Grand Parenting - Grand Parent Boot Camp Part-III

So your little one wants a Skateboard which makes you want to take up that Xanax hobby you have been promising yourself!  What are you going to do now?  Here at Grand-Pa Boot Camp, I aim to fill in some blanks.  Here is your Skateboard 101, 102 and Advanced Placement for Skateboarding courses.

Skateboarding 101-

Skateboard or skateboarding was invented "according to Wikipedia" in 1944 by the Parents/Grandparents of French children who had skates attached to a wooden board.  More contemporary pieces of equipment were sold at a "1950's Surf Shop in LA, California" for "Sidewalk- Surfing" when the waves at the beach were too small to surf.  A skateboard in rudimentary form has several prefabricated components built together to accomplish the task at hand. A flat board mounted on 4 skate wheels, allowing such a rider to gracefully float or ride along stretches of concrete, sidewalk, or blacktop.  My first board was made of a child metal skates dismantled into two parts which were then nailed into a 2' chunk of 2x4.  Raw, noisy, bumpy, dangerous...just the way I like my entertainment.  Anyway, the Industry of skateboarding is a multi-billion dollar entity spanning the globe with 11+ million kids eager to dare and parents wary to spend hundreds of dollars for equipment.  The prime demographic of child avidly skateboarding is the 9 and under crowd.  After several years of boarding these young kids mature into the 10-14 demographic who are the ones wanting all the equipment, gear, and apparel.

Today's modern example of the Skateboard is a technical piece of equipment, precision tooled and constructed for maximum efficiency and safety.  Urethane wheels, sealed roller ball bearings, composite decks, trucks of various metals, and a gripping coated surface all come together to meet the specific functional needs of the rider and venue.  So what are these components that make a skateboard?

Deck = Flat plane of various materials 18" to up to 8 feet long.  Fiberglass, wood, plastic resin, composite mixtures, even metal can be used as a "board" or skateboard deck.  However, the deck should always have flexibility.  Stiff decks carry more vibration to the feet and are more difficult to control.  Some decks are flared up at one or both ends for a kick-tail.   Various shapes of the decks have been adapted over the years for specific riding style and function.  Long boards have always been for distance and speed.

Wheels = Polyurethane wheels of various colors for appearance, diameter and width for stability, and hardness for either smooth or course ride.  Wheels have ratings to pay attention to such as Durometer rating.

Trucks = Alloy metal structures that have spindles holding 2 wheels perfectly parallel mounted to underside of the deck.  Trucks have different height and width specifications depending on size of deck and wheels to be used with them.

Sealed Bearings = circular encased steel ball bearings resembling donuts that mount inside the collar of the urethane wheels, sliding onto the spindle of the trucks, held in place by locking nuts.  Bearings also have a scaled measurement to pay attention to known as ABEC rating.  ABEC is a measurement of ball bearing efficiency.  The numerical scale of 1 - 9 indicates machined tolerances and precision construction.   The larger the ABEC rating the smaller the tolerances and the greater the efficiency.

Grip = coating of composite material resembling sand glued to tape attached to top of desk to facilitate the grip of shoes/sneakers/feet on the deck surface.

There you go.  A modern skateboard in basic form.

1 deck
2 trucks
4 wheels
8 sealed bearings (2 per wheel or spindle)
Various hardware pieces to construct a skateboard

So how much is little Johnny's "Street-Rippa" going to cost you?  That depends on who is going to ride and what venue is going to be ridden.  A basic example for a new young rider can be gotten "up at the Walmart" for about $30.00.  A more customized piece of machinery will cost anywhere from $80 to several hundred dollars.  My Santa Cruz Tiger Shark complete board was purchased from a local skate shop at a cost of $125.00.
Congratulations you have graduated to Skateboarding102.

Skateboarding 102 -
a. Safety
OK so your getting your little one a board.  The kid is excited and you are terrified.  The last thing a Grandpa needs is an Emergency Room Trauma Visit  while on Grandpa's watch.  So, here is what you can do to mitigate risk, manage potential injury, and coach to success.  Where success = get on the board - ride the board - get off the board - no one gets hurt.

Safety Gear Checklist - These items can be had "up at the Walmart", sporting goods store, or Skateboard shop if you dare to go there.  Frankly, that is your best bet for all this equipment.  You can get dedicated safety equipment, sold by experienced sales staff, in a setting dedicated to skateboarding with an added benefit.  Parents of other children will be there buying such equipment and getting excited over it especially if you go there on a Saturday.  Call the local store near you and ask when is the busiest time.  Then go at that typical time and plan on spending a good long while in the store.  Let your little one browse, learn, and get influenced by some experienced peers willing to mentor your intrepid new rider.  Here is your checklist of what your daredevil needs...
Helmet
Knee pads
Elbow Pads
Gloves
Deck Shoes or sneakers
Visors, safety glasses, sunglasses
Large First aid kit
Ibuprofin, acetaminophen, first-aid spray
Did I mention gloves?

b.Coaching
Alrighty then.  How can you coach a child on how to ride a skateboard when you tried to ride one once and once was all it took to land you flat on your back in pain for weeks unable to sit without pain for months!  I will tell you.  Skateboarding is all about linear balance, weight distribution,center of balance, foot placement, friction, and velocity.  You can become an expert on everything except the velocity part and demonstrate it yourself.  Before allowing the little one to roll on concrete get onto these instructions.
Get your or his/her safety gear on.  
Gain balance on the deck by standing on the board while the board is stationary on grass outside or carpet inside the residence.
Practice walking on the board back and forth without turning around then progress to turning around on the board.  After several minutes of gained composure you can try dancing on the board.
Get wild! Jump up with both feet in air several inches above the deck and land firmly.  Crouch down and touch the floor below the deck and stand back up.  Use bent knees to balance, move arms in tai-chi fashion to move about the board like it was a 3'x5' platform.  Spin slowly on the deck surface.
Repeat above until you and/or child can firmly balance on the deck for several minutes without violent arm swaying or loss of balance
Finally, on a stationary board master the balancing act of one foot on the deck and one raised up above the deck and then off to the side of the deck.  This is the most unstable maneuver to perform but necessary to gain the velocity part of skateboarding nirvana.   When you or your little one have mastered these activities then and only then may you attempt a roll.  If at this point with a stationary board under you or your child, there is err lack of confidence or balance.  I can recommend another exercise. You will need some smooth carpet at least 6'x8' and some rope.  Place the carpet on a flat surface indoors or out and hang the rope from above. Support structure and rope must be able to support your weight or the child's weight.  Hold onto rope while stepping up onto the board.  Pull yourself up crunch style dangling feet above the deck and plant feet back down on the board.  Now hold the rope, stand on the board with knees in slightly bent stance, and force the wheels to roll over the carpet surface back and forth in linear motion.  This will accomplish several important things.  Control balance, gain confidence, strengthen leg muscles, and experience controlled linear movement on the rolling board.  Practice makes perfect.

So you are an expert or you have coached your little one to a point where it is time.  Time to roll.  You have two options here for a first roll.  You can either repeat the rope trick on flat concrete without the carpet or dance with your partner.  Either you will be danced by another individual who can support your weight or you will dance the child on the board.  Hold onto the rope - step onto the board with one then other foot.  With both feet on the board, knees slightly bent and springy, feet at least 12-16 inches apart slowly pull the rope to maneuver linear roll of the board.  Do Not Let go of the rope!  If the board rolls out form underneath your center of balance support your weight and pull up off the board and let it roll away.  Keep trying to master this technique.  Otherwise, have a partner dance with you.  Partner must wear shoes or sneakers.  Hold hands with partner keeping hands at shoulder height while facing each other with board between you and partners feet.  Partner should place his/her foot in front of rear truck of the board to act as a wheel chock.  Place one foot on deck. Place second foot on deck.  Stay in standing position on deck until balance and confidence is gained.  Then partner can move foot from chocking rear truck and pull you slowly and gently forward in a slow roll.  Stop rolling and have partner roll you backwards without changing position on the deck.
Do this exercise until balance, strength, and confidence are gained.  Now - by golly I think you are ready.  Ready for the next step.  Yes, you can stand on the board while holding and supporting your weight with a rope or partner and even roll a few feet.  Yes you or the little one are really dangerous now. But, there is still lack of velocity.  Back to the carpet before you break your neck.
 Place board at edge of carpet.
Place the foot of your strong leg at front of deck just over the center of the truck or slightly aft.
Push off with foot on carpet and stand knees bent on deck.  Roll until friction of the carpet stops you.
Remove foot of your weak leg, then your dominant foot.  There you go.  You rolled under your own power, several feet, and no one got hurt.  Master this and its go time.

