tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257256172024-03-13T00:09:21.646-04:00Rick's BlogRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.comBlogger1738125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-61862429022996945452023-04-06T06:48:00.003-04:002023-04-06T06:48:55.623-04:00TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION <p style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I originally wrote this about 10 years ago. It's slightly edited to correct typos and clarify information. Overall, this is a snapshot of technology. </b></i></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f5fb2bdc-7fff-6148-403c-c68e77b2c392"><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span></span>I was asked how technology has changed in the classroom since I started teaching. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1995, some teachers had a classroom computer and most schools had a lab.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During that first year of teaching, I approached one of our administrators about needing a couple of new computers for my students. I taught English and journalism, and I was able to gettwo brand new computers with Pentium 133 MHZ processor. I don't remember what that exactly meant, but it was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">good</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for 1995. They also had a hard drive, maybe a 2 Gb. They might have been five, I'm not sure. Anyhow, I felt good about that. I returned after Chirstmas Break and they were in my classroom/office. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the journalism teacher, I was lucky enough to have some Macintosh computers, as well. And by some, I mean, two. One had a small hard drive and the other didn't have one. After a semester, we quit using those. (Editor’s Note: Instead of disposing of these machines, we should have kept them. They are probably worth a bit on Ebay — which did not exist in ‘95). </span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">PageMaker was relatively new and unknown at the time, but we had version 4.2 on the Macs. It wasn't worth using, but we did some mock ups and cuts and pastes. I also came across a bootleg version of PageMaker 5.0 that I could use with my other district–issued computer: the Gateway. I also was able to borrow another teacher's Gateway because she never used it and I told her she could "house it in my classroom." I found ways to get computers.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in ‘95, we didn't have the Internet, but suddenly we were able to go into the "head end" room and use a computer with our new email addresses to communicate. Well, actually, we had to use our own email addresses, but we would eventually be receiving district e–mail addresses. There was only one computer set up this way. I remember trying to get in there early in the morning to "check email." Wow, this was so 1995.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most teachers back then didn't really incorporate technology. But it began to change during the next few years. We were able to receive the Technology Literacy Grant at that school and make some major changes and upgrades. We spent money using stipends and such to get teachers trained on email, Microsoft, etc.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Times began to change and by 2000 we had "a lot of" teachers getting "with the program."</span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.92; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can't imagine how fun it must be to be a teacher these days with the Internet, with collaboration, with the endless supply of information. If all the other political mumbo jumbo didn't come with the package ...</span></p><br /></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-19123715093045567452022-11-30T06:51:00.002-05:002022-11-30T06:51:27.909-05:00Sometimes You Roll Sevens <h2 style="text-align: left;">Tigers' Mistakes Personified </h2><p><i>I actually do not remember writing this blogpost in July 2015. 20 Days later, Dombrowski was jettisoned. Ironically, a few years later, he actually did join the Phillies. Many of my concerns about Avilia turned out to be founded. </i></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #e1771e; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.35px; letter-spacing: 0.2em; text-transform: uppercase;">JULY 14, 2015</span></p><div class="date-posts" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0.5em 0px 1.5em; padding-bottom: 1.5em;"><a name="5779350801228139297"></a><h3 class="post-title" style="color: #003366; font-size: 18.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0.25em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="https://rickswritingagain.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-future-of-baseball-in-motor-city.html" style="color: #003366; display: block; text-decoration-line: none;">The Future of Baseball in the Motor City</a></h3><div class="post-header-line-1"></div><div class="post-body" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><p></p><h2 style="color: #e1771e; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.35px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; letter-spacing: 0.2em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 1.5em 0px 0.75em; text-transform: uppercase;">WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DAVE DOMBROWSKI GIVES HIMSELF THE ESCAPE CARD AND IS ABLE (TO GET OUT OF JAIL FREE) </h2>What if they changed direction? What if the Tigers decided that the current way didn't work so we have to adjust and take a new route. Not necessarily rebuilding but changing the direction on the fly?<br /><br />Dave Dombrowski is an effective — if not incredible — general manager for a baseball team. He puts together a good scouting team, drafts prospects, and finds ways to turn those prospects into tradable components to acquire Major League talent. That has always been the Dombrowski way (any Expos fans out there can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here). It's possible that Dombrowski is in the final year of his contract and it's likely that he is going to leave the Tigers. It's rumored that he may be a prime candidate for the Blue Jays or Angels; I wonder if he would be a good fit for the Phillies. That's not my point.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LdtN2_Hi7is/VaVNUylERmI/AAAAAAAAFHI/QWXmCxeJ3YM/s1600/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.11.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #5588aa; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LdtN2_Hi7is/VaVNUylERmI/AAAAAAAAFHI/QWXmCxeJ3YM/s320/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.11.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" width="248" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Dave Dombrowski, general manager of the Tigers. </b></span></div><br />I read today that Assistant General Manager Al Avila may have the inside track for the GM position should Dombrowski decide not to return. I'm not sold on this at this point. I wonder if the Tigers might go the route of finding someone who can lead the team in two areas I believe they lack: 1) someone who truly leads the development of baseball players who end up playing for the Tigers and 2) someone who is adept with analytics. I'm not sure who might be a good candidate, but a new direction may better prepare the team to compete. The top–heavy, sign all the stars route has proven good but not great. And we all know that the Tigers want to be a great, not good, team. Remember, the enemy of great is good.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9tqiMpXANw/VaVNVJ-Va2I/AAAAAAAAFHQ/9_U-cZeUOt4/s1600/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.25.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #5588aa; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9tqiMpXANw/VaVNVJ-Va2I/AAAAAAAAFHQ/9_U-cZeUOt4/s320/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.25.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Assistant General Manager Al Avila could be a candidate to run the organization. </b></span></div><br />The Tigers could look to both the Cardinals and Astros as teams who have developed Major League ready players and allowed them to flouish; they could also look to the Cubs and Rays as teams who use advanced metrics effectively. Now, I don't want the Tigers to become the shiftiest team in baseball by any means, but I think it's time for the team to embrace the information and use it more. I'm a baseball traditionalist but I think this is the natural progression of the great game. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how this plays out during the next several weeks.<br /><br />Maybe Dombrowski will make a couple of great trades, improve the team, they roll off 20 wins in 30 games, and suddenly knock the Royals out of their thrown, make the playoffs, and suddenly come alive in October and everyone will forget all of these discussions of whether he would return in 2016. But, maybe not.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmf1uwU8TnA/VaVNVD2E1VI/AAAAAAAAFHU/0s5JEk3uuQc/s1600/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.40.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #5588aa; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmf1uwU8TnA/VaVNVD2E1VI/AAAAAAAAFHU/0s5JEk3uuQc/s320/Screenshot%2B2015-07-14%2B13.55.40.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" width="284" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Will the GM and his assistant walk away together this fall? </b></span></div></div></div></div></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-39005035357300815792022-11-07T09:34:00.003-05:002022-11-07T09:34:40.934-05:00Well Maybe I Was Wrong/Right<h2 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #003366; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18.2px;">It's On (Revisiting History — Part I) </span></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Presumably, the prospects the Tigers acquired in the trade are top–notch talent</i></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">With the trade last week of veteran starting pitcher and future Hall of Famer </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><b>Justin Verlander</b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">, the Tigers signaled that the <b><i>rebuild was real</i></b>. It was happening. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Apparently, we didn't get that idea as the team <b><i>jettisoned JD Martinez</i></b> ahead of time. Then, at the non–waiver trade deadline the Tigers moved <b><i>Justin Wilson and Alex Avilia to the Cubs</i></b> for some prospects. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Suddenly, on the playoff–deadline day, the Tigers shocked everyone by sending </span><b style="color: #333333;"><i>Justin Upton to the Angels</i></b><span style="color: #333333;"> and, with a minute to spare, </span><b><i><span style="color: #ffa400;">Justin Verlander to the Astros</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333;">. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">The Astros made total sense as a destination for Verlander. He's a stud, big game pitcher and the Houston Astros needed one of those. <i>Presumably, the prospects the Tigers acquired in the trade are top–notch talent</i>. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">The 'Stros have been building for 2017 for a long time, so the trade could be the final piece of the puzzle.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuX7B-0IpX96t2fe-gVCI6w38sMnyg9bar6vniitOLvBIR8UWO9AXwXgMVqp0BGgXWMPH3ijJHglnYuLOz3_ijMCjIYKN-ditep0WUZzCTkyfzuh8Ukvlerst_O57zU7DDaPoPTBXoDMXL3THysfaO-hbR64FLr7obDLPoBF2N8wONsihn_uk/s929/justindoit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuX7B-0IpX96t2fe-gVCI6w38sMnyg9bar6vniitOLvBIR8UWO9AXwXgMVqp0BGgXWMPH3ijJHglnYuLOz3_ijMCjIYKN-ditep0WUZzCTkyfzuh8Ukvlerst_O57zU7DDaPoPTBXoDMXL3THysfaO-hbR64FLr7obDLPoBF2N8wONsihn_uk/s320/justindoit.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><p></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-35186688768457357182022-10-20T06:57:00.000-04:002022-10-20T06:57:02.194-04:00When Changing the Attitude Does Not CHANGE the Culture <h1 style="text-align: left;">FIRE MILLEN REDUX </h1><p><i>I rediscovered this today. Current Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell has allegedly changed the culture and moved forward after the few years under former Head Coach Matt Patricia. </i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8Uq8DySL-5_ctk_F_T_3yWkhh-PrUKBvjCvZlzV140kf4hgPw97Tv7cKPDNNAhL1PaGe4Mi2pnRDduyf8rGfsGwpmzF8jOQ3mjTjw4cgvloihqr3RwHy-rkTJ1J9OkuXB9mp6K9J567-3qgvTVLTpJTC5kD2nvz1czfgS1cfWjvRwdlaYGQ/s1564/detroit-lions-logo-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX8Uq8DySL-5_ctk_F_T_3yWkhh-PrUKBvjCvZlzV140kf4hgPw97Tv7cKPDNNAhL1PaGe4Mi2pnRDduyf8rGfsGwpmzF8jOQ3mjTjw4cgvloihqr3RwHy-rkTJ1J9OkuXB9mp6K9J567-3qgvTVLTpJTC5kD2nvz1czfgS1cfWjvRwdlaYGQ/s320/detroit-lions-logo-2.png" width="295" /></a></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">"*To me, the biggest reason is Rod (Marinelli)," Millen said. "I think he did a great job this year on a lot of fronts. If you remember back when I first got here, <span style="font-style: italic;">the very first thing I talked about</span> -- the very first thing -- was the attitude. We had to change the attitude. Remember that? And I still believe that. I think that Rod has addressed that and has continued to pound it every single day. This is the first time I can see things are changing."</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">- Mr. Matt Millen, </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Former</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"> Boss of the Lions (2001 through 2008) </span></div><p></p><p>He led the team that drafted Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington, and Mike Williams et al. </p><p>He fired Gary Moeller and hired Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Dick Jauron, and Rod Marinelli. Most of those head coaches lasted a season or two. So, Millen changed cultures several times. Marinelli lasted from 2006 through the 2008 season. </p><p>So, what we are enjoying these days is nothing new …</p><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">[*</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 11.05px;">Taken from The Detroit Free-Press, January 3, 2007]</span></span></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-83964596463380892122022-10-18T06:53:00.004-04:002022-10-18T06:53:45.309-04:00Preparing a New Book for Release (or any piece of art) <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">WINNING isn't easy but it can be FUN </span></h1><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Author's Bo Jackson biography drops on Friday</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DRgDa69PqTR-chOT5YyhzA6UmPl2Fu4Rei-tGDVePvJJbt7vTmYhlaK2e1350qeNJ_jcW_1nu4r3RP_AG31i2r7suTyPo7VKpXj121KiK7FxtEmKDSvGFIzpEuaCFnifqj-FtUImPbpvNLG2amZpubl210ipPbIJtki_R1mmSl_89rh8SFo/s1122/folk%20hero.