The Numbers...

Every once in a while someone will ask me why I've named my blog "ROOM 235." Hopefully, this will help explain it...

Numbers. I've never been a numbers guy, never really gave them much thought one way or the other. But over the course of the last 23 days I've learned numbers can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Numbers like 17, 235, 15,12, 160, 87, 65/45, and 23 all became to mean everything in my Granddaughter's world. Emily was born 17 weeks premature on November 12th.and was transferred to “room 235” of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Stormont-Vail Hospital. This was also the day my journey through her world of numbers began.

Good morning Emily, I'm your Grandpa. I know, I'm kind of big and probably a little scary looking but you'll get used to me. Hey, look at those numbers on the ventilator. The nurses tell me 15 is excellent for your oxygen level. And that the vent setting doesn't get much better than a 12. I know it's been a pretty rough first day for you, so I'm not going to stay too long. You be a good girl and mind the nurses, I'll see you in the morning. And remember that Grandpa loves you.

And so our daily routine began. We talked about the adventures we were going to have once she got to come home. First and foremost I explained she was going to have to put on some weight. At 1lb., 4oz., it was going to be hard for her to ride a bike. I offered to start bringing her chocolate chip cookies and pop. While Emily thought it was a good idea, the nurses didn't think so. We talked about her first day of school, about the fishing trips we were going to take. She was really excited about going 4-wheeling in the mountains of Colorado.

I told her how lucky she was to have two Grandmothers Linda and Debbie that loved her so much. We talked about her aunts, uncles, and cousins. I warned her about the stupid cats and dogs she'd meet. I even warned her about staying away from boys. I'm not sure, but I think I saw her blushing after this conversation. But mostly, she liked hearing about her Mommy and Daddy.
Over the next few days I learned about the other numbers on the monitor above her bed. The top one was her heart rate. I learned that 160 was a very good number indeed. And that 87 indicated how much oxygen was in her blood. The 65/45 was the blood pressure.

All day and night long the doctors and nurses watched these numbers. They made adjustments to the machines or medications according to what the numbers told them. They were very up front with us from the beginning. Some days were pretty good. Others were pretty bad, it all depended on the numbers. The nurses referred to this as the roller coaster ride.

Monday December 4th was an exceptionally good day. Emily's numbers were even better that they had been the previous weekend. She was finally able to open her eyes for the first time. They were the biggest, most beautiful, brown eyes I had ever seen. We talked about riding the train at Gage park. I blew her a kiss, told her Grandpa loved her, and assured her I'd see her in the morning.

Sometime around 9:00 Monday night the hospital called. Emily had taken a turn for the worse, and we needed to get there as soon as we could. It was the numbers, the 15and 12 had turned into 101 and 40. The 160 was now a 50. The 87 was somewhere around 35 now, and the blood pressure that once read a steady 65/45 wasn't even registering anymore. They told us her system was shutting down, she was dying, and didn't think she'd be able to hang on for much more than 3 or 4 more hours.

Ultimately the numbers did get the best of her, but Emily did beat the 3 and the 4. She was able to hang on another 24 hours. And in doing so we were all able to say our goodbyes. I'm not sure what the others said to her. For me, I just held her tiny hand, kissed her on the forehead and told her I understood that she had to go, I promised I'd never forget her, and told her to remember that Grandpa loved her.

We had Emily with us for 23 days, 4 hours, and 42 minutes. And for that I'll always be grateful.

You can get a hold of me at my blog www.rm235.blogspot.com or you can e-mail me at: www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

The Phone Call...

The first thing I did once I got settled into my daughter's car was to look in the rear-view mirror. There she was, my little, Sofie, sound asleep in her car seat. Sophie's my grand daughter. She's almost two-years-old now, and she's my best buddy. It had been a little over two weeks since I'd seen her and I had really missed her.

I just kind of stared at her for a while. There was this perfectly innocent little girl sound asleep and totally unaware of why we were meeting in St. Mary's for lunch and completely unaware of how close she had come to losing her dad today.

You never really know when you're going to get one of those phone calls, do you? It was about 10:30 or so this morning, I was about to leave Manhattan and finally make it home. Really, I'd been ready for a while, I was just kind of hanging out with the guys. We had been talking about our kids and how they had all grown up, married, and moved away. You know, that kind of stuff, when my cell phone started ringing. It was my daughter, Misty. One of the guys named, Hudson laughed when I told him who it was. He said she probably knew we were talking about her.

What's up kiddo? Dad, Travis has been in a bad wreck. He rolled his work truck a little west of St. Mary's on hi-way 24 and I'm on my way. I talked to him and he says he thinks he's okay.

Okay, kiddo, I'm on my way. I grabbed my lap-top and coffee cup, told the guys what happened and hit the road. I didn't know what I expected to find and wasn't sure what I'd do once I got there. All I knew was that my kids were in trouble and needed my help.