All of the above will help you or your little daredevil to gain balance and strength on the board moving or not.  There is basic sturdiness that one must master while on the deck of a moving skateboard.  If you feel confident enough to go-go-go at this point then have at it.  Make sure you have others with you that can assist with your first aid or call 911 in the event of catastrophic failure and most certainly be with and around - near your little one the first time they solo roll.

Some things to keep in mind.  Friction is your friend and your worst enemy in the split second of time while rolling on a skateboard.  Too little friction creates a wildly smooth surface which makes it harder to control velocity and acceleration.  Ultra smooth surfaces like tennis courts/basketball courts, hard wood flooring, and school hallways are challenging.  Surfaces with random cracks, pebbles, and uneven planes are hazardous and can be deadly.  When a rolling skateboard wheel of about 2-3 inches in diameter meets a 0.5-1.0 cm pebble...wheel will stop abruptly and human will continue travel in centripetal velocity off the deck resulting in bodily injury and possibly death.
Wear all the safety gear
Pick a flat smooth wide open surface devoid of cars, animals, and other humans
Start with your dominant foot on the front of the deck aft of the front truck
Push with your minor leg and place minor foot on back of deck at least 12-116 inches aft of dominant foot
Keep knees bent and springy, arms raised and out perpendicular to motion of travel.
Roll until a stop or push off again with minor foot repeating over and over.

Now there is velocity.  Controlled movement.  Exhilaration, Excitement.  Whoo-hoo!  Keep going.  Practice, practice, practice.

c. Falling
What about the fall? What do I do if I start to fall.  Well hopefully, the fall will be forward and not a backward uncontrolled chaos.  If the board rolls out from underneath you and you lose balance and fall backwards - Well you are doomed.  Place your hands behind you and try to sit on your hands.  Avoid hitting the head.  Even with a helmet a severe blow to the head/helmet on hard surface can cause concussion, lacerations,  and trauma to upper vertebrae.  If the board stops and body continues with forward velocity, place hands in front of you to soften a crash to surface.  Take brunt of trauma to knee pads, gloved hands, and elbow pads if needed.  Crashing on a skateboard is an art form in itself.  I know from personal experience.  I have crashed hard enough and severe enough to cause enough gushing blood to paint a 3x5 Rembrandt recreation.  Now that movement is mastered you have graduated to Skateboarding Advanced Placement/Honors class.

 Skateboard Culture

Skateboarding is mainstream entertainment now.  It is everywhere.  Just driving the 8 miles to work back and forth 5 days a week I see at least one skateboarder riding somewhere.  After the "Hover-Board" craze burns out [pun intended], kids will be back to the old standby adrenaline rush tool - The Skateboard!  Why do kids love it so much?  How come adults can morph skateboarding into a sport, avid pass-time, ultimate adrenaline rush, money-making side job, or lucrative brick and mortar business.  Skate culture has been stigmatized over the years with iconic visions of young adult riders wearing baggy trousers, pony tails, un-kept dirty looking, needing a shower type of kids riding , performing tricks, and ruining local infrastructure such as curbs, railings, benches like such as...Skateboards can be terribly destructive.  Railings, walls, tennis courts, and bench seats can all be used to catapult some kind of trick on the board while suffering scrappage, paint removal, and worse.

Skateboarding is big business.  High tech equipment matched with apparel of the riders taste with a healthy mix of safety gear all make up the culture of the skateboarder of today.  Sure there are those "daredevils" out there - I mean really out there who attempt horrific stunts only to epically fail with road rash like bloody chop-meat skin, broken bones protruding from appendages, and spitting their teeth out like Chiclets. These are the counter-culture nuts that give boarding a bad image.  Sure, if you cruse 20 MPH down a hill and purposely crash into a tree you will probably will rack up some YouTube hits.  Not nearly enough to pay the the Emergency Room visit post ambulance ride.

In comes the age of the skate park.  Studies have shown that when municipalities build skateboard parks the resident kids commit less crime, and ultimately get into less trouble with the law.  Kids can spend all day at the skate park riding down walls of bowls, traversing galleys, and performing spectacular tricks defying gravity and logic.  Skateboarding takes great agility, balance, and strength to be able to ride day in day out day after day.  Riding flat surfaces is no picnic either.  It is hard work.  Riding up and down walls of concrete bowls is great fun, difficult to master, and strenuous.  Kids love skateboarding.  They can ride the board as transportation to the park, perform stunts all day long, and ride back home.  As a kid I rode my board all over town.  I had an Airedale Terrier dog who was greased lightning fast and had so much energy he would run run run.  I attached a harness to him and let him pull me while riding the board across town.  I did not need nor want a motorized board - I had Canine power.  I was a kid lucky enough to have an uncle who worked for Grumman Corporation - The people who made the Lunar Module for the NASA Apollo Space Program.  Uncle made me two skateboard decks out of diamond plate steel.  These two skateboards were perfect for destroying bicycle spokes.  I had jousting events with local bike riders and I never got hurt but the bikes all had to be carried home.

Skateboarding is/can be a big business but has to be the right venue to make money.  There are estimated to be 25+million skateboarders in USA alone. Brick and mortar stores nearby the local skate park in town can do well.  The big warehouse type facilities with massive square footage require pricing to be so high because of liability issues that kids and parents just can't afford to make it  an avid past-time for the kids.  Many cities and towns are constructing quality skate parks and the kids are having a real great time.  There are estimated to be about 500 skateboard parks across the country.  Mostly is the western states.  I myself have visited a couple by my home and I was impressed at the construction and execution of the parks.  The best part is the $200,000-400,000 construction cost is picked up by local tax collection to construct the park then the kids ride for free.  It is a win-win.  The kids stay out of trouble, get exercise, and build muscle, stamina, agility, and confidence.

Skate culture clothing, apparel, and gear  are a big money maker.  Brands such as Nike, Vans, and Nixon have become iconic in the culture.  Skateboard design and construction has undergone transformation over the years where now incredible technology is constructed into the boards and cost of the technology is affordable.  A $20-30 board acquired at Walmart is significantly better and safer than anything that could be had in 1960.   A complete board like pictured above  is incredibly agile, stable, and fun to ride.  I still have a board that I acquired when I was a young teen.  I purchased the components to make the complete board.  The APEX mag wheels [see below]cost me $15.00 each back in late 1970"s.  I still ride them today.  I found recently a set of 4 sold for $189.00 at auction.  Hey I invested well when I was 16.

Scott R. Mayorga  A.A.S., BS MT (ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech - See more at: http://hematechstraighttalk.blogspot.com/#sthash.rHOIj46b.dpuf

So my intrepid street surfers do not be afraid.  You have the knowledge.  You have the technology.  Now go out there and scrape your guts together to gather up some glory.  Keep rolling and stay balanced.

Scott R. Mayorga  A.A.S., BS MT (ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech

Grand Parenting - The Grand Parent Boot-Camp part-I

As the Grand Father of three beautiful children, two beautiful daughters, and a wonderfully talented wife I believe I have enough life experience to share some worth-while reading material to anyone who is about to become one of life's greatest titles - Grand Parent.  Sure it is easy to become a Grand Parent...Have children, raise them, clothe them, furnish them with their every need, send them off to college or careers, attend wedding, and then attend birth of grand child or a special adoption procedure.  Voila - Instant Grand Parent.  See. easy right?  Here are some tips on how to be a better Grand Parent, smooth the bumpy ride a little, and enjoy every second of "Grand Parent-Hood" where its all good in the hood!  What happens at Grandma's stay's at Grandma's.  There is nothing like the love of a Grand Parent - Nothing like the love for a Grand Child.

