My feelings on The Wells Report

Once the NFL ends I usually don't blog about sports, which I find odd since I am a sports fan of a variety of different sports.  I have an ESPN app and a Yahoo Sports app on my phone and Ipad, and I receive sports updates daily through them.  Lately, I've been receiving the Olympic coverage that has allowed me have a lot of fun with my husband at night when we watch the delayed coverage.  Friday the NFL Wells Report on the investigation into the Miami Dolphins bullying incident was released.  My app let me know that it was online, and later in the evening when I had some time I read the report.  All 144 pages of it.  It was sickening.  Not only was Johnathan Martin bullied by his Dolphins teammate Richie Incognito, but also by two other teammates and a coach.  And it turns out, he wasn't the only one bullied.  The report also found that these four guys bullied another teammate, who was not named, and a Dolphins employee.

The report is horrific. It doesn't hold anything back and is complete with quotes, text messages, and tweets. The language is brutal.  The bullying disgusting.  The racial and homophobic mentality sickening.  These guys taunted Martin with gestures and words, and used his mother and sister in their cruelty.  I felt ill after reading the report and took a long shower just to try to feel clean.  The fact that there are people in this world out there that are capable of thinking these things, that are capable of doing these things, that are capable of pushing these thoughts and actions on to others is the reason why I vote against party lines.  While there are many political topics and subjects to address and pass through Congress I don't believe we can succeed as a nation, as a whole, until every individual, regardless of race, sex, religion, nationality, and sexual orientation, has the same rights and respect that we all deserve as human beings.  No one, no party, no group, no government, and no person, should have the right to dictate over and interfere into anyone's personal and private life.  Until we can all realize this simple truth we will never be able to work together, to come together, as a nation.

So far not much has happened in the repercussion of this report.  The Dolphins have fired a long time trainer and fired the Offensive Line coach who was named as one of the bullies.  Nothing has happened with the players involved.  Nothing has happened with the Dolphins head coach, Joe Philbin, who the report claimed was unaware of any of the activity. Which is an issue in itself. How, as a head coach, are you unaware of this type of behavior?  He should be fired for that alone.  Shouldn't head coaches know what the hell is happening in their locker rooms?  And maybe he did really know it was happening, which then means he should be fired for not stopping it.  

The NFL has got to stand up and take a hard stance with this report. Several Dolphins players have already pooh poohed the report and dismissed Ted Wells, the attorney who led the investigation. Other players have made remarks and told stories about their first year hazing experiences, shrugging as if to say, "We got through it. No big deal."  I, for one, am tired of the whole "This is sports.  This is football.  It happens" script. Why does it happen? Why has it been allowed? As we have evolved over the years why haven't these players put their foot down and said, "Really? Aren't we a little old for this kind of crap?" I never experienced that behavior when I played sports. It hasn't happened throughout my daughters' sports experiences, including high school athletics.  Don't tell me it is "men being men" because those guys? Those weren't men. Those were nasty, sick individuals that got off on preying on those who they felt were weak. Those guys were bullies, plain and simple, and they went far beyond any "freshman hazing" rituals. The NFL players are always preaching, "It's a business," when they are traded or fighting the organization for better salaries. Well, then they need to remember that as well. The NFL is a business, and in any business in this country that behavior is not allowed, and employees are protected by law. 

All of the players in the NFL should be made to read the report. They should think how it would feel if their own children were in Johnathan Martin's shoes. The report talks about what a kind, caring, open hearted person Martin is. The kind of guy who would walk an old lady across the street and help kids learn to read. He was considered weak because of this trait and because he avoided confrontation off the field. Who in their right mind finds that right? I have a child like that, and I'm damn proud of her. She solves issues in other ways, and I don't find that wrong. The fact that there are people out there that find her way wrong? That would harm her because of that? That is what is so scary. 

I think everyone should read the Wells Report. I keep thinking surely if everyone read it those that feel differently from me would be horrified at what they were reading.  But then I was at my daughter's soccer game wearing my Steelers jacket and a parent made a comment about the team.  I looked over at him, this parent whose daughter plays with my own, and saw that he wore a Miami Dolphins hat, and I mentioned that I had read this report.  His response?  "Oh, you mean, the report about guys playing REAL football? And the wimps that couldn't handle REAL football?" And he scoffed.  I told him to read the report and then tell me he still believed that. But the fact that he read any information about this report and still could have that reaction?  Sickening. 

