Herald Journal column April 4, 2010

Bruce Column April 4, 2010

“Bullying in schools raises major concerns” was a headline in last Wednesday’s Herald Journal. The story was about a young 15 year old Massachusetts girl who hung herself after months and months of being bullied by her fellow students at school. Bullies for reasons only they understand have an intense desire to humiliate and dominate someone. Their bullying activities often are directed toward someone that might be a bit different and are either unwilling or unable to defend themselves against the demeaning antics bullies employ. The girl in Massachusetts had recently emigrated from Ireland, possibly spoke with an accent, and maybe dressed differently from the rest of the students. She was probably targeted and not accepted because she was different.
There are a variety of ways bullies demean their victims. Sometimes its name calling, sometimes its jeers and whispers. Often it’s not allowing someone to be part of the group, like making them eat lunch by themselves and not inviting them to hang out after school. Extreme cases of bullying can include physical contact, poking, and shoving and other forms of physical abuse. In this modern age of Internet social net working a bully may choose cell phone texting as a way to demean and show their dominance. The consequences of bullying, or what some would consider innocent teasing, can be serious. In some instances those being bullied take drastic steps to relieve themselves of the pain of being ridiculed and not being accepted by kids their own age. In extreme cases of bullying, like the young 15 year old girl in Massachusetts, victims believe suicide is the only answer to relieve their suffering.
As a young boy I remember being the victim of some minor bullying at school. I was always the skinny kid that looked a lot younger than I actually was, so I was an easy target. In grade school I often hated to go outside for recess because I knew that there were a couple of kids roaming the playground looking for someone to bully. When they discovered me, a small and skinny kid, I became their easy target. A typical bullying activity consisted of one of the bullies getting my attention by simply talking to me. His buddy would sneak behind me and kneel down on hands and knees. When everything was in place the bully would shove me backwards and of course I would end up on my backside. The two bullies got a big kick out of putting me down and encouraged others to join in having a good laugh at my expense. The result was that I was humiliated in front of all my classmates and didn’t like recess.
After coming home several times and complaining to my parents about what was happening to me at school my dad sat me down and told me that the only way the bullying was going to stop was if I did something about it. He suggested that the next time it happened I should immediately jump to my feet and attack the bully with all of the energy I could muster. I followed my dad’s advice. The next time I was shoved backward and landed on my backside I came up swinging. I was scared to death because the kid I was attacking, the bully, was much bigger than me. But this time I had the element of surprise on my side. They didn’t think I would ever do what I did because there were two of them. I eventually got one of them in a headlock and hung on for dear life. After several minutes a teacher intervened and got us separated. But guess what, dad was right, I was never bothered again by the two bullies. They left me alone after that but unfortunately went looking for someone else they could pick on.
When I was in junior high school students that were different in some way were tagged with the term “fairy,” meaning that they were accused of being homosexual. In today’s world the word is “gay.” Calling someone a fairy was about the worst name you could use. It was very demeaning and a way for a bully to assert their dominance over someone they didn’t like. Once someone was tagged as a fairy there was no end to the torment the poor student suffered. No one would ever want to befriend a fairy or include them in group activity.
So, how do we deal with the possibility that there is probably bullying going on in Cache Valley? Parents need to be extra sensitive to what’s happening to their children at school, at church, or on the playground. Does your child have friends? Does your child willingly participate in school and church activities? If your child is different in some way and is always depressed when they come home from school you might inquire about why they feel depressed. You might want to talk to other students in the school to find out if your child is being bullied. If he/she is a victim you need to do something about it.
If you are a student you can be aware of the “loner,” the classmate that doesn’t seem to have any friends, and befriend them. When you observe bullying taking place you can be the courageous one and come to the defense of the classmate who is being demeaned and bullied. You can report bullying situations to the school authorities so they can do something about it.
If you are a teacher, an administrator or an adult leader of youth in church be aware that there is probably various degrees of bullying going on. You should address bullying situations firmly and aggressively.
Could bullying in Cache Valley be extreme enough that it would cause a student to take her/his life like what happened to the girl in Massachusetts? Let’s hope not.

