Ted_Perry's Blog

Researchers in Great Britian and America have concluded that the 'midlife crisis' is something that will affect people across the world, not just in Western Europe and the United States.

They've even come up with a U-shaped formula that shows we're happiest and the start and the end of our lives. At the bottom of that "U" is the age of 44  where the probability of depression peaks.  As I'm 43 and 9 months, this story jumped out at me today.

In my "Ted's Take" tonight, I talked about a guy named Clarence Garrett who I know from the YMCA.  I profiled Clarence(who just graduated from college at the age of 87) ten years ago as he was always happy and he told me then it was because there was just no other choice. That always clicked with me. Sometimes, it's simple enough to say "Just Be Happy Already." Sometimes it's not.

And that's where you come in. What's your secret of happiness? No judgment here, just asking you to share your tricks for happiness. I don't care if it's a sunrise, a Bible verse, a yoga trick, a joke....just asking you to share.

Thanks in advance.

A co-worker of mine who I respect told me to get over it but I'd like to pick your collective brains about this one. The actor who plays the delivery guy in the VERY funny Miller High Life ads sang the National Anthem at Miller Park Tuesday night.

I love the commercials and the actor sounds like a very decent guy (I've heard him in a few interviews). He also nailed it--he sounded great.

Here's my question: should he have been "in character"?

He was wearing the delivery uniform he wears in the commercial. Yes, I know it's "Miller" Park and I know that's how he's known but I can't help but think it looks like the anthem is "for sale".  If Toby McGuire were asked to sing the National Anthem and showed up as "Spiderman" the same weekend the movie were opening, it would look like an obvious plug--and people would not be happy.

Is this any different?

Larry Hisle and I were teammates today. There's a phrase I never thought I'd write.

The former Brewer (and a very kind man), me, Mayor Barrett, County Executive Scott Walker, Tony Hrkac of the Admirals, Scott Dolphin of FM106 and Gregory Jon of WOKY were all invited to play wheelchair basketball with the athletes in town for the Veterans Wheel Chair Games. I think I can speak for the aforementioned guys when I say it was an honor and a humbling experience.

The athletes who are gathering in Milwaukee this weekend are all military veterans. They were also my 'teammates' for 20 minutes this afternoon.  It's funny when you think about it but the "able-bodied" guys were actually a hinderance to the wheelchair athletes. But athletes are athletes and these guys wanted to win. Which meant those of us who haven't played hoops in a chair needed a crash course in the finer points of wheelchair basketball. 

If you don't think it's not hard, go to your neighborhood basketball court, sit on a chair and shoot a few free throws. Now do it in a rolling chair. And dribble. And then have someone crash into you while you're shooting. Now, you're getting the hang of it.

Here's something I've never told anyone: my deepest fear is that I won't always be able to walk. I'm afraid that sometime while I'm out on my Harley, some drunken idiot will run a red light and leave me paralyzed.  I pray to God, I'm wrong but it's a fear.  I spent less than an hour with these men and women today but it was enough time to realize we all have a strength in us. These athletes are remarkable because a) they're veterans and b) they have the love of the game.

I hope you get a chance to watch some of the events this weekend. There's a link on our website to the schedule. All events are (Milwaukee's favorite word) free.

Make them feel welcome.

I dont usually post my "Ted's Take" script in my blogs because a) it's lazy blogging b) my scripts are usually pretty sloppy and I don't want you to see what a lousy speller I am and c) we want you to watch the 'teditorial' every night at 10:16.

Having said that, I got a letter from a dad who liked what I had to say last night and asked me to post it so his kids could read it. I'm asking you to add whatever advice you have for high school graduates below.

(Sorry about the CAPS but that's how our scripting for teleprompter works)

> 25-YEARS AGO *TONIGHT*--IN MY LAST OFFICIAL ACT AS CLASS PRESIDENT---I STOOD IN A PACKED GYM IN BARABOO AND GAVE A QUICK SPEECH--THE ORIGINAL TED'S TAKE IF YOU WILL.

