jerin, Lauren Ondecker, and Lynsey Ondecker.

Labor Day Weekend 2001

Labor Day Weekend 2001

On Saturday morning, September 1, I left with my parents and Grandma Muffet to Grandma's hometown, Louisville, KY.  We arrived there later in the day and went to the motel.  We met Mom's cousin Ricky there, who had his mother (Grandma's sister) Liz in the car.  We went to Big Boy's, where we met the rest of the family.  Aunt Liz's daughter Donna, her husband Chuck, son David and Rick's wife Marilyn were all there.  Rick's son Brian, a student at the University of Louisville worked there part time.  After eating dinner, we went to Donna's house and spent some time there.  She showed us around her house.  After that we went to Rick's house and he showed us his sports room.  He was a huge Yankees and Kentucky b-ball fan. 

We went back to the hotel and the next morning we left to go to the Louisville Sluggers Museum with Rick and Brian.  After that we went back to Big Boy's, so Grandma and Aunt Liz could say bye to each other before leaving for Barberton.  We figured that this would be the last time they saw each other since Aunt Liz was beginning to get Alzheimer's and obviously the distance.  We went back to Ohio and stopped at Wendy's to buy Grandma her beloved salad.  When we pulled in the driveway at the house, Grandma didn't get out of the backseat of our newly purchased '98 Lumina (which we still have).  She was still talking, so we figured we figured she was fine and called the paramedic to carry her in the house, which seemed ok to them as well.  After not getting up all night, we called them again in the morning.  She went to Barberton Hospital where we learned she had a stroke.  

Aunt Kathy, Krissy, Nikki, Mom, and I went to the hospital and stayed there a while when we learned that the stroke left Grandma in a coma.  We were not sure if she was going to make it.  Grandma Maybin and Susie (Uncle Tom’s mom and sister) came to the hospital later.  Grandma Maybin was a retired nurse and knew things were bleak when she first saw Grandma Muffet.  Susie invited Krissy, Nikki, and I to lunch at Wendy’s, where we could relax.  They asked me about my new job at Acme, whose parking lot was next to the Wendy’s  Krissy had to go back to Cincinnati the next day for her new job at Proctor and Gamble.  She was scheduled to go on a business trip to Kansas City the morning of Sept. 11.

She began to improve the next several weeks and hoped that she would make a full recovery.  That never happened and she became worst in May 2004.  Grandma Lillian Muffet died on August 2, 2004 at the age of 79.  Great-Aunt Elizabeth Logsdon died at age 91 in December 2007.

Long Road Back to School

After completing student teaching graduating from the University of Akron in December 2008 with a degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from the College of Education, I decided that teaching was not for me.  My second career choice was journalism, so I decided that I should pursue this instead.  I briefly thought about being a paralegal as well, but thought that being a journalist would be more fun.  I took four news journalism courses at the UA, so I put my resume in with several local newspapers.  The Portage Lakes Suburbanite, which mostly employees free lance writers (who write articles on the side of their main job) hired me in February.  I continued to work at Acme, but I wanted to get an additional job so I could save some money for college, instead of having to take out a $20,000 loan. 

A friend of mine from Barberton High School attended the Ohio Center for Broadcasting (OCB) and landed himself a job as a producer for a morning radio show.  I thought this 38 week, hands-on program would be good for me, so I visited their school in Independence (Cuyahoga County) for a tour.  Back to the job search.  I looked at ads in the newspaper and saw a listing for the US Census Bureau in June 2009.  I contacted them and in the fall, I took an exam to be a enumerator.  I was hired by the Census Bureau in April 2010 and worked for them for six weeks.  It was a good job, as the weather was good for walking door to door and it paid $13.25 an hour, nearly $4 more an hour than I make at Acme.  However, once that job was over in June, I realized that working two jobs was difficult when it came to both jobs wanting me to work the same hours.  It was too late to apply for financial ad for the 2010-11 school year, so I figured I would wait until next year.

