Writing to Write (Richard Sherman,Dollar Tree Theater and a Act of Kindness)

Its 9:29 pm

    Bitterly,bitterly cold tonight....this is a killing cold if one was caught unawares outside without the proper protection. I felt it tonight,the 40 yard walk to the Rodger Young was so cold,my hands started hurting in just the 3 minutes it took to walk to it!
 
  My thanks to those of you who read my last blog and offered some kind comments on it. It was not a easy one to write,I can assure you. But I hope it can help someone in the near future. Feel free to share the blog with anyone whom you think may benefit from it.

I don't have a theme tonight other then to write. Some blogs are like that...you just sit in a warm den with a fun orange and white cat attacking your feet,drinking a cuppa tea in a Starbucks mug that was your wife's,listening to the Eric Stuart Band tearing it on iTunes.

But I will start with this story.
 There is a 53 year old man named Don here in Detroit. He is raising four children who are doing very well in school. Sadly,Don is out of work and like so many of us,is struggling badly. His utility bills are so far behind,that they were turned off.
  Don has been reduced to walking throughout his neighborhood in the bitter cold looking for a most unlikely treasure,wood. He goes into abandoned homes and looks for scrap wood that he then carries home. He takes a ax and cuts the wood up,taking care to remove any metal,nails,etc out it. The wood is then used to help keep his family as warm as it can. They heat water in pots and pans that is used for bathing and having clean dishes.
  Don keeps his struggles to himself as he trudges the empty streets looking for that wood,looking to keep the bitter cold at bay for his children's sake. Well someone must have gotten wind of Don's efforts and they contacted our local Fox station,Fox 2 Detroit.
  Andrea Isom,the journalist who does the leading stories on the 11 o'clock news,covered Don's plight a couple of days ago.
 


  The station's Facebook page BLEW up with hundreds and hundreds of people wanting to help. Offers of help,free wood,hot meals,clothes,jobs and cash were posted. Of course the station wasn't ready for that kind of overwhelming support and it took them a day to get a way to get those offers to the family. A stranger stepped up and paid the past DTE bill so the family could have light and heat again. The outpouring of compassion was awesome to see and I hope half of those folks come through with those offers. I would have liked to join that group but I don't have anything I can spare. Don's story hits closer to home closer then I care to admit....but just so thankful that he got such love from a very unlikely place.

   You can read the story on the station's website by clicking on the link.

I am here listening to my iTunes and once again the Eric Stuart Band has popped up into play. The song is "The Land of Might Have Been". Its an incredibly touching song and I can't but help sit here and wonder what might have been .....

One last look, before you go
One last dance, nice and slow
One last drink, before we sink

Into the land of what might have been
The land of what might have been

One last gaze into your eyes
One last chance to say goodbye
One last call, before we fall

Into the land of what might have been
The land of what might have been

I've been thinking 'bout the talks we had
All the dreams we shared and the plans we made
It seems the timing was much more than bad
We were ill-prepared for when they fade away

One last mile before we rest
One last word, we did our best
One last stop before we drop

Into the land of what might have been
The land of what might have been

One last dance in the land of what might have been
You never know what might have been

- Eric Stuart Band

Pretty haunting words to say the least. I was talking about my last blog with a young lady named Devin,who is studying to become a pharmacist. She is leaving in July to attend Belmont University and she was very helpful when Lori was sick and I asked her about different chemotherapy meds. It was a pretty good talk until I started talking about the lost time that happened to us. That is always what makes my heart crack,the one thing I would go and change,to get back that time....what might of been.
  But that isn't going to happen,is it?

I am more then amused by all the fur flying in the wake of the Seahawks beating the 49ers last weekend. Seahawk CB Richard Sherman made a great play on a poorly thrown ball to Michael Crabtree that Sherman knocked away and another Seahawk made a nice pick that sealed the game. Afterwards,Sherman,in the afterglow of winning this game wasn't holding back on how he was feeling. Instantly,the backlash started...while I expect that from Whiner fans (hello Kenny and Greg!) *L*,the rest of country acting like Sherman committed mass murder was beyond stupid.



