i was 'tagged' on jill's blog to leave 7 random facts about myself. whether or not you wish to know these things, her they come, in no type of order other than what comes to mind...

1. i rock the grill
2. i love one of the four major food groups--maple syrup
3. i can cook better than my wife, but i suck at baking, which is her forte
4. i can fix almost anything i need to
5. my family is more important to me than anything else
6. i love going places i've never been
7. i am a patriot, i love our country, but i am not particularly fond of politics.

"All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand. "

I saw this quote on someone's MySpace and I thought it was funny enough to share.

I saw this and thought it did not quite describe it as if the writer had not actually experienced the trip to the top of the arch via the cat food can shaped 'tram' as they call it. I think the tram they talk about means all of the cars because you couldn't fit 40 people in one of those cars...not even in college.

Mind you, I traveled to the top of the arch (I have the certificate to prove it, complete with date, time and disposition of my mother, who would not have gone under circumstances less than my dad making her and me wanting to go up there) with my 6'6" 375 lb father, my mother, and two very intimidated people we found out were from Michigan as well, sometime during the trip up. I don't remember them sharing the fun with us at the top...I think they were grateful to be alive still.

For size reference in the picture, the orange rail there is a standard rail height (3.5' according to my sources). I don't believe I could stand up in the elevator today. Clearly, my dad sat in the seat you can see,illuminated by the indirect lighting, as Captain James T Kirk would have, had it been an escape pod in an episode of Star Trek (Although it felt more like Spock's casket/tomb thing from the Star Trek movie).

Anyway, here's a picture of what they were stuck in and the story (which was not accompanied by a picture) following my monologue in order to give you more respect for the people who were trapped there because as I stated previously, I don't think the writer of this story has been there.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- About 200 people were trapped inside the 630-foot Gateway Arch for about two hours after an apparent power outage, authorities said.
The power went out around 8:45 p.m. Saturday, stalling two trams filled with about 40 people each, said Mike Maris, deputy superintendent of the Gateway Arch.
About 100 other people were stranded at the top of the monument of stainless steel, Maris said. He said the evacuation of the south tram, where one of nine cables may have broken, took about two hours.
Power eventually was restored to the north tram, and stranded visitors no longer had to use the stairs to evacuate, said Capt. Steve Simpson, a spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department.
He said officials do not know what happened to the equipment.
Simpson said rescue crews treated two people. One was given oxygen and the other was diabetic.
He did not elaborate on their treatment.
"Everybody else seemed to be in good spirits, glad and relieved to be coming down," he said.
Anxious relatives stood outside the popular tourist attraction as rescuers worked inside. Dozens of emergency vehicles surrounded the arch.
Maris said the Arch would be open Sunday with only the north tram running.
The 630-foot-tall structure is operated by the National Park Service and opened in 1966.
It is one of the region's most popular attractions.

A neighbor told 24 Hour News 8 she heard gunshots between 7-9 a.m.
"...Around here I hear them quite often, so I didn't pay no attention. We went away and I came back and we were sittin' at the table and we kept seeing cars go by, and then I seen cops go by, and then pretty soon my friend says, 'They're comin' here!' I said, 'Ahh.' But they were. They came in the driveway and asked me questions," said Delores Felver.

I totally understand the need to directly quote people but does anyone else think they should, at least in print, drop the apostrophes and add the g's for some of those words? There's really no need to make people sound like more of a hick than they already are. Also, I think they could just skip the vernacular and paraphrase the "and then I seen" part.
I bet whoever typed this story in is just having a blast at the expense of this poor lady's lack of verbal prowess.

Read first, my commentary to follow:

Benton Harbor - Southwestern Michigan authorities say tips led to the arrest of an ice cream truck operator who was selling marijuana along with his frozen desserts.A Berrien County sheriff's deputy "heard jingling bells" this afternoon and saw the truck entering a trailer park in Benton Township, about 70 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.The deputy stopped the truck, spoke with the driver and smelled marijuana.Authorities searched the van and found several packages of marijuana under the dashboard.The 36-year-old suspect was jailed on marijuana and child support charges.

Ok, so can you blame the guy for wanting to power up his sales and create a strong and dedicated customer base? Not me, this is Michigan and people need money they're not getting from the jobs they don't have and then they need drugs to get their minds off the child support they can't afford either. Job security.

Also, what does the "heard jingling bells" thing have to do with anything? If you look at it, that statement has nothing to do with the subject. Was the deputy under the influence of a hallucinogen at the time? It says tips lead to the arrest, but then it says the deputy heard the bells and then pulled him over.

Stickin' it to the workin' man. I'm sure all the guy was trying to do is make enough money to take care of his child support that is apparently in arrears. Evil conniving scheming woman, he has.

Well, what is going to do now? He'll be put in the hoosgow, lose credibility and his job. What was he hurting? I would guess he wasn't selling weed to little kids...perhaps he was, we'll likely never know but in the scheme of things, the guy was a saint. Seriously we need some adjustments to the rules in this country, meaning we need to get back to the basics instead of making more rules to cover the loopholes and trying to find ways to make things illegal and punishable. I think it's a waste.