Let me start off first by saying of course I love my Grandchildren and they are the center of my fragile little world.  But, my Grand Children are not old enough to commit felonies, misdemeanors, or even a parking violation.  I have no experience with what some Grand Parents go through on a daily basis with a young adult Grand Child who may be responsible for a violent death committed during a robbery for example.  Bless their pointed little heads the ones that get on TV and claim "My little Johnny would never do that" or "Not my my Grand Child"?  That is not what this posting is about.  I am talking boot-camp for the impending earned title of Grand Parent.  There is nothing like earning this prestigious virtual badge of honor.  The birthdays, the holidays, the weekends, the dinners, lunches, sleep-overs, the teaching, the creating...and Here we go!

First Introductions:

The birth of a child is a wondrous occasion.  Human life arriving into the family unit is a grand occasion and you must not miss this event as the Grand Parent if possible.  Meeting the little one for the first time brings such joy whether in the delivery room, hospital nursery, or at a home coming.  This event will melt hearts, water eyes, and fill you up with feelings of instant love and devotion.  Not all baby's are beautiful to every one's eyes but your Grand Child is spectacular to your eyes.  After the birth and through the first few weeks of life little baby Grand Child will develop quickly some mannerism's that you cannot afford to miss which will offer some glimpses of future personality traits.  Holding the little bundle of joy for the first time will bring incredible feelings of love, responsibility, and joy.  After the birth of each of my Grand Children I immediately met them and was able to bond quickly.  My thoughts ran a gamut of emotion.  I helped produce this baby, this child is here because of me and my wife.  My parents also had a part of this as well.  We all would not be here if not for the love of our parents for each other who took on the responsibility of giving birth to us, we in turn give birth to our sons and daughters, and thus here are Grand Children.  God is Great! Praise the Lord!

Bonding:

What will you think when you first hold that Grand Child in your arms?  How will those feelings be validated when your Grand Child holds onto you,clings to you for safety for the first time, asks you a question, or maybe the same question over and over again...There will come a time when a Grand Child physically demands your support for the first time and trusts you with their well being.  When that situation occurs you will immediately see the light bulb light up, you may get a chill in your spine, or you will just get affirmation that you are loved, you are trusted, you are depended on for needs of that child.  This trust you earn will come in handy someday.

Instant Love:
Even before the birth of your first Grand Child there will be mixed feelings and confusion.  You have no idea what you are feeling and you will not know until it clobbers you over the head.  What is it?  It is Love.  Before the birth you will observe the pregnancy as it progresses along, the preparations, the celebrations...But, you will have weird feelings?  Will I love this baby?  Can I love this baby like my own children?  What if I don't?  What is wrong with me?  Don't worry.  That is instant love.  You don't know you love that child but you do.  How can you?  The child is in your daughter's or daughter-in-law's body?  You do love that child.  Trust me you do.  You just don't know it yet.  You can't understand it!  There is inner strength derived from this impromptu love affair yet to begin.  When you hold that baby for the first time you will know.  With each Grand Child you will feel it.  The first Grand Child will scare you to shreds.  The second baby will give you feelings of "I can get through this" and "I have experience with this". The birth of the third one will feel strange.  You are confident you love the child even before birth but worry about bonding.  How can you supply love to all these Grand Children...sometimes all at once no less.  Family gatherings with all the children present at the same time can be scary.  Don't worry.  Remember, that instant love comforted you before the birth - it will carry you along and support all your Grand Children with inner strength even when they are all around you.

Sharing the Love:
Spreading the love is not just presents, treats, or materialistic things you give to your Grand Children although you will enjoy immensely doing so.  "Spreading the love" encompasses teaching, supporting, respecting, bonding, and disciplining the Grand Child.  Rewards given to your Grand Child from you are special though.  While teaching children stranger-danger there is a delicate balance of gaining and fostering trust between you and your Grand Child.  Attaining the level of trust that you can give your Grand Children anything and they will trust you that you will not harm them or in the case of medication or health care; it may not taste or feel good but it is necessary. It takes the good parts and the bad parts together to make everything alright.  Let me give you an example.  Grand Son was 4 years old.  A difficult age.  Very active, very aware, and hard to control.  Grand Son got a terrible splinter from the decking outside the house while my wife Leslie and I had him for the weekend.  We tried to get the splinter out of his foot to no avail.  He screamed, he kicked his legs, and cried in pain.  He cooperated as best he could but it was just too much a task for Grandma and Grandpa.  So off to the pediatric clinic we went.  What an ordeal.  It was really bad.  Screaming, crying, fighting, pain, tears on every one's faces.  After the splinter was cut out of his foot the most important aspect of the whole ordeal occurred.  It was so sad.  But, it made me so proud to be a Grand Parent.  The little guy told the Doctor and Nurses he was sorry for screaming and kicking so much but it hurt so bad.  He hugged his Grandma while bandage was applied.  The Doctor had tears in her eyes.  This little 4 year old went through a very painful ordeal and apologized for screaming.  What a good boy.  He trusted us.  He depended on us as Grand Parents to fix his foot.  It broke our hearts to have him go through that.  I was so proud that he was able to respect strangers he knew he had to depend on, show them gratitude, and have so much bravery in  such an ordeal.

What about that Stranger-Danger? Am I a stranger and "The Order of the Secret Hand Shake"!
Here is a valuable tip for the Grand Parent to be.  Stranger Danger is a natural feeling almost all children will develop.  You just don't know at what age they will develop this sense of well being and who from which they will use it to protect themselves.  Develop a Secret Handshake with your Grand Child at an early age.  How early?  Start at 2-3 months old.  Let me give you an example here of secret handshake.   With my Grand Daughter I started a secret handshake when she was weeks old. I count her fingers and toes on each hand and foot.  Then I take her hand and touch each of my fingers when I count to five.   So, when my Grand Daughter was about 8 months old in her own home upon meeting me one evening she had that sense of stranger danger towards me.  Her Grand Mother was holding her in the kitchen area.  Grandma said "Want to go to Grandpa"?  Little darling looked at me and did not quite look like she wanted any part of me.  I put my hands up as if to reach out to her like I have so many times before.  She cried, turned away, and buried her face in my wife's neck.  Luckily, I had the secret handshake.  I took Grand Daughters hand and I slowly counted her fingers.  Upon reaching 4...she turned to me and stopped crying.   I held out my hands again after 5...and she then came to me.  I held her in my arms and she put her head on my shoulder.  That is how Grand Parents melt.  You should develop this technique of your own.  If not counting fingers, identify eyes, nose, ears, hair.  It can even be some special sounds like gentle whistling, clicking, purring, or singing.  It must be a unique combination of gestures and repeat it often especially when meeting the child after an absence of a day or few days. You will never know when you need it but you will need it some time.  I felt terrible she did not trust me for a moment.  But it is a natural reaction for all children.  It is part of their defense system of self protection.  Being able to break through that defense was priceless.  Here is another example.  My youngest Grand Child born Sept. 2015 loves to lay on his Grand Mothers Chest.  Well I don't have that comfy kind of chest.  So at 5 weeks old, I was holding him on my chest and he was fidgeting, fussing, and starting to cry.  I had to come up with something anything to comfort him.  I started Purring like a cat.  A deep purr so my chest would vibrate under him.  He quieted down, relaxed, and fell asleep.  That was priceless as well. 