Calling him a "thug" because he was happy he made a Super Bowl clinching play really does smack of racism. If any of these dumb fucks actually followed football,they would have known Sherman went to college at Stanford University,where he graduated with a 3.9 GPA! That isn't a "thug", that is a hell of a human being who was just showing some human emotion. Just as any of my 49ers friends who have shown if Crabtree would have caught that pass. Fans,you have to be classy in defeat as well as when you win. Admire Sherman as a hell of a player....you don't have to root for him or his team but respect him for the whole of the package,not just for barking a little bit.
  And before you get all huffy about,note that I am not a fan of Stanford or the Seahawks but I do enjoy watching good players play cleanly.

 The weather has been so nasty as of late that Dollar Tree Theater has been getting quite the workout. To those who may be new here,I hunt for cheap DVDs to watch. Our local Dollar Tree,sometimes Target and now sadly,our Blockbuster store which is closing,often sell some pretty obscure films. So I buy them and pop up some Pop Secret and get away for a couple of hours. I have a stack of dollar movies that Paladin and I take turns in choosing what we watch.
  So this past week was spent watching the first 10 episodes of the old TV series called "Renegade" which starred Lorenzo Lamas.The plot was simple,a cop framed for a murder he didn't commit and becoming a bounty hunter. I remember the show but never watched it...


I have to admit,it was a pretty entertaining show once you get by the cheesy music. Lorenzo Lamas was actually decent as Reno Raines,the framed hero. The show was created and produced by Steven Cannell (who brought us the A-Team). It was interesting to see all the bad guys use the same guns that Hannibal Smith and his team used in the earlier A-Team. The plots were a bit generic but it had good action and chemistry between the lead actors was pretty good until the end of the fourth season,Lorenzo and Kathleen Kinmont,who were married in real life,divorced and she left the show.
  Another movie I stumbled upon was a action film called "Cross". I started watching this movie but 10 minutes,I stopped and hit "Director's Commentary" and I was glad I did. This movie was very low budget but made with a lot of heart and effort by Patrick Durham.


The movie aimed for a superhero feel with bright colors and the main hero,Callen,wearing a powerful anicent Celtic cross which gives him superhuman abilities. For a low budget film,this one packs a hell of a lot of star power! Michael Clarke Duncan,Vinnie Jones and Jake Busey join Brian Austin Green in trying to launch a potential series. While I do think it was a noble effort,unless you have a budget for effects,you are doomed to failure and having a weak script really hurts as well. I did enjoy Patrick's commentary and his unique use of one building for most of his set pieces. The script,while weak,was never mocked by the cast and they tried their best with what they got. Durham mentioned many times about making a second film but based on the 3.0 rating on IMDB and the crushingly bad reviews this movie got,I doubt we'll see another Cross. Which is too bad because I think with a decent script and effects,this could have taken off.

    Okay,that is all for now.....I know this was a fluff post for the most part but I just wanted to write something,anything.  Thanks for reading!

If you are on Twitter,look for me at @Jinzo_2400


Shout outs

Amy - I'm trying,I promise. Its just very hard.
Debbie T - Holy crow,fencing! But why not,right?
Calvin Mann - enjoyed the Campbell debate
Patrick Durham - keep trying!
Metro Detroit area - Way to step up in helping that family. It shows what we can do UNITED!
49er fans - Still behind the Steelers!
Devin- Thanks for the talk. Medicine is not for the weak hearted!
Eric Stuart - One hell of a songwriter
Smooth Jon Jones - Michigan at San Jose State,can't wait!

24 May 2011

Its 9:06 am

   Its a cold overcast morning,looks like the Queen of Snow really must have been dancing hard last night because it sure LOOKS like snow. We are still on track to get a inch or less starting around 4 pm-ish.
I see another of the original IC has followed me here....I thank you a lot for that,Paul. Sort of cool to check in and see another reader has joined up. We're up to 5 now....and very thankful you are all here.

