Neighbors Helping Neighbors

In the summer of 2007, my sister and her husband, Martha and Dan Mosher hired a delivery person to deliver products to hospitals for their company Mosher Medical. Alan Watt has proven to be an excellent employee with his attention to detail and strong work ethic. He never complains, even when the deliveries take him late into the evening driving through a Northeastern Ohio snowstorm. He's one of those people that when you meet him, you somehow feel good. Like somehow, you'll be better for knowing him.

Last year, Alan needed to take a few days off to take his wife Teresa for some medical testing. Many tests and procedures were performed until the doctors finally delivered the dismal news. Teresa, a young mother of three little girls, was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer.

Teresa and Alan are raising their family in a 1920's farmhouse with limited funds. The house is in desperate need of repairs. Last winter, the girls had to sleep on the living room floor because the upstairs windows were broken to the point they could not keep heat in the second floor. This summer they were without running water for 3 weeks. A generous neighbor was able to repair their well which remedied the water problem, but there are many more needs. Their furnace and water heater needs replaced and the electric system in their home needs brought up to safety standards. They are months behind in their mortgage payments and their medical bills, even with health insurance, have become overwhelming. They were looking at alternative medicine but have had to put off going to seek additional treatment because they don't have enough gas money to make the trip. Teresa contributes to the family income by teaching at the school the girls attend, but as the cancer spreads she will be unable to continue working. These are hardworking people that life has just thrown them into difficult circumstances. They would never ask for help. In fact, they often express their gratitude for what they do have, instead of complaining about what they do not have. They are truly inspiring.

I think the world of my sister and brother in law. They have worked hard to help Alan and his family beyond what a normal employer might do. It was no coincidence that Alan walked to fill an open position at their company. I believe God puts people together for a reason.

Generous friends and neighbors have stepped in to do what they can—but now, the medical bills and housing needs as we approach this upcoming winter have become insurmountable. We know that our world is full of generous and caring people that are willing to help a neighbor in need, even when you don’t know them personally. We’re hoping if we all pull together, and everyone can give just a little, we can help this family.

The short-term goal is to provide funds to enable them to keep their home and facilitate the necessary repairs as we approach this winter. The long-term goal is to set aside money for the girls educational needs in the future. A benevolent fund has been set up at First Merit Bank to raise money to meet these goals.

Please view the following link to meet the Alan Watt Family and consider donating to the benevolent fund. http://moshermedia.com/watt.html
You can stop by any First Merit bank location or mail your donation in any amount to:
First Merit
30 Springside Drive
Akron, Oh 44333
Make check payable to: Alan Watt Family Benevolent Fund

Thank you so very much, in advance, for your consideration.

Can't We All Just TRY to Get Along?

President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, it was announced this past Friday, for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. From the reaction of so many, you'd think it was a "war" prize.

It is troubling to me to hear the outcry of the critics of this decision, not because I think the President was the most deserving person to win the prize, but because of the way some are using the honor to continue to criticize and tear down the man on a deeply personal level. The naysayers blast the decision, saying its "all about politics."

Isn't everything?

The comedy skit on SNL summed it up best, when the "parody president" humbly acknowledged he won it for simply "not being George W Bush." My thinking is, we've been so hated around the world for so many years, isn't the fact that we are now viewed in a more positive light from the outside in worth celebrating? Even just a little?

For the record, I'm not one to talk politics. I do have strong opinions on various issues, but I express them to very few. I stay away from political discussions, socially, in the workplace, and especially around my family, who gets along on most issues, but is now so divided politically.

Calling myself a moderate is probably a cop-out, but the bottom line is I try to use common sense in my voting preferences, never voting strictly by party but instead voting for who I believe to be the best candidate. Neither party's platform suits my philosophy. I lean fiscally conservative but socially liberal. While I don't want the government over-regulating my life or my pocketbook, too little regulation allowed for the greed and corruption that led us to this current recession.

I don't agree with every decision our President is making, but I sure didn't agree with many our last president made either. In both cases the personal attacks on both sides sickens me. I am so tired of the hate-filled talk that spews from the mouths of these talk show hosts every day. What happened to our ability to disagree and still respect the person, and the office? I believe that both George Bush and Barack Obama are good men personally. Men who love their country and their families. Men who believed they were and are making the best decisions with the information they have. Information we can't possibly know about. Information no candidate knows about until he wins the office; and only then he is presented with intelligence that would probably send our heads spinning.

There might be a million things wrong with the proposed health care plan, for example, but why say "no" to everything the president proposes, but come up with no viable alternatives? Why after 9 months, is this president being crucified for not fixing what it took almost a decade to create? I believe with all my heart and soul that the average American just wants to see our politicians working together for us instead of against each other.