Nurturing:  What is that?
How as a Grand Parent can I affect nurturing in a Grand Child?   Nurturing a Grand Child is probably the most important aspect of being a Grand parent. It is a life long process.  You will nurture your Grand Child for the rest of your life.  This is the stuff that will make your Grand Child hurt and cry in pain when you pass.  You may have probably observed with your own children and your parents the power of nurturing and the agony of a child losing a Grand Parent who nurtured them along in their life.  Nurturing stems from wisdom.  Wisdom allows us to teach.  Wisdom gives us street cred with our Grand Children.  When we teach and learn them we have a high level of respect.  One - because this is not Mommy or Daddy teaching.  Two - We are not Mommy or Daddy; we are different.  We have the respect of our children and our Grand Children see that.  This further gives our Grand Children affirmation that we are knowing, have valuable lessons, and can affect our Grand Children immensely.  For example; my wife taught our older Grand Son about "Compassion".  Compassion for Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, Family, other people, animals, and nature.  He is a good little boy with a warm heart and caring spirit. I can skateboard.  My 6 year old is amazed.  I can put him on the front of my skateboard and run him down the street with me.  I can do lots of things he can't.  He is amazed.  My wife Leslie has talents he appreciates as well. When he gets a scrape or bruise he knows Grand Ma can fix him up and make him feel better.  He watches, learns, soaks up information and emulates as best he can. With our 2nd Grand Child Leslie taught her "Kitty-Face".  What is Kitty-Face you ask?  Squint your eyes and extend your mouth sideways.  That is Kitty-Face!  Grand Daughter picked up on that real quick.  Now anytime she wants something like a toy, cookie, milk, juice or whatever; she does "kitty-Face" and sometimes repeatedly in rapid succession I might add.  It is so cute and smart.  That is nurturing.  The secret handshake is nurturing as well.

Sadness - Happiness  and Understanding:

Your grandchildren growing up are going to go through periods of happiness, sadness, and hysteria on either side of the emotional scale.  It is important to cope with these swings, manage, control, and nurture at the same time.  Letting little Johnny get away with bad behavior because in a few hours he will go home to his Mother does no one any favors.  Stability, cohesiveness, fairness, and leading by example are so important.  The bad behavior you let the Grand Children get away with even out of apathy will intensify as the child gets older.   Reward, guide,  and counsel your Grand Children through their various stages of development.  Counsel with kindness the bad - reward the good.  The child's mind is like a sponge. Empower them with small wins or accomplishments.  They will respect you and someday they will come through for you.  Here is an example.  My little guy had just turned 5 years old.  He is starting to get really interested in cars, mechanical stuff, engines, how stuff works, etc.  So I taught him how to start a gas powered electric generator.  I brought him outside, Instructed him in the procedure of how to start the machine.  I demonstrated.  Then I asked him to start the machine.  He refused.  He was afraid of the noise.  I told him to do it but the engine will not start because the gas flow will be off.  He demonstrated the procedure for me in a dry run.  Then I asked him to repeat for real.  He did.  He was so excited.  He accomplished it and he felt empowered.  Not more than a month later his Father purchased a generator of different model, color, size, etc.  Little guy was home with his mother and the electricity went out.  He was able to start his Father's generator for his Mother when it really counted.  Now, every couple of months when I test start the generator I have my little guy do it.
When the children hit a low emotional point it is important to respond appropriately as well.  Don't feel inclined to try to give them the world to make them feel better.  They probably just want someone to babble on to, complain to, rant, whatever you want to call it.  Don;t let them be disrespectful or mean but let them vent.  Support but firmly guide them away from mean trash talk and despair.  Kids want guidance and fairness.  Give it to them.  Also, meal time is so important to maintain stability as well.  No toys or electronic devices at the table.  No TV or distractions.  Just nutrition, conversation, and good behavior.  For the best behavior there will be desert.  For bad behavior there is no desert.  Plain and simple.  No screaming, no yelling, no threatening language.

Gather up some tools for success:
Lets face it - kids like to receive stuff as gifts, surprises, and for just whatever reason.  You are the Grandparent. It is your right to reward your little ones.  Don't break the bank though.  Here are some tips to get prepared.  Gather up some art supplies such as paper, paints, craft kits, markers, pencils, crayons, etc..  These are great for when the weather is too bad to go outside.  Shop the clearance sections at hobby and toy stores.  Garage sales are also a good source of stuff.  After Christmas sales, after Valentines sales, etc.  Shop and save the items.  Distribute to the kids when appropriate.  Do the same with sports equipment, fitness, etc.
Kids like the simple stuff but They want interaction and activity.  They love games and play.  They love that interaction right up to bed time.  Get some books that are are relaxing, calming, and have happy subject matter to read.  Read to the kids before they go to sleep during sleepovers.  A  snack, a bath, and some important time together to relax and read is perfect before bed.  Start at young age like two or earlier and continue as long as you can.

Injuries, hurts, sickness oh my:
  It is inevitable; the kids stay for long periods of time and they are going to get injured or hurt under your watch.  Be smart and prepare.  Work out the details before hand about doctor visits if needed, emergency room visits, minor over the counter medication administration and such.  Work out all the high level details with you kids about what to do with the Grand Children in such circumstances.  Obtain a copy of medical insurance cards, note social security numbers, and for long periods of watch like more than 2 days get written documentation from the parents to be able to administer care.  It is called "Loco Parentis".  If you have the Grandchildren and your son or daughter is on extended vacation on a ship or across the country...be prepared.  Leslie wrote an intuitive blog post on her blog Leslielovesveggies.net.   Take a look to review the post for insightful info on traveling with Grand Children written by a Neonatal/Pediatric Nursing Professional and former School Nurse.

Obtaining the title of Grand Parent is easy.  Being a great Grand Parent is difficult.  I am fortunate to have a great partner; my wife Leslie of Leslielovesveggies.net  The Grand kids adore her, respect her, and are crazy in love for her.  She is a Pediatric/Neonatal ICU Nurse so that is an added bonus for all in our family.  We all can't be Pediatric Nurses.  But, if you maintain fairness, be practical and stable in your guidance of your Grand Children you will succeed.

Have fun, love your Grand Kids, and don;t be afraid.  Be that Great Grand Parent!

Scott R. Mayorga  A.A.S., BS MT(ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech - See more at: http://hematechstraighttalk.blogspot.com/search/label/Ask%20the%20Med%20Tech#sthash.CymvFgiY.dpuf

Scott R. Mayorga A.A.S., BS MT (ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech

Bullycide - The Bullying Continues In Our Schools

 BULLYCIDE - The Bullying Continues

Bullycide is a term that describes the tragic taking of ones own life as a result of bullying.  Some of my readers can remember from August 2013 I wrote a post about one such Bullycide that occurred in the Greenwich CT Public Schools system.  A young boy killed himself at the commencement of school after summer break.  This was a tragic case of a student suffering incessant long term bullying.  This suffering student telegraphed his fears to fellow students, school officials, and even posted on facebook his music request for his impending funeral.  Bullying in our schools and workplaces is a big problem.  The insidious act of bullying is a more widespread and serious problem than most parents realize.  School districts and school boards have a vested interest in keeping reports of in-school bullying close to the vest and will cover for and protect not only the victim but also perpetrators under the guise of "protecting the student".  This results in gross under-reporting of incidents on campus.  Make no mistake about it - Bullying continues on school campuses across the country as sure as these campuses of rampant torture are awarding teachers as "Teacher of the Year".

According to bullyingstatistics.org, for year 2010, 30% of students 6th through 10th grades experience bullying as either a victim or bully.  That is 1 out of 3 students exposed first person to bullying.  I myself was victim to physical bullying as a young boy in middle school.  No wonder we have Police officers dedicated to school campuses.  Bullying in schools is such a large problem as many as 70% of students in public schools acknowledge that bullying is an ongoing problem.  As kids get older and progress to college bullying also follows them their in the form of hazing rituals whereby serious injury and death are common conclusions to hazing activities.  Something needs to be done.  Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst children under 14 years of age. With the massive influx of children from neighboring Mexico and South American countries the epidemic of bullying in our country is only going to get worse and the inherent yearn for school officials and main stream media to hide such bullying incidents is only going to get stronger. 

Become Informed
What can we do as parents and grand parents of children school age and older?
Look up information on bullying.  Learn what forms and types of activities that occur on campus and off which constitute bullying.
Even subtle name calling which continues for long periods is harmful.
Gather  as much info as possible on the school district you are concerned with in respect to incidents on campus.
Attend school board meetings, ask questions, request documentation and statistics on bully cases, raise issues, and hold school board officials accountable for issues happening on school property.

