Home Blog Page 244

Miller: Men vs. food

By
Michael Miller
-
0

Overwhelmed with emotion, teary-eyed, I gently ran my fingers along the skin of my old ally.

“Goodbye, Old Friend,” I said, caressing and connecting for the very last time.

My stomach purred in response.

I lay back on the gurney, an IV needle embedded in my right hand.

I was sedated, holding my wife’s hand, just minutes from the surgery that would remove 85 percent of my stomach in an effort to control my dangerously rising weight.

The physician’s assistant asked what I did for a living, and when I told him I was an editor at a Toledo newspaper, he assumed I meant The Blade and began an enthusiastic monologue about reading the daily newspaper online. I did not correct him; it did not seem wise to piss off the man with the long needle.

My surgeon stopped by the curtained area and asked, “Ready to rock and roll?”

I said I was, but inside, as the sedatives took effect, I felt more like a light waltz.

I was wheeled into the operating room and transferred to the main table. The anesthesiologist leaned over me with a mask and lied, “I’m going to give you some oxygen.”

I nodded and glanced at the large TV with my name and case details on the screen.

It was 10:02 a.m. Sept. 18.

Baby steps

The journey to bariatric surgery began Jan. 3 with the first of six monthly visits to my primary care physician, or “doctor,” as I call him. Each of the visits focused on my progress, or lack thereof, with breaking bad habits. Fast food, carbohydrates, soda, a sedentary lifestyle. Between those visits, I worked with clinicians at the University of Michigan Adult Bariatric Surgery Program. This included visits with nutritionists, physical therapists, support groups, chat rooms with former and future patients, psychiatrists and more doctors.

There are three main options for bariatric surgery. It is a huge decision, and being immersed in the culture for six months, often with mandatory spousal attendance, helped me prepare mentally and begin making necessary changes.

As described by the UM program, “LAP-BAND Surgery, also known as laparoscopic gastric banding, is a restrictive surgical procedure whereby the size of the opening from the esophagus to the stomach is reduced by a silicone band, decreasing the amount of food that can be comfortably eaten.”

The most drastic option is “Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: First, the surgeon creates a small stomach (permanently reduced to an egg-sized pouch) to restrict food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach, the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine), and the first portion of the jejunum (the second segment of the small intestine).”

So the LAP-BAND is the least invasive and is technically reversible. The gastric bypass is common, but all that rerouting made me nervous. I also did not like the idea of my disconnected stomach slowly atrophying in my abdomen for the rest of my life. Like Goldilocks looking at two extremely opposite options and seeking a middle ground, I gravitated to the sleeve gastrectomy.

“Gastric Sleeve Resection is a restrictive form of bariatric surgery that helps with weight loss by limiting food intake and controlling hunger sensations. The procedure calls for removing about 85 percent of the stomach, while keeping both ends of the stomach intact.  It does not involve cutting or rerouting the small intestine and it does not require an implanted weight loss device.”

Choosing sleeve surgery would mean more work for me, but I wasn’t looking for a panacea, I was looking for a tool to help me turn my personal Titanic around.

To accomplish the surgery laparoscopically, with six small incisions instead of one big abdomen slice, I was required to lose enough weight to shrink my liver down so it would not be an obstruction during surgery. I was supposed to embark on a 14-day liquid diet, but I’m an orderly man, so I chose to start Sept. 1. That would give me four extra days and an easy way to keep track of the liquid diet. That daily diet consisted of three 8-ounce, sugar-free, high-protein drinks, with between-drink small servings of oatmeal, nonfat yogurt and sugar-free mini pudding cups.

In other words, I was consigning myself to the Gulag, not just for 18 days before surgery, but for the four weeks following it as well.

The Goodbye Tour

Knowing that tremendous sacrifices awaited, I decided to say goodbye to my favorite foods in style. I asked three of my closest friends, all of whom enjoy a good repast as much as I do, to join me on my Goodbye Food Tour.

We started at noon Friday at Tony Packo’s, enjoying the multiple Mother of All Dogs for the final time. That afternoon we went to Rave Cinemas at Levis Commons to see a movie and enjoy one last feedbag bucket of movie theater popcorn with a depth-charge size soda. For dinner, we visited Fricker’s for a plate of my favorite deep-fried, honey barbecue chicken wings, with curly fries and more soda.

I went to bed overfull but determined to soldier on.

Saturday started with an early breakfast at a local diner, with a skillet full of scrambled eggs, hash browns, a number of selections from our pal the pig and a pile of shredded cheese. Lunch was at Burger Bar 419, where we shared fried cheese and some of the best gourmet cheeseburgers in Toledo.

After another movie (with another bucket of popcorn and another large soda), we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Rossford for another version of my favorite burger. I knew I was slowing down when I did not finish my fries. Nonetheless, we traveled to Mr. Freeze for a large turtle sundae, which should be the final ice cream I enjoy, on that scale, for the rest of my life. After a few hours, we met at Buffalo Wild Wings on Central Avenue, for a last round of appetizers and chicken wings.

For the first time in my adult life, I left the table with uneaten wings on my plate.

Sunday morning was a last order of our neighborhood bakery’s best doughnuts. A late lunch took place at Olive Garden, with an endless pasta bowl order that ended midway through a third bowl.

There were still days before Sept. 1, but I used those days to start getting used to the protein drinks, with one solo goodbye stop each day during the week: The Blarney Irish Pub, McDonald’s, Spaghetti Warehouse and Wendy’s.

I will spare you those gastronomic details.

That left Friday, Aug. 31, as an opportunity for one final meal. That night was reserved for my wife and me, and I knew where I wanted to go: Final Cut at the Hollywood Casino Toledo. Not only did a steakhouse date night appeal to me, I thought the name was more than appropriate. And I knew exactly what I planned to order — the 64-ounce porterhouse, a cut of steak so big it comes with its own Final Cut dog tag, which I planned to carry with me as a talisman against the upcoming hunger and fight.