A year ago the view from outside this country was so negative. The rest of the world viewed us with such disdain--and now--we are viewed more positively due to the diplomatic skills of our president. Does that deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? I don't know. But he won it. Along with the office of the President of the United States, because the majority of people voting seems to think he deserved both.

If he doesn't win another term, we've got 3 plus more years with this president. For for those who love him...it's great. For those who don't it will be a long 3 years. But isn't it time we accept it and try to work together? Isn't it time for peace at home?

For the common good: can't we and our elected officials just try to get along?

Taylor and Company: Just Good People

You've probably heard stories of demanding, ego-maniacal superstars. You know the type. They want caviar and champagne and only the green M&M's in their dressing room. They treat fans, agents and stage crew alike with disdain. Especially prevalent are the young female stars like Lindsey Lohan or Brittany Spears who party all the time and end up in rehab. Maybe that's why it's especially cool that just when you think the age of big stars with small egos and treating the people who made you famous nicely is a thing of the past, you meet someone who brings back your faith in humanity.

That is the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift.

I'm blessed to have a job where I meet a lot of talented, famous people; some nice, and some not so nice. On many occasions (mostly when I was in pop music radio) I met a lot of the latter and wondered how they got so successful. And then, you meet someone who seemingly has it all together. They have talent, beauty, brains, business acumen, and a wonderful, kind personality. That has been my experience in the past with Taylor, and more recently in New York City when I witnessed her magic in front of the sold out Madison Square Garden.

Although I've had the pleasure of spending time with Taylor several times over the past couple of years, it was so refreshing to see this (still) young lady is as down to earth today as she was when she and her mom visited stations like WQMX to introduce her to country radio.

Back then, all those 3 years ago, after singing songs that were real, true to her age and life experience, (because she wrote every one of them) Taylor treated every person she encountered like gold. When at WQMX for a Rising Star Showcase, she met each listener with a smile. She didn't just sign a photo, she wrote a note, or drew a heart, or did something to make each person she met feel special. She thanked then, and continues to thank now, radio people for playing her songs, and listeners for listening to them. She seems genuinely surprised that people like her as much as they do, and always makes it seem like it was a privilege for her to play for us. Back then, several people remarked that there was something different about this girl from the hundreds we meet.

And 3 years later, there still is.

Taylor's stats are more than impressive. Her self-titled debut album produced five hit singles and was certified 3times Multi-Platinum. The New York Times described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country's foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults". She was the biggest selling artist of 2008 with combined sales of more than four million albums. Her latest Fearless was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200. According to the 2009 issue of Forbes, Swift is ranked as the 69th most powerful celebrity with over $18 million in earnings this year.
And she's 19.

Sometimes, talent, fame and fortune can mess with a person's head. How could it not? But so far, there is no sign of that with Taylor. Yes, she is worldlier. But she is surrounded by an amazing mom and dad, and a record company that feels like a mom and pop shop: Big Machine records, headed by President Scott Borchetta.

And speaking of Big Machine, the record rep I deal with in our region is a guy name Erik Powell. Erik is an example of being true to the company he keeps. I was standing next to him at Taylor's concert in New York. Erik is way taller than me, and at one point he scrunched down next to me so he could witness the view from my perspective. He said, "Sue, you can't see anything". I said, "Erik, welcome to my world!" He then guided me to the front near the stage, where I stood where I could actually see the concert. Talk about putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

Then, Erik did something really special. He made eye contact with Taylor's guitar player, who had been tossing picks into the audience of screaming girls all evening. Erik went to the edge of the stage and the player handed him several picks. He then went to the area of wheelchairs and made sure each young disabled child received a pick. Apparently, the two of them do that for most shows.

Pretty cool.

Customer service, kindness, and just being a "good people". That describes Taylor Swift and the people in support of her, starting with her family, to label exec Scott, to my friend Erik.

It's nice when success comes to good people.

That's Why They Call 'Em Crackberries

I said I’d never do it. I’d never get a Blackberry. Cell phones can be enough of a distraction, but a device that gets calls, texts, Internet access and emails from both home and work? No way. I was afraid I’d become like so many around me, checking email constantly. Hearing that “bloop” sound that notifies them of a text or an email from one of 2, 3 or more accounts. My sister said that since her husband got one she feels like another person is in their relationship.

Nope. Not me. Not gonna do it.

Then… my phone stopped working, my plan was up and I wandered into the store and, well, they got me. Now, I feel like I’m turning into one of “them". I have tried to ignore it when the notifications happen, but it’s hard. It seems like its calling my name while I’m driving with its insidious noises. I feel like I have to check. Like I’m missing something. I can’t help it!

