Circumstances beyond our control

By Jeff Orvis

“Due to circumstances beyond our control.”

When we hear those chilling words, we soon realize it's not good. Well, I've been the victim of several circumstances beyond my control in recent times. And though they aren't necessarily life-threatening and in the grand scheme of things, they might seem a bit trivial. But they tend to really tick me off!

I appreciate the concept of on-line banking. I enjoy being able to manage the meager amount of money I still have in my bank account by making a few clicks on my computer. One day, as I attempted to see if I was still in the black, there was a message that the bank was making a routine security check and asked me for one of my security questions. This automatically sent up a red flag for me. I knew this was not going to be easy.

When you set up your account, you are asked to create answers to three security questions so the computer at the bank knows that the computer trying to access a certain account is being operated by the account holder. So they ask you to answer questions like where you were born, your mother's maiden name, the name of your father's first pet, etc. They also recommend that you memorize the answers to these questions and don't write them down. If some thief breaks into your house, you don't want him finding the answers so he can steal the $27 you have in your checking account!

The bank's computer asked a certain question and I thought I typed in the right answer. No dice. I tried again. No dice. I got frustrated and tried a different answer and this time, the bank's computer said I was again wrong and would have to call the bank to straighten things out.

I envisioned calling an 800 number and getting an automated answer and referral and then being put on hold for 45 minutes. Instead, I tried the old-fashioned approach and drove downtown to the bank and thought I would try the face-to-face approach. The teller politely told me that they couldn't access that information and I was referred to an 800 number at the bank's Iowa City office. I promptly lost the phone number and that's where I stand with that one. I can still use my ATM card and that way I know what my bank balance is. But I still have to drive somewhere where there's an ATM machine.

So much for computer convenience!

 

Back when I still had a few extra dollars, I decided to subscribe to the daily on-line edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Although I've moved back to Davenport, I still care about what happens in eastern Iowa. Things went well for a few months. Then the other day, when I attempted to log on, I was informed that the Gazette was making some “improvements” to the site. I got those old familiar chills again as I realized this was again not going to be easy.

I tried to jump through the hoops as directed on the newspaper's site, then decided to call the circulation department in an attempt to iron things out. After a few minutes on hold where you get that “all of our operators are currently busy. Your call is important to us, please hold” followed by some elevator music, I reached a real person. She tried to talk me through the process. But I have only two hands and had to hold the phone with one hand while typing with the other.

As you can guess, I soon gave up and get whatever news I can from the Gazette's web site.

Next week is the start of the baseball season. We have Direct TV and I was looking forward to a season of watching the Cubs try to finally make it to the World Series. But one day, as I attempted to watch a rerun of “Walker Texas Rainger” on WGN, I was informed that due to a fight over rights fees between the station and Direct TV, subscribers might lose the station at the end of March.

It seems that WGN wants Direct TV to pay a fee for each of its subscribers to continue viewing the station. This not only affects Cubs fans in Iowa, but people all across the country who rely on watching Tribune-owned local stations via the satellite. At this writing, all of this might disappear at midnight Saturday.

This is a fight that seems ridiculous. Both sides are crazy. Direct TV should certainly be able to afford to pay rights fees. I counted 43 shopping channels on my package and you know that the company is getting lease payments from each of these stations. Direct TV keeps sending me letters, asking me to reconsider and become a customer again. But Mom already gets the service and I don't need to pay again. In one of those mailings, Direct TV says that every seven seconds, someone switches to their service. With that kind of income, you would think they could quit sending me meaningless letters, cut back a bit on those stupid ad slicks that fall out of our newspapers each week and pay the rights fee!

On the other side of the coin, how would you like to be an ad salesman for a Tribune-owned TV station who had to call on clients on Monday and explain why your viewership suddenly dropped by 75 percent? Somebody has to blink or maybe somebody from the Cubs and White Sox can storm into the negotiations with a big, 36-inch bat and demand a settlement!

Maybe it's time to switch off the TV, quit worrying about the bank and the newspaper and go out and sit on the porch and watch the birds. As long as I keep seed in the bird feeder, at least they won't stay away chirping, “Due to circumstances beyond our control!”

Where's George?

By Jeff Orvis

There was a game that was popular a few years ago called “Where's Waldo?” One of the things I remember about it was you were shown a picture of many figures and you were supposed to pick out Waldo.

