Weekly Musings

JUST DO IT! By...Erik Schuman For most people, when they hear those three words, their first thought is: Nike. The overpriced shoe and apparel company with products made by underage, underpaid and overworked slaves in China, came out with this slogan many years ago for their massively overpriced products. One that is still remembered by many. In this case those three words are expressed by many these days for other reasons with three very prominent ones coming to the forefront: Health, Football and an Airport. On February 22, 2019, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. On May 20, 2019 I was declared CANCER FREE! On July 23, 2019 I left Hoag Hospital after my last day of Chemotherapy. It may have been 13 months since being told I was in remission. It may have been 11 months since I left Hoag as a completely hair-free, 155-pound gaunt (Normally 185-190 pounds) quivering mass of fat-and-muscle-free humanity. But I am still in the “susceptible” group of peo...

Why Me? By...Erik Schuman Last year when I went thru my “Nightmare Journey From Hell” the one thing I never did was ask, “Why Me?” I never asked why I was afflicted with this awful disease. I never did that because during the entire duration the one thing I always said was as bad as it was for me there were others who had it far worse and on an everyday basis. And for most, every day for the rest of their life. My nephew is a Type 1 Diabetic. He has been since 18-months-old and unless they come up with a cure, he will have this until the day he dies. Hopefully, that means he has this for at least 80 years (He is 22 now – will be 23 at Xmas time). How many brave men and women volunteer for the armed forces and come home with less than two arms, legs, eyes, kidneys, or anything else? And they will also be that way until the day they die. So for me to complain about having Cancer, when I knew if all went well I would get rid of it and live the rest of my life Cancer Free is ...

Do as I Say – NOT as I Do By...Erik Schuman I had no idea what I was going to write about this week. I rally didn’t. I even thought about skipping a week. But then the Supreme Court made a ruling and the resulting reaction gave me plenty to think about. The hardest part about this week’s entry is not using the words I would like to use. They are inappropriate to use here although they are very appropriate in describing the situation. In a 6-3 ruling Monday, June 15, the Supreme Court determined that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex, also applies to many millions of gay and transgender workers. This ruling protects the rights of those who are part of the LGBTQ Community. It means they can’t be fired because they committed the “dastardly sin” of falling in love with someone of the same sex. It means employers can’t fire someone because they are a different skin color than the...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game? By...Erik Schuman If you have ever been to a baseball game you know that in the bottom of the 7 th inning the fans sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” NO ONE and I mean ABSOLUTELY NO ONE did it better (or worse?) than legendary Cubs (and White Sox) announcer Harry Caray. By that time of the game Caray’s BAC was closer to 1.00 than 0.00 “thanks” to all of the Budweiser and/or Old Style beers he had consumed. As pitiful as the Cubs were during his time there that might have been the best move he could make. Having to do their game sober would have been far worse. Come that time of the game everyone at Wrigley Field turned to where Harry was. This took place September 21, 1997 for the Cubs' last home game of the season and the final time Caray ever did this for a Cubs team that finished 68-94 and in DFL. Caray did Cubs’ games in 1997 and was scheduled to do games in 1998 with his grandson, Chip, but died on February 18, two weeks shy of ...

A Tale of 2 Events By...Erik Schuman Today is June 2. One day out of 366 on this year’s calendar. Less than three weeks until Summer. Today is just another day. Right? Wrong! It was on this day in 2007 that the youngest of my nephew/nieces was born. I waited 48 hours until my sister-in-law and brother came home to head over to their place to meet my niece. I do not have any kids. There are many reasons for it – none of which need to be noted here. When I held my niece for the first time it was awesome. She was so tiny (duh). I could have picked her up and tossed her across the street as if she was a football – she was that tiny. But holding her was so precious. It took almost two years for us to be able to understand what she was saying. It was slightly worrisome, but I also knew once she started talking she would never shut up and that is certainly the case. Although like most kids her age she rarely talks to anyone using her voice. Instead it is Instagram, Tik Tok a...