Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: change


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Emergency – Truck Safety, we need your help right now!

The Senate and the House versions of the Transportation Bill will be going to conference, probably this week. The Senate version allows for 33 foot double trailers to drive across the country. This policy change didn’t come from any safety studies, didn’t have any hearings, and isn’t even anything that most truck companies are requesting. It’s something that a few companies, notably FedEx and UPS, have managed to get attached to an important bill.

The Teamsters representing many drivers, law enforcement, safety advocates, environmental groups, biking organizations and pedestrian groups oppose longer double trailers. Thirty-three foot double trailers will require 22 feet longer to stop, and will require a 6 foot wider radius to make it around a corner. The back trailer won’t track the same as the front trailer when turning.

Here’s part of the email I got tonight from The Truck Safety Coalition:

“URGE SENATORS TO VOTE YES ON WICKER MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES TO REQUIRE SAFETY STUDY OF DOUBLE 33s IN TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATION BILL

November 9, 2015

The House and Senate multi-year transportation reauthorization bills contain several provisions that deteriorate truck safety and many missed chances to improve safety. The process of reconciling these two bills falls to the appointees on the Conference Committee who will be meeting soon.

Prior to Conference, Senators and Representatives may offer instructions to conferees, which must be approved by a majority of the respective chamber. Senator Wicker will be offering a Motion to Instruct [Senate] Conferees to include language that would require the Department of Transportation to study the safety impacts of Double 33s before requiring most states to allow these longer trucks on their roads. It is critical that this vote passes.”

SO…Senator Wicker is going to offer a motion that the DOT study the safety of double 33 foot trailers. It has to be voted on by the Senate. Below is a list of Senators that need to be contacted and asked to vote YES on the Wicker Motion on the multi-year transportation reauthorization bill. If you see one or both of YOUR senators, could you please call them or email them tomorrow (Tuesday) and ask them to vote YES on the Wicker motion?

I’d appreciate it very much.

Here’s more of the email:

“Please take the time to call and email Senators’ offices below, and urge them to vote YES on Senator Wicker’s Motion to Instruct Senate Conferees, which would require the Department of Transportation to study the safety impacts of Double 33s before federally mandating these longer, more dangerous trucks.

*PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD OR COPY & PASTE THE CONTENTS OF THIS EMAIL, please use your own words to make the points.

TALKING POINTS:

· DOT recommended no change to truck size and weight due to insufficient data.

· Double 33s will be 10 feet longer than double 28s; they will be 91 feet in length.

· Longer trucks make merging and passing more difficult.

· Double 33s have:

o A six foot wider turning radius

o 33% increase in low-speed off-tracking

o A 22 foot longer stopping distance (nearly the length of two cars).”

Here’s the list of Senators that need to be contacted:

Remember: Urge Senators to Vote YES on Wicker Motion to Instruct Senate Conferees to Require Safety Study of Double 33s in Multi-Year Highway Bill THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO DEFEAT DOUBLE 33s!

CONTACT FOR SENATE OFFICES:

Mark Kirk (IL)

· 202-224-2854

· Jeannette_Windon@Kirk.Senate.gov

Ron Johnson (WI)

· 202-224-5323

· Lydia_Westlake@ronjohnson.senate.gov

Pat Toomey (PA)

· 202-224-4254

· Daniel_Brandt@toomey.senate.gov

Kelly Ayotte (NH)

· 202-224-3324

· Adam_Hechavarria@ayotte.senate.gov

Lisa Murkowski (AK)

· 202-224-6665

· Kate_Williams@murkowski.senate.gov

Rob Portman (OH)

· 202-224-3353

· Pam_Thiessen@portman.senate.gov

Thad Cochran (MS)

· 202-224-5054

· Adam_Telle@cochran.senate.gov

Richard Burr (NC)

· 202-224-3154

· Natasha_Hickman@burr.senate.gov

David Perdue (GA)

· 202-224-3521

· Pj_Waldrop@perdue.senate.gov

Bill Cassidy (LA)

· 202-224-5824

· Chris_Gillott@cassidy.senate.gov

Dan Coats (IN)

· 202-224-5623

· Viraj_Mirani@coats.senate.gov

Joni Ernst (IA)