As this seemingly endless and often pointless Republican presidential campaign drones on, some of us who are fortunate enough to be on the outside looking in may wonder, Where's George? You remember George, don't you? He's the guy who ran for president in the year 2000 and since he couldn't decide who should run with him, he asked a guy named Dick Cheney to head up a group to do it for him. After an exhaustive search for just the right vice presidential nominee, old wily Dick had a major revelation, “Why not me?”

So with the Republican ticket in good hands, we proceeded to November. When the dust cleared on Wednesday morning following the election and neither candidate was a clear winner, we had the ultimate privilege of allowing the Supreme Court to elect our president! What a concept!

Four years later, we had the chance to do it all again. But those of us who favored the other party may have realized that it didn't matter who we put up against the incumbent, the fix was in and the George and Dick show had four more years.

Now we come to the circus of 2012. George Bush has been out of office for over three years. But he seems to be a forgotten man, in exile in his Texas home. When's the last time you heard of a two-term president being virtually ignored by members of his own party? George is more lonely than the Maytag repairman.

Recently, members of the Bush family have started to endorse Mitt Romney for the nomination this time around. Barbara Bush was the first, then son Jeb (maybe the smarter son of the family) was next and this week, dad George H.W. Bush was supposed to board the Mitt Express. Don't you just supposed that young George's people got in contact with Mitt's people and offered to endorse him and the response was “Oh, please don't do us any favors! Don't call us, we'll call you.”

It's not that the Republicans don't refer to history in their attempt to unseat the current president. Some of them, most notably Newt Gingrich, have done everything but conduct a séance to resurrect the memory of Ronald Reagan. Things were so much better when that dear old former actor was in charge of things. But it seems like everybody conveniently suffers short term memory loss if the name of the most recent past president is brought up.

A lot of us would like to forget the blunders forced on us during the Bush administration. It's too bad it took a heart transplant for the former vice president for us to be jolted back to those bad dreams.

President Obama and his crew are certainly not without fault. Things are certainly far from great. The administration has probably spent too much time and energy blaming the current mess on poor old George. It's time to man up and deal with the hand you have been dealt. To that end, things appear to be turning around.

The problem is that many voters forget just how bad the situation was when Obama took office. They may be seduced into wanting to try something else. But before they mark the ballot for another Republican president, they should realize that their guy will probably adopt more of the same splendid actions that served us so well (please note the sarcasm) from 2001 through 2008. This is not the 1980s. Reagan is long gone folks. Remember that before you decide to hand the reigns over to the elephant brigade.

Many view the Bush years as an eight-year mistake. But for the sake of the legacy of the presidency, for heaven's sake, find something meaningful for this guy to do in retirement! President Carter had his faults during his administration, but he's become perhaps the best former president this country has ever had with his work in the Carter Center. President Bill Clinton weathered some personal scandal and even an impeachment to fill out eight years. But he's emerged as another great past president with the various charitable endeavors he has tackled. There must be something poor George can do. Just don't let him near the Oval Office any time soon!

Free as a bird

By Jeff Orvis

Free as a bird.

We've all heard this phrase and most of us probably didn't think much more about it. But I'm sitting here on the porch in Davenport, not far from the fairway of the Crow Valley Country Club and as I watch my winged neighbors gobble up the food I put in the feeder the other day, that phrase is beginning to hold special meaning for me.

I've never been much for the formal study of the habits of wildlife. Maybe it's better that way for in my ignorance of the real reasons birds do what they do, it allows my imagination to run a little wild.

Currently, our feeder is sustaining a flock of sparrows, a couple of cardinals and a few mourning doves. I've seen a robin or two and sometimes a bird that I really can't identify swoops down for a brief bite.

We also have a red-tailed hawk that sometimes makes an appearance, landing on a large utility pole across the yard. If he's lonely or simply wants to announce his presence, sometimes his calling is so loud you can't hear the TV in the living room!

I realize that birds lead a tough life. We might offer them a bit of seeds to eat and a bird bath for water, but they have to cope with changes in weather, watching out for bigger birds and other creatures that would harm them and scouring the countryside for twigs and leaves to build their homes each spring.

But they do have one advantage over us: They don't watch CNN or the nightly news. They couldn't care less that there are numerous men strutting around the country, claiming to have all the answers to the world's problems as they seek the nomination for the presidency. Birds know nothing about war, unless they are close to the fighting and the noise scares them. They don't care that state legislatures across the country are working to make better lives for their citizens but sometimes seem to get in our way. But if mourning doves had lobbyists in Des Moines last year, they may have had some concern about certain new hunting laws!