Bruce column about Chad

Chad comes to our house every Sunday for a visit. Chad is only about six months old but is full of energy. First thing in the morning we dress him up in his green training vest and take him to church with us. He has no idea what church is all about but is learning that he needs to endure the three hours and behave himself. When church is over we reward him for being good by taking him to Top Stop, he loves to eat ice out of a cup. Then we turn him loose in the back yard to work off some of his excess energy. After a half-hour or so of romping around in the back yard it’s nap time. Like me he loves to curl up in front of the fireplace and take a Sunday afternoon nap. Chad is a beautiful black Labrador puppy who is in the early training stages of learning how to be a guide dog for the blind.
Roger Prestwich, Karen’s brother, is a puppy raiser for an organization called Guide Dogs for the Blind. He volunteered to be a puppy raiser and acquired Chad last October. He decided to be a puppy raiser because of encouragement from his sister Karen who is also my wife. She had observed one of our neighbors, Diana DeWald walking a puppy home from school each afternoon. She suspected Diana’s dog was being trained to be a guide dog for the blind. One afternoon Karen and I saw Daryll, Diana’s father, walking if front of our house with the same puppy. He stopped to visit with us and told us that the dog was, as Karen suspected, being trained by his daughter to be a seeing eye dog. He told us that this was the fourth dog their family worked with. After our visit with Daryll, Karen decided that her brother would be a good puppy raiser and convinced him that he should give it a try. Roger applied, was accepted, and went to Salt Lake last October to get Chad off the guide dog puppy truck. On that day Roger was presented with an eight week old cute black ball of fur that was full of energy and totally undisciplined.
Roger and Karen soon discovered that raising a puppy was an enormous task. It was like having a newborn baby. Chad was not house trained, he wanted to chew on anything he could find, he would cry at night, and he was into everything. His only redeeming value was that he was a cute all black Labrador puppy. After a few weeks it became obvious that Roger was becoming frustrated and needed some help. Because Karen had encouraged Roger to become a puppy raiser she felt obligated to give Roger a break once in a while by taking him on Sundays. She did what she had to do to become an official puppy sitter for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Now she regularly helps Roger out by giving him a break from the intense attention Chad demands. She takes him every Sunday, and other days as needed.
Roger has done a good job training Chad and teaching him to behave himself. It’s been a lot of work. Chad has grown to almost a full sized Labrador. He is house broken and is learning that he should only relieve himself outside on command. He will sit on command, and will come when called. He doesn’t whine very much anymore, but he still likes to chew on things. He is slowly learning that when he is wearing his green vest he is expected to behave differently because he is working. He can’t allow himself to be distracted by people, cats, other dogs, or any other animals. He knows that he can’t jump on people and is not allowed on furniture. When Chad does something he shouldn’t do he gets a leash correction, sometimes the correction has to be real firm to get his attention. When he is behaving himself and does what you want him to do he is rewarded verbally by telling him what a good dog he is. Chad is never told “no.” There is always a temptation to tell him “no” but “no” is simply not a word that is used to discipline Chad or any of the dogs who are training to be guide dogs for the blind.
At six months old Chad can still be a handful and want to do puppy things. Last Sunday he was on his leash in the house, but somehow got away. The first thing he did was take after the cat, he wanted to play. The cat was smart enough to get someplace high where Chad couldn’t reach her. He then grabbed a pine cone out of a bowl on the coffee table and took off upstairs. He knew he had done something wrong, but he is still a puppy and wanted to see if he could get away with it. Karen took after him but Chad was smart enough to know that with evasive tactics he could avoid being caught. It was a game for him. He was having a great time as Karen chased him around the kitchen table then around the coffee table in the living room. She finally called for help. It took both of us to corner him in the living room and get him under control.
Roger will probably have Chad until next October. By then the plan is that he will be totally under control, learned basic obedience and good manners, lost all of his mischievous puppy tendencies and be ready for the next step in becoming a guide dog. He’ll get back on the puppy truck and head west where his training will continue at one of the two Guide Dogs for the Blind campuses either in Oregon or California. When Chad is finished with that training and graduates he will be given to a blind person as a permanent companion.
It will be a sad day when Chad is given back to Guide Dogs for the Blind. I’m sure there will be lots of tears. We’ll probably go to his graduation. The only thing that will soften the pain of giving him back is knowing that he has been trained well and will be a lifelong companion and guide dog to a blind person.

