I have just accepted a new job anchoring at WPSD. No that’s not the Toledo radio station call letters with a typo. It’s actually the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Kentucky. I told my coworkers here at FOX Toledo yesterday. Told Mayor Mike Bell too. Today it was the doctors at UTMC and former sports director Brad Fanning.

I do like it here. That’s not why I’m going. I will miss many people and the many cool things the Toledo area has to offer. By the way, can I take the 577 Foundation with me? I didn’t think so, but it was worth asking.

Temptations of the new job include a bigger news operation. A TV station that’s been owned by the same family since the test pattern was invented. A station manager who’s a journalism man. Most have a sales background. It should be a fun place to be an anchor/reporter. We’ll be fighting for viewers with the market’s other dominant station in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Saying goodbye in a few weeks is not going to be easy. I helped to give birth to FOX Toledo News. I was here when we launched our first newscast after the Super Bowl in 1996. This job was my move back home from Colorado, closer to Indiana where most of my family lives. That was an exciting time, too.

I’ve enjoyed my time here and the people I’ve met. Please e-mail (lemerson@foxtoledonews.com), call or Facebook if you feel like it. I’d love the chance to say a personal goodbye before I drive south. Toledo holds so many good memories for me. Thank you.

I’ll continue to be on the air on FOX Toledo News at 6:30 and 10 through Friday, January 6th.

This year my gift list is not too long. More than half of it is done, thanks to a useful group purchas for the parents. Shhh, no hints in case you’re reading this, Mom.

But now I’m down to the difficult ones. The obvious gifts are easy. Especially when they, or their parents, provide ideas.

Then there are the tough-to-buy-for. You hate to just buy something because you’re expected to, because everyone’s watching their budget these days. You can’t show up empty handed either. Plus, you want whatever it is to be appreciated.

You’re probably thinking, why not gift cards? Sure, they can be convenient in certain situations, and I admit, I’m usually very appreciative when I am a recipient, but part of me thinks, “Why not just exchange cash with each other?”

I can’t even get them chocolate, because someone else is planning to. I’ll keep working on it, but I know time’s a wasting!

I don’t own an MP3 player. I don’t really enjoy listening to music with things stuck in my ears, so I resisted getting some. But this past weekend I took the plunge. Mean looking little black earbuds with pictures of skulls on them. Occasionally I just need a little peace and solitude at work.

If you’ve ever been in a TV newsroom, you probably know there are scanners, multiple TV sets on, people talking to each other, people talking on the phone, phones ringing and the sound of people editing videotape.

Much of the time we have to keep our ear on the scanners or be ready to share information with each other. But occasionally in an open room of many desks, it’s nice to have a little quiet. That’s why the earbuds. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear a little music without bugging others, or hear nothing and just be able to think enough to write stories for the newscasts.

Another thing that kept me from getting them for a long time, the health stories we do about hearing loss. So I’ll make sure I’m very careful to keep the volume down.

Wave your arms if you want to get my attention.

A long illness took my youngest brother’s life last weekend. I’m still getting used to the sting of his being gone.

Dear Joe,

We hope you liked your sendoff gathering this week. We were all so sad, but thankful you’re no longer hurting. Cousin Katie and her husband Josh did a wonderful job with your photo slideshow. So many people came to say goodbye. Many sent plants and flowers. Mom told me tonight that the cards are still pouring in. Dad really misses you, too.

Holidays won’t be the same without you. Sure, you could be moody and grouchy, but you could also be really smart and funny and loving. Your absence is leaving a gaping hole in our lives.

My friends have been great at supporting me and trying to cheer me up. Today one of them said that I should think of how you now have the advantage of seeing and knowing the things that those of us still living remain clueless about. Among those, why you had to have such a short life. 32 years really isn’t very long.

Thank you for at least spending that time with us. Send our regards to the others we loved who’ve already passed. We hope someday to understand.

Love,

Your Sister

I posted many weeks ago that it’s time to replace my 11 year old set of wheels. Because of the many things in life that become priorities, I only have time for a test drive about once every two weeks, so it’s becoming a long process.

Here’s one thing that’s surprised me about car shopping. So far I’ve really like all of the salesmen who’ve let me test drive their cars. I’ve been to four dealerships looking at various makes and models. Of course, we haven’t gotten down to hard negotiating, but every time I drive, ask questions and then walk away, the’ve been reasonably nice and have not gone overboard with the follow up phone calls or e-mails. That’s been rather pleasant.

What’s frustrating is making the decision. NOT having a car payment right now makes it tough to take the leap. It’s easy for me to keep researching and putting off the decision, hoping the great end-of-the-year bargain on the perfect car is just around the corner. I don’t know if it will be, but so far my fondness for various cars has remained rather practical and unemotional, which probably will help when it comes purchase time.

I want reliable, comfortable, FANTASTIC GAS MILEAGE, not too expensive. Any interior but black, because it gets hot in the summer sun. No there isn’t a perfect car, any more than there’s a perfect house. You eventually have to pick the one you like the best or the lesser of the evils.

I find myself paying attention to every car ad that flashes on the TV screen. I look up and instantly filter whether it’s a vehicle I might be interested in. Guess I’d better hurry up and decide or I’ll be test driving in the snow. At least I’ll know whether they come equipped with good all season tires. If the interest rates are good enough, maybe I should consider used?

I visited a friend in the hospital yesterday. Her story is a good example of how illogical our system is right now.

Of course I won’t use her name, just enough basics to illustrate my point.

She’s a 40-something cancer survivor who had to have surgery last week because after years good health, her cancer had come back. An energetic, funny, smart bicycling enthusiast who lost her nursing home mangement job a few months ago due to cutbacks. While living on unemployment, working part time as a contract employee and applying for the minimum 3 jobs each week that is required, this diagnosis came down.