I've noticed that we share certain traits with some birds. For example, sparrows appear to believe in strength in numbers. Sometimes, a lone sparrow will land on the feeder and peck away for up to five minutes. Then he lets out a yell and is soon joined by six or eight of his best friends. One of the cardinals that is a frequent visitor prefers to come in very close to nightfall. I don't know how he can see to eat, but maybe he likes to wait for the crowd to thin out a bit.

We've put up a hummingbird feeder. The experts may frown on this idea as it seems a bit too early. But seven straight days of record high temperatures make us wonder if the whole natural process might be speeding up this year. Hummingbirds are wonderful creatures. Despite their tiny size, they migrate from thousands of miles away each year. I wish we had a way to communicate with them so we could find out how their travel went. I went to Florida last summer and I'm still recuperating – and I was traveling in a Buick!

Well, that's enough nature observations for one day. Time to put the computer aside and perform the only task that matters to our winged neighbors...fill the feeder, then get the heck out of the way!

Time for my fearless NCAA predictions

By Jeff Orvis

Okay, the time has finally come. I realize that there are legions of basketball fans out there who have printed off their NCAA basketball tourney brackets and have had their pens poised, just waiting for me to release my predictions. Normally, I make my predictions round by round, so if there are too many upsets in the first round, my whole bracket isn't ruined. But this time, I decided to get the whole thing over with at one time.

Before you take the following picks as gospel, you might want to consider this: Years ago when I was still in Independence, our city clerk, Clark Madison, conducted a friendly tournament pool. We each chipped in a few bucks with dreams of winning enough to make a car payment or a rent payment. Alas, most every year, after the first round, he would stop by my office with the crushing words, “Thanks for the donation,” meaning my picks were so far off-base, I had no chance.

Each year, I try to watch as many tournament games as I can. It was a tradition that I would take a couple of days of vacation to catch the first round games during the day, throw a corned beef brisket in the oven in honor of St. Patrick's Day and sit back and relax. I usually have a few teams I like to follow for various reasons. This year, three teams have Iowa connections. Iowa State opens with the defending national champs from Connecticut with the promise of facing the nation's best team, Kentucky, in round two.

I like North Carolina because one of its big stars is Harrison Barnes from Ames. Creighton is also in the field this year. The Blue Jays feature former UNI Coach Greg McDermott and his son, Doug.

I'm also interested in how four other teams do this week. Murray State deserves a long run because that little team that few have heard of finished with a 30-1 record. Virginia Commonwealth is back in the field after shocking the nation and the so-called experts last year before losing to Butler in the Final Four. I like Duke because I think that Coach K is one of the best of all time. My last sentimental favorite is Harvard, which is in the field for the first time since 1946.

With the preliminaries out of the way, here are my fearless predictions:

First round winners – Kentucky, Iowa State, VCU, Indiana, UNLV, Baylor, Notre Dame, Duke, Michigan State, St. Louis, New Mexico, Louisville, Murray State, BYU, Florida Missouri, Syracuse, Kansas State, Harvard, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Florida State, Gonzaga, Ohio State, North Carolina, Creighton, California, Michigan, North Carolina State, Georgetown, St. Mary's and Kansas.

Second round winners – Kentucky, VCU, Baylor, Duke, Michigan State, New Mexico, Murray State, Missouri, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgetown and Kansas.

Third round winners – Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State, Missouri, Syracuse, Ohio State, North Carolina and Kansas.

Final Four – Duke over Missouri and North Carolina over Syracuse.

National Champion – North Carolina.

There could be some surprises along the way, that's why they play the games, I guess. I realize that the Big Ten Conference was acknowledged to be one of the best conferences in the nation this year, but it's hard to pick against the ACC. I also realize that most folks think Kentucky will win it all, but they proved last weekend that they can be beat.

Three other teams with ties to Iowa or the Quad-City area are in the NIT Tourney. Iowa takes on Dayton and UNI plays St. Joseph's. I'm also interested in Stanford, which plays Cleveland State. One of Stanford's top freshmen is Chasson Randle, who played his prep ball at Rock Island and was Mr. Basketball in Illinois last year. Every time I saw his highlights in his senior season at Rocky High, I was reminded of the film clips of LeBron James when he wowed the state of Ohio a few years ago.

So get ready for what Dick Vitale calls the “best three weeks of the year.” The action starts Tuesday night.

