Red-Light Solutions

Senator Dany Duffy’s bill to put an end to red-light cameras has hit a snag — Illinois legislator’s not ready to do an outright ban on them as reported recently in the Daily Herald. It’s disappointing there’s not enough support for a total ban but I don’t think that should discourage opponents of the cameras or Senator Duffy. It’s clear some compromise legislation is needed. Hopefully that legislation would effectively curtail their current use and abuse — milking taxpayer dollars via unwitting municipalities.

I believe a compromise could be reached that would sound their death knell. It starts with making it much more difficult for them to be approved and thus less enticing to the companies that are selling them. The first solution would require a referendum in order for the municipality to deploy them. If they are that concerned about the public safety, let the public decide if they should be used. I think you would quickly find out who is truly in it for public safety and who is turning to fines to replenish depleted municipal coffers.

If there’s not enough support in Springfield for that, and that would be unfortunate, there are still requirements that could be put in place to deter their abuse:

Aside from the requirements needed to install them their use also needs to be addressed:

Finally, provisions on cameras already in place need to be addressed. While they couldn’t follow all of this process they could follow part of it.

You need to make a difference and speak your mind on this. Don’t just email your legislator or senator, call him or her. Send the message to Springfield that something needs to be done about the abuse of these cameras and they should support Senator Duffy’s effort to do so.

My School Board Resignation

One of my favorite movies ever is “For Love of the Game” starring Kevin Costner as an aging pitcher with the Detroit Tigers who is having the best day and the worst day of his life. So as not to bore you with an entire synopsis of the film and where I’m going with this Costner’s character Billy Chapel starts his day with a knock on his hotel door from the owner. The club has been sold, they don’t want Chapel any more and they want to get rid of him. The owner, played brilliantly as always by the superb Brian Cox, offers some words of advice:

You’re like the old boys, they were golden. They had that special pride. When they were done, they were done, no one had to show them the door.

I may not be “golden” but no one has to show me the door either.  So today I filed my resignation at the district office and said that I was done.

This film speaks to me on many levels at this time in my life. After Chapel gets those words of advice his on-and-off-again girlfriend tells him she’s going to London. He has to pitch so he heads to the stadium, arm full of pain from throwing for nineteen years and he reflects on his life throughout the game. Sometimes in life you get so focused on something that you never picture your life without it.  It becomes a hunger that needs to be fed.  Everything you do you feed to it.  You shut people out, you refuse to let others in and you skip out on obligations because you have the hunger that needs to be fed. I have done the same thing with my school board work and just like Chapel I have worn myself down body and mind serving it. I can’t even remember the times my son has been turned away by me and he says “you’re always working or going to a meeting dad.” The first twenty or so times it hurts, when you get up to where I’m at now it weighs on you greatly.

Despite the sacrifices you make to the hunger you certainly have times you look back upon fondly. You remember some of the achievements you were a part of and I have certainly had my share. Going back to 2001 our district was in utter and complete chaos, the state had come in, it was about to take full control and I had six people who didn’t care too much for the fact that the good people of Round Lake elected me to serve with them and they let me know about it.

Even in my more recent stint I came to a board that had appointed me as its 3rd appointed member in a year. The board had virtually no say in how the district was run, it couldn’t even set the agenda for its meetings. When I would ask why we couldn’t do anything I was told “because of the SFA, they won’t let us.” I made it my mission to change that and since I’ve been president the board has run the district and the board has set the agenda. That was because of the efforts of many good people but I’d like to think I had a hand in that. We built what is essentially a beautiful new school that the district could be proud of and I am certainly proud of from my early days on the board of constantly questioning, “what are we going to do about Magee?” I leave her in good hands.

I remember my first graduation as President of the board and I probably went a bit overboard in my speech to the graduates about what going to RLHS meant. I took a lot of criticism from some people over my remarks despite reviewing them with the principal, Dr. Jeff Brierton (also fondly missed) before I made them. It was worth the shots I took later though when a staff member came to me afterwards telling me how much it meant to her.  I’d do it again.

Also during the film Chapel reflects on his former teammates, some with him still and some not. I have reflected on mine as well. I don’t want to get in trouble and leave someone out but I need to recognize some special people I have served with in the district. Walter Korpan retired a couple of years ago having straightened out the financial mess and I have written previously of my love and admiration for Walter.

