Cruise Control

About three weeks ago, my wife and I returned from a six-day five-night cruise to the Caribbean, a first for both of us.
My in-laws, having gone on about half a dozen cruise trips in their lifetime, decided to treat me, my wife and daughter, and her brother and his children to this trip, so that we had a chance to experience it as an extended family.
Two weeks before the trip, my wife contracted strep throat.  Then me.  We both paid a visit to our family doctor, who immediately put us on antibiotics, which we requested because we didn't want to be too sick to go on the trip.
When he heard we were going on a cruise, here's what he had to say:
"Eat as much as you want, forget I even exist."
He's obviously done this before.
You go hungry on a cruise trip, it's definitely not their fault.
We said from Baltimore aboard Royal Caribbean's "Enchantment of the Seas" the afternoon of Friday, June 22nd.
After some initial nervousness during 'muster', which is the same safety spiel that flight attendants give you at the beginning of the flight, I scrapped my misgivings about what happened aboard the Titanic and quickly got into the routine I would follow for the next week.
Swimming pools.  Hot tubs.  Gambling casino.  Movie theater.  Live music.  Passenger-participating competitions, game shows, and other such activities.  An activity center for the young-uns.  Several bars.  Shopping.  Ben and Jerry's.  Starbucks.  A sit-down restaurant and buffet style dining area.  A video arcade.  
Of course, partaking on some of these activities is either a challenge or unrealistic if you have a small child.
Though Savannah did have fun in the activity center, we didn't feel right putting her in there more than once, because this was a family trip, after all.
I particularly enjoyed our destination, Bermuda.
The weather, along with people driving on the wrong (to us) side of the road, the absence of bigbox stores, the small cars (seriously, no one drives anything bigger than a subcompact unless you're a cop or politician), the abundance of motor scooters, were all particularly appealing, plus the turquoise ocean water so clear you could see the sand below the surface.
I was particularly disappointed at how the electronic age has diminished the glamour of having a passport.  Though we had to show it multiple times, we did not get a stamp in our passport.  But we still had the passcards we were issued when we first boarded the ship.  I mean, that's something, right?
If you ever have the opportunity to take a cruise in your lifetime, I strongly suggest you take it.  And here are some suggestions for you to follow:
If you have small children, you may want to take a short-duration cruise, just to see how they (and you) can handle it.
Pack Dramamine or other motion sickness medication.  You will need it.  Though through most of the trip, the waters were calm, and the rocking was gentle enough to put you to sleep, we did have one rough night at sea on our way back.
Even if you have an iron constitution, still pack it.  It costs a fortune on the ship.
And antacids.  They don't sell those in any of the shops.  If you like to eat like I do, you will need these.
If you wish to eat dinner in the dining room, dress is formal.  You don't necessarily need to break out tux and tails, but they prefer collared shirts, non-denim pants, and closed shoes.  You may want to take two 'dressier' outfits to wear at dinner, then change back into casual gear in your cabin.
Royal Caribbean offers a chance for you to get your picture taken with the ship's captain if you're formally dressed.  And the ship does offer tuxedo rentals on board.
The staff is made up mostly of Filipino peoples who speak fluent (though well-accented) English.  Very polite, and service is second to none.  So be nice.
All told, a cruise trip isn't really all that expensive.  The killer is the airfare if you're not close enough to a port within a reasonable driving distance.  From our Pittsburgh-area home to Baltimore, it was about five and a half hours worth of driving.  That's about how long it takes me to get to my native Detroit.
Other East Coast ports include New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Massachussetts, and of course, Florida.
I would suggest using travelocity.com.  You sometimes get the best deals by booking at the last minute or near it, provided you can arrange vacation time with your employer on fairly short notice.  I found a six-day cruise on Royal Caribbean boarding this Friday from Baltimore to Bermuda at $62 a day per person.
Add to that parking fees at the port, plus your gas for driving there.
And you've got a vacation you will tell many about for years to come.
Happy sailing.


