Follow-Up To Last Week

Below is a follow-up article from the Tulsa World:

School rallies to aid injured choir teacher

RECOVERY Michael David Shimp: He faces six to eight weeks in a wheelchair after being hurt in the Nov. 6 crash
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By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer 11/15/2008Last Modified: 11/15/2008 3:13 AM

Concession sales and other efforts will help the teacher's family.

OWASSO — A chorus of sadness has descended upon the Sixth Grade Center, which is rallying around a vocal music teacher who was seriously injured last week in a multicar crash in Tulsa. Michael David Shimp, 31, of Tulsa is recovering at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa from an injury to his spleen and numerous broken bones and dislocations, his wife, Mandy Shimp, said Friday.

He could spend six to eight weeks in a wheelchair, she said. The nighttime collision Nov. 6 was caused by a woman who was driving with a suspended license and without her headlights on, according to a crash report filed by Tulsa police.

Mandy Shimp said: "We've been blessed by the support that everybody has given us, especially the Owasso community, specifically the students and the staff. It has really gotten us through this really hard time." The couple, who have been married for 2 1/2 years, have an 18-month-old son.

Concessions proceeds from a Sixth Grade Center dance on Friday night are to benefit Shimp, who is in his second year teaching at the school. Also, students who contribute a dollar toward the cause next week will be able to do such things as chew gum or wear crazy hats or pajama pants, Principal Kira Kelsey said. Also, the Owasso Community Choir plans to give the Shimps a portion of its profits from a Dec. 7 concert. Kelsey said Shimp is "just a great, great guy and wonderful with the kids. We just feel like because of his dedication to his profession that we need to give back to them."

The three-car collision happened about 7 p.m. near 21st Street and Harvard Avenue. Marian Louise Sanders, 57, of Tulsa was traveling east on 21st Street in a 1996 Pontiac when her car veered into the westbound lanes and struck Shimp's 2000 Saturn, a police report shows. A second westbound car was damaged in the crash, but that driver was uninjured, records show.

Sanders, who has been discharged from St. John Medical Center, received tickets for driving left of center, having a suspended license, not having vehicle insurance verification and having an expired license tag, reports show. She told police she is diabetic, has a bad heart and was hospitalized for heart problems two months ago.

A witness who was driving behind Sanders said Sanders' car swerved between lanes before striking Shimp's. Another witness said Sanders' headlights were off.
Three days before the collision, Sanders was cited for disobeying a traffic control device and improper license tag display at 6500 E. Admiral Place in Tulsa, records show.
On Feb. 5, 1999, she was arrested in Tulsa for driving with a suspended or revoked license and having no proof of insurance, records show.
Ten years earlier, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol cited Sanders for driving without a valid license and without insurance verification, records show.

Last week's crash left Shimp with a lacerated spleen and dislocations and fractures of his left ankle and elbow, his wife said. He also has fractures to his right foot and kneecap and two broken bones in his right wrist, she said. "She's just going to get a slap on the wrist for this, apparently," Mandy Shimp said of Sanders. "We're really frustrated that she almost killed my husband and yet she's going to get back in this car. She's probably in her car right now driving.
"We need to find a law or something. There should be some consequences for actions like this."

A message for Sanders, left with a woman who described herself as Sanders' sister, wasn't immediately returned.

Tracy Darst, a science teacher at the Sixth Grade Center, said she misses having Shimp around. The pair are lunch buddies who share a love of music, she said. "Just like with any other line of work, you gravitate toward people who are like yourself," Darst said. "He is just one of those kind of people We just sort of hit it off with a friendship."

Rhett Morgan 581-8395 rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com

Fund establishedA fund has been set up for the Shimp family at RCB Bank of Owasso, 11633 E. 86th Place North. The bank’s phone number is 274- 1450.
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer

Crazy week

Many of you may know, but I will put it down anyway. This has been a crazy, insane, messed-up week! Last Thursday I get a phone call from my Mom. Now, this is not an unusual thing but at after 8:00 at night, it usually is. She sounded like my grandma, so I knew something was wrong. It turns out, my brother Michael was in a very bad car accident. Here is the write up from The Tulsa World:

Crash injures two, traps man inside car

By DAVID SCHULTE World Staff Writer
11/6/2008 9:38 PMLast Modified: 11/6/2008 9:46 PM

Two people were taken to a hospital following a three-vehicle accident Thursday evening at 21st Street and Harvard Avenue.Witnesses told police that an eastbound green Pontiac Grand Prix was weaving and veered into a westbound red Saturn just after 7 p.m., Capt. Richard Alexander said.After that collision, a westbound gray Chevrolet Prizm hit the Saturn.Firefighters used two Jaws of Life units to extricate the 31-year-old male driver of the Saturn, who was pinned under the vehicle for about an hour, authorities said.He was transported in fair condition to St. John Medical Center, said EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells.The 57-year-old female driver of Pontiac Grand Prix was transported to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.The condition of the male driver of the Chevrolet Prizm is not known.Family members of the driver of Grand Prix told police that she is diabetic and has a heart condition, which possibly caused the accident, Alexander said.