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="793" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DRgDa69PqTR-chOT5YyhzA6UmPl2Fu4Rei-tGDVePvJJbt7vTmYhlaK2e1350qeNJ_jcW_1nu4r3RP_AG31i2r7suTyPo7VKpXj121KiK7FxtEmKDSvGFIzpEuaCFnifqj-FtUImPbpvNLG2amZpubl210ipPbIJtki_R1mmSl_89rh8SFo/s320/folk%20hero.jpeg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>A few years ago, I was sitting in a hotel room in Florida when I found out about a <a href="http://www.jeffpearlman.com/the-showtime-contest-of-love/">contest</a> just before it ended. But I had an idea so I submitted it to author <a href="http://www.jeffpearlman.com/">Jeff Pearlman, </a>a renown writer who specializes in telling true stories that read like novels. </div><div><br /></div><div>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Guys-Won-Championship-Uniform--/dp/0062097636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422559341&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bad+guys+won">The Bad Guys Won</a> he puts you right back in the early '80s growing up with the Mets. In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rocket-That-Fell-Earth-Immortality-ebook/dp/B001XJ1Q7I/ref=la_B001IQWHF6_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422559395&sr=1-6">The Rocket That Fell To Earth</a>, you feel like you know Roger Clemens and his family. Right now, as I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Will-Be-Cowboys-Dynasty/dp/0061256811/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422559341&sr=8-2&keywords=the+bad+guys+won">Boys Will Be Boys</a>, I'm enjoying getting to know Jimmy Johnson's crazy team once again. Pearlman would prefer that you didn't give his <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gunslinger-Jeff-Pearlman/dp/1328745686/ref=sr_1_8?crid=HZIDJVEGLR7L&keywords=jeff+pearlman&qid=1666090077&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjcxIiwicXNhIjoiNC4zNyIsInFzcCI6IjQuNDkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=jeff+pearlman%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-8">Brett Favre</a> biography the time of day. I'd highly recommend his expose on the USFL, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Football-for-Buck-Jeff-Pearlman-audiobook/dp/B07GBCFTFC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=HZIDJVEGLR7L&keywords=jeff+pearlman&qid=1666090041&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjcxIiwicXNhIjoiNC4zNyIsInFzcCI6IjQuNDkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=jeff+pearlman%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-6">Football for a Buck</a>. His new one, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Last-Folk-Hero-Life-Jackson/dp/B09SGJ8P4Q/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HZIDJVEGLR7L&keywords=jeff+pearlman&qid=1666090077&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjcxIiwicXNhIjoiNC4zNyIsInFzcCI6IjQuNDkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=jeff+pearlman%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-2">The Last Folk Hero</a>, drops on Friday. After sharing <a href="http://www.jeffpearlman.com/we-have-a-contest-winner/">my idea</a>, I added,</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d1e1f; font-family: Andada, serif; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>As a comparison, I have always thought it would be cool if musicians (we’ll use <a href="http://www.kidrock.com/">Kid Rock</a> since I’m a Michigan person) would release some of their rough, demo material to their fan clubs for like a 24-hour period. Maybe it would just be streamed and not something that could be downloaded, but it would build up to the release of an album. If Kid Rock did that, I think it’s just different enough that it would further build his brand … </b></i></span></span></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPpNdJdbSPPVdVQGNnBVXZlStvoWgL_cI1kWumfNMbwqpKQ0cgghNOSBqQDww3Yr3lV790ZA2n-EA03f4xJ-8YVCoj8DeYhMxEof0gEhzH0NszH2QRfKiVc-xcHqMHvZ8STJEMMw5W_dwzxK43IadlFgtXR16B4GoHLrk0Skr11k6u3dO39E/s342/Screenshot%202015-01-29%2014.26.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="223" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPpNdJdbSPPVdVQGNnBVXZlStvoWgL_cI1kWumfNMbwqpKQ0cgghNOSBqQDww3Yr3lV790ZA2n-EA03f4xJ-8YVCoj8DeYhMxEof0gEhzH0NszH2QRfKiVc-xcHqMHvZ8STJEMMw5W_dwzxK43IadlFgtXR16B4GoHLrk0Skr11k6u3dO39E/s320/Screenshot%202015-01-29%2014.26.09.png" width="209" /></a></div><div><br /></div>About a year after my Pearlman contest victory, as Kid Rock prepped his album FIRST KISS, he released all the lyrics on Mondays leading up to the February 24, 2015, release. He also released one video as well as an audio video for another song. <div><br /></div><div>Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone from Kid Rock's camp read the post by Pearlman, but the marketing going into <a href="http://www.amazon.com/First-Kiss-Explicit-Kid-Rock/dp/B00QXT6MCM/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560083&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=first+kiss+kid+rock">FIRST KISS</a> was nothing short of awesome. The lyrics were cool to read ahead of time and try to determine what the song might sound like — and the videos have been actual songs. Furthermore, he also released a "<a href="http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/1161538/cmt-hot-20-countdown-behind-the-scenes-of-kid-rocks-first-kiss-video-shoot.jhtml">behind the scenes</a>" video for the making of the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCnno-3EGE">First Kiss</a>" video. Later, in 2021, he did a livestream 50th birthday party where he previewed songs from an untitled album that ended up being <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Reputation-Kid-Rock/dp/B09X9ZBLCQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YNX18UQNHLEX&keywords=bad+reputation+cd&qid=1666089545&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjE5IiwicXNhIjoiMy4yOCIsInFzcCI6IjMuNDMifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=bad+reputation+cd%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-1">BAD REPUTATION</a>. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span face="freight-text-pro, serif" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"<b>That was a bad album</b>," Rock says. "<b>I didn't spend enough time on it at all…"</b></i></span></span></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KmmbD_r2wj0/VMqL0hDiO_I/AAAAAAAAE0U/PCRrYhIF_lo/s1600/Screenshot%2B2015-01-29%2B14.36.29.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KmmbD_r2wj0/VMqL0hDiO_I/AAAAAAAAE0U/PCRrYhIF_lo/s1600/Screenshot%2B2015-01-29%2B14.36.29.png" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-64914212470877998032022-10-17T06:40:00.004-04:002022-10-17T06:40:56.358-04:00Always a Tiger. ALWAYS. <h1 style="text-align: left;">Two–thirds of the Ilitch years have been sub–.500</h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHp5WI0bnm5Qc0Ecgum2X8ktnFrD9CAeob-3Xn-6lBtPYNNfbtwTi7J6vMVPzjDLaYCkQFgKC-Q9thtprYfaTXxsRQItDWmWmV14siMuF8bISzZYC-Xxv30VyVJzjKvA57_ua1rsim7YS8Is1IkI064zHZxNMAWzbJzW0jQqpZrozyke_naPc/s545/DET_7192.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHp5WI0bnm5Qc0Ecgum2X8ktnFrD9CAeob-3Xn-6lBtPYNNfbtwTi7J6vMVPzjDLaYCkQFgKC-Q9thtprYfaTXxsRQItDWmWmV14siMuF8bISzZYC-Xxv30VyVJzjKvA57_ua1rsim7YS8Is1IkI064zHZxNMAWzbJzW0jQqpZrozyke_naPc/s320/DET_7192.gif" width="258" /></a></div><br />At one point around forty–ish years ago, probably because they won the first World Series I ever watched — and the fact that they had really cool hats — I was a Pirates fan. (Hey, those hats were cool!)<p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Then, because of ace reliever Tug McGraw and his quirkiness, I became a Phillies fan in 1980. (Don't forget that team had Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton, and a bunch of other guys. They were good.)</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I thought Reggie Jackson was cool, so I was an Angels fan. (Reggie would hit 30 home runs in the new Yankee Stadium … and that cool cat is in his mid-70s!)</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, but I was always a Tigers fan. (Always was, always will be … even during the rough years; Tigers fans have had more than their fair share).</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1984, I journeyed through the end of sixth grade and into the beginning of seventh grade and the Tigers never fell out of first place. It was quite a year, first place wire–to–wire, not to mention the World Series champs. I even went to the clinch game for the ALCS and the first Tiger game in Detroit (Thanks, Grandpa for making that happen!) </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seemed that we would probably win a few more World Series in the '80s, as the team was young, hungry, and well–managed. It didn't happen, though. 1987 was great until it wasn't … and by '88, the team was on its way down, down, down … and the '89 teams: ARGH! Seriously, did the alleged collusion affect any team worse than it affected the Tigers? </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tigers did some funny stuff through the next several years and in '02, they decided that Alan Trammell would manage the team. So, in 2003, Trammell and a bunch of cool dudes from the '84 team took over the Tigers. And, it was one of the worst seasons in Major League history. The Tigers finished 43–119, barely avoiding the worst record ever. Barely! </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMhBds5uf3sku-xoEGbR4NAV3HduhVsTi_FASKBTpW20c0Qsxtry-ASkdJxFKcvh9R83_yTE4U4bT3gJL5AIftP3EZk6Mo_v2wrFHQqsAe_Mxznax2YemWjmApFGCoKgiDuhBA0_QmVKGS4Uh9TizpIkSICe0y5Ks72JG8A68gxhCD8BYM6k/s198/1979pir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="198" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMhBds5uf3sku-xoEGbR4NAV3HduhVsTi_FASKBTpW20c0Qsxtry-ASkdJxFKcvh9R83_yTE4U4bT3gJL5AIftP3EZk6Mo_v2wrFHQqsAe_Mxznax2YemWjmApFGCoKgiDuhBA0_QmVKGS4Uh9TizpIkSICe0y5Ks72JG8A68gxhCD8BYM6k/s1600/1979pir.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-7057778716255806792022-10-15T07:37:00.002-04:002022-10-15T07:37:14.918-04:00Beyond The Tower Treasure <h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.8px;">Back when I was a kid, I loved to read. Loved it. </span></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.8px;">I still love to read. </span></h3><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;"><i>But before I loved to read, I wanted to love to read. </i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXKBCWXvhRzikiCOWn53IiTLXOwgDjaaZLNi_iv9_ZV-A6t3kA_nu1V-_3d47DRr1XJDq6Ab7ZjUfKpyl0OyxZeHllY0QlXpLRhHyGQWQSW40vT6Pd2xbhdT1gcxpoB2Dxm_Dym-0rRXWxzGrhrNJ-ewlt7HOf7u6CqfexjLo6EVhZZ6egy8/s1536/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-15%20at%207.33.15%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXKBCWXvhRzikiCOWn53IiTLXOwgDjaaZLNi_iv9_ZV-A6t3kA_nu1V-_3d47DRr1XJDq6Ab7ZjUfKpyl0OyxZeHllY0QlXpLRhHyGQWQSW40vT6Pd2xbhdT1gcxpoB2Dxm_Dym-0rRXWxzGrhrNJ-ewlt7HOf7u6CqfexjLo6EVhZZ6egy8/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-15%20at%207.33.15%20AM.png" width="213" /></a></div>I remember going to a big mall in Flint, Mich., with my mom and grandma. I would stare at the books in bookstores, wishing I could read them all. I especially thought the Hardy Boys series looked good. <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;">It would be a few years later, but I eventually read most of the hard cover series. Another bonus of going to the mall in Flint was that we could occasionally eat at Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;">-- there weren't many in the state in the '70s.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E-u77bUoFvEo8s9YSTqbg8jISOHQ9hQ8iyK9poY2MSOf71IvEwxeC0yoB_NG4S4dciMXQKp09-4U40yg6iM9vHYc4U6chgSX9SeeCox9lemXaEko4EFbisXyZB-vPXNlXEaEaV8ExG8ZLb83HQUPwImRrcqHPOtpfD4VyonM_TPX-Az3AL4/s2038/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-15%20at%207.34.13%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="2038" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E-u77bUoFvEo8s9YSTqbg8jISOHQ9hQ8iyK9poY2MSOf71IvEwxeC0yoB_NG4S4dciMXQKp09-4U40yg6iM9vHYc4U6chgSX9SeeCox9lemXaEko4EFbisXyZB-vPXNlXEaEaV8ExG8ZLb83HQUPwImRrcqHPOtpfD4VyonM_TPX-Az3AL4/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-15%20at%207.34.13%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;"><br /></span><p></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-64851540210871799432022-10-14T05:22:00.002-04:002022-10-14T05:22:14.072-04:00Revisiting a Deal With a Prince <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">TEN YEARS AGO FOR NINE YEARS! </span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">We all thought it a bit extreme then. Nine years for $214 million. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">I wonder what we're thinking now, a decade later? Well, the Tigers only paid full salary in the first two years of the contract, then presumably paid $6 million a season for the final seven years on the contract. More on that momentarily. Remember, this was not a Dave Dombrowski decision — this was entirely late owner Mr. Mike Ilitch's decision after the season–ending injury to DH Victor Martinez. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">He turned out to be like our own personal Alex Rodriguez. He failed to produce runs in the post season. He was a good singles hitter in the post season though. Couldn't slide to save a whale, though. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">In fairness, at Spring Training in 2013, I predicted he would have a monster season. He looked great in then and was hitting the ball hard and far. REALLY FAR! I thought after a full year to adjust to American League pitching he would tear things up and become the Tigers' third consecutive MVP. He hit one ball so far in a spring game that I thought it was a harbinger of things to come. And — in all fairness — he did have one great month. And five lousy months. (Not to mention October, which I don't think contractually we can mention ...) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">My comparison was former slugger and one–time bunter Adam Dunn who had played so many years in the National League and then struggled his first year in the American League. But he rebounded for a huge sophomore campaign.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Instead, Fielder went backward in 2013. He didn't reach 30 HR and barely had 100 RBI. He still received full paychecks, though. I wondered at the time, right after the playoff exit, <i>would you sign the same player to a seven–year $168 million dollar contract</i>? Somehow, Dombrowski — a great general manager who just a couple years later would be jettisoned for unknown reasons and go on to take two more teams to the playoffs — was able to trade Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers. And Ian Kinsler was a solid second sacker for the Bengals for a few seasons. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9-xzuhcS_z94AhTrKHE9uxv00zKWmrbCfWjn9rjHtb_hhDehYPKnFgptel03WLzhpPawtdo5PQc7OWXWO2i7gIrrb-F866WIogq2K0OZDnMg0mcl8sZQdHqip45EEnMoEJTrEAXD4n1hmXE5iSQ-CmaUjcK6OzqFqrnzOCPVuALSUuFdxi4/s2118/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-14%20at%205.14.48%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="2118" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9-xzuhcS_z94AhTrKHE9uxv00zKWmrbCfWjn9rjHtb_hhDehYPKnFgptel03WLzhpPawtdo5PQc7OWXWO2i7gIrrb-F866WIogq2K0OZDnMg0mcl8sZQdHqip45EEnMoEJTrEAXD4n1hmXE5iSQ-CmaUjcK6OzqFqrnzOCPVuALSUuFdxi4/w640-h288/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-14%20at%205.14.48%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-30585448516673093522022-10-13T07:07:00.002-04:002022-10-13T07:07:21.784-04:00"For 10 Years" <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #e1771e; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.35px; letter-spacing: 0.2em; text-transform: uppercase;">FOR TEN YEARS</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Probably 10 years old or so when I first heard Bob Seger's album </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">"Live" Bullet, </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">I was immediately hooked on Bob Seger and live music</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">. At the time the LP had probably been around for seven years or so and I was hearing it on the heals of his second live platter, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Nine Tonight</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">. As a youngster then, my love for Detroit was based entirely on the baseball team and not the city itself.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">While I thought it was cool that Seger's band had recorded </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Bullet</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"> at Cobo Hall, the only association I had with Cobo was going there in '76 and seeing … uh, yeah, Spider–man. That was cool and all — but getting lost in the parking garage and not being able to find our car was somewhat traumatic. I still thought it was really cool when he said,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;" /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 1em 20px;"><b style="line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">"I was reading in Rolling Stone where they said Detroit audiences are the greatest rock 'n' roll audiences in the world … I thought to myself … I've known that for 10 years."</span></b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7HmFUdofV54?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, one of the greatest Michigan bands of all time. With hit live albums in 1976 and 1981, he made the genre his. The '76 disk pushed him forward and more into the national limelight. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">It wasn't long before a new album would drop and catapult him to rock star. </span></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-45704646716657969042022-10-12T07:03:00.000-04:002022-10-12T07:03:02.026-04:00The Detroit Lions Do Not Deserve to Play on Thanksgiving<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GgGjIzqny8I/SRjQ0_HGfkI/AAAAAAAABYM/1eRAK-xwhWs/s1600-h/lamar+hunt.JPG" style="background-color: white; color: #003366; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267189372922789442" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GgGjIzqny8I/SRjQ0_HGfkI/AAAAAAAABYM/1eRAK-xwhWs/s320/lamar+hunt.JPG" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 210px; padding: 4px; width: 320px;" /></a></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">I remember when the late Chiefs owner </span><a href="http://www.kcchiefs.com/media/misc/hunt_lamar.pdf" style="background-color: white; color: #5588aa; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Lamar Hunt</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> suggested the Lions should lose the game — this was around 20 years ago — and <b>I thought he was a total jerk</b>. (Anytime someone messes with the Detroit teams, some of us young fans get defensive. Then we get older, continue to see the losing and ineptness, and decide to let the process play out ...) </span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Now, <b>I see that he must have been a visionary</b> ... The Lions should lose the game. No questions asked. Give it to a team (<b>an owner</b>) who cares! Plus, the NFL added the third (a night game!) on Thanksgiving to honor Hunt — the first one was held at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Many would call Hunt a visionary. I would, <b>today</b>, agree.</span></span></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-17124860008289552532022-10-03T07:18:00.006-04:002022-10-06T06:57:54.355-04:00The Comerica National Park Conundrum<h1 style="text-align: left;">The Avila Era is Over</h1><p>It's another day has dawned for the Detroit Tigers. A new sherrif has arrived. After seven years of Al Avila's confusing decisions (starting with the signing of Pelfrey, Zimmermann, and Upton — but that's a post for another day). </p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's been 39 seasons since the Tigers were the World Champions. I remember thinking how crazy that was for the Red Wings when they went 42 years, but they finally turned the corner. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tigers must finally build the team for Comerica Park. The team plays in one of baseball’s largest parks, so they need to do five (or six) things to compete and finally win a Championship.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Build an outfield that has speed and can chase the ball down. The new era of Tigers baseball has to focus on defense. A defensive team in Comerica Park makes more sense than a power team. While you’re at it, build a defensive infield, as well. Defense will win a Championship. Riley Greene in center field is a good start. </span></span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Don’t focus only on a pitching staff with the so-called “power arms.” Build a pitching staff that will keep opponents off balanced in a three-game series. Focus on quality pitchers who can win games. The Dombrowski power arm era didn’t lead to a title. Of course, we have continued to use the kid gloves with the non-power pitchers, ahem Casey Mize, and we see how that works. </span></span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Build a bullpen organically. Find and develop people within the organization who can be relievers and make it work. The current corps is pretty good, so that's one thing that perhaps Avila got right. One is better than nothing, right? </span></span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Harken back to the ‘80s and swipe bases. Make this team different from all others and exploit the stadium. Build a team that can run, run, run and keep opposing defenses completely off balance. Make the other teams make mistakes. With 18" bases, a speedster actually has a bit of an advantage. It would be great to see some fun on the basepaths. Comerica is the new old-Busch Stadium or Astrodome. It is not a power park. </span></span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Do we already have a manager who can develop a team and is willing to hire teachers as coaches who can build a team for the long run? If we don't, that could be another change. Hey, I hear Tony LaRussa is available again ... </span></span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The other option, of course, is to remodel Comerica Park and make it at least reasonable for hitters. I'm sure there is data out there, but so many fly balls in CoPa end up in outfielder's mitts that in most other parks would be a souvenir. </span></span></div></li></ol>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-82188021605423128432022-07-07T18:33:00.002-04:002022-07-07T18:33:06.265-04:00 COULD JIM LEYLAND JOIN DAVE DOMBROWSKI IN PHILADELPHIA <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rebooted? </h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv6GI3S8LYAefI4WCNzN9X2VIA6nAmCVrvezDdycvl8b8fG1DOve1doqwFB4BOmhMmQJjGyoblUtSPRCNzqoU-_jW7VlSfW0JNMBMfONM-J3MMNmBMHzrZSUnSL0Zdchifnv1ZLDnWwNvt6RUQWcD0oibpSQ15ufOia5dN9yPQYctQPxO9oU/s2048/IMG_2346.JPG.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv6GI3S8LYAefI4WCNzN9X2VIA6nAmCVrvezDdycvl8b8fG1DOve1doqwFB4BOmhMmQJjGyoblUtSPRCNzqoU-_jW7VlSfW0JNMBMfONM-J3MMNmBMHzrZSUnSL0Zdchifnv1ZLDnWwNvt6RUQWcD0oibpSQ15ufOia5dN9yPQYctQPxO9oU/s320/IMG_2346.JPG.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 1986, the Chicago White Sox named Ken "Hawk" Harrelson — a broadcaster — as the new General Manager. He cleaned house firing the GM Roland Hemond and the assistant GM, Dave Dombrowski. Then during the season, he also fired manager Tony LaRussa. Prior to the season LaRussa's third base coach, Jim Leyland, was named manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqEOj3Gua7rS_co-iqFqNyf8BszekeEXv-rq-nTFc3n2XE2qlyybdwbvSzNc9RmKrjvfelD56Imt_Z4q1-vKbBWWiS6KmSQiRtghsHkckX07l1ExSs3gIT2EskS_R_pTPSsCZYpw9IeaN-llBzKTQcZXpdY1TliE-R2LhP12KG6kBcG4_JPY/s263/Screen%20shot%202010-05-20%20at%204.11.22%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="195" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqEOj3Gua7rS_co-iqFqNyf8BszekeEXv-rq-nTFc3n2XE2qlyybdwbvSzNc9RmKrjvfelD56Imt_Z4q1-vKbBWWiS6KmSQiRtghsHkckX07l1ExSs3gIT2EskS_R_pTPSsCZYpw9IeaN-llBzKTQcZXpdY1TliE-R2LhP12KG6kBcG4_JPY/s1600/Screen%20shot%202010-05-20%20at%204.11.22%20PM.png" width="195" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Old English D</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 2003 Kirk Gibson was the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers. One of the catchers on that team was A.J. Hinch. LaRussa was now managing the St. Louis Cardinals after a successful stint in Oakland following the Chicago jettison. Leyland was retired after a lousy season in Colorado in 1999 which caused him to decide he was washed up. After the 2005 season, Gibby was let go along with manager Alan Trammell and many other 1984 Tigers stars when General Manager Dave Dombrowski decided to go in a different direction. In October 2005, Jim Leyland was named the manager of the Detroit Tigers. The 2006 season was a renaissance for both Leyland and the Tigers, when they made it to the World Series — losing to Tony LaRussa's Cardinals. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSLzJCJ4y8joyliQjq4JgCckCl2xJnTm2gNsa0EbsB4Ef00Uiqi5Dqvtkum6Udu2D_-sKU2Ws6nXWkzA8A9dGfPNSaphGMWeiO3HT1_Dqq1Cb5XMYnmM0ctTNPhS2K4r00gM7yBCxzhUk4DxTB3fRRJyjrpkQjY7cSofEe9M9lNV9zf7TPyk/s522/Jim%20Leyland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSLzJCJ4y8joyliQjq4JgCckCl2xJnTm2gNsa0EbsB4Ef00Uiqi5Dqvtkum6Udu2D_-sKU2Ws6nXWkzA8A9dGfPNSaphGMWeiO3HT1_Dqq1Cb5XMYnmM0ctTNPhS2K4r00gM7yBCxzhUk4DxTB3fRRJyjrpkQjY7cSofEe9M9lNV9zf7TPyk/s320/Jim%20Leyland.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim Leyland</span></div><span style="color: #050505; font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">On July 1, 2010, the Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager A.J. Hinch and promoted bench coach Kirk Gibson to manager. Gibby managed in the desert for a couple of years, but team president LaRussa and GM Dave Stewart jettisoned him when they took over the organization. That didn't last long, either. </span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Illitch family fired Dombroski in 2015 because he allegedly thought the team needed to begin a rebuilding project — and he quickly joined the Boston Red Sox to resurrect them (but they didn't really need it!) In 2017, LaRussa joined Dombrowski in Boston. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibILY78yX-xtCt0nvpFaM7aQRjm_2QYVjDmMmhEcLI0FWUaFbdfNH5SXAfuK8s7tvHQpVGjyd0xnbsK06PPDOnisgofrUd4PsAaz9SuPAty2FiQK__7h43nMmdSdPQGaKdGZVtjzhx_UESSpRAVpf74QAXh5CUO6I7GEFmFTW5fpcaxxIwyS8/s780/Screen%20Shot%202013-01-13%20at%209.00.00%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="780" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibILY78yX-xtCt0nvpFaM7aQRjm_2QYVjDmMmhEcLI0FWUaFbdfNH5SXAfuK8s7tvHQpVGjyd0xnbsK06PPDOnisgofrUd4PsAaz9SuPAty2FiQK__7h43nMmdSdPQGaKdGZVtjzhx_UESSpRAVpf74QAXh5CUO6I7GEFmFTW5fpcaxxIwyS8/s320/Screen%20Shot%202013-01-13%20at%209.00.00%20AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Classic Gibson v. Borders from Sports Illustrated</span></div></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, LaRussa, 77, is back managing the White Sox and both Hinch and Gibson are employed by the Tigers. Dombrowski is running the Philadelphia Phillies, Jim Leyland, who is also 77 years old, is retired, and the Tigers are still rebuilding. The Phillies have an interim manager right now, Jim Leyland lives in Pennsylvania, and he has unretired before, as has his former GM who he did win a World Series for in Florida, as well as his former boss in Chicago. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmogbRgJaW_hR3rM-EA9gmC6UyTAQQwkDbs_jQPHfg8bsgu3c3GhnRXYkYiL153uiR_c8xb2oUN3krXafmLIaBZ3JPj0GU4Q7xKSzGbUm9GZrKHGZ2Yep5tjrbc-7RnYaOBeLAEGXPoJxhA3UXX5uezah9f7x8xu4y9NoeflW9SgQU889nmY/s2048/DaveDombrowski.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmogbRgJaW_hR3rM-EA9gmC6UyTAQQwkDbs_jQPHfg8bsgu3c3GhnRXYkYiL153uiR_c8xb2oUN3krXafmLIaBZ3JPj0GU4Q7xKSzGbUm9GZrKHGZ2Yep5tjrbc-7RnYaOBeLAEGXPoJxhA3UXX5uezah9f7x8xu4y9NoeflW9SgQU889nmY/s320/DaveDombrowski.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dombrowski at the annual Tigers dinner in Lakeland, FLA. </span></span></div></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What would have happened if Dombrowski had somehow convinced Leyland to stick it out in 2014 for the Tigers? We'll never know, but it's fun to speculate.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #050505; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsyAwNkaE8e3nzpxxHFFp5wXy7-Q7gz8U_ZiiqMOeOj3rrVHA7kRYo2qhhrTzPo0lKGtVrY6Exss_3CZWgxicZUEoxejTgRp69IWPi6dXTwyaczKC85kD4DvmDJ-tBGU4Q_NNdUNBHjor-7M8bTs4595dm40sOYXzTdtXlfwXRGcBj-yof0Q/s490/Screenshot%202015-07-14%2013.55.40.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="436" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsyAwNkaE8e3nzpxxHFFp5wXy7-Q7gz8U_ZiiqMOeOj3rrVHA7kRYo2qhhrTzPo0lKGtVrY6Exss_3CZWgxicZUEoxejTgRp69IWPi6dXTwyaczKC85kD4DvmDJ-tBGU4Q_NNdUNBHjor-7M8bTs4595dm40sOYXzTdtXlfwXRGcBj-yof0Q/s320/Screenshot%202015-07-14%2013.55.40.png" width="285" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dombrowski walked away. Avila took over. Wouldn't you like to know what happened? </span></span></div></div></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-15030667827377500902021-12-31T08:30:00.000-05:002021-12-31T08:30:23.633-05:00Rick's Picks for Upcoming Books <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">IT'S A GOOD YEAR TO BUY A BOOK </span></h1><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a book geek, I like to read lists about upcoming books or best books of the previous year, etc. This is a good time of the year for me to read about reading. I haven't heard of many of the authors with anticipated books coming out in 2022. </span></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="97nsd-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="97nsd-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRy_m6Q_-vpmneURLx8Cpn9OrfIew9_6WRPSSWfq-k4RQjctlNbxEMHbyNBBww1FRTRPKFJrEKaA1GKEmqkq3Mq68mM038xvAid5aVeYDljxbh1I2aMgZHoBQ2zX2Y0Uqebpkht8873iG7YQQFr7VDGt5lrhFKORyhapQ8OaoFrWojl1ywDWY=s1380" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="914" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRy_m6Q_-vpmneURLx8Cpn9OrfIew9_6WRPSSWfq-k4RQjctlNbxEMHbyNBBww1FRTRPKFJrEKaA1GKEmqkq3Mq68mM038xvAid5aVeYDljxbh1I2aMgZHoBQ2zX2Y0Uqebpkht8873iG7YQQFr7VDGt5lrhFKORyhapQ8OaoFrWojl1ywDWY=s320" width="212" /></a></div><span data-offset-key="97nsd-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="1nbc7-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1nbc7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1nbc7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Personally, I'm looking forward to the following: </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="2h0qf-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2h0qf-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2h0qf-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="bt6m1-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bt6m1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bt6m1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501144065/?coliid=I1CTR5SHHB6JD5&colid=12AB09AILEUUM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it">TRACY FLICK CAN'T WIN</a></b> (the sequel to Election)! If you remember in the movie version of Perrotta's classic, every time they had an election sign, the name was capitalized so it looked like something other than her last name! </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="1c82f-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1c82f-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1c82f-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="3ogng-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3ogng-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3ogng-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">New book by Chip Heath about numbers. <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982165448/?coliid=I2WRS3NUENHD1L&colid=12AB09AILEUUM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it">MAKING NUMBERS COUNT</a></b> (Jan. 11) </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="il7g-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="il7g-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="il7g-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="30bn8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="30bn8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="30bn8-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Daniel Pink with a new book about regret. <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735210659/?coliid=I2ZEHXR3JGSPBB&colid=12AB09AILEUUM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it">THE POWER OF REGRET: HOW LOOKING BACKWARD MOVES US FORWARD</a></b> (Feb. 1) </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="efi7p-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="efi7p-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="efi7p-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="e5j2q-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e5j2q-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="e5j2q-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Chuck Klosterman, hopefully with a good one following some so-so drivel … <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735217955/?coliid=I2HINJBEL2K9KJ&colid=12AB09AILEUUM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it">THE NINETIES: A BOOK</a></b> (Feb. 8) As someone who really grew up in the nineties, this sounds interesting. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="bjoa1-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bjoa1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bjoa1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="6sjag-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6sjag-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6sjag-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Brad Meltzer, finally some fiction (not only for me on the list but also for Meltzer who has gone into non-fiction for a while) <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062892401/?coliid=I2USFLJKRCXOGE&colid=12AB09AILEUUM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it">THE LIGHTNING ROD</a></b> (EG, ESCAPE ARTIST 2) (March 8). </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="19atd-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="19atd-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="19atd-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="duvc4-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="duvc4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="duvc4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Too bad I have so many other books in line to read ... </i></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="7je51-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7je51-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="7je51-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="6h3eh-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><h3 style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span data-offset-key="6h3eh-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Grisham Quandary </span></h3><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6h3eh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6h3eh-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">On another note, I finally finished SOOLEY by John Grisham. The book arrived the day it came out in April, I started it in May, and FINALLY finished it on Christmas Day. It is not Grisham's best. It moved really slowly and jumped around. Then, he wrapped it up suddenly. As much as I recommend a lot of his books, I wouldn't recommend this one. His new one THE JUDGE'S LIST has been solid so far. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="8ofnq-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8ofnq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="8ofnq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="cmlj1-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><h3 style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span data-offset-key="cmlj1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Books From 2021 </span></h3><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cmlj1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="cmlj1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I started strong in 2021, reading six book in the first couple months of the year, then I tapered off and only read 14 the rest of the year. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="3mn3o-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3mn3o-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3mn3o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="62pi7-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="62pi7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="62pi7-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">That's way too much information about my reading! Happy New Year! </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="9u7o6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9u7o6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9u7o6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="6mea6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6mea6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6mea6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="1injb-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1injb-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1injb-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="c1sbf-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c1sbf-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="c1sbf-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="bnptc" data-offset-key="47s1u-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-19752675461964219572021-11-08T08:48:00.003-05:002021-11-08T08:52:00.907-05:00(Random) Things<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Life can be random …</span></h1><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-deYygtZuLzY/YYkrWU0RbHI/AAAAAAAAL5Y/5xB4NiECS7chTDFiAEm6QcjPCpYjQJGLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG-9256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-deYygtZuLzY/YYkrWU0RbHI/AAAAAAAAL5Y/5xB4NiECS7chTDFiAEm6QcjPCpYjQJGLwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-9256.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Right now, my favorite coffee is <a href="https://www.costco.com/starbucks-organic-winter-blend-whole-bean-coffee%2C-medium%2C-2.5-lbs.product.100688535.html">Starbucks Winter Blend</a>. I have only ever found it at Costco; I don't think I've even ever seen it in a Starbucks. Remember a few years ago, when Starbucks had their Christmas cheer and you could get <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/starbucks-brings-cheer-to-customers-with-pop-up-parties/">cool deals</a> if you were at the right store at the right time? That was a pretty cool gimmick.</li><li>Speaking of Costco, there is no doubt that it's my favorite place to shop. I call it Amazon in a store, which is not really true. Costco changes every single time you visit a store, and no two stores are the same, but it's a great place with lots of great items. It is indeed where I stock up on coffee in the winter. </li><li>The season premier of season four is coming this weekend for the TV show <i><a href="https://deadline.com/2021/11/yellowstone-season-4-premiere-a-surprise-death-and-a-tease-with-tim-mcgraw-as-dutton-patriarch-in-prequel-1883-1234869723/">Yellowstone</a></i>. We have been catching up on the first three seasons. I think we are about to watch season three for the third time, but we'll be up to speed on all the characters and all the happenings. Sometimes, I can't remember all the names and I refer to people by nicknames I make up, like in season two: "the guy from Desperate Housewives." </li><li>Binge watching shows is great. Binge watching new shows just released is greater. But binge watching shows from our youth is the greatest. </li><li>I remember when NBC was gearing us all up for the release of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2xwLJQGdho">CHiPs back in the late '70s</a>. There was no way it wouldn't be a hit show with all the trailers they would put out there. I don't remember what I would have been watching that would have advertised CHiPs, but I remember gearing up for the arrival. </li><li>I used to drink a lot more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw">Pepsi and Coke</a> than I do these days. And as far as Mountain Dew … I think I have one every year or so. I had a roommate at CMU who should have bought stock in Pepsico for as much Mountain Dew as he drank. </li><li>Speaking of CMU, nice win against WMU. Who doesn't remember the old CMU-WMU games from the early '90s. Those were some fun times. At Central, we called it Western Weekend. At Western, they called in Central Weekend. I bet the university experience is so different these days. Back in the day, we would eat together, almost like a family, with people from our floor. I bet now everyone is on their phones, like when you go to a restaurant ... </li><li>I am in the middle of reading the latest book by <a href="https://jhcunningham.com/">John H. Cunningham</a>. It's part of the Buck Reilly series. I like his writing style and look forward to his book releases. Buck is a great character. Similar to the work of <a href="http://authorstevehamilton.com/">Steve Hamilton</a> and his iconic character. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_McKnight_series">Alex McNight</a> lives in the UP and used to be a cop in Detroit. His series is fun to read, as are his one–off books. I look forward to his new books, and <a href="https://bryangruley.com/">Bryan Gruley's</a>, as well. I know that Mr. Hemingway said, "Write what you know," but lately I've been following the mantra, "Read what you know." </li><li>On the subject of Mr. Hemingway, if you can read <a href="https://www.philipjgreene.com/">Philip Greene's</a> book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Have-Another-Revised-Hemingway-Companion/dp/0399174907/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=to%20have%20and%20have%20another%20greene&qid=1626408937&s=books&sr=1-1">To Have and Have Another</a>, you're going to enjoy it and then you will decide to enter into one of Greene's awesome classes where he explores Hemingway's beverages in conjunction with where he lived and what he wrote about. Good stuff. </li></ol><p></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-87654865004364899562021-10-08T16:40:00.000-04:002021-10-08T16:40:12.601-04:00As Michigan school districts struggle to hire, "Teachers are actually free agents for time ever." <p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: var(--secondaryHeadlineFont),Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.18; margin: 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left;">Recently, I was interviewed by Sarah Cwiek regarding the struggle to find teachers. I do find it great for teachers that they are free agents. Teachers are on the front lines and make it happen in schools. Hopefully, they're making it happen with great leadership, but the learning truly happens in the classroom. I hope you take the time to read Sarah's column. It's worth a couple minutes of your time. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><h1 class="ArticlePage-headline" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: var(--secondaryHeadlineFont),Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.18; margin: 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">As Michigan school districts struggle to hire, "Teachers are actually free agents for the first time ever."</span></h1><div class="ArticlePage-contentInfo" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Oxygen, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 18px; justify-content: space-between;"><div class="ArticlePage-byline" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; flex-wrap: nowrap; flex: 1 1 0%; font-family: var(--secondaryHeadlineFont),Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; justify-content: normal; margin-bottom: 20px;"><h4 style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--secondaryColor1); font-family: var(--secondaryHeadlineFont),Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: var(--date-2); line-height: 1.357; margin-top: 1px; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><span class="ArticlePage-authorBy" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box;">Michigan Radio | By <a aria-label="Sarah Cwiek" class="Link" href="https://www.michiganradio.org/people/sarah-cwiek" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">Sarah Cwiek<br /></a></span>Published October 6, 2021 at 5:20 PM EDT</h4></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">A month into the school year, many Michigan school districts are still looking to hire for</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><a class="Link" href="https://www.michiganradio.org/transportation-infrastructure/2021-09-21/michigan-school-districts-cut-runs-cut-routes-due-to-lack-of-school-bus-drivers" style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">all kinds of positions</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">—including teachers.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Most notably, Easpointe Middle School in Eastpointe was <a class="Link" href="https://www.michiganradio.org/news/2021-09-20/teacher-resignations-force-eastpointe-middle-school-to-go-virtual" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">forced to go virtual </a>for a week, after several teacher resigned abruptly, leaving the school short-staffed. But districts all over the state are still desperately trying to hire, and finding new ways to work with fewer staff.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">The Michigan Department of Education doesn't keep track of teacher vacancies. According to <a class="Link" href="https://mischooldata.org/" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">mischooldata.org</a>, there are actually slightly more teachers in Michigan schools this year than last year—more than 110,000. At the same time, overall school staff has declined by about 10,000 people from last year, to just over 338,000 people. That means that especially when it comes to teachers, some districts are experiencing acute shortages, whereas others are doing much better.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Educators point to several converging factors behind the situation. Fewer people are <a class="Link" href="https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/fewer-michigan-college-students-want-be-teachers-thats-problem" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">going into education.</a> COVID-19 sped up retirements, and some teachers left the profession. The remaining teachers have a wide range of options, and some are exercising them by jumping around for better opportunities.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Ben Williams, superintendent of Houghton Lake Community Schools, said the district has been looking to fill a number of positions. It’s had some success filling the vacancies, with the help of a $6,000 signing bonus.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Williams said teachers have all the power in the job market right now. “It is somewhat of a Wild West. And teachers, especially teachers who are willing to be mobile, are really in the driver’s seat.”</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">“The downside of that is sometimes you may get somebody for a semester or less, or a year, and then they're gone again. Because if they're willing to move, then obviously that's something they may want to do in the short run, just to take advantage of this job market.”</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Some districts are using <a class="Link" href="https://www.michiganradio.org/education/2021-07-07/michigan-schools-set-to-receive-4-billion-in-supplemental-aid-from-federal-covid-relief-funds" style="background-color: transparent; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" target="_blank">school COVID relief funds</a> for hiring bonuses, and to boost teacher salaries. Williams said districts need to stay competitive, but also cautioned that money will inevitably run out. “I think it is also important for districts to remember that once that money's gone, if you have built yourself a cost structure or a wage scale that you simply can't sustain, that will create problems within the next two-and-a-half years,” he said.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">In Kalkaska Public Schools, Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer says the district is also trying to hire teachers, particularly for special education positions.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">“We also have hired some of our current staff to not necessarily teach on an overload, but to have special ed students on their caseload. [We’re] trying to be as creative as possible while also being legal,” Heitmeyer said.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Heitmeyer said when he started teaching in the 1990s, there were often 50 applicants for one teaching position, and 10 really good ones. “Now, you’re excited if you have five candidates, and one who really stands out,” he said. “But at the same time, everybody’s looking for that same person.”</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 20px auto; max-width: 700px; text-align: left;">Heitmeyer noted that this situation has reversed what had been declining fortunes for teachers since the Great Recession. They saw lower starting pay, and more required contributions for pensions and benefits. And teachers used to have to stay in one district for a long time to build up to higher salary levels. But with the current shortage, “Teachers are actually free agents for the first time ever.”</p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-9112781461129357742021-10-04T10:52:00.001-04:002021-10-04T10:52:18.893-04:00An Incredible End to the Season <h1 style="text-align: left;">A 1977 Match–up Would Have Been Solid</h1><h2 style="text-align: left;">Mid–seventies expansion franchises Toronto and Seattle fall just short </h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apmv7sgzWlU/YVsUeZp-XlI/AAAAAAAAL3E/vsNVipOJVLkPzaBufAJOnuZH3m7EQU9NwCLcBGAsYHQ/s843/1299.