Apparently, I’m not the only one. Experts have warned Blackberry type devices can be so addictive that owners may need to be weaned off them with treatment similar to that given to drug users. A study by New Jersey's Rutgers University School claims the Blackberry is fueling a rise in email and Internet addiction, with sufferers able to survive only a few minutes without checking for new mail. One key sign of a user being addicted is if they focus on their Blackberry ignoring those around them.

I have a friend who doesn’t own a cell phone. He is a successful professional businessman who basically just refuses to give in to the technology. I debated with him ever so slightly, although I don’t know why. He’s heard enough arguments over the years I doubt I can introduce anything new that would change his mind. I tossed in my reasons like safety on the road, emergencies, running late, an accident, and just generally being accessible—which was probably my worst argument.

He admitted that he sometimes wishes he had one, especially when traveling. But that he is carrying out his own quiet little quixotic campaign against cell phones, because he finds them so annoying when he’s with people that are constantly taking calls or checking email on their Blackberry while they are supposed to be doing business. He had me at that one.

My co-host Scott Wynn and I were talking about technology on the air the other day. A caller expressed her irritation at computers. She said she didn’t have one and would never get one. Scott said he’s never known technology to go backward and that like it or not, computers, cell phones, Blackberries, and smart devices of all kinds are not going away. And while that's true, I think it's a new challenge to find a way to not let common sense and good manners regress as the technology makes progress.

As I listened to that lady at the checkout line in Giant Eagle scream into her cell phone (why do people talk so loudly when on their cell?) I found that my friend's quiet little quixotic campaign against cell phones was making more sense that I may want to admit to him.

To Protect and Serve

Scott and I received an email to the Wynn and Wilson Morning Show recently. It was from a loyal listener, who was also a police officer, and he was troubled by what he perceived to be "pot shots" that had been taken at police officers on our show. The subjects of the incidents he was referring to were controversial news stories involving police officers pulling people over and/or making a controversial arrests that we ended up talking about on the air.

3 of the incidents were recorded on dash cam videos which were up on You Tube and had received thousands and thousands of views by the time we talked about them. One was of a Grandma who got tasered. Another was of an officer pulling over an ambulance with a patient in the back of the car. The third was of a man pulled over for speeding while trying to get to his dying mother-in-law's bedside. And the final incident involved a Sandusky man arrested for mowing a city park that had become overgrown.

All of the situations had tensions flaring on both sides. The Grandma was a jerk, no doubt. She kept "daring" the officer to taser her. The Sandusky man was argumentative and in these 2 situations people could at least understand the officer's frustration. The other 2 were a little more dicey and after several views of the video, most people not siding with the officers.

We felt that these were pretty good morning show topics. They were major news stories that people were talking about. And so, after the news, we opened the phone lines and let people express their opinions. We aired both sides of the story. In my explanation to the police officer who wrote in, I did tell him that we said on the air that more than once that we believe these situations to be the exception and not the rule. We know that the majority of police officers are on the job to protect and serve. We can only imagine how difficult their job is each and every day. One of my good friend's husband is a police officer, and I know the worry and fear every time he goes to work. Still, even with that disclaimer, the calls that came in leaned against the police officers in these situations, and I understand how any police officer listening might feel a bit defensive.

I put a lot of time and thought into my email response back to him. And in the end, I apologized and meant it. We may not mean to offend or hurt others with our words, or even in giving the forum to others to share their opinions. So when that happens, I feel badly. I tried to explain that I think it stinks when a few bad apples reflect poorly on the whole bunch, but also that just because they are only a few doesn't mean they shouldn't be called out. When people are in positions of authority, they should be held to a higher standard, and when they screw up, it should be brought out big time.

This isn't true of just police officers. There are several professions where a select few tarnished the overall image of a profession. The same can be said for of any position where power and authority preside: from policemen to teachers, to politicians, judges or Catholic priests. If anyone in a position of authority is caught doing something that abuses that authority and trust; shouldn't we be able to see it if there's video? Debate it? Get mad abut it... and if they are found to be wrong, expect the repercussions to be heavy?

That police officer did get me thinking. These men and women take their lives in their hands every time they go to work. How scary it must be to know that a routine traffic stop could end up taking your life. How difficult it must be to go to work and know the majority of the people you will come in contact with are doing something illegal, immoral or worse. You Tube videos like that being played over and over again can have people mistrusting police officers more than is fair, because certainly we never see the heroic things they do every day played over and over again. That's just not news, I guess. But I would be proud to share any stories like that I hear...I'd love to give the other side now.

I know the majority of our police officers are there to protect and serve and I know they would be there for me and my family if we needed them.

And for that I thank and salute them.