Later, the father who was sitting between the two of us, leaned over to me and put his hand on my arm.  "I believe we can't have that behavior in any business," he said.  "It isn't right in or out of football." It gave me some hope.

Old pics just for fun

In downloading my Iphone pictures to my computer I found these pictures I took of the girls at Christmas time as we left the mall.  Some of them I have posted before, but they were so cute I thought I would post them all together.  Seriously, we should have done this all over the mall and made it into a book.  Wouldn't that have been cute?

5 Tidbits

1. I am enjoying the Winter Olympics, but the commercials and the lateness is causing problems.  I now record (I'm not suppose to use the word "tape" any more) the Olympics each evening and start watching around 9:30 pm. from the beginning.  This way I can fast forward through the ads that don't interest me - and there are MANY - and through the replays of each athlete.  And is that necessary? Every turn is replayed as if we didn't see if the first time.  Drives me nuts!  But, I have the ability to do something about it and I have.  Now if they would just start them an hour earlier!
2. Madison is playing recreation soccer again this season after missing a couple of years.  She is on an under 19 team that practices twice a week and plays games on Saturdays.  It has given her some exercise and is part of her IB CAS requirements for school.  There are four teams at this age group and we have played each other several times.  For the most part we have tied almost every game. This weekend was the big tournament and based on a point system; six points for a win, one point for a shut-out, and three points for a tie.  You got zilch for losing.  We won all three games with two of them shut outs.  We thought we were the champs until we were informed that the two highest teams play each other again in two weeks.  Jeez.  Just when we thought it was ending.
3. My new shows on Netflix are Leverage and Parks and Recreation.  Kelly has tried to get me to watch Parks and Recreation, but I'm not big on sitcoms.  She was right.  Shhh...  The fact that I actually worked for a Parks and Recreation department apparently never crossed my mine, but when I need a good laugh I tune into Netflix and that show.  If only I had worked with nutballs like that group.  What good times I would have had.  Oh.  Wait.  I did work with people like that and I did have good times.  Leverage (and Person of Interest on CBS) has Kelly, the girls, and I all wishing we were in the spy business.  We know we could be good.  We were recently informed that my nephew and his girlfriend will be in Orlando over spring break and we think this might be a good time to work on spying.  We thought two of us could follow them around Disney while two of us entered their hotel room and short sheeted the bed and/or gathered information like one bed or two for the parents.  We just have to find some ear buds for all of us.
4. 'Tis the time of the year when all companies and organizations vote on issues, budgets, etc. for the coming year.  I attended my homeowner's association, they of the "put in new grass" nasty, threatening letter this month with my neighbors.  The board took it upon themselves to hire a management company that would put out our mailings (not our dues mailings, but "any other mailings"), take the minutes of the monthly meetings, and send out the nasty, threatening letters.  That's it.  That's all the management company would do.  In fact it is the exact job of the secretary and the treasurer, one of those jobs that I use to hold in the same organization.  For these three things we will pay the management company - are you ready? - we will pay the management company $10,000 a year!  I stood up and told them I would do it for $8,000 a year and I would through in mailing the dues.  I mean, really.  It made for an interesting meeting as the majority of the homeowners were down right pissed.  So pissed in fact that 3 of the 4 members up for re-election didn't get voted in.  Now we have to reassemble a board.  Hmmm.. Note to self:  send my resume in to them and my bill for $8,000.
5. The girls are off tomorrow from school.  Darcy has an eye appointment because she says she is having trouble reading the board.  Madison just wants to sleep all day as she played three games of soccer these last two days.  Elliot will be happy that people are around to chase him.  The day will fly by I'm sure.