Jerri Ryan has served ably for well over a decade now and has steered the district on a path to harmonious relations with the union when they were anything but when she arrived. I particularly remember when Jerri made her transition from in-house counsel to her current position and the tears that were cried over the mere changing of a title.  That’s one of those fights I was glad to have won albeit it only partially. I’m fond of the Reagan desk proverb of “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” While others at various times have taken the credit for our improved labor relations Jerri never did though it was sorely deserved.  I will miss my times playing attorney with her.

Heather Bennett has been secretary to the CEO for several years now through the different CEOs and she has been a bastion of consistency and organization in the district office. A fellow graduate of Round Lake she works tirelessly for the CEO, the board and the district. I will miss her great smile and an attitude that never was down. Your words meant a lot to me today Heather, thank you.

I’ll miss Kim Kearby pacing around at the back of a room be it a board room or the RLHS library when we’re taking up a contentious matter. Those times have waned in recent years and I think Kim, who I can’t ever stop reminding people was my tee ball coach, has had less reasons to pace in front of the board.  I’m disappointed I won’t be there to present you with your retirement award Kim, I had an iPod with “Kiss Him Goodbye” all ready to go for the occasion!

Most of all I will certainly miss someone who I certainly consider my friend now and that is Dr. Ben Martindale. Ben came and started working for us despite not even being done with his previous job yet. He and I went over our relationship and how we would work together to achieve the goal I so desperately wanted to achieve. I made some mistakes along the way and he would be there to either nudge me or bark at me if the moment required it. We both share a fondness for the more, shall we say “creative” words of the English language that he has a jar in tribute to on his desk.  We also share many common loves be it sports, the Indy 500 or kids with special needs. I’ve never met a more tireless and passionate servant for children and I don’t think I ever will. Knowing you I know what you must be thinking about all this and I can assure you, it’s the players that play the game, not the coach. I will never forget you and what you have taught this student, my friend.

So I’m sorry to say that this old arm doesn’t have a perfect game with me but I feel like I’ve already made my mark. The picture for this article is one of those proud moments I had. In September 2008 we were visited by 90-year-old Frank Dvorscak who was on the board that would become our board and built RLHS. He was a delightful gentlemen and when he came up to accept our recognition award he whispered “you run a good meeting” and that meant all the world to me. I glanced over at my place at the table where a gavel that had been my father’s rested and thought he might be proud.

In the picture we look pretty funny because I think neither of us wanted to stop chatting for photos. When we were done he went down to the plaque in the old original hallway that bears his name on it. His family sent me a photo with him holding the award I had given him standing with the plaque. That’s legacy stuff and something he was obviously proud of, I hope that will be me some day.

At the end of the film, before he goes to throw the last inning, Chapel writes on a baseball and has it run up to the owner.  As Chapel goes to take the mound one final time the owner looks down at the ball and it says “Tell them I’m through, for love of the game.” It’s the final words of love from someone who doesn’t want to give up what he has built a significant part of his life around. But he realizes he can no longer serve his love the way he should and moves on to other things.

I’m through, for love of the kids.

Guy’s Tips For Driving In Snow

I’ve been a “road warrior” for 13 years now (shudder!) so I guess I am what you would call a professional driver. I’ve driven in all seasons and environments from our nasty Chicago winters to truly nasty Southwestern Michigan winters. I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of people have no clue what they’re doing when they’re driving in snow. Having never been in an accident or required the use of a tow truck to be removed from a ditch I thought I would offer these helpful tips.

Legal notice: these are my helpful hints, I’m not responsible for how you use them. If you lose control and wreck your car or otherwise it’s not my fault, it’s yours.  Viewer discretion is advised.

Tires, Tires and Tires

There’s just no substitute for a decent set of tires for driving in the winter. In my job inspecting cars in the field I’ve found the first place most people pay little or no attention to on their vehicle is tires. I see all different brands, worn out, cupped, dry rotted, under inflated, never rotated, never balanced, the list goes on and on.

If you want to put money well spent into your car, spend it on your tires. Tires give you traction, tires keep you on the road and tires keep you in control. No other component on a car affects these areas as much as tires. So stop cheaping out on them!