Every bite of that steak was exquisite. I lingered on the final cut as long as I could. Swallowed. Paid the bill. Went to bed knowing that the next 30-plus days would be the biggest challenge of my adult life.

The liquid diet

It turned out to be even more difficult than I expected. The 8-ounce liquid medical protein drinks, Unjury, come in flavors of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and chicken soup. It would be easy to mock and deride Unjury, but it’s not the company’s fault. The drinks could have tasted like Willy Wonka’s Special Oompa Loompa Extract and it would still curdle under the heat of the resentment, despair and ravishing hunger I brought to the table. Each day for 18 pre-surgery days, as the rest of the world around me ate what it wanted, my self-exiled liquid diet had my betrayed stomach roaring like a lion with thorns in all four paws. Not consuming was one thing; not chewing was another. If I met my protein goals for each day I was allowed a few celery sticks or cucumber slices, but for a man used to eating cheeseburgers for snacks, every day was like a crawl through a desert.

The only solace was from my wonderful wife, who, in sympathy, went on the 18-day liquid diet with me. It was a major help to look across the table and see her grimacing as I did. I was moody, depressed, angry at myself and restless without meat, bread, pasta, potatoes, all of the glorious food I centered my life around.

But on Day Five, an interesting thing happened. I took that restless energy and began walking. Just a few blocks at first, then a mile, then two miles a day. We took long family walks with our young sons, spending an hour or so together on sidewalks, nature trails and park walking paths.

And while I did not at first see a difference, I started to feel … better. I quietly tried on one shirt size smaller and found it fit. Walking got easier. I still missed eating, but I did not feel as empty as I once did.

Throughout the 18-day diet, I intentionally stayed away from our bathroom scale, which wasn’t meant to weigh anyone my size. I believed it held only false promises.

So it wasn’t until the morning of the operation that I stepped on the hospital scale.

The end of the beginning

I weighed 380 pounds on Aug. 31. The morning of Sept. 18, I was down to 339.8 pounds, a 40-pound drop.

My smile was so wide, my Blade-loving IV inserter said I looked like I won the lottery.

I was wheeled into the operating room and transferred to the main table. The anesthesiologist leaned over me with a mask and lied, “I’m going to give you some oxygen.”

I nodded and glanced at the large TV with my name and case details on the screen.

It was 10:02 a.m. Sept. 18.

When I woke up at 2:30 p.m., I looked down to see six small incisions where 85 percent of my stomach used to be.

I tried to swim to consciousness, but kept falling back asleep.

The first words I heard were from a nurse, who was talking to another nurse. About me.

“His blood pressure is way up,” she said. “At 190. We’re giving him meds to try to get it down.”

 

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. 

Play about marriage equality comes to Toledo

By
Brigitta Burks
-
0
From left, Ben Pryor, Holly Monsos, john Adams, Jennifer Rockwood, Carter Wilson and Kate Abu-Absi of the play ‘8.’ Photo by Anthony Tscherne.

Jennifer Rockwood believes theater can change the world — so it’s no surprise she is directing “8,” a play about the fight for marriage equality in California.

The play follows Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown) filed by the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) in opposition to Proposition 8, a 2008 amendment that overturned a California Supreme Court decision giving same-sex couples marital rights.

“We’re very close to their making a new decision or it moving forward. So this whole year’s been a good year to get the word out. And, of course, I have a lot of friends who are gay and I am very sympathetic to the idea that marriage should be equal,” said Rockwood, assistant dean in the College of Innovative Learning at the University of Toledo.

The free staged reading begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Doermann Theatre in UT’s University Hall. Donations for local advocacy group Equality Toledo will be accepted.

“8” premiered in New York City on Sept. 19, 2011, as a benefit for AFER. The play is the brainchild of Broadway Impact, an organization that promotes marriage equality through theater. The group’s founders, Rory O’Malley, Gavin Creel and Jenny Kanelos, were inspired after reading Perry transcripts. (The court video was not made public.)

“Our minds were blown with how amazing this case was. Our side had so much. We had witnesses and expert after expert,” Kanelos said. The group decided to approach AFER and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who penned the films “Milk” and “J. Edgar,” about putting a play together.

“The court stuff is all actual transcript. Not a word of it has been altered,” Kanelos said of Black’s script.

Black also based his script on interviews he conducted with the families involved in the case.

“People are really relating to that. They’re seeing gay families are as normal as straight families,” Kanelos said.

“8” got more attention when a Los Angeles production, which included famous actors, was put online. The day after it hit the Web, Broadway Impact, which licenses the show, had 150 requests from theaters around the country.

Rockwood had read about “8” on the Internet before deciding to stage her own show. She was one of the first people to put in a request, Kanelos said.

The Toledo play features two out-of-town actors in addition to local favorites like Kate Abu-Absi. UT faculty and other community members will perform on stage for the first time.

“The actors were easy to get. It was convincing people who’d never acted before to be in it,” Rockwood said. “I was picking people that I knew would bring in different crowds. People that I thought were charismatic whether they were actors or not.”

Carter Wilson, a UT professor of political science, will play a witness — also a political scientist.

“When I looked at the script, I was just very excited and thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to play the role,” Wilson said. He is encouraging his students to attend for extra credit.

“I see this also as an educational experience, an opportunity to inform the students and the public about a critically important issue,” he said.

John Adams, UT’s senior director for early outreach, will portray attorney Ted Olson. Olson served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush and is also an advocate for marriage equality. The attorney responded to a letter Adams wrote him.