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="843" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apmv7sgzWlU/YVsUeZp-XlI/AAAAAAAAL3E/vsNVipOJVLkPzaBufAJOnuZH3m7EQU9NwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1299.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />What a <b>GREAT</b> end to the Major League Baseball regular season. <p></p><p><i>Okay, it's not how I wanted it to end</i>. </p><p>I thought a Wild Card matchup of the <i>new</i> teams from 1977, the Mariners and Blue Jays, would have been a fine, fine, fine Wild Card game. But, we got the next best thing, right: the vaunted <b>Yankees </b>and <b>Red Sox</b>. It is truly the season to hate the Yankees <b><u>AND</u></b> the Red Sox. So, this week, those two historic franchises from the American League East will meet-up to determine who gets the opportunity to play that Class of '98 AL franchise, the Tampa Rays (AKA the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). </p><p>The rest of the AL playoff teams are the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox, who meet up. Interestingly, this is a rematch of the 2005 World Series. That's back when the Astros were a National League team. To keep this fine patchwork quilt working, in the National League, you have the Milwaukee Brewers (the only time they were in the World Series was in 1982 and they were an American League team then) and Atlanta Braves battling. Of course, the Atlanta Braves used to be the Milwaukee Braves. And the Brewers actually used to be the Seattle Pilots — but that was only for one year so it's almost not even true history. </p><p>The San Francicso Giants, the stalwart franchise who somehow won 107 games with a second–year manager who had allegedly completely failed in his stint in Philadelphia, have the potential to host throughout the post season. The Giants dethroned the Los Angeles Dodgers who had one eight straight National West division titles — and just happen to be the defending Champions (though we can * that!) The Dodgers battle the St. Louis Cardinals who just seem to only win in the NLWC game. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Senior Circuit</h3><p>Things are shaping up to be an interesting post season. I'm sure that someone has put together a comprehensive list of all of the different possible combinations. It would be exhausting to read and understand, but that's all good. Few, if any, predicted such an incredible season from the Giants. The Dodgers were expected to reign; however, the Trevor Bauer debacle probably cost the Dodgers a few wins; however, trading for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner likely wouldn't have happened without the allegations against Bauer. So the Dodgers will play the Cardinals, who weren't even in the conversation for the playoffs a few weeks ago. The Dodgers are the clear favorite here, but the Cards have a history of overcoming long odds. The Giants play the winner. The Brewers and Braves battle in the other NL game. This should be a good series. The Brewers starting pitching is solid, and might give them the edge in the battle. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Junior Circuit</h3><p>The AL features the aforementioned AL East battle between the Red Sox and Yankees for the right to stay on the east coast and play the Rays. The other series features the White Sox and Astros. Tony LaRussa has returned to the major leagues after a lengthy retirement to join the team that never should have fired him in the '80s but did. So LaRussa is the veteran, grizzled, old school manager taking on another veteran, old school, grizzled manager for the Astros, Dusty Baker. Baker has the job by default when the Astros fired their general manager and manager for the sign–stealing scandal from 2017. That series should be interesting to say the least. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpvscaLXjec/YVsVEVuM_9I/AAAAAAAAL3U/K-ZXXj8FDiMF32j1Q9kmUDBsPFktobkiACLcBGAsYHQ/s750/2021-world-series-logo-baseball-mlb-sportslogosnet-feat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpvscaLXjec/YVsVEVuM_9I/AAAAAAAAL3U/K-ZXXj8FDiMF32j1Q9kmUDBsPFktobkiACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2021-world-series-logo-baseball-mlb-sportslogosnet-feat.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Los Angeles and Tampa </h3><p>Lots of good baseball coming up! If I were to predict, I think that coming out of the NL will be the Dodgers, and coming our of the AL will be the Rays. The Rays will prevail and be the World Champions. You'll see lots of good games, good strategy, and solid baseball. The Dodgers have a great club and good manager in Dave Rogers, and so do the Rays. The World Series I would love to see would be the Astros and Brewers because neither team is in the right league (RIGHT!) but that's not likely to happen. The Astros are good, but not great; the Brewers have solid pitching. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_3OUrOk5QA/YVsUqWPf7BI/AAAAAAAAL3I/3EL_ezTEnXMftcwfTN191F5PngCY7JzNACLcBGAsYHQ/s833/8ussmr9nym262dzff1g7te1it.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="833" height="179" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_3OUrOk5QA/YVsUqWPf7BI/AAAAAAAAL3I/3EL_ezTEnXMftcwfTN191F5PngCY7JzNACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/8ussmr9nym262dzff1g7te1it.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-2882700112889882942021-09-01T09:55:00.002-04:002021-09-01T09:55:30.609-04:00Kalkaska Public Schools in the Record-Eagle <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DClE9YDOGjY/YS-F6gKdzsI/AAAAAAAALzc/aqUblTegg8gYkdbNAFfwtAQxOjpTwofvwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1168/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-01%2Bat%2B9.52.49%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="1168" height="148" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DClE9YDOGjY/YS-F6gKdzsI/AAAAAAAALzc/aqUblTegg8gYkdbNAFfwtAQxOjpTwofvwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h148/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-01%2Bat%2B9.52.49%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.record-eagle.com/news/back-at-it-kalkaska-public-schools-opens-doors-for-first-day-of-classes/article_1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b.html">Kalkaska in the Record-Eagle</a></p><div class="asset-masthead " style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: FranklinITCProLight, "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 20px 0px 40px; position: relative;"><header class="asset-header" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 class="headline" itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 42px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 100px 0px 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Back at it: Kalkaska Public Schools opens doors for first day of classes</span></h1><div class="meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: 100px; margin-top: 20px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: -5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span class="tnt-byline asset-byline" data-original-title="" id="author-popup-52d4f28c-9257-11e6-8cc5-efd0628c84ff-asset-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b" itemprop="author" rel="popover" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title=""><a href="https://www.record-eagle.com/users/profile/Brendan%20Quealy" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; text-decoration-line: none;">By Brendan Quealy bquealy@record-eagle.com</a></span></li> <li class="hidden-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto;"><a class="hover-expand" data-instance="#gallery-items-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b-photo-modal" data-photo-target=".photo-450570f4-0a80-11ec-bc8e-efad043d264c" data-target="#photo-carousel-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b" href="https://www.record-eagle.com/content/tncms/live/#1" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; display: block; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="expand" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-size: 18px !important; left: 10px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; z-index: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="tnt-svg tnt-expand tnt-w-14" data-fa-i2svg="" data-icon="expand" data-prefix="fas" role="presentation" viewbox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M0 180V56c0-13.3 10.7-24 24-24h124c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v40c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H64v84c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H12c-6.6 0-12-5.4-12-12zM288 44v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h84v84c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h40c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12V56c0-13.3-10.7-24-24-24H300c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12zm148 276h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v84h-84c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h124c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24V332c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12zM160 468v-40c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H64v-84c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H12c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v124c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h124c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></span><div itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL" class="img-responsive owl-first-image owl-lazy default" data-src="https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/record-eagle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/50/450570f4-0a80-11ec-bc8e-efad043d264c/612e65c12c87a.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800" height="1175" src="https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/record-eagle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/50/450570f4-0a80-11ec-bc8e-efad043d264c/612e65c12c87a.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: initial; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: contain; opacity: 1; transform-style: preserve-3d; transition: opacity 0.4s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1763" /></div></a><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="caption-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"><div class="caption-inner-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b collapse in" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none;">Parents and student arrive for the first day of classes at Birch Street Elementary on Tuesday in Kalkaska.</p></div><div class="card-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px;"><span class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><div class="owl-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 0px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; user-select: none; width: 750px;"><div class="item photo-356c8d76-0a80-11ec-8780-bff4e3bf7145" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;"><div class="item-container" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="photo-container layout-vertical" data-count="2" data-track-object="{"title":"Back at it: Kalkaska Public Schools opens doors for first day of classes","url":"/news/back-at-it-kalkaska-public-schools-opens-doors-for-first-day-of-classes/article_1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b.html","uuid":"1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b","app":"editorial","metric":""}" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); 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box-sizing: border-box; display: initial; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: contain; opacity: 1; transform-style: preserve-3d; transition: opacity 0.4s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1175" /></div></a><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="caption-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"><div class="caption-inner-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b collapse in" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none;">Diane Comai hugs her grandson Paiden Stapleton as they wait outside Birch Street Elementary with Stapleton’s mother Shyenne Williams and sister Annabelle Caswell, 7, on the first day of classes at Birch Street Elementary on Tuesday in Kalkaska.</p></div><div class="card-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px;"><span class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Record-Eagle photos/Jan-Michael Stump</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><div class="owl-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 0px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; user-select: none; width: 750px;"><div class="item photo-3a4bbfba-0a80-11ec-bb99-8f84b3ff712b" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;"><div class="item-container" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="photo-container layout-horizontal" data-count="3" data-track-object="{"title":"Back at it: Kalkaska Public Schools opens doors for first day of classes","url":"/news/back-at-it-kalkaska-public-schools-opens-doors-for-first-day-of-classes/article_1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b.html","uuid":"1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b","app":"editorial","metric":""}" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); 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box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; display: block; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="expand" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-size: 18px !important; left: 10px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; z-index: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="tnt-svg tnt-expand tnt-w-14" data-fa-i2svg="" data-icon="expand" data-prefix="fas" role="presentation" viewbox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M0 180V56c0-13.3 10.7-24 24-24h124c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v40c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H64v84c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H12c-6.6 0-12-5.4-12-12zM288 44v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h84v84c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h40c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12V56c0-13.3-10.7-24-24-24H300c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12zm148 276h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v84h-84c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h124c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24V332c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12zM160 468v-40c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H64v-84c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H12c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v124c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h124c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></span><div itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL" class="img-responsive owl-lazy default" data-src="https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/record-eagle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/a4/3a4bbfba-0a80-11ec-bb99-8f84b3ff712b/612e65af2e139.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800" height="1175" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: initial; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: contain; opacity: 0; transform-style: preserve-3d; transition: opacity 0.4s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1763" /></div></a><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="caption-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"><div class="caption-inner-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b collapse in" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none;">Kathy Nichols, a preschool and special needs teacher at Birch Street Elementary School, greets students while guiding traffic outside the school on the first day of classes on Tuesday in Kalkaska.