· 202-224-3254

· Ryan_Berger@ernst.senate.gov

Deb Fischer (NE)

· 202-224-6551

· Stephen_Higgins@fischer.senate.gov

Jeff Flake (AZ)

· 202-224-4521

· Chandler_Morse@flake.senate.gov

Johnny Isakson (GA)

· 202-224-3643

· Jay_Sulzmann@isakson.senate.gov

John McCain (AZ)

· 202-224-2235

· Joe_Donoghue@mccain.senate.gov

Tom Tillis (NC)

· 202-224-6342

· Ray_Starling@tillis.senate.gov

Michael Bennet (CO)

· 202-224-5852

· Riki_Parikh@bennet.senate.gov

Maria Cantwell (WA)

· 202-224-3441

· Pete_Modaff@cantwell.senate.gov

Amy Klobuchar (MN)

· 202-224-3244

· Travis_Talvitie@klobuchar.senate.gov

Gary Peters (MI)

· 202-224-6221

· David_Weinberg@peters.senate.gov

Bernie Sanders (VT)

· 202-224-5141

· Michaeleen_Crowell@sanders.senate.gov

Debbie Stabenow (MI)

· 202-224-4822

· Matt_Vankuiken@stabenow.senate.gov

Martin Heinrich (NM)

· 202-224-5521

· Jude_Mccartin@heinrich.senate.gov

Angus King (ME)

· 202-224-5344

· Chad_Metzler@king.senate.gov

Joe Donnelly (IN)

· 202-224-4814

· Andrew_Lattanner@donnelly.senate.gov

Heidi Heitkamp (ND)

· 202-224-2043

· Tracee_Sutton@heitkamp.senate.gov

Tim Kaine (VA)

· 202-224-4024

· Mary_Naylor@kaine.senate.gov

Mark Warner (VA)

· 202-224-2023

· David_Hallock@warner.senate.gov

This is what a double 33 looks like.

A double 33 parked in DC.

A double 33 parked in DC.

Think about it on the road with your family. Then call you Senator. If your Senator is NOT on the above list, it’s OK for you to call them anyway. They need to know this is important, and that the majority of the American public doesn’t want longer, heavier trucks on our roads.

Help me keep these trailers off our roads.

I appreciate all your efforts. I can’t begin to tell you how much.


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Retirement Reflections

Reflections

Reflections

It’s Monday morning, sometime before 7:00 a.m., and I’m up and out the door.  Only as I’m backing down the driveway do I remember all the past Monday mornings when I’ve headed out about this same time on my way to work.

Early morning.

Early morning.

But this morning I’m not going to work.

I’m headed out to a hillside I’ve noticed over the years.  Yesterday on our way to somewhere else I noticed the grass was a beautiful golden brown and I knew I had to get back with the camera soon before the farmer turned it all into hay.

As I park on the side of the road, pausing to let commuters zoom by, I begin to smile.  I smile because it’s a beautiful day, the sun just topping the trees, small puffy clouds in a blue sky, a cool breeze gently tossing the grass.

Field of grass.

Field of grass.

And I smile because I’m not on my way to work.

Driving leisurely back toward home after capturing the field I stop at a local park to enjoy the glassy pond.

Swimming hole.

Swimming hole.

Sigh.

I’ve got to say that even weeding is looking pretty good to me right now.

Summer arrives

Summer arrives

 


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Katie’s Day 1

Katie here.

Well.

By now you all know that my mama retired.  Whatever that means.  It doesn’t seem to be about me so I’m not all that interested.  But today I’m starting to figure out that life as I knew it is over!

This is my house and I make the rules. Don't I?

This is my house and I make the rules. Don’t I?

First of all, mama was home all weekend, which is a little strange cause she usually goes to work at least some of the time.  That’s my favorite time to nap and get ready for an adventure.  When she gets home from work on the weekends we almost always go somewhere fun and she lets me sniff and sniff and sniff while she walks around sighing and daydreaming and stuff.

But this weekend was all rainy and we didn’t do anything exciting.  Mostly she napped on the sofa.  I bugged her a lot to try to get her to play but she was in some sort of coma, you know?