“He was very nice and very encouraging. He just mentioned I hope my words will inspire you and help you play the part. He said he would love to be there if he could,” Adams said.

Abu-Absi will play Kris Perry, one of the plaintiffs.

“[‘8’ is] the perfect thing for a college campus,” she said. “This is what college is all about.”

Kanelos agreed. “Obviously, young people are just more ahead of the rest of the world on this issue,” she said, adding college is “really when you are discovering who you are and what views you have.”

The Toledo community has been very supportive of “8,” Rockwood said. Several businesses and UT colleges are sponsoring the production.

“For all of the different kinds of people, this is what great theater is. You have carpenters who are building stuff for us, you have lighting people, you have sound people,” she said.

Equality Toledo is also helping  and hosting a panel after the show.

“Theater and art, they create a venue for people to maybe see an issue from a different perspective and open the dialogue,” said Sherry Tripepi, executive director of Equality Toledo.

“I’d hope that [‘8’] does open some dialogue to those who are more hesitant to support marriage equality,” she added.

“8” is also sponsored by Catalyst Theatre Network, a recently formed group that includes Rockwood and Abu-Absi.

“We try to pick plays that speak to the human condition,” Rockwood has said, later adding that the name Catalyst speaks to what the play is trying to accomplish.

Productions of “8” in Ohio are special to Broadway Impact, Kanelos said. Ohio Wesleyan University put on a September production and chronicled the journey online through blogs and videos.

“We found that kids, young people and high school students are so passionate [about marriage equality]. They don’t see the difference between a gay person and a straight person,” she said.

Kanelos also said her co-founders are from the Buckeye State. Creel comes from Findlay.

“It’s kind of where all our hearts are,” she said.

Pounds: Chamber insight

By
Tom Pounds
-
0

Toledo Free Press is in the process of setting meetings with the organizers behind the seven levies that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Endorsements will follow those discussions, but for voters understandably weary (and wary) of media interpretation, an excellent guide comes from the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber diligently meets with representatives for each levy hopeful and goes through a two-step voting process to determine which levies it will endorse. Chamber President Mark V’Soske is clear that the Chamber does not come out against levies. It endorses its choices but does not actively oppose others.

The Chamber chose to support:

  • Toledo Public Schools (TPS) is asking taxpayers to approve a new 6.9-mill continuing levy, which according to the Chamber of Commerce will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $211.28 per year. The money from the levy would fund the district’s current transformation program and balance the budget beyond the 2012-13 school year.
  • The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas County has placed a 10-year, 1-mill levy on the ballot. The board’s last levy renewal was passed in 2008, so this levy would generate new money for the agency. This levy would cost $30.62 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home, according to the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Lucas County Children Services will be represented on November’s ballot with a 1.85-mill levy. This is a 0.85 increase from the current five-year levy, which will expire in December 2013. The 1.85-mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $56.66 per year, an increase of $26.04 on the current $30.62 per year paid to the 1-mill levy, according to the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Imagination Station will ask voters to renew its 0.17-mill levy, which is set to expire at the end of 2013. The levy would generate about $1.3 million of the organization’s $3.2 million revenue by costing owners of a $100,000 home $5.21 a year.

The Chamber did not support (but again, that does not mean it opposes):

  • Parks and Recreation is a new 1-mill levy, which would require renewal in 10 years. Owners of a $100,000 home would pay $30.62 per year if the levy passes, according to the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Metroparks of Toledo Area will place a 0.9-mill levy before voters. The levy would replace the 0.3-mill levy that expires at the end of its 10-year term on Dec. 31. If passed, the 0.9-mill levy will require renewal in 10 years.
  • The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is placing a 2.9-mill levy on the ballot that if passed will replace and increase their 2-mill levy, which is due to expire at the end of this year. The levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $88.80 per year for five years, according to a newsletter on the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce’s website, toledochamber.com.

There is plenty of time for education and information; let’s hope voters look beyond media and do some investigating on their own.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at [email protected].

Romney outlines top five priorities at Toledo stop

By
Jeff
-
0
Mitt Romney speaks at the SeaGate Centre in Downtown Toledo on Sept. 26. Toledo Free Press Photo by Joseph Herr.

Editor’s Note: Updated with crowd response.

During a Sept. 26 speech in Toledo, Mitt Romney outlined five major areas he would address if elected president: energy, trade, jobs, national debt and small businesses.

The Republican nominee started the day in Westerville, Ohio, then visited Cleveland and ended in Toledo. President Barack Obama also appeared in Northwest Ohio on Sept. 26, speaking at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green.

Romney said he would take “full advantage” of America’s energy resources, prompting a cheer from the crowd of about 3,500 at the SeaGate Centre.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we create as much energy of our own as we can,” Romney said.

North American energy independence would lower gas and electricity prices, opening opportunities for job creation and the recovery of the manufacturing sector, Romney said.

A second focus would be on expanding trade.

“We can compete with anyone in the world, so I’m going to open up new markets for us to be able to sell goods to,” Romney said.

Romney also vowed to “crack down” on China, saying the country keeps its prices artificially low, putting U.S. companies out of business.

“They should not steal our jobs,” Romney said. “The president has had multiple opportunities to label China a currency manipulator. He hasn’t. I will.”

Romney’s third focus would be revamping job training.

“Instead of having 47 different federal training programs that report to eight different agencies, with all sorts of overhead, I’m going to take the dollars the federal government spends, bundle it up, give Ohio its fair share and let Ohio create its own job-training program,” Romney said.

Fourth, Romney vowed to balance the budget.

“We’re not going to have entrepreneurs go out and start a new business or big companies come here … and hire more people if they think we’re on the road to Greece — and that clock up there looks like Greece,” Romney said, referring to an electronic national debt calculator near the stage displaying $16 trillion and counting.