Now, 8 days later Michael has gone through 3 surgeries and has 2 broken ankles, a broken elbow, a broken wrist and a torn spleen.
My parents and sister-in-law are at the hospital every day.
Piper was able to come in last Friday, to spend the day with him. I came in on Saturday and was with him. Kim came in yesterday and will be in until Tuesday.
I hate that we can't all be together at the same time. I feel very far away, but know that he will doi well.
Prayers for is speedy and full recovery.

So you think you've got it bad

OK. I am the first to admit that Wal-Mart is NOT my favorite place to shop. However, when you are in a town, such as Stillwater, you either shop there or you fork out a lot more money to shop at Food Pyramid or IGA. I thought this was bad. I longed for a Target.....

Now, I have Target, Super Target, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Food Pyramid, and the list goes on.......and I now long for my old (new) Wal-Mart.

The closest Super Wal-Mart is about 2 miles away. That's not so bad, in the grand scheme of things, but it's in a lower income area and not where I want to shop, nor not around the type of people that I want my children exposed.

The closest Target, which has limited groceries is about 4 miles away. The closest Super Target (because that is the only place you get a decent selection of food in the Target chain), is 7 miles away.

With that said, the closest place to shop that is affordable is Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. A pathetic excuse for anything under the name of Wal-Mart and that is not saying much!

The produce department is small and the selection is pitiful. The grocery section, although moderate in size, is limited. There are times that the bare necessities aren't even available. Oh! And don't think you're going to go in and get your favorite name brand grocery item! Most likely it is everyone else's favorite and it has been picked over.

The household department is limited, at best, over priced and a total joke!

The idea of bulk spending, at a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, is quickly squelched. They are still much better priced than Food Pyramid, but their bulk items are again highly limited and the majority of it is off brand.

So......I miss my easy to get to, clean New Wal-Mart in Stillwater.

The Search Is On!

I am actively looking for full-time employment, after years of being at home with the boys.

Now, a lot of you would say "Wait! You worked at Tom's clinic and you managed Joi", but that was on MY TIME. I could come and go as I pleased. Now, I am on THE MAN'S timeclock.

This has been far more stressful than I thought.

I am not worried about finding a job. That is actually the easy part because I know I can answer phones, schedule appointments, type.....pretty much anything that working in an office requires.

What stresses me out is my kids! Nick has handled the news well, but he is a little unsure of being at home from 3:00 to 5:30, alone. I think, that once we get into the swing of it, he will be fine. He really has NO idea how much homework he is about to have dumped on him. Plus, he has to practice piano and OF COURSE there are video games and TV....JUST IN CASE! ha!

Jacob, that is who is stressing me out. I will have to look for before school and after school care. Right now, his school offers onsite care, but after school is full, so he will have to BUS over to another campus. How nuts is that? He was in tears when he thought he would have to go to a daycare. So, I am actively looking for somewhere for him to go, before and after school that is an activity based program and not a "sit down, watch tv, and don't talk" program.

Here's hoping!

A Girl Named Steve

I am Steve. Actually, I am Jen who was nicknamed Steve. Stay with me:

This all came about through my oldest sons best friend, Eli.

Nick, my oldest, and Eli have been friends since first grade, (they are currently going into 6th grade). They have been attached at the hip for 3 years. Eli is, in my eyes, one of my old children. Nick calls him "brother from another mother."

So, during baseball 3 years ago, I found out that Eli's family calls him Schmee. This is from Eli Schmeeli. So, we have called him Schmee for 3 years.

Eli spends a lot of time at our house. There are times I have wondered why he doesn't have his own room, but what fun would that be? Right? Pallets on the floor, staying up late playing XBOX, sleeping in......you get the picture.

One day, about a year ago, Eli was at my house. He comes into the kitchen and says "I think I will call you Steve now." I am so used to unusual statements coming out of his mouth that I didn't even react. I just said, "OK." From that day on, he has called me Steve. It has become such an ordinary thing that his family calls me Steve. Nick & Eli's class called me Steve. So, I am now a girl named Steve.

I strongly believe I was named after the Hedge on Over The Hedge...."We will call it STEVE!"