Half A Century For An Angel's Death

In April 2009, California Angel's pitcher, Nick Adenhart, was killed along with two others after being struck by a drunk driver. The 23 year old offender was on probation from a previous DWI at the time of the crash. At least one of the two others in Adenhart's car were students at CSU-Fullerton, where I'd presented less than six months earlier. At least one of the deceased was in my audience, hence why I'm tied closely to this case.

The offender's sentence was just handed down in the DWI manslaughter deaths associated with the crash: 51 years.

Part of me wants to jump for joy for such an extensive sentence. Another part (the realist in me) knows that he'll probably only end up serving 20 years, maybe less. Still the sentence pretty much maxxed out what the law allows. THAT is something survivors of DWI crashes are excited about.

Prohibited No More

Just a fun factoid for ya, but today is the 77th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Amuse your friends with this random knowledge!

Happy Halloween Hour

Next weekend is Halloween! Since it falls on a Sunday this year, it stands to reason that the Halloween parties will actually occur on Oct. 30. But c'mon! Halloween is so fun that there have been parties already happening for a week or more!

Just as a heads up, Halloween now holds the title as the busiest bar night of the year. That's right-there are more folks in bars on Halloween than St. Patty's Day.
Please just keep this in mind next weekend, K? There's more than trick or treaters to watch out for on Halloween. Happy Halloween!

When You're Tipping Back A Few Words...

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my family-in-laws. In the car were two ministers, two gospel singers, one president/CEO of a Christian Bible college, one manager/producer of gospel music and, of course, my redneck self sitting in the midst. Love these folks dearly, don't misunderstand me, I'm just the black sheep, so to speak.

While we're driving around town, the driver is incessantly texting. This guy would probably never take a drink outside of moderation and/or safety, but when it comes to texting, hey, whatever.

Yet, study after study keeps showing how texting can be just as dangerous, if not moreso, than driving drunk. Just ponder that for a minute...would you ever drive drunk? Chances are, your answer is no, never. But texting, something just as dangerous? Well, we give that a little more grace. Should we? Frankly, I don't think so...the repurcussions of texting are identical as driving drunk. People still get hurt, people still die. I hope you'll ponder this perspective next time your text alarm goes off while you're behind the wheel.

DeSales University and Marcus: Half Decade Anniversary

Again for 2010, I was honored to be a keynote presentor for DeSales University in Pennsylvania. Wonderful group of freshmen participating in the Character U. program, plus incredible clients with lots of laughs! What could be better?

Special thanks to Wendy Krisak, Dr. Gregg Amore and Chad Surface for being such good friends and great clients! Can’t wait to come back to DeSales for the sixth straight year!

Does A Higher Alcohol Content Appeal To You?

A few nights ago, we got to have dinner with a couple old friends from St. Louis who were in town on vacation. We went to a microbrewery for food and fun and had a really great time. It also gave me a little pause to raise an awareness eyebrow.

Once we were seated, our waiter started to list off the different beers they brew. The first three (the stout, the red and the porter), he listed as their most popular due to their alcohol content at 8%. This, I found interesting.

He didn't comment on their flavor, on the hoppiness, the finish-just their alcohol content. And said their most popular were the highest alcohol content.

Unless someone is specifically looking to get rip roaring intoxicated, is there a point in discussing how high the alcohol content is? Beer nerds love this, heck, my geekiness makes me want to know everything, but to discuss a beer's popularity based on it's high alcohol content just seems like something a customer doesn't necessarily need to know.

Hotel Parties Just Got A Little Harder!

Back when I was a minor, there were quite a few hotel parties. Sometimes, a person would book a hotel room for the night with the sole purpose of getting drunk and staying the night. Good to keep any drunk drivers off the road, but in retrospect, since people would stop by for a few drinks, it may have put more drunk drivers ON the road. Plus, hotels, especially nicer hotels, have had the bar right in the room. With the ability to order specialized beverages and sacks to the room, well, you can tell the ease with which minors can get their hands on alcohol.

Now, in my professional career, I spend nearly 100 nights per year in hotel rooms. I'm a member of every rewards program under the sun and, subsequentally, I get every E mail special that comes along. This week, I was glad to see Hilton hotels put a disclaimer in their E mail update that all Hilton properties comply with the drinking laws of that state or jurisdiction. For an international company, this is a big policy. Just wanted to give a shout to Hilton properties for helping to keep underaged drinkers from having easy access to alcohol in their hotels.

MADD Ohio and Some Staggering Stats

Earlier this year, the MADD Ohio monthly newsletter ran a story on yours truly. Now, I get MADD Ohio's newsletter in my inbox once per month. Even though I work in the prevention field, even though I'm a victim survivor, even though I write this blog, there is still so, so much to learn. And today, thanks to MADD Ohio's newsletter, I learned something new...