TONIGHT'S TAKE IS FOR A LIMITED AUDIENCE: THOSE WHO HAVE OR WILL GRADUATE THIS MONTH. FOR THOSE WHO ARE MILITARY BOUND: GOD-SPEED AND THANK YOU.

FOR THOSE HEADING OFF TO COLLEGE, A FEW SINCERE WORDS OF ADVICE

. I REMEMBER HOW SCARED I WAS THAT NIGHT NOT ONLY TO SPEAK BUT TO BE "IN THE REAL WORLD" BUT NEVER UNDERESTIMATE FEAR AS A MOTIVATING TACTIC.

BELIEVE ME, THERE WILL BE DAYS IN THE FEW YEARS AHEAD THAT WILL TEST YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL----YOU MAY FEEL LIKE QUITTING--DON'T.

YOU MAY FEEL LIKE YOU CAN'T DO IT, YOU CAN.

YOU'LL MAKE LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIPS, CHERISH THOSE.

 YOU'L GET YOUR HEART BROKEN, IT GOES AWAY.

YOU MIGHT NOT ALWAYS BE THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE ROOM AND THAT'S WHEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY STOP TALKING AND LISTEN.

AND TRY NOT TO DOUBT YOURSELF TOO MUCH--IT'LL STAND IT THE WAY OF HOW GREAT YOU CAN BE.

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN AND NEVER,EVER, EVER GO BARE-FOOT IN THE DORM SHOWER.

Ok, there's a catch and it's not exactly a small one: you had to serve at Normandy on D-Day 63 years ago.

Since many of these gentlemen might not be on the blogosphere, former TV6 Anchor Carl Zimmermann is asking for help finding them. Carl helps gather these heroes every year for a free dinner at Elliot's Bistro on Milwaukee's East Side. They are welcome to bring their wife or a friend.

Why Elliot's? The owner, Pierre Briere was a little boy in Normandy during the invasion and remembers the kindness and bravery of the American troops. So every year he makes them this awesome meal and doesn't take a dime. Now that's gratitude.

If your father or grandfather served on or around D-Day in Normandy, please encourage them to sign up for this dinner. I covered this as a story during the 60th anniversary and the atmosphere in that room was electric.

You can write me at ted.perry@foxtv.com and I'll give you the number but please do it soon. Pierre needs an accurate headcount.

My former co-anchor Joyce Garbaciak used to tell me, "Wait until you hit 40, you won't care so much what other people think". Whether it's a self-fufillig prophecy or just true, I really do find myself caring less what people think.

Having said that, and just for fun, I'd like your thoughts on this one.

I've been going to baseball games since I was 5 years old-that was 38 years ago. In that time I"ve been in Major League parks from Los Angeles to Toronto and I've never caught a foul ball.  Came close once in Canada but didn't really feel it was right to tussle with a 12-year old girl for one that came in our section (and No, I wasn't afraid of losing).

This season, I started  bringing  my catcher's mitt to Miller Park.  Three weeks ago, I brought my long-time friend and college roommate to the game. When we got to the parking lot and I reached in the back seat to grab my glove he said, "What are you doing with that...you are NOT bringing it in."  I reminded him whose seats we were sitting in and he had no choice but to relent.

Last weekend, I brought another good friend and his two sons to the game. I met them at Hank (Aaron statue) and he looked at the aging leather glove on my left hand.

"Nice mitt," he said sarcastically.

"Your kids each have one," I replied more defensively than I wanted to be.

"Yea, they're 10 and 6."

So what are your thoughts? Am I a total geek for bringing a glove with me to the game? Is it adorable or pathetic? Or somewhere in between?

And if I'm bringing a glove to a baseball game at the age of 43, how long until I start wearing black socks with loafers while I cut the lawn?

I'm going to keep wearing it. I mean, Michael Jackson wore a glove for no apparent reason but I'm on a mission here folks!

And I promise, seconds after catching it, I will look around and toss it to the youngest kid in my section.

That's what real men do. Even the geeky ones.

Had the honor today of kicking off the inaugural "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event at UW-M today.  It's meant to raise awareness about the epidemic of domestic violence in this country. The "hook" of this event is that guys wear high heels when they walk. The idea is to promote empathy fo course.

