UE tragedy and the reason why I'm a Steelers fan

Every time I wear my Steelers gear, every time a stranger arrives at my house, the question is asked, "Are you from Pittsburgh?" When I answer in the negative, the next question they ask is why I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, as if only people from that city are allowed to be fans. The answer for me is not simple. Some times I give the long version. Most of the time I just give the short version. Recently, I gave the entire version to Steelers Nation Unite on their fan story traditions page.

The first half of the answer on how I became a Steelers fan is easy. I'm from Indiana, grew up before the Colts tiptoed out of Baltimore, came from a sports loving-watching family, and chose the Steelers because they were on local television every week. My father was a die hard Cowboys fan. My mother switched back and forth between the Packers and the Redskins. My brother and I decided to be Steelers fans, and we embraced our team hanging up pendants and rocking the apparel. Somewhere along the way, my brother dropped the Steelers and became a San Diego Charger fan. I'm not sure why, but I've always said he was missing a little something in the cranium department. 

The second half of why I'm a Steelers fan is more complicated. I'm from Evansville, Indiana a two college city; the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville. The latter had a men's basketball team that the entire city backed starting in the 1940's. In 1955, the team moved to Division II, winning five National Championships and producing NBA players Jerry Sloan and Don Buse. Our family started attending games in the 1970's, but by the latter part of the decade fans were dropping out as the team struggled.

In 1977, the University's long time coach, Arad McCutchan, retired, the team entered into Division I, and a coach named Bobby Watson was hired. He recruited a bunch of basketball talented freshman and backed the bringing back of the old mascot Ace Purple, a river boat gambler. The city of Evansville was excited once more to sit cozy up next to their neighbor on the wooden bench that filled each row in the stadium. Unfortunately, it was short lived.

On December 13, 1977 the team, coaches, and several members of the local media flew out of the city's regional airport on an icy, foggy, rainy night. The plane got airborne and then fell out of the sky into a subdivison behind the airport. Everyone on board was killed. Everyone who lived in Evansville that night remembers where they were when it happened.

I was at my grade school that night singing at a choir dinner. I remember we had made tunics to wear, and we served dinner to the parents before taking the risers to sing out songs. I remember standing, singing, looking out at the tables of parents, and then suddenly beepers (this was before phones people) started going off in the audience. One by one, fathers rose and left the cafeteria; doctors being called in for help. We didn't know then what was up, but as my carpool driver drove me home we had to pull over to the side of the road several times as fire trucks and ambulances passed us in the night, sirens blaring. I remember it was raining as I was dropped off. I remember feeling jittery, wanting to tell my mother about the emergency vehicles. I opened the front door and entered my house to find my family had already gotten the news on the television. I remember the crying, the sadness, the horror, and of being scared. From that day forward, I thought of that night as blackness.

The city mourned for months. The university began rebuilding the team with the help of the city, anonymous donations from all over the world, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Several of the 1976 Super Bowl players came to our city and played in an exhibition charity game against former UE players. The money raised went to the rebuilding program, and we like to say that if you were an Aces fan, you were also a Steelers backer. I was already a fan, but it sealed the deal for me from that moment on, and I've never looked back.

It's a hard story to tell in a few seconds, but I do tell it to some people. Because it's part of the reason why I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Scary Cora

I'm enjoying my once every two weeks volunteering job. It gets me up and out of the house in the morning, and it brings me satisfaction that I don't get as a SAHM. I'm solving a different set of problems, moving my mind in a variety of ways, and walking up and down the sanctuary steps and in and out of the pews is getting me the exercise I desperately need.

I keep saying that I don't think I can go back to work. I've been on my own for so long, making my own decisions, my own choices, and being the boss that I'm not sure that I can follow someone else's rules. I figured that volunteering would help to get me back into that routine of having to listen to someone other than my husband myself. Unfortunately, working alone can also create some bad habits, and one of those have carried over in my volunteering. I talk to myself. Aloud. I have a list of chores written in a book that sits in a holder on my desk, and a list of chores that are printed on a piece of paper that lies under the glass on my desk. I start with the book and move to the paper and finish back with the book. It's a system I have down pat.

My office is the first one that people see when entering the offices of the church. Inside my office through a door is another office where the administrator works. Her chair and desk are in the corner facing katty-corner toward the door and my desk and chair. We are about five feet away from each other. She too is new in her position and so we are learning together. She, of course, has had more days notched on her belt than I have as she works every day, and so I defer to her when I have questions. For the most part, we are the only two that work on Fridays so she is all I have unless I text or call my trainer.

I was on my sixth day of work, the third with this new administrator whom I'll call Opal. She is always there when I arrive and so I greeted her and sat down at my desk to look things over. I followed the list in the book; turn on the computer, check, read the volunteer book to see if yesterday's volunteer left me instructions, check. At this point, I notice that the desk is more cluttered than normal with notes. Two of the notes have my name and so I read them. The first one asks me to call UPS and schedule a delivery for the "tower of boxes on my desk".

Now I'm reading this note out loud to myself, and I look around as I read this.

Me: "I don't see a "tower". What "tower" is she talking about. Hmmmm..."
Opal: "They are on the floor in front of your desk. I think she moved them there when she left yesterday."