Once again with my .02...So when are we going to figure out that when someone calls in a bomb threat, there is not a bomb? Did anyone call in any bomb threats to any of the major bombings we know of? I am totally fed up with airports and schools being shut down, sealed up and searched in the name of a bomb threat. If they call in a bomb threat, ask them where did they put it...?

I think the guys who called in the bomb threat to Hesperia High School and then robbed the bank were geniouses...everybody went nuts worrying about the school...and then...awesome. Those dudes understand how idiocracy works.

Can we address this before I get held up at an airport or sporting event because some pimple-faced teenager gets bored while they're under the influence and calls in a ridiculous threat so they can be on the news?

If there has been an actual threat and follow through, will someone let me know? I know of none so let's get it together and quit wasting people's time. Can you imagine if someone called in a fake (like there's any other kind) threat and the person just yawned and/or hung up? That'd be one call I'd pay to hear..."umm, no, we're not accepting threats at this time. Please call back when someone stupid is here."

Peace and happy Independence Day to all of you. Seriously.

KENT COUNTY -- Some West Michigan schools are offering students a chance to prove how skillful they are to employers.
Michigan's economic slump is prompting some area school districts to find ways to make sure students have necessary job skills for the real world.
Employers have voiced concerns on how prepared students are for the workforce. In fact, Ron Koehler, the Assistant Superintendent of the Kent ISD, states, "We did find that there were kids we were sending out of our high schools without the basic skills they needed to perform 30% of jobs across the community."
What's the solution?
Two West Michigan Intermediate School Districts say they have the answer in something called a "career readiness certificate."
"They want to know that you have a bit of common sense. That you can do basic things not just book smarts," said Sarah Pickart, a high school senior.
High schoolers like Sarah in Kent and Ottawa Counties will son take a basic skills test administered A.C.T. The test would assure employers that the candidate has the skills necessary to do the job, without having to go through a lot of training.
Koehler states, "It helps to very clearly define the skills that are required for the job and matches the people that have those skills with those jobs."
Some officials say it's as much a workforce development tool as an educational one, especially important right now as state leaders try to get Michigan working again.
Some say the certification would bring businesses here because they'll be able to quantify just how qualified our residents are.
Right now, no other counties are offering these national career readiness certificates. Twelve other states are also doing it, but A.C.T. claims the local programs are more expansive.


--So the writer was absent the day they taught the proper spelling of "soon". Spelling would be a skill necessary for something like, say, writing a story.

MURRAY, Ky. It's a tough lesson for a Kentucky middle school teacher. State police say she sent text messages looking for marijuana to a state trooper instead of a drug dealer.The trooper was at a birthday dinner when his phone started buzzing with messages about a pot purchase. Police spokesman Barry Meadows says the trooper thought it was a joke at first, but realized it wasn't after a few phone calls. So he set up a meeting with Ann Greenfield.
Law enforcement officers were waiting for her when she arrived at the meeting point.
Says police spokesman Meadows: "She learned her lesson. Program your dealers into your phone."
Greenfield, who's 34, has been suspended with pay pending results of an investigation.

I really liked this article. Particularly the part where the police spokesperson gives people the idea to program your dealer into your phone. Is that so we won't have this problem anymore? Or was it that the officer doesn't want to be interrupted at birthday parties? I don't understand. I would think they'd want more people to make that mistake, but maybe things are taking a turn for the better. The more the police tell people how to avoid getting caught, the better, I say. Who better to learn about avoiding jail time than from police spokespeople? And the lesson she learned wasn't to stop buying and smoking weed, it was actually to program her dealer's number into her phone so she doesn't accidentally call a cop again. What bad luck. What a total let down once she realized she was busted rather than stoned. And suspended with pay pending an investigation? What investigation? The AP is obviously printing it as fact so...the hard part's done folks, can her! Not for being involved in narcotics trafficking, no, I wouldn't say that. I would say for just having the right sombination of stupidity and poor luck. I wouldn't trust her with a room full of kids. Again, not due to the narcotics, but for the...well, you get it. But the police did handle it well:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we would like to put out a statement to all folks out there today in the process of, or who are considering using a cellular telephone to order their drugs. Uhhh...go ahead and program your dealer's number or numbers into your phone. For information on how to do this, feel free to call our 800 numer at the bottom of your screen or go to our website where we offer downloads of owner'smanuals for nearly every cellular telephone model with instructions on how to program numbers so we can avoid the situation we saw here today. Officer Stadenko was torn from his family function at 4:20 this evening for no good reason. Please don't let this happen again when it doesn't have to. Thank you and good day."

Count down 3 weeks until Emerson is scheduled to arrive. We think he won't wait that long (sorry) so we're expecting an early arrival. Keep your eyes open for some pictures when that happens...