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.