Ah. I get up and sure enough there are four large boxes on the floor in front of my desk. I mutter something aloud about not being very observant, and I sit back down. Call UPS. I wonder aloud if that information is in my volunteer manual, a book that is so very detailed a person walking in off the street could do this job. I pull it out and begin searching through it. I feel I have been given this information, or was it FedEx? I can't remember. I wade through the manual. I get to the end, turn back to the beginning, and read the entire manual. No UPS information. I give up that for now and move on to the next note on the desk.

It asks me to send the letters, which are directly under the note to me, including self stamped envelopes to the "nine people who don't receive emails." Hmmmm... I read this out loud again, wondering who are the mysterious "nine". I look under the letters. I look around the desk for a list of names and addresses. Nothing. I'm stumped. Immediately, I know what is happening. My trainer is testing me. She is trying to decide if I can handle this job. I say all of this out loud to myself.

Me: "I'm being tested. I am being tested on whether or not I can pull this off. This is a test. Not a test of the emergency broadcast system, but a test on how efficient I am. I shall prevail. Opal, do you have any idea who the nine people are that do not receive emails?"
Opal: "No, I don't know."

I turn back to the volunteer manual and start reading it again. Twice. Nothing. I take a deep breath, and turn to my computer. I search for UPS information in the computer. Nothing. I search for people, labels, addresses of people who don't want emails. Nothing. I decide to tackle the UPS problem. I look up the closest UPS drop off place. There are five in my surrounding area. I search how to have UPS pick up packages. This takes me to the UPS website. I read through it.

Me: "Excuse me, Opal, but do you know if we have an account number with UPS? I'm thinking they will want that information when I call."
Opal: "No, I don't know."
Me: "Perplexing, but I'm not giving up. I can't find it in the computer. Hmmmm...let's see."
Opal: "I think that the company is paying for the shipping. Those are printer cartridges that she is returning."
Me: "Aha! Okay, that makes that easier. But who do I contact? Oh. Wait. What's this? Chat Live. Well, now, let's chat live with someone at UPS and see what that gets me."
Opal: "You could maybe call UPS."
Me: "I could, but I don't know which UPS to call. There are five around this area. I'll see what I get with chatting live."

I hit the Chat Live button and a screen immediately pops up for me to type in. Someone types in a message to me, and suddenly I am talking to a...what? I picture her as a tall, blonde with dark highlights, glasses, and a business suit. I read aloud everything she types, and everything I type.

Andrea A.: "Good Morning. I'm Andrea A. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
Me: "Well, isn't she pleasant? I hate to tell her she isn't really speaking with me, but I'll play along." Type: "Good morning Andrea, this is Cara"
Andrea A: "Good Morning, Cara. What can I help you with today?"
Me: "How many times is she going to wish me good morning?"
Type: "I need to schedule a pick up for some packages."

I wait. Nothing.

Me: "I seem to have stumped even Andrea A. with this question. What the hell? Oh, sorry. I'm in a church. What the heck? How hard is this task? If I knew which UPS was the one for pick up I could just call them. Why isn't that information on their website? Maybe I should discuss this with Andrea A."
Andrea A.: "Okay, Cara, do you have a return number on the label of the package?"
Me: "A return number? Well, let me see about that. Yes! Yes, here is the number. Of course, it can't just be simple like 1,2,3."
Type: "Number, number, number, letter, number, letter, number, etc."

Wait. Nothing.

Me: "What is this woman doing? Is she chatting live with more than just me? How hard is this? Oh, wait. It says here that Andrea A. is (listening). What? She's listening? To who? Me?"

I glance up at Opal, who is ignoring me. I glance around the room. I look out the window. I look up at the ceiling. I look back at Opal who is now looking at me.

Me: "It says Andrea A. is (listening)."
I lean in to my computer and whisper, "Hello? Hello Andrea?"

Opal stares at me. She smiles and goes back to her computer. I snicker. I crack myself up. Come on, that was funny.

Me: "Oh! Now it says, Andrea A. is (responding). Well, frankly, she isn't very quick on her responses. I'm just saying."
Andrea A.: "Okay, I have that in my records. Do you have other packages?"
Me: "Oops. I guess I should have mentioned that."
Type: "I have four boxes all with the same return number. They are being paid for by the company. They are printer cartridges."
Me: "I'm not sure Andrea A. needs that information, but just in case she is curious. Hmmmm...she is listening again."
I lean into the computer and whisper, "Did you get that Andrea A? The boxes contain valuable printer cartridges....used cartridges."
Opal: "Is she listening?"
Me: "No, now it says she is responding. I like this. I'm thinking that we need this. The church needs a Live Chat button on our website. Wouldn't that be cool? I could do that job. I could do it from home. Chat with people who need assistance. That's a job right up my alley."
Andrea A. "Okay, when would you like to schedule a pick up?"
Me: "How late are you here, Opal?"
Opal: "Until 3:00 p.m."
Me: "Okay, so I'll say before 3:00 pm."
Type: "Today, please. Before 3:00 pm. The office closes at 3:00 pm."
Whisper, "Did you get that, Andrea?"

Waiting. Waiting. Andrea A. is (responding).