Travis, my son-in-law, had been heading west on hi-way 24 and was just coming into the little town of Bellvue when he slipped off the right shoulder, he probably over-corrected and sent his truck into an out of control slide across the oncoming lanes and rolled the truck into the ditch. Luckily, the truck came to rest on it's wheels and was sitting half way in the ditch and half way in a corn field.

Travis was outside the truck when I arrived. The cops and EMT's had already left by the time I got there, so I pulled over the the edge of the road and talked to him. He assured me he was okay. I knew he was shook up and just wanted to go home. But I also knew he didn't want me to know that. So I didn't argue with him when he told me he was going to stay and help his boss clean up the mess and told me not to worry about him.

With that said, I hopped in my truck and headed up to where my daughter had pulled over when she arrived. She was about to lose it and asked if I'd stay in her car to keep an eye on Sofie. I assured her It'd be my pleasure.

I sat there watching her sleep in the rear-view mirror and thought to myself, Sofie girl, we dodged a really big bullet today. Funny thing is, you'll never even know it.

Racism My Ass...

Okay, I know I promised to drop the political stuff for a while. I really just wanted to talk about the State Fair and all.

I will say it's now Day Six and we're reached the half way point. It's been a lot of fun, I've met a lot of good people from all across the country. But it's been a hell of a lot of work and I'll be glad when it's over so we can all take a break.

But here's the deal. I'm really pissed by the way the "irrelevant", so called main-stream media, Obama, members of Congress, and Democrats in general are constantly playing the "race card" as a means to discredit their critics.

I don't have a lot of time this morning, so I'm not going to be able to get into it till later.

In the mean time, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

For now though, I have about two hours to get ready for the masses. Today is "Kids Day." Great!!!

NEVER FORGET

Kansas State Fair: Day One...

I left the house about 5:00 this (Wednesday) morning to head out for my latest assignment. I‘ll be spending the next two and a half weeks working the State Fair in Hutchinson. As soon as I got to town, I hooked up with my partner in crime, a guy named, Huey Nelson. Actually, Huey is the brains of the operation. I’m not sure, but I think we might be in trouble. Today was really just a day of getting in touch with food vendors to make sure who made it again this year and who didn‘t. For the most part, the same people who were last year are all here again.

There was the guy from Florida, he’s a good guy. The old guy and his wife who live and breathe KU football was back. The guy from Jersey and his son were back and ready to get this thing started. The grouchy old lady from somewhere in Oklahoma hadn’t arrived yet. Good. We went from one stand to another and just about the time we were finished the old guy from Tulsa who sells turkey legs showed up. He’s probably the coolest old guy I know. It was especially good to see because last year he told us he was hanging it up. He was going to sell his stand and finally retire and enjoy life for a change. I think he decided this is what he really enjoys and when it came right down to it, he wasn’t ready to hang it up after all.

The carneys are hard at work getting their rides set up. It’s really hard to imagine that in just one more day this place will transform from the mess and chaos it is now to the showplace that it will become in order to be ready to welcome and entertain hundreds of thousands of people from all over the place.. Ah, The State Fair, there’s nothing like.

The place is a mess. Food service trucks are everywhere. Electricians and plumbers are busy making sure everybody’s stands are working like they’re supposed to. People are unloading their cars, vans, pickups, and trailers all over the place. Everyone of them hoping to sell enough of whatever it is they’re selling to make it all worthwhile. It’s easy to spot the Fair Officials, too. They’re the one’s running around with really stressed out looks on their faces and talking on their radios.

Crap, my partner just showed up. I’ll check in with you guys later. It’s time for me to get to work. 24 hours till the gates open. It’s crunch time!!!




Okay, that’s done. Looks like we’re dealing with about 30 food stands. We’ve got them all filled up and all are ready to go. The rest of the day is mine to do as I see fit.

I’m always impressed at how the midway (rides) go together. This morning it looked like complete chaos. This afternoon, it still looks like chaos, but they’ve got a lot done. I gotta tell you though, some of the people they have working on the stuff are a little scary looking. Oh well, that’s another story for another time.

Kansas State Fair: Part One

Let's do something different for a while. How about we just get away from politics all together. Well, with 9-11 and the Tea Parties all over the country, that might be hard to commit to.

I've just spent the evening packing for a three week road trip to Hutchinson, Ks. to work the State Fair. This is the second time I've worked it. It's a hell of a lot of work but there's always a little free time to check out the sights too. Especially this year, the boss had this brain fart a while back and mentioned it might be cool to have a travel trailer for us to hang in whenever we had a little down-time. I told him, oh yeah, that'd be a hell of an idea.

Anyway, one thing led to another and now they've decided since they went to all the expense and trouble of getting that trailer I should just sleep there too.

So her we are. I'll be heading out by 6:00 in the morning. And you're more than welcome to come along...

Let's Throw These Bums Out...

A friend of mine asked me to post this for him.

