Yes, that's right. The "evidence" the cops thought was the absolute nail in the coffin so to speak - the smoking gun, the paint on Myron's bumper that proved he did indeed run into a car - that's actually bird guano. We went out this morning in the light of day to see what they thought they saw and lo and behold, nothing there. No scrapes, no paint, just regular dirt, dried up water marks and bird droppins smeared from the wind/driving. The license plate that has been bent for a couple of years now, still bent, same as before.
Myron was so pissed off! To be humiliated and handcuffed over bird doo doo is really insulting.
We are still no where near out of the woods yet, so it's infuriating that the police could be so stupid, but they were. And we'll have to pay for their incompetence. Arghhhhh!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Guilty til Proven Innocent
I am so upset, I am shaking!!!
Do you have those days that are completely normal - things start off just like all your other days ... breakfast, walk the dog, putz around home with your 2nd grader who is on mid-winter break, lunch, head to Pacific Science Center for a little fun, call your wife, pick up your pre-schooler at daycare, chat with other parents, stop at COSTCO for a few items, come home - but then it turns into one of your worst nightmares? Of course not! Many have that kind of experience, but most of us don't. And we certainly didn't think we would until today.
I am still in shock! How do you explain to your super sensitive 7 year old that Daddy will be OK, even though she saw him being put in handcuffs by the police in our own front yard? How do you believe, after seeing so many instances of injustice on TV and in the news, that the truth will in fact prove your innocence? And what will this cost us - in cash and in emotions?
Three Shoreline police officers came to our door tonight, looking for Myron, asked for his ID, had him walk outside to look at his truck and ended up putting him in handcuffs, accusing him of hitting a car and driving off. They say 3 unrelated people saw him do this and took down his license plate, followed him and then reported it to the police. They wanted him to say he did it in return for an accident report instead of the possibility that he'd have to be taken to the police station or go to court. They frisked him, turning his pockets inside out. They intimated he was guilty - threatening him with a jury who under the circumstances would also find him guilty.
The only problem with this entire story ... Myron didn't do it and couldn't possibly have done it. And even though he has evidence proving that he most likely couldn't have (receipts, time lapse, cell phone tower relays, not in the area they accuse him of being in) - they decided he was guilty. And deserved handcuffs no less. Seriously?!?!? Handcuffs for a traffic incident?
Anyone who knows Myron knows without a doubt that he could never have hit a car without stopping to render aid or exchange information. Isn't that what we have insurance for?? Accidents??? He'd be the first out of the car to see if anyone was hurt. His honesty and integrity would totally preclude him from doing the wrong thing and then lie about it to police. We are the kind of people who would more likely to need police help rather than be on the wrong side of the law. In the past, while watching documentaries or hearing news stories about innocent people going to jail or worse, I might let my mind wander to what would would happen if we were unlucky enough to have this happen, and I would tell myself that things like that would never happen to us because we believe in doing the right thing - no matter what the consequences. So how in the world did we end up here?
So your mind then goes to race. I don't want to believe that it has anything to do with things any more, but I'm the white girl. I know I grew up with a different perspective than Myron. He's the one who experienced prejudice and racism - not me. And you really want to believe that in 2008, race in Seattle plays little part in justice. But 3 white cops and handcuffs for a traffic accident? Cooperative behavior, no weapons, no backtalk, no threat. What could their motivation be other than racial profiling?
Next theory: conspiracy. Is someone trying to scam us? If it isn't possible that Myron was at the location "witnesses" say he was, is a group of somehow related people trying to bilk us and our insurance company out of money? Sounds incredible, but this is such a stange situation, that a strange option actually sounds plausible.
Finally - unreliable witnesses. One of my old UW professors - the reknowned Elizabeth Loftus - has made a life of studying and reporting on false memory and false eyewitness testimony, on how people can make mistakes and how memory is unreliable. Is that the case here? Are we victims of a bunch of mistakes that led us to this?
