Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year.
I got a late Christmas present last night with Iowa's stunning victory over Missouri in the Insight Bowl. Hawk fans needed that to give us hope for next season.
Topic switch: Have you noticed all of the crazy TV ads for prescription drugs? I can remember a time when the only time you might see an ad for a drug company might be in a magazine in the doctor's waiting room. Now it seems that they think we all need to know about the latest pill to pop to cure whatever may be ailing us. Of course, the aim of these usually slickly produced spots is to get us to ask your doctor to prescribe the particular pill and if he says you don't need it, insist on it.
What's really interesting is that when the drug pushers got into the advertising game, their legal departments got into the act and warned them that they had to list the disclaimers of how the particular drug might affect certain people in a bad way. One sleep aid may cause some people to eat, walk or even drive without remembering it the next day. Sounds to me that the best way to take that drug would be only if you handcuffed yourself to your bed!
There's another drug that warns that it has caused thoughts or attempts of suicide in some patients. You are advised that if this occurs, you should stop taking the drug and call your doctor. Of course, if the suicide is successful, I guess you don't need to call the doctor...
Some people are seeking an enhanced love life and look for a pill to help them. One of the warnings with one of these drugs is it could cause a certain body part in men to malfunction for four hours or more. How would you like to be the one walking into the emergency room with that problem? The final scene on one of these ads shows a man and woman, side by side in matching bathtubs. I'll admit it's been a few years since I had any sex education classes, but I don't remember any suggestion about bathing separately in bathtubs as being a real turn-on.
These ads can be aggravating and are probably unnecessary. In fact, I wouldn't blame a doctor if he doubled his office call fee for anybody who asked him to prescribe a particular drug, based on what they saw in a magazine or on TV. I'm still a media person and I realize that all of these legalities, as well as the ads themselves, provide a lot of income for TV and the print media. But you have to wonder how much could be saved in prescription drug costs if patients left it up to the doctor to determine the proper treatment.
On to a more serious, personal topic: I learned this week of the death of my cousin Marvin. Although we had not been very close in the past several years as he was a bit older and lived about 200 miles away, the news of his death brought back some memories of happier times. Marvin lived in a small central Illinois town, but he had an accent like he lived in Kentucky. He was often moody, but then would surprise you with a quick smile or smirk. It always seemed like there was more going on in his mind than he would say.
Unfortunately, that may have led to his eventual downfall. Several years ago, he was involved in a love triangle. In a fit of jealousy, he allegedly walked into a diner in his hometown, spotted the guy who he thought was responsible for his failed marriage and shot him to death in front of the breakfast crowd. He was convicted of murder and sent to the state pen. He was still serving his sentence when he died this week.
I've never known a murderer. But I've also never known a personality like my cousin Marvin as he was years ago. I certainly don't condone what he did and I grieve for his victim's family. But I can still remember that ready smile he flashed many years ago. Marvin, I hope you have finally made peace with your demons.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Finding the true meaning of Christmas
By Jeff Orvis
Thanks for the kind comments on my first try at writing a blog. I hope in the weeks to come, I will be more diligent in updating this site more often.
A few days ago, Tony Jones, a friend from Belle Plaine, put forth the question on his Facebook page dealing with his friends' views of the true meaning of Christmas. Facebook is a wonderful way to keep up with those who we may not see very often. It is also sometimes allows you to spend a few idle moments jotting down the first thing that comes to mind.
Tony's question got me thinking. Last year at this time, I was wondering how I would get out of town to buy whatever Christmas presents I couldn't find in Belle Plaine. Then I wondered if I would get home for the holidays. As it turned out, the weather was pretty rotten last Christmas and after remembering a previous Christmas driving during a freezing rainstorm on Interstate 80, I decided not to chance it last year.
This year is a bit different. I have relocated closer to a lot of my relatives and live within a mile of some of the best shopping in the Quad-Cities. Anyone who is concerned about the prosperity of retail businesses should get a look at the Sunday newspapers in this area. Apparently there's enough business that dozens of stores can afford glossy advertising inserts in the papers every week.
For the folks who have experienced severe financial difficulties this past year, there are several sources of help in this area. It seems that each night there is a news report on a holiday dinner for those needing a little cheer or a toy drive to give Santa a helping hand to some of the area's needy children. In front of many of those aforementioned stores, Salvation Army kettles are manned by bell ringing volunteers who are braving the elements to help the cause.