A crowd of 3,500 listened to Mitt Romney speak at the SeaGate Centre in Downtown Toledo on Sept. 26. Toledo Free Press Photo by Joseph Herr.

Romney said his opponent added $6 trillion to the national debt since he took office and, if re-elected, will increase debt to $20 trillion by the end of his second term. The interest alone is more than the total spent on housing, education, agriculture and transportation, Romney said.

“It’s not good for the economy, it’s not good for jobs and I, for one, think it’s immoral to pass that obligation to our kids,” Romney said.

The fifth topic Romney addressed was small business.

“We need to champion small businesses,” Romney said. “[Obama] wants to raise the tax rate on it. … I’m going to lower the tax rate. … I’ll create jobs. He’ll kill them.”

Romney spoke beneath a banner reading “We can’t afford four more years,” and his speech often focused on the need to prevent Obama from securing a second term.

“I know they are out there chanting at his events, ‘Four more years.’ Do you want four more years with 23 million people struggling to find a job? Do you want four more years where half our kids coming out of college can’t find a college-level job? Do you want four more years of trillion-dollar deficits?” Romney asked, with the crowd responding “No” to each question.

Romney said he has confidence America “will come roaring back” —as long as Obama is not re-elected.

“Were we to re-elect President Obama, there is no question in my mind we face four more difficult years,” Romney said. “When I become president, we’re going to get this economy going again. … This is not a mystery. We know how to do it. America has faced challenges before when we have strong leaders, when we have people that know how to give a hand up, not a handout.”

Obamacare

To loud cheers, Romney vowed to repeal Obama’s health plan, commonly referred to as Obamacare, saying it will deter businesses from hiring new employees.

“Obamacare is really exhibit No. 1 of the president’s political philosophy and that is that the government knows better than people how to run your lives,” Romney said. “I believe in free people pursuing their dreams. I believe in freedom.”

Romney said Obama’s policies aren’t working — and he hasn’t come up with any new plans.

“His campaign slogan is ‘Forward.’ Forward to the same ideas, the same approaches he’s had for the last four years,” Romney said. “Nothing is going to change and we know the results of the last four years.”

Romney acknowledged many Americans are suffering as income of the average middle-class family has decreased even as the cost of food, electricity and health care have increased.

“I know the president cares about America and the people of this country,” Romney said. “He just doesn’t know how to help them. I do.”

Romney said Americans are charitable and compassionate to the elderly, disabled and poor.

“They need our help and they receive our help,” Romney said. “No nation on Earth is as charitable as the people of the United States of America. … At the same time, we will insist that these people have the opportunity for work if they can.”

Romney also shared a story about U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who grew up poor but within view of wealthy neighborhoods.

“He said, ‘I never heard my parents say, “Why don’t those people give us some of what they have?”” Romney said. “Instead they said, ‘Aren’t we lucky to live in a country where if we work hard and take some risks and get as much education as possible, we can achieve that as well?’”

Romney said America’s economy cannot be driven by “government bureaucrats.”

“America’s economy is driven by freedom. It’s not guided by government,” Romney said. “That’s what makes America how we are. We’re a nation of dreamers.”

Romney said the world looks to the United States for strength and leadership.

“The world needs America to lead; our families need America to lead; our future needs America to lead,” Romney said. “If I’m the next president of the United States — when I’m the next president of the United States — I will do everything in my power to keep America strong.”

Romney told the crowd he believed they would help him win Ohio.

“The president just the other day said, ‘You can’t change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside,’” Romney said. “Well, we’re going to give him that chance on Nov. 6.”

Crowd response

Among the area residents who attended Romney’s speech were Catherine Lee of Perrysburg and her 8-year-old granddaughter Nathalie Rawlins.

“I just feel it’s so important at this young age,” Lee said. “My daughters are in their 40s and when [Ronald] Reagan came to Perrysburg, I got them out of school, too.”

Although they weren’t able to get tickets to go inside, Lee also took her granddaughter to Maumee in July when Obama spoke at the Wolcott House.

“Whether we support him or not, he’s our president. We have respect for him,” Lee said. “His bus came right close to us so we got to wave.”

Joe Young of Oak Harbor sat in the front row of the bleacher seating, holding a Romney/Ryan sign.

“I like everything that he is,” Young said. “He represents what I believe.”

Pamela Burger of Oregon said America needs Romney’s leadership.

“We don’t need what’s been going on this past three and a half years,” Burger said. “It’s just a scary thought to think what could go on in the next four years with Barack Obama not having to be responsible to the American people with another election coming up. I just hope people research for themselves and see where each candidate stands on the issues and realize we can’t keep going where we’re headed.”

Burger said Romney has “great energy” and “speaks from the heart.”

“It’s like hearing your next-door neighbor talk. I think he identifies with the everyday person and I believe his heart is there fighting for every American no matter what,” Burger said. “He wants to see America succeed and he’s got the leadership experience.”

Romney supporter Lizzette Proshek of Toledo said she was curious how many people would show up to a Republican event in largely Democratic Toledo.

“We’re happy to see the outcome,” Proshek said. “I don’t like our giving away our country. Everything is just given. If you need a house, if you need food, if you need health care, it’s all free. We can’t do that anymore and Mitt Romney seems to agree.”

Opening speakers included University of Toledo senior Patrick Richardson, Lucas County Republican Party Chairman Jon Stainbrook, Toledo City Councilman George Sarantou, State Sen. Mark Wagoner and U.S. Rep. Bob Latta.

