Monday started off with a bang, or was it a whimper-both. Cause-trees on lines; effect no power all day. Of course occurring right after the OH left for golf thus trapping myself and my car in the garage as he also absconded with my car keys. Plus he never turns his phone on. Sigh. Only a Zoom meeting this am and an in-person meeting with my next interviewee. Neighbor showed me the extremely simple task of pulling the red rip-cord and voila - garage becomes manual, duh. After scrambling through several sets of keys I located a bent house key and car key. The power mysteriously came on right before 11 am and just as mysteriously shut off again at noon right after my internet Zoom meeting-cue the spooky music. The in-person meet was at a restaurant so I was happy to avail myself of food and, ahem, facilities.
Deck Update: It has basically rained every day since Wednesday so progress slowed to an agonizing halt. With rain predicted for the next fortnight, I was predictably agitated. A few "friendly" messages to our contractor and offer to help (as his guys don't like to get wet - true story) he and crew miraculously decided to brave the weather and work is now in full forward mode. They brought their cooler for lunch, we provided soda and the garage when the inevitable rain storm hit today. Support completed and first pieces of pergola laid in - green and white of course.
Chauvinism or prestige - you decide. Cultivating a new interviewee from a medical clinic to talk about Mary Jane in the workplace I mentioned to him an article I collaborated on for that very subject with the President of a world-wide Loss Control Company. I sent a copy to frame our conversation later this week and he said upon perusing it, my collaborator was "on point with the issues". I had to tell him that since he liked it between he, I and the proverbial fencepost my "collaborator" changed exactly two words of the presentation but I knew a prestigious male would get more attention Major LOL. My new interviewee pointed out that marijuana is here, legal and generates cash flow (told my finance guy that two years ago) and the "hippies" of the 60's are the lawmakers of today. Should be a fun conversation. UPDATE: It was.
The Supreme Court decision today (case brought by the NCAA) requiring colleges to pay any expenses of student athetes (even if they don't play) that can be related to "education" will lead to the inevitability of paying the student athletes. Need a 3 bedroom condo to "study". Why not. Entertainment center and party friends to help you relax - of course. A new car to get to practice-makes sense. Why don't we just admit it's not about education (though the majority do not make it in the majors and need the degree) but about big business, fund-raising, exhorbitant salaries and country club facilities. To call them amateurs is laughable. To deprive the brilliant or hard-working young person who may discover the cure for cancer of any support seems extremely short-sighted.
The exciting progress on the deck came to a lightening stop (see how I used that in the negative) when actual lightening started snapping its fingers. Never saw anybody move so fast, buttoning up that is. Half a deck and four posts for the foreseeable future. Considering the weather report, I should probably take the rest of the wood and build an ark-may need it. Success however, as the 30 year lost little scissors were found.
In other news, Joint Chief of Staff General Mark Milley put "sex-trafficker (alleged)" in training Gaetz in his place by talking like an adult and relaying the truth. As you may recall the General was the one that stood up to "Orange Soda-Jerk" (who appointed him btw) when he wanted the military to go into Portland "and crack skulls". Funny that same direction was not given about the "Constitutional-molesters (alleged)" that defaced our Capital. Gen Milley explained in simple words why and how discrimination occurs, and continues to occur in the military and frankly, life in general. However our modern day segretionists basically put their fingers in their ears while stomping their lily white feet in frustration. Hankers back to the "good ole' McCarthy days" when he wanted the military to arrest, well basically anyone, based on innuendo with folks basically throwing their friends under the bus to save themselves. If the despots ever actually get control of a private army....Also if the "right" wants to declare war on the military, I don't think the "people" are going to be ok with that. Just saying.
Interesting conversation with my grandson the other day. The best convos take place in the car I always think. Anyway he told me how he got into poison ivy looking for rocks. I told him I had a couple of brothers who worked in the Parks Department I had approved for preventative shots before warm weather set in. Those boys were so allergic when they got poison ivy, they got it .....everywhere. Of course Joe latched onto the fact that everywhere included "boy parts" when he gleefully told his Mother about our conversation. She knows both of us well enough so no harm, no foul.
Odd things I know about doing Safety and Workers' Comp. To me it was just another day in the ditches, but to another my investigating their groin injury proved uncomfortable-go figure (yes deliberate pun). Another dude wanted me to replace his expensive safety glasses, but did not want to tell me why. Finally discovered he tipped over into an influent (waste water) tank and fishing around for his glasses while trying to extricate himself without swallowing any was detrimental to retrieval. I approved the replacement.
As I've said before 98% of the time I pay the claims, but those that were a little suspicious I had my ways. I was a genius at finding "restricted" work. I remember one dude moved to Muskegon with his girlfriend thinking I would never find him work within his limitations. Wrong.
I love my Unions but when I suggested we staff the desk inside the door of the Police Department with a restricted duty officer to answer questions, the Union pounced on it as a nice 8 to 5 sit-down job. Sigh. Fire depatment was a little easier as they undergo so much training, it made sense to schedule sit-down classes for them. I was not well-liked in those two groups-go figure.
But on the plus side I did successfully fight for PASS devices that alarm when a firefighter is not moving (before it became required) and individual mouthpieces for their SCBAs (I mean yuck) so they didn't always hate me. As for LPD I was an early, and unpopular, proponent of bullet-resistant vests (which are hot and heavy) but I did advocate for athletic shoes for those late-night delightful chases through the alleys of Lansing.
Fun evening. I go to the 4:30 Mass on Saturday and right smack in the middle tornado sirens began screeching. Our priest seemed a little out of his element and slow to provide spiritual or any other type of guidance. He was relying on those of us with cell phones still on to direct our actions. Some hollared for continuing. So he asks what are we being directed to do. S E E K S H E L T E R. Are we not all mid-westerners? This is not our first rodeo. So haul butt down to the basement where sound systems, altar, music and chairs were set up in record time. I don't know if the acoustics are more echoey down there or people were singing loudly in the face of adversity, but we never sounded better. As they were planning a reception after the service we even had coffee and cookies to go with our Communion wafers...
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