NEXT WEEK:  Unhappy Valley...the Finale

Forgiveness

Yeah, I know.
I didn't have a column last week.  So sue me.
After saying I was only going to be gone for a week, it didn't turn out that way.
Last week's column was interrupted by more substantial priorities, like getting acclimated to a new office building and all the niceties (a term I use very loosely) that come with moving not one, not two, but three radio stations into it.
When you're trying to get your computer to work, finding where on the new control room board where the CBS feed comes in, and if it's working, plus other technical glitches.
Though we're getting the 'bugs' worked out, thanks to two of our four owners and assistants that have been working non-stop, we're well on our way.
Those of you who know me and what I'm about, will overlook the faux pas and cut me some slack for my absence.
And that's important.
Because in the big scheme of things, that's not bad.
Despite my soon to be 43 years on our cherished planet, it never ceases to amaze me how many people choose to hold on to anger and resentment...no matter how many years have passed.
And my question is why?
When you hold onto anger or resentment against another, you effectively allow that person to control you, albeit passively.
I'm on the planning committee for my 25th high school reunion.  For almost a year now, we've been meeting every month to track down our classmates and put them on the invitation list.
This has been made easier through social media like facebook, but some either have stayed on the shoulder of the information superhighway or shied away from social networking websites altogether.
And those we have been able to track down, a lot of them don't want to be found.
It's easy to understand why.
Some were bullies, or were bullied.  But why let that stand in the way of anything?
One girl comes to mind who was a social outcast in high school.  Though she continues to struggle with issues today, she found the courage to show up at our 20-year reunion with her husband and show that she, despite a stormy childhood, can overcome.
One boy, very popular throughout high school, has tended to stay away from the whole reunion scene, most likely due to an unsettled score with a fellow classmate.
Three words.
LET...IT...GO.
Another girl, whom I did not care for, from my days as far back as junior high.  She made contact with me 13 years ago and apologized for her role in our friction.  Completely shocked yet pleased, I too made my peace, and we've been friends ever since.
It was a wonderful feeling indeed.
Then after talking with each other and reminiscing, we learned that the source of our friction was caused by a dirty trick played on us by a school bully who has since passed away.
Then we laughed at how we'd been had.
And we laughed at how easily we made up, in comparison with others we knew who insist on holding a grudge.
I remember someone once saying that kids suffer so much because they won't tell anyone what's the matter.
So end the suffering as an adult.
Let it go.
Life's too short.


NEXT WEEK:  Boat Trip

Here Comes The Sun

Ah, the songs that have been written about that big ball of warmth in the sky.
The aforementioned Beatles tune that titles this week's column.  "The Warmth of the Sun", "Sunshine Superman", "Sunny Days", "We'll Sing in the Sunshine", and on and on and on.
As I get older, the more I'm learning that I can't ignore the healing power of sunblock or tanning lotion.
I was reminded of this last Saturday when I was home alone that afternoon.  The backyard hammock, which has been little more than a playground for my soon-to-be-three year old daughter, was beckoning me to seize the moment.
"C'mon Ken...you know you want me!"
Oh, yes...and I would do it again!
Having finished mowing the grass, and my wife and daughter were still out shopping, I had nothing pressing that needed attended to at the moment, and I had to assist at a promotional event for the radio station I work for in a few hours later that day.  Surely I could lay out for a little bit?
Just a little bit.
Sunscreen?  No need...they'll probably be home in the next five minutes and my efforts will have been in vain.
I couldn't have possibly been out there more than an hour tops.
All I can remember is thinking that perhaps I should be next to that selection on the restaurant menu that says "Market Price".
O...M...G.
Ow.
This was just a preview of what was yet to come for the week.
The next day, I felt a soreness in my throat.  Margie had relapsed from a bout of strep throat Memorial Day weekend.
But I brushed it off as just another sore throat.  The following morning, I felt it intensifying, I had problems swallowing, and learned to like soup, as it went down pretty painlessly.
Much to my wife's chagrin, I might add.  She hasn't been able to stomach the smell of broth since her pregnancy.
My wife urged me to go to the doctor Wednesday after my energy was all but sucked dry.  Remembering that George Washington died of a simple bout of strep throat, I gladly called my doctor.
Fortunately, our family doctor is my age, so I have an appreciation for his dry humor.
"Ugh, it hurts just to look in there," he said into my gaping yap.
Uh, thanks???
He wrote me a scrip for Amoxycillin that he told me to get filled immediately and to take one as soon as I had it in hand.  I snatched it from his hands with a ravenous greed that would likely raise the eyebrows of a heroin addict.  That's how badly I wanted this out of me.
I got all three doses for the day in by bedtime.
Thursday I started to feel better.
Friday, I felt it was out of me.
Saturday, it was like nothing happened.
But now I have a toothache and a couple cold sores on my lips.
However, I can still get out of bed, I have ibuprofen, Orajel, and Campo-phenique as my besties for now.