If you have a sporty car with hard low-profile (i.e. skinny on the side) tires you should really invest in a set of winter rims and tires. Tire Rack offers great deals on these packages and it’s simplicity in itself. The snow comes, you swap over to the snow rims and tires.  When the snow is gone you put your stock rims and tires back on. You get great winter traction, you save your cool alloy wheels from harsh winter conditions and everyone is happy.

Maybe you don’t have that kind of cash to spend and you want a year-round solution. Then you need to look for a set of truly all-season tires. I can’t recommend Nokian tires enough, their latest tire being the WRG2. I put a set of these on my 2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS which had some performance tires that were horrid in the snow and the difference is astounding. The price isn’t bad either but more than you’re used to spending if you’ve consistently cheaped out on tires. There’s other brands out there with some great all season tires but I have put the Nokians on three different cars and never regretted it.

Once you have that nice set of tires keep them up to pressure, get them rotated at least every 10,000 miles and get an alignment done if you are noticing any pulls or shimmies when you drive.

Power Is Your Friend, Your Brakes Are Not

So now you have a great set of tires on your car, awesome! Now learn how to use them. The number one mistake I see when people are driving in snow, above all others, is being on the brake all the time. When you are breaking you have reduced traction since your tires are going against the grain to try to slow you down. This is a bad situation and why most people go into slides and rear-end people or lose control and go off the road.

However, when you are applying power to your drive wheels your tires are working for you and not against you. You are taking control of the traction and keeping your car pointed in the right direction and reducing the chances of hydroplaning. I know this sounds the opposite of what may make sense to you but the next time you’re driving in snow try following these simple power turn rules:

• Rely on laying off the gas as opposed to hitting your brakes to slow your car down, this means you have to start slowing down earlier.
• When making a turn reduce your speed before going into the turn, not during the turn.
• Brake lightly before going into the turn, not during the turn.
• Apply power during the turn to pull your car through the snow and slush, you will have far better control.

If you stick to these guidelines you will find yourself much more confident taking turns in the snow, just don’t get carried away!

4×4 Is Not Invincible

Have you ever noticed during a bad snowstorm the vast majority of the vehicles off the road and in a ditch are sport utilities? “How can that be?” you may ask. The reason is simple, while four-wheel drive (4×4 or 4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD) gives you better traction it doesn’t help you stop any better!

Most 4×4 owners get a false sense of security from it and think that it will take care of them. They accelerate faster, take more risks and end up going much too fast for the conditions.  To add insult to injury most 4×4s and AWD vehicles are bigger and heavier which means it takes a lot more room to stop them. On top of that they have a higher center of gravity which means when they start to go into a slide they are more difficult to control. Add all these things up and you have a formula for disaster and the reason why so many SUVs in the ditch.

Finally, most 4×4 drivers were never taught how to use their toy the right way, so I will tell you:

• Learn if your car is a 4×4 (will have selectable mode) or is AWD.  There’s a difference.
• If you have an AWD stick with the rules I gave you above. Only the most advanced AWD vehicles (Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru WRX, Acura RDX, Audis with Quattro, to name a few) have AWD systems that are as capable as true 4WD.  Most AWD systems, especially on mini-vans and compact SUVs, are glorified front-wheel drive with some power to the rear when needed.
• If you have good clean pavement leave it in 2WD and save on gas.  Only put it in 4WD when you really need it.
• Reduce speed going into curves and turns and apply power going through them to take full advantage of 4WD and your increased traction.
• If you start to slide turn into the direction of the slide and apply power to regain traction. Don’t brake, and don’t steer away from the slide.
• 4WD requires more power from the motor to run so when you let off the gas it will usually slow you down faster than in a regular car.
• You’re probably bigger and heavier and require more room to stop and slow down — slow down earlier and start to brake well behind the person in front of you.
• When most people lose control it’s because they lost the rear end. Put some tube sand or bags of kitty litter (also helpful for putting in the snow if you do get stuck) in your trunk, cargo area, or pickup bed to give you some additional weight on your rear wheels so they can provide you power.

Lights On For Safety

Fortunately there are a lot of cars with daytime running lights now so this applies less. But remember, in Illinois we have a law that if your wipers are on, your lights are to be on — follow it! It’s not so you can see, it’s so you can be seen. I don’t know how many times I’ve been out in a bad snow storm or in fog and some gibroni doesn’t have his lights on and can’t be seen.