Things to look for and questions to ask when searching for a skilled nursing care and rehabilitation facility

This list is for people who are looking for a temporary facility and rehabilitation with the plan of returning home.  Medicare pays for 100 days in a nursing facility.  They pay 100% for the first 20 days and then 80% of the remaining days.  Supplemental insurance usually picks up the remaining 20%, but it is a good thing to investigate this prior to checking into a facility.  Fees are anywhere from $135.00 to $150.00 a day.  This should all be discussed with the administration when you visit.

I shall expound on the lists from various websites, using my own experiences in having a mother in a skilled nursing facility.

Basic questions for administrators during the initial visit:

Is this facility Medicare certified?  Is the staff licensed and certified?  Are background checks provided on the staff?

• If you are looking for a Medicare facility, this is the first question to ask.  Not all places take Medicare so it is important to make sure that the facility does accept it otherwise you will be wasting your time. Most of these questions will be answered before you have a chance to even ask them as the owner has access to the Internet just like you and most have trained their administrators to include this in the sales pitch.

What was the rating of the last state certification?  What did the state find that the facility needed to correct?  Are there any lawsuits against the facility?  Are there any filed complaints against the facility?

• Again this is standard in the sales pitch, but if it isn't beware and make sure to ask.  If an administrator is hesitant to answer these questions and/or refuses to give out information, walk away.  This information is public knowledge and can be found on the Medicare website.  You can print this information beforehand and take it with you to the interview.

Is there regular communication between families and administration?  Will there be conferences to discuss the loved one's Care Plan?  How often does this occur?

• Most places have weekly meetings where the rehab therapists and administrators discuss a patient's Care Plan.  This is a nice way to stay in touch with the caregivers who are taking care of your loved one and to voice any concerns you may have.  I would be wary of a facility that did not offer this.

What are the visiting hours?  Is there a code to exit the building after hours?

• Most facilities allow 24 hour visitation.  Be wary of ones that do not.  You want to be able to enter if your loved one calls you in the middle of the night.  Most facilities are locked so that patients can not wander off, but key pads are in place for visitors.  Make sure that the facility offers you the code.

Are the phone calls direct or routed through a switchboard?  Is the switchboard manned twenty four hours?

• In our last facility the phone lines were not direct.  I had to call the main number and ask for my mother's room.  This wasn't a problem until we found out the phones were turned off at seven o'clock every evening when the operator left for the day and were not turned on until seven in the morning. Not only could my mother not receive calls in that twelve hour period, but she could not make calls either.

What is the procedure for checking in?  When will happen once my loved one enters the the facility? Who will we see?  When will she see the doctor first?  How often will she see the doctor?  Is there a pharmacy in house?

• Knowing what the procedure is upon arrival is very important.  You and your loved one should be greeted, taken to your room, and introduced to a variety of people from hospitality to admissions. Paperwork is generally signed at this point and rules and regulations should be explained.  If there are items that your loved one needs that the facility is to provide, make sure that happens then and there. In one of our facility experiences we had to wait quite some time for an oxygen concentrator to be delivered when it was specifically marked that my parent was on oxygen 24 hours.
• In these facilities your loved one usually sees the doctor at check in and then once a week thereafter. Make sure that you see the doctor the very first day!  If you will not see a doctor, look into another facility.  The paperwork that comes with your loved one (usually via a hospitalization) isn't always accurate and a doctor must sign off on EVERYTHING.  If there is a discrepancy, it is best to catch that with the doctor there otherwise getting information to him can take hours and sometimes a day.
• When you see the doctor upon checking in this is a good time to go over the list you have brought of any special requests.  Ask for his business card and a number to reach him if he is willing.  Most doctors visit these facilities before or after seeing their own patients at an office.  If this is the case, ask if the nursing staff can reach him at all times.  Make sure that the nursing staff has his number.
• Go over all your medications with the doctor, including simple or specialized medications you may have brought with you.  Different states have different rules regarding these items.  At one facility we used my mother's A&D ointment and a foot cream were removed from her and placed at the nurses station.  This made it difficult to get to when needed.  This is another reason for the list you provide and have the doctor sign.  Most doctors are willing to allow these types of items in the patient's room.
• Ask the doctor if he is willing to call family members if they are not present at the time of his visit. Again, these doctors pop in and out quickly and without warning.  We had one doctor who made it a point to call me after each visit with my mother to keep me updated and to ask me questions or to hear my concerns.  That is huge!
• If your loved one requires medications, make sure that the pharmacy has been notified and note the time of arrival of medications.  A doctor must sign off on the medications before it can be sent to the pharmacy.  My mother did not receive her night time medications (10 of them) on her first stay at one facility, nor did her roommate five days later upon arriving, and that was after our filed complaints.

