WHINE OR WINE? (February 26)

HER STORY first job in safety was the Board of Water and Light and I survived long enough to receive a small pension at age 60.  Even though I was youngish, 39, when I moved on to the rest of my story that put me in the ranks of a BWL retiree. I attended a few retirement meetings until pretty much all my friends, colleagues, mentors (including the frog group) have now moved on to greener pastures. Point being, the Board publishes a quarterly employee magazine which features a retiree in each issue. Apparently, they got to the I's. An old friend from Personnel, though retired, still writes that segment. Though you can imagine my dismay at the herculean task of writing I would have to do I told her I would put something together. Sum up your life in 300-400 words plus pictures. Think obituary. Leave out the negative as success is its own revenge.

LATER AT THE RNC Funniest thing this week between the tears of course, is a billionaire who sets up a Go fund me page sells "the promise" (no merch available) of tacky gold sneakers and uses campaign funds to pay his legal bills.  I do believe using the campaign fund for non-campaign reasons is not allowed by the rules, but when did the rules ever apply to the dude? On the other hand, he uses court appearances for campaign speeches, so... "Real" billionaires would hire "real" attorneys" and fines levied would be pocket change. Society has changed as stated by an 81 year old woman in a forum I watched who said "who would have thought people would vote for someone with 91 indictments?" All Nixie did was a little larceny and lied about it (resigned) and Clintie played the intern game and lied about it (impeached). Yep, times have changed, and a moral code is now considered a liability and overturning the government is not a big deal-breaker. 

THE EYES HAVE IT The OH got laser zapped and lived to tell about it as it turned out to be a lot of dilation and a biggie light show 10 minutes. My turn in the diagnosis barrel. I win as both eyes are VERY eligible for new lenses. They have you watch this video where they show how they vacuum out the cataract and fold up your old lens like a piece of plastic and suck it out a 1/10 of an inch hole. Then they go through the complications like blindness and death. Fun stuff, but liability is a real thing. Insult to injury when the surgeon explains what he's going to do and goes through this story about how it's not like going into the store and trying on shoes until you find one that fits. One shot based on his measurements and that's it. He must think old people don't understand without a silly story about shoes. "No doc, I thought you just kept trying until you get to 20/20". One bump is because I had Lasic 20 years ago I may not remain glasses free. I even had to sign a paper about it. Not happy, but considering the alternative....

My first pair of glasses was at 16 to be able to drive. Ugly things as I find most glasses. Never have found a frame that I liked on me, only that it was necessary. Before joining the be-spectled crowd I just sat in front of the classroom to see the board. People were prettier too with fuzzy eyes. I still sit in front of meetings/conferences as it's easier to stay awake and hassle the speaker if the need arises. 

HOUSE WARS I seem to have a type. My handrail for the stairs has taken a beating since my last surgery. I use a death grip as I traverse the steps. No more la la la tripping up and down the stairs two steps at a time. Preventing death in a fall has become a priority. At any rate, my gray paint has been chipping in spots exposing the yellow that used to permeate this entire house. I at first blamed the housekeeper and her energetic activities. DIGRESS: the housekeeper has knocked the shower door off the track, broken a control on my stove and actually claimed my house was pretty dusty. Well duh. I have limited mobility and energy that I do not wish to spend on being married to my house; hence the cleaners who do the deep cleaning of bathrooms, floors, dust etc.  

But I now believe my ring may be the culprit as I tend to wrap my hand twice around the rail in fear of creating a bigger mess at the bottom that the OH would have to clean up. At any rate, it bugs me so we finally stopped at Lowes' to pick up some black paint to cover the gray-change things up a bit. I found a paint chip I liked-Cyberspace- because Space is black right? Upon comparing the chip to my stair rail, it's almost a perfect match. Go figure. My subconscious has better color recognition than I do. 

On the other medical front, some days are more challenging than others. The fun and excitement of arthritis. I have weaned myself off Tylenol but sometimes....I am wondering which is worse ruining my kidneys with Tylenol or my liver with red wine. It's a real dilemma.Sigh  Peace out...💚  💙💛

A CONFERENCE WE WILL GO (February 19)

Every time I step away for a bit I jump back in. Last week facilitated the Executive Forum portion at a Construction Safety Conference. I work for food. Although I've been "retired" for nine years my buds from MIOSHA still know me which makes their intros personal and fun. Well at least I thought my jokes were good. However, in another session (I did not facilitate) one of my old construction consultants likes to talk like one of the guys, and call me prude, but the "f" word twice seemed a little over the top. Especially since he has been a teacher rather than a construction worker for twenty years. Not my circus act so did not comment.