Sunday morning I had every intention of attending church. But when I went out to start the van, it was covered with a hard-to-scrape coating of frost and ice. After about 15 minutes of trying, I gave up. My mom had asked if I would go with her and other members of her church to do some Christmas caroling Sunday afternoon. I'll admit the idea wasn't that exciting at first. After all, this was Sunday afternoon she was talking about - NFL Sunday afternoon. But after missing church in the morning, I made up my mind to turn off the TV and go caroling.
Our first stop convinced me I had made the right decision. We had 25-30 folks in our group and we sang a half-dozen carols for the residents of the Davenport Lutheran Home. Mom's pastor also serves as the chaplain at the home and at least several of the residents were members of her church. Most of them would not be leaving the facility for Christmas. Some of them would probably not be visited by friends or relatives on this most festive of days. We only stayed about a half-hour. But our visit may have made a positive impact on the lives of many of those who heard us.
We made several other stops that afternoon at a couple of retirement homes and at private homes of shut-ins. Then we returned to the church for soup and hot chocolate. It was just one Sunday afternoon. It was one way of experiencing the true meaning of Christmas - sharing our voices and the good news of the birth of Jesus to others. The soup and fellowship at the church was good. One of the other guys there had one of those fancy cell phones that gave him access to the internet and he updated us on the football scores for the afternoon. Besides, I knew the Bears weren't playing until Monday night, so all was well.
One of the traditions of Christmas in recent years has been the showing of the TV movie "A Charley Brown Christmas," featuring the Peanuts gang attempting to present a Christmas play. The kids are shown scurrying about, trying to find a nice tree for the stage, selecting proper holiday music, figuring out who would play which part in the play, etc. Just when all appears to be lost, Linus steps to center stage and begins quietly reciting the story of the birth of Jesus from the second chapter of the book of Luke in the Bible. And in those last few moments, the true meaning of Christmas comes through loud and clear.
The point of this whole story is it's probably okay to be a bit stressed this time of the year. Shopping for gifts, planning trips to visit relatives and planning and preparing the right treats for the big day can be fun. But it seems that the whole experience can be even more special, regardless of your current economic condition, if you stop for a few moments and consider what it must have been like some 2,000 years ago in a barn in the Middle Eastern town of Bethlehem and what that little baby, born of a virgin, would accomplish in his all-too-short, but vital life here on earth.
May you and your family enjoy this time of year and discover and remember why we celebrate.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the kind comments on my first try at writing a blog. I hope in the weeks to come, I will be more diligent in updating this site more often.
A few days ago, Tony Jones, a friend from Belle Plaine, put forth the question on his Facebook page dealing with his friends' views of the true meaning of Christmas. Facebook is a wonderful way to keep up with those who we may not see very often. It is also sometimes allows you to spend a few idle moments jotting down the first thing that comes to mind.
Tony's question got me thinking. Last year at this time, I was wondering how I would get out of town to buy whatever Christmas presents I couldn't find in Belle Plaine. Then I wondered if I would get home for the holidays. As it turned out, the weather was pretty rotten last Christmas and after remembering a previous Christmas driving during a freezing rainstorm on Interstate 80, I decided not to chance it last year.
This year is a bit different. I have relocated closer to a lot of my relatives and live within a mile of some of the best shopping in the Quad-Cities. Anyone who is concerned about the prosperity of retail businesses should get a look at the Sunday newspapers in this area. Apparently there's enough business that dozens of stores can afford glossy advertising inserts in the papers every week.
For the folks who have experienced severe financial difficulties this past year, there are several sources of help in this area. It seems that each night there is a news report on a holiday dinner for those needing a little cheer or a toy drive to give Santa a helping hand to some of the area's needy children. In front of many of those aforementioned stores, Salvation Army kettles are manned by bell ringing volunteers who are braving the elements to help the cause.
Sunday morning I had every intention of attending church. But when I went out to start the van, it was covered with a hard-to-scrape coating of frost and ice. After about 15 minutes of trying, I gave up. My mom had asked if I would go with her and other members of her church to do some Christmas caroling Sunday afternoon. I'll admit the idea wasn't that exciting at first. After all, this was Sunday afternoon she was talking about - NFL Sunday afternoon. But after missing church in the morning, I made up my mind to turn off the TV and go caroling.