 Verizon Wireless is the main sponspor--money raised goes to the Soujourner Truth House, the Task Force on Family Violence and Jewish Family Services.

Health Commissioner Bevan Baker ( a very interesting guy who I'd not met before) gave a passionate talk about the need to address violence in the home. It was very moving.

But the heroes of the day were the guys who slapped on the stillettos and walked the course. They took some good-natured ribbing and undoubtedly have some blisters they never got before their pre-pumps days.  Watching guys try on the pumps were pretty funny. I'm sure a lot of them were thinking, "I could pull this off on a daily basis."

Fellas, nicely done. You had the stones to do something I couldn't--but promise to next year. So thanks for putting your egos aside and raising money for a great cause.

Just remember, it's time to take the shoes off now.

Every year at about this time, I like to remind myself that I'm constantly getting older, slower and fatter.

Which is what the Crazylegs Run in Madison is really for. Sure, race organizers say it's a great fundraiser for the athletic department but it's really a chance for alums to come back to a place that doesn't change.

I hate running but I love my brother Dave and it's one of the few chances I get to see him each year.  We plod along the 5-mile course with the urgency of a southern waitress serving a busload of yankees.  This year we set a goal to run our ages--and we would have done it if we were each 58 years old. We rarely get confused with Kenyan marathoners.

Afterwards, we had lunch and went our separate ways. I walked around campus with my college roommate and was amazed at the physical changes to campus--new buildings are popping up everywhere. But the things that Madison is known for don't change. 

The protesters were out in force. They say you could find people to protest a cheese sandwich in Madison and that's probably true. But the current war has protesters fighting for prime location on Library Mall.  This is a serious issue and it stirs emotions on both sides. We didn't have a war to protest against/demonstrate for when I was in school. I mean, we had Grenada but that was over before anyone could even find it on a map.

The usual backround characters are alive and well too.  Guys who were hitting me up for spare quarters 21 years ago are now savvy enough to ask for a minimun of a dollar. Students still do odd things: I saw a bunch of 20 years old throw colored chalk all over each other for about 30 minutes. Why they were doing it I didn't care enough to ask.

Madison is often ranked as one of the best places to live and I guess it is. I know I turned down an anchor job there years ago because I didn't want to live in a place where are large chunk of the population is always 18-25 years old.  I knew it was time to go when I was walking down State Street and a student who I assumed is from this area looked up and recognized me.  "Good to see you here sir" he said.

Sir? Ouch! Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right: You can't go home again. But it's still nice to check in once in awhile.

It won't make it into any of our newscasts tonight (we're pretty jammed) but I was sad to read a story on the wire tonight about the death of a great journalist: David Halberstam was killed in a car crash this morning.

Halberstam  wrote beautifully about two of my favorite topics: American History and sports. His book "Summer of '49" is without a doubt the best baseball book I've ever read. 

If you ever saw the Ken Burns documentary on baseball, then you'd recognize Halberstam.  He spoke as well as he wrote-a deep voice, excellent but not snobbish vocabulary and an expression that fit the tone of every story. It was like hearing a favorite uncle tell stories about 'the old days".

At 73, he was still turning out books. There was one due out this winter but that is one book that'll never go to print.  He was in California helping young journalists learn more about their craft. I didn't know this about him but he was apparently quite generous with his time.

If you have a young student in your life that wants to go into journalism, buy him or her any Halberstam book.  Just reading him makes one a better writer.

I'm a Milwaukee County resident but you don't have to ask me twice to visit Waukesha County. I love Lake Country and any time I hope on my motorcycle I usually end up on a rural road somewhere outside Dousman or Delafield or Oconomowoc.

Some of my closest friends live there, I have family there, the most loyal Fox 6 viewer I know (my cousin Pat) calls Waukesha County home.

Over the weekend, I visited Waukesha's very excellent public library and stopped in for a self-tour of the Waukesha County Historical Museum (located in the old courthouse--it's a beautiful building. You have to be a bit nerdy to spend a beautiful day inside going thru old newspapers and manuscripts but I had a gas. I learned a lot about Waukesha County--maybe even a few things you life long WCers don't know.