Protect Your Child and Grandchildren
If you ask school officials what you can do to protect your child against bullying you will get weak responses and diversion from reality.  Don't bother asking.  You will be labeled a troublemaker.  School literature such as student and parent handbooks will give the impression that all is well, your child is safe, and officials are trained and equipped to handle bullying cases effectively.  That is a half true pile of bunk.  School officials are trained more on damage control than protecting little Jane or John while in their charge.  So, what can you do?  Take heed of these guidelines that are common sense, empowering, and self supporting of your child taking an active role in self protection rather than simply encouraging your child to report what they see and feel.

Talk to your child about bullying and the different forms of such behavior.
Talk to your child about protecting ones self and not to rely on school officials to protect them.
Learn about situational awareness yourself so you can teach your child.  No one else is going to teach this to them.
Practice makes perfect.  Practice through drills of demonstrating bully tactics with your child.  Have your child act both the bully and the victim.  This includes physical contact as well as verbal and electronic bullying.  If you are not capable of the physical training get your child enrolled in a practical self defense training course.  See below on how to evaluate a self defense, Karate type school for your child that will teach reality based skills.
Train your child to be resourceful with materials that can be used in a self defense situation if necessary.
Teach flight or fight response.  It's ok to run.  Sometimes that is not an option.
Equip your child for school.  You can't send little Billy to school with a club, brass knuckles, or a gun.  You can send him or her with non-lethal practical tools to protect and instill confidence.  See below my list of items every child should have on them or in their back pack.
Most importantly teach your child about what to do if bullying happens to them.  What to do if they have no choice but too physically defend themselves against an attacker.  Most important is to tell your child you are their protector and advocate.  No matter what the circumstance or predicament they are to say nothing to anyone until you join them at the school.  Nothing means nothing beyond Name and your contact number.  No details, no names, no lies. Nothing.

Lets say you prepare your child and you did it well.  Bullying has occurred and your child has witnessed it or is the victim.  Your child had no option but to use self defense against an attacker and felt his or her life was in danger.  Training really paid off.  Not only did your child defend but now the attacker has serious injury or worse had to be taken off campus in an ambulance.  It is imperative that your child clam up.  At that point Police involvement is a necessity.  So will legal representation for you and your child. Clam up, shut up, and keep quiet until Mommy or Daddy get there or your attorney arrives whether at the principles office or heaven forbid Police Station.  Prepare your child for the worst.  As a parent, walk you child off campus post incident if possible.  Say nothing if possible or at minimum state your name, relationship to the [your]child, and your child was fearful of "serious bodily harm".  If there is police presence and leaving is not an option everyone clam up until you can lawyer-up.

Here is my list of items you can equip your student with to protect and command self confidence.

• A pocket Spy pen; USB memory with camera.  The police wear body cameras.  Why not your child. Remember no inappropriate use and only for capturing evidence of bullying, bad behavior, or attacks.

• Keys on a key ring with at least three keys.  One key in-between each finger.  Johnny can't have brass knuckles but a fist full of keys is almost as good.

• A good solid metal pen.  You can't equip a knife in your child's bag but a good sturdy steel cased pen is almost as good.  Learn and teach various strike points to your child for such an improvised weapon.

• A strong draw string bag.  One that can hold some money-coins, keys, or some other heavy and dense object or improvised with items such as a rock, can of soda, bottle of water, etc.  This can be swung at an attacker with devastating results.  Attach the bag to a belt from around the waste, swing with great velocity, and an attacker is going down quick.

• How about a small bottle of artist ink, the darker the better.  The bottle can be opened and splashed on an attacker even in the dark.  This will positively identify the bully attacker or even teacher with the roaming hands of a pervert.

• How about a loud audible personal alarm.  These 70+ decibel screamers are an excellent distraction.

These are all legal, non threatening, non-violent passive tools of protection your child can carry on their person.  However you can train you child to use what is available within their reach as a weapon or distraction as well.  A broom handle, dust pan, chair, lunch box,  some hard dense object, or anything that can be implemented as a self defense weapon.  Schools are full of safety equipment that can be used as a last ditch effort to defend, distract, or deflect an attacker.  Fire extinguishers are excellent pieces of equipment.  Especially the dry chemical types can blast an air depriving blast of powder in an attackers face.  Fire alarm pulls can be a great distraction as well in a dire circumstance.  When your daughters or sons life depends on quick action all is fare.  Teach them to use what is available and don't be a victim.  That is why school buses particularly scare me.  With a distracted driver struggling to keep 4 tons of metal in control, some bully's surround your child, and then start the pummeling.  The school bus environment is a very risky place for an unprepared child to be in.

The School District of Shame and Awards
So what about the School District in Greenwich CT almost 2 years after a student was tortured to death in classrooms and hallways?  Since my post in August 2013, the school district has posted all school board meeting Minutes and is up to date.  After a few mentions in school board meeting minutes containing some empty promises and pep-talk memos to school staff and concerned parents does anyone think the kids are any safer than before this terrible tragedy took place in 2013?  You would think that a school district that lost a child to bullying would take active measures to get staff training, document monitoring of bully activities on school property, and report progress in School Board Meeting minutes.  Well think again.  No such activity commenced after this poor child was tortured to death in the hallways and classrooms.  Since the burial of that poor student in Aug 2013, nearly 14 teachers in that child's school district have been congratulated as Teacher of the Year.  You can rest assured that the teachers are covering for themselves and are getting their pay raises.  They could not care less about the bully crimes on-going in the school.

More and more there are stories on mainstream news mediums about teachers abusing trust granted to them and perpetrating horrible crimes of abuse such as molestation, cruelty, and rape.  These are some of the most dangerous bully's with access to our children.  Teachers having "affairs" and resultant pregnancies with students is sick.  School districts prepare students for this insidious festering atrocity by assigning reading lessons containing sexually explicit stories of rape, incest, homosexuality, and even bestiality.  All under the guise of a nurturing learning environment.  Take a gander at little Johnnie's reading list.  Then go to open school night and orate the worst sexually explicit dialogue from the reading list, article, or distributed pamphlet.  Likely, you would be threatened with prosecution for lewd behavior if you did that in the kids play area of your local fast food restaurant.  Why is it acceptable for your child to read that material while alone but if read out loud at a school board meeting  it is not.  Schools have become sewers containing some of the worst behavior of human kind.  Protect your child.  Prepare your child.  Prepare yourself.

Martial Arts Training
Get your child some professional training in self defense techniques with a practical martial arts school.  Navigating the multitudes of schools available practically on every street corner can be an arduous task.  When selecting a school for your child keep in mind the purpose for that school and your child.  Not babysitting, not someplace to go after school until you get off work, not a club, and definitely not a school boasting a huge pile of trophies in the front window.  Ask friends, neighbors, acquaintances about schools in the area and if their kids go to those schools.  Inquire about the schools philosophy, instructors, structured curriculum, and training activities before even asking about cost.  Run a background check on the instructor(s) before enrolling your child.  Here are some things to look for when deciding on a martial arts school.

1. Does training occur always with bare feet?  This is a big mistake.  In the "Real world" bare feat self defense only happens at the beach or pool.  Training with street shoes, school shoes, sneakers is imperative, real world, and practical.
2. Is training always in the classroom?  Dojo?  Again real world is not the Dojo.  Training in a public park, on different surfaces, and close quarters is ideal.  Remember the school bus scenario?
3. Is situational awareness taught along with the fighting disciplines?  This is incredibly important.  Knowing your surroundings and risks can be half the battle of keeping one safe.
4. You want a well rounded training for your child and one that will prepare for real life situations.  Bringing home a bunch of trophies because your kid is quicker than a matched opponent at slapping an arm or leg is not going to protect anything.

Be safe my friends.  