Me: "Jeez, she is not the fastest typist. I would be more johnny on the spot than this gal."
Lean, whisper, "No offense Andrea." "Wouldn't it be funny if she typed, "None taken." How freaked out would that make me?
Opal: "That would be weird."
Me: "I know. But cool."
Andrea A: "Okay, you are schedule for pick up today of four packages. Can I have your address please?"
Type: Address, address, address."
Andrea A: "You have been scheduled. Someone will be at this address before 3:30 pm. Is there anything else I can help you with today, Cara?"
Me: "What? What the hell? I mean, heck. I just told you we close at 3:00 pm. What part of that did you not get? Oh, Andrea A. you are falling down on the job."
Type: "I need someone here before 3:00 pm. as we close then. I said that before. Sorry."
Me: "I'm not really sorry, though. I'm annoyed now. How hard is this? I will be a better Live Chat person than Andrea A."
Lean, whisper: "Hear me, Andrea? Pay Attention!"
Andrea: "Okay, you are scheduled. Sorry for the inconvenience. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Me: "Not unless you know the names and addresses of the nine people who don't receive emails." Type: "No, that's it. Thank you."
Andrea A.: "My pleasure. Have a wonderful day."
Me: "You too, Andrea. Well, wasn't she just the nicest thing. Not as focused as she should have been, but efficient enough to help me take care of that task."

I sign off, quite pleased with myself. The phone rings and it is a local UPS representative confirming my address and pick up information. I remind her, because I'm not so sure Andrea A. got it, that we close at 3:00 pm. She thanks me, and I hang up.

Me: "Well, there we go. I handled that one. It only took me an hour, but I have passed that portion of the test. Now on to the next one. Although, I better do my normal jobs first and leave this one to the last."

I do this. I complete all of the lists in the book and on the paper under the glass on my desk. I arrive from the sanctuary hot and sweaty from walking up and down the stairs and in and out of the pews. I plop down into my chair and turn on the desk fan. We are all middle aged woman with hot flashes so the fan is very important. I try again to find the nine names. I spend too much time and finally I admit defeat. I text my trainer for help. She texts me back the information. The labels of the nine people are hanging on the bulletin board by the work station. I finish the job. It is now a half an hour past my leave time.

Type: "I'm afraid I've gone into overtime."
Trainer: "I'll make sure to reflect that in your paycheck."

See. A sense of humor. I giggle. I begin cleaning off my desk preparing to leave. Opal's cell phone rings. She answers. I get from the gist of her conversation that it is my trainer. Opal has had some computer issues all day. The trainer is very knowledgeable about the computers, and well, everything to do with anything at this place.

Opal: "We have a laptop? I didn't know that."
Me: "Oh, yeah, we do. It's right here behind me."

I pull open the drawer to the cabinet behind my chair. Opal, on the phone with my trainer, comes into my office and stands peering down into the drawer.

Opal: "Nobody told me there was a laptop. Uh, huh. Okay. Sure."
Me: "I'm just going to sneak out now. I'm in to overtime and don't want to get too far into that."

I stand up which puts me face to face with Opal. She is staring at me.

Opal: "Well, I guess I could have had the volunteer do that today. Cora is here."
Me: "Cora? Okay, then."
Opal: "Yes, I could have had her do that, but, well, frankly, she scares me."

Yep. Sigh. I think I'll be better with the Live Chat job. I'm going to look into that.

Out of the mouths of my babes

When going through my keepsakes at the end of last year, I would randomly hold things up to show Darcy whose bedroom door opens into the room where I was sorting. She would smile and humor me and then go back to what she was doing before I interrupted her. It wasn't until I held this up that I got a show of interest, albeit a begrudged one at that.

Darcy: "What is that?"
Me: "It's a gum holder."
Darcy: "A what?"
Me: "A gum holder. Where you put your chewed gum after you get tired of it or if you have to spit it out and save it for later."
Darcy: "Why would you do that? That's gross."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Darcy: "Who saves their gum? That's just weird."
Me: "Well excuse me, but back in the old days we couldn't afford to buy tons of packages of gum so we had to save the piece we were chewing."
Darcy: "Thank god we have progressed."

Christmas 2016 Pics

Reasons why I am so behind in posting:

• Football - The Steelers winning the last nine games had me sleepless.
• Volunteering - I'm working very hard with my congregation to get their blog up and running and my own blog has suffered.
• Having a laptop - My husband finally got me a laptop which sits in my living room on the arm of my new couch. That has not only become my new workspace, keeping me from my desk and desk computer, but it is also our new end table too.
• My new year's resolution - to write a romance novel has got me reading them. Harlequin who publishes new writers told me that I needed to select a romance genre and to read up on each one as they each have their own criteria. Having the Kindle app on my phone, means I have these books 24/7, and I'm reading them at a feverish pace.

It's like the whole birthday thing all over again. And speaking of that one, I purchased my January cards and had them filled out, addressed, and stamped weeks before the birthdays, and guess what? Yeah. I still forgot them.

So all of the above is why I'm just now publishing Christmas information. It was a great one this year with Tom's family. Everyone showed up and there was lots of card playing, games, beaching, eating, drinking, and merriment. Here are the pics:

We had our tree early again this year. Tom and I took the dog and walked our city park that always goes wild with lights and displays. After we left there, my husband suggested we get a tree. We drove to Home Depot's parking lot where they were selling trees. All of the trees were wrapped in that plastic netting so you couldn't tell if the tree was something you liked or not. Tom selected a tree and the employee cut through the netting, banged the tree on the ground, and we loved it. It was perfect.

Me: "Great. We'll take it. Wrap it up!"

My friend Jim, who I have breakfast with each Thursday morning, came to a dinner wearing some red, white, and blue stars on his head. We told him that it wasn't very Christmas-y so I got him something to replace his stars. He was thrilled.

Darcy loves Christmas. She begins wearing her Santa hat about two weeks before school lets out and spreads Christmas cheer everywhere she goes. This was a photo session she insisted I take wearing someone else's Christmas sweater in front of our tree.