Anyway…today is Monday and she’s supposed to get up early, so I did my usual…and got her out of bed at 4:40 a.m.  She did not seem pleased.  But you know what she did?  She just went out to the sofa and went back to sleep!  Huh!  So I went to sleep for awhile too.  Then I woke her up again and she told me to go lay down.  So I did though I was confused.  This went on for some time till finally she got up and took me out and then we went back to sleep again!

And then she didn’t go to work!!  She just hung around all morning!  What’s with that?  I am missing my princess nap! How am I supposed to keep up my princess looks without my late morning nap?

And then she took me outside and she started weeding!

Yep that's supposed to be a garden back there.

Yep that’s supposed to be a garden back there.

Well!  I LOVE weeding cause I get to be outside a long time with my mama and I get to bark at all the cars that go by, and the jogger, and my neighbor, and a truck, and a duck, and a rabbit, and my neighbor again.

After awhile my mama said I needed to go inside.  But then she bagged up the garbage…so I just had to bark some more!  Geeze mama, if you want me to be quiet you’ve got to sit down woman!

So anyway, I think my mama’s new full time job is weeding.  She says we’re going to go outside every single morning and work on the gardens.  Or she might just mow over the top of them.  We’ll see.

I’m undecided if this retirement thingy is good for me.  So far I haven’t seen any adventures come out of it; mostly I’ve just gotten yelled at for barking too much.  I kinda liked it when she went to work, but I guess I’ll adjust.  Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll wait till 5:15 to get her out of bed.

You think she’ll like that better?

Kisses mama!

Love, your gal Katie.


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Freedom in five

I’ve been counting for a long time, even before there was a definite date.  I’ve been counting down to a date I hoped would come some day, a date I’ve dreamed about for a long time.  In fact I’ve dreamed about this date for so long I can no longer tell when I’m dreaming or living the truth.

But here’s the truth:  A week from tomorrow will be my last day at work.  At any work.  The truth is that I’ve put my time in, met lots of great people, learned a ton of stuff and now it’s time to do something else.

Because life is short.

Hopefully retirement is long; I’d like this next week to move quickly, as time seems to be doing more and more lately.  And then I want the warm summer days to stretch out slowly, the way they used to when I was a kid playing kick the can into the evening.  I want to enjoy fireflies and stars, bike rides and camping trips, ice cream, and fresh strawberries.  I might even enjoy weeding if I don’t have to get it all done during precious weekends.

We’ll see.

So a new adventure is out there just waiting for me.  So close.  Five work days. Katie says my first priority should be entertaining her.  I told her that she’s going to miss her afternoon naps and she should be careful what she asks for.  On the other hand, I guess we could both indulge in an afternoon nap from time to time.  I’m nothing if not flexible.

People ask me what I’ll do with all the time.  I have a list in my head, and I remember my dad talking about how busy he was after he retired.  He had business cards printed with his name and phone # on one side and the word ‘Retired’ on the other.  I think I’m going to grow up to be just like him.

Can’t stop smiling.  Change is not always hard.

 

 

 


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Watch those treats mama!

Hey mama! I'm stuck behind this big log!

Hey mama! I’m stuck behind this big log!

Katie here.  Those of you that live around here are probably noticing that spring has arrived!  Oh I know sometimes we still get a snow flake or two, but all in all stuff is really beginning to green up and some people even have gardens that are blooming already!

My mama says she doesn’t know how this happened.  She didn’t notice the willow trees turning yellow before they popped out in green buds, and she didn’t see her goldfinches when they were green with gold tufts of new feathers.  She says suddenly the grass was green, the willows were green, and the birds were gold!  She doesn’t understand how she missed all this.

I do.

She works too much.  It’s hard to notice stuff like trees and birds when you go to work in the dark and come home at dusk.  I’d say it’s even hard to notice things like a princess.  Who is sitting right by her feet.  Holding a pink pig in case she wants to play.

Or anything.

So I look forward to the weekends, because then, sometimes, if I’m lucky, my mama will take me to the park.  Like she did today.  Of course she wanted to take some silly pictures.  Honestly mama…don’t you have enough photos of beautiful me sitting beside grasses at the park?

Got anything good over there mama?