HJ Column February 7

Today all of the players on the winning Super Bowl team will earn a ring. It will be a huge diamond laced ring and will be something they will cherish for the rest of their lives. Everyone knows what the Super Bowl is and there is a natural admiration and curiosity about anyone who played on a team that won a Super Bowl.
Last week my wife and I went to San Diego to be spectators a golf tournament. We go most years because we want to get away from the bitter cold in Cache Valley. Torrey Pines is a beautiful place to visit, and we enjoy strolling around the golf course watching people and watching a little golf. Tiger Woods usually plays. He didn’t show up this year because he is dealing with some personal issues. So this year we didn’t see Tiger, but we did meet by accident another person of note, Daniel Audick. Before last Sunday Karen and I had absolutely no idea who Daniel Audick was. We were going to find out real soon.
Karen and I have some rather unique chairs that we take with us to lean on when we get tired of standing. We had settled in at the 17th hole with a bunch of other people and were making good use of our chairs when this man approached Karen about her chair. He asked if he could take a look at it, try it out to see if it would be something he could use. When we finished with the chair, he concluded that he was much too large of a man to use one but thanked Karen for letting him take a look at it. Then he said, “Oh, by the way, my name is Daniel Audick.” In return both Karen and I introduced ourselves and began chit chatting with Dan. We told him that we come to San Diego often to the golf tournament and that we were from Utah. Dan told us he was from San Diego and just lived a short distance from the golf course. Karen and Dan began speculate with one another about how long of a put various golfers would have to get the ball into the hole. I joined in. It became kind of friendly competitive between the three of us. The correct distance for each put was posted on the scoreboard so it was easy to see whose guess was the closest.
At one point there was a break in the golfing action, no golf balls on the green to speculate about, the conversation kind of lagged. Then Dan said, “I want to show you something.” He took an enormous ring off the ring finger on his right hand and said, “Have you ever seen one of these?” Karen and I are pretty naïve about most stuff and as far as we could tell it was just a very big expensive ring with lots of diamonds. We both silently thought Dan must have been pretty wealthy guy.
Then Dan said, “Would you like to hold it,” and handed it to Karen. We both looked at all of the diamonds and noted that the ring had his name “Daniel Audick” engraved on one side, and the Roman Numerals XVI on the other. We still didn’t get it. Then Dan said, “That’s my Super Bowl ring.” With our mouths wide open in amazement we took a closer look. We discovered that in addition to the Roman Numerals XVI there was a small engraving of the Golden Gate Bridge and the numbers 26 – 21 on the other side. After Dan told us that it was his Super Bowl Ring we took another look at all of the diamonds and figured out that they were in the shape of a football. This was indeed a Super Bowl ring and we were talking to its owner, Dan Audick.
Knowing that we were talking to a Super Bowl Champion led us into all kinds of interesting conversation with Dan. It’s not every day that you get to hold a Super Bowl championship ring and talk to the player who earned it. We asked lots of questions and found our that he played offensive tackle for San Francisco in 1981, the year the 49ers won the Super Bowl, score 26 - 21. I made a stupid comment when I asked how it was to play football with Steve Young as the quarterback. Dan quickly corrected me and said Joe Montana was the quarterback of the 49ers in 1981. I felt kind of dumb.
We learned that Dan’s parents were in the military and he lived in lots of places both foreign and domestic. He graduated from High school in Colorado and was recruited to play football for Hawaii. He was drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers and subsequently played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Chargers before joining the 49ers for the 1981-1982 season. Dan is not a big guy probably about 6’3, about 225 pounds and by today’s standards would be considered undersized for the position he was playing. He told us that his job was to protect Joe Montana’s blindside from the pass rushes of the defensive players. Dan asked if we had seen the movie “Blindside.” He told us that the movie was based on a book “The Blind Side: Evolution of the game.” A small part of the book was written about him and how he played an important part in the evolution of the left tackle position in protecting the quarterbacks blindside from the pass rushing defensive ends.
Our encounter with Daniel Audick at Torrey Pines made our day. Tiger may have been missing but Dan was a delight to visit with. And it all happened because of a Super Bowl championship ring. We agreed to meet him next year at the same spot on the 17th green at Torrey Pines.

