Jamie Simpson Is A Modern Day Hero

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”~ Christopher Reeve

On the evening of the 27th of May, WRGT-TV meteorologist Jamie Simpson interrupted the television broadcast to warning viewers that a dangerous storm was approaching, with a CONFIRMED tornado that was on the ground.

And then he blew up in frustration while on the air.

He said on the air that he was checking social media and people were already yelling at him to get off the air because he was interrupting their show.

At the time of the live broadcast, “The Bachelorette” was on. And viewers were annoyed that they were missing it because of the weather interruption.

The tornado that struck Dayton, Ohio was a confirmed EF-3.

I recall a couple of decades ago that KSNW had a similar “problem” with their viewers. Each Friday evening, they read viewer mail on the air and addressed the issues of the day.

The one issue important that is relevant here is the fact that western Kansas was dealing with several consecutive nights of severe weather, with the threat of nighttime tornadoes. And those storms were definitely an issue for my family and I at the time.

So there had been those nights where television was interrupted.

Viewers had been pouring in the entire week complaining of the interruptions and found it ridiculous that they were doing so. Especially since the storms that were happening were 250 miles (384 km) away.

Thankfully, the news station and the weather crew stood firm and said that when lives and people’s property are at stake, that they will ALWAYS be there to interrupt and broadcast any important weather information so that people can stay safe.

The fact that Jamie Simpson did the exact same thing WHILE broadcasting live in current day, makes him my hero.

And even though I am a tornado and severe weather enthusiast, tornadoes at night are a wreck on my nerves. The fact that one person has been reported dead and over 90 people were hurt turns my stomach.

If these idiot whiners would have had their precious way, more people would have got hurt. Or worse.

So hats off to Jamie Simpson. Go off on these viewers any time!!!!

Ping Pong Pandemonium

Well this was different for a change.

For weeks I have been hearing about how some of the other neighbors here like to play Ping Pong. And the fact that they really get into it.

I actually stuck my head in to take a look, but I refused to join in the play.

I haven’t played the game since I was able to stand. So I didn’t know for sure what it would be like playing from a wheelchair.

I would continue to run into one of the people that likes to play, and he finally was able to twist my arm last weekend to at least give it a try and see how I felt about playing.

So for about an hour and a half I played with the guy. No score kept, no pressure. Just casual back and forth. And a couple of hints and tricks taught along the way.

He invited me to play a few days from that point and I accepted.

Little did I know that he was putting together a tournament of sorts.

So I showed up for my first match.

The match was a little bit different than usual. Ten games to ten points. So essentially the first one to reach 100 wins. But with brief breaks in between after someone reached the first and the next set of ten. And so on.

First match was won 100-89.

My second match? Well, that was a forfeit. And here’s where the controversy begins.

I was first told that my opponent wasn’t able to make the match due to conflicting schedule. Then I was told that my opponent just was not able to make it when they scheduled the match. Had it been earlier in the day, they might have.

So quickly I was in the final match. And I was told that it would be a while before that was to be played because my opponent had a strenuous schedule and they would schedule the match as soon as they could.

During that wait, I would find out the truth behind the forfeiture of my second match.

The winner of that match would go on to play someone that really excels in the game. And so my opponent automatically assumed that they would play against that person. And that leaves their insinuation that they would have beaten me. And they were certain of it happening before even meeting up with me.

Talk about a bunch of bullshit.

But I finally met the final opponent before playing him. I watched him play against someone else, who were just playing for fun.

It was a very fast paced game. I started to worry, but then I realized that worrying wasn’t going to do me any good.

So the day came where I was in my final match.

The match rules had changed again.

Five games to ten. Instead of ten. So the first person to reach 50 points.
No trash talking to your opponent.
No foul language or profanity.
Only need to be ahead by one point to win.

If caught using foul language or profanity, your opponent would be awarded one point no matter where you were in the match. You were not allowed to even curb the language down to words like “heck, darn, shoot.”

I would be penalized only twice on that rule. Because I know you are reading this, wanting to know how badly I lost to this.

The match was well underway but my opponent received a phone call and had to stop playing and leave.

I was doing great up until that point. I was told that the remainder of the match would be played at a later date. Starting with the score with how the first part had ended.

I don’t know why there was no forfeit. I guess they didn’t want it to end like that.

But it didn’t end by reaching 50 points either.

The last and final part of the match got started. And my opponent noted that there was a crack in the ball, but it was still good enough to be played with.

I was finding it simple for whatever reason to mount a comeback and get ahead in the score. And then his serve came to me and I gave it back. Then his volley went higher than he had anticipated, and I slammed the ball into the back corner of the table. My point!!!

But…. that broke the ball. Match over.

It was finally finished, winning with a score of 19-16.

The guy who orchestrated the whole gathering was kind of pissed off the ball broke as it was his only one that he had. But he held it back and I could tell that he was trying hard to do so.

My opponent just grabbed his belongings and walked out.

Later in the evening, I ran into the guy who started this mania in the first place and he came up close and admitted that my final opponent decided that he was going to “take it easy on me.”

I don’t know what it is about these opponents doing these things. It’s crap!! And even though I won, it doesn’t feel like a victory to me.

I didn’t earn anything. No trophy or anything. Just some bragging rights. And yet knowing what I know now, bragging rights seem worthless.

At least I was invited to come again in a few days to play around. No score, no pressure. Just play until either person can play no more.