In Memoriam 2012

This year may be the most emotional year for famous deaths.  Since January, many of our most notable people in sports, entertainment and other major parts of the world have died in 2012.  Here is a look back at some of those passing away over the last 12 months:

January 19- Sarah Burke (29) died from injuries sustained in a superpipe accident.

January 20- Etta James (73), singer who had a major hit with the song "At Last," died after a long bout with Leukemia.

January 22- Joe Paterno (85), legendary Penn State football coach who was fired after getting win number 409, passing Eddie Robinson for most wins in Division 1 football history, for the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, died after a battle with Lung Cancer.

January 26- Robert Hegyes (60), actor who portrayed Juan Epstein in the show "Welcome Back Kotter," died

February 1- Don Cornelius (75), the creator and host of the legendary show "Soul Train," died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

February 11- Whitney Houston (48), legendary singer with hits like "I Will Always Love You," the theme song for "The Bodyguard," a film in which she also starred in, was found dead in a hotel room in Los Angeles.  Cause of death was unknown (remember, source for all of this is ranker.com.  This is what they have, so if you remember how she passed, I'll be happy to change it).

February 16- Gary Carter (57), legendary Major League Baseball catcher who was a part of the Montreal Expos and New York Mets, died from complications of a brain tumor.

February 29- Davy Jones (66), lead singer of the Monkees, known for legendary hits like "Daydream Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville," died after suffering a heart attack.

March 2- James Wilson (80), American political scientists known for creating the "Broken Windows" theory, died of Leukemia.

March 5- Robert B. Sherman (86), longtime songwriter for Disney films such as "The Jungle Book" and "Mary Poppins," died of natural causes.

April 6- Thomas Kinkade (54), legendary American painter, died of an overdose.

April 7- Mike Wallace (93), legendary correspondent for CBS News and reporter for the network show "60 Minutes," died of natural causes.

April 18- Dick Clark (82), legendary host of shows like "American Bandstand" and "Pyramid" who rang in a new year every year for 40 years, died after suffering a heart attack post surgery.

May 2- Junior Seau (43), legendary NFL player who spent much of his career with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

May 4- Bob Stewart (91), legendary creator of game shows such as Pyramid and The Price is Right, died of natural causes.

May 4- Adam "MCA" Yauch (47), member of the hip hop group The Beastie Boys, died after a long battle with cancer.

May 6- George Lindsey (83), best known as Goober from "The Andy Griffith Show," died after a long illness.

May 8- Maurice Sendak (83), Author of the famous children's book "Where the Wild Things Are," died of complications from a stroke.

May 17- Donna Summer (63), legendary disco singer with such hits as "Last Dance" and "She Works Hard For the Money," died after a battle with cancer.

May 20- Robin Gibb (62), one of the co-founders of The BeeGees, died after a long bout with cancer.

June 2- Richard Dawson (79), mainly known as the host of the game show "Family Feud," as well as a panelist for "Match Game" and co-star in the TV series "Hogan's Heroes," died from complications of esophageal cancer.

June 5- Ray Bradbury (91), author of legendary sci-fi books like "Fahrenheit 451" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes," died peacefully in his home.

June 12- Henry Hill (69), Gangster-turned-informant who's life was the basis for the film "Goodfellas," died at an Los Angeles hospital of natural causes.

June 17- Rodney King (47), Best known as the victim of a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department, was found dead at his home after an apparent drowning.

July 3- Andy Griffith (86), legendary actor known for starring in "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock," died of natural causes.

July 8- Ernest Borgnine (95), an Oscar-award winner for his role in the movie "Marty" and starred in the series "McHale's Navy" who recently was the voice of Mermaid Man in the Nickelodeon series "Spongebob Squarepants," died of natural causes.

July 23- Sally Ride (61), former astronaut who became the first American female to travel into space, died of pancreatic cancer.

July 24- Sherman Hemsley (74), known as George Jefferson from the TV Series "All In the Family" and "The Jeffersons," died in his home of natural causes.

July 31- Gore Vidal (86), legendary writer of books and screenplays, died from complications of pneumonia.

August 9- Mel Stuart (83), director of the classic film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," died of Cancer.

August 13- Johnny Pesky (92), former baseball player with the Boston Red Sox who was teammates with the likes of Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr, died of natural causes.

August 14- Ron Palillo (63), best known as Horshack in the TV series "Welcome Back Kotter," died of a heart attack.

August 18- Scott Mckenzie (73), singer of the hit song "San Francisco" and songwriter to the Beach Boys hit "Kokomo."

August 19- Tony Scott, best known as the director for the film "Top Gun," committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in San Pedro, California.