Bruce HJ Column January 17 2010

Last week LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were in Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz. We buy a few Jazz tickets and this year we made sure we had tickets to this game. We knew it was going to be a late game and we wouldn’t get home until after midnight but that was OK because we wanted to watch LeBron James play. We got to the arena early and as we entered the building noted a large number of people wearing LeBron James jerseys. Like us, many attending this game were there to see LeBron play. Our seats at the Jazz games are in the lower bowl about seven rows up from where Larry Miller the owner of the Jazz once sat. Larry died about a year ago, but his wife still comes to most of the games and maintains the tradition of sitting on the front row with her family. Watching the Jazz play up close is always fun, but this was gong to be a special night because LeBron James was in town and we were going to watch it all from two of the best seats in the arena.
As the time came for the teams to take the floor for their pre-game warm-up, the Jazz took the floor first and received the usual enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. However, all of the cameras and most of the attention was focused on the other end of the arena in anticipation of LeBron running through the tunnel and onto the floor. The area around the visitors tunnel was packed with media and fans just waiting for LeBron to arrive. There wasn’t much of a cheer as he ran onto the floor, it was mostly boos, but it was obvious that those who surrounded the tunnel wanted to be as close as they could to LeBron and hopefully get a photo of him.
As the team warmed up all eyes continued to be on LeBron. Both media and fans crowded around the Cavalier’s end of the floor just to get as close as they could to simply watch him. I don’t know a time when I have seen as many people with camera phones trying to get a photo of someone. LeBron was aware that he was the center of attention and put on quite a show during pre-game warm ups. He wowed the crowd with spectacular dunks. After the lay-ups LeBron began shooting threes. He doesn’t often miss, and just before the game began he entertained the crowd by attempting a dozen or so half-court court shots. He didn’t make any but several times came very close. Each time he came close there was a collective moan from the crowd. The pre-game fascination with LeBron didn’t end with the warm-ups, during the National Anthem I counted seven television cameras, all focused on Lebron.
The introduction of the starting line-ups is always the same. The visiting team’s players get a polite unemotional introduction. This time it was no different, there were the usual boos when LeBron was introduced. On the other hand the introduction of the Jazz starting five is filled with loud cheering, videos of the players and flashing lights. While all of the craziness of introducing the Jazz starting five was going on LeBron was doing pull-ups on the basketball rim at the other end of the floor.
Before a game begins, LeBron obviously has a pre-game ritual he goes through. I watched as he stood on the floor near the Cavaliers bench and pulled down his basketball shorts. He then made sure his jersey was properly tucked into his undergarments, made other adjustments to his uniform and then pulled his shorts back up where they belong. He then walked over to the scorers table and rubbed his hands in white powder and threw a bunch of it into the air. Now he was ready to play basketball. He went through the same ritual before the second half started except he did it in the middle of the court. He dropped his basketball shorts below his knees tucked in his jersey and adjusted his basketball uniform.
For LeBron the first half of the game was rather uneventful. He did steal the ball a couple of times and gracefully ran to the other end with enormous strides for a spectacular dunk. At half time he only had eight points. But everyone in the arena knew that when crunch time came, probably in the fourth quarter, he would come alive, take charge and be the player that would win the game for his team. He didn’t disappoint. Almost all by himself he secured a 13 point lead for the Cavaliers late in the fourth quarter. Everyone in the arena knew it was over. The Jazz could never come back, especially with LeBron in the game taking charge for the Cavaliers. Jazz fans began heading for the exits, they were sure the Jazz were going to lose. LeBron and his exceptional basketball skills had been the deciding factor. By the end of the game he had 32 points, a bunch of assists and rebounds. It was inspirational to watch him play and dominate. He is truly a spectacular gifted athlete and a tremendous basketball player.
But wait, the game wasn’t quite over. Despite LeBron James the Jazz came back and won the game by one point with a last second three pointer from a rookie player no one had ever heard of. It was an exciting finish, one of the most exciting basketball games I have witnessed.
Listening to the cheers of the Jazz faithful LeBron was forced to accept defeat and quietly exited the arena. The ride back to Cache Valley wasn’t all that bad. The day was complete, we got to watch one of the best basketball players in the world, and the Jazz won in a thriller.