Anyway, our reporters have put together some excellent stories on various topics. Brad Hicks and I will be out there tonight in two different locations (Kat's not happy she has to stay back here so don't bring it up to her).

It's tonight at 9pm as we Focus on Waukesha County. We hope you can be with us.

Fox reporter Jonathan Serrie was on with us during our 5pm news today for what we call a "talk back"--it's basically a chance for anchors in one town to ask the reporter in another to tell us more about the story. Serrie is in Blacksburg, Virginia and he told Beverly and me a story about how VTU students made cookies and went from news truck to news truck 'thanking' crews for telling the story of the students who lost their lives.  That was a first for me.

Those students were witness to an unspeakable act and yet they were checking in on news crews. This isn't about how to deal with the media. This is about the grace I've seen from student after student after student interviewed about Monday's carnage.

I had the night off from "the news" tonight so naturally I came home to watch "the news" and as I flicked around from coverage on broadcast and cable stations one point was crystal clear: these are some of the most poised men and women I've seen on airwaves in a long time.  I watched one after another. Each was intelligent, poised, gracious and well-spoken.  On my best day in college I wasn't as articulate as any of them. And this, I'm quite certain, is not their best day.  

I have no great insight on that. Nothing more to add.

They  just seem to be a credit to a school going thru a beyond-awful time and to their parents who surely can't wait to hug them. 

I had already planned to blog about what I saw this weekend before the day's events in Virginia. I thought about not writing this but maybe now it's even more poignant.

I went to Dallas this past weekend and an initial trip there isn't really complete without a visit to the Texas School Book Depository. That of course is the building from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK in November of 1963.(We can talk conspiracy theories later, for now that's not the point).  The sixth floor is now a museum-a remarkable one at that. It's full of news clippings and photographs detailing the President's fateful trip to Texas.

The visitors, who according to accents and languages I heard around me, come from across the globe. The mood is appropriately somber.  Which is why one scene disturbed me a bit.

Six floors below, there are three "X's" on Elm Street marking the spots where the shots hit. It's eerie to see them. It was upsetting to see to what a group of kids on a field trip was doing.  All of them were taking pictures which is understandable. What wasn't is the poses some of them were striking:some flexed their muscles, some acted like they were "hit", some tried to give their sexiest look.  Fine at Epcot, not so cool at the shot where our 35th President was killed.

It then occured to me that not only were these teens not born when Kennedy was shot, their parents might not have been born yet either.  Does that excuse the behavior? No, of course not.  They say tragedy plus time equals humor.  There's never enough time elapased for clowning around at certain spots.  Would their chaperones allow that behavior at Dachau? At Ground Zero? At the spot where Columbia's pieces fell violently to the ground?

Will their grandkids go to Virginia Tech in 40 years and yuck it up? God, I hope not. Some things will just never be funny.

 I have no interest in kicking Katie Couric when she's down but she brought this one on herself.

CBS News admits that Couric's video blog of  April 4th was not the work of Katie Couric. It wasn't even the work of the producer who wrote it for her. That producer took several lines from an essay published in the Wall Street Journal.  

In the Rap world, they call that "sampling". In journalism we call in plagiarism.  The producer got canned, Katie's not talking, CBS says it's "horrified". Well, at least they're horrified.

You may not like my blogs, you may be amused, annoyed or challenged by them. You might think I'm a complete idiot. But I can promise you that every single word was written by me. The same is true for Bev, Brad, Kat and every other reporter and anchor at Fox6 who blog (and it's been made very clear to us that we WILL blog).  It is our work, our thoughts, our opinions.

Katie makes what? $ 15 million a year? Add up all the salaries of Fox6 anchors and it doesn't make a dent in her paycheck.  Don't cry for us, we make ok coin but my point is that the segment labeled "Katie's Notebook" ought to be written by Katie. It's not called "Katie's Prone-To-Cheating Producer's Notebook."

