Where were you?

As tommorrow marks the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I wanted to share my memories with you.

I remember that morning, not a cloud in the sky and I was on my 2nd day as a 911 Dispatcher for Rochester Hills FD.  My supervisor, training officer, and I were over at the Oakland County complex for computer training.  The supervisor's pager started going off like nuts from the office saying find a tv a plane crashed into the WTC.  We were thinking a small plane, no big deal until she got another page about a 2nd one, and then the Pentagon.  She went looking for a tv and couldnt find one.  We still really had no idea the seriousness of the situation until we went to lunch and saw pictures for the first time.  After lunch we went back to training and this time there were armed OCSD deputies outside checking id's of everyone going in. 

The ride home that night was erie, I saw gas gouged as high as $5 a gallon, and I remember getting home in time to see one of the smaller towers collapse.  I, like many of you, stayed glued to the tv and felt a sense of patriotism and wished thete was something we could do to help. 

Over the next few days it was odd not seeing or hearing planes in the sky with exception of the occassional military jet.  The out pouring of support from residents as they showed up at our fire station bringing us baked goods, cards, and just to say thanks was amaizing. 

Some agencies from Michigan sent groups of workers to Ground Zero to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts, while other agencies organized drives collecting money and supplies to send over there.

One of the fire information paging groups I belong to has this archive of events from that day showing how the information was spread across the country to fire buffs.  As you can see it was very hectic and confusing.

Our lives were changed forever that day.  Nothing will ever be the same again, but I do believe we are better prepared to handle disasters because of it.

Two years ago I was able to stop out at the Flight 93 Memorial construction site.  The experience was very sobering and made you realize how lucky we are.

Now leaving out any conspiracy remarks or other negative feedback what are your memories?

Frustrated Volunteer

There's a community in Oakland County having an event this Saturday.  The group organizing the event went out of their way to invite me to volunteer at the event.  This was done months ago, and at the time, I asked what kind of help was needed.  I told them the types of things I would like to help out with, but said "whatever you need, let me know."  The group responded with a message saying they would get in touch shortly after they had their meeting and things progressed.

Now, time has passed. I never heard anything from the group, and I made other plans for Saturday.  Finally, on Thursday, the group sent out a mass e-mail telling people where they need help and for how long.  You cannot expect people to keep a whole day roped off in case they are needed and not communicate with them.  If I approached them, that's one thing, but they initiated the invite, and then did not keep me posted about what would happen.  This is also not the first time this group has done this to me and others.  Heck, half the time they're begging for volunteers at the last minute and telling them to bring friends.

If you are organizing an event, you have an obligation to keep volunteers posted about what's going on, invite them to attend meetings, and make sure you keep the media involved as well.  Hopefully, this group will eventually learn from their lack of communication and make some changes so they can make sure there are enough volunteers for future events.  If changes are made and I am available, then I will be there.

Misstated?

What is up lately with all of these politicians using the term misstated or misspoke?  Why don't they either stick to their beliefs (Akin) or say they lied (Ryan) about what they said.

A few weeks ago you may remember Rep. Todd Akin made some incorrect comments about how if a woman is legitimately raped the body has ways of fending off pregnancy.  After lots of pressure from media, various groups, and even fellow politicians he took it back and said he misspoke. Why didn't he stick with what he believed in?  or say that he was wrong and will be doing further research on the topic?  When he said he misspoke it makes it seem like that is not what he meant to say or he stumbled over what was on the teleprompter.

The newest addition to the list is VP canidate Ryan.  In an interview he said that he ran a marathon in under 3 hours (under 7 minutes a mile).  After several questions arose he eventually said he misstated the time and it should have been closer to 4 hours.  How do you just lose an hour in a marathon?  Did he think someone would say that 4 hours is way to long of time to run a marathon?

So who is the next political person that is going to use this excuse as a scapegoat?  No, you can't say VP Biden because even President Obama would admit that he was mistake.

Detroit Zoo making changes for the better

Have you been to the Detroit Zoo lately?  If not I highly suggest going.  Over the last few years the zoo has made several improvements to enhance your experience annd feed your hunger.

