Do You Think Maybe It's Time...

Do you think maybe it's time...?

The two stories below were in today's news. I hope there's a wake-up call here: (1) "Chastity Turner, 9, was sitting on her grandmother's porch washing her dog when someone opened fire from a van in the 7400 block of South Stewart Avenue on the South Side.

Chastity was shot in the back or neck and later died at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. Three other people, including her father, were wounded in the shooting.

A 31-year-old man and 17-year-old boy were taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County with gunshot wounds to the back. The victim's grandmother, Tanya Turner, says that shootings happen constantly in the neighborhood.

"She told me this morning, she said, 'grandma, I'm going home, it's not safe around here,'" said Chastity's grandmother Tanya Turner. "I said, 'baby, it's not safe no place now.'" (http://cbs2chicago.com)

The grandmother was right, but some places are safer than others. Gangs are a scourge! The First Amendment includes "...the right of the people peaceably to assemble," which includes the word "peaceably." With the average lifespan of a gang member reaching something like 21 years old, maybe it's time to do away with them and take the cities back. If gang members see them as their family, maybe it's time to do something to get back the real concept of family - we should have real fathers and mothers instead of sperm donors and baby incubators. I get so #@!&*%# frustrated. That's a great goal in life - to flash finger symbols and kill someone on a perceived slight or whim. The movie "Logan's Run" offered a "perfect existence" until age 30, at which time people were "renewed" (executed). Very few of my former students would accept that, which in a way is almost exactly what gangs are offering (except many don't make it to 30).

(2) From the Columbus Dispatch: "A Columbus firefighter admits that he took his two dogs to the basement, tied them up and blasted them with a rifle so he and a girlfriend could vacation without paying to board the animals.

"I think it was the thrill of the kill for him. He has shown no remorse for this."

Firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool -- for taping a 2-liter plastic bottle onto the gun as a makeshift silencer.

He was convicted of 'needlessly killing ... a companion animal" on Dec. 3, according to the charges filed 10 minutes before the hearing in Municipal Court. One dog was shot six times in the head.

Santuomo, who did not give a statement in court, will spend 90 days in jail, pay $4,500 to cover the cost of his investigation and serve five years' probation, Judge Harland H. Hale ruled.

'This is a travesty and abhorrent behavior to those in this community who work to save the lives of animals,' said Jodi Buckman, executive director of the Capital Area Humane Society."

And here we are, policemen for the world and we can't even tend to our own gardens! Interestingly, I don't see guns as the problem but "people"! Who in his right mind would do something as above?

I don't have the answers, but I sure have lots of questions....

Later.

"It's Company Policy...."

(SEE UPDATE FOLLOWING ENTRY)

"It's company policy!"

Those words go hand in hand with "zero tolerance" (which, in turn, goes hand in hand with zero common sense), and when there is no common sense, we're in big trouble! Anyone can do anything without thinking and excuse it by saying, "It's company policy" (or "I was just following orders.")

In what has to be any business's nightmare, a recent news story caught my eye, and I guarantee you that from the resulting negative publicity, amends will be made! I will let the article from The Grand Rapids Press speak for itself (bold areas are mine):

Family angry when paralyzed Marine Joshua Hoffman is denied free entrance to Michigan's Adventure

by Ted Roelofs | The Grand Rapids Press

Quadriplegic former Marine Joshua Hoffman waited in a van at Michigan's Adventure, hoping to see fiancee Heather Lovell in the park for an hour or two. Her father, Rockford resident Joel Lovell, explained to park staff that Hoffman is paralyzed and cannot talk. He assumed Hoffman would be admitted free.

But Lovell was told he would have to pay admission for Hoffman and the nurse tending to his medical needs. No exceptions.

"He went to Iraq for all of us and took a bullet in the neck. He sacrificed everything for his country," Joel Lovell said.

"I was just kind of stunned."

According to Heather Lovell, she and Hoffman planned to rendezvous from their home near Middleville on May 29 at the Muskegon County park, before heading to Reed City for the high school graduation of Hoffman's stepbrother.

Lovell had gone ahead to act as chaperone for a niece and others on a school outing. Joel Lovell picked up Hoffman and his nurse and headed for the park.

But Heather Lovell said she got a call from her father telling her to come to the park entrance.

"It was really just outrageous," she said. "He is not physically going on any rides. To me, this is very personal."

Hoffman, 27, was paralyzed from the chest down when he was hit by a sniper's bullet in Iraq in January 2007. He spent more than a year in a Virginia Veterans Administration hospital before coming home in March 2008.