Got anything good over there mama?

Today she liked the way the sky looked and she was trying to get me and the grasses and the sky.  But she couldn’t get me to look at her.

I have a new rule about having my picture taken, but don’t tell her.

When she gets out that stupid camera and makes me sit I do.  But I look the other way.  And when she calls my name I look at her for a split second and then I look the other other way.  Even when there’s really nothing over there that interests me.  I do this a lot until she gets really frustrated and just takes the picture anyway.  She has to be really fast to get one of me looking at her.  It’s my little way of letting her know who’s boss.

Not going to look at you Mama.

Not going to look at you Mama.

We all know who’s boss.  Right?

So anyway, today she thought she’d trick me and she pulled a plastic bag of treats out of her pocket and she’s squatted down trying to take a picture of me with the sky and she was waving the bag of treats around and I’m focused on the ground just next to her and I won’t look at her and she can’t figure out why until I stand up and she stops looking through the camera and says “STAY!” in her school voice, so I do, and she gets the shot and then she stands up and says “come!” and I do and then I start scarfing up all the treats that had been flung out of the plastic bag all around her.

Ha ha ha ha mama!  See?  I am such a good girl!  Even though there were treats flying everywhere I stayed until you said come!  But I wasn’t really interested in looking at you when there were all these great treats lying all over!

My cover girl shot.

My cover girl shot.

Mama.  Sometimes she’s not very perceptive.  But I love her anyway.

Especially on the weekends.

Can't we just go for a walk mama?

Can’t we just go for a walk mama?

 


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Abundance

Abundance of ice.

Abundance of ice.

Abundance:  “The great or plentiful amount” as defined in any number of dictionaries.  Katybeth over at Odd Loves Company chose tarot cards for some of us at the beginning of the year, then asked us to think about our word, how we could incorporate it into our lives, figure out what it meant to each of us.

My word was abundance.

I sometimes think about abundance when I’m at the grocery store, walking past the wall of cereal choices, or picking through mounds of produce.  But most of the time I don’t give it much thought.  And surely I am not alone in taking for granted the abundance in my life.  Especially the abundance of stuff.

And that’s what it’s all about, right?  The abundance of stuff?  That’s why we all go to work – to pay for all the stuff; the house, the nice car, the trendy shoes, the best cuts of meat, that great bottle of wine.  Because we’re used to having abundance.   And we think we’ll be happy once we get that next great thing to add to the abundance we already have.  Won’t we?

Abundance of deer food.

Abundance of deer food.

But I’ve been thinking small lately.  There’s a growing trend of living in tiny houses, and even HGTV has jumped on the band wagon and now has a version of the show House Hunters that follows people looking for a tiny house.  I’ve read a few blogs and articles that talk about the lifestyle.  I think the most difficult thing is the downsizing, the divesting of a lifetime of accumulated abundance.  And if you were to succeed at that…would you no longer have abundance?

Or would you, perhaps, recognize an abundance of a different kind?

Looking through my rose colored glasses I think you’d have an abundance of freedom and an abundance of choices for how to spend your day.   And a person living tiny would still have all the abundances that really matter.  Family love, good friends, a sense of serenity and peace, quiet times and times to share.

So on this winter weekend as I consider the abundances in my life what do you think?  How tiny could you go?  Have you looked?  Not all tiny houses are log cabins on wheels, I’ve seen some stunning glass and wood houses perched on hills overlooking the woods or grasslands, other tiny places that melt into the landscape and let a person enjoy the abundance that nature has to offer.

It’s a thought.

It's a process.

Tiny is a process.

 

 

 


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The truth behind the trip

We enjoyed sharing our trip around Lake Michigan with you through photos here on this blog and on Facebook.  It was a lot of fun exploring new places, revisiting places we used to work and live, spending a tiny bit of time with friends from long ago.  Mostly it was good to get away and explore.

But that’s not the reason we went.

As most of you know I volunteer for the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), a nonprofit group that works on safety issues surrounding commercial trucks.  We work through Congress and the agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOT).  Most of us have family members that were killed or injured in crashes with commercial trucks and those experiences inspire us to work hard to make our roads safer.