A small group of protestors gathered across the street from the SeaGate Centre, holding signs reading “Obama for all (Romney for some),” “Mitt Not Fit,” “47% No Head, No Heart, No Mitt” and “Romney knows where the jobs are: China, India, Mexico. He sent them there.” A man in a George W. Bush mask waved fake money and a man in Romney mask held a sign reading, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

In-person voting begins in Ohio on Oct. 2. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 9.

See more photos on Facebook.

Szyperski: A conservative, a liberal and an independent walk into a family

By
Shannon Szyperski
-
0

My mom has a theory that every generation has a major hurdle of acceptance it needs to clear.

The hurdles generally have to do with a majority of the population learning to respect a certain natural discrepancy among us. Examples of hurdles past include racial integration, gender equality and, most recently, marriage equality.

As we attempt to overcome our latest challenges individually and as a group (with some of us still trying to belatedly clear hurdles of the past), I can’t help but wonder what our next one will be.
I have a theory of my own. As we clear physical hurdles and social hurdles, my guess is
that we are next poised to take on intellectual hurdles. My hope is that we will soon realize our society needs to learn to embrace conceptual differences and work toward intellectual equality.
I am not referring to IQs or standardized test scores or one’s general capacity for intellectual thought. I am more concerned with the way we think and how we view the world.
More specifically, I am concerned with our seeming inability to accept those who hold
different ideals. We currently have a superiority complex about those we disagree with.
My kids are growing up at a time when it is socially admissible to stereotype and write off large chunks of the population when it comes to political ideals.
They are growing up at a time when there are mainstream books with titles like “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans,” and well-“liked” Facebook groups with names like “Americans Against the Republican Party.”

Despite decades of pleas for tolerance of one another in our culture, we are still finding acceptable reasons to loathe our fellow Americans.
Hatred and disrespect for those who see the world from a different perspective seem to be considered safe based on the fact that one’s belief system may be dynamic over time (as opposed to the more static states of race and gender) and is, therefore, up for the bashing.

Perhaps this potential for change, unlike the pigmentation of one’s skin or the number of one’s X chromosomes, is also what keeps the one religion vs. another religion vs. no religion fire burning bright. We don’t technically have to be Jewish or Christian or Muslim or atheist, but we are born into a particular ethnic lineage or gender without much potential for conversion.
According to popular belief, we also don’t technically have to be conservative, liberal or something in between.
Yet, more and more studies seem to be aimed at proving that there is some hard-wiring involved that precludes us from entirely having a choice in the matter.

Surprisingly, some of the studies seem to indicate that being hard-wired a particular way is somehow more favorable over another. Such subjective conclusions do not fit my understanding of science, but I may just be incorrectly wired to comprehend it.
From what I am already witnessing in my own three children, human beings do seem to come with some sort of prepackaged worldview mechanism.
At ages 3, 6 and 9, I already recognize a little liberal, a young conservative and a budding independent in my midst. I recognize certain qualities in them that lead me to believe they will view the world by leaning in a particular direction.
I have less concern about which way they will lean and much more concern about how they will interact with those facing in other directions.

Regardless of their natural inclinations, my advice to them will be to at least visit their friends’ perspectives and be open to recognizing the elements they have in common. I hope they maintain a level of respect for other ideals and that they never sink to beginning a sentence with “If (insert political designation) had any brains …” (also see the words “moron,” “idiot” and “ignorant”).
It has been my experience that nature doesn’t make too many mistakes. Even things that seem in error often end in education. If the discrepancy in our political nature is, indeed, natural, I can’t help but think that it is meant to be a lesson in coming together instead of a means to divide.
If our history is any indication, the things that initially come between us are actually opportunities to bring us closer together.
Shannon and her husband, Michael, are raising three children in Sylvania. 

Diocese starts restoration of Mt. Carmel tombstones

By
David Yonke
-
0

The Catholic Diocese of Toledo has started resetting the tombstones that are in disarray at
Mount Carmel Cemetery and is looking at ways to provide a more comprehensive fix.
Thomas Szych of North Toledo raised awareness of the problem, telling ToledoFAVS and its media partner Toledo Free Press that more than three dozen tombstones were off their bases in the oldest section of the historic cemetery.
Bob Shenefield, the diocese’s director of cemeteries, responded with a letter to Szych saying that he plans to address the problem.

“Even though we are currently limited by a lack of abundant resources, it does not mean that we are unable to begin making progress in turning things around at Mount
Carmel Cemetery,” Shenefield told Szych in a letter dated Sept. 19.
“Earlier this week I walked the oldest sections with our grounds superintendent, and we began putting a plan together to remedy several of the conditions that were identified in the article,” Shenefield said.
Szych, whose parents, grandparents and numerous other relatives are buried at Mount Carmel, said he felt the fallen and neglected tombstones showed a lack of respect for the dead. The contracts that family members sign with Mount Carmel promise perpetual care of the gravesites, Szych said.
He called the diocese several weeks ago to complain, but was told there was no money or manpower to fix the fallen gravestones.
“It made me feel nice to get a letter and I called [Shenefield] back, acknowledging his acknowledgment,” Szych said. “At least somebody took the time to write the letter, and now I have a name to contact when I have a complaint.”
It was not clear how many of the tombstones had been knocked off their foundations by vandals or careless lawn care workers, and how many had fallen over from deterioration over time. Some of the fallen tombstones date to the mid-1800s.

Shenefield said cemetery workers have taken the first step of “realigning many of the individual markers that were no longer on top of their original foundations.”
Crews have also begun resetting tombstones that have fallen off their bases and are lying on the ground, he said.
“Next we are planning to lift and relevel those individual markers in need of minimal foundation repair,” Shenefield wrote in the letter. “It is apparent that there will be more to do, and larger projects to complete,” Shenefield said, “but I wanted you to know that we are aware of the situation and have made a commitment to rebuilding the faith and confidence of the families who have chosen Mount Carmel Cemetery as the final resting place for their loves ones.”
Located at Lagrange Street and Manhattan Boulevard in Toledo’s Old North End, Mount Carmel has long been the cemetery of choice for Toledo’s Polish Catholics. One of three cemeteries in the Toledo diocese, Mount Carmel was originally known as St. Mary’s and St. Francis de Sales Cemetery until it was renovated and consecrated as Mt. Carmel by Bishop Karl J. Alter in November 1936.