And how are we now suppose to teach our kids that the police are the good guys. How is McKenna suppose to trust the police, who handcuffed her dad right in front of her when she knows he didn't do anything wrong becasue she was with him all day. How do I answer all of her questions when I have no idea what we are in for? And as much as I am trying to stay calm and practical about how we handle this, I can tell that both kids are nervous and fearful as they both had unexplained meltdowns tonight after the incident, just when I couldn't give them the reassurance they desparately needed, because I needed some too.
It might be the adrenaline still pumping through my veins or it could be this cold that just won't go away, but I feel sick to my stomach.
If anyone knows a good lawyer out there, please send info our way. Don't know if we'll need it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And tonight, that sounds like a complete oxymoron.
Do you have those days that are completely normal - things start off just like all your other days ... breakfast, walk the dog, putz around home with your 2nd grader who is on mid-winter break, lunch, head to Pacific Science Center for a little fun, call your wife, pick up your pre-schooler at daycare, chat with other parents, stop at COSTCO for a few items, come home - but then it turns into one of your worst nightmares? Of course not! Many have that kind of experience, but most of us don't. And we certainly didn't think we would until today.
I am still in shock! How do you explain to your super sensitive 7 year old that Daddy will be OK, even though she saw him being put in handcuffs by the police in our own front yard? How do you believe, after seeing so many instances of injustice on TV and in the news, that the truth will in fact prove your innocence? And what will this cost us - in cash and in emotions?
Three Shoreline police officers came to our door tonight, looking for Myron, asked for his ID, had him walk outside to look at his truck and ended up putting him in handcuffs, accusing him of hitting a car and driving off. They say 3 unrelated people saw him do this and took down his license plate, followed him and then reported it to the police. They wanted him to say he did it in return for an accident report instead of the possibility that he'd have to be taken to the police station or go to court. They frisked him, turning his pockets inside out. They intimated he was guilty - threatening him with a jury who under the circumstances would also find him guilty.
The only problem with this entire story ... Myron didn't do it and couldn't possibly have done it. And even though he has evidence proving that he most likely couldn't have (receipts, time lapse, cell phone tower relays, not in the area they accuse him of being in) - they decided he was guilty. And deserved handcuffs no less. Seriously?!?!? Handcuffs for a traffic incident?
Anyone who knows Myron knows without a doubt that he could never have hit a car without stopping to render aid or exchange information. Isn't that what we have insurance for?? Accidents??? He'd be the first out of the car to see if anyone was hurt. His honesty and integrity would totally preclude him from doing the wrong thing and then lie about it to police. We are the kind of people who would more likely to need police help rather than be on the wrong side of the law. In the past, while watching documentaries or hearing news stories about innocent people going to jail or worse, I might let my mind wander to what would would happen if we were unlucky enough to have this happen, and I would tell myself that things like that would never happen to us because we believe in doing the right thing - no matter what the consequences. So how in the world did we end up here?
So your mind then goes to race. I don't want to believe that it has anything to do with things any more, but I'm the white girl. I know I grew up with a different perspective than Myron. He's the one who experienced prejudice and racism - not me. And you really want to believe that in 2008, race in Seattle plays little part in justice. But 3 white cops and handcuffs for a traffic accident? Cooperative behavior, no weapons, no backtalk, no threat. What could their motivation be other than racial profiling?
Next theory: conspiracy. Is someone trying to scam us? If it isn't possible that Myron was at the location "witnesses" say he was, is a group of somehow related people trying to bilk us and our insurance company out of money? Sounds incredible, but this is such a stange situation, that a strange option actually sounds plausible.
Finally - unreliable witnesses. One of my old UW professors - the reknowned Elizabeth Loftus - has made a life of studying and reporting on false memory and false eyewitness testimony, on how people can make mistakes and how memory is unreliable. Is that the case here? Are we victims of a bunch of mistakes that led us to this?
And how are we now suppose to teach our kids that the police are the good guys. How is McKenna suppose to trust the police, who handcuffed her dad right in front of her when she knows he didn't do anything wrong becasue she was with him all day. How do I answer all of her questions when I have no idea what we are in for? And as much as I am trying to stay calm and practical about how we handle this, I can tell that both kids are nervous and fearful as they both had unexplained meltdowns tonight after the incident, just when I couldn't give them the reassurance they desparately needed, because I needed some too.