I join her every year in her Santa hat wearing. Just like I do with my front yard decor, I incorporate the holidays and my football together.

Even Elliot got into the spirit of Christmas by borrowing this little necklace from his friend Bella who came over to visit with Jim one day. Jim, who is a worse talker than I am, brought me a Christmas gift. It was a hummingbird feeder with sugar water. I was shocked and very touched because he had actually listened to me during one of our conversations when I was telling him I wanted hummingbirds in my yard.

My two college nephews arrived first. They stay with us for the holidays because I'm fun they hang with the girls. Both of them got off of their planes with long hair so we all went and had our dos done for the festivities.

One of the things we all like to do is take photos of the redheads. Every time any red heads are together we are snapping their pictures. It's crazy that we have four of them in this family and not one of the parents are true red heads.

The family rented a "penthouse" condo near the beach. It was the same one they rented the previous year and it has a huge porch that wraps around the back of the entire condo. This is the view from two of the sides.

We do a Yankee exchange with Tom's family. We had twenty people and everyone picks a number. The rules are you can take a gift and open it or steal one from someone else who has already opened their gift. We do a lot of changing of gifts. I ended up with the one I brought to the party; my GlowBowl and Poopouri. I think I pick the best gifts so why not take them home?

This was the whole gang, minus me the picture taker, before we dug into the Christmas gifts. This was in the condo after we had consumed Christmas dinner. This was also after my Steelers made it into the playoffs. Everyone was just relieved I was in a good mood.

This is Grandma with nine of her Grandchildren. The first picture took several tries to get it right. The second one was a bit easier, although it took a while to get Grandma (picture three) to act ridiculous.

My most favorite game of the holiday was "Mafia". We played it over and over again no matter whose house we ended up in. It's a game of lies and deceit. I thought I was pretty good at it.

We played other games too and tons of cards. This is a family of game players and eaters. We spent good quality time together, and everyone agreed it was the perfect holiday week. Until next year, peeps!

Update on the GlowBowl

This summer I discovered Amazon's daily deals. I think I read a blip about it on some website, and so I checked my Amazon app and browsed through the deals. There was something on there at the time called a GlowBowl, a night light for the toilet. I remember Madison was with me at the time, and she rolled her eyes when I said I so wanted that light. Because of that eye rolling I put it on my wish list.

When I scrolled down through the reviews and questions, the first question asked was, "Will this lead to spontaneous bathroom parties?" Answers to that question included:

• "Absolutely, and it's a possible portal to another universe"
• "Yes, but they only last until someone decides to be a potty pooper"
• "Not quite, but it will for some odd reason attract the attention of lost pets in your area. I woke up in the morning with a meerkat and two alligators"
• "Technically, it's the lesser known portal to Narnia. Wait for the green aura, click your heels three times and step in"

How could I not want this device? I mean....

I do not, and never have, turned on lights at night when I'm in the bathroom. As a kid we had a nightlight in the bathroom, and I carried that tradition with me as an adult. I put a nightlight in my kid's bathroom, and while there is one in my own bathroom I turn it off at night. It shines right into my eyes as my side of the bed is next to the bathroom entrance. I shower with my nightlight on, but never turn it on when I get up in the middle of the night. I find turning on the overhead light in the middle of the night shockingly scary. Who needs all of the brightness? I don't want my pupils going from darkness to white light and then back to darkness. That can't be good for your eyes, can it?

My SIL sent it to me for my birthday at the end of last year. While there are now several on the market, the GlowBowl offers seven different colors; white, purple, green, red, blue, yellow, aqua. You can have one color on or you can set it to revolve through all of the colors. Here are some of the things I like and dislike about the product:

• Like: I like that I can dim the brightness of each color; there are three different settings for that. The high setting was too bright for me in the middle of the night in certain colors. The purple and red lights are the most muted while the blue and green are the brightest.
• Dislike: There is no "off" switch. So if you have a dark bathroom then the light comes on with the motion is activated. Luckily, the one window in my bathroom is right next to the toilet so in the morning I open the shade and the light doesn't come on.
• Like: The battery compartment is quite air tight and waterproof. I know this because in cleaning my toilet one day the device fell in. The batteries did not get wet. 
• Dislike: My first light quit working after four weeks. At first the red light went white and then one by one the other lights went out until I was only left with green or blue. By then I had purchased several more as gifts, one of which was for our Yankee exchange. I paired the GlowBowl with some Poopouri (another great invention) and then because no one seemed very eager about the gift I swapped the gift I had chosen and got my GlowBowl back. This one has worked well since then. 
• Like: The light is motion activated and lasts about ten seconds or so before turning off. Unless you are in what I call the rainbow mode where all of the colors rotate through the cycle. That one lasts too long for me in the night.
• So/So: Cleaning the device isn't awful, but still the thought is a little off putting. I use my Clorox wipes to hold the device and to clean the wand part that goes into the toilet.

I have another one to give away to my friend Sharon's boys the next time I see them. I'm sure they will get a kick out of it. I mean...what's not to like? And now the price has dropped by $4.00 since I made my purchases, and while that makes me a tad suspicious, I feel I've gotten my money's worth in entertainment value.

Me (nightly): "ATTENTION: Tonight's toilet bowl color will be BLUE!"