August 20- Phyllis Diller (95), legendary comedian with over 7 decades of jokes and laughs, died peacefully in her sleep "with a smile on her face" according to reports.

August 24- Jerry Nelson (78), puppeteer best known as the Count on "Sesame Street," died of unspecified causes.

August 25- Neil Armstrong (82), the first man to ever walk on the moon, died due to complications from blocked coronary arteries.

September 1- Hal Davis (91), famous songwriter who had major hits such as "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head."

September 3- Michael Clarke Duncan (54), most known for his role as John Coffey in "The Green Mile," died at a hospital where he was being treated after suffering a heart attack in July.

September 25- Andy Williams (84), singer/songwriter most known for the hit songs "Love Story" and "Moon River," died from bladder cancer.

October 10- Alex Karras (77), former NFL player who became an actor.

October 14- Arlen Specter (82), former senator of Pennsylvania, died from complications of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

October 21- George McGovern (90), former congressman who later was the democratic party nominee for the 1972 Presidential Election against President Nixon, died from natural causes.

November 23- Larry Hagman (81), legendary actor known to all for his role as JR Ewing in the hit TV series "Dallas," died from complications of cancer.

November 24- Hector "Macho" Camacho (50), former boxing champion who won four world championships during his career, died four days after being shot in face and neck as a passenger of a car in Puerto Rico.

November 27- Marvin Miller (95), former Major League Baseball Players Association executive director who opened the door to players free agency during his term.

December 1- Rick Majerus (64), legendary college basketball coach of Utah and, most recently, Saint Louis, died of heart failure.

December 5- Dave Brubeck (92), acclaimed jazz musician, died of heart failure.

December 9- Jenni Rivera (43), a Mexican-American singer, was killed in a plane crash in northern Mexico.

December 12- Ravi Shankar (92), Indian Sitar maestro who brought his music to the western world.

December 17- Senator Daniel Inouye (88), Democrat from the state of Hawaii who was the senate's President Pro tempore, 3rd in line to the presidency behind the Vice President and Speaker of the House, died of respiratory complications.

December 24- Jack Klugman (90), actor who starred in the film "12 Angry Men" and the TV series "The Odd Couple" and "Quincy, M.E."

December 27- Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf (78), a key figure in the first war on Iraq (Operation Desert Storm) back in the 1990s.

We also cannot forget those who died in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a mall Portland, Oregon, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and other places in this country, because of the senseless acts of others.  We continue to show support for those who lost love ones and the places where they were taken away from.

Finally, we remember our own family and friends who are no longer with us.  Whether they were someone who you knew for only a few years or what seemed like forever, we can never forget their take on our lives and the lives of others.  Keep them in mind forever and may god bless all who are no longer with us up at those pearly gates of heaven.  We miss you all and will never be forgotten.  Rest in Peace.

Connecticut Shooting

It has become a dark and saddening day for all of us in the United States after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  As of right now, I am not going over the numbers of who has died and who are injured after the event, but the way this day has gone, I do need to address this situation.

First of all, I've been watching all of the coverage since about Noon this afternoon.  Just like most of you, I have been watching with sadness and heartbreak after the deaths of so many people, especially innocent children.  There are so many people who need our prayers and blessings after this heinous act today.  I want to go through this tragic event in multiple ways.

The news coverage has been a big of a "hit and miss" scenario.  CNN's coverage has been the main one that I've been looking at throughout the day and they have been better than the others.  Going to local reports and getting first-hand takes on the shooting.  Now all the other cable networks have done this as well.  Fox news may have gone out of their reporting basis when they tried interviewing a mother of one of the students in the school not too long after the shooting was first reported.  But I guess it is better than trying to interview children, which some networks did do and has come as upsetting to some people I have talked to.

The social media coverage has been a great way of seeing how others are dealing with it.  I have been on Facebook ever since the tragedy took place and seen how friends have been reacting to the tragedy (so many heartbroken).  On Twitter, so many celebrities have been tweeting their prayers out to those affected.  The social media places are also important places to get updates on the shooting.  Many individuals have been sending retweets on the topic from news organizations.  It may not be the best way to follow, but it can become a way to keep in touch with certain situations.

As far as gun control is concerned, this has become the third major shooting in the last 2 weeks.  Who could forget the murder-suicide of the Kansas City Chiefs football player who shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself.  Then, on Tuesday, a shooting at a Portland, OR, mall killed 2 people.  When you total that with the Theater mass shooting in Colorado and other shootings, we have to discuss how we can keep these things from happening.  I can't say if there is a way to stop these things, but I hope that some day, we can stop these heinous actions from happening.