NEXT WEEK:  Uh, didn't you read the last columns?  I'm off next week!

The List

Craigslist.org.
It's the best thing since sliced bread if you're looking to buy or sell something.
However, I would advise against personal ads or help wanted ads on this particular internet vehicle.  Google these keywords with craigslist.  You'll see what I mean.
They say one man's junk (by that I mean unwanted possessions) is another man's treasure.  As I get older, more and more things in my home are finding their way out via Craigslist.
I hate just throwing things away arbitrarily.  It goes against everything I believe in.
When my paternal grandfather was still alive, he often worked as a neighborhood handyman.  Anytime something broke, he could fix it.
This was long before the whole 'green' thing became chic.
If someone junked a car, threw out an old automatic washer, or TV set, he was on it and stripping out any salvageable parts for future use, for himself or a neighbor in need.
It was a community service in a sense.  He saved a lot of people a lot of money by not having to call a repairman or buying something new.
We've become a throwaway society.  TV sets and other major appliances were only discarded when a vital component broke on it and parts were no longer available or the repair costs would almost render buying a replacement a better value.
Clothes were mended, not simply thrown away because of one little hole or threadbare spot.
This wasn't just because the value system was different, but simply because we were more careful with our money back then.
It was most often a single-paycheck household.  Dad went to work.  Mom did not work outside the home.  Her business was raising the family, making sure the bills got paid, and everything else that Dad didn't have time to worry about.
The money Dad earned went further when not a single penny was taken for granted, and 'waste not, want not' was the order of the day.
And the day was LONG, I might add.
My wife Margie often threw things away without giving it a second thought.  But then I would say 'let me see if I can sell it on Craigslist.'  Or even eBay.
She agreed.  She knows what kind of family I come from...so she had no problem with it.
Thus far, I've sold water-skiis, old kitchen cupboards, an Intex pool kit, two old bathroom mirrors, and gave away a bathroom countertop after I had no luck selling it for cash.
I don't make a fortune by doing this, nor a living for that matter.  But if what I can turn useless junk into cash, hey...why not?
I myself have bought an amplified DJ speaker system, workbench, a baby swing for my daughter, another one for when my in-laws watched her shortly after she was born, just to name a few.
Not everything I own has to be brand-spanking out-of-the-box new.  I can get 'like new' for much less, and have more money left for other things.
I personally would rather see something of no use to me get used by someone who would have a use for it.  It's always better than ending up in a landfill.
And not only that, it's better to save money by choice, rather than necessity.
Thanks, Grandpa.


NEXT WEEK:  Getting my burn on

The People's Voice Needs to Shut Up

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  "Old School Dad" and "Ken's Korner" will be on hiatus the week of June 24th.

DISCLAIMER:  The views and opinions expressed in this week's column are strictly that of the author.