Also, if you have a European car, for pete sake don’t put your rear fog lights on unless there is really fog!!  Rear fog lights are common on European cars and your fog lights will usually have two settings, the first one puts your front fog lights on and the second puts your rear fog light(s) on. You can always see these cars as they have one or two really bright taillights and look like they’re breaking but it’s actually a rear fog light. Read your owner’s manual and figure out how your Euro toy works for pete sake! I’ve been blinded for miles by these types in perfectly clear weather and it is truly annoying. Don’t do it!

There you go, the Guy Certified tips for driving in the winter. Be safe out there!

Guy’s Republican Primary Endorsements

You might not care what I think but hey, you’re reading my blog aren’t you?  Here are my endorsements in the Republican Primary tomorrow.

US Senate: John Arrington

Forget this nonsense about only Kirk can win, John Arrington is the real deal.  Mark Kirk has let us down as Republicans, he quite simply doesn’t support what the party should stand for.  The most glaring example was voting for the ridiculous Cap & Trade Bill.  Under no circumstances should such behavior be rewarded!   Enough about Kirk though — John Arrington is a Harvard graduate, former alderman and public servant.  He has strong conviction to his ideals and if you haven’t seen him speak you can see him now:

Governor: Adam Andrzejewski

There’s a lot not to like in this contest and one candidate rises to the top and that is Adam Andrzejewski (And-G-F-Ski).  Virtually every other candidate for the Republicans has some baggage he’s carrying with him, I won’t go into it all.  Adam is a self-made man, speaks from the heart and holds to the ideals of liberty.  Everyone he is running against can’t hold a candle to his qualifications.

Lieutenant Governor: Jason Plummer

Another great candidate with the ideals of liberty and who comes from the private sector.  Jason has sworn off drawing salary should he be elected Lieutenant Governor.  How’s THAT for putting your money where your mouth is?  Jason wants to transform this useless office into one that will cut through the Springfield red tape as an advocate for liberty.

Comptroller: Jim Dodge

As much as I admire much about Judy Baar Topinka the last thing we need is someone who has spent most of their life down there.  Jim Dodge has a solid background in holding local public office and is a great choice for Comptroller.

Illinois 8th Congressional District Representative: Maria Rodriguez

If there’s anyone who can beat Melissa Bean it’s Maria Rodriguez.  With solid credentials in local government Maria is another candidate on my liberty parade — committed to limited government and free markets.  She’s a fantastic candidate and our best chance yet of having a candidate who represents our ideals and won’t go lock step with a party line that doesn’t hold them.  I strongly endorse Maria Rodriguez for the 8th District.

Voices In My Head

I wrote this a few months ago but my life changed 10 years ago today.  By the date it was yesterday but in my head it’s always Labor Day 1999, the day my father died.  I didn’t post it to my blog so I thought I would do it now and remember what was lost ten Labor Days ago.

There are times when I wonder how my life would be different now if my father were still here. On September 6, 1999, my life changed forever because that was the day that God called my hero, my father, home.

When I get selfish I get angry at God for what he took from me that day because I wasn’t through learning what I needed to learn from him. My father, without a solitary doubt, was the most selfless person I have ever known. He was a man that this world does not see much of any more — someone who will give all of himself and expect nothing in return. A co-worker who would chew your butt and then go about helping you do whatever it was you were screwing up. A community servant who spent countless hours doing public works with the Grayslake Jaycess (and having a lot of fun too). A brother who would forgive again and again. A son who would only wish for his own father’s happiness despite how painful the choices he made might have been to him. A husband who loved his wife with all of his being through all the good times and the tough ones. And a father who would walk through the fires of hell for his children and would let loose that hell on any person who would seek to do us harm.

I’m not half the man my father was. I’m a selfish bastard that doesn’t deserve to bear part of his name compared to him. I was a lousy husband, I can be a half-ass father, an ungrateful son and a distant brother. I have few people who I would call close friends because I don’t let them in. I don’t let anyone near me. What my father could do with a smile and a joke I can only pretend to do.

So there are times when I have conversations with my father in my head. Most of the time he’s trying to straighten me out as I’m sure he would if he were still here. Where are these voices coming from? Are they of my design, something that I do totally on my own? Are they recessed programming of my father in my brain, my sub-conscious acting out as what my father was? Or is it his spirit come to visit me in times when I need it, when I feel an absolute and total failure and unable to go any further? I don’t know what they are but I hope they are him.