David Yonke was the editor and community manager of ToledoFAVS.com, a website that provided in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.

Obama talks China, economy, education at BGSU

By
Brigitta Burks
-
0
President Barack Obama talked China, economy and education during a Sept 26, 2012, visit to Bowling Green State University -- his 13th visit to Ohio during the 2012 Presidential campaign. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr.

President Barack Obama told an often-roaring crowd of more than 5,500 about his plans for the economy, health care and education affordability on Sept. 26 at the Stroh Center
in Bowling Green.
“You’ve got a big choice to make and it’s not just a choice between two parties or two candidates. It is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for America,” he said.
Obama has traveled to Ohio 13 times this year and was at Scott High School on Labor Day. He went to Kent State University following his appearance in Bowling Green. His opponent Mitt Romney also spoke in Northwest Ohio on Sept. 26.
Obama criticized Romney’s plans for the economy, especially tax breaks.
“Top-down economics never works. The country doesn’t succeed when only the rich get richer. We succeed when the middle class gets bigger,” he said.
When the enthused crowd booed Romney’s stances, Obama responded with “Don’t boo, vote,” as he also said at Scott High School.
“We don’t believe that anybody is entitled to success in this country. We don’t believe government should be helping people who refuse to help themselves, but we do believe in something called opportunity,” Obama added.
“This country’s gone through a very tough time. We’ve still got a lot of folks who are hurting out there and I’m not somebody who’s come here offering some easy, quick solutions. The truth is, it’s going to take more than a few years to solve the challenges that were building up over decades,” he said.
The president said that although the country does face challenges, these are problems that can be solved.
“For the young people out here, I want you to understand, there is not a country on Earth that wouldn’t gladly trade places with the United States of America,” he said.
The president later launched into his plan for the economy, saying, “I want to export more products and outsource fewer jobs.”
“We can give more tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs right here in the United States,” he said.
With the right policies, a million new manufacturing jobs could be created in the next four years, Obama added. He later said that those who make more than $250,000 per year should have to pay a higher tax rate.
He also criticized Romney’s famous statement on the auto industry, “Let Detroit go bankrupt.”
“That would have been walking away from an industry that supports one in eight Ohioans. It supports businesses in 82 of 88 Ohio counties,” he said.
Obama lambasted Romney’s statements that he’d be tough on China and said that Romney had profited from sending jobs to China.

“It feels a lot like a fox saying we need more secure chicken coops,” Obama said.
“I have woken up every single day doing everything I can to give American workers a fair shot in this global economy. We brought more trade cases against China in one term than the previous administration did in two. And by the way, we’ve been winning those cases,” he said.
Obama also spoke to the crowd, which included many college students, about the importance of education.

Education was “the only reason I’m standing here,” President Obama told the BGSU crowd. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr

“[Education] was my gateway to opportunity; that’s the only reason I’m standing here,” he said. “It’s the path more than ever to a middle-class life. Today, millions of students are paying less for college because we took on a system that was wasting billions of dollars using banks and lenders and middlemen on the student loan process. We said, ‘Let’s give that money directly to students.’”
The president also said he would work with college presidents to make college more affordable.
In addition, he said the country has doubled the amount of its renewable, clean energy sources.
“Today, America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly 20 years,” he said. Still,
Obama said, he wanted the United States to control more of its own energy resources.
“Let’s take that money we’re giving to companies that are already hugely profitable. Every time you go to the pump, they’re making money; they don’t need a tax break. Let’s use that money and invest in wind and solar and clean coal
technology,” he said.
Obama also pledged not to make Medicare voucher-based, which is part of Romney’s potential plan.
“We’ll reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the actual cost of care, not by dumping the costs onto seniors,” he said.
The president also pointed out his military successes, including the end of the war in Iraq, winding down the war in Afghanistan and the killing of Osama bin Laden.
“As we saw just a few days ago, we still face some serious threats in the world and that’s why as long as I’m commander in chief we’re going to maintain the strongest military the world’s ever known. And when our troops come home, and they take off their uniform, we’re going to serve them as well as they served us,” he said.
Obama emphasized that change takes time.
“I’ve always said change is hard; it takes more than one term or even one president. And the way our democracy works, we’re never going to get everything that each of us individually wants.
“But if we’re working together, you can make things happen. Now, you can’t make it happen if you write off half the nation before you take office,” he said.

Jim Wisler, an audience member and retired quality control worker for Ford, agreed.
“I know at this age, it takes more than two or three years to get through this mess. Back in the Depression years, well, it took 12 years for Roosevelt,” he said.
Wisler made the trip from Catawba Island with his wife Nancy, who said the drive was “well worth it.”
Rayia Gaddy, a Bowling Green State University sociology and psychology student, said she appreciated that the president addressed different groups like the working and middle classes in his speech.
Gaddy has a personal stake in some of Obama’s education policies. She is at BGSU on a full ride and has siblings who dropped out of college because they could no longer afford school.
“Starting and then not being able to go when they really loved it, it really tore them up,” she said.
Andrew McCaffrey, a BGSU education student, said he liked the diversity of the crowd. “I was interested to see that [Obama] was coming to Ohio yet again. It’s a testimony to how important Ohio is in the election,” he added.
McCaffrey said he also agreed with the president’s stance on energy.
“A great deal of America’s problems can be traced back to energy and if we develop energy independently, that’ll improve our domestic situation as well as foreign situation,” he said.
Kelly Wicks, who is running for the Ohio House of Representatives, spoke to the president.
“I got to spend a minute with him and he asked who I was, what I did, how the campaign was going, said good luck, said make sure to tell everybody (volunteers) thank you,” he said.
Wicks has been to several Obama rallies, but said this crowd had the most energy he’s seen. He also said he likes watching people’s reactions.
“That moment, just watching people in the audience who can’t believe that they’re there or he made eye contact with them, that changes people’s lives,” Wicks said.
Early voting was another big subject at the rally.

