The ice storm was getting a lot of attention at the gym this morning as so many of the gym members are down here from Michigan and the Midwest. People were watching the Weather Chanel on most of the TVs in the gym and expressing their concern for the homes. I am sitting here in Gulf Shores wondering what is going on at my home in Ypsilanti. I know the power is out and my security cameras are not working. I assume when I return next week, I will have a lot of backyard cleanup which is not unusual.
Then as a board member for Packard Health, I received the following email this afternoon about our Packard West clinic in Ann Arbor. “We are closing West. There is a giant branch impaling the roof of West and we have a substantial leak. We are getting people out and working to move providers and patients to other sites. They also still don’t have Internet or phones.
We may not get hurricanes in Michigan, but we do have to put up with winter.
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Leah’s walking partner, Patti McCarty and her husband Ron, were staying with us for the last five days. Patti lost her mom last February and lost her dad in January. We figured they could use a little R&R, so we invited them to come down and enjoy themselves. Great and easy company. Start a jigsaw puzzle and they were occupied for the day. Leah, Ron, and Patti completed three puzzles in five days. I watched.
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I am hoping the announcement of newly elected Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman’s voluntary admission into a hospital to seek treatment for clinical depression will help shine a spotlight on depression. It is estimated that nearly 50% of all adults suffer from mild to moderate depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, the availability of treatment is severely lacking in this country. It has been made worse as a result of the pandemic. Here is a quote from his wife Gisele, following his admission.
“After what he’s been through in the past year, there’s probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John,” his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, said in an email to supporters. “It’s not easy for anyone to be open about mental health challenges. But I am so proud of him for asking for help and taking steps to get the care he needs.”
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I always root for Michigan State if they are not playing Michigan. On Tuesday, in their first home game since the shooting, my rooting for the players, the coaches, the fans, and the Spartan community, was not so much for a victory but for a sense of normalcy. The fact that they won their game against Indiana was icing on the cake.
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Last week, long time ESPN announcer Holly Rowe was named the winner of the coveted 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. Rowe has been a mainstay covering women sports. She has had many opportunities to move into the mainstream men’s sports but staying with women’s sports has been her top priority. Here is my Quote of the Day from Holly Rowe.
“I think it’s really special what we’re seeing with women’s basketball,” Rowe said. “And if you think of it, they were just behind. Women’s sports started later than men. I think this is a natural trajectory. But I think it’s also really important for me. At the start of my career, I remember doing a Division III college football game between Pacific Lutheran and Mount Union. But this particular coach was a guy named Frosty Westering with Pacific Lutheran, and he had this philosophy of ‘Making The Big Time Where You Are.’ So, instead of chasing your whole life to make the big time, whatever you’re doing, make that the big time. And I think that’s how I’ve approached my women’s sports coverage, but pretty much everything I’ve done.
“Whatever game I’m working, that’s my Super Bowl, that’s my biggest thing. I think it’s really cool because I started out covering games that nobody cared about, nobody wrote about, nobody was paying attention to, and I’ve plugged away at it for a really long time and now people are watching and paying attention and I do think the big time is where I’m at right now. Which is women’s sports, and we’re on this verge of this tipping point in women’s sports. So, I’m really, really proud of that. I think there’s a lot of people who start their career doing women’s sports, and then they get too big and go on and do men’s sports, and I’ve never done that. I’ve stuck with my passion. I’m covering the biggest men’s sports right now, but I’ve never given up my women’s and I’m really proud of that.”
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Quote of the Day: See above from Holly Rowe
Orchid of the Day: Senator John Fetterman, for having the wisdom to seek treatment for his clinical depression.
Onion of the Day: The damage by the ice storm in SE Michigan
Questions of the Day: Is your power back on yet?
Video of the Day: The Traveling Wilburys, one of the most talented rock groups ever assembled. George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan. Enjoy.
The Traveling Wilburys – End Of The Line (Official Video) – YouTube