 I did however critique another speaker as a favor to a colleague and apparently the gentleman got a little schooling about "busy slides" and "know your audience". I found the presentation interesting but very, very technical especially as I glanced around the room to note various eye closed attendees.  Never a good sign. Though speaking immediately after lunch is a crap shoot no matter who. I mean unless you provide interactive activities or perform a strip tease, you're battling the inevitable post-meal drowsies. For myself, I have learned how to yawn without opening my mouth and paint eyeballs on my eyelids. 

Our keynote speaker was a woman who lost her husband in a fall from a roof when she was a 20-year old newlywed. After getting a massive run-around from Work Comp, Insurance, OSHA, the company, etc. she was basically told that her husband was a bad employee who didn't follow rules. The Worker Comp rep actually told her "You're good-looking, you'll find another husband" three days after her husband died.  She made it her life's mission to understand why he had to die and how she could prevent others from the same fate. I could totally relate to her stories as a woman in a non-traditional field. Finding a place to relieve oneself when on a construction site and finding protective equipment that fits the curves tops the list and of course, the "just placate the little woman" BS. On the plus side, people will talk to a woman more readily (no threat I guess). 

That reminded me of one episode when I begged, cajoled, bribed "Farmer John's Pole Barn, Inc." to please, please, please use fall protection as they built our new dynamite (yes I said dynamite) shed in the yard. I even brought the MIOSHA Construction Director out to talk to them. Yep. Knocked the whole thing down at the stick frame stage. Unfortunately, a man rode it down. Fortunately, he only suffered a broken leg. I would rather be hated than watch the inevitable result of not prioritizing safety rules. But as our speaker pointed out how many times do we get thanked (laugh track)? A job requiring a lot of self-motivation. 

MIOSHA talked a lot about relationships, and we are not the enemy...etc. To the surprise of the MIOSHA Director, I told a story about having a good relationship with them when I worked at the City. Their asbestos supervisor called and asked if I would check out a job downtown requiring exposure of insulation in a trench. The public likes to call in anonymously and complain about a hazard but they are not actually an employee of the company doing the work. MIO have some rules about who gets to complain. But they trusted me enough to call and "clarify" the situation. No harm, no foul. I don't think the MIO Director expected they should be "that" user- friendly. 

The same as work comp court. They expect the attorneys to resolve the situation before you get in front of the judge. Again, relationships; which I could never explain to one of our attorneys assigned the WC work. She refused to shoot the sh---  and settle so we often got our heads handed to us as the judge unabashedly advocates for the employee in the hearing. If it was a scam I fought to the end, but sometimes one has to be pragmatic about the best outcome. 

Our female keynote also mentioned a woman can hug in tense situations. I disagreed to that one as an HR person.  Except when you are in the emergency room and just pulled two bodies out of a manhole and one of the "coated" bodies is awake, hysterical and clinging to you. It happens. 

The woman who handled the Michigan Safety Conference booth at this conference and I chatted throughout the day. Her Mother has been our Executive Director (read: run the show) for many years. The daughter told me her folks were intimidated by me when they first took over the conference as I knew everyone and everyone knew me and I was the historical source-LOL. Either I am a female Godzilla or god's gift to the downtrodden - Double LOL. But I am the favorite person to vent to about the conference so it all works. 

HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP? Two visits with the OH to the Eye Specialist and another one this week to laser zap the blockage in one of his eyeball arteries. THEN, maybe they can work on the cataract. Friday is my turn for evaluation so the fun continues. One doctor says her laser thingee shouldn't interfere with getting the cataract surgery. Her partner says no cataract surgery until after the blockage resolves itself. Then they send us to the insurance person to schedule the cataract surgery. I have my reservations at this point and asked the insurance person "don't they talk to each other?" We are pausing the cataract surgery until after the blockage clears up, duhh.

 Out at the lake Winter Fest was held without much snow which kind of kills the buzz. However, the polar plunge was much easier to perform. Since nothing is frozen including the canals, I enjoyed watching a solo swan traverse our canal. Apparently, he has been hanging out there for weeks and it looks like he has lost his Missus. Though they hook up for life, if one dies, they will mate again if they find another soulmate. Got some nice pictures of Swan Up and Swan Down-lots of juicy weeds in our canal.  Peace out...💚  💙💛

STORIES (February 12)

SUPER STUFF Super Bowl without our Lions. Thank goodness for the commercials! I stayed away from the "peeks" being offered all week to keep my reaction fresh. Though sometimes I miss the subtlety when I see the offering the first time. And...since so many girls are watching due to the Taylor factor, more make-up commercials - big whoop. 