I'm not going to single this guy out by name.  Or anyone else for that matter.  We all know the players in this ongoing game.
"I represent the working class," the man says.  "Not the country club class."
Look pal, I'm part of the working class.  You don't speak for me.
Not now, not ever.
"The man" is a one of the top elected officials in our county's government.
He campaigned on a platform of governmental transparency, accountability for taxpayer dollars, tax fairness, and support of social welfare programs, to name a few.
Don't get me wrong.  These elements by themselves aren't bad.  It's good to stir the pot every once in a while.  It keeps everyone on their toes.
What is bad, however, is when this same individual, a Democrat, uses this agenda to get himself elected to office, and then performs a series of deeds that have made even the most liberal of liberals say "what just happened?"
Racking up a laundry list of expenses that he said he would fight to control, yet vehemently protested when his two fellow board members successfully voted to make his (and their own) expenses more readily available to public scrutiny.
This came after he singled out a department head for overspending for hotel accommodations at the state capital for a recent conference.
I will also point out that this man also accused one of those board members of using his connections to cover up a drunk driving charge by granting a substantial raise to another department head, whose husband just happens to be a state trooper that was investigating said incident.
In Pennsylvania, with the exception of juvenile court, all criminal records are open to the public, whether they're summary or felonious in nature.
Those of you who know what I do for a living, know that I know how to find out these things.
I have to this date, found no evidence of a DUI arrest against the accused.  Nor any of a cover-up.
Now he's been sued in civil court by his fellow board member and the second department head for his very public accusations.
And he wants the taxpayers to pay for it.  The very same taxpayers to whom he promised accountability for their tax dollars.
But it's not his fault, so he says.
"I'm entitled," he went so far to say in a public meeting.
He says his remarks were part of his official job duties, while not keeping in mind that these remarks, when unfounded, are libelous and actionable.
"They want to sue me and take my house and everything I worked for away," he complains bitterly.
And they shouldn't?  Because you singled them out by name and sullied their otherwise-clean reputation and put their integrity in question?
Public officials have a hard enough time keeping constituents happy as it is.  The last thing they need is one of their own making unfounded statements that not only hurt them, but the board's reputation as a whole.
The man complains about everything and advocates nothing.
The accused has helped raise money for a World War II monument honoring local Merchant Mariners, and while voting in favor of only half the man's request amount of money to pay for a police dog, the accused has pledged that he would again help raise money to make it happen.
And a week later it did happen.
The man makes no effort to be friendly with his associates or fellow board.  The other two men on the board are a different matter.
The accused..."Hey Kenny...how's that little girl of yours?"
The chairman...."Good morning, Ken.  How are you?"
And I get a handshake from both.  I don't even get so much as a 'by-your-leave' by the man.  Neither does anyone else.
Social ineptitude doesn't cut it in public service.
Someone in the county's upper ranks once summed up his feelings on what recent public meetings have become.
"It's a circus now," he said.
I would have to disagree.  I say this because the accused volunteers as a clown for Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children.
Proof that even clowns have class to some degree.
Thus I digress.  No circus.
We're in freak show mode.
Whatever the case, it's not a laughing matter.