Life is a series of choices we make every day and for whatever reason as of late I seem compelled to make the quick and easy ones. My father never made the quick and easy choices. Despite being a superb mechanic he always drove the worst car. My father was driving a car with more then 200,000 miles on it and it sang like a top because that’s what he could do with an engine. When he wasn’t satisfied with what he could do with a wrench or the powerful hands that would pound my shoulder when he got home he would do any number of other things.

He spent years in the Jaycees giving of himself and proving to be a very capable leader. He took to the stage always happy to take on any role on the stage or behind it, whatever it did to put on a great show my father was there to do. He was a lousy golfer known to break clubs during trying times but would laugh it all off with a beer when he was through. I suppose that was key to who my father was — he was a man who saw himself as fallible and would then go about making sure that didn’t happen very often.

So perhaps it is a time of choosing for me, time for me to decide that I would do as he did and let go of what pains me and do more to embrace life. I think that anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the same person I was before September 6, 1999. Maybe it’s time to change that as I’m sure he would be the first one to let me know his displeasure with me carrying on about it.

Reconciliation is an interesting word and it’s used in many different contexts but there’s a stronger word than that though, and that word is reckoning.  I think I have been too hot in the pursuit of reckoning and exacting of the punishment that reckoning brings upon myself.  It’s a part of who I am or probably more of what I have become.  Expecting perfection of one’s self you are always certain to fall short.   I think there’s a selfishness and greed in me though that never accepts things as good enough – those I don’t completely let slide that is.

No, reconcile is a much better word and much better place to be. Reconciliation is about accepting the way things have gone and realizing there is no way to change them, only to move forward. It involves the release of pain, the burdens we choose to carry around with us like boulders that we want others to see.

I think those voices are the voices of reconciliation in my head, encouraging me to let go and move forward realizing that tomorrow is another day, another opportunity to further reconcile with myself. Because, after all, I have far more issues with me than anyone else does — it’s time to put down the shovel and climb out of the hole.  It’s time to fill it in and recognize that’s where the hole was but it’s filled now and while I might remember the hole I can still walk across it, jump up and down on it, plant whatever I wish to on it — I can move past it.

I can if I start by putting down the shovel.  Thanks Dad, I love you

Why Mary Jo Kopechne Matters

It’s been forty years since Mary Jo Kopechne died and despite the fact it was before my birth I knew who she was before today. However, many people have no clue who she was, such is the fate of a person’s life and legacy when bulldozed by American royalty, Kennedy style.

There’s little doubt for anyone familiar with my writing that the late Senator Edward Kennedy and I had little in common politically. Aside for an issue here or there his positions have been the polar opposite of mine. That’s not why I’m writing here today although I’m sure many will say it is. While the eulogies and the tributes continue to flow for him I can’t sit back and watch it happen without my say, and that’s what blogs are all about.

This isn’t a political issue for me it’s a moral issue and it’s about getting away with murder. I don’t subscribe to the theories that the end of Mary Jo’s life came deliberately at the hands of Edward Kennedy. We will never know because Kennedy made sure we would never know. However, there is no doubt in my mind the man was not fit to hold public office after what happened in July of 1969. When Richard Nixon resigned the presidency it was for covering up a burglary; Kennedy covered up the loss of a promising young woman’s life.  Why he was re-elected to office again and again over the next forty years is almost more troubling than Kennedy’s actions then.

So while those who wish to lionize him will go on about all the great accomplishments he made, the way he wanted to embrace people and raise them up, he did so by holding one down. At the critical moment not only did he turn away, he looked for ways out of it. Even his own friends present tried to talk him out of the cover story he was concocting about Mary Jo driving. Worst of all, the diver who recovered Mary Jo’s body told People Magazine in 1989 that she didn’t drown, she spent the last two hours of her life slowly running out of air that was trapped in the car.  During those two hours Kennedy passed up a home within 100 yards of the crash site with people home and a telephone.  He went back to get his friends to start figuring a way out of the mess including blaming it on her.  He concocted a story about Mary Jo wanting to go back to the hotel and Kennedy offered to drive her despite the fact she didn’t tell any of her friends and left her purse and hotel key behind.