  24 May 2011

   Last year on that day here in Detroit,a fight broke out on a neighborhood street. Yelling,screaming..who knows what the beef was but in typical American style,someone had enough and went to get a problem solver.
   You all know what which kind of problem solver that was grabbed. So now here is a young woman brandishing a gun and pretty soon the bullets start flying.
 26 year old Verily Vereen,a mother of two is on her front porch minding her own business with her family. Street beefs are nothing new in  neighborhoods,they happen and most are settled quickly and peacefully.
But Detroit is different,far too many times people in Detroit hear someone yell "I'm getting my gun" and in this city,it isn't a empty threat,its a promise.
  And so it was that day and Verily Vereen started shooing in her family into the house,out of harm's way. Except that she was just a heartbeat too late to save herself. As she turned away and got the several small children into the relatively safety of her home,Fate came calling in a form of a wildly shot bullet.
 Again,Verily,had no part in this fight,she was just a innocent by-stander here. But when people pick up a gun and fire it,it doesn't give a shit if you're innocent,guilty,red,black,white or brown. It only knows what it was designed for...to shatter lives. And in this case,it achieved it goal ever so well...
  One second Verily is a strong loving mother of two...the next,she is bleeding from being shot in the neck. She falls on her porch,her first thoughts must have been..."please,don't let any of my kids or cousins be shot" because that is how a mother's brain works. No,it was just Verily lying there,blood pouring out.
Calls go to 911...a neighbor,Sonja Bennett rushes over and applies pressure to help stop the bleeding.
People gathering around,shocked at what happened. Waiting for the help to come to help Verily.....waiting.....still waiting,more calls to 911. Where IS that ambulance????
  The people of Detroit know how bad the EMS system is,they live with it every day. Half of the 24 rigs are out of service most days,they are under-equipped and stressed to the max. I blogged already how the new Fire Commissioner said he was ordering brand new ambulances but the city is so poor,it can't afford them and its credit is bad,no one will loan the money.
  But even for Detroit's hardened citizen's,this response time is beyond bad....more waiting as Verily blood seeps into Sonja's hands. Kids are crying for their momma....people wondering where the ambulance is at.
 Someone says "Lets take her ourselves! She'll die here if she doesn't get help!" But Verily can't be moved,she has no feelings in her arms or legs. If they and move her,no matter how well the intention is,they'll finish what that gun has started.
  After 30 hellish minutes a Detroit EMS unit arrives on scene and after stabilizing Verily,transport her to the ER.
  The police also come and they arrest the woman who fired the gun. Whose anger and mindset had conditioned her to solve her issues not with a brain but with steel,American style.
 But in the ER,a bitter irony unfolds...because IF you are going to be shot,being shot in the D isn't such a bad thing. Why? Let's put it this way kids,you know the US is involved in two wars and many of troops got shot to shit or blown up by IEDs. You hear about how our troops survival rate is so much improved because doctors are able to treat them so much better now. Well that is because the trauma doctors get their training by working the inner cities shootings in Detroit,Philly,Chicago and Baltimore. They see so many combat type bullet wounds that they are able to practice new techniques in the operating rooms!
 So when you are shot with a gun here,you have a much better chance of making it out alive! Provided you get a ambulance to get to you in 30 minutes or less.
 Verily is operated on...and on....and on. The bullet has left its terrible mark on her,she has gone from a strong woman to becoming a quadriplegic.
 All over something stupid.....
But Verily is a fighter and so is her sister,Denita. Denita throws her considerable might into the fray,taking care of Verily and her kids. Bathing,dressing and encouraging Verily. She is responding well,she has some movement in her hands,she can somewhat hold her kids. Denita quits her job to help her sister,she can't afford to hire a 24-7 nurse for her. The problems they face are incredible. The house they have (I don't know if its owned or rented by the sisters) isn't equipped for a handicapped person. The daily washing of Verily is extremely hard and sad. Because Denita was caught between a rock and a hard place in terms of taking care of her sister and working and leaving her job,the insurance is about to run out and then what?
  One small bullet.
The average cost of treating a gunshot victim like Verily can cost a million dollars over the victim's lifetime.
A million dollars. Not all cases,a lot of quadriplegics don't live a long life,their bodies are so broken in so many places that a mere cold can kill them if it develops in pneumonia.
  Fox 2 Detroit ran an update on the sisters last night and I'll post the link to the report in a minute.
I don't know the Vereens but in a sense I do. Because once gun violence touches you,be it the shooter or the victim,it really changes everything. The woman who shot Verily was arrested,charged and convicted for her crime. She is in jail,locked up. But you tell me,who really is the prisoner here? And to top it off,she shows no remorse to the lives she altered so sadly on 24 May 2011.
  If you like to help.....please repost this story to your friends and neighbors.

If you feel like donating anything....

WJBK FOX 2 
P.O. Box 2000
16550 West 9 Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48037-2000


Attn: Andrea Isom- Verily Vereen




This will link you to Andrea's report.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/stray-bullet-changes-the-lives-of-2-sisters-20120210

Thanks for reading.