Thank a nurse

September 30th, 2010 by Regina Brett

The other night I got to speak to a group of nurses being inducted into the Cleveland Clinic health system's Nursing Hall of Fame.

 

I'm in awe of them. In one 12-hour shift they help a mother celebrate her newborn and another mother say goodbye to a stillborn. They make the pain go away. They make you believe you can get through anything. You can read my tribute to nurses in The Plain Dealer.

 

When I was going to start chemo 12 years ago I had my first and only fight with a nurse. She wanted to schedule my chemo appointments and I kept trying to postpone them. I had volleyball two nights a week, three columns a week to write, and all kinds of assorted plans.

 

"You need to get your priorities straight," she said.

 

I balked then I barked at her. I was angry, not at her, at cancer. 

Of course, I  realized, she was right. Life is Priority No. 1. Everything else comes after that.

 

Nurses know that better than anyone.

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Furlough

September 27th, 2010 by Regina Brett

What are you doing with your furlough days?

 

Everyone at The Plain Dealer has to take 12 days unpaid. The cut in pay is tough for everyone, but I'd rather see everyone take a small hit than see anyone take a big hit and get laid off.

 

Last week I had 5 days of furlough. It was the perfect time to take off. It was the last real week of summer with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. I sat on the backyard swing and just soaked up the sun. One day I went to yoga, another day I got a massage. I could get used to not working, but then how would I pay for yoga and massages? Hmm...

 

I stayed up til 2 a.m. watching the movie "The Professional" and "Rudy" about the kid who wanted to play for Notre Dame.

 

I wasn't a total slacker. I spoke at three book signings, did a radio interview and hosted my weekly radio show on 89.7 WKSU. This week we're talking about Alzheimer's Disease. You can call in the show toll free at 888-WKSU-897. 

 

Our question for this week's show is: What is the book that changed your life?

 

Tune in on Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. EST and you might get a few more book title to read for your furlough time off.

 

 

 

 

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Fame

September 25th, 2010 by Regina Brett

Have you ever interviewed anyone famous?

What famous person would you like to interview?

Who is the most famous person you've ever written about?

 

The question gets asked in a variety of ways when people find out you've been a journalist for 24 years. Living in Cleveland, people wonder if you ever got to talk to LeBron James, our most famous athlete who turned into our most infamous one when he left the Cavs for the Miami Heat.

 

The people who inspire me most are the ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Last week at a book signing Adam Cerny showed up. "I'm Chapter 12," he yelled from the back of the crowded library. The week before that, Don Szczepanski's son -- Don's in Lesson 50 --- came to a book signing. Both Don and Adam left an imprint on my heart.

 

Fame is highly overrated. Instead of wanting to be famous, I'd rather be memorable. The person who loved me most growing up was my gramma. She'd stand in her driveway and wave until our car got so far away she faded from view. I'll never forget that wave.

 

Another memorable person was the caboose man. We lived by the railroad tracks growing up, and the train came by during dinner. We'd run to the backyard to wave to the train and the caboose man would throw us candy. We'd scramble for the goodies, then wave and wave, like my grandma did, until the train was out of sight.

 

 

 

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Framing Innocence

September 20th, 2010 by Regina Brett

This week on "The Regina Brett Show"  we're going to talk to Lynn Powell, the author of the new book, "Framing Innocence."

 

She tells the story of the Oberlin mom who took photos of her daughter, including some of the child naked in the shower. The mom, Cynthia Stewart, was arrested and charged. At the time her daughter, Nora, was 8.

 

I hope to have an interesting discussion about what the rights of parents and children are when it comes to private photos, what's appropriate and what isn't when it come to photographing your children, how the community of Oberlin responded to the incident and what the new concerns are regarding photos of children that go out by email and cell phones.

 

You can call in and ask a question or share a comment from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday at 888-WKSU-897. You can listen to us live at 89.7 FM or on the podcast at www.wksu.org. And you can email us during the show at regina@wksu.org

 

 

 

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Family Size

September 15th, 2010 by Regina Brett

Bob and Joanne Schmitt have 16 children. They were guests on "The Regina Brett Show" tonight to talk about family size and how people decide how big or small they want their family to be.

 

I came from a family of 11. Back when we were kids, 1 to 4 kids was a small family, 5 to 8 was mid-sized and beyond that was a large family.