What times do you recommend being admitted?  Do you provide transportation from the hospital (or other facility)?  Can we request a time?

• Pay careful attention to these answers.  Timing matters when coming into a facility.  NEVER come into a facility when the nursing staff is changing shifts.  This causes great confusion on both ends and it is usually your loved one that gets the short end of the stick.  Narrow down a time and make sure that the facility adheres to it.  Provided transportation is better too as facilities respond to a vehicle and transporters much in the same way hospitals do to ambulances and paramedics.

Ask for information on the nursing staff's shift hours.  How many different nurses will your parent see in 24 hours.  How many days in a row do they work?  What is the nursing staff to patient ratio?  How many aides are there?  What are their hours?  How many days do they work in a row?

• In our experience the best place is the one in which the nursing staff works several days in a row so there is a consistency.  Most shifts are from 7 am - 3 pm, 3 pm - 11 pm, and 11 pm - 7 am.  If the same nurses work each shift even three days in a row, you will have someone who understands your loved one and his/her needs.  Problems occur, of course, when the nursing staff switches, and no matter what administrators tell you, while information is passed from one nurse to the next, important details do get left out.  
• Come up with a list of things that are important to your loved one and make sure that it is put into their chart.  This is a list that you can go over with the doctor at admitting time and have him sign if necessary.  For example, my mother uses a wheelchair which she likes by her bedside at night.  While she needs assistance in getting to and from the bathroom she is able to transfer herself from the bed to the chair if someone is unable to respond to her call quickly.  Problems arose when a staff member read "needs ambulatory help" and removed the wheelchair from my mother's bedside so that she "would have to call for help".  Had we had a list we could have referred this staff member to that list, signed by the doctor, in her chart.  Always keep copies of the list (with signature) so that the patient has one and so that you have one.

Does the nursing staff have mobile units with computers or does the staff manage from a central location or desk?

• In my experience, and in this day and age, better care is provided if the staff has a mobile unit that has a computer that keeps the patient's chart and medications.  If this is not available, then the staff has to always check in at a desk for answers and this definitely takes away from patient care and time spent with a patient.

How often will a loved one have rehabilitation therapy?  Is it one on one or shared with others?  If shared, with how many other patients?  Do you have a gym or do you work out in a room?  When will the first assessment be done?

• If your main goal is rehabilitation, these are important answers.  A gym, or multiple, gyms are the best as they are larger and offer more equipment and variety.  If rehabilitation is done in a small room it can get quite crowded and overwhelming for some patients.  One on one with a therapist is awesome, but not always a possibility.  Most centers have a ratio of one therapist to three patients which means your loved one is usually left on his own to complete an instructed exercise while the therapist works with one of her other patients.
• Hopefully, the assessments for therapy will happen on the first day of admittance, but that isn't always the case either.  It will depend upon the patient's entrance to the facility.  The later in the day your loved one arrives, the later the assessment; sometimes not until the next day.

Things to look for and questions to ask on the tour of the facility.  Always take a tour.

If it is possible, ask to see the room that your loved one will be in.  Is a private room available?  Will your loved one be sharing a room?  If so, which bed will he be in?  

• Seeing the exact room will help you determine if it is right for your loved one.  If a private room is available and you are interested, make sure that it is assigned to your loved one.  We were told we had a private room in one facility only to find that not the case upon entrance.  The room and bed my mother ended up in was not at all equipped for a wheelchair and she spent several miserable days before we got her moved into a private room.
• When touring a room check the things that are important to your loved one.  Is there a temperature control in the room that residents can manage?  If sharing a room, are there separate thermostats?  Is the bathroom big enough?  Is the bathroom arranged so that your loved one can maneuver in it?  Is there a shower in the bathroom or will your loved one be bathed elsewhere?  The bathroom in one facility my mother was in was not arranged well for a person in a wheelchair and she had great difficulty ending up with a huge hematoma on her arm from bumping up against the toilet paper dispenser jutting out from the wall.  Check for every little thing that will make or break your loved ones comfort level.