In February, I filled out my financial ad forms online and submitted them upon the completion of my tax forms in March.  In early April, I called the OCB and was told I could only receive $9,000 of $15,000 needed for my student loan because I already had a degree and it wasn't a state school.  I decided at this point to apply to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent St.  It is one of three nationally accredited school for journalism in Ohio, along with Bowling Green and Ohio U.  I was admitted a few weeks later and made an appointment to see an advisor in May.  The advisor told me I had two options, either obtain a second bachelor's degree or a master's degree.  I decided it would be better to get a master's degree, but it required passing the GRE (Graduate Review Exam).  I bought a book and studied, but it proved to be very difficult, so I decided in July to pursue the bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism.  I have experience already in the newspaper business, so I would now like to puruse broadcasting for TV and radio.  After signing up for courses and updating financial ad forms, I am now ready to go back to school. 

I will be taking two classes to ease myself back into the academic world.  I haven't taken an classes in 3.5 years since I started my student teaching in early 2008.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I will take Intro to Mass Communcation and Argumentative Prose Writing for six credit hours.  I will work at Acme about 30 hours a week and may add a third class to my semester's schedule next year.  After completing an internship, I plan to graduate in 2014.

Week of Paid Vacation: July 24 to 30

My second of three weeks of paid vacation from Acme this year was the week of July 24 to 30.  This is a summary of how my week went.

On Sunday, Scott and I went to Malabar Farm near Mansfield, OH in Richland County.  We took a tour of Louis Bromfield's (Pulitzer Prize winner) home and farm.  Bromfield was an earlier promoter of preserving the environment before it took on greater attention in the 1970s.  On Monday, I took care of some financial aid information with Kent St. so I could sign up for fall classes (a blog about that will come later) was a slow day.  On Tuesday, Adam and I went to Charger Lanes for bowling and I did some touch up painting in my upstairs room.  On Wednesday, Scott and I went to the Summit County Fair, and I later went on a tour of the Hower House near the UA.  On Thursday, Mom and I spent some time together.  On Friday, Scott and I went to the Western Reserve Historical Society.  There were three parts to this facility, the Crawford Car Museum, the history museum (featuring an Abraham Lincoln and Civil War exhibit), and research library.  On Saturday, Dad and I went to Marion to visit the family.  Most of the family had lunch at Bob Evans and went to Cousin Ginny's (Dad's 1st cousin, daughter of Grandma Webster's sister, Great-Aunt Ruby) house to look at old photos and discuss geneology with Aunt Theresa and Great-Aunt Helen.  Ginny gave me several interesting papers and when I got home, I used them to update my information.

Big Changes in TV

If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of familar faces on TV this year that won't be back for another year in 2011-12.

Oprah Winfrey's last show aired today after a 25 year run.  Since I can remember, her showed aired weekdays at 4pm on the Cleveland ABC affliate, WEWS.  Her replacement is undecided, but now that he has her OWN (pardon the pun) network, she can give all kinds of people new shows (her best friend Gayle King has a new show). 

One rumor replacement for Oprah is Katie Couric, who just stepped down as the CBS Evening News anchor.  Her replacement will be Scott Pelley.  It's uncertain whether Couric plans to stay employed by CBS.  Couric's previous job was at host of NBC's Today Show.  Upon leaving her job there, she was replaced by Merideth Vierra, who previously was the monitor on ABC's The View.  Vierra announced that she was stepping down as the Today Show's co-host, due to her husband's poor health.  He has suffered from mulitple sceloris for several years and was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer, so she needs to spend more time at home.  She'll still be working for NBC, probably on a show like Dateline that would only require her being on air one day a week.

Two of TV's oldest personalities (excluding those on CBS's 60 Minutes) have either retired or announced their retirement.  Larry King (77 years old) retired in December after 25 years on the air hosting CNN's Larry King Live.  British journalist and commenator Piers Morgan now has a show, Piers Morgan Tonight, airing in King's old time slot.  Regis Philbin (almost 80 years old), co-host of Regis and Kelly Live, announced his retirement, effective in November.  Regis has been on air more than any TV personality in history.  Martin Short is among the favorites to replace him.  Last, but not least (actually he is least when it comes to sanity) is right-wing shock jock Glenn Beck, who will be leaving his talk show on FOX News.  Unfortunately, he will still host a radio show, so he won't be going away.  At least we don't have to look at him anymore.

Week of Paid Vacation, May 15 to 21

June 12 marks my 10th anniversary since I started working at Acme, which means I get three weeks of paid vacation this year.  I scheduled my three weeks for May 15-21, July 11-17, and Nov. 28-Dec. 4.  This will be a review of my first week, from May 15-21, which consisted of several one day trips.