 

Now most people have no kids or one or two. 

 

I met the Schmitt's in 1992 when I wrote a magazine story on them. I had a blast with their kids. We played Old Maid non-stop, so tonight when Bob saw me, he gave me a deck of Old Maid cards. One was sticking out. Of course, it was the Old Maid, but he had taped a photo of me over her face. How funny.

 

They're loving parents whose kids are now 22 to 42. Two of them called during the show. When their son Teddy was 3, he sat at the kitchen table eating Kix cereal. His mom asked him, "Teddy, what are Kix made from?"

 

"Kittens," he said, then kept eating. Why not, he figured, since applesauce came from apples. You gotta love kids.

 

We end each show with a question of the week. This week the question is:

Who is your favorite fictional family? For me, it's either the Waltons or The Simpsons.

How about you?

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First radio show

September 9th, 2010 by Regina Brett

We launched "The Regina Brett Show" last night on WKSU 89.7 FM.

 

I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, all the waiting and anticipation and excitement made my heart pound. The topic was close to my heart, about as close as you can get, since I have no breasts.

 

We talked about hope for those with breast cancer. Our first guest was Nancy Brinker, who made a promise to her dying sister, Susan, which led to the creation of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. That promise has raised $1.5 billion dollars for breast cancer research and education. 

 

Sophie Sureau, who heads up the northeast Ohio Komen affiliate joined us. So did Dr. Lissa McKinley, whose breast cancer spread to her bones. Lissa's blog is full of hope in the poetry she writes and collects.

 

The team at WKSU was amazing, especially producer Sarah Eisler Taylor and technical guru Kabir Bhatia. Hope you listen in every Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST.

 

If you have ideas for future shows, send them along. 

 

 

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Monica

September 4th, 2010 by Regina Brett

My friend Monica died this morning.

 

Some people, when you meet them, it's like a Kodak moment. Snap! You never forget the second they stepped into your life. I met Monica at a reception at a fundraiser for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

 

She had black hair, dark eyes, lipstick that matched her purse, shoes and fingernails, and had an energy that lit up the room. What a human sparkler. She made everyone around her feel just as bright.

 

Monica left Cleveland for D.C a year or so ago and started up her own company. I was sitting in a book signing at a Costco in May when her aunt stopped by and said, "Did you hear about Monica?" I hadn't.

 

Monica had a headache that wouldn't go away. It turned out to be brain cancer. She had to close up her business and move back to Cleveland for treatments. When they did tests, they found cancer everywhere, her brain, her spine, her abdomen, her lungs. She called me the night before brain surgery. "I haven't even lived yet," she said. "I'm only 38."

 

From May til today, she fought like hell to live. She bounced back from brain surgery, from chemo, from brain radiation, from physical therapy  to walk again, from every side effect and set back cancer threw at her.

 

It's so sad to lose someone who was such a light in this world, and in mine. Monica always greeted me with, "Hi, doll." She's the only one in the world who called me doll. She made me feel so special. That was one of her superpowers. To make others feel special.

 

She always reminded me to "carry as you climb." Bring others with you up the ladder. Share the journey.

 

Thank you, Monica, for sharing yours. 

 

 

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What makes home

September 2nd, 2010 by Regina Brett

My grandma's house always felt like the most joyful place on earth. She kept a drawer full of giant lollipops and candy for us to empty every time we visited. At grammas, we always got our own bottle of pop and a giant bowl of the greasiest, saltiest potato chips.

 

She was Slovak, spoke broken English and always wore an apron, the full-sized kind that covered her dress. She also wore support stockings that ended up rolled up in a donut around her calves. Her long gray hair was twisted in a bun and fastened with dozens of pins shaped like skinny U's.

 

Looking back, her heart was my home. I always felt most loved around her and in that house on the farm. She taught me how to plant green beans and water them from the rain barrel. She taught me how to color Easter eggs with wax designs. She crocheted doilies and left them to us as her legacy. But her real legacy I discovered the other day when my grandbaby came to visit.

 

Asher is only 1 1/2, but when he came to my house after not being here for two weeks, he ran to the living room, rested his head on the couch and sighed. Then he ran over to the big chair where I read to him, rested his head on the cushion and sighed. Then he ran to the shelf where I display all his books, grabbed each one and said, "Wow! Wow! Wow!"

 

I hope my house, and my heart, feel like home to him.

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