Seth Melchor, the BGSU student who introduced Obama, did so after breaking his wrist the night before.
“He was supposed to get it set yesterday but he didn’t want to miss this,” Obama said. “Now, I just want to make the point that if Seth can come up here with a broken wrist then there is not a student here who cannot get registered.”
In-person voting begins in Ohio on Oct. 2. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 9.

Retirement Guys: 4 tips for a better investment plan

By
Mark Clair & Nolan Baker
-
0

 

Mark and I have recently started working on a new educational series for consumers that helps guide them on how to better manage their money, protect their hard earned assets, and efficiently plan their estate. The series is called, “The Essential Series: The Essentials for Investing, The Essentials for Asset Protection, and The Essentials for Estate Planning.” The goal is to help the average investor discover where he or she stands financially, gain knowledge and continue to move forward toward creating a better comprehensive plan. As we finish up the final touches on “The Essentials for Investing,” we wanted to share with our readers four tips investors should be able to answer in order to create a better investment plan.

 

  1. Investors should understand the current investment plan and how it works.

 

Often when we meet with investors, they own several different investment accounts. The primary goals of those accounts are usually either protection of principal or long-term growth. Two more in-depth answers an investor should have is what is the investment methodology and the specific purpose for each account. The methodology should describe the disciplined process used to reach the investment goals and objectives. Understanding the specific purpose and timeframe of when the account will be used will be helpful in picking suitable investment options.

 

  1. Control the total cost and yield of investment accounts.

 

All financial products come with a cost and have the potential for yield. Both safe and risky investments have costs. Nothing is for free. In talking with thousands of investors over the years, we have found that many investors have not done a complete cost and yield analysis on their total investment picture. For example, look at the difference just 1 percent can make over time.  An investor who earned 5 percent annually would need $269,000 to fund $1,000 per month for 30 years with a 3 percent annual increase. Yet, if the annual net return is increased just 1 percent, only $237,000 is needed to fund the same goal. That 1 percent means a difference of $32,000 over the long term.

 

  1. Take action to reduce the amount of income taxes paid on withdrawals from retirement accounts.

 

In the good old days the average investor was taught to save in tax deferred retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s. As the saying goes, as you get older you spend less and won’t need as much income as you do in your working years. In reality, that often is not the case for many of the seniors and retirees we meet with. That means the majority of a retiree’s income is going to come from traditional tax deferred retirement accounts that have never been taxed. Income taxes can significantly reduce the income the retiree receives. A solution is to work on building up tax-free accounts to compliment tax-deferred investments. Consider a plan that can help fund the earlier years of retirement when income needs could be higher while you are enjoying the fruits of your labor.

 

  1. If the stock market started to decline, know what specific steps should be taken to avoid losses.

 

We call this running the fire safety drill. I, Nolan, having two young boys, have a variety of fire safety tools built into my home. From circuit breakers to smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, I have the tools in place to respond if a fire ever breaks out in our home. I also talk every year with my family about not only how those fire safety tools work, but what to do when they go off. That way, hopefully they will avoid a panic and be able to get out safely. In the investment world, the same logic applies. An investor should have a variety of tools in place to not only help prevent, but quickly put out a financial fire if one occurs. If the fire looks like it is going to get out of control, he or she should know the exit plan and who to call for help. This plan needs to be in place before the financial fire happens.

 

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysnetwork.com.  Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  NEXT Financial Group, Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537. 419-842-0550 

Rathbun: To Infinity and Beyond 

By
Toledo Free Press
-
0

Last week I couldn’t help but think of the old movie, “Toy Story.” While I have never actually seen the movie, I do remember the advertisements with a character named Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, and his catch phrase “to infinity and beyond.” The Federal Reserve chairman essentially used that mentality last week when he announced additional money printing until the economy recovers “and beyond.” 

At the very least, this means that the balance sheet of the Fed will go from $2.3 trillion to more than $4 trillion in the next year or so. Bank of America came out with calculations that speculated that the Fed’s balance sheet would go as high as $5 trillion by the end of 2014. 

If this is the case, and I believe that the bank is probably correct, then by the end of 2014, the Fed will own about 33 percent of the entire mortgage market and account for just below 30 percent of all goods and services used to calculate the GDP. Additionally, by that time, it will own 65 percent of the entire bond market with maturities older than five  years. 

 The Fed has implied that it will keep interest rates at or near zero until 2015. It has also implied that inflation is not a problem and that these policies and actions will have no negative effect on the dollar. This from the same people that said TARP would save us, then QE1 would save us, then QE2 would save us, then operation twist, then operation twist 2 and now QE3 with an additional continuation of operation twist. 

What’s next? The Fed will soon run out of debt to purchase and then it will have to come up with another strategy. What could that possibly be? Well, I said a while back on one of the radio shows that I do, the Fed would reach a point where it starts to purchase equities. Unfortunately, by this time, hyperinflation is likely. (I will expand more on this scenario in a future column.) 

 The question for immediate consumption then becomes what happens over the next few years as the Fed carries out its plan to print and print and print?  The Bank of America’s report speculates that gold will reach $3,350 an ounce and oil will reach $190 a barrel. I would agree with this assessment but with the caveat that this is probably on the low side. 

