Top hat kind of life

I paid for the wedding reception yesterday.
I forgot how to spell such big words such as thousand.

Celebrating a new union

A week from today a daughter becomes a wife and a young man becomes a member of the family.

Eggshells and walking

Walking on eggshells is not very fun.
I have for a few months now.

The survivor

I am a newspaper reporter. I cover crime and the courts.
There is never a day that goes by that something is out of the ordinary.

We were friends

I learned on Monday of the passing of a high school classmate.
Mary-Rose passed away on June 11. She had battled health issues for years.

Show stoppers

Life is much more manageable when the drama is low.
I know we can't run away from it.

Father and friend

Dedicated, Durable. Distinguished.
Always loving, caring, protective, helpful, encouraging, joking, comforting, wise.
Deeply rich in family.

Comfort zone

It's so nice to sit and relax in a comfort zone.
Nothing to bother you. Nothing to get under your skin. Nothing that will shake your mental state.

Nothing surprises

The judge told the reporter when he started covering court, "Nothing surprises me."
With over 30 years on the bench, she has seen a lot. It continues each day.

Note to self: Take it easy.

What makes one be so hard on themselves that even when they do something good, they find a self-deprecating way to crap on the parade?

Talk to someone, please

There is no shame in those fighting mental illness or thoughts of harming or killing themselves.
Stigma sucks.
Slowly, but surely, people are not looking at those battling mental issues as lepers or merely being weak.

Closure?

He put his thing in my butt, the 11-year-old victim testified in sexual assault trial this week.
The "he" in this case is alleged to be her grandfather.

Taking flight

"Fly, robin fly! ... up, up to the sky ..."
I thought of those lyrics from a song recorded by Silver Convention back in 1975 on Tuesday (June 5).
I sang those words after watching a now matured robin take off from its nest located in a wreath on the front porch of my home.

Gut punch

I remembered what a punch in the gut felt like yesterday.

I was told something by a friend.

The workforce at their place of employment has dwindled.

Time to test the wings

High school graduation season is upon us.
It is winding down here in my area.
I attended a a graduation party for a young lady on Saturday.

The good crowd

A 23-year-old man was sentenced to three years in prison on May 31 for his role in a bank robbery in 2017.
He scoped out the interior of a bank that his cousin went in and robbed.
They didn't get very far before being arrested.

Walk around the ship

Going down with the ship.
It's got a bad sound to it. Or is that sad sound?

Edge of life and death

Separation anxiety.
Praying to die.
Not good.

Detour from the high road

You have people come in and out of your life.
Some good, helpful. Some bad, disruptive.

Still ...

It's an empty feeling.
Weird it is.

Trashing the place

The other day I took out the trash.
A normal thing for a homeowner.

Potty training

Do you want to impress friends, win over co-workers, or just know you did the right thing?
You can do all three by restocking the bathroom at work.

When the nightmare is really a test

It was the dream come true for the young woman.
She attended the university that would help build on her solid foundation in faith.

All things new

Today starts a new day for a young woman I have been connected with since her birth 27 years ago.

She graduates college today.

People care

If you think this country is going down the toilet, you are wrong.

Why do I say that?

People care.

Driving lesson No. 1

Driving distracted may lead you down the wrong road at the fork in the road.

Teaching never stops, when you have teachers who care and cared

To all who are teachers, THANK YOU!

You do make a difference.

Stress, college and a daughter

This week I am stressing out as a daughter is taking finals and will graduate on Saturday.

Hopefully.

A heavy class load, requiring lots of papers to write at the end are causing her concern and me an anxiety attack.

Always a parent, until I die.

I wish I could be there to give her a hug.

I think back more than 30 years to my final semester in college. I took a couple of curses that caused me to lose sleep up to the very end. I survived.

I know she will as well.

It is a part of the process of growing as an adult.

High road with a roller coaster

A co-worker gets let go after 36-plus years.

Others were let go too.

Pay attention

Working as a crime and courts reporter opens a door to life as it really is.

It is no TV show or movie.

Before probable cause or a bond is set, a judge will hear facts from prosecutors about the alleged incident.

On Monday in Kankakee County court, a man was charged with aggravated domestic battery.

What set him off?

The prosecutor read from a report, the victim's boyfriend (defendant) was upset she was not paying attention to him. She was asleep at the time.

He roughed her up, including strangling her.

All because she wasn't paying attention.

He is going to have trouble with people not paying attention to him while in jail.

Too bad.

Business is business but ...

In this day and age of downsizing, the more you go through, the more they become routine.

Notso when your spouse is one of the co-workers recently let go, along with four other employees you worked closely with.

Shocked, stunned, disheartened and numbness have overtaken me.

Community support

As dozen of firefighters battle a blaze of two-story building, business owners in the small town as well as one from neighboring Momence, pitched in.

In all the fire talk, there is rotating personnel to "rehab."

It means, rest, take in fluids and get ready for another go around.

Part of the rehab at Saturday's fire in St. Anne found business owner making pizzas and burgers.

Firefighters were on scene for 9 hours.

The food was much appreciated.

"They chipped in and helped us. It means a lot and shows what the community is all about," said Fire Chief Tim Douglas.

When the going gets tough, people join forces to lift others up.

It is still something that makes the United States a good place.

Weed smell

During a custody call (bond hearings) in a Kankakee (Illinois) County courtroom. a judge stopped proceedings.

She saw a man in the back with his leg up on the back of the bench in front of him.

A heartbreaking interview

Yesterday I interviewed a woman whose nephew was murdered in Texas.

As a reporter, it is the toughest cold call.

Unplugging from technology

It really is hard to get away from your job with all this technology.

It is really hard to unplug from the job since the technology is plugged in even when it it isn't.

Check please

That moment you realize you really can check out but you can never leave.

I wish someone to explain to me why a person can be so unhinged, irrational, ruthless and diabolical.

This type of person is a cancer.

And we are still working on a cure for cancer.

Faith remains the foundation.

Fears

How do you overcome being a prisoner of your own fears?

Say it ain't so

That "say it ain't so" moment.

When news comes out about a lawsuit filed against a college athlete adored and embraced by many.

It reminds me that nothing surprises.can crumb at any time.

It shows we are all human and pedestals can crumble.

Estranged or disconnected

Is there a difference between being estranged from your family or disconnected?

Estranged to me means there is a rift. One that can be repaired, if a person or persons want it.

Shy of a compliment

A co-worker posted a story I worked on in regards to corruption of a former park board executive.

He said it was solid journalism.

It took some time and some more time to put it all together.

I feel good about the effort.

However, I don't think I did anything exceptional. I was doing my job.

I really have a hard time take compliments. I am so worried it will come back to bite me in the butt.

It has been a problem to only with work, but just beating myself up.

Maybe it has to do something with losing and older sibling as we were growing up.

He was talented and athletic and a carrying big brother.

Maybe I just have been trying to live two lives.