NFL Monday recap - AFC/NFC Championships

Steelers: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. We didn't come to play. We had no fire. We gave up way too soon. No leadership from the players. No leadership from the coaches. Makes Terry Bradshaw and his comments look more authentic.

• Started out slow for the Black and Gold. It took Bell getting hurt for the offense to pull themselves out of the hole and start playing their game. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
• I never panic when Bell gets hurt. I love back up D'Angelo Williams. Four hours before the game I almost chose him for my playoff fantasy team. If you're going to lose your one of your killer B's, it's good to know you have the killer D. Too bad he couldn't carry the rest of the team on his back.
• Not even our kicker, he who kicked six in a row last week, could score after we finally got a touchdown. 
• It took us until the fourth quarter before we got major yardage with a twenty yard pass.
• We never got going. Blame the nine game winning streak. Blame the flu. Blame the facebook debacle. Blame the 3:00 a.m. alarm. I blame the guys. You want something bad enough you've got to go out and at least act like you want it. The team that wanted it, the team with the hunger, the team with something to prove, went out and got it. Bottom line.
• I've said it once, and what the hell, I'll say it again. LaGarrette Blount. Ugh. Hate that bad guys win.
• AB was double teamed, and everyone seemed surprised by that. Really? I thought it would have happened earlier in the season. If I were a coach in the NFL, I would have double teamed him. Everyone kept saying the Steelers had so many other wide receivers, but, uh, yeah, they could hold on to the damn ball!
• Officiating wasn't great. Boo Hoo. That wasn't our problem.

Other:

• The Atlanta defense totally shut down the Packers offense. They couldn't get anything going in the first half, and by the second half it was too late.
• Aaron Rodgers was attacked by the Falcons defense all night. He will be one sore, miserable human being come morning.
• Aaron Rodgers did quite a bit of running with the ball. He's one of the better running quarterbacks, but in the third quarter he was hit in the head after sliding. It wasn't flagged in the end because as the ref informed the fans and television audience Rodgers hadn't slid "leading with his feet". Apparently, sliding must be feet first to avoid a hit. Who knew? The next time Rodgers slid, and he did, he made sure to follow that.
• Of course, during his run in the fourth quarter toward the end zone Rodgers let his emotions show and pulled off the helmet of Falcons Robert Alford. That resulted in a flag, 
• And then to make matters worse Rodgers shoulder bumped Alford as he went back on to the field. Alford stumbled back and tumbled to the ground as if he had been punched in the face. defender, winning our Football Oscar of the game.
• The Packers fumbled in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons didn't even challenge it. I would like an explanation on why they didn't throw the red flag as the replay seemed in their favor. What, you felt you were ahead, who cares? Uh...have you met Aaron Rodgers?
• Last week Troy Aikman looked awful with a beet red face and bloodshot eyes. While the redness wasn't as bright this week, I'm still a bit concerned about either the air circulation in his booth or his lack of sunscreen.

NFL playoff picks

Yep, today is the big day in the world of sports. The Super Bowl opponents will be decided. Many care. Many don't. I switch from one world into the other. I love them both.

Atlanta over Green Bay - I picked the Falcons at the beginning of the year as the team to get the Bowl. I can't back down now.

Pittsburgh over New England - A crazy week of oops in social media, flu, and now a pulled fire alarm that evacuated the hotel and the Steelers at 3:00 a.m. It won't be easy, but I believe. #HereWeGo

Marching...again

As blogging surged in the world of social media, we bloggers learned some lessons. One of those was a responsibility to be aware that what we wrote about would have consequences, and that those would not always be what we wanted them to be; loss of relationships, anger, un-following.  While I write for myself, I've always tried to be conscience that some of the things I say on my blog can rub others the wrong way. Read me or not. That's the blogger motto, and while I don't always censor my feelings, I haven't always said everything I'd like to say at times either.

This is going to be one of those times.

Today I took part in the Women's March in my neck of the woods. It was a peaceful, exhilarating, tearfully, and emotional time. While I would have liked to have marched in our capital, I didn't jump on the bandwagon soon enough, and was lucky to have a march close by. I marched with my daughter, my pseudo daughter, my sister-in-law, and my daughter's friend. I marched with over 20,000 other women and men from all walks of life and from all races and religions. We marched with one goal in mind; the mission statement from the Women's March on Washington: We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

I was raised by a woman who believed in women's rights with a passion that ultimately turned against her. She raised my brother and me to be caring, loving, morally responsible individuals who followed and respected the law, others, and each other. I believed I turned out just fine with those values, and I, in turn raised my children the same way. We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, no matter our differences.

So yesterday I marched. I marched for my gay family members. I marched for my gay friends. They are humans, and they deserve respect and the same rights that I do. I marched for my Muslim neighbors, for my Catholic family, for my Jewish friends and family, for my Buddhist practicing aunt, for my Unitarian Universalists friends and family, for my family and friends of all religion, and for my atheist mother and friends. They are humans, and they deserve the same rights that I do. I marched for my black family and black friends. I marched for my Indian friends. I marched for everyone with different skin color. They are human beings and deserve the same rights and respect that I do. I marched for my friends and family members who have had abortions, for my family and friends who have had cancer, for my family and friends who have debilitating diseases, and for my friends and family who have no, little, or crappy insurances. They are humans and they deserve to have access to affordable healthcare, mammograms, yearly physicals, pap smears, therapy, medication, birth control, and healthcare for their children. They deserve to be able to control their own bodies. I marched for all women. We are humans. We deserve the same rights.