</p></div><div class="card-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px;"><span class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><div class="owl-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 0px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; user-select: none; width: 750px;"><div class="item photo-3e77c6e2-0a80-11ec-9d04-8fef14a3c204" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;"><div class="item-container" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="photo-container layout-vertical" data-count="4" data-track-object="{"title":"Back at it: Kalkaska Public Schools opens doors for first day of classes","url":"/news/back-at-it-kalkaska-public-schools-opens-doors-for-first-day-of-classes/article_1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b.html","uuid":"1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b","app":"editorial","metric":""}" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto;"><div class="loading-slide text-center" style="bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-size: 18px; height: 30px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 750px; z-index: 0;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="tnt-svg tnt-spinner tnt-w-16 tnt-spin" data-fa-i2svg="" data-icon="spinner" data-prefix="fas" role="presentation" viewbox="0 0 512 512" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M304 48c0 26.51-21.49 48-48 48s-48-21.49-48-48 21.49-48 48-48 48 21.49 48 48zm-48 368c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48-21.49-48-48-48zm208-208c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48-21.49-48-48-48zM96 256c0-26.51-21.49-48-48-48S0 229.49 0 256s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48zm12.922 99.078c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48c0-26.509-21.491-48-48-48zm294.156 0c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48c0-26.509-21.49-48-48-48zM108.922 60.922c-26.51 0-48 21.49-48 48s21.49 48 48 48 48-21.49 48-48-21.491-48-48-48z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></div><a class="hover-expand" data-instance="#gallery-items-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b-photo-modal" data-photo-target=".photo-3e77c6e2-0a80-11ec-9d04-8fef14a3c204" data-target="#photo-carousel-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b" href="https://www.record-eagle.com/content/tncms/live/#4" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; display: block; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="expand" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-size: 18px !important; left: 10px; opacity: 0; padding: 5px 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; z-index: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="tnt-svg tnt-expand tnt-w-14" data-fa-i2svg="" data-icon="expand" data-prefix="fas" role="presentation" viewbox="0 0 448 512" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M0 180V56c0-13.3 10.7-24 24-24h124c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v40c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H64v84c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H12c-6.6 0-12-5.4-12-12zM288 44v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h84v84c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h40c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12V56c0-13.3-10.7-24-24-24H300c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12zm148 276h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v84h-84c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h124c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24V332c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12zM160 468v-40c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H64v-84c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H12c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v124c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h124c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></span><div itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><img alt="FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL" class="img-responsive owl-lazy default" data-src="https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/record-eagle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/e7/3e77c6e2-0a80-11ec-9d04-8fef14a3c204/612e65b62d7ba.image.jpg" height="1763" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: initial; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: contain; opacity: 0; transform-style: preserve-3d; transition: opacity 0.4s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1175" /></div></a><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="caption-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"><div class="caption-inner-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b collapse in" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none;">Shyenne Williams hugs her daughter Annabelle Caswell, 7, as they wait outside Birch Street Elementary on the first day of classes at Birch Street Elementary on Tuesday in Kalkaska.</p></div><div class="card-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; display: block; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px;"><span class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div></div><div class="owl-item" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 0px; min-height: 1px; position: relative; user-select: none; width: 750px;"><div class="item photo-4173e6f0-0a80-11ec-b630-67171774ab55" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center;"><div class="item-container" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="photo-container layout-vertical" data-count="5" data-track-object="{"title":"Back at it: Kalkaska Public Schools opens doors for first day of classes","url":"/news/back-at-it-kalkaska-public-schools-opens-doors-for-first-day-of-classes/article_1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b.html","uuid":"1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b","app":"editorial","metric":""}" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); 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box-sizing: border-box; display: initial; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-height: 500px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: contain; opacity: 0; transform-style: preserve-3d; transition: opacity 0.4s ease 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1175" /></div></a><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="caption-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"><div class="caption-inner-1e9b26aa-0a69-11ec-8e5c-13d41c609c4b collapse in" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; text-shadow: none;">Parents and student arrive for the first day of classes at Birch Street Elementary on Tuesday in Kalkaska.</p></div><div class="card-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><ul class="list-inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">KALKASKA — Kathy Nichols had her bright smile out bright and early as she greeted dozens of youngsters marching into Birch Street Elementary for their first day of school.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Nichols, a nearly 30-year veteran educator who has spent the past 17 as a special education preschool teacher, held her arms wide open to every child looking for a hug.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“I just love them all,” Nichols said Tuesday morning. “I will never have a child here not feel welcome to start the day.”</p><div class="tncms-region hidden-print" id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Feeling welcome will be vital as students, staff and families enter a third school year marred by a pandemic, one that is back on the rise in the U.S.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Increases in both COVID-19 cases and the transmission rate led to some schools to institute universal masking policies while indoors, a preventative measure recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services along with several county health departments across the state.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Both the Health Department of Northwest Michigan and the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department issued mandates Friday affecting districts in six northern Michigan counties and requiring all schools and educational institutions to adopt a universal masking policy.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Kalkaska County — home to Birch Street Elementary — was not one of the six. The district’s board of education approved strongly recommending masks, but not requiring them to be worn.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“The whole bubble of the pandemic is still hanging there,” said Kalkska Public Schools Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer. “We were led to believe that things were a lot better in June and the state relaxed a lot of stuff. Now they’re ramping back up.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Heitmeyer said his district will follow medical advice and do all they can to keep students and staff safe and comfortable, keep education in person, and keep everyone’s spirits up.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Having people like Nichols will help with the latter.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“Everything in education is about relationships,” Heitmeyer said. “Knowing everybody and greeting everybody, that’s huge. If we can keep that energy all year, good things are going to happen.”</p><div class="tncms-region hidden-print" id="tncms-region-article_instory_middle" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Those relationships were on display as parents, grandparents and other family members dropped off their little ones. Many gathered by the entrance before the doors were unlocked, waiting to get in.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Some students wore masks, others did not. Neither approach seemed to cause any stir, but several parents expressed gratitude for having the choice to mask or not mask their children.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Shyenne Williams, who works at the middle school as a social worker, watched her 7-year-old daughter, Annabelle Caswell, and her 6-year-old stepson, Paiden Stapleton, head down the hallway. She is happy masks are not required and said she feels more comfortable and confident going into this school year than she did last year.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“It’s not the unknown, right now. Last year, it was,” Williams said. “I’m happy. They’re happy to be back. They were excited this morning, getting their new school clothes on and stuff.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Kalkaska is one of the few school districts in northern Michigan to open doors before Sept. 6 — Labor Day. Heitmeyer said the district received a waiver from the state to start early and then negotiated with the unions on a start date.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“When you start school on the sixth or seventh, you lose so much flexibility the rest of the year,” Heitmeyer said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">The first-year superintendent said the earlier start means an earlier end. That should help move the district’s capital projects along a little more quickly.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Voters passed a $16.85 million bond proposal from KPS in May. The highlight of the long list of projects is construction of an early childhood care and education center. The building could house the Great Start Readiness Program and Head Start — both free preschool offerings to low-income families — as well as tuition-based early childhood programs. The target opening date is fall 2022.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Other proposed projects include expanding Birch Street Elementary by eight classrooms to house fourth- and fifth-grade students and the addition of a full-size gym; security, athletic and lighting upgrades; replacing the water well at Rapid City School; expanding band facilities at the middle school; new playground equipment; roof repairs; resurfacing the track and athletic field; improved technology infrastructure; furniture replacement; parking lot and sidewalk repairs as well as fence replacements.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">Wrapping up the school year on June 3, 2022, will give construction crews an extra 10 days lead time on the work.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">“It made a lot of sense,” Heitmeyer said.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-38817348595271453532021-08-16T15:36:00.003-04:002021-08-16T15:36:41.141-04:00A Quick Tiger Related Update <p> Is there any chance that the Detroit Tigers run of trouble is nearing an end? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q2OOaij1moI/YRq-Ob4KKdI/AAAAAAAALyI/lykoMpPvxpQ7o9nANTVoZKQCSAk2OzANQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/15590232320_3cc36883aa_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="577" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q2OOaij1moI/YRq-Ob4KKdI/AAAAAAAALyI/lykoMpPvxpQ7o9nANTVoZKQCSAk2OzANQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/15590232320_3cc36883aa_b.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p>Since the arrival of Brad Ausmus prior to the 2014 season, the Tigers have been struggling. Of course, you know that's not entirely true because the 2014 Tigers made the playoffs. Yeah, they did — but it was an embarrassing series for the Detroiters! Believe it or not but the bullpen totally failed the team. And the season of misery ended. And 2015 saw us "reboot," prior to the full–on "rebuild" that began sometime during the 2016 season. </p><p>The day of the trade deadline in 2014 was such a special one for the Tigers because when the Oakland Athletics, one of the main competitors for the American League title against the Tigers, acquired a top–flight starter, the Tigers outdid them by trading for David Price. David Price hated pitching in Detroit and it wasn't long before he was re–traded at the deadline for a couple of prospects … You know the story. In the summer of '14, things were looking up; by the summer of '15, things were being rebooted like a Windows PC. Only it took a long time for the process to cycle through. Long enough that we watched several of the players from the 2014 team go on to win World Series titles with their new teams.</p><p>A.J. Hinch seems like the right person for the job. He is leading the Tigers down the right patch, and it appears that there is more talent on the way. To say that Hinch is doing great work with the talent at his disposal is an understatement. The Tigers are not the greatest team on earth by any means, but Hinch has them playing competitive baseball. Besides an abysmal April, this team has been fun to watch. The young prospects in the minor leagues appear like they won't be far from joining the major league team next season; the influx of talent could lead to a major resurgence. Moreover, the Tigers may also sign a premier free agent or two this winter. </p><p>I do believe that former Tigers ace right handed pitcher, Justin Verlander, is likely to sign with the Tigers. He could play the same role that Kenny Rogers played for him 15 years ago — mentor, teacher, coach. I once ran into Verlander and Rogers at a Lakeland, Florida, restaurant. Long after Rogers retired, the two were still close. I could see that relationship between Verlander and the young staff that includes Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, et. al. Verlander would give credibility to the team, as well as establish a wining attitude for the pitchers. In addition, Hinch managed Verlander when both were with Houston. </p><p>It's likely that the Tigers could spend some money on a short stop as well. We will see how that plays out, but it sure makes sense to me. Short stop has been a revolving door of people trying to figure out how to play the position as well as hit. </p><p>Having said all that, I believe that — YES INDEED — the Tigers rebuild is entering the final stage: return to respectability. It's been a long, long, six years since the reboot became a rebuild. Truthfully, it's probably longer than it should have been, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. </p><p>Go get 'em, Tigers! </p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-29395281422254033752021-03-21T11:00:00.003-04:002021-03-21T11:00:27.813-04:00Pens. Pencils. Notebooks. & Books. <h1 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pens. Pencils. Notebooks. Books. </span></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grisham, Cunningham releasing new adventures in April</span></h2><span id="docs-internal-guid-c184cba4-7fff-cbee-39df-8d8d798d0d02"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You see, I have a problem. I like to write and I like to read. Reading and writing have always been essential for my well being. I love to read. Sometimes I feel guilty reading because when I read I don’t really do anything — well, except maybe eat and snack. Maybe drink some tea or coffee. I suppose in reality, I’m usually learning when I read, but it seems like something that might be called a passive activity. Somebody says, “Hey, what ‘cha doin’ today,” and you say, “I’m going to read,” there’s like a stigma attached to it. But, the problem is, I have a lot of books and that is cause for a lot of reading. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Truth is, I have a library in my house. And it’s a well–stocked library, at that. I get into these cycles where I read all of the work by certain authors. Well, except if a book comes out by any of the following: Tom Perrotta, Carl Hiaasen, John Grisham, or Lee Child. I stop whatever I’m in the middle of and interrupt the current book with one by these guys. Another couple of writers who I dig are John H. Cunningham (the Buck Reilly series is so fun!) and Steve Hamilton. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 226px; overflow: hidden; width: 145px;"><img height="226" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/EdBeggazHAug_KFMjtZyQf0aXjcfcPRWA43s_L0Qst89e4awx8oE3pXoT0lREoS16bMY781w0V0tqaO4aPLHMg-neKKzts--Q03y8OK-04v0saCvLh9l9SnC5cfYm9gOFWmIW7Bl" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="145" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Abyss-Buck-Reilly-Adventure-ebook/dp/B08YJ91KC6/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=john+h+cunningham&qid=1616338315&sr=8-2" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indigo Abyss Arrives in April, another Buck Reilly adventure ... </span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 213px; overflow: hidden; width: 145px;"><img height="213" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lam5DQJ1simnqK-aQlzPpRtERcSgMRSCCf1CPZ9-4k5v4IXGEumuU6n7TAvaOJYfhiIJij9Do2WZ_Wn8XH1jpSgRE4BjDwBQwcxytgDKjx3E9RYNh16CZqCmMpjWp8BVQM4zygnO" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="145" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sooley-Novel-John-Grisham/dp/0385547684/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=john+grisham&qid=1616338413&sr=8-3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John Grisham gets into basketball in Sooley</span></a></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, I cannot believe I have missed out on Steve Hamilton for 20 years. In fact, I picked up one of his books at Horizon Books in Traverse City just after he spoke in TC, and never read the book. But for some reason, it led me to start at the beginning with the original Hamilton novel, the award–winning </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Cold Day in Paradise</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. For the past few months, I’ve been getting to know Alex McNight and his cronies really well. The series kind of reminds me of an adult version of the Hardy Boys, but that’s awesome — you all know that I love anything Hardy Boys related. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It appears that I may have a type. I would add Brad Meltzer to the mix, but I prefer his fiction rather than his non–fiction. That doesn’t mean that I don’t own most of his books; it means that I don’t necessarily read all of his books. As far as Grisham goes, he’s one of my favorites, and I can read his books pretty quickly when they come out. I actually like the work he’s doing with the Camino Island series; it’s a bit of a break from the norm. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Books are great, which leads to notebooks. I started with a Moleskine about 15 years ago. I thought they were so cool. I tried the blank pages, the lined pages, the gridded pages. Then I tried other notebooks, Field Notes, Leuchtturm 1918 (can’t even pronounce that one), and others. Then, somewhere in a blog, I discovered Baron Fig. I have bought and used and gifted so many Baron Fig items. The notebooks are incredible and the pens and other items are top notch as well. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have started so many people on their notebook journey with the Baron Fig Confidant or Vanguard. I use them all the time, and love them. So, I think everyone should. But with notebooks come pens and pencils and blogs about keeping a notebook. Everytime someone writes about why this pen or pencil is the best, I feel like I have to order it and try it out. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, of course … There are some I really like, but more or less, I have to stick with certain ones. I am a Ticonderoga #2 guy, but I also have a fondness for the Blackwing pencils out of California. They’re pretty solid with good lead — and they look pretty cool. I have been using the Precise V7 Rolling Ball pens in numerous colors. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ah, pens, pencils, notebooks, and books. Can anyone say "spending freeze." </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-30424309631136373562021-02-05T09:58:00.000-05:002021-02-05T09:58:24.718-05:00Pandemic Snow Days <p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anatomy of a pandemic, virtual learning, old fashioned snow day decision </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9df5122f-7fff-2335-0383-f950d134edea"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Thursday afternoon the storm of the year arrived in our area. It brought with it lots of snowing, blowing, and cold. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the old world of education, kids and teachers traditionally have loved the occasional snow day. Heck, I bet principals and superintendents probably don’t mind them, as well. So last night as the weather continued getting worse, many schools were closing down for Friday. I was on the way home when a text thread with superintendents really heated up. I checked the messages and saw that many were closing. I thought, “I’m with you, but being virtual we really can’t have a snow day.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpQU8ig9GS4/YB1c4Iug2kI/AAAAAAAALmw/720dXUe_mPw1PrmeUNxwdlnvK9V4u3LuACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_6784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpQU8ig9GS4/YB1c4Iug2kI/AAAAAAAALmw/720dXUe_mPw1PrmeUNxwdlnvK9V4u3LuACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_6784.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, my daughter Amber called and we were talking about a number of things. I told her the snow day situation and she said, “Well, why can’t you have a snow day?” We talked about it for a few minutes. And I pondered some thoughts:</span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are in the middle of a pandemic. Students in our district have been learning remotely all year, and they’re working hard. Teachers have learned a whole new teaching style, as well. In essence, they all have been working harder than they work in normal in–person learning. And differently. While I’ve had many students tell me they think a lot of the technology they’re using is “cool,” I still know the new world of teaching and learning is difficult. So, thinking about everyone’s mental well–being, would it really hurt to have a snow day when most of the state is closing down? </span></p></li></ul><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The weather looks like it could be a doozy. I had teachers contact me with concerns that in the past in weather like this they have lost electricity. “Rick, what am I going to do if I can’t login and teach?” This, of course, is </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unintended consequence #42</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of pandemic teaching and learning. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are remote and lose power, how do you teach</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. So, the principals asked the teachers to prepare some asynchronous learning and post it ahead of time, just in case classes couldn’t be held. As our team has engaged with Dr. Dominique Smith on the idea of equity for several months this year, this was shaping up to possibly be an inequitable day. Of course, we can overcome something like that, but, again — we’re in the middle of a pandemic. Things are different right now. </span></p></li></ul><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the future, we might see the elimination of snow days because so many schools have proved that they can be successful in a remote environment. We are not there yet; however, it could happen in the future. Living in the remote world for the past several months, though, we know that there are still pockets of people who cannot get high speed internet despite everyone’s best efforts. Did you know that a MIFI device does not work well where you cannot get cell service or if you have a metal roof? So, it’s not the automatic no–brainer that we all wish it were …</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ah, decisions. Challenging decisions. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I called our Associate Superintendent and talked to him about the thought I had about possibly closing. I told him that I knew the thought was out there, but we talked through the bullet points above. We agreed that it might make sense, especially with the weather we were already experiencing, so then I called our Board President and talked with her about it. She had a great idea about encouraging families to focus on physical fitness. I told her I would put the plan together but we were going to close on Friday. I called our partners who we work with every day. I called my principals and the teacher’s union president. I told them all that I didn’t think we would probably have a lot of snow days, but this one made sense. No one disagreed, but I won’t say that there weren’t some thoughts that Rick had lost his mind. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s not easy being a leader is these insanely crazy times. We spend a lot of time talking about things we’ve never talked about (e.g. setting up vaccine clinics, estimating how many masks we might need on an annual basis, determining the feasibility of brand new devices with quick turnaround professional development … etc.) while still trying to continue forward with teaching and learning! We can’t forget the importance of building curriculum and supporting materials and instruction, but … we can’t do that if we haven’t covered all of the Covid–19 details to safely reopen school. I’m proud of our Board of Education, leadership team, teaching staff, parapros, food service staff, support staff, custodians, transportation staff, and all of our partners. We have had amazing discussions and communications regarding the pandemic, but we have also kept a focus on teaching and learning, though it may be different. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then it snowed. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-11178778807655413002021-01-28T21:06:00.002-05:002021-01-28T21:06:32.084-05:00 The Covid Coffee Club<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7e08a1c7-7fff-be7a-c183-79a412e8819f" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7e08a1c7-7fff-be7a-c183-79a412e8819f"><blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Because pulling down your mask to take a drink of coffee is not a simple task. </span></b></span></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Team meetings are important. One thing I have learned over the years is the value of snacks and coffee at important team meetings. Some people like to enjoy a donut with their coffee. Others, a bagel. It’s not uncommon for someone to enjoy their ‘cup of Joe’ black. Some people like theirs sweetened with sugar or creamer. Everybody has her own way to drink coffee. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early on, I was a coffee novice. When I arrived for my first teaching job, one of the teachers told me that my predecessor was the one who made coffee for everyone every day. I simply said, “I don’t know how to make coffee.” And just like that, the coffee making went to someone else. </span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGjQlvFJ9Kg/YBNtM5q1jLI/AAAAAAAALl8/VyqZt0buMmU-TEGMdiwbVHe8Hrq6FKLzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/30871929567_872c9ac7c4_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGjQlvFJ9Kg/YBNtM5q1jLI/AAAAAAAALl8/VyqZt0buMmU-TEGMdiwbVHe8Hrq6FKLzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/30871929567_872c9ac7c4_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, a lot of people call me a coffee snob. Lori and I grind our own beans in a Cuisinart Burr Mill grinder and always use filtered water to ensure the best flavor. I’ve tried many different coffees but really like to keep it simple. I’ve tried several different kinds from </span><a href="https://www.highergroundstrading.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Higher Grounds</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Traverse City, but none of them really grab me. I do enjoy a few different blends from </span><a href="https://www.leelanaucoffee.com/order/category/coffee-collections/our-own-blends_7/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leelanau Coffee</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Roasting Company. We have also tried the current popular mud on the market, but I often find myself drinking Starbucks Pikes Place. It’s a great flavor. Starbucks also does an annual Winter Blend, which I stock up on during the season in Michigan. It has a simple, light flavor. </span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dRWtOeS7Jog/YBNssg--ebI/AAAAAAAALl0/zsuHIOtBUC4QPl-6D5HC5mQ9FzOX-fOMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/11737700625_f6a051c774_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dRWtOeS7Jog/YBNssg--ebI/AAAAAAAALl0/zsuHIOtBUC4QPl-6D5HC5mQ9FzOX-fOMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/11737700625_f6a051c774_o.jpg" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So you would be surprised to know that besides a couple of Tim Hortons mochas in the early ‘90s, I never drank coffee. It didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t like the flavor, even though I hadn’t really tried much. While working on my Master’s Degree at Central Michigan University in 1997, everyone would have a coffee late at night during our evening classes. I decided to have a cup one night, and it wasn’t bad. It seemed that people in groups liked to bond over coffee. I don’t know why I never realized it until then! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet, I still didn’t know how to brew my own pot of coffee, nor did I own a coffee maker. I worked with people who loved coffee, raved about it. An occasional cup was fine, but I wasn’t sold yet. I guess it started when I would grab an occasional cup of Tim Hortons coffee. I would stop at the Waterford, Mich., store and others when I encountered them. Then, when Tim Hortons opened in Mt. Pleasant, I started to buy their coffee to brew at home. And Lori even bought me a Tim Hortons coffee maker for Christmas one year! And then I morphed to better coffee … We grind our own and brew it in a quality coffee maker; it makes for a delicious cup (or three) every morning! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The past ten months during the pandemic have been tough on everyone. One thing that has disappeared is enjoying a cup of coffee during an important meeting. We can call it the Covid Coffee Club. It’s important to drink your coffee before you arrive at work. Or simply in the privacy of your own office. Because pulling down your mask to take a drink of coffee is not a simple task. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-E8weeH0IY/YBNtioPY2eI/AAAAAAAALmE/FUFonZ9xUscSS5CeU4dQm-gB7Re9QAbUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/19453191180_dc49485779_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1-E8weeH0IY/YBNtioPY2eI/AAAAAAAALmE/FUFonZ9xUscSS5CeU4dQm-gB7Re9QAbUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/19453191180_dc49485779_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-19983447992529305962021-01-18T10:07:00.000-05:002021-01-18T10:07:05.252-05:00The Craftsman <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gray Tape & WD–40</span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It dawned on me suddenly one day. All these years I have thought my dad is a genius. He can fix anything with gray tape, WD-40, and patience. Sometimes he needs a drill, screw gun, and maybe a hammer. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he is a genius</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He knows so much about building and repairing things. When I was a kid I thought that my dad was a genius but I also thought he wasted a lot of time on things that he could have just replaced. Years later, I understood. Dad may be a genius afterall, but his skill and expertise come from another area. Experience. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F0OfLurkejQ/YAWjiVQ7xwI/AAAAAAAALkc/Gu-AFiVeRq8Cj9OJko4BCits6rKA2HhsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/15155612553_d4283d569a_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F0OfLurkejQ/YAWjiVQ7xwI/AAAAAAAALkc/Gu-AFiVeRq8Cj9OJko4BCits6rKA2HhsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/15155612553_d4283d569a_o.jpg" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Over the years and through many projects in places like Vestaburg and Buckley — not to mention several jobs when I was his apprentice 35 years ago — I was the student who was learning. Sometimes, we would go so fast that I wouldn’t pick up much. I think I was more a gopher than a learner! </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I remember times young in my educational career and in the middle of dad’s career, that we would take spring breaks, Christmas breaks, or whatever and do a month’s worth of work in a week or ten days. We would start at 7 a.m. and finish around midnight. But we’d get the project done. Bathrooms, ceilings, tile jobs, etc. It wasn’t until years later that we would slow down and I would actually learn a great deal. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The various saws would scare me. The chop box, the skill saw, the table saw. Even the tape measures scared me. I didn’t know how Dad would look at the tape and say, “Cut that at five and three–eighths. It took me a minute — and I would still be thinking, “That’s five and six–sixteenths. Why do we have to reduce it?” I was okay on the chop box, hesitant on the skill saw, and fearful of the table saw. But there comes a time when no one is around to assist and you have to fire up that table saw yourself … </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One day I was working on something and a little something–something happened, but … I knew how to fix my way out of a mistake. That’s when it dawned on me — I was becoming a genius. No, not really — I was finally benefitting from my EXPERIENCES. In fact, all these years later, I can explain some of these processes; I understand the value of a pilot hole in a 2” X 2”. Heck, I understand the value of a 2” X 2”. Carpet Carl (I heard somebody call him that one time, even though he hasn’t done carpet regularly since Reagan was president) really can fix anything with gray tape, WD–40, and patience. Man, does he have patience!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He might just be a genius, but it’s good to benefit from his experience, too. </span></span></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-19427917355703475352021-01-06T12:50:00.000-05:002021-01-06T12:50:10.039-05:00My Buddy Hemingway <h2 style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Buddy </span></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hemingway </span></h2><span id="docs-internal-guid-6b001505-7fff-de80-c70a-57af77f0c945"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 269px; overflow: hidden; width: 202px;"><img height="269" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Qa5gI_3rrL-UNPVFNsDltKWK8RYdL54eA6HWQMH0E11dhB0D7mD6jdexJ3uAUj6qk-O_sboXZwkqklpyQ4uwHD1-YNlVvcJ06MEA1cvAeGGH2I4FIZdUOMW4X-m2_imFaK6jUlAw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="202" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Several years ago Lori and I stopped at Jay’s Sporting Goods in Clare, Michigan, for a visit. Some people in the parking lot had Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. We had an older Chocolate Lab and a younger Chocolate Lab at the time. We agreed that someday we might consider getting a "Chessie." </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jump ahead 10 years, and a couple of labs fewer. We still had one, actually the son of the aforementioned younger one. But he was lonely and it was time to consider a new puppy. We added our first Chessie, Coke–o, to the family. When the Black Labrador Retriever, Higginson, passed away, the brown Chessie was lonely. You could tell. She needed a companion, so we brought aboard another little chocolate–colored Chessie, a skittish, silly little dude. He didn’t want to join us; in fact, he kept hiding under the stairs and running away when we went to pick him up. But we decided that Hemingway would be our dog. He was just the kind of pup that could be trained and become a therapy dog. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hemingway, Lori, and I went to training in Traverse City to learn the basics, and he was a star in his class. He was a loyal, people pleaser. And everyone loved him. And he loved everyone. He then went to extensive training, by himself, to help prepare him to pass the “therapy dog” test eventually. He did well. He did internships in a few different schools, and the kids loved him. He loved the kids, too. He could turn a kid’s bad day good in a few minutes. We thought he would become a super therapy dog. He was actually featured in a northern Michigan newspaper, too. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hemingway was a socialized superhero of a dog. He went everywhere and did everything with us. Of course, he never sniffed a ball that he didn’t want to chase or smelled any water he didn’t want to go flying into. He loved chasing any kind of ball and diving into any water. He absolutely loved jumping 10 feet into the middle of the Sturgeon River and riding the current a couple hundred yards. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyTYlNNliv9BfpJCC5n4uq0-NF-DgvCLW-xCXJMEAOeKWDrDFkt0fkfdfrt7nqnEt1qqZFxuysvdYU' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One time, when he was a pup, he went riding carelessly and quickly down the river when I had just returned home from work. He was riding out of control and I was actually worried. I went running through the overgrowth and trees to see where the heck he was. He looked like he was bobbing and barely hanging on stuck in some branches and muck, so I took off my shoes, put my wallet in my shoes, and jumped into the river to rescue the puppy. It was deep, cold water with a pretty good current. Hemi looked like he was stuck in some brush or something. When I jumped into the water, he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and swam to the edge of the river and jumped out. It was like he said, “I thought we were playing.” After that, I never worried about him and water. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At home in Lakeview, he would watch for an opportunity when the door would be left open “just enough” and he would fly out the door, down the driveway, and across the road into the lake — all in like five seconds. He would run so fast and jump so violently into the lake. And he loved it. Every single time. He would swim out into the lake as far as he dared and swim around in circles, yapping as loudly as he could. It was his lake and he could do whatever he wanted to in it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, speaking of his lake, if we were to walk down to the boat and leave him on the deck, look out. He would howl like a wolf so loud. He would tilt his neck toward the sky and let out the most incredible howl. If it were interpreted, it would be something like, “Hey you guys! I’m part of your family and you forgot about me. I’m the one who lovesssss the water!” And he would continue. And continue. As silly as it was, it was pretty cool. I will miss the howl. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 304px; overflow: hidden; width: 396px;"><img height="304" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xOQ5EEiWgHQV3bqy02nPfuqcCqGaEM5Uckk31V3Ww29AVViv3qbiRTTpTll-QfaKY75amypLwrSCDGZP_TrTCNFWUMfV16y3MI0J2_D0Bk_5AP9BvLW-iJtshnkiHahopWzgDxAz" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="396" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We tried to teach him to be an Ultimate Air Dog in Howard City one time. He jumped really well, nearly 16 feet. However, once he was in the water, that’s where he wanted to stay. He had no interest in getting out. We really thought he could be a champion, but the little piece about getting out of the water was an important factor. I don’t know if we didn’t have the patience for the training, or if he didn’t, but we put that idea back on the shelf! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hemingway was loyal. He would get so excited when his people would get home. I mean he would jump on an end table, or jump high up on the door, or whatever he needed to do to let you know he was glad you were home. Further, he would grab toys and set them on you when you were on the couch, and then remind you — loudly — that it was okay to throw the toy for him. And he would return it. Twenty times. Maybe more. He loved to walk. Loved to swim. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We used to walk him for miles on the trails near our house in Lakeview. That is until one time when he became lethargic and started getting sick. After a visit to a local vet, a trip to the emergency vet in Grand Rapids, and other assorted attempts, we ended up back up north with the vet who knew him so well. He ended up with emergency surgery and the veterinarian removed a corn cob from his intestines. He recovered and all was well again. If Hemi did one thing wrong, it was that he loved to chew things, sometimes chewing them into the sizes that would maybe be bad for kids — and since he was a kid himself, that was sometimes bad. We tried to monitor such behavior. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was going to be a therapy dog and was doing really well until one day during the summer a couple years ago. Lori and he had just gotten out of the car to go into a place she was volunteering as a counselor, and on the way inside, Lori fell. A guy tried to help her and Hemi showed his teeth and growled. This wasn’t his normal Chessie roo, this was a flatout growl. Remember, he’s a loyal dog. After that incident, Hemi became a bit of a grump around other people and we decided to end his therapy days because we worried about him showing his teeth and growling again, or worse. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s about the time we stopped taking him everywhere we went. He was still a trusty companion, but just the same, we were never sure. He was a great companion, great friend. They say that dogs are a man’s best friend, and Hemi was my buddy. He was always waiting to have a conversation, or just be petted. He loved to flip over and have his ribs rubbed. He would wag his tail in such a way that you just knew he was happy. He loved fetching. Did I mention he loved swimming. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We cut back on the swimming because he had a chronic ear infection. We just could not clear it up. He had so much goop in his ears all the time. Sometimes, it was the smell that reminded us, and sometimes it was the way he shook his head as if to say, “Guys! My ears hurt!” About 10 days ago, Hemingway suddenly had less of an appetite and was a bit lethargic. We worried that maybe he had swallowed something again. After a visit to a local vet who told us that the X-ray shows something in his stomach area, the vet recommended that we take him to Grand Rapids for an ultrasound to determine what might be in his stomach. We called out up north vet and found out they were closed due to a positive Covid–19 test affecting the office, so they wouldn’t be available. This was Wednesday afternoon. We decided we could make it to the next week. We really preferred having the doctor who knows him work on him. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was still eating a bit, drinking a lot, and still wagging his tail, so we thought we had time. On Saturday we headed up north, leaving Hemi at home with Lori’s brother. He was still up beat and all, so we were confident we could make it into the new week and get him to the vet up north. It’s a complicated, long story but we had an appointment for Monday at 3 p.m., but sometime around 9 a.m. on Monday morning Hemi passed. Hemingway is now with Bubba, Gibson, and Higginson. He’s heard the stories about each of them, so I’m sure they’re all catching up these days, probably driving my Mom crazy! Can’t you hear her, “Hemi, get down. You’re too big.” </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 271px; overflow: hidden; width: 203px;"><img height="271" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/6I9jiZ0X8oA5TGhens2n6azGI1-r9N_kHmf_glh182SvjOGc7BElD85-RUpmXMgOHrBw_LXwVqTQP8OfWe6ajYR5x6FJ7Z5g1mXJ2l4QGw2TFp1HHqpH0l4WGgFIAph16CYwYivq" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="203" /></span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hemingway was with us for almost five years. It was a quick five years, but he was able to participate in a lot during that time. I know that he touched many kids’ and teachers’ lives at Buckley, Alma, and Vanderbilt. He was a great companion and will be missed. He leaves a void. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love you, buddy. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-23891614597480744662020-12-18T08:15:00.002-05:002020-12-18T08:15:50.987-05:00Still talkin' baseball <h1 style="text-align: left;">The 2006 to 2013 Era </h1><p>One of the greatest things about the 2006 Tigers was their penchant for clutch hits. I can recall so many times that one of the players would hit a late inning home run or a walk off. That season was magical, and it seemed like any decision Jim Leyland made turned to gold. It could have been Pudge Rodriguez, Craig Monroe, or Marcus Thames. Everyone took their turn creating magic that season. Of course, the biggest clutch hit was Magglio Ordonez's second home run in the American League Championship Series clinch game on October 14 in Detroit. I can still hear Dan Dickerson making the call — which I didn't hear that day because I was watching it in person. Still an incredible memory. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KmGyWzBe6mk" width="320" youtube-src-id="KmGyWzBe6mk"></iframe></div><br /><p>The later pennant winning team, 2012, didn't seem to have the magic of '06. That '12 team was well–built with a pitching staff that dominated. The '13 team was better, and probably the best team in baseball. The one thing that never returned after '06, though, was a dominant bullpen. We went through a plethora of ace relievers and never really returned to the glory of that '06 bullpen. Maybe the piece we missed was Joel Zumaya ... </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eqiGXxP7hwo" width="320" youtube-src-id="eqiGXxP7hwo"></iframe></div><p>The 2013 team was solid, but once again, the team didn't really have a lockdown relief ace. As evidenced in October with one swing of Big Papi's bat. It was only game two of the ALCS, but you could feel it at that point … the Tigers were not going to win the series. Is there a worse moment in Tiger history? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HJyxzaLNlNw" width="320" youtube-src-id="HJyxzaLNlNw"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>Well, maybe one …<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e1AUlHcCsGs" width="320" youtube-src-id="e1AUlHcCsGs"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25725617.post-7007251846807841992020-12-17T20:39:00.004-05:002020-12-17T20:39:40.377-05:00American League Champs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EW6Z3pxd2H4/X9wIOTXoWqI/AAAAAAAALiQ/F7vNLcrnNBQsMumlABnO5JaYekzsriyNACLcBGAsYHQ/s720/264070749_eea758f4bb_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EW6Z3pxd2H4/X9wIOTXoWqI/AAAAAAAALiQ/F7vNLcrnNBQsMumlABnO5JaYekzsriyNACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/264070749_eea758f4bb_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> From worst to first in 2006. </div><p></p>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07714260845138440111noreply@blogger.com0