Ok, now the hypocrite check. Many of you might be saying, "Uh hold on there sport, you don't actually write the newscasts do you?"  Good point. No, I don't. Our very excellent producers write 95 percent of the newscasts(not counting weather and sports). Anchors write the teases and the top of the shows which we call "the grab" and we help reporters who want help with scripts. But we never claim otherwise. The newscast is the sum total of the the work done by Fox6 producers, reporters, photojournalists, artists,engineers etc.

Blogs and segments are something else. When you watched my "Perry's People" segments, that was my writing. My "Going Green" segments? My words.  My blog? My stuff.

The plagiarism issue is the most serious here and someone lost their job over it. As they should have.

I think Couric owes her dwindling audience an explanation on her next blog.

If she can find a producer she can trust to write it for her.

When I first heard the comment Don Imus made about the Rutgers University Women's Basketball team I was shocked.

My first reaction was "Don Imus is still alive?"  Apparently he is and obviously he's still spouting whatever he can to get noticed.  The phrase he used to describe the players from Rutgers (his words now):'nappy-headed hos" is clearly inappropriate.  You don't need me, Jesse Jackson or Miss Manners to tell you that.

What fascinates me is the part about what happens next. Imus went on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show where the one-time presidential candidate called for his firing. News accounts say it was awkward on air and off.  Sharpton could barely make eye contact with Imus.  While this was happening in New York, the Reverend Jesse Jackson was leading protests outside the NBC station in Chicago (Imus' show is also broadcast on MSNBC, thus the protest outside Channel 5).

I just gets me wondering about who gets to decide when Imus is "sorry enough". Who made Reverend Sharpton the barometer sufficient shame? There's just something that strikes me as so phony about the whole process. Imus is a dwindling force in radio. He may act contrite but part of him is thinking "my names out there again...this is good."  The protests and the public calls for his dismissal are almost cliche.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Imus. He's a pathetic figure who appeals to a certain audience that probably isn't all that offended by what he said. They might say they are but will they stop listening when and if he comes back on the air? I doubt it. But don't we all see we give him more attention than he deserves. He's a shock jock for crying out loud--he craves the attention.

Imus wants to meet with the Rutgers basketball team to apologize in person. I hope they say no.  They had a great run and lost the NCAA championship to the giant known as Tennessee. They don't deserve to have to be part of this circus. They should be proud of what they did, how they played and the fact they were great competitors.

In other words, Happy-Headed Foes.

he's done.  That's a great old sports cliche for a pitcher who's got nothing left. It's time to take him out, he's no good to anyone right now.

Apparently it's not just for athletes.  Saturday at Miller Park a bearded dude sat down at the end of the row where we were sitting.  He's must have been 5'10'', 250 pounds with a mane of hair that hadn't been cut in awhile. Might have been a nice guy but he looked liked a bad ass. Let's just say if a fight broke out, you were hoping he was on your side.

He showed up in the 7th inning, sat down and finished drinking what I'm quite certain was NOT his first beer of the day. Within minutes he was passed out:chin planted firmly in chest, hands clasped around his Genuine Draft plastic bottle, and eyes lids closed as if they were heavier than manhole covers.

A bunch of Cubs fans sitting near him started placing their near-empty beers on his lap and in his arms.  One by one until he had a small recycling center covering him.

And then the cell phones came out. Paris Hilton didn't have her picture taken as much as this guy did yesterday. Some posed with him, others just took video and pictures and started sending them to friends everywhere. An usher and some cops came by, told them to knock it off and then decided (wisely, I think) to just let the guy sleep it off. I guess the thought being a passed-out drunk is safer than an awake one.

The guy's head HAS to be pounding today. Monday morning, in offices from Chicago to Des Moines, people will be sharing the e-mail sent to them by friends who were at the game. The subject line will read: "drunk Brewers fan..must see" and strangers will laugh at the sight of him. 

And the thing is, I can't muster an ounce of sympathy for the guy.

He did wake up. He looked around and saw he was a spectacle and the near-empty bottles covering him. And then (I kid you not) he started drinking what was left in each bottle placed there by strangers who wanted nothing more than to mock him.

Baseball. For some it's America's Passed-Out Time.