Last week members of my family and I, along with the Executive Director of TSC and a member of another family who has also been forever changed by a truck crash, spent the day at a huge trucking company learning about their safety procedures, their plans for future safety enhancements and their feelings about the issues we’ve been working on.  They invited us to come visit their facilities and talk, to see which issues we agree on and what we might be able to  work on together for the good of everyone –  to make our roads safer.

Imagine that.

A giant in the industry invited us, a group of hurting, stubborn, sometimes angry individuals who have no ties to trucking except through tragedy, to sit at their table and talk with them.  They listened to us,  expressed concern and empathy, and then told us how they are approaching safety and answered our questions as we tried to familiarize ourselves with their side of the issues.

Unprecedented.

We won’t be able to agree on everything.  These are complicated issues; electronic monitoring, rules about hours of service, minimum liability insurance increases, maximum size and weight challenges, even how drivers are paid.  But the more we talk the better the odds are for positive change.

TSC has worked with Congress and made some advances.  We’ve worked with the DOT and made some advances.  And now we’re working with a part of the trucking industry.  Maybe this is another front, an untapped resource.  We’ve not anti-trucking as some would like to portray us.   We remind people that truck drivers die too.  We’re working for safer trucking, for the good of everyone.

As a group we need to explore every avenue to safety.  I am glad we got the invitation, and I’m glad I went.  I learned a lot.  I saw compassion and humanity on the ‘other side’ and realized once again that we’re all in this together.  I know that no one individual, no one group, no one truck company can make it all right.

But together we can make it better.

We do it one day, one rule, one law, one truck company at a time.  We do it in honor of those we loved and lost, in honor of the hundreds of thousands of injured.  In honor of all of them we work for change.  This time change began in a meeting room of a large truck company and this change is good.

And that’s why we went.  Miss you Dad.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 


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WordPress photo challenge

For quite awhile I’ve been getting photo challenge prompts from WordPress on Friday afternoons.  They have been so much fun; I looked forward to them eagerly as Friday mornings went by and I’d check while I was still at work, eager to find out what the current week’s challenge would be.  Then I’d think about it on the long commute and generally by the time I made our driveway I’d have an idea.

I haven’t received a photo prompt in two weeks, and it looks like maybe there haven’t been any.  I’ve always wondered who comes up with the challenges and where they got their ideas and how long they could keep it up.  But, still, it makes me very sad to think there will be no more ideas coming.  Especially since I couldn’t find what I was looking for on the last challenge “threshold.”

I never did post the photo I thought I might use for that challenge.  It’s a stretch, but here you go.

Imported Photos 00510I think of the sky between the old building and the new building as the threshold between time.

This was on the University of Michigan campus, I was wandering around and happened to glance over my shoulder and saw the two eras standing in the bright sunshine.

So there you have it…..’threshold.’   Sort of.

I’m going to miss the photo prompts.  I hope they come back.  In the meantime if anyone has a challenge for me…well…I’m up for it.

Imported Photos 00506


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Come visit the Detroit Institute of Arts!

Have you ever visited or lived in Detroit?  I know most of you have heard things about the city.  Probably not good things.  Heck our football team can’t even get us good press.  So let me show you something beautiful that resides in the city; a gem of a place that we are lucky to have.

Enjoying the art.

Enjoying the art.

The DIA as we like to call it, is at risk because the city of Detroit is in bankruptcy and everyone is looking for assets to sell in order to pay off debt.  Just this past election counties outside the city voted to increase property taxes so that funds could be sent to support the DIA, but even that is not enough to guaranty it is safe.

Symmetry

Symmetry

Let me show you a few of the treasures we found inside this past Sunday.  When we first arrived we joined a short tour where the docent explained a few of her favorite pieces.  It’s amazing what you can learn in a few moments listening to someone that understands the art.

Imported Photos 00054 (Small)

Even if you think you don’t like this sort of art it’s worth going to your local art museum and taking a tour.  You might be surprised by what you turn out to like once you know a bit about it.

One of the galleries had several paintings by Picasso.  I was struck by the progression of his work over time.

Melancholy Woman. 1902

Melancholy Woman. 1902

Woman in Arm Chair. 1923

Woman in Arm Chair. 1923

And this one I like a lot, sort of reminded me of my library days.