This isn't anything new, of course. Women before us marched. Women before us brought about changes. Women before us fought to get us the right to vote. We didn't always have that right. We didn't always have a lot of rights. Today the march was about making sure that no one forgets how far we have all come. All we ask is that we don't go backward.

That's what those marches were about today. Respecting one another despite our beliefs, our differences, our skin color, our religions, our feelings. We are all different in so many ways, and that's okay. I respect that. Please respect me. Please don't let us go backwards.

MLK and a voice

One day I picked my three year old daughter up from her Montessori pre-school and listened as she regaled me with a story from her morning. In the telling of the story, she referred to one of the students as, "Sarina, the little brown girl." Immediately, I cringed. I thought I had done a great job in teaching my children to look through rainbow colored glasses, to love everyone no matter their race, religion, or sexual orientation, but suddenly here was my child doing just the opposite.

I immediately launched into one of my I-shall-set-this-kid-straight-with-an-important-lesson talks. I ranted on about how everyone was equal, how we shouldn't judge by the color of their skin, how love conquers all. I went on and on even quoting Martin Luther King, and at the end I suggested she refer to Sarina as the brown haired girl. My daughter took a breath at the end of my speech and started again. "So Sarina, the little brown girl,..."

Brown to her was a description. Her friend was Indian, but that word didn't mean anything to her at three years old where the color brown did be it her hair or her skin, and so to distinguish her from the other kids she was talking about she used "brown". She also used "big ears" to describe a boy in the story. It was one of many lessons she taught me, and I like to think it was the beginning of her fight for social justice.

Yesterday I marched for the first time in the city's Martin Luther King Parade. Our church marches every year, but every year the words "two miles" scared me off. This year, since losing weight is part of my resolutions, and since I plan to march on Saturday in the city's Women's March, I got up and joined our congregation. One high school's marching band led the parade and my daughter's high school marching band brought up the rear. In between were organizations, churches, leaders, and school board members. We held signs. We waved to supporters who lined the streets. We sang along with the bands. We marched for peace, and love, and human rights. It was a beautiful day, overcast and not too hot, and it wasn't two miles but a little over one mile. I felt so accomplished when I was done.

We ended in the park where we listened to messages of hope, love, peace, and diversity,  We listened to music. We cheered speakers. I don't kid myself that my one march will bring about change, but it is a start. I'm tired of just talking. I want to do more. I want to be a part of bringing about change, to get others to listen, to stop the hatred. I like feeling that I have a voice. That just maybe, someone, even if it's just one person, will hear me. My post for our church can be found here.

Monday NFL recap

Steelers: Sigh. Not a good game for the fans, and then one that was won via a penalty. Thankful we are moving on, but we are going to have to come out on Sunday better than yesterday's performance.

• The game was moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night due to an ice storm that was to roll through Kansas City that morning. The NFL was concerned fans might get hurt driving in the early morning hours to the game. Huh? Really? Okay, how nice of them. Like northerners and mid westerners aren't use to that? 
• It was the Chris Boswell Show. The Steelers kicker booted 6 times straight through the uprights. It was his second time this season in doing so. Last time the league drug tested him "randomly" after he kicked 6 field goals so we joked through most of the game that he was going to be peeing in the cup. Boswell's six kicks was a playoff record.
• It was the La'Veon Bell Show. The Chiefs couldn't stop him or the run. Bell ended up with 170 yards. That yardage coupled with last weeks 167 yards gave him a total of 337; a playoff record in rushing.
• Since the run game was working, some of the calls for a passes were perplexing. The worst call came on the 5 yard line on third down. WHAT? It didn't work, the ball was intercepted and the Chiefs got the ball. We spend several minutes shaking and scratching our heads on that one. It was like Pete Carroll's Super Bowl call in not using Marshawn Lynch.
• It was the Steelers Defense Show. Once again these guys stepped up to the plate. They held the Chiefs running game only allowing 61 yards rushing. They stopped plays on third down. They had sacks, recovered a fumble, and got an interception. If they could have scored, it would have been golden. As it was they were huge.
• James Harrison is probably going to be the most exhausted player this morning. He was held, pushed, shoved, tackled, poked, prodded, and abused all night long. I watched it all night long. Nothing was called on his defenders. Nothing. Until the very last moment after Kansas City tied up the score with a two point conversion. Eric Fisher got called for clearly holding James Harrison and the two points are taken away. The Chiefs failed on their second attempt, Pittsburgh took over and got a first down, and the Steelers ran out the clock to win the game. A hard way to lose a game though no matter the team.
• Antonio Brown's catch, the last play of the game, was typical AB. He ran clear across the field to open himself up. Without that first down the Chiefs would have gotten the ball back. And kudos to Ben for getting lose, seeing his receiver, and making the pass.
• Travis Kelce blamed the refs after the game saying they shouldn't even be allowed to wear stripes at Foot Locker. He was upset, angry, and he made comments directly after the game ended. I get it. But to say, "That wasn't a hold on my guy Eric Fisher." Always watch the replay before speaking. Always think before you speak.
• I awoke to the news that Steelers Antonio Brown had video taped coach Mike Tomlin's locker room speech after the game in which he called the Patriots "assholes." My phone blew up all while I marched this morning in the Martin Luther King Jr. city parade with the media, fans, Tom Brady, and my buddies weighing in on the topic. Oh boy. My opinion: welcome to the world of social media. You aren't going to stop this. Some employers  insist you do more on social media. My cable company's customer service recorded message asked me to tweet my cable issue instead of waiting for a representative when I called them last week. This is the way of the world now. It is now about how you use social media that will define you. Think before you post. Patriots coach Bill Belichick will use this video to ignite his team so now the Steelers will have to ignite themselves even more.

