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Who Do You Trust?

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johnny carson photo: Johnny Carson DVD Disc1Menu.pngSOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING Column published in the Albert Lea Tribune June 23.2014

Who do you trust?

“Who Do You Trust” used to be a popular show on television in the 1950s. It was originally emceed by Johnny Carson. Three couples were chosen for the show. A man and a woman were chosen because of their unusual backgrounds. Carson would tell the main contestant, who was the man, the category, and ask if he was going to answer the question or trust the woman to answer the question.

I was young, very young, when this show was on. I had to look up the rules. I found it interesting that Carson asked the man to trust the woman and not the woman to trust the man. Remember this is the ’50s before woman’s lib.

Trust is a word that is bantered about in relationships with one another. We have all heard it: We have to earn someone’s’ trust. Once trust is broken it is hard to forgive or more importantly forget. We think long and hard about the relationships we enter into, and the trust that we put into people that we had a relationship with.

However, every day we trust those we don’t know without thinking about it. For instance, we trust the bus driver on the city route will drive safely and get us to our destination. We trust the pilot of the plane knows how to fly and is alert enough to do it. We trust our friends and neighbors to give us a ride around town. We hop into the car without a thought about trust.

Take a moment to think about who you blindly trust that you do not know that impacts your life on a daily basis. Who do you trust without question that you do not know personally that performs a service for you?

I love to eat out at fast food restaurants, fine dining restaurants, unique restaurants that are not part of a local chain, and also chain restaurants. You have heard my rants before about dirty bathrooms in restaurants. My appetite wanes in an establishment where I am eating when I visit a dirty bathroom. I always wonder what the kitchen is like. I do not mean the towels-on-the-floor type of dirty, but actual dirt on walls and corners and toilets that show the bathroom has not been given a good cleaning. If I can’t trust the establishment  to clean the bathroom where I need to wash my hands, can I trust them to prepare my food?

Recently I have expanded that aversion to buffets in some restaurants. I was dining at a restaurant that offered a buffet. I ordered the buffet. As I picked up my plate at the buffet, I noticed all the grime and crumbs in the corners of the cart that housed the plates. I let that slide.

I looked at the buffet. There was food and a layer of dust on the glass that covered the buffet. I let that slide. I was hungry. I got my food and sat down to eat.

I went back to the buffet to get some soup and salad.  I picked up a bowl from the many bowls that were sitting in the corner by the food I was going to choose. Bowl after bowl had a rim of soup or some sort of dried food on it. I wondered if perhaps they were storing the dirty bowls next to the food, and I had picked it up by mistake. This time my appetite was going away.

I mentioned to my husband that we were not going to eat at this establishment again. As I thought about it, I thought perhaps I should pursue this a little more. The waitress brought our check and inquired about our meal. I explained to her my feelings about the cleanliness of the buffet. She wasn’t shocked. She agreed with me. She asked me to speak to the manager because the staff complaints fell on deaf ears.

I did speak to the manager and actually took the manager over to show what I felt needed to be cleaned up. The response was not what I hoped. I received defensiveness and excuses that things were cleaned all the time. Clearly the manager’s eyes were different from mine and the staff.

Who do you trust? We blindly trust that the rides we take from carnivals we don’t know are safe. We blindly trust the food we eat and are served from places where we chose to dine are safe. We blindly trust  the business that sets up our zip line when we chose a daring adventure will keep us from falling.

We trust without question, and when we see something we don’t trust, we do not always take action for fear of causing a problem for others or thinking we don’t need to deal with it because we don’t have to frequent that establishment again.

Think about what may happen if we see something broken in those establishments where we blindly put our trust for our safety and we stay silent. The next person may be the one to pay for our broken trust because we had been silent and left without trying to mend that trust.

“The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” — Stephen King

 

Do I Wail or Whine About Empty Nest Syndrome?

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Something About Nothing by Julie Seedorf published the week of June 16, 2014 in http://www.albertleatribune.com and the Courier Sentinel

Whining and wailing were the words that were the topic of a discussion recently on a Facebook page of writers. We were all listing our pet peeves about writing and the words that are over used in books.