She had made an effort to be smart. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to afford the kind of medical insurance she had when she was working full time, she bought some very basic major medical insurance. Only enough to cover hospitalization. No frills. No doctor visits, or lab work, or MRIs are covered. No prescription coverage. She was told upon admission for surgery that she’d probably be better off with NO insurance. If she had none, the tab would be picked up by a government plan, a cancer charity or the hospital. Because she has a little insurance she now faces thousands in medical bills she cannot afford.

I’m not claiming to know what to do about health care. Obviously, a lot of smart and powerful people in our country have still not made sense of it. But I think you have to agree that there’s a problem when making an effort to have basic health insurance because you want to be covered if you have an accident while riding your bicycle (my friend’s rationale for buying the plan she did) gets you penalized.

First of all, the weather. We came very close to a record high today that was set back in the World War Two era. We don’t often vote in shirtsleeves in November in northwest Ohio.

We’re also hearing some strange claims of a poll worker being shot with BB guns at one Toledo polling place. Another of a police officer in uniform being turned away at his polling place, because of the uniform. Of course Ohio’s Issue 2, involving collective bargaining for government workers has been a hot button this year. You are not supposed to be allowed into a polling place with buttons, tee-shirts or other signage proclaiming your stance on an issue. Poll workers are instructed to ask you to take off a button, for example, before coming inside to vote. It’s to protect voters from intimidation. We are still checking out these claims and circumstances. But compared to other recent elections, this one certainly seems emotionally charged.

Since it’s October 31st as I write this, it’s no big surprise that Halloween has been a big topic of conversation in the newsroom tonight.

From who has candy at their desk, to what costumes FOX Toledo employees or their kids are wearing, most of the conversation is what you’d expect.

Then we got into a debate about what’s socially acceptable regarding trick or treating. We debated the maxiumum age for begging door to door for candy. Opinions differed. Some said once you have ‘teen’ in your age, you’re too old. Others thought high school was the cutoff. And is it okay for an adult or couple to walk around with only an infant collecting candy? The kid can’t eat that without teeth. Of course tiny children in costume are really cute.

As a little kid carrying a small plastic candy basket, I was always annoyed by the older kids hefting fat pillowcases full of candy. It seemed rather over the top and greedy to me. Then someone else in the newsroom informed me that where he grew up, pillowcases were the container of choice and no one considered them in bad taste.

One member of our news staff didn’t celebrate Halloween as a kid for religious reasons. Some churches in the region have offered alternative celebrations or used All Hallows Eve as a way to pass out candy and possibly recruit new attendees. Others, like his, just encourage their flock to ignore Halloween.

I learned the term “Trunk or Treat” just this weekend. It’s when you put candy-givers in a parking lot and the trick or treaters come to their trunk. A church near my home town did it during the town’s official candy gathering time. Very efficient for kids looking to maximize their haul, or avoid having to travel far from house to house in rural areas.

One friend who noticed her house was getting too many repeat visit attempts because of her offering of premium candy downgraded her candy offerings this year. Watch out kids, that’s what can happen if you try to trick the treater.

For my birthday last week, three of us showed up to one of Bowling Green State University’s Open Curling nights and gave it a try.

The two hour introduction cost $15 each. It began with a brief introduction to the game and its equipment. Release forms had to be signed, of course. We got a demonstration of how to hurl a stone at the target at the far side of the ice rink. Forgive me serious curlers for any mistakes in terminology. I am new at this. After watching the skilled curling club members do it, we got to try. If they make it look easy on the Olympics, don’t let it fool you. It’s more than a variation of bowling or shuffleboard on ice.

Just about all of us novices fell at least once. I flopped over while launching my first stone. But my more spectacular fall came later when I gained a bit of confidence, then proceeded to step backward into the stones that were neatly sitting at the edge of the ice sheet. I tripped. I fell onto one of the handles on top of a stone. Despite that, our short practice game continued. Others took various tumbles, but we all kept playing.

Curling was fun. Very social. It forces you to communicate and work together with your teammates. People of all ages can do it. Curling seems to require experience and technique more than brute force. The sweeping in front of the stone to make it go faster is harder than you’d think. You have to move quickly to keep up with the stone while not touching it.

Tonight B.G.S.U. is actually starting a four week introduction to curling on Tuesday nights. If you’re curious and want to try it some time, look up the curling club, get on their mailing list and be prepared to meet some nice people willing to welcome you into a bit of Scottish culture and friendly competition. Clean athletic shoes without mud, dirt or stones and warm layers of clothing recommended. They provide the brooms, teflon sliding pad for your feet and instruction.

We’ve covered plenty of stories about large corporations cutting employees and small businesses being stuck by a lack of credit and overabundance of regulation. But according to a recent gathering at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, the middle sized companies are the ones with the job growth now and in the next year.

The National Middle Market Summit was held October 6th. They defined “middle sized” as companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. Some are privately owned, others are corporations. Biggish, yes, but not compared to a G.M. or G.E. or Apple. These middle sized companies include manufacturers, software providers, food producers. It’s an odd assortment of businesses. Some things they have in common, slow, cautious growth. Slow hiring, but also because of that, they hang on to workers even when times get tough. They know they need that specialized workforce and it’s not easy to replace people quickly when economic conditions improve, so that’s where the employee loyalty comes from. The good news, many companies in this size group reportedly plan to add to their workforce in the next year.

These companies reortedly employ 41 million Americans or 34% of total private employment, according to news releases posted about the gathering. The theme of the O.S.U. summit was “Leading from the Middle.”