Global Warming - A Concern, A Myth,or Social Engineering Failure

Global Warming - The Greatest Hoax of Social Engineering
Since the late 1990's "Global Warming" has been a buzz-word in the print media progressing into the national American media.  Since year 2000 "Global Warming" was no longer a buzz-word.  Mainstream Media outlets and news broadcasts started pontificating the dangers of "Global Warming" incessantly. Nightly lambasting of the American People began which came with a good dose of guilt trip for using fossil fuel, coal, and electricity.  Even cows and livestock were spotlighted as culprits that were going to be the cause of a dangerous increase in global temperatures.  Ultimately, we were all threatened with melting of the polar ice caps, oceans would rise hundreds of feet in depth, shore lines would migrate miles in-land, and snow would become a extreme rare event that millennial children would never see in their lifetimes.  As late as mid 2000's  we were all dared to ignore incandescent light bulbs, cow flatulence, and greenhouse gases.  Where do greenhouse gases come from.  You, me, cars and trucks, cows, boats/planes, animals, trees...mother earth.  The most concentrated source of greenhouse gases comes from the private jets that fly Global Warming Alarmists to and from speaking engagements.

Global warming - Is not a global calamity.  It is an epic fail of social engineering fueled by greed and power.  Realistic thought processes and rationality automatically debunk the claims of "Global Warming Alarmists".  Here is what we know and how "Global Warming" is no more real than a snake with ten heads or the presence of flesh eating Zombies walking the earth in search of nourishment.

The Ice Ages are Coming - The Ice Ages Are Coming
Before the age of  "Global Warming" there was a notion that Ice Ages would return to the earth.  Temperatures would be so cold Mother Earth would turn into a big ice ball mimicking the frozen planets Pluto and Uranus.  This was scary to me as a child growing up on Long Island, New York in 1960's-1970's.  Just having suffered through an incredible snow storm which dumped 2.5 feet of snow in less than 48 hours in the Town of Babylon the real threat of Ice Age seemed so plausible?  But, back then there was no solution to the problem offered.  Just a warning that CFC laden hairspray was going to doom all mankind.  Just a threat that we were all doomed to a frozen death; the same one that brought extinction to the dinosaurs.  What happened?  Here we are in the Winter season of 2015 with snow almost a daily event somewhere across America everyday.  With 40-50 % of American land mass covered with significant snow fall we are supposed to be concerned about the Earth frying us all like shrimp in a fry pan.  But we are all still alive?  No ice age.  No extinction.  I don't have to live a subterranean existence to insulate myself from sub-freezing ambient temperatures?  The 2nd Ice Age never came.  The zealots proclaiming Ice-Everywhere have died off of old age or just shut up altogether.  Why were we so stupid to think they could be right? So gullible are we?  So naive to believe that the earth would cover over with ice?

 Oh - the cleverness of them!
Why were we fooled? Because we had prominent minds and notoriously popular figures proclaiming global calamity.  Sounds familiar doesn't it.  News organizations were starting to realize that if they could get us to watch this news medium known as "TV Nightly News" they could sell advertisement minutes on commercial breaks and make money the old fashioned way.  News outlets were all to eager to publish hogwash, fiction, and pontification solely to boost viewership thereby increasing revenue from commercial spot dollars.  Back in the 1960's and 1970's network TV exploded.  The nightly news became a hot spot of information, intrigue, and moderate human suffering with news stories presented hours after happening. Like the "Killing of Kennedy", the subsequent killing of Oswald by Jack Ruby captured live as it happened almost in real time we were all glued to the TV.  I remember watching television on a black and white TV.  It was great.  When my parents brought home a Color TV I thought that was the bomb-diggity.  Holy-Cow! Color TV.  Then in the eighties came Cable TV, HBO, and those naughty channels with high tuner numbers.   When I think back to those times I feel so dumb for having irrational thinking that there was a real possibility Ice Age was coming and there was nothing anyone could do about it.  Think about that for a minute.   What if global temperatures were really cooling.  Our first warning would be some warm blooded terrestrial animals were already extinct.  Polar ice caps have grown to a 25% increase in mass.  Polar bears are migrating as far south as NY City.  Oceans have risen and gobbled up coastlines because the massive expanse of the ice caps have caused the oceans to deepen.  What could we do to stop it.  What would we do to stop it?  Are we that naive to think we could change the climate on a planet 8,000 miles in diameter! and over 24,000 miles in circumference?  Sure we could.  Hey maybe we could all take our blow dryers and point them out our bathroom windows.  Collectively, if every human on earth  would point a running blow dryer out the window surely the earths temperature could rise enough to combat global calamitous cooling.Yeah right.  There is a bridge in Brooklyn for sale and you can buy it.  Think about this.  The earth as we know it is 3.6 - 4.0 billion years old.  The age of the Solar System is estimated at 4.5 billion years old.  Do we really think that man can actively change the climate on earth after all these years.  Organized temperature monitoring tables have been kept for about 200 years. Is that really long enough of a period of time to proclaim we are experts on the subject of "Global Warming".  Of course the thermometers developed in the 1800's were as accurate and reliable as ones used today to study global warming.  It is just my personal thought but I think temperature monitoring devices used for the purpose of supporting arguments for global warming are adjusted to falsely report temperature increases.  Are we that arrogant, so self aggrandizing to think we are so great we can change the climate.  In ancient times characters claimed they could bring rain to parched dry land...What were they thinking.  They fooled some of the people some of the time but when the season past and not a sprinkle of rain fell they were in big trouble.  Somehow, now the global warming alarmists have the answers.  Capitalism, the use of fossil fuels, and the excess lifestyle of Americans has caused irreparable damage to Mother Earth.  But they NOW have the answer!  Just purchase efficient fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs, buy electric cars, and buy solar panels for producing electricity on our roof tops.  Stop eating meat, stop burning coal for energy, and produce electricity with nuclear technology.  Buy only "Green" endorsed products and we can save the world from ourselves.  Again, do we Americans think we are the only people on earth that matter?  Buying CFL Light bulbs are the worst thing you can do for the environment.  They contain Mercury (Hg).  Some Climate Change Alarmists will say that the 1-4 milligrams of Hg contained in a CFL bulb is harmless if you are exposed to the contents of a broken CFL bulb.  Oh sure.  That is like saying trace amounts of Arsenic is harmless as well.  How about this Tuna Eating Public! Eating just 3 Oz of Ahi Tuna will dose you with 100% levels of what the EPA considers safe consumption of Mercury in one week. Then there is the threat of proposed regulation on CO2 emissions (aka Carbon Footprints) from household and commercial entities.  These CO2 emissions monitored at our expense will then be taxed.  Who is going to get all that money?  "The Carbon Footprint" in America is not even a drop in the bucket compared to the CO2 emissions of India, Pakistan, Russia, and China.  And what about CO2 emissions?  Do we really think we can get rid of CO2?  Do we think we can get rid of matter we don't like?  Uh - there is something called The Conservation of Mass? What are we imbeciles?  No, we are not imbeciles.  We are victims of a hoax perpetrated by greed, built upon guilt complex, by those that think they are smarter than all of mankind.

The Rise of Climate Change

When Global Warming Alarmists started to be ignored they needed a new gig. Cir. 2012 ~ Alas the age of "Climate Change".  Climate change is the perfect misnomer.  Climate is always changing.  Last week there was ice covering  all of outdoors in North Georgia.  This week there is rain and warmer temperatures then a day later snow.  In a span of 10 days the climate in North Georgia changed from rain to low teen temps, rain, then snow.  I drove my car from Savannah GA to North Georgia of which the trip took 4 hours.  The climate whizzed by at 70 MPH from 40 º

temperatures, rain, then sub freezing temps and finally ice covering the roads, trees, and vehicles.  Yes, that is climate change.  Can't dispute that.  However, the Global Warming Alarmists have now adopted "Climate Change" as their new mantra.  The same empty substance just a different name.  Yes ~ we have climate change.  Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall the climate changes with stark regularity every year with pin-point predictable precision.  Even Man's pontification of what a groundhog thinks is biased toward Global Warming.  58% of Groundhogs surveyed in 2015 were told they were predicting early Spring.  That is until NY City Mayor killed the stand-in groundhog by dropping her on her head.  2014 may have brought the untimely demise of the Groundhog on Staten Island because she "Predicted 6 more weeks of winter" which did not fit the liberal minded paradigm of Global Warming or Climate Change.  But it is not the end of the world.  There is only one way that man can end his rein on the planet earth.  Nukes- Nukes and more Nukes, bombs that is.  We can extinct ourselves quickly with Nukes or die a slow agonizing death from Mercury poisoning.  The earth will still spin every 24 hours and rotate around the Sun every 365 days.  Unless of course if we all pointed our running blow dryers due north out our windows we could possibly alter the Earths axis, thereby causing global upheaval.  We better quickly legislate ourselves from doing so and tax every minute we point our blow dryers in the same direction.  This of course would be monitored with GPS tracking in our blow dryers which will push the cost of such luxury devices to well over $500 USD, which will then connect on line to the Internets, uploading data to NSA, finally reporting to IRS for tax revenue collections.