Our first stop convinced me I had made the right decision. We had 25-30 folks in our group and we sang a half-dozen carols for the residents of the Davenport Lutheran Home. Mom's pastor also serves as the chaplain at the home and at least several of the residents were members of her church. Most of them would not be leaving the facility for Christmas. Some of them would probably not be visited by friends or relatives on this most festive of days. We only stayed about a half-hour. But our visit may have made a positive impact on the lives of many of those who heard us.
We made several other stops that afternoon at a couple of retirement homes and at private homes of shut-ins. Then we returned to the church for soup and hot chocolate. It was just one Sunday afternoon. It was one way of experiencing the true meaning of Christmas - sharing our voices and the good news of the birth of Jesus to others. The soup and fellowship at the church was good. One of the other guys there had one of those fancy cell phones that gave him access to the internet and he updated us on the football scores for the afternoon. Besides, I knew the Bears weren't playing until Monday night, so all was well.
One of the traditions of Christmas in recent years has been the showing of the TV movie "A Charley Brown Christmas," featuring the Peanuts gang attempting to present a Christmas play. The kids are shown scurrying about, trying to find a nice tree for the stage, selecting proper holiday music, figuring out who would play which part in the play, etc. Just when all appears to be lost, Linus steps to center stage and begins quietly reciting the story of the birth of Jesus from the second chapter of the book of Luke in the Bible. And in those last few moments, the true meaning of Christmas comes through loud and clear.
The point of this whole story is it's probably okay to be a bit stressed this time of the year. Shopping for gifts, planning trips to visit relatives and planning and preparing the right treats for the big day can be fun. But it seems that the whole experience can be even more special, regardless of your current economic condition, if you stop for a few moments and consider what it must have been like some 2,000 years ago in a barn in the Middle Eastern town of Bethlehem and what that little baby, born of a virgin, would accomplish in his all-too-short, but vital life here on earth.
May you and your family enjoy this time of year and discover and remember why we celebrate.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A new media adventure begins
By Jeff Orvis
They say "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," but I with this posting, I am attempting to disprove that saying.
I've definitely come a long way since that fateful morning more than 35 years ago when I walked into a weekly newspaper office to begin my career and at the same time, they were removing the lead letters that had been used to set type for many years at the newspaper out the back door as we converted to offset printing. Those of you familiar with newspaper production know what I'm talking about. For the rest of you, it would be interesting to Google "history of newspaper production" and see how the industry evolved.
With this first posting, I am entering a new realm of communication and I hope you will join me for the ride. By way of a brief introduction, I was born and raised in the Quad-City region along the Mississippi River. I graduated from Pleasant Valley High School (GO SPARTANS!), attended Central College in the beautiful Dutch-influenced town of Pella, IA for a year, before financial circumstances sent me back to the home region, where I attended St. Ambrose College (now university) for two years.
While in high school and then while attending St. Ambrose, I had been a part-time reporter for the weekly Bettendorf News, where I gained much valuable training from the publisher and his wife. When I decided to end my college career, I was offered a full-time reporting job at the News for the princely sum of $75 per week.
After a couple of years there, I was ready to "leave the nest" and was hired at the Independence Bulletin-Journal in Buchanan County, IA. My association with that organization lasted about 19 years, including several publishers, several more editors and at least two owners. After that, my wife and I published our own weekly newspaper in that town for a year before financial reality hit. We then moved to the Benton County, IA town of Belle Plaine, where I edited the Belle Plaine Union for about 11 years before that paper merged with a neighboring publication and my position was cut.
My media career took another turn at that point, when I was asked to edit a community news web site in Belle Plaine, which was owned by the local community development corporation. A year later, financial reality hit again and the corporation board decided it could no longer support a full-time editor for the site and once again my position was eliminated. Several months later, I relocated to Davenport, where my mom generously agreed to allow me to live with her in her beautiful condo as I began my work search here.
As I continue my search, I was prompted to try my hand at writing a blog. I have always enjoyed writing a column for the various newspapers and the web site I've worked on. I write on a wide range of topics. I am very opinionated, which might please some and anger others. At times I enjoy and at other times I am frustrated by politics. I am passionate about sports, especially the Iowa Hawkeyes, along with the Northern Iowa Panthers and Iowa State Cyclones, as well as the Chicago Cubs and Bears. I was more interested in the Bulls when Michael Jordan was playing and was happy to see the Black Hawks win the Stanley Cup.