NEXT WEEK:  Ken's List

Cruise on Over

Next month, my wife and I will be taking our very first cruise trip.
Through the generosity of my in-laws, they recently announced that they enjoyed their own trip so much that they wanted to share it with their children and grandchildren.
Probably more for the grandkids, but that's beside the point.
We were all pleasantly surprised when they informed us that they would treat us all to a cruise trip to Bermuda. Outside of Canada, I have never left the good ole U.S. of A.
I have flown multiple times in my life, taken bus trips, and local riverboat cruises that stayed close to port, but a trip being surrounded by nothing but open sea I find rather intriguing.
The excitement over getting a passport for the first time in my life was an experience in and of itself.  Not just that, but watching my daughter get hers.
I have always found it strange that the older some people get, the less likely they are to leave their comfort zone.
I have Benjamin Button syndrome.  My mindset is working in reverse.
When I was younger, I was pretty stubborn and not likely to leave the waters (pardon the pun) that I was familiar with, but as I grew older, my mind started opening to trying new things, the opinion of others (no matter how much theirs differed from my own) and seeing potential experiences with new eyes.
Because what this life offers is a chance to experience the newness of life.
New perspectives.  New people.  New sights.
A world outside your own seems a lot bigger.
But for some, it's less friendlier.
Nonetheless, it should never be a deterrent to what's important.
We are not alone in this world.
We are without a doubt, as I've written before, the most powerful nation on Earth.  We set the tone for the rest of the world.
What we do impacts other countries, other societies, other cultures.
And we should never fight it or not make an effort to understand, if not accept, what is outside our borders.
We often fear what we don't fully understand.
But we should never allow fear to govern our lives.
We can look back at the events of September 11th as an example.
Many people of Middle Eastern descent, most of whom had become naturalized U.S. citizens, gave up their citizenship and returned to their homeland.
Because of one word...persecution.
This country was formed by people of many races, cultures, and ethnic groups that fled their homeland for that very same reason.
And we should be ashamed of ourselves for becoming the society that struggled to build the image that America was different than any other country on Earth.
The attitude we need to take as a society can best be described by a teen drama canceled not so long ago, with this motto:
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose."
Let's start winning again...with a new kind of weapon.
Not the kind you hold in your hands.
But in your heart and mind.
Can't lose.


NEXT WEEK:   Freak Show

Know Your Limits

Public service.
It's one of the most thankless careers in this country.
And that's the problem.
The fact that it is in fact a career.
Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate can hold their seats for life if they so desire.
And collect a very attractive pension if they have enough time in.
Unfortunately, in the political world, the more time you put in, the more corrupt you become.
One of many examples have recently been made in Harrisburg, as Pennsylvania's Office of the Attorney General has been cracking down on many capitol cash-grabbers using their taxpayer-paid resources to perform  duties for their own benefit, most namely, staying in office.
Most legislators enter office with the best intentions in mind...to help people.  But after awhile, and after being presented with bankroll offers from corrupt organizations, the fine line that separates black and white begins to blur into shades of gray.
It stops being about helping others and becomes more about getting re-elected.
As they say, the ends justify the means.
Virtue stopped being its own reward.  After all, virtue doesn't pay the bills now, does it?
Perhaps not in the short term.  And maybe that's one of society's problems...we don't think about the future often enough.
Several members of Pennsylvania's House of Representatives are learning the values of virtue over the corruption of cash.  And a few Senate members as well.
Many of our elected leaders in Harrisburg have been carted off to jail, with their legacies of the good they did do now being overshadowed by their corrupt acts.
It's a shame when a legislator fights hard for their constituents, but the legacy they struggle to build, often taking years, can be gone in a matter of mere seconds.
Next month, Senator Jane Clare Orie will end her 15-year career in the legislature, first in the House and then in the Senate, as she is sentenced on criminal charges of which she was recently convicted, in a second trial after her first one last year ended in a mistrial over doctored defense documents.
An attorney by education, her felony convictions cost her her license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Ms. Orie was convicted of using her state-paid staff to perform political work on state time, and at the request of her older sister, to perform political work on behalf of another sister who holds a spot on the bench for Pennsylvania's Supreme Court.
My mind goes back to the courtroom of Judge Gregory Olson of Indiana County.
Above his bench, in large letters, reads the following:
"No man is above the law, and no man is beneath it."
No woman, either.
Despite Orie's conviction, she has had an exemplary record with veterans and senior citizens, and had brought funding to her district to create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs.  She also co-chaired a committee dedicated to preventing child and elder abuse.
This record made her one of Pennsylvania's most powerful, and until recently, most respected lawmakers.
I hope that Ms. Orie will use her time in prison to reflect on what got her into trouble, and what she can do to repair her soiled reputation and rebuild her life.
Some good can still come out of this.
Perhaps another lawmaker not yet caught will think twice the next time he or she bends the rules.
At least we can only hope so.


NEXT WEEK:  Cruisin'