God Almighty
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.  Genesis 1
God is like your Mother. She brought you into this world and she can take you out.  Only God can change the climate as he sees fit to play out the destiny of man.  Not scientists, not Global Warming Alarmists, nor Climate Change band wagon jumpers, not even light bulb salesman.

Don't worry, the human race is not that smart that we can claim we know how to change weather or that we can turn sand into gold.  It has been tried before with persistent failure.  Just like the alchemists who failed to turn lead into gold, the Climate Change hoaxers will fail as well.

Good day my friends.  Stay warm.

Scott R. Mayorga A.A.S., BS MT (ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech

Atlanta Shuts down with 3 Inches Snow - What a municipality Should Do Next Storm

Winter Storm Leon Causes Quite  a mess for Atlanta - January 28, 2014
by Scott R. Mayorga

Leon rolled into town on Tuesday January 28, 2014 approximately 12 Noon; Atlanta and the surrounding counties where caught off guard, ill prepared, and rather mis-informed for the snow event.  What Happened?  In a nut shell; thousands of motorists including school children on school buses were snagged in a web of confusion, hysteria, and anarchy for almost two days unable to travel on thousands of miles of roads while emergency vehicles were unable to get to those in critical situations.  Declaration of State of Emergency, activation of prevention measures, storm preparations were all too little and much too late.  Roadways clogged with traffic unable to move on pure ice paved roadways paralyzed the entire region.  There is plenty of blame post this weather event being thrown around and all of it is sticking rightly so to Atlanta and Georgia State Officials.  Winter Storm Leon was a conundrum of confusion exacerbated by lack of leadership, perpetuated by lack of control.

I will refrain from directly blaming anyone - that is counter productive.  I will lay out what I would do in the position of running "Storm Central" for the City of Atlanta and the north Georgia Region.
The Atlanta area receives significant snow accumulation every 2-4 years.  Significant is a relative term of measurement reflecting how bad the City was crippled.  On Jan. 28, 2014 with 3 inches of snow the entire Atlanta urban/suburban region was brought to its knees.  Three inches of snow in Buffalo NY would not be significant at all.  The North Georgia region might be able to muster up a hundred or so pieces of heavy equipment to fight the accumulations.  The City of New York probably has thousands of plows, sand spreaders, and emergency vehicles of some sort.  The City of NY bolts plows onto the front of garbage trucks and plows all day and all night.  In Atlanta, it is not feasible to acquire and maintain hundreds if not thousands of pieces of equipment just for a snow event every two to four years.  That being said, what is a major metro area to do to keep citizens safe.  I would think if you asked most people if they would rather have safety or anarchy- they will pick safety.  Here are my guidelines for those in the position of either acting and leading and also for those who sleep and go out to lunch doing nothing but delegating to others neither willing to do anything or are too inept to accomplish what needs to be done.  Might I digress...


Clearly and concisely asses the weather predictions. Make personal observations and decide on a plan of action at least 24 hours in advance.  The only thing that the weather man can be counted on is an accurate time of arrival of an event.  Whether 1 inch, 2 inch, or 6 inches of snow is predicted;  in the words of our fearless ex-Secretary of State Hillary "What difference Does It Make?"  Decide early what is the plan of action, get folks on the phone, mobilize what can be done well in advance.

Watch our Children. What is most important in our lives? Children right.  So for a significant event or an event that has potential to bring danger close the schools.  This was a tough storm.  The weather modeling computers had conflicts predicting this event even 5 hours before snow started falling.  Obviously, the computer models were ineffective.  Stick you head out the window.  Sniff the air.   Before a snow fall the air is thick, its cold, you can just feel it is going to snow like heck.  Look at the Radar maps.  If you say to yourself "Oh My God It's Coming Right For Us" then close the schools.

Declaration  of State of Emergency is important in many ways.  "Procedures may already be in place" but the declaration makes people take notice.  How many Atlanta workers were told to go home after the roadways were already jammed up at 12:45 PM?  A declaration early on even if premature would have given workers a heads up early and been given the chance to get rolling before icy conditions.  The declaration was not made until 3 PM or so which was some three hours after all the major arteries were dangerously clogged with vehicles that could not move.

Control flow of traffic - Trucks large and small were a major contributing factor to the mess that became of Leon.  Decades ago, I-285 "The Perimeter" was built so that trucks and other vehicles that had no business inside the perimeter could avoid the downtown areas by detouring onto the perimeter.  In a State of Emergency, I would have positioned GA State Patrol (GSP) on the roads to make sure all trucks either turn away from the city or detour onto the perimeter.  Any trucks that go inside the perimeter would be subject to stiff fine of $10,000 USD.  I know the GA States DOT Commissioner would cringe at that idea but that is how you control the situation.  Below is a map of the Atlanta major arteries.  The stars are where GSP would stage and direct trucks onto the perimeter.  Any trucks ignoring directions of troopers and the hundreds of overhead electronic interactive signage would be rounded up in the City and vehicles would be impounded.  Sounds harsh?  Too bad.  It is a State of Emergency.  It Doesn't mean go sell Girl Scout cookies in front of Walmart!

Map by Scott R Mayorga

Most importantly, open up HOT lanes and HOV lanes of traffic. Why restrict travel lanes during a State of Emergency.  That is just moronic.  Get the vehicles off the road as efficiently as possible, Period.

Mobilize the GSP and salt spreaders before the precipitation starts.  If a salt truck rolls by your brand new car and sprays your quarter panel with rock salt - Oh Well.  Get out of the way.  If that happens you are probably not paying attention, talking on the phone, or almost asleep at the wheel.  During the Leon event way into evening hours cars were paralyzed unable to move.  Opposite lanes-predominantly northbound were mostly devoid of vehicles.  GSP could set up those lanes of highways to allow vehicles to travel north in the empty southbound lanes.  Possibly, under escort of National Guard even?  What about that National Guard.  What are they good at? There expertise is moving people and equipment rapidly and efficiently.  How about some porta-toilets?  Hey what a great idea.  Mobilize the National Guard with porta-potties onto the roads in the event that things go bad.  There are plenty of privately owned salt/sand spreader trucks that could be mobilized by the city as a one day contract. I would use them.  A big problem was that salting was not done before the snow fell.  After accumulations snarled traffic to a stand-still the decision to mobilize salt spreaders was too late.  Is this not obvious? 

And now the big one - Weather Services and the fickle weatherman.  Stop relying on the computer models.  Get away from the screen and stick your head out the window.  Predict as you were trained to do.  Tuesday morning, the radio forecast for the weather that day was obviously turmoiled with confusion, uncertainty, and capped off with a fickle statement of "Stay Tuned for updated information".  Well that was just 3 hours before the snow started falling.  I saw the radar maps the night before and knew there was going to be some precipitation.  When I went outside that morning I could feel that "It's Going to Snow Feeling" in the air.  It is the weather.  Predictions are just that - Ones opinion about what the weather is going to bring.  Tuesday morning the term "Dusting" was used more than once in the weather reports at 8 AM EST.  That obviously told most people the event was not serious.  On top of School buses running children to school, and the lack of leadership and guidance from elected officials, a total lackadaisical state of wait and see prevailed.  Well wait and see went well beyond the first flakes and even further past jammed up roads.  How about some reminders reported with the weather report?  Reminders? What a novel idea!
If you must travel in the face of danger:

• Pack extra clothing
• Pack some food and water
• Pack your medication
• Pack a blanket
• Make sure you have a cell phone charger and money in your wallet
• How about some salt, kitty litter, or sand
• A small shovel? Maybe.
• A weapon of self protection - most definitely

Think before you embark.