“The Lion of the Senate” as he was somehow dubbed resembled the one in The Wizard of Oz in July 1969 as he was far more concerned with saving his own posterior than Mary Jo breathing her last breaths. Even worse, even after these terrifying events he got up the next morning calm and casual striking up conversations with those in the hotel lobby.  Mary Jo’s body laid submerged aside the Dike Bridge that went to nowhere but a beach.

Even after finally showing up at the police station to own up to being involved (the police already knew that having run the plates on the car) he artfully dodged any serious prosecution as only a United States Senator can.  You or I would have have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  The fullest extent for Kennedy who was driving on a suspended license, left the scene of the accident and did nothing to aid Mary Jo was a suspended sentence.  Despite a judge’s clear findings of a cover-up at a coroner’s inquest the distrct attorney never prosecuted the case.

So, I’m sorry if I am out of line for speaking ill of the dead, I think I’m only following Kennedy’s example and I apologize.  We all make our mistakes in life, to err is human.  To walk away and let someone die? Little could be more inhuman.

Amidst all the talk of the grand and noble things Kennedy said and did there should be some thought put to just how genuine those things were.  Because when faced with the terrible wrong he had done Kennedy greeted his moment of truth by walking away.  Some say it cost him the presidency, it cost Mary Jo her life.

An Open Letter To AT&T

Dear AT&T:

To fill you in on where I’m coming from regarding the iPhone 3G S upgrade that you state I have to wait until December 12th to get without paying in full for the phone:

I’m a purchaser of the original iPhone, I didn’t wait in line the first day but I got it the first weekend it was available. I ditched my previous carrier of several years that I was perfectly happy with to get your service as the exclusive carrier for the iPhone. I paid $200 to cancel that contract on top of the $500 I paid for the phone (unsubsidized).

Happy with your wireless service and seeing your new uVerse service available in my area I switched from Comcast to AT&T for my internet, television and phone. My wireless bill is combined with that bill.

I was in line the first day the iPhone 3G came out. That phone was subsidized but I had to extend my contract which I happily did as I was pleased with your service.

I have been pleased with my service aside from a couple of dead spots (all carriers have their dead spots) and have been an evangelist for AT&T and its wireless and uVerse services as providing me good service and value.

Because of me, and people like me, who are using the iPhone and extolling its virtues to others (I know of several people I convinced to get one) you’re able to sell more contracts to go along with all those phones. Market data clearly indicates AT&T has reaped great windfalls from the iPhone having sold over one million of them on the first weekend of the iPhone 3G release alone.

How do you reward me for being an early adopter of your service, paying good money for your services and advocating it to others? You tell me I have to pay $600 for the new iPhone unless I want to wait until December 12.

I don’t expect you to fully subsidize my next iPhone but you could at least come up with a nominal charge to keep me satisfied with your service.

I hear you’re in negotiations with Apple regarding your exclusivity agreement for the iPhone. I wonder how many of us you will be keeping having stuck it to us on the iPhone 3G S if say, Verizon is added as a carrier for the iPhone. I also wonder how long it will take me to call Comcast and get them to cut me a good deal to switch from uVerse.

You alone can answer that question.

Graduation, Loss, Futures At RLHS

I didn’t know Christopher Campos, but I wish I had after the sights I saw today.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
- M. Gandhi

Graduation is usually the best day of the year to be a school board member. After all the trials and tribulations that go on throughout the year graduation at Round Lake High School has been a welcome ending to the year. Last year I missed out when I had gotten tickets for the Indy 500 pretty early and it happened to fall on graduation day. Aside from that one I’ve been at every RLHS Graduation as a board member and spoke to the Class of 2007.

We had a full board at graduation this year so not wanting to clutter things with myself I just got both tables situated with three board members at each.  ”Remember to smile, you’re about to be in a few hundred pictures that will be on someones mantle for the next thirty years or so” I said to our newest board member.  A few quick instructions and a repositioning of the one “line” to help the photographer out and I stood to the side to take it in while they presented.  And so it was, I didn’t think I would present any diplomas this year but that was fine by me, better for those who haven’t had the experience I had thought.

In the flurry that is board work at many times we forget many of the things that happen throughout the year. While I certainly remember when Chris passed away, I called for a moment of silence for him at our board meeting, I had forgotten he was a senior.  So after a rather nice and well paced graduation ceremony I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next when two students took to the center in front of the stage for something that wasn’t on the program.