With this blog, I intend to keep my writing skills sharp, while venting a bit. I truly valued my time living in a city of just under 6,000 residents and later in a city of just under 3,000. I tell my friends that I really didn't live in Iowa until I moved to Independence. Before that, I lived on the Iowa side of the Quad-Cities. We had little interest in what was happening in places like Quasqueton, Rowley, Blairstown or Van Horne. I not only learned where those places are, but also learned that this state has a lot of good people living very comfortable, easy-going lives in those small towns and I hope to bring that message to a wider readership.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I hope to have the discipline to update it often and I hope you will find some things worth reading. My thanks to all my friends and relatives who have helped me get this far in life. My particular thanks goes out to Garrison Reekers, Belle Plaine city councilman, Benton County Sheriff's deputy and all-around good guy, who told me about blogspot. Check out his blog at
More to come...
They say "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," but I with this posting, I am attempting to disprove that saying.
I've definitely come a long way since that fateful morning more than 35 years ago when I walked into a weekly newspaper office to begin my career and at the same time, they were removing the lead letters that had been used to set type for many years at the newspaper out the back door as we converted to offset printing. Those of you familiar with newspaper production know what I'm talking about. For the rest of you, it would be interesting to Google "history of newspaper production" and see how the industry evolved.
With this first posting, I am entering a new realm of communication and I hope you will join me for the ride. By way of a brief introduction, I was born and raised in the Quad-City region along the Mississippi River. I graduated from Pleasant Valley High School (GO SPARTANS!), attended Central College in the beautiful Dutch-influenced town of Pella, IA for a year, before financial circumstances sent me back to the home region, where I attended St. Ambrose College (now university) for two years.
While in high school and then while attending St. Ambrose, I had been a part-time reporter for the weekly Bettendorf News, where I gained much valuable training from the publisher and his wife. When I decided to end my college career, I was offered a full-time reporting job at the News for the princely sum of $75 per week.
After a couple of years there, I was ready to "leave the nest" and was hired at the Independence Bulletin-Journal in Buchanan County, IA. My association with that organization lasted about 19 years, including several publishers, several more editors and at least two owners. After that, my wife and I published our own weekly newspaper in that town for a year before financial reality hit. We then moved to the Benton County, IA town of Belle Plaine, where I edited the Belle Plaine Union for about 11 years before that paper merged with a neighboring publication and my position was cut.
My media career took another turn at that point, when I was asked to edit a community news web site in Belle Plaine, which was owned by the local community development corporation. A year later, financial reality hit again and the corporation board decided it could no longer support a full-time editor for the site and once again my position was eliminated. Several months later, I relocated to Davenport, where my mom generously agreed to allow me to live with her in her beautiful condo as I began my work search here.
As I continue my search, I was prompted to try my hand at writing a blog. I have always enjoyed writing a column for the various newspapers and the web site I've worked on. I write on a wide range of topics. I am very opinionated, which might please some and anger others. At times I enjoy and at other times I am frustrated by politics. I am passionate about sports, especially the Iowa Hawkeyes, along with the Northern Iowa Panthers and Iowa State Cyclones, as well as the Chicago Cubs and Bears. I was more interested in the Bulls when Michael Jordan was playing and was happy to see the Black Hawks win the Stanley Cup.
With this blog, I intend to keep my writing skills sharp, while venting a bit. I truly valued my time living in a city of just under 6,000 residents and later in a city of just under 3,000. I tell my friends that I really didn't live in Iowa until I moved to Independence. Before that, I lived on the Iowa side of the Quad-Cities. We had little interest in what was happening in places like Quasqueton, Rowley, Blairstown or Van Horne. I not only learned where those places are, but also learned that this state has a lot of good people living very comfortable, easy-going lives in those small towns and I hope to bring that message to a wider readership.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I hope to have the discipline to update it often and I hope you will find some things worth reading. My thanks to all my friends and relatives who have helped me get this far in life. My particular thanks goes out to Garrison Reekers, Belle Plaine city councilman, Benton County Sheriff's deputy and all-around good guy, who told me about blogspot. Check out his blog at
http://reekersresearch.blogspot.com/
More to come...
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