In conclusion, I want to hear from anyone and everyone about this situation and give me your take on gun control.  How can we stop these acts from happening in this country?  Is there a way to stop it?  Let me know.  And to those who lost a love one today in this shooting, my thoughts and prayers go out to all of you and may God bless all of you forever and ever, Amen.

high school and college life

Yesterday, I discussed my life story and mentioned that I had more to discuss about being a part of the Essex High School and Lyndon State College communities.  Well, here is that moment.  As discussed, there were many differences between my High School and College life.  At Essex, I was a part of sports teams (during my Junior and Senior years) while at Lyndon, I was a part of the Television station News 7 there.  But when I left both schools, I felt like a different person than I was before I got there.

I'll begin with being at Essex.  As I said in the previous post, I was all about staying with my "clique" from Grand Isle for my first two years.  Then I started to change and get more involved.  I was a part of the extracurricular group Buzz Vibe before I became a part of the Boy's Basketball team my Junior year (thanks to the two people who I mentioned earlier, Jason Weischedel and Jeff Goodrich).  That turned me into a more sociable person at Essex.

I became a part of other sports teams during my senior year and was more involved with each team I was with.  I joined the Boy's Soccer team in the fall of 2006 as their statistician (and unfortunate for me tried my hands at PA announcing).  Then, I continued my role as the Boy's Basketball Videographer and Manager in the winter, which was even more energizing the second time around.  But the most important team I was with that year was the Boys Lacrosse team, not just because we won the D1 State Championship that year, but because it was a group of players and coaches who really enjoyed having me as a part of the team (with the exception of the NY trip.  For those on the team, you'll remember what I mean).  It was a great time with these teams, but i didn't continue with the managing role at Lyndon.

That was because I wanted to worry more about my classes and getting to be more social there (am I glad I did).  What a long, sometimes strange trip it was at Lyndon.  I had a lot of fun in every class I took there and enjoyed every professor I met there and had a class with.  Whether that professor taught History, Political Science, Television Studies or any other class I took there, they always made me do the three things the late Jim Valvano wanted us to do everyday; they made me laugh, they made me think and they made me get emotional, outside or inside, no matter what they said or do.  It was a lot of fun to meet these professors at Lyndon and am glad I can call all of them my friend.

But I guess it was even better meeting the students that I did at Lyndon more than I did with the professor (however, it's like a 55%-45% difference).  The group of people who I knew from taking any class I had really made me feel fortunate to know them.  Whether I knew you for only a day, a semester, a year or longer, you are all really important to my life and I'll never forget that.

But the most important people I knew were the ones I were able to work with at News 7.  None of you people realized that you were working with someone with a learning disability and you might have thought I was weird.  But I didn't care about that because I know I can trust you in the end.  You were the group that made me feel very grateful about myself, even if I did mess up on certain occasions.  You are also the reason why I hid my disorder because I wanted to be more of a group than just being one person and I didn't want my disability to get in the way of what I should do while I was down there.  You are the ones I will always remember and I thank you for believing in me and being your friend and "teammate" over the two and a half years I was there.

So there you have it.  My career at Essex High School and Lyndon State College in a longer post than previous.  There were too many things to write about in that post and I'm glad that I've written this.  In conclusion I say thank you to all at Essex and Lyndon who I've met and learned from all these years.  You will never be forgotten in my life and I'll always remember the times we had together.  Whether you were a classmate or a professor/teacher, as Phil Collins once sang, you'll be in my heart always.

Life Story

I have been blessed to know so many people in my lifetime and I am glad to say that most of them are my friends.  So for those who are just that, what I am going to write about may be known while for others this is the first time you're hearing about it.  Let me start my life story by saying this:  My name is Nicholas Ploof, I will turn 24 years old a month from today and I have Autism.

My condition is a high-functioning form of Autism called Asperger's Syndrome.  For those who are friends with me on Facebook, you might have seen a post from me months ago from Fox Sports.  Their baseball analysts were talking about Autism Awareness and one of them, former pitcher Mitch Williams, discussed how he has 2 kids with this same form of autism I have.  If you haven't watched it, now might be a good time to.  It will give you a chance to realize what I've dealt with for as long as I can remember.  However, I haven't let this disability take over what I've done.

As some of you know, I live in the little town of Grand Isle, VT.  During my middle school career, I was a part of the school's Basketball team and had a lot of great times with them.  I liked every team I was with, but the one that I liked the most was the one I was with in 7th grade.  It was a team that were champions of the Champlain Islands (South Hero and Alburg were also represented) and I met so many people who I still follow to this day (well, most of them I still follow).  I had a tough time in 7th grade as well with 9/11 in September of 2001 and the passing of 3 close people in my life; my friend David DuBrul, my great-grandfather Norman True and my uncle Calvin Ploof, Jr.  But I look back and remember the team I was with during that year and realized that I had a lot of fun with them.