On Sunday, Scott and I greeted for the 10AM Sunday service at St. Andrew's.  Following the service, we went home and changed out of out suits into our casual clothes before heading on our first road trip of the week.  We drove out to Mansfield to see the old State Reformatory where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  We stopped for lunch along the way at the Lodi Station Outlets Food Court.  We arrived in Mansfield just in time for the first tour at 1:30.  The Mansfield Reformatory operated from 1896-1990 before being closed due to its horrible condition.  Thousands of inmates sued on the basis that the building violated their 8th amendment rights, regarding cruel and ususual punishment.  One could easily see where they had a case.  Despite the rude crowd (people were more interested in talking and taking pictures than listening to the tour guide), it was a good tour.  I don't think I need to go back for the haunted house they host their since it was creepy enough during daylight hours.

On Monday, I went to Kent St. and Scott showed me around the campus.  Scott is currently attending school their while working for residential services and I'm going to start taking classes there for Fall 2011 semester.  Scott showed me where the shootings took place at in 1970, in which Mom was on campus when it all went down.  On Tuesday, Scott and I went to Presque Isle in Erie, PA and played the slot machines.  We made penny and nickle bets and I bet about $35, $20 of the casinos and $15 of my own.  We stopped for lunch at Golden Corral along the way. 

On Wednesday, I visited Cuyahoga Falls High School and Schnee Learning Center where I completed my student teaching in 2008.  On Thursday, I hung out w/ Mom while she did some arrands, plus I picked up some groceries at Acme 6 in Norton.  On Friday, Scott and I had lunch at IHOP before heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.  It was the first time I was there in almost 15 years.  I bought a couple of neat book while I was there.  The one bad thing about Friday during my vacation week is that I have to go to Acme to check my work schedule for next week.

On Saturday, I went to Cincinnati w/ Mom and Dad for Cousin Kate's 3rd birthday party.  Dad drove my 2007 Chevy Impala since Mom is trying to conserve miles on her 1998 Lumina, which she won't be driving much longer.  We stopped for lunch at the Jeffersonville Prime Outlets Food Court along the way.  When I got to Cousin Krissy and Brett's house, we talked for a while, had supper, and Kate opened her gifts.  Her birthday will be on May 25.  Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom, Krissy, Brett, Cousin Ellie, and Brett's family (parents and brother) were all there.  Grandma Maybin and Susie visited, but they left before we arrived.

Changes the NCAA Should Consider

The recent stories regarding Ohio St. head football coach Jim Tressel and the five players suspended for accepting tattoes in exchange for memorabila, in addition to the Cam Newton allegations at Auburn raises the bigger question, what can be done to eliminate problems like these while making life easier for college athletes.

A few things that need to be looked at:

1. Some believe that the NCAA should pay its athletes cash since they don't have income since they don't have time to work.  This is a bad idea, the NCAA should not pay its athletes cash.  Scholarship athletes already get their college tuition for free, which pays for their courses, books, and room and board (housing and food).  These are all the basic essentials they need.  Athletes who are not on scholarship should be given compensation by way of credit on their student cards (Akron athletes could be give money on their Zip card).  This way the money has to be spent on campus, which means the money will stay at the university.  Most importantly, athletes can't use the money for moral questionable transactions, such as alcohol and strippers.  Also, non-power conference (BCS) schools would be required to raise tuition for their general student population to pay for athlete salaries, given that they don't generate massive revenue from their athletic programs.

2. Athletes should be allowed to profit from endorsements, provided that they are not paid until college graduation.  The reasons listed above explains why athletes don't need the money while in college, however if your likeness is used in a video game, you deserve to be compensated at some point.

3. Athletes should not be allowed to take money from boosters or agents.  Boosters open up the doors for athletes to be involved in gambling and point shaving (fixing games).  Agents are only good for negogiating contracts with professional teams and therefore serve no purpose to college athletes.

4. If an athlete wants to sell their memorabila, they should be permitted.  It's their property and they should have the right to do with it as they please.  However, I do think its a stupid thing for them to do and the Ohio St. players will regret it later, especially those who don't go on to have NFL success.