For instance, I have a habit of writing the way I talk. I say “so” and “that” often and other words I use that do not contribute to the story and bog it down with extra words. Thank goodness for editors that — I mean, who — occasionally take me to task for adding those words.

This day the discussion centered around books where people used the word “wailed,” which means to make a mournful cry or a high-pitched noise. The other word in the discussion was whining, used in books to describe a character or what the character is saying. There are characters that whine through the entire book.

As I was taking part in this discussion I realized I have been whining quite a bit lately. I have been whining about wanting to move closer to my children who are the parents of my grandchildren. I have been whining about being closer to a coffeehouse so I do not have to drive 20 miles to have my latte and pull out my computer to write. There is something about coffeehouses that sparks the creativity in me.

I have thought that my whining was actually about living in a bigger city. After spending a busy weekend with my family, and in a bigger community, I realized that perhaps my whining was more about still suffering from empty-nest syndrome. That realization was a surprise to me since I haven’t had any children in that nest for at least 15 years.

I have settled into a routine: Watch my own television programs, hibernate in the winter and do the normal everyday things. What I have come to realize is that if I don’t have frequent contact with people younger than me, I get more set in my ways and I feel older. If I don’t physically engage in conversation with young minds, my world doesn’t expand as much. There is so much to be learned from the youth of today.

It seems that if there are no young people in my home, it is easier to not take part in the youth activities in my community. If I don’t have a connection with a young person, then even though I may go to those activities, I am still a bystander. Where there is no encouragement to take part it is easier to settle into a shuttered life.

Visiting the city I also recognize the opportunities there are for older people. You can get lost in a big city, too, but there are also senior community groups such as the one at the Chaska Community Center that are active daily, have weekly activities and trips long and short each week.

The seniors have their own part of the building and daily there is something happening for older adults to get out and socialize with others of their age and also with the younger people in and about the community center.

I like being part of a small close-knit community where neighbors help neighbors. That is the richness of living in a small town. If I walk out my door I can guarantee that no matter where I go in my community I will meet someone I know. I like the quietness of a small town and I can wallow in that quietness, perhaps too much.

So I have been whining, caught between the richness of my community, and a place where I have lived most of my life, and wanting to expand my world to try the big city and all it offers.

Family is a big part of that exploring the big city feeling for me. It is about empty-nest syndrome and missing watching my children’s plays and basketball games. I am missing the daily rush to get done with supper and get the kids where they need to be for their schedules. It is missing what I learned each day from my children. It is missing the cute stuff they say and the laughter of having a family in the house.

Those of us who have children have all went through it. I can’t imagine I am the only mom who is the age I am and still missing the daily grind with kids. Perhaps it is about remembering my youth and the family that I was surrounded by, aunts, uncles, cousins and missing that connection, too.

Do I wallow and whine and wail or do I accept where I am placed? Do I, or I should say we, the other half of the empty-nest syndrome person, spread our wings and move closer to our kids and grandkids so we can enjoy the hustle and bustle of their sports, their music, their young lives?

I have to think, like the dialogue in a book, that my whining and wailing is getting repetitive. Is it time to edit the dialogue of my life?

What You Don’t See During a Television Sports Broadcast.

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imageWe live in an ever expanding world because of technology. Occasionally it is good for all generations to reach out of our rural area and look beyond what is offered in small communities for jobs and to make connections with people whose experiences are much different than ours in the rural community. Doing this occasionally offers us insight, energizes us and gives us new understanding of what is available for the younger generation leaving the rural area.

Watching sports on television is a pastime for many people on a daily basis. It is easy to sit back in our recliners and cheer on our favorite teams. We see and hear the announcers, we watch and listen to the players without a second thought as to what it takes to produce a live game. Many people behind the scenes work hard day in and day out to see that our viewing pleasure is not disrupted by glitches. Timya Owen is one of those people.