It might be the adrenaline still pumping through my veins or it could be this cold that just won't go away, but I feel sick to my stomach.
If anyone knows a good lawyer out there, please send info our way. Don't know if we'll need it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And tonight, that sounds like a complete oxymoron.
Monday, February 18, 2008
2 Good Family Movies in a Row
Now that we have a nice media/game room and a big screen TV, we watch more movies together. We also belong to Netflix because it really is so darned convenient and we only have time to watch 2 movies a month - so it works out pretty well.
After a personal disaster with Mr Bean's Holiday (no one told me there are few words and Mr Bean doesn't talk) during which I had to go upstairs and find a chore to do or something, we rented The Game Plan (hunky Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays football dad to cutesy pie Peyton) and we all loved that one. Even Myron stayed awake for the entire movie and we all laughed out loud. And just this weekend we rented Hairspray. A little more sophisticated for Mac and Juice, but overall fun nonetheless. Only a couple of places required explanation ("Kiss My Ass" was one and the background explaining racial integration was another), but the message was good and John Travolta was HI-larious!
So there you have it for what it's worth. Some good rentals if you haven't seen them yet.
After a personal disaster with Mr Bean's Holiday (no one told me there are few words and Mr Bean doesn't talk) during which I had to go upstairs and find a chore to do or something, we rented The Game Plan (hunky Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays football dad to cutesy pie Peyton) and we all loved that one. Even Myron stayed awake for the entire movie and we all laughed out loud. And just this weekend we rented Hairspray. A little more sophisticated for Mac and Juice, but overall fun nonetheless. Only a couple of places required explanation ("Kiss My Ass" was one and the background explaining racial integration was another), but the message was good and John Travolta was HI-larious!
So there you have it for what it's worth. Some good rentals if you haven't seen them yet.
A funny from today's Daily Candy post
It’s Elected! Boogie-Woogie-OogieElection Day Lexicon
Faster than a speeding ballot. Sweeping primaries in a single bound. Look up in the sky: It’s a gimmick; it’s a cliffhanger; it’s punditocracy.
20/20 vision
n. the media’s tendency to blow small issues totally out of proportion for the sake of news show fodder.
Between Barack and a hard place
n. the sphere in which undecided democrats linger to contemplate the electability of candidates.
I heart Huckabeen.
a bad movie and campaign.
It takes a village idiot
phr. a Washington proverb.
Meet Romneys
n. The persistent desire to poke Mitt’s handsome sons on Facebook.
Mock the vote
n. when people too embarrassed to admit they’re clueless about the voting process make awkward jokes to remain elusive.
Over the Hillary
n. undecided voter syndrome wherein the desire to see a woman in the White House is overrun by one’s dislike for Hillary.
PundIt girl
n. the token female analyst who sits at the table with Wolf Blitzer and co.
Scamdidate
n. an unviable aspirant who just confuses the public (see: Ron Paul).
Super delegetsome
n. when powerful insiders use their influence to score dates with campaign managers and candidates’ daughters.
You can get your own by signing up for Daily Candy (see my favs).
Faster than a speeding ballot. Sweeping primaries in a single bound. Look up in the sky: It’s a gimmick; it’s a cliffhanger; it’s punditocracy.
20/20 vision
n. the media’s tendency to blow small issues totally out of proportion for the sake of news show fodder.
Between Barack and a hard place
n. the sphere in which undecided democrats linger to contemplate the electability of candidates.
I heart Huckabeen.
a bad movie and campaign.
It takes a village idiot
phr. a Washington proverb.
Meet Romneys
n. The persistent desire to poke Mitt’s handsome sons on Facebook.
Mock the vote
n. when people too embarrassed to admit they’re clueless about the voting process make awkward jokes to remain elusive.
Over the Hillary
n. undecided voter syndrome wherein the desire to see a woman in the White House is overrun by one’s dislike for Hillary.
PundIt girl
n. the token female analyst who sits at the table with Wolf Blitzer and co.
Scamdidate
n. an unviable aspirant who just confuses the public (see: Ron Paul).