Other:

• Atlanta's defense was ON FIRE. Poor Russell Wilson was getting mobbed. As Howie Long stated in the post game show on Fox, "Russell was running for his life today." He was sacked three times, hit seven times, and had seventeen hurries. He didn't stand a chance.
• Toward the end of the Atlanta/Seahawks game with two minutes left, and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan taking a knee, the Seahawks defense encroached. Typical Pete Carroll, but I I'm not sure that wasn't just the Seahawks being pissed.
• Love the new Geigo commercial with retired Tampa Bay Buccaneer Tiki Barber as the "barber". Hilarious.
• The Texans defense must have gotten fired up by the Falcons, but unfortunately they couldn't hold on to that. Houston had an interception and a fumble, scoring on both plays; a field goal and a touchdown. But it takes more than that to beat Brady, and the Texans went downhill after the half.
• Aaron Rodgers. WOW. Just Wow. No matter how much that guy rubs me the wrong way, I have to admit he is a phenomenal quarterback. We knew when Dallas left 35 seconds on the clock that Green Bay would win. On third and twenty, Rodgers leaves the pocket, runs, runs, and shoots a rocket thirty five yards far enough down field for kicker Mason Crosby to kick the field goal for the win. Hey, Rookie! Meet the Old Man. 
• And while Rodgers made that throw, how about Jared Cook's catch with both feet in bounds as his knees were bending, his upper body twisting sideways as he was falling over the white line? Unbelievable. 
• Say good-bye to the San Diego Chargers. They are moving to Los Angeles, changing their bolts, and apparently going to have to pack up everything in their players' vans because moving companies in San Diego are refusing to carry the load out of the city. Crazy.

NFL picks - playoffs #2

Atlanta over Seattle - I picked the Falcons at the beginning of the year in the Super Bowl so I have to believe.

New England over Houston - If anyone believes otherwise, well, uh, okay.

Green Bay over Dallas - Listen, that Aaron Rodgers guy has made me a believer. It probably won't be easy, but what the hell?

Pittsburgh over Kansas City - This is another won't be easy game. I don't feel as confident about this one as I did against the Dolphins. The Chiefs are a better team than Miami, and they are playing at home. The game has been moved from 1:00 in the afternoon to 8:30 at night due to weather, but those are both times the Steelers enjoy. #HereWeGo

Out of the mouths of my babes

I pick up my friend's daughter, Sydney, from the bus stop each week and transport her home. The days vary depending on my friend's work schedule. She lives a little over 2.5 miles from the bus stop, and it is pretty much a straight, uncomplicated shot to her neighborhood. Once I peel out of the grassy knoll where I am now forced to park to wait for the bus due to an overzealous, nagging, nothing-better-to-do neighbor who tired of his area used as a bus stop, I have to stop at a four way stop. This stop is an odd one because their is a grassy divider between the four lanes, a crosswalk for school children going one way, and so drivers really have to pay attention and look for cars and pedestrians in the opposite direction.

The last day of the holidays I was taking her home, approaching the stop area, when several cars suddenly came to an abrupt stop in front of me causing me to lay on my brakes. I put out my arm and crossed it over Sydney pushing her back against the seat. She gave me one of her you-are-so-weird teenager sideways looks, and I snickered. I told her how "back in the old days" when no one wore the attached over the lap seat belts our mothers would use this technique to save us from going into the dash at sudden stops.

Sydney: "Really? I am wearing a seat belt."
Me: "I know. I was kidding. I was trying to see if maybe this was just a mother's response seat belt or not."
Sydney: "You're weird."
Me: "And that is why you love me. That, and the fact that I just kept you from hitting the dash."

Over the holidays I was a passenger in my youngest daughter's car. Rarely am I because it makes me too damn nervous, but since I've started research into writing romance novels my head is always in my Kindle app on my phone reading. It makes it smoother for both of us when I'm not looking out the window, although I feel I offer sound driving advice when I do. Shades of my father.

At some point, while she drove, and I read she had to slam on her brakes. As she did so, her arm shot out across my chest, pressing me back into the passenger seat. I turned to her, mouth agape.

Darcy: "Oh, sorry. I forgot."
Me: "Forgot what? That I was wearing a seat belt? This is so weird. I just did this to Sydney the other day in the car, telling her how that's what mother's use to do back in my day."
Darcy: "What? I just did it because it was automatic."
Me: "Automatic?"
Darcy: "Yeah, I'm use to my backpack sitting in that seat, and that's what I do so it doesn't go flying on to the floor."

NFL Monday recap - playoffs

Steelers: We planned our meal, went through game rituals, and convened at my buddy Scott's house. I love Steelers football, but I also love being with my boys around the TV during playoffs. I wasn't too worried for this game. I knew we would win. Next week will be harder, but we'll enjoy this win for a couple of days before focusing on Kansas City.