They have recently added an American Coney Island and several kiosks serving up everything from Dippin Dots to Popcorn.  The last time we ate there we ate at the Arctic Cafe and the food was better than what I was expecting.  If you are a must-have coffee fanatic, the zoo also carries Starbucks.

They have also added a boardwalk that takes you right across the wetlands area.  When you take a stroll across you can see ducks, swans, fish, frogs, turtles, and more.  If you need a break there are benches set-up to sit and enjoy the peacefulness of the area.  They have also fixed the lions habitat up and got rid of the moat and filled it in with grasslands, in an effort to get you closer to the lions.  All it did for us was get us closer to seeing them sleeping the day away.  The one downfall to the new lions exhibit is its harder to take pictures without getting a glare or reflection.

Some neat things that we have stumbled upon that you may not have known existed.  Did you know that behind the giraffe exhibit, you have the ability to go into their house?  They sometimes are in there due to weather, maintence, or illness and this way you can still see them.  Another tip is behind the rhino display is the rhino house.  They have always been out when I have been there, but its still worth a quick walk through to check it out (also,makes for a handy spot to dodge the rain and not be crowded).

There are more plans for improvement in the future and its definitely worth checking out.  One last tip, if you plan on going more than 2 times a year, it usually works out to be cheaper to get a membership.  The membership also allows you discounts on food and at gift shops, discounted admission at other zoos throughout the country,  free parking at the Detroit Zoo, and many other perks.

Hurry up and go enjoy the beautiful weather...

Pro athletes: what they should do more of

The other day I was going over my news feed on Facebook and a story caught my eye.  WNEM, a tv station for Flint and the Tri-Cities region, had a story about how a famous alumni member gave back to the Saginaw School District.  Current Pittsburgh Steeler, former Wolverine, LaMarr Woodley heard that the public school district he once starred in had to start charging student-athletes $75 in participation fees.  Local,officials reported a decline in the number of athletes this year, so LaMarr took it upon himself to donate $60,000 to eliminate the fees for all junior high through high school athletes in the district.

This is not the first time LaMarr has.went above and beyond what needed to be done to help his former high school either.  A few years ago he got the marching band hooded sweatshirts.  So while we continue to hear news stories about athletes getting in trouble with domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, weapons, etc. one has to question how come we don't hear more about these stories? 

So I am calling out more of today's pro athletes, what are you doing to help your former high school?  What about the school districts in and around the cities you play in?  While $60,000 is a lot for us, for most of these stars it is just a drop in the bucket.  LaMarr, I sure hope that others follow your lead and we start hearing about the good in professional athletes rather than who has more pre-season arrests.

Dangerous situation in Oak Park

Earlier tonight a truck carrying fuel some how began leaking.  Right now Greenfield is closed between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Rds.  A large amount of fuel has already entered the sewer system which has led to evacuations of area homes and businesses.  Several fire departments are on scene including Beverly Hills, Troy, and Southfield.  Several sources are also reporting the whole Oakland County Haz-Mat Team has been activated, along with the County's Emergency Operation Center.  This is a potentially serious situation and the public is being asked to stay out of the area and let the crews work.  I will try to post updates as I hear them from the media.

Update:  The situation is still on going, could be closed for a few more hours.  Road commission and water departments are on scene as well assisting.

Walk or Don't Walk

Last night I was sitting in the left turn lane at Walton & Baldwin in Pontiac.  I was on my way to Dairy Queen before picking my wife up from work.  As I am sitting there and the light is green for both directions of Walton, I see a kid about 13 years old easily make it across the eastbound lanes and cross in front of me.  As he continued walking, not paying attention to westbound traffic, I watched him almost get hit by cars on 2 seperate occassions.

He is not the only person that I have seen just cross streets without paying attention to the signs or even traffic flow lately, but it seems like its getting worse.  When I hear of accidents involving pedestrians my first thoughts are was it at a crosswalk? Did they have the walk sign?  Were they paying attention?  Because my theory is this if they were not at a crosswalk, did not have the walk sign, and/or were not paying attention they got what they deserved.  I feel worse for the driver that hit them knowing that is an image they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

Most crosswalks used to have walk/don't walk on them, but then they were concerned about people who couldn't read so they put symbols up there.  What do we do next?  How do we try and allivate these types of situations?