As a post-script, as I write this, the women's tournament bracket show is a couple of hours away. I probably won't make any big predictions on this tourney, although I hope Iowa and Iowa State both make the field. I'll also be hoping Maryland and Coach Brenda Freese of Cedar Rapids and Connecticut and Kia Stokes of Linn-Mar (Marion) also do well.

The loss of a mentor and friend

By Jeff Orvis

If you have been fortunate to find a career that has been fulfilling and at least a little rewarding, chances are you've had a mentor along the way. When I think of a mentor, I think of someone who has been there to show you the ropes, encourage you along the way and someone who is not afraid to kick you in the backside if you sometimes go astray.

I have been very fortunate to have several people in my life who mentored me one way or another as I traveled through the crazy world of community journalism for more than 35 years. But two men immediately come to mind when I think of those most responsible for my appreciation of paying attention to details and picking up on the little things of a story that people want to know.

These two longtime newspaper editor-publishers have book-ended my professional journey to this point. One, Harry Ryder, got me started in this business when I happened to mention that I didn't think his Bettendorf News was giving enough attention to my high school, Pleasant Valley.

I think his reply was something like, “If you think you can do a better job, give it a try.” So, along with my high school studies and activities in band, chorus and manager of the football, basketball and track teams, I began writing recaps of our games and submitting them to the paper as a correspondent.

We lost my most major influence to my professional life last week with the passing of Don Magdefrau, longtime editor and publisher of the Belle Plaine Union and South Benton Star Press. In 1996, after more than 17 years as a reporter at the newspaper in Independence and a one-year failed attempt to publish a competing weekly newspaper in the same city, I was once again looking for a job. Don had an opening at his newspapers and invited me to apply. Apparently he and his partners were satisfied with my interview and I had a new job. But though we liked our home in Independence, we knew the hour-long commute to Belle Plaine would soon have to end. Don and I also knew that in order to immerse yourself in your community, you had to live there.

We found a nice house to live in for the first year. But we knew that the owner was planning on retiring and moving into the house the next year. As time began to run out, Don came through again, this time offering to rent us his boyhood home. So for the next 10+ years, he was my landlord as well as my boss.

By the time I landed in Belle Plaine, Don had been in the business more than 40 years. Going to work each day was like going to school. In his quiet, even-tempered way he let you know when you were doing a good job. I remember one time when I slacked off on a story, the only time he really got mad at me. But even as he reprimanded me, I sensed more disappointment than anger in what he said.

One of the activities he enjoyed almost as much as publishing a quality newspaper each week was his work with the Iowa Newspaper Association. I'm sure he made hundreds of good friends from every corner of the state, as well as neighboring states, over the years. He made sure his staff was able to attend the annual state convention and one year, when he won a prestigious state award, he offered to allow us to stay overnight in downtown Des Moines so we could celebrate in the President's Suite into the wee hours without the long drive back to Benton County.

Don and Fran's son, Jim, was the managing editor of our papers, working side-by-side with his dad for many years. They were responsible for the décor of our office, as we had more state award plaques than wall space to display them. When I joined the staff, Jim had a political ally. His father was a strong figure in Benton County Republican politics. Jim and I were on the other side of the political spectrum and I really enjoyed Jim's subtle needling of his father in their quiet debates. But Don's connections proved quite valuable, as I got to meet governors, a congressman and a senator when they came to town.

Shortly after I went to work in Belle Plaine, Don and his partners got an offer they couldn't refuse and sold the company to the Des Moines Register. It was a good move for them financially and I'm sure they felt it was a good opportunity for their employees. We enjoyed a good association with our new owners for a few years, as they wisely kept Don on in charge of the Benton newspapers. But as I've written about in earlier posts, our newspapers eventually succumbed to the economic realities and corporate downsizing found its way to our operation.

On the day I decided to put Belle Plaine in my rear view mirror for the last time, I stopped by Don and Fran's house to let them know that the house was empty and I was finally on my way to Davenport. We both had tears in our eyes as Don almost apologized for bringing me into a situation where I would ultimately be forced to leave. But I reminded him that he had thrown me a career lifeline 14 years before and that I had learned a lifetime worth of lessons working for him.

From the time I left Bettendorf until I arrived in Belle Plaine I worked for more publishers than I can remember. Each one taught me a few things, either how to be a better newspaper reporter or sometimes what not to do. But none had the love of nor the respect for community journalism that Harry and Don had. I fear that as we move toward more electronic journalism and people like these two leave us, so too will a little bit of the soul of this state.