• First drive in the first three minutes got the crowd fired up and the first points on the board. Love to start out that way.
• The defense was fired up with Ryan Shazier strutting around Heinz Field with no shirt on prior to game time. They stopped the Dolphins left and right recovering fumbles, intercepting the ball, and making stops on third and forth downs. When our defense is on point we are better.
• My nephew, from Chicago I might add, is a Dolphins fan. We talk some smack with each other, but when he texted after Bud Dupree's hit on Dophins quarterback Matt Moore and called the Steelers a "dirty team" I disagreed with that statement, and frankly, am still annoyed this morning by it. First, this is football, and football is brutal no matter what the fans, the lawyers, and Roger Goodell says. Secondly, the NFL has worked hard at improving the game to ensure more player safety, but Dupree's hit on Moore who was running, was not planted, and who barely got the ball off before the hit, is not, in my opinion, something that can be stopped. How do you stop running full out in a tenth of a second? The hit was horrendous when shown live, and we all winced. No one wants to see that. Slow motion replay showed it wasn't helmet to helmet, but a hit to the chin, and again, I don't know how you can stop that. I'm not saying it was a clean hit. He hit the chin and knocked Moore's head back. But I don't believe it was intentional. There is a difference. My nephew argued that Dupree lowered his head. Uh, if he had stayed upright for the tackle wouldn't he have been more likely to hit helmet to helmet? Isn't lowering the head more likely to land in the chest of the quarterback as long as the other guy isn't lowering his head too? Dupree was so close to missing that chin and hitting Moore in the chest. Dirty? No, and one play doesn't make the entire team "dirty". The Rooney family doesn't run a dirty team. Steelers aren't dirty. The Rooney family wouldn't put up with that. Tackling involves the ducking of the head, and Dupree was full out running. I don't know how you stop that as I've blogged before. Full out run and a complete stop? Hard to do. If Moore hadn't of got the ball off in time this wouldn't even be a discussion. (And don't even get me started on the 2014 Dolphins bullgating issue) 
• I saw an interview with Bud Dupree in the locker room where he was shown a replay of the hit. Even he turned his head after seeing it, sucking in his breath. He called it "clean", and when the reporter asked him more about it he said what I did above. He was aiming for the chest. I think 95% of the players in the NFL are not wanting to cause injury to others. I really do. He'll be fined because it is a hit that gets fines, but I still say it wasn't intentional or dirty. Moore himself had no argument with the hit. "I just got smoked. It was really more my jaw than anything else."
• Speaking more on that hit. Moore went out for the concussion protocol, and was back in again on the next play. Uh...? That was a complete check? Shouldn't my nephew had been more concerned with that examination? Because I wasn't. This is the NFL cleaning up concussions? It reminded me of the of the Cam Newton non check. He ended up missing a couple of games after that. Moore, however, said he knew it wasn't a concussion because he wasn't hit in the head. Okay, then.....really? 
• Steelers with the penalties again. Why? Ugh. This makes me so crazy. We don't just do penalties, we make them during major key moments that screw us up and helps the opposition score. Frustrating.
• When the tempers flared and the pushing and shoving started, this was a good time for Coach Tomlin to cut through his "cheerleading" status and rein these guys in. Instead Ryan Shazier was the voice of reason.
• La'Veon Bell set a Steelers record with 167 yards rushing, and suddenly hear comes the MVP talk again. I feel the same way I do about Tom Brady and the MVP. NO. No, MVP for anyone who served suspensions in this year. Please.
• It was down right freezing in Pittsburgh at 4 degrees. It was so cold the line judge's whistle froze.
• With eleven minutes left in the game, Twitter was going nuts shouting for removal of the three "B's". Of course, Ben tried to get away during a passing play and was brought down, hurting his ankle and landing hard on his shoulder. He came to the press conference in a boot, but current and old players weren't convinced siting his good job of acting. I, however, wondered if he was making a statement to his own coaches. 

Other:

• Houston Texans Jadeveon Clowney had an unbelievable pick by tipping the ball from Connor Cook that was meant for Latavius Murray, batting it up in the air, and finally pulling it in for the interception.
• But I think Seattle's Doug Baldwin ins the catch of the day for his over and under the buttocks catch that he kept from hitting the ground. The catch was challenged, and overturned to a catch. Unfortunately, Baldwin then went out and stole a catch in the end zone that was meant for his teammate Jermaine Kearse. "I feel terrible," he said later, but really was any Seattle fan torn up about that steal?
• Green Bay does another Hail Mary, and it works? Seriously? Put your hands up and knock the ball out of the way! Hell, I could have jumped higher than the Giants and smacked that ball out of the way of Randall Cobb's hands. Credit the Packers for pulling this off for the 345,678th time.
• Big news after the Packers game was whether or not the Giants wide receivers' trip to Miami where they partied on yacht was the reason for New York's loss and Odell Beckham's sloppy play. Uh...well, I would say they shouldn't have been in Miami, but I would also say that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers kicked their asses and it didn't have a damn thing to do with any party on a yacht.
• ESPN's SportsCenter reported on a "Developing Story"regarding a 4"x 5" hole in a wall inside Lambeau Field. Reportedly, Giants Odell Beckham Jr. punched the hole in the wall after the game and after his press conference either with his fist or his head. ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio gave this serious report from the field, complete with pictures and video of the hole, by telling us his own timeline, his hearing of some "banging", and then by letting us know that security was interviewing the grounds crews, and would be "calling some of them on their cell phones" as if this was a CSI investigation. Madison was watching this with me and she said, "Pfft. A likely story. I think he was framed." Is this what we have come to? An NFL wide receiver is known as a hot head, and getting mad after a playoff loss, is worthy news? Now make him spackle and repair that hole, and I'd be interested.