Timya Owen, lives in St. Paul, Minnesota and works as a stage manager for broadcast sports productions. This is how Owen describes her job, “My job is to facilitate communications between the producer and the broadcast booth or studio. We make sure everything is in place for the broadcast, keep the talent informed and supply them copy to read as needed. We are often called upon to run camera, adjust lighting, troubleshoot audio issues, etc. We also wrangle players for interviews and guests who might be scheduled on the set. “
Owen has been working in this field for approximately 15 years. She was working at the local PBS station in St. Paul when Minnesota got the NHL Franchise (the Minnesota Wild) and there was a need for crew to cover coinciding broadcasts. Because Owen loved sports, someone suggested she apply when there was an opening. “It was a natural fit and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Owen is an independent contractor. There are several crewers in the area who have lists of names that call when an event requires a broadcast crew. I also get direct calls from ESPN, Big Ten Network, CBS, NBC, etc. when they need someone. Once you’re on the list, you just have to wait for the calls.”

Television viewers see a little of what goes on behind the scenes to get a game on the air. Owen expanded on that during her interview. “Viewers would be amazed at what goes into a broadcast. Some are fairly simple, but there are events that require multiple trucks and dozens of crew, several days to set up cameras and audio. In the trucks, you have producers, directors, audio guys, video tape replay guys … they are the unsung heroes. Those replays and roll-outs of highlights, all done on the fly while trying to capture a game that is still happening. I’m amazed by them. Out in the arena or stadium, there are camera guys, utilities, more audio people, sometimes makeup artists, talent, statisticians, and of course, the stage managers. Multiply it by two, because usually there’s a full crew for home and visiting teams. Add another crew if the event is also being broadcast nationally (ESPN or any national broadcaster). I haven’t even started on the in-house crew which puts the show and the crowd on the jumbotron for the folks in the stands.”
Owens hours vary from weekends to evenings. When asked about glitches that the viewer’s sometimes see or don’t see, she laughs, “Hah! Most glitches you will see or hear at home. But things only we know about….talent taking a tad too long in the restroom during a commercial break, monitors failing so that talent are describing a replay they can’t actually see, guests not showing up for interviews. I have one announcer who gets goosed by a player at every game. No names…. Lol.
Timya Owen grew up as an Air Force brat and lived all over the world, Florida, Morocco, California, Texas, Cape Cod and ended up in Minnesota. Besides her love of sports, Owen is also a writer and interested in Native American History.

She is currently working on a Cozy Mystery Series called The Fernbridge Mysteries. The mysteries take place in the Victorian Village of Ferndale in Northern California. “At this point, I’m leaning towards self-publishing, but I would love to have Cozy Cat Press accept my cozy mystery.”
When asked about her interest in Native American History she explained what sparked that interest, “I’ve been interested in native rights since the 80’s. I was active with the American Indian Movement for years through their AIM Patrol. We would patrol troubled neighborhoods in South Minneapolis in the evenings, provide security for community events, etc. I met my husband (who is Dakota from a small reservation near Red Wing) at a traditional pow wow when his dad invited us into their home for a meal. We half joke that his dad knew we were meant to be together.”
Owen offers a little advice to younger people thinking about getting into the technical part of the sports broadcast business.
“It’s really just common sense and intuition. You have to stay focused and listen to constant chatter on headsets while trying to keep your talent happy and informed. Being a people person helps, but you need to know when to back off. Every broadcast team is different. Some guys can joke around right up until air time and others need to be left alone to study game notes and player profiles. Don’t be affected by celebrity. That’s a tough one for me because I have many sports heroes.”
“Be willing to start at the bottom. Take whatever work you can get and work hard. You’ll be noticed and recommended for future jobs because the crew will know you can be counted on. Watch, listen, ask questions and be the first to admit if you don’t know how to do something. Our guys are great and they’re more than happy to share their knowledge.”
Think of Timya Owen the next time you turn on your television or computer and watch network sports. Imagine all that is going on in the background to bring you the best for your viewing pleasure. Sit back in your chair, root for your team and know that the production crew has got it covered.

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