Super delegetsome
n. when powerful insiders use their influence to score dates with campaign managers and candidates’ daughters.
You can get your own by signing up for Daily Candy (see my favs).
Friday, February 15, 2008
When Enough is Enough
I give. I've earned my "tough mom" badge. I finally called the doctor today and went in to get checked for this never-ending cold/cough thing I've been carrying around since Julian gave it to me on January 1st. 7 weeks of feeling cruddy, but not badly enough for anything to stop, is enough. And I'm sure that after coughing loudly either in your ear over the phone (I always get an attack while I'm on the phone) or in your general surroundings, you'll be relieved as well. I do apologize for hacking around everything and I try to be as conscious as possible about not germing up door knobs or handles or anything you might also touch. But seriously one of the biggest reasons is that going to the doctor and taking medication are two of my least favorite things.
But I went today, dragging Mac with me because she spent the day at work with me for mid-winter break (that's a topic for another blog - another school break?!?!?). We were right on time, I gave them money, I filled out the required form in record time and we were taken to the exam room right away. The nurse weighed me (why do I ask? It was unnecessary to point that out to me when I'm already feeling horribly), took my temperature (98.7 - perfect) and took my blood pressure (used the little cuff that clocked my pressure at 150/100 .. Wha??? Way too high for me so she changed cuffs and it came out 120/82 - much better). And then we waited. And waited and waited and waited. I measured and weighed Mac, pretended she was my patient, we played thumb wars and hand clapping games, we listened to her MP3, read a magazine article and she read up on how to prevent breast cancer by examining your breasts - so we chatted about breasts and cancer for a while. She sat on the exam table and I tickled her, we laughed a lot and loudly hoping that we would be annoying enough for someone to come see us. I bet her I knew exactly what the doctor was going to do once he came in: look in my ears, nose and throat, then use the stethoscope to listen to my lungs, ask me 2 questions and then write me a prescription for medicine.
1 hour later, he finally came in, looked in my ears, nose and throat, then used the stethoscope to listen to my lungs, asked me 1 question and then wrote me a prescription for medicine. 5 minutes all told including the first minute and a half putting a bandaid on his finger he got as a paper cut right before coming into the exam room. I really hate to go to the doctor's office!
Went to the pharmacy to get 10 pills - waited 20 minutes, during which time we sprayed every kind of perfume, looked at all the makeup, and rummaged through the Valentine sale. All to get nasty pills that I hate taking.
All I have to say is that this better work, because it's unlikely that I will go back. So there!
But I went today, dragging Mac with me because she spent the day at work with me for mid-winter break (that's a topic for another blog - another school break?!?!?). We were right on time, I gave them money, I filled out the required form in record time and we were taken to the exam room right away. The nurse weighed me (why do I ask? It was unnecessary to point that out to me when I'm already feeling horribly), took my temperature (98.7 - perfect) and took my blood pressure (used the little cuff that clocked my pressure at 150/100 .. Wha??? Way too high for me so she changed cuffs and it came out 120/82 - much better). And then we waited. And waited and waited and waited. I measured and weighed Mac, pretended she was my patient, we played thumb wars and hand clapping games, we listened to her MP3, read a magazine article and she read up on how to prevent breast cancer by examining your breasts - so we chatted about breasts and cancer for a while. She sat on the exam table and I tickled her, we laughed a lot and loudly hoping that we would be annoying enough for someone to come see us. I bet her I knew exactly what the doctor was going to do once he came in: look in my ears, nose and throat, then use the stethoscope to listen to my lungs, ask me 2 questions and then write me a prescription for medicine.
1 hour later, he finally came in, looked in my ears, nose and throat, then used the stethoscope to listen to my lungs, asked me 1 question and then wrote me a prescription for medicine. 5 minutes all told including the first minute and a half putting a bandaid on his finger he got as a paper cut right before coming into the exam room. I really hate to go to the doctor's office!
Went to the pharmacy to get 10 pills - waited 20 minutes, during which time we sprayed every kind of perfume, looked at all the makeup, and rummaged through the Valentine sale. All to get nasty pills that I hate taking.
All I have to say is that this better work, because it's unlikely that I will go back. So there!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Make it Stop!