UPDATE:  Took a personal day the rest of Sunday. Some arthritis days are worse than others so once I finished my Sunday house chores and laundry; pain level up, energy level gone. Anyway, my favorite commercials were the Uber Eats forget commercial (once they took the peanut allergy part out); the E-trade babies "schooling the Olders" in pickleball and the Ninja nanas going after the spicy Doritos! Doritos never fails to deliver. Apparently, I am in line with the MSU advertising profs however, the expert on NBC chose the CeraV as best-yawn. Though not long enough the Clydesdales delivering beer always a winner. 

POLITICAL BREAK Did anyone have an issue with Robert Kennedy (I for President) channeling his ancestors John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy in a vintage commercial for his campaign? The man who embraces a republican (read stifling conservative) agenda? R & J would have rolled over in their graves. Also have you noticed the non-governing government we have in place. If it offends the trumpster he calls them names and then his base attack with death threats. Where are the heroes like Congressman Crenshaw of Texas who has the courage to vote his conscience? Instead, he is another repub not running for re-election as they are tired of standing alone. Why is the orange man even relevant four years later?

THE EYES HAVE IT Starting our journey into cataract land with two appointments last week for the OH and my turn next week. Same medical practice, two different locations. Ever hear how you don't want to know how the sausage is made? Then do not read about the art of the cataract surgery, namely what could go wrong (well we told you). My Lasik 20 years ago may cause some issues. After not wearing glasses for that long, I am not looking forward to going backward. Forward to backward, what a funny juxtaposition that turned into.

Also funny. They injected dye into the OH to track an issue in the back of his eyeball. He swore his subsequent eliminations lit up the bathroom with a fluorescent glow all afternoon. So dramatic. I took his word for it. He gets laser zapped next week to clear up the back eyeball issue before they can do the cataract; and then for those on Medicare only one eye qualifies so that should be interesting. 

REAL ESTATE Noticed a realty ad for a company that specializes in finding homes for Vets and public safety folks (fire and police). Not sure what advantage that adds, but nice idea. Reminded me of the City program the Mayor asked us to create for public safety folks to give them a $5000 loan if they bought a house in the City. As with the MIOSHA Training Insitute I had never created a real estate office before so had to learn along with the City Finance Director. The crux of it was that 1,000 would be forgiven each year for five years as long as they stayed in the house.  Fire folks jumped on it! However it took me a few months to learn/understand I needed to put a lien on the house so the 5000 would be paid back if the house got sold again before the five years. Sorry, that was not covered in my safety and HR degreed programs. 

This necessitated me going to the County Clerk in Mason and pulling the paperwork for the loan and attaching the lien notice to it. As it was several months after the program started, I was relieved that in most cases no harm/no foul. Except for one ambitious firefighter who had already burned the $5000 equity in the house for TWO more loans. That made our claim number three. That's just between you and me and hopefully it all worked out. Fire fighters have a certain amount of time on their hands waiting for disasters to happen so some of it was spent on their investments. Apparently, home loan benefits as well. 

ANOTHER STORY Another reminder this week of days gone by was when we were watching our new addiction on British TV "MidSomer Murders". As part of the plot a lady was to signal with an air horn as she was being murdered giving the constable hiding in her wardrobe time to thwart the attack (I know). It reminded me of the occasion when I got to assault Canada with an air horn. After bravely acting as corporate guinea pig for a company's prototype air detector I was invited to a cruise down the Detroit River on their yacht during a conference. Upon passing the Seagram's plant on the opposite shore I let it rip. My goodness those things are loud. The detector company went on to success before others cloned the idea. This was revolutionary at the time when one could measure oxygen, carbon monoxide/dioxide and a third gas in one instrument. Normally one had to use a different detector for each contaminant. We took the prototype everywhere, even down humid nasty sewers and water main chases. Though my name will not be mentioned as an early pioneer, I was happy to be more of a visionary than most. Convenience above all!

SPEAKING OF MY CAREER OSHA came into being in 1971 and Michigan OSHA in 1974. I had the distinct honor of being part of this infant regulatory adventure in the early 70's as it was just learning to walk. Things that are commonplace today were hard fought battles in my era and I am forever grateful to be a part of making a difference. As so many of those pioneers said "standards are written in blood". What became a rule was because of usually tragic circumstances. Experience one might say. Hopefully the EHS pros of today understand pre-planning and prevention rather than hindsight. Based on my interview of younger safety folk they get it, though they are amazed at what we had to deal with in the beginning. 