Is the facility clean?  Are the hallways well lit?  Is there a distinctive odor?  Do you smell bleach?

• Every facility is going to have some type of scent.  Make sure that it isn't overpowering, nasty, or smelling like bleach as a cover up to something more.  Make sure to look down at the floor and along the baseboards for cleanliness.  A well cleaned facility makes for a healthier one.

Tour the rehabilitation areas.  Are they large?  Do they have a variety of equipment?  Does the place resemble a workout gym?  Are the residents engaged or just sitting waiting for instruction?  

• This goes along with the questions you should ask the administrator in your interview, but seeing for yourself is a plus.  One facility I toured was under construction and not only was it noisy, but the gym was closed due to the construction and the residents were rehabbing in different rooms of various sizes.  We opted not to go with that facility because of the construction despite the rest of it passing our tests because rehabilitation was huge for my mother at the time.  She ended up staying in another facility with a large gym, with wonderful therapists, and where she could interact with other rehabbing patients.

As you tour look at the residents.  Are they up and out of bed?  Are they dressed in clothes or in robes?  Do they appear well cared for?  Do they look happy?  If possible, talk to some of them.

• A facility where the patients get up in the morning and get dressed in their clothes is more like what your loved one does at home.  This is a facility that means business in rehabilitation and not just minimal care.  Not ever resident is going to be smiling or appear happy as you tour, but you can tell if they appear well groomed.  If an opportunity arises and you are able to talk to a resident ask him questions.  I spoke to one woman who was sitting outside a facility enjoying the sunshine.  She was quite happy to tell me about the facility, the positive and the negative, and whether or not she recommended it.  

Is there a dining room for residents to eat in?  How big is the dining room?  Is it a nice room?  Well decorated?  Can residents eat in their rooms?  Is there a choice on meals?  A menu?  How is the food? Ask if the tour guide eats the meals.  Ask to see a meal if available.  Does it look like something you could eat?  If your loved one requires special menus, will that be available?

• Most facilities offer in room and/or a dining room eating.  Residents can do either depending on their mood.  If your loved one has restrictions, make sure that that is discussed at admittance.  My mother came from one facility where "mechanical" meant cutting up her meat for her to another facility where "mechanical" meant pureeing her food so that it looked like something one would feed an infant.  If the food doesn't appear appetizing, it makes it hard to consume and not eating leads to many other problems.  In one facility they offered a menu and choices.  In another facility everyone was given the same meal.  Having choices is much better.

Are their activities outside of rehab?  What sort of activities?  Can residents come and go on their own from their rooms to activities?  

• Most facilities offer various activities.  Ask for a list.  Most facilities have the month's activities on a calendar and will post them in the resident's room and in the hallways.  In one facility my mother stayed in she worked on puzzles with residents in the game area, took exercise classes, and watched movies in the common area while eating popcorn.  If your loved one using oxygen will he be able to switch out to a tank to be mobile?  

It isn't easy picking out a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.  So far we have not found the perfect facility.  We have found some with great rehab and not such great care.  We have had facilities with little rehab.  We have had places with no problems and places with many problems.  Each of those facilities seemed great when touring them and speaking with the administrators.  Reality was much different.

Remember that the administrators are sales people and that you are the buyer.  Ask questions.  If able, pop in several different times at different hours and take tours.  Check the facility out on Medicare's site.  Ask for recommendations from doctors, nurses, and from people who might have been in a facility.  Also, in the end, ask the administrator if he would put his own loved one in this same facility.  If he hesitates, find a different facility.