Bruce columnJanuary 3 2010

Bruce column January 3, 2010

Last week most of the media outlets, including The Herald Journal, had their list of the top stories of 2009. The end of the year is always a time of reflection about the year that just ended. Because of this I found it an interesting exercise to make a list of the top ten events in my life during 2009. Some were tragic and some were fun. Some were significant only to me, most were rather insignificant considering all of the important things that happened during the past year.

First on my list was a family tragedy. Last June my seventeen year old grand daughter was killed in an automobile accident. She was headed to a church camp with several other girls and their adult leader when a rear tire failed causing the van to roll several times. Two of the girls in the van were killed, the others only suffered minor injuries. I made a trip to Nevada with three of my daughters to do what I could to help my daughter’s family cope with the tragic loss. That week last June had to be one of the most difficult of my life. It was the saddest funeral I have ever attended.

Second on my list of significant events during 2009 was a once in a life time trip to Peru. The Logan Rotary club partnered with the Rotary Club in Iquitos, Peru to finance and complete three humanitarian projects for two remote villages on the Amazon River. There was a tremendous sense of pride in being part of an organization that helped provide clean water and sanitary facilities to the people of these remote villages. Until Rotary stepped in and provided money for the projects people in this remote area of South America had never know what it was like to have a reliable supply of clean water. The twelve day trip in August was not only a significant event for 2009, but will be remembered as a highlight of my life.

The third significant event for me in 2009 was a visit I made to the Huntsman Cancer hospital in October. After a bunch of blood tests, a CAT scan, and an examination by my oncologist Dr. Glen I was told that I had reached a milestone in my life with regard to my battle with cancer. Two years after treatment I’m still cancer free. I was told by Dr. Glen that instead getting checked every three months I’ve been moved to an every six month cycle. This was very good news and gave me hope that maybe I can live a while longer cancer free.

Fourth, I became a great grandfather, twice. I thought being a grandfather was significant, but becoming a great grandfather was very significant and something I though would never happen to me. My mom was so excited to become a great great grandmother. We now have a bunch of five generation pictures that are priceless.

Putting Oscar, our longtime pet cat, down is fifth on my list. Oscar was given to us by our daughter Kendra and had been part of our family for about twelve years. He was a great pet. Both Karen and I adored him. Unfortunately he became diabetic and eventually very sick. I’ll never forget the trusting look in his eyes as we drove him to the vet to be put down. It was a very sad day. We had him cremated and still have his ashes in a box that sits on the living room table.

Number six, the impact the depressed economy had on the newspaper. It has been a very difficult year for the newspaper. We have had to take some drastic steps to cut expenses because of advertising revenue shortfalls. I have been in the newspaper business for almost 50 years and have seen lots of ups and downs in the economy, but never anything like what we experienced in 2009. I never thought I would see the day when major newspaper across America would fail. Fortunately the economy has improved advertising revenues are rebounding and the newspaper will do just fine.

Number seven on my list was riding my bicycle in LOTOJA (Logan to Jackson) with Team Rotary. It was a beautiful day for riding and I was able to complete my leg of the event, 47 miles, in just over two and one-half hours. For the first time ever, Team Rotary finished while the sun was still shining. Each year five members of the Logan Rotary club form a relay team for the event, get pledges, and raise some money to put dictionaries in the local schools. It’s a great way to raise some money for a worthy cause and finish up a summer of cycling in Cache Valley.

The eighth event on my list was a vacation trip we took with our friends the Earls to the east coast. We went to a Monday night football game visited the historic sights in Philadelphia. While our wives visited quilt shops in Amish country, Craig and I visited the Harley Davidson plant in York, Pennsylvania.

Ninth on the list was the remodel of our home. Karen remodeled the kitchen and replaced some carpeted areas with hardwood floors. We have new kitchen counter tops and hardwood floors in all of the traffic areas. I tell her that we could put up a hoop on the kitchen wall and invite friends to come over and play basketball on the new hardwood floors.

Finally I became an owner of an iphone. I can now text, twitter, check the weather, follow the stock market, take pictures, listen to music, keep my golf score, check my calendar, read the newspaper, get and send e-mail, find locations on a map with a GPS, get sports scores, and do a bunch of other stuff. I can even make a telephone call.

Who knows what 2010 will bring, life is always an adventure.