In Grand Isle, I will forever be known as Skippy.  But in Essex, I'll be known as either Ploofer (where the name of the blog came from) or Ploofy.  I had my best times there and it was all thanks to 2 people:  Jason Weischedel and Jeff Goodrich.  During the first two years at Essex, I didn't want to be around those who I didn't know and just with those who I remember more from Grand Isle (because we don't have a high school, we were able to decide where to go for high school).  But then I met Mr. Weischedel and he introduced me to the Boy's Basketball coach (Goodrich) and the rest is history.  I was the videographer for the team the last 2 years of my high school career, but i did more than just tape the game; I was also the team's commentator for the games I worked.  The one's that I didn't work as videographer, I was the manager for the team.  It led to me doing more my senior year with sports teams, helping out the Soccer and Lacrosse teams as well as following the other sports programs during the year.  But it all started with talking with Jason and Jeff in 2005 that got me to be a part of the school's sports programs that I was involved with the last 2 years of my high school career.

I guess the videograper job worked for me because I took that to Lyndon State College.  Things were different there for me:  I was no longer a videographer or cameraman, but a photographer.  The professors I met there had there own interesting ways to teach their classes, and I met even more people there who I am glad to call my friend.  Whether it was in a class, as a residence or as part of the news product there, it was more fun for me to meet everyone who became a part of the community that was Lyndon.  I lasted five years at Lyndon and met so many people there that it would be hard to mention during this post.  In short, I really enjoyed being a part of the Lyndon State College community as long as I was and wouldn't trade it for any other college or university.

So there's the short version of my life.  From what I learned at Grand Isle School and becoming a nickname to going to Essex High School and helping the sports teams there (more on that in another post) to becoming friends with so many at Lyndon State College (also explained in a later post), there is a lot of things I have learned and I'm proud to have lived through it all.  I guess you can say that it's not a bad life for someone who wasn't expected to have this type of history, but in the end, I proved that even with having Asperger's Syndrome, I can get through High school and college and now I am ready to find out where my future will take me.  Thank you everyone and keep in touch.

Election 2012

The 2012 election came to a conclusion last night and people have called it a Status Quo election.  With the Republicans keeping control of the house and Democrats keeping control of the Senate.  I can also say that the 2012 election is my first that I have been a part of as a registered voter.  It was a lot of fun 4 years ago when I was watching Barack Obama become President of the United States and it was more exhilarating watching the election results from last night.  My political views are very moderate, which is likely why you'd probably see me watching CNN more often than the other cable networks (plus they got the anchors with the coolest names.  Can you do any better than Wolf Blitzer?)  Last night was an amazing night for me watching as a voter of this great state and country.

Of course, for Vermont, nothing changed.  Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch are heading back to Washington, DC and Peter Shumlin will be the Governor of our state for two more years.  The best news to happen to Vermont last night was the fact that for at least an hour, we were able to have the only projection for President Obama.  Sanders is an independent and, for his sake, will not be alone in that party come the debut of the 113th senate as Angus King of Maine will join him.

Likely joining forces with the Democrats, this will give the party a 55-45 edge in the Senate, 2 better than they had after 2010.  As for Welch, he will be in the minority at the House of Representative after the Republicans got to the 218 seats needed to get majority rule.  The election became more than just what happened in the Presidential race but also the balance of power in congress.

But there was also what happened in some ballot initiatives around the country.  For me, I felt a sigh of relief when it was determined that in 2 of the 3 states that had it on their ballots, they approved the fact that it is okay to have same-sex marriages in their state (Congratulations Maine and Maryland).  My belief on this is very important because I dislike people who believe that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.  If you are love someone, you should have the right to get married no matter whether you are with a person of the opposite sex or the same sex.

What I was a little concerned of was the idea of legalizing recreational use of marijuana in the states of Washington and Colorado.  Federally, marijuana is illegal.  Now, in the city of Burlington here in VT, they also voted for the legalization of marijuana, but it doesn't matter unless they make it legal in all states or the people in DC decide to put this measure up for debate in congress.  That is unlikely to happen, but we now know how some places believe about it.

In the end, though, this was an election that had its ups and downs (and by downs, I mean those ads that were playing every minute on every network).  Last night, we saw what the votes of America did:  It gave us a congress still divided.  It gave us more states that believe it is okay to have same-sex couples marry.  And it gave us another 4 years for a man who deserves it.  If you enjoy the way the election went, get ready for a major roller coaster ride in Washington DC.  If you don't, start getting those bumper stickers saying "January 20, 2017" (If the Mayans don't get to... : p.  Who believes that).  Otherwise, respect the men and women who are in office and let them know what you want to see change between now and 2016.