It was then that RLHS Principal Kurt Sinclair reminded those present of Chris’ death in January and the two students sang a lovely song in his memory.  I was unable to hold back the tears almost immediately marking the memory of a student I wasn’t lucky enough to know but was taken from us much too soon.  It’s not right for kids to have to learn they’re not immortal at such a young age but the Class of 2009 learned that in January.

So as the song progressed Kurt got my attention and presented me with a sealed diploma and asked me to present it to his family.  As soon as it entered my hands I looked down at it and either one of my tears or one of Kurt’s had already hit the sleeve containing it.  I was filled with thoughts of my friend David Thomas who passed away this year.

I remember thinking how Dave was the first of my classmates I knew to die and how I felt old seeing one of my classmates, one of our most beloved classmates, in his casket.  Reverend Lisle Kauffman gave a stirring and wonderful eulogy reminding us that our tears and our grief are for ourselves and that Dave was in a far better place.  Dave was someone who simply attending RLHS was an achievement for him, let alone to graduate, let alone to become one of our most loved friends.  I told his mother at the funeral that we didn’t know it at the time but Dave taught us a lot about life and about ourselves.  He taught us about bravery and courage and every time the words “I was just thinking” left his lips we may have held back a laugh but what usually followed may be crazy, may be hair-brained, but it was always full of pure innocence.  Innocence you just don’t find much any more.

Then there was the loss of Bobby Weinger earlier this year in Afghanistan.  Bobby, a member of the Class of 2002, was killed in action and had another poignant service at Wauconda High School.  I remember standing in line looking at all the mementos of a life cut all too short to help preserve the freedoms we have.  I paused at his casket to pray and think of the words I would say to his father and family who were there.  When I got to his father, the tears again flowing down my face, I was barely able to speak.  I couldn’t put together what I wanted to say, what could I possibly say to assuage the grief of this family?  All I could do was thank them, thank them for the life they gave us.

So as I stood with this diploma for a boy I never knew, with the thoughts of my departed friend and a noble soldier in my head, I tried to pull myself together.  I didn’t have anything that I could possibly say.  I stopped by the table and picked three roses that were there for graduates and presented one to each of his family and then the diploma to them.  There were many tears as I presented the only diploma I presented today.

The song sung at the end was a moving tribute to Chris but the whole ceremony was really.  Mr. Sinclair’s speech was about the “two minutes” that make the difference in all our lives.  The Panther Voices sang “Finale B” from one of my absolute favorite musicals, Rent.  Jonathan Larson, the composer and  creator of Rent died at 36 the evening of the final dress rehearsal for Rent’s off-Broadway opening.

If I had to pick just one song from Rent that I love the most (and that is incredibly hard) it would have to be “One Song Glory”:

One song

glory

one song

before I go

glory

one song to leave behind

find

one song

one last refrain

glory

from the pretty boy front-man

who wasted opportunity

It’s a song that’s always stirred something in me because in many ways I see my life a lot like Roger’s — one of wasted opportunities and the search for the ever elusive one thing to be remembered by and one love to make it worth it. Most of the time I have my hands in too many pots to find that one thing so the fault is without a doubt completely mine.

Somehow after it all I feel completely unworthy of the opportunities that I’ve had and wasted amongst the man who never let his disability hold him back, another man who gave his life for his country and another man who had his life taken from him before he could even get those opportunities. So in that moment I held the diploma for someone whose life was cut way too short, the single drop of water on the cover, hoping that it was one of my opportunities that I was giving him instead of one of my tears.

As the song for Chris was sung the Class of 2009 joined in trying to give something to him as well.  They started collecting the roses they had just been given and left them on the table that held their diplomas in tribute to him.  As I reflect on this poignant day at RLHS, the ending to a very tragic year, I came to the words of Gandhi that I captioned above.

We never know for how long we are here so it is important to live our lives like tomorrow will be our last (also wonderfully reflected in “Another Day” from Rent).  Because of that it is imperitive for us to try to learn and pass on what we have learned as if we would be here forever.  That is the glory we can pass on to those who follow us, knowledge to be built on for the future and hopes for a better future for the generations to come.

Generations where a mental disability can be cured.

Generations where people don’t have to die to preserve freedom.

Generations where the young need not be taken from us.

It may be impossible, it may never happen, but we must do our best to try.  I think we owe it to Dave, Bobby and Chris to try.