My experience with healthcare facilities - part 1

A few years ago, when my mother's charcot foot first began, Medicare chucked her out of the facility she was staying in connected with the hospital.  Her time was up, but because she had a wound vac hooked to her foot and a PICC line in for treatment of MRSA the doctors would not release her to go home.  The next stop would need to be a "skilled nursing facility" with a rehabilitation unit to get her up and moving.  The social worker gave my brother and I a list of facilities in the county and told us to come back with our top three.  With the help of a physical therapist friend of mine and my mother's primary doctor, I got the names of three facilities to tour, and my brother and I set out one morning to do just that.  The experience was demanding, depressing, and very emotional.  I wrote about it on my blog, but then decided not to publish it because I couldn't find an ending to the piece.  Because there is no ending.

Aging parents with health issues is not like it was seventy years ago when they moved in with their children. Today we live in houses built practically on top of one another with smaller rooms and ridiculous layouts. We don't own land to expand and many houses have two working adults.  My brother and I always said we would take care of our parents, but now that reality has hit us we find we are not capable, physically, emotionally, and practically to do what we once promised.  Instead we must find alternatives so that our mother is comfortable and well taken care of, and that is where things get dicey.  There is no magical place.

The facility that my mother stayed in a few years ago was adequate.  She had a private room due to her MRSA diagnosis and because the only private room they had was one that they transferred patients about to be sent home into it simulated a "real" home and came equipped with a refrigerator and microwave.  In skilled facilities a doctor is only obligated to see patients once a week so if a patient is ill the facility has to access and then contact the doctor and follow his instructions.  My mother went through a couple bouts of pneumonia while there and some other mysterious illness that no one really could diagnosis.  The therapy was good, but the caring part was iffy and she lasted almost three weeks before checking herself out and going home.

She has stayed out of a skilled nursing facility since then, instead going from the hospital to acute rehab centers which keep patients for two weeks for intense physical and occupational therapy and where a doctor sees the patients daily.  These places ready you to go home and then send therapists to come into your home to continue the work that you did in their facility.  While these places are the best scenario they aren't always perfect and they aren't always the answer for everyone.

This past month, due to a medication change, my mother was admitted into the hospital for observation for four days.  From there she went into an acute facility where she worked well for almost two weeks, but when the facility opted to keep her another week, she contracted bronchitis, which the doctor did not pick up on.  That facility released her, and because she did not feel ready to go home, she was transferred the skilled nursing facility.  I was once again told to pick three places.  My mother and I discussed places and ended up putting down the one she had been in before, which back then she hated, but which now she calls "adequate", one that my brother and I had visited previously, but had rejected because they were doing loud construction, and one that I then went to visit to make sure.

This facility is three minutes by car from my house.  My friend, Kim, worked there when she was studying to be a nurse over twenty years ago.  I drive by this place daily, but because I remember her stories from there I have never thought to explore it.  Recently a couple of people told me that "friends of theirs" thought it a fine place for their own parents so my mother sent me off to check it out.  And therein lies the difficulty.

Checking out these facilities means meeting with someone in admissions, going over Medicare rules, giving out your parent's situation, and taking a tour.  While you can tell whether they know their stuff and you can see other patients as you walk down hallways and view the rehabilitation center it doesn't tell you what you really want to know.  Will your parent receive good care?  Will they get the rehab they need?  The Internet is, of course, a starting place.  My brother and I armed ourselves with a list of questions to ask from various websites that help the elderly and family members.  But these places and their employees have accessed the Internet too and they answer these questions almost before you can ask them for yourself.  I can see for myself as I take the tour whether the patients are well groomed (90% of them are dressed and sitting up), whether the facility is clean (never have toured one that wasn't), whether it smells of urine or disinfectant (most carry an undefined odor), and whether the residents appear happy (90% of them stare at you like an animal in the zoo).  I've based the majority of my judgement on the rehab portion of the facilities because that has always been the main reason why my mother was coming in the first place.  In the rehab center you see whether patients are being worked with or just sitting in a corner.  You can count the number of therapists and gauge the ratio to patients.  You can view the equipment, the size of the room, and the mood of the staff. Unfortunately, judging that doesn't mean the care outside of the center is what you need.  The only way to know anything for sure is to stay there.