 Now our favorite Keynesian economist Paul Krugman likes what Bernacke has started, but was disappointed that the response wasn’t “stronger.” We have reached a point of absurdity in economics and with the general populace more concerned with “American Idol” judges than with the state of the country, I don’t see the understanding level increasing anytime soon. 

 I often use the path that Zimbabwe has gone down with its currency to illustrate the path that we are on. In 1980, not that long ago for some of us, the Zimbabwe dollar was on parity with the American dollar. Today you can purchase a $100 trillion dollar bill from Zimbabwe for less than $1 on E-Bay. The currency lost so much value that Zimbabwe quit using its currency several years ago and replaced it with American dollars for most day-to-day commerce. 

 We could easily go down the same path. It will be very different, of course, since we are a world currency and dollars are used throughout the world for oil and other commodities, but we could easily experience similar problems.   

The Fed’s actions are counterintuitive to what is needed. Higher deficits and larger national debt will sink us, not save us. We have reached a critical pivot point in our economic history and future generations will look back at our actions and say, “How could they be so obtuse to reality? Why did they think that borrowing more money would reduce the debt? Why did the Fed think that it could stop inflation cold whenever it wanted? Why did it think borrowing money would increase employment?” 

Why indeed? 

It won’t be long before the number of dollars needed to buy a loaf of bread will reach “infinity and beyond.” 

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD.  

Area residents reflect on competing in Transplant Games, life as organ recipients 

By
Toledo Free Press
-
0
Tonya Gomez's medals from the Transplant Games.

Those who are fortunate enough to be in good health often take life for granted. For Northwest Ohioans Allison Herr and Tonya Gomez, that is not the case. 

Herr, a 9-year-old living in Metamora, was born with biliary atresia and put on the transplant list for a liver by the age of 1. After waiting almost two years — and nearly losing the youngest of their three children — the Herr family got a call in 2006 notifying them a match had been found. 

Allison Herr, 9, of Metamora, a liver recipient, won six medals at the Transplant Games of America in July. PHOTO COURTESY HERR FAMILY 

“We got a call after being on the waiting list for one year and nine months,” Allison’s mother, Jenny Herr, told Toledo Free Press. “She got the new liver, had some minor ups and downs the first year, but today she’s completely healthy and active. She’s your typical 9-year old.” 

Although thrilled her daughter is now thriving, Jenny said it’s difficult to know the organ donor who gave Allison a liver — and the gift of life — had to die. 

“It’s hard to put into words. We’re celebrating life, but there’s suffering on the other end of it,” Jenny said. “What are the right words? When you talk to a donor, the donor families are so grateful to see us. [But] it’s hard to accept that, when you know deep down, our donor family, the first thing they think would have to be, ‘What would my child be doing now?’ Those feelings stay with you.” 

In July, Allison competed in the inaugural Transplant Games of America in Grand Rapids, Mich., winning three gold medals (swimming, long jump and softball throw) and three silver medals (50-meter dash and two relay races). The games feature organ recipients as well as living donors competing in Olympic-style events. 

 “It is hard to describe the emotional feeling you get from seeing your daughter, who basically cheated death, competing,” Jenny said. “We’ve met donor families and have gone through the grieving process and it comes full circle. Because of these people, we have people who are able to live life because they chose to donate [their organs].” 

Tonya Gomez of Archbold, a double lung recipient, won three medals at the Transplant Games of America in July. PHOTO COURTESY GOMEZ FAMILY 

Tonya Gomez, a 40-year-old dietician who lives in Archbold with her husband, Mario, and their son, Eric, also competed in the Transplant Games, winning silver medals in badminton and basketball and a bronze medal in table tennis. 

Born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects mainly the lungs but also the pancreas, liver and intestine, Gomez was put on the waiting list for lungs when she was 30. 

“It got to a point where, over the years, I would get infections and it would scar your lungs and you start losing function little by little,” Gomez said. “For a long time I would sleep with oxygen just to give myself more energy. It got to the point where I had to be with oxygen 24/7 before my transplant.” 

Her health suffered further after the birth of her son. 

“I had my son in 2001 and I think after that, my health wasn’t superb,” said Gomez, who named her son after her brother who died of cystic fibrosis in 1981 at age 6. 

“[The doctors] told me I would probably have to wait two years because I was so petite that I would need a child’s lungs [for the transplant],” Gomez said. “My lung capacity was at 19 percent when I had my transplant.” 

After a year and a half of waiting, Gomez received two lungs.  

“The lungs fit perfectly and [the doctors said] it was easy getting my old lungs out,” Gomez said. “About a week and a half after my transplant, I had a little bit of a reaction, but I haven’t had any problems since then.”  

Like Jenny Herr, Gomez also struggles with knowing her life-saving lungs came from someone else’s death. 

“The hardest part was knowing that I got my lungs from a 10-year-old boy,” Gomez said. “It hit my husband and I hard. We cried for a long time. It’s tough because my son, Eric, is 10 and that’s how old Adam was when he died. It was very tough thinking about that.” 

Gomez met her donor’s family in 2005. 

“That was a really emotional time,” Gomez said. “Adam was their only son. They have two daughters. They were awesome. I am grateful to them. Saying thank you isn’t enough. I remember the first time we met and the first time we had to say goodbye. It’s really hard. A part of Adam is inside me and when I am leaving [his mother], it’s always tough. I think they see the good that can come out of something that is so devastating, that you can do something like [donate an organ] and leave a legacy like that.” 

For more information, visit www.lifeconnectionofohio.org or www.transplantgamesofamerica.org. 

1...243244245...297Page 244 of 297