It started the week before last. A slow spin, then it caught more speed, spinning and spinning and finally today I really felt completely out of control. Does this ever happen to you? You have so much to do, but the more you have and put on the to do list your mind starts spitting out more and more things you need to do, and it happens especially when you can't write things down like on the drive home, in the store, at your kid's basketball practice. Well, I'm there! The tape recorder is winding and re-winding. I'm trying to keep up, but can't seem to make it stop.
Work issues are usually what start it off and I have plenty of those. Staffing issues, big projects that need to be started and finished, a long list of things I need to do to make improvements but my day to day preempts me from moving forward on most of those. I spent much of the evening air talking to one of my staff members, talking myself through scenario after scenario, getting upset with the invisible person next to me, trying to write notes on whatever I had handy so as not to lose key points or connecting thoughts or trails of facts.
But as if that wasn't enough, the household stuff jumps into the fray and now I have months and months of tasks begging for attention in my brain. The flowers outside need to be dead-headed (that was supposed to happen in November!), the pile of papers and other odds and ends in the boxes in the corner of our bedroom must be handled, mid-winter break projects need to be planned for and who is going to be where and when for the next 6 months seems to be a jumbled mess in my head.
These are the times when I most need a break - a sabbatical, time for myself, uniterrupted. But I soldier on, work through the confusion, write down as much as possible so I don't forget and try to forgive myself if something does fall through the cracks. I've been sick since January 1st and have yet to find time to call, let alone see, a doctor. My foot is killing me, but stop for an appointment? Sorry - no time.
I know the rhetoric ... take care of yourself so you can take care of everyone else. Put yourself first. Health is the most important - take care of that first. All well and good, but not as easy to implement. So for now tomorrow is another day and I will attempt to quiet the noise in my head and just get things done.
Work issues are usually what start it off and I have plenty of those. Staffing issues, big projects that need to be started and finished, a long list of things I need to do to make improvements but my day to day preempts me from moving forward on most of those. I spent much of the evening air talking to one of my staff members, talking myself through scenario after scenario, getting upset with the invisible person next to me, trying to write notes on whatever I had handy so as not to lose key points or connecting thoughts or trails of facts.
But as if that wasn't enough, the household stuff jumps into the fray and now I have months and months of tasks begging for attention in my brain. The flowers outside need to be dead-headed (that was supposed to happen in November!), the pile of papers and other odds and ends in the boxes in the corner of our bedroom must be handled, mid-winter break projects need to be planned for and who is going to be where and when for the next 6 months seems to be a jumbled mess in my head.
These are the times when I most need a break - a sabbatical, time for myself, uniterrupted. But I soldier on, work through the confusion, write down as much as possible so I don't forget and try to forgive myself if something does fall through the cracks. I've been sick since January 1st and have yet to find time to call, let alone see, a doctor. My foot is killing me, but stop for an appointment? Sorry - no time.
I know the rhetoric ... take care of yourself so you can take care of everyone else. Put yourself first. Health is the most important - take care of that first. All well and good, but not as easy to implement. So for now tomorrow is another day and I will attempt to quiet the noise in my head and just get things done.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
What's a billion?
My dad sends me these great little nuggets once in a while and I was amazed at this one....
At the government’s current spending rate, a billion dollars was 8 hours and 20 minutes ago!
Remember that:
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
Another one:
According to 2005 data:
1. The top 1% of US population (3M people) took in 22.2% of ALL US income.
2. The bottom 50% of the population took in 12.8% of ALL US income.
Yikes!
PS I don't vet these things, so if it's wrong I didn't make it up and I didn't stop to count. But feel free to correct anything - I won't be offended.
At the government’s current spending rate, a billion dollars was 8 hours and 20 minutes ago!
Remember that:
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
Another one:
According to 2005 data:
1. The top 1% of US population (3M people) took in 22.2% of ALL US income.
2. The bottom 50% of the population took in 12.8% of ALL US income.
Yikes!
PS I don't vet these things, so if it's wrong I didn't make it up and I didn't stop to count. But feel free to correct anything - I won't be offended.
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