Dave Thomas Memorial

As many are aware our friend, Dave Thomas, RLHS Class of 1990 passed away on Sunday.  I have had some flowers sent to the funeral home on behalf of the Class, if you would like to help out with donations I would appreciate it.  Any extra funds received will be passed on to the charity of the family’s choice.

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Election Rebuilding

The results are in from yesterday’s election, many races went the way I had hoped, many did not, so let’s rundown the two main area races for my take on them.

Round Lake Area Schools – Board of Education

First off I want to thank everyone who supported Dan, Tonesha and me in the election.  Thank you for returning me to the board I’m very grateful to have your support and will continue working hard to make a difference in CUSD 116.

Obviously this race was closest to me since I was in it.  Despite all the congratulations I have gotten I was very disappointed in the results.  First, to see Tonesha Baker lose, hurt me very much.  Tonesha was the first Master Board Member ever in Round Lake.  Tonesha went out and aggressively got the training when it wasn’t easily being provided and before anyone else.  Most of all Tonesha was always up front and honest with me, never afraid to tell me how she really felt and never told me one thing and did another.  She’s an honest and thoughtful person and an excellent board member, she will be missed.

Secondly, Dan Hartlieb finished a few votes behind me and I was disappointed we couldn’t get the needed votes to take at least two spots.  Dan is someone who’s lived here all his life and is deeply invested in the schools.  I think he would have been an excellent board member.

Tonesha and Dan have both told me they plan to stay involved with the schools and I hope they do so.

If anything the mistakes in this campaign were mine.  First, for not putting the required time into them.  I was too busy with work, board, family, etc to sacrifice the weekends and evenings to be hitting the campaign trail. Our opponents didn’t and were working right through to the final hour, they worked harder.  Second, after a review of the outcomes in many of the races and the techniques used it’s clear running a positive campaign focused on the facts and your accomplishments doesn’t always work.  I thought people would clearly see who was more qualified, who was more invested in the district, who knew what our issues were and who knew what our boardroom looked like more than three months ago.  I was wrong, I won’t make that mistake again.

The campaign is over now and we’ll have a new board member and thus a slightly different board.  The new board will need to rebuild itself, continue to improve and prove that we are ready to take on the reins of leadership ourselves.  We have objectives to meet if the School Finance Authority is going to leave at the end of next school year as anticipated.  We’re going to jump right into working on those objectives right away.

Village of Round Lake

Yesterday the voters sent a clear message they wanted a new direction in leadership for the village, you can’t slice a 2 to 1 victory across the board any other way.  Congratulations to Jim, Joyce, Don, Sonia and Susan for a hard fought victory, you guys deserved it.

I was highly invested in this campaign going months back in fact going back to immediately after the November election.  First I was surveying the field hoping that someone would emerge to challenge Bill Gentes.  When that person was Dan MacGillis I began working with him and Don Newby on their slate.

Contrary to the accusations the two slates decided for their own benefit and for the best chance to defeat Gentes the slates needed to merge.  So then I started working with Jim Dietz and the folks with what became RL United For Change.  I was the webmaster for their site, attended most of their functions and did my best to support this slate because we were in desperate need of change in Round Lake.

I am very pleased that not only did United For Change win, they won in overwhelming fashion signaling a clear message from the Village that things needed to change.  However, that is not to say there weren’t some good and well qualified folks on the opposing slate.  To that I would say each of them made a decision to run with Gentes and thus tied their collective fates to him – that was a mistake.  As I said though there are good folks there and while their decision kept my votes from them I am hopeful we can all move on from this election and work together.

Rebuilding Together

Thus we get to my final topic and that would be moving on from elections together.  Unfortunately local politics is particularly nasty because it’s neighbor versus neighbor in many cases.  The candidates in all the races made their case, some races were won, some were lost.  Now it’s time for us to move on together as the folks have voted.

To that end I am putting this election behind me and will affirm my position to work with anyone who will work with me.  Anyone who is up front and honest with me is someone I can support and work with.  I don’t have to agree with you all the time, there will be times we won’t (and I am certain to let you know about it) but it is rarely if ever personal from me.  I try not to make decisions from a personal viewpoint but at the end of the day I’m only human like anyone else and might be prone to emotion sometimes.   At the end of the day though I would hope that people, whether they agree with me or not, would know that I’m honest and a straight shooter.  I hope we all can work together for our community to make it better for everyone here.

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