The tragedy of the whole event that has become Winter Storm Leon was that people trapped on roadways in vehicles engines running until fuel tanks were empty had no food, no water, no medication, and no bathrooms.  Worse yet were the school children trapped inside school buses for 10-14 hours.  The children stuck at schools sleeping in the gym had fun.  I know my kids had plenty of sleep overs.  Thank goodness the teachers were able to handle the situation.  There were no tragedies at the schools so I can only imagine the kids and the teachers made the best of it and raided the cafeteria for snacks and drinks.  Probably the only leadership exhibited during the Storm and aftermath was by the teachers who cared for and supervised the children at the schools - Bravo!

Folks, have some common sense.  My work colleagues and family members all have stories about the storm and the mayhem that ensued.  Teleworkers had the best of the day or two.  Working from home was the best idea.  Then there were the workers who left too late in the afternoon.  Drivers stuck in the snarl for 8-10-16 hours.  A ride home from work only 10 miles distance took some half a day to complete.  Some never made it home that evening.  Some were stuck without necessary medication.

Inadequate warning, poor leadership, slow action, and complete lack of crucial action all came together to make Winter Storm Leon a catastrophe that will be remembered for decades to come.  Atlanta has become a the butt of numerous jokes not because of three inches of snow - because poor leadership made a situation so much worse than it had to be.  Lack of action allowed the severity of the impacts to elevate drastically to dangerous levels putting countless lives in jeopardy.

Next time we can do better.  If the city needs help next time the prediction is "Just a Dusting" just call me.

Scott R. Mayorga  A.A.S., BS MT(ASCP)H CLS
hematech@yahoo.com
labhematech@gmail.com
@hematech

Two College Kids Messing Around in a Morgue - Ruh Roh!

As young adults you, me, we all did dumb stuff from time to time...
 

Like the time a friend and I went down steep-steep Cotton Tail Road on our skateboards with no helmets or safety gear and crashed hard resulting in many inches of road rash and near concussions.  My head bleeding, my forearms looking like chop-meat, I then proceeded to drive us both home stopping at a convenience store for a soda.  The store owner nearly called the police on us.  Ah - those were the days.

You would think that working in a clinical laboratory, safety is a main concern and for the most part that is true.  But, when the manager tells two young lab assistants to dump some old chemicals down the sink, well mayhem can and will ensue.   This is the tale of what happens when critical thinking skills are not applied to a situation and great danger can overcome the festivities.

The word "old" is just a useless adjective when attached to the word "chemicals".  Chemicals in pure form should always be handled with a clear head and proper protective equipment.  Old chemicals can diminish in reactivity but still remain quite concentrated and active enough to cause bodily harm, damage, and other dangerous risks.

And so the story begins with a request from the lab manager of his young minions; "Take these boxes of old chemicals and dump them down the morgue sink - But be careful.  See photo below taken by Photographer Brandon Merkel of the laboratory morgue some 20+ years later.  We were working part time in a mental health facility laboratory with over 100 years of history.  Some of the chemicals were real old. But, you see we were educated, college trained, young, and rather invincible in our own minds.  So this was going to be an easy work day Right?

Photograph by Brandon Merkel

Well nothing was farther from reality.  I agreed to take the first few hours and my cohort would take over after I left for the day.  I proceeded to sort jars of chemicals by my own self starting relevance by recognition.  If I recognized the name of the chemical I opened the jar and poured it into the drain followed by copious amounts of water.  For the most part I was OK.  I had gloves, lab coat, and goggles covering my eyes.  Luckily, I was only working a 4 hour shift.  One chemical at a time followed by water, I was having good luck.  I was careful not to mix the chemicals together in the drain.  On and on it went.  No incident and no drama for me. Then it was time to leave for the day to attend my evening college classes.  My cohort took over.  He thought he was invincible too.  Unfortunately, he was not.  Critical thinking was not present in his work.  Instead of dumping - rinsing - waiting - repeat; his work flow was more streamlined.  He Opened several jars randomly grabbed out of the box, poured into the sink, after a scary amount of chemical was present water was added to rinse down the drain.  Well, under such a routine it was only a matter of time before disaster was at hand.  Several chemicals mixed together producing a cloud of dangerous noxious vapors which overcame my cohorts senses and eventually his faculties.  When he fell to the floor luckily he knocked down a box of chemicals and made enough of a ruckus that other laboratory staff heard and came to investigate what happened.  They pulled my cohort to outside air, opened doors and windows to release a eye tearing, breath stealing vapor cloud from the morgue.  My poor cohort almost bought it in the most ironic of places - right next to the morgue table.  What a disaster.  My cohort was alright though a temporary leave of absence was in order for the poor kid.  He was lucky that day.  So what have we learned?  Chemicals are dangerous.  Mishandling them is deadly.

As laboratorians working with various chemicals on a daily basis we are trained how to properly handle chemicals, how to mix them, and how to dispose of them whether in pure or aged state or post use.  This is all very good to know. But what about at home? Should we be concerned about household chemicals present in our living spaces?  The answer is an emphatic YES.

Here is a brief list of do's and don'ts for chemicals around the house.

Keep chemicals in original containers.
Date opened chemicals so you can keep track of their age, use, and reactivity.
Do not mix chemicals together.
Follow "How To Use" instructions directly on the label without deviation.
Discard empty containers.  Do not use empties for storing or preparing other chemicals.
Acquire MSDS forms for the cleaning chemicals you have in your home from the manufacturer; for example SC Johnson. 
If you purchase concentrated cleaners and mix with water also purchase generic non-labeled application containers or sprayer bottles for such use.  Mark the container with exactly what is contained and at what concentration.  Date the container with the date of preparation.  In the event of an accident with the chemicals, a spill, or splash in the eyes it is important to know what exactly the chemical compound is.
In the event that a child has exposure to the chemicals, it is critical to know and be able to calmly tell
poison control what chemical and at what concentration the exposure happened with.

Don't;
Mix different chemicals together - Cleaning a toilet bowl then spraying the seat with a chlorine based cleaner can result in deadly vapor production.  In the enclosed confines of a small bathroom you could wind up on the floor in trouble.  Some chemical compounds are heavy and thus hover the floor so your head on the floor is a bad place to be!
Don't;
Use old containers for preparing new cleaning solutions.  They are not properly labeled and the initial mix  of solutions may not work as expected or may be dangerous to handle.  An exposure at some later time may lead to erroneous information given to poison control in an emergency resulting in further harm or death to the affected individual.

Never: Mix chlorine based chemicals with ammonia based cleaners.  This is a recipe for quick
illness and death.
Never: Mix drain cleaners with anything other than water.  Use rubber gloves when handling drain cleaners, oven cleaners, or anything labeled as "Caustic".

The most dangerous chemical compounds you can purchase without special permits is by far caustic drain cleaners and concrete scrubbers (Acids). Absolutely, Do Not mix these together and it is against the law to use these products in a way deviated from intended use as per the product labels.

Don't be stupid my friends - use your critical thinking skills.  Chemistry is wonderful when used properly.
Please click through links below to important information concerning the safe handling of chemicals in the home...

OSHA.gov
American Assoc of Poison Control Centers
National Capitol Poison Center
US Chem Safety Board
Guide to Chemical Hazards

Brandon Merkel is a photographer on Long Island NY.  Permission was granted by Mr. Merkel to use the morgue picture above.  The picture was taken some 20+ years after this story took place in
Sept. 1981.  The morgue autopsy table is shown slightly out of original position and plumbing fixtures are missing in the photograph.  The 16 square doors oriented floor to ceiling are the morgue refrigerator.  I observed an autopsy in this morgue room.  This room was located in Building 23, Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, Brentwood, NY.  The predominance of the ground floor was clinical laboratory which I worked as lab assistant for 6 months until Jan. 1982. There are multiple pictures to be found on the internet taken in this morgue but show the condition of the refrigerator in various stages of disarray and destruction.

Scott R. Mayorga A.A.S., BS MT(ASCP)H CLS