Speaking of Podcast topics, my Chicken Doctor listened to my last poddie and liked it. So once we determine a topic he is willing to go through the process and even gave me an idea for another subject he'd like to hear about. Now if I could just learn to walk again....Peace out  💚  💙💛

CLYDESDALES AND BUD LIGHT (February 5)

PANIC!!! Blank piece of paper in front of me, or in the age of laptops, blank piece of paper on my screen in front of me. No matter how things change, they also stay the same. I remember my first Selectric typewriter with its skipping, rolling metal ball and thought I was in heaven. Except one still had to erase several copies when making a mistake. Remember carbon paper? Purple or black fingers and smudgy paper. Oops start again. And let's go way back to mimeograph machines for making copies. Fingers and entire outfits sporting the telltale ink not to mention that rather distinct smell that clung to schoolteachers and blue worksheets. And added bonus; hazardous to health with its heavenly scents of methyl alcohol or methanol. 

Of course, the launch of the personal computer/laptop eliminated administrative staff as you could now do it yourself! A time-saver if there ever was one. I am sure productivity was not compromised as many execs found out "oh crap, I really don't know how to use grammar, spell or write for that matter". Again, a real boon to getting work done. Which explains why I was always tasked with editing or creating any newsletters, press releases, brochures that needed to be done. Complimenting my writing skills doth not maketh me feel any better about the elimination of my administrative assistant. Until I was able to snag the secretary who actually had a degree in advertising. I was then able to offer her opportunities to use her skills on projects that were both interesting and challenging while I tried to create, facilitate and browbeat staff into creating the new MIOSHA Training Institute. 

Expectations are pretty much based on what you are willing to take on without protest-took me a while to learn to ask for what I needed. But then you are accused of being an overly aggressive female. Though I am happy to see a female has been hired as only the second Asst Fire Chief at the City; which is only 20 years since I had a hand in hiring the first female firefighters. Try being a shrinking violet in that job! Not only is the work dangerous and demanding, but the less than warm welcome they received also required nerves of steel and stamina. My own experience with the ass t fire chief of my time made it a point to tell me I would never be accepted there as the safety skate as "I was not a firefighter and also I was a woman". Karma's a bitch.

OBSERVATIONS a) In this age of high prices for necessities it is rather interesting to see the line up for the new APPLE VR system at a cool 3500 bucks. Mostly young people who apparently are living at home.

b) Rumph is claiming all other presidents should be imprisoned for actions taken, during wars for example. However, he should still be given full immunity as dictator du jour. And no one questions his mental acuity? Whale, person, hula hoop. I am actually questioning the mental acuity of those who still refuse to see the lack of emperor clothing. 

c) A republican Senator was tasked with negotiating the deal on the border and the current President is willing to sign - closing borders - and then the Senator gets censured by his own party for completing the task. A bill supporting a slew of republican issues they have claimed they want - wha? All because the orange man says no that's my issue to campaign. The same issue the r's tied to the to Ukraine and Israel funding? The same issue that your little "god's army" is in Texas to stop the migration? Again, we find the repubs not giving a crap for the people on the very issue they said they wanted resolved. First commandment has a bit of an issue with idolizing false gods before Him. 

THE SKINNY ON DERMATITIS My next podcast topic. I have such an adrenaline rush when rehearsing and recording my various podcasts. They force me to think through, research and try to sound reasonably intelligent in my questions. Though I get stressed putting them together, after one is completed, I feel like I could run for office (according to my text messages from the DNC about the possibility) Yeah right. I would question my mental acuity. It's kind of like doing a term paper every month, which to be honest I would never write the thing until the last-minute pulling all-nighters to do so. 

JOKE I WISHED I THOUGHT OF A Minneapolis dentist office provides an office dog to lay on and calm nervous patients. The concept however is not quite so popular when providing several cats for the acupuncturist's office. 

AND THEN Ever since our grand dog passed, I've been getting end of the school day calls from JP on the days Mom is working in the office. I clear the decks for the anticipated conversations. Nothing really important, but necessary for him and fun for me. I was disappointed that he got interrupted both times this week cutting our talk and emoji bashing short and he didn't call back. Just hoping he will always need that Nana input no matter what else is going on. 

Super Bowl week which makes me lament anew our one game short Lions, actually one-half game short of the whole enchilada. They will preview all the commercials this week which really bugs me as I like to be surprised, delighted and turned off during the real thing. Otherwise, why watch the game? For Taylor of course! Who doesn't love all those MAGA heads exploding over a popular, upbeat billionaire woman who, quietly donates to local charities and compensates her own staff handsomely because she cares about people. How horrible.  But hey Clydesdales and Bud Light (more fake head exploding) - it doesn't get any better than that. Peace Out.......💚 💛💙