He and Lovell, 22, share a specially equipped house with 24-hour nursing staff to assist Hoffman.

Camille Jourden-Mark, general manager of Michigan's Adventure, said park policy does not allow any non-participants in free.

"We just can't be in a position of picking and choosing. We have grandparents (who pay admission) that come in our park every day that have no intention of ever going on a ride.

"It's not based on the level of participation."

On Tuesday, Jourden-Mark offered complementary passes for Hoffman and a guest to Michigan's Adventure in response to the issue. Lovell said she has not decided whether she and Hoffman will use the passes.

"You want to be appreciative of it, but it took a lot of people complaining to them to realize what kind of mistake they had made," Lovell said. "We weren't looking for a free trip. It's just a problem with the policy."

Jourden-Mark said company policy is meant to shield employees from accusations of discrimination, but added "there are times when we make exceptions and this is definitely one of those times."

She noted the park offers one free admission with a paid admission for service members each Memorial Day. Jourden-Mark said park staff were unaware of Hoffman's condition.

"I don't think anybody was really aware that he was a veteran."

That's not what Joel Lovell, 54, recalled.

"I told (a park official) it is really a crummy policy. I explained that he is an Iraq veteran. He got shot in the neck and can't eat or talk. I thought they were joking."

Lovell said he initially was told he would have to pay the adult admission fee of $25 each for Hoffman and the nurse, then was offered a student discount.

Heather Lovell's sister, Belding resident Rebecca Lovell, said she contacted the park Friday to complain.

"I explained the extent of his injuries, that he was simply going for an hour or two.

"(A park official) said there was no proof of his injury. He could be faking it. She said if we let him come in for free, then we have to change our policy."

"I was absolutely blown away."

-- Press reporter Jacob Carpenter contributed to this story.

© 2009 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

UPDATE:

The following e-mail was received by me today

Dear Mr. Berman,

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments about the recent story of Marine Joshua Hoffman and Michigan’s Adventure.

I apologize for the situation that Marine Hoffman encountered when he attempted to visit the park on May 29. I was only made aware of his request two days ago. Once I learned of the situation that day, I offered him the opportunity for a complimentary visit to the park.

At no time would I ever tolerate disrespect to any member of our active or retired military. Our company is very proud of our military and their service to our country.

Our policies at Michigan ’s Adventure are in place to provide fair treatment to all our guests. At the same time, we do review special requests individually. In this case, we made a mistake. I definitely feel we could have handled the situation better.

Again, please accept my apologies for your disappointment, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Sincerely,

Michigan ’s Adventure

Camille Jourden-Mark

Vice-President and General Manager

Being an Adult

What is it to be an adult? When the topic presented itself in class, I always told students that part of being an adult is doing what you don't necessarily want to do.

A couple of personal cases in point: (1) When one of my fellow Lions unexpectedly passed on, I went to his funeral. I was lucky enough to never have seen a dead body until then (I was in my 40s), and even then, I didn't expect to see one. I had been told it would be a closed casket. When I got to the funeral home, I quickly glanced into the room where the casket was on display and saw it was wide open (and under spotlights) - my stomach sank. The short of it was that when it came time, I walked in with my fellow Lions, walked past the casket, looked at my friend, said a small prayer, paid my respects to the family, chatted for a few minutes, and left. I had faced my fear and did what I felt I should do as an adult (and survived). Since then, the scene has repeated itself too many times, but I did (and still do) the adult thing.

(2) Just a few days ago, another situation presented itself. I had left Wal-Mart and while putting "stuff" into my car, looked over at the car parked next to mine. There was a man slumped in the driver's seat; in his hand was a foil-wrapped sandwich. He looked asleep, but.... I stared for a moment and saw his stomach rise a bit, so I knew he was breathing. I knew him, so I called his name through the open passenger window but got no response; he must be sleeping (maybe). I took my cart back down to where they go back into the building, got into my car, and started it. In seconds, I turned it back off, got out, and went around to his driver's window, spoke his name again, and again got no response. I poked his shoulder and said his name again. His head came up and he looked at me. I apologized for waking him and said, "I couldn't just leave...just in case.... I had to know you're okay." I felt bad for waking him, but I would have felt worse if something had been wrong and I didn't say or do something.

After I left, I felt fine. I had done the adult thing (the right thing). I wondered how many others would have. I want to think everyone, but....

(Check out the Kitty Genovese story from 1964, in which some 38 people allegedly heard her being stabbed and didn't do anything.Called the bystander effect, it is a social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present. The probability of help is inversely proportional to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. [Wikipedia])