When I visited this place near my house I entered the assisted living portion of the place first and since this might just be an option soon I went ahead and spoke with the director there.  I loved her.  She was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and gave me some some Steelers cups to take home with me.  "You're easy," my brother said when I texted him.  She gave me loads of information and sent me off with a folder stuffed with papers.  I felt good as I drove around the complex to the other end where the skilled facility was located. The admissions girl (she looked about 19) was knowledgeable, the tour the same as always, the staff courteous and friendly, the residents a mixture of ages, the rehab hopping, and the facility had just passed their state certification and had received a 5 our of 5 rating.  I left feeling this place would be fine for the five days or so my mother felt she needed to recover.  I put it number one on our list for the social worker and felt we were good to go, forgetting what I already had learned from our first skilled nursing experience; there is no magical place.

And here I thought he didn't listen

Me (coming into kitchen):  "I just took an IQ test and I'm "smart".  I'm very proud of that.  I scored a 130, whatever that means.  Well, it says I was "smart" so obviously that is what it means."

Tom (thumbing through a book):  "Have you read this?"

Me:  "Yes, well, I am reading it.  I'm reading it now.  I'm not quite halfway through."

Tom:  "Is it any good?  It looks good."

Me:  "Yes, I'm enjoying it.  (Gets a cup out, opens refrigerator to get ice)  I don't quite like the whole death as a narrator, but the rest of it is good.  It was made into a movie."

Tom:  "It was?"

Me:  "That's why I'm reading it.  I found it in a book store and then saw that it was made into a movie." (Notices ice machine is once again clogged)  "Oh, my god!  This thing drives me crazy.  Why is it doing this?"  (Removes ice container)  "And why am I always the one who has to deal with this?  Why can't someone else see that this needs tending to?"

Tom:  "Because you're the one with the high IQ.  You're smart."

Monday Super Bowl recap

Sigh. 

Seattle defense - Got to give them credit. They came out to play and play they did. The Broncos offense didn't know what hit them, and hit them the Seahawks did; hard. Wherever the ball went there was a navy tighted player there to stuff, punch, pop, and kill. They worked the field and the Broncos' offense and they won the game. 

Denver offense - The line had trouble in the first half holding the defense and Peyton couldn't get his rhythmn or his confidence. He was oft kilter and when Manning is in trouble, well, we see what happens. The line did a better job in the second half, but it was a little too late by then. 

Russell Wilson - Didn't get the Rookie of the Year award when he should have last year. Doesn't matter. He has something more important now. He kept cool and steady. Some of his throws in the fourth quarter were so superior it was just poetry in motion. 

John Elway - Think he was having déjà vu?

Weather - It was suppose to be snowing, and raining, and sleeting, and raining ice cubes during the coldest Super Bowl ever, and instead the weather was clear and warmer in Met Life Stadium then in either Denver or Seattle. 

Halftime show - Bruno Mars knows how to keep moving and entertaining. Could have cared less about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don't really get the whole hype for halftime entertainment, but I didn't get up and leave the room either. 

Tim Tebow - The Twitter world loved it because everyone could tweet, "Tebow in the Super Bowl" as if it were clever. It might have been if millions of social media addicts didn't all think alike. However, kudos to T-Mobile for coming up with the idea. Best ads of the night in my view. 

Confetti - What happens with the orange and blue confetti that didn't get used? 

Hall of Fame - Again dissing the Bus? Not cool. Snubbing Tony Dungy? Shameful. Mr. Derrick Brooks? Got one right. 

Terry Bradshaw - We will never know if he would have skipped the big game as a player after the death if his father, but Bradshaw opted to skip it as an analyst, spending time with his family in Louisiana. His father died Thursday and Bradshaw missed his second game as a Fox analyst. Michael Strahan, fresh off his HOF title, put his hosting experience to use as Bradshaw's replacement. 

Super Bowl pick

Denver over Seattle - Ok, I want Peyton Manning to win. Hands down. Bottom line. I feel the win for him. I know Seattle has the defense. I know Seattle has Marshawn Lynch. I like Seattle's Russell Wilson. I just want Peyton Manning to win one more. To shut up all those people who use to think a Super Bowl was necessary to prove greatness and who now believe one win isn't enough. I hope for Manning to be able to have some relief and relaxation for a change. He earned it. Now he just has to seal it. Go Broncos!