Letter to the Editor 9-3-09

Are You Smater than a Congressman?

Take this simple test. Maybe you could be smarter than a Congressman, especially in the North East or West Coast States, if you were to move there.

1. Would you read a bill, before voting for it?

2. Would you avail yourself or your staff to actually understand what you were voting on?

3. Would you care if it added trillions of dollars to our national debt, indebting future children and grandchildren of the citizens you represent?

4. Would you think about future negative consequences of the bill you were about to vote on?

5. Would you show leadership by putting yourself and your family under the same program you were voting for, I.E. Health Care Plan?

If you answered in the affirmative on any of these first four questions you could be smater than 50% of our current Congressmen. If you answered yes to question 5 you have more guts and integrity than most Congressmen. This country needs a serious recruting effort for next year's elections for Congress. American deserves a better effort from those we elect.

Joseph Ledbetter, Veteran, J.D.
Topeka, Kansas

Sorry Guys, But I gotta Go...

Farewell Metro News...

Sorry guys, but this is going to seem a little weird. Last week I talked about the Topeka Metro News being sold and how the new owners decided they, either didn’t have room for or simply weren’t interested in hearing from any local writers. Anyway, they dumped us all. If you think about it, it is a little weird for a local paper not to want anything to do with local people, hmm.

Hey, that’s just life. I knew going in, that nothing’s forever. It’s funny, too. Because, the older you get, the more you understand just how true that is. I really wanted to the chance to say goodbye. And I still believe they owed me that much. But hey, it’s their world and I was just passing through anyway.

So today, even though I’m not really going anywhere, I’ll still be ranting and raving on the blog, I just won’t be in the Metro News, I’m going to go ahead and write the farewell column I should have been allowed to do in the first place.

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Well guys, looks like this is it. This is the last column I’ll be writing for the Topeka Metro News. I always knew that sooner or later this day would come. Still, I wish it could have lasted a while longer. Like twenty or thirty more years.

And you know what? For the first time in a long time, I’m not sure what to say. I guess I should start out by thanking you, the readers. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to spend a little time with you guys each and every week. I thank every one of you who either, wrote a letter to the editor or sent an e-mail my way because of something I’d written. That’s not to say everyone agreed with me either. But, what it meant to me, was the fact that you were reading my stuff and that it made you stop and think for a while. Thank you. That’s really all I was trying to do in the first place.

Sure, from time to time, I got a little controversial. I might have even gone over the top every once in a while too. I’ve received e-mails from people demanding that I apologize for this or that. Here's the deal, I didn’t apologize then and I’m sure as hell not going to start now. Someone a lot smarter than I said it best, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant."

You see, in America, at least for now anyway, we still have this little thing called the 1st amendment, you know, the whole freedom of speech thing. I’m real big on that one. In fact, I’m going to give it one last shot today.

America! What the hell were we thinking of when we elected Barrack Obama as our president. A lot of us did our best to warn you. We warned you about the left-wing radicals he liked to hang out with. Reverand Wright, with his special brand of racisism and hatred come to mind. The guy responsible for planning the bombings of police stations and the Pentagon, Bill Ayres was another. We warned you about the Socialist agenda he would bring with him. You accused us of using scare tactics and called us racists and fear mongerers. Whatever.

I believe with all my heart that we're in the middle of the fight of our lives. If this country is going to survive (the one I grew up in anyway) we’ve got to get our butts off the couch and do something about it. Don’t sit back and wait for your neighbor to do it for you. Is it going to be easy? Hell no it won’t. Make that phone call to your Senator! Write that letter to the editor! Turn off MTV and American Idol long enough to find out what’s going on in the real world. Pay attention to the "TEA PARTY RALLIES" being held all across the country over the next few months. Hell we're even going to have our very own rally here in Topeka on 9-12, make plans to be there if you can. It's important, even if it's only symbolic. We gotta get the message out that we're mad as hell and we're here to stop these idiots in Washington dead in their tracks. Tell em loud and clear, "this is our country and we're here to take it back!"

Just remember, if you decide to take that stand, you'll be in for one hell of a fight. The left-wing loons will come after you like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ll mock you. They’ll call you every name in the book. Trust me, the first thing they'll acuse you of is being a racist. That's seems to be pretty popular these days. They’ll use anything they can think of against you in order to silence you. Just remember, because of the antics of the extreme, left-wing lunatics, only 20% of the American population is still willing to call themselves liberal, they’re loud and the press gives them a lot of attention, but because of their numbers, they’re becoming extremely irrelevant. Think about that.

Anyway, do you guys remember watching the Carroll Burnett Show? If so, I'm sure you remember the way she always ended it by singing a little song that went something like this, “I’m so glad we had this time together. Just to have a laugh and sing a song. Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say so long.” Remember that?

For me, this is kind of like that. Thanks for everything guys, it was one hell of a ride.

Yeah, it's kind of like this...