Girl Reading 1938

Girl Reading 1938

Seated Woman. 1960

Seated Woman. 1960

There were 4 or 5 of his pieces hanging together.  You could see them becoming more and more abstract.  I never knew I liked Picasso until I saw his work all lined up.

Sunday my favorite painting in the museum was this one:

Wedding Dance. 1566

The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel approximately 1566

There was something about the joy, the distribution of color, the movement.  Can you find the bride?  We couldn’t.  Turns out the bride is the only woman there without a headdress.  And she’s wearing black, which was the custom back then.  Do you see her now?  She’s in the middle left, about 1/3 way up.  See?  You learn something new all the time!

The DIA has lots of classical art but lots of modern art too.  Some of it was interesting, some of it was strange.  Some made you think…

Play ball!

Play ball!

…some made you think “why is this art?”

Ummmm...

Ummmm…

But the other big thing we have at the DIA are huge famous frescoes depicting the auto industry done by Diego Rivera.

Over the top amazing.

Over the top amazing.

The art is beautiful; the two main panels show laborers working in the auto industry.  Other panels show advancement in sciences and medicine.

Working on the line.

Working on the line.

I enjoyed watching the people as they walked into the huge room and began to notice the detail, the stories that were being told, the history, the beauty of the place.

Look up there!

Look up there!

This museum is less than an hour from my house.  I’ve only been once before, and then only to see a special show.  I’ve never wandered around, never stretched myself to stand in front of something I didn’t understand and ponder, never checked the back of corner rooms or explored around the next corner before.

I’m glad we went.  Granted we went in part because there is a possibility that all or most of it will be gone, sold to raise funds for the strapped city.  We might have procrastinated for more years if not for the fiscal crisis.  Still, it opened my eyes to what is there.  I know we will go back.

Sculpture and landscape.

Sculpture and landscape.

Look around your community.  What has always been there that you take for granted?  What have you not visited lately?  Or at all?  Maybe you aren’t sure you like whatever is stored inside.  As a kid sometimes we’d say we didn’t like something.  My dad would always respond – “How do you know if you haven’t tried it?”  And that’s what I’m saying to you.  How do you know you don’t like classical art…or modern art…or sculpture…or the symphony?  How do you know if you haven’t tried it?

This new year make a decision to stretch outside your normal box.  Visit some treasure in your community.  See what’s there.  See what you like.

I bet you’ll be surprised.

See what's out there.

See what’s out there.


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Lifestyle changes

I have several friends that have turned vegan, or nearly so.  It’s a thought I’ve toyed with off and on over many years.  Mostly off.  Vegetarian seemed more doable…but I’ve never given that a real try either, if truth be told.

I still think about it, and this morning I just watched the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.   I intended to watch it yesterday, but was so exhausted I fell asleep right after doggy school and napped the afternoon away until we had to leave for a neighbor’s pig roast.

Pig

Pig

Yes pig roast.  As in not vegetarian, nor close to vegan.

Turns out I really didn’t like the meat and munched on all sorts of (not vegan) salads, vegetables and of course deserts.

Good stuff

Good stuff

Still…this morning the whole healthy living thing is lurking on my mind, hence me making time to watch the entire movie. Which turned out not to be difficult…it is entertaining and thought provoking.   I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life.  I struggle daily with trying to wean myself away from things that aren’t good for me.  I’ve been observing people when I’m out at lunch.  Thin people tend to be walking the neighborhood.  Heavier people seem to be hanging out with me the days I’m  in the fast food drive through.  Coincidence?  I think not.

I have my annual physical scheduled next week; perhaps this is why I’ve been contemplating lifestyle changes.  He’ll be telling me things I already know.  The reason I’m so exhausted all the time.  The headaches.  The body aches.  Things I could probably fix myself if I took better care of me.

So, as Katie and I head out on a great adventure this morning I’ll think some more.  Seems like a change is in the works.  Who out there has made lifestyle changes?  How hard was it for you?  Are you glad?  Did you stick with it?

Tell me your stories, good or bad.  I’m going to need some support.

Yes I am.

Neighborhood party

Neighborhood party