For many moons, I've contended that the future of DWI prevention lies in technology. When technology can detect intoxicants in one's system through sweat, breath, the eyes or any number of other ways, technology then has the power to keep individuals safe; includng the driver ready to make an unsafe choice to drive.

This technology would prevent the very thing I read in MADD Ohio's newsletter this morning. One stat the newsletter gave was that an estimated 50%-75% of drivers with a suspended license due to DWI are (wait for it....) still driving. And they can. Not legally, but legality has no bearing on whether or not one can turn the key in the ignition. Again, technology is our next (and safest) step to preventing unnecessary loss of life and limb due to this senseless crime.

AHEAD 2010

Last week found the AHEAD conference in the Mile High City…and with yours truly exhibiting as always! The Assoc. on Higher Education and Disability is composed of disability support services professionals at colleges and universities across the country, plus a variety of other professionals who work in the field with disabilities. And, as always, it was such a great time seeing awesome people!

Special thanks to Jenny Dugger, Rae, Melanie Thompson, Emily, Erin, Lana, Tamara and a whole slew of others who I did NOT get to go to dinner with!

Thanks to all who stopped by our booth and got books, grabbed info and expressed interest in bringing the Marcus message to campus this fall!

Do The Brits Have It Right?

While we were celebrating our founders giving the finger to King George, another George was apparently celebrating in an all-too-American way.

George Michael, according to reports, crashed his car into the side of a building this weekend. Police stated he was unfit to drive. Was he drunk? Dunno, just know the cops used the word, "unfit."

In 2007, Michael was arrested and had his license suspended for two years after he was caught driving under the influence of drugs. Was his license actually taken away for two years? Again, dunno. And, even if it was, suspending one's license doesn't mean that they lose the ability to stick a key in the ignition and put the car in drive.

Still, the Brits don't have the rep for being as lax as we are on convicted criminals. Here in the states, have you ever heard of a intoxicated driver losing their license for two years? Certainly not on a first offense.

I'm Here Is Finally Here!

Yep, it's officially out! My third book, "I'm Here: Compassionate Communication In Patient Care" is now available through the store on MarcusEngel.com

http://www.MarcusEngelProducts.com

While this is focused on helping nurses, docs, therapists, etc. have more positive interactions with patients, I think there's plenty of good info for the non-medical folks of the world, too. Check it out at:

http://www.MarcusEngelProducts.com

Highlighting Positive Side Of People

We all know we SHOULD highlight the positive, diminish the negative, and we get more positive, right? Sure!

Yet, there are many times when I find myself blogging about a celebrity who caused a ruckus in a bar, or a DWI received by someone who's a household name, that sorta thing.

Well, this time? I get to blog about something positive.

AAA, the American Automobile Association, is offering free towing service for intoxicated drivers this July 4. On a holiday that's so associated with knocking back a few cold ones, it's so awesome to see AAA stepping up to be sure folks get home safe. Learn more at:

www.AAA.org

Thanks, AAA, for helping keep folks alive this summer season!

Siriusly Good Commercial

Any time I'm in my office working, my Sirius Radio is on in the background. Part of that is my obsession with news, part is my obsession with music, part of that is my obsession with finding relevant info to blog about.

Today, I heard a good PSA on underage drinking prevention. It dealt with only one thing: communicating with kids. Was it all that fantastic of a commercial? No, and it really doesn't have to be. It simply encouraged parents to keep open lines of communication with their kids, especially about drinking. Reminds me to do the same. Since I agree with the message, I'd like to share the link to the sponsoring org:

www.stopalcoholabuse.gov

I'm Here

While I love working in the prevention arena and I love helping inspire intelligent choices, one of the other areas I'm passionate about is patient care. I figure when you've been through as much medical drama and trauma as I've endured, you've learned what makes up great patient care...and what just counts as medical treatment.

One week from today, Thursday, July 1, 2010, I'll be releasing my newest book, "I'm Here: Compassionate Communication In Patient Care."

While this is not specific to the prevention of drug, alcohol and DUI, the stories contained in "I'm Here" are a direct result of a drunk driver's actions. If you're in the field of health care, or you've just enjoyed "After This..." and "The Other End Of The Stethoscope", I hope you'll watch Facebook and Twitter for the release time. Also, we'll be having some giveaways and contests to hype the release...pay attention, you might just win!

Tipper Vs. Kid Vs. Marcus

When I was first getting into music, there seemed to be two camps: Tipper Gore/PMRC and real music lovers.

Tipper and the Parents Music Resource Group had the goal of censoring music, banning certain artists from being listened to by children and a whole slew of other agendas dealing with music. I, being a youngster (probably around 7th or 8th grade) hated Tipper Gore with every fiber of my Public Enemy loving heart. Why? B/c she was a person who wanted to take my music away from me. I loved my 2 Live Crew, NWA and Eazy E and all the shock of some of the hair bands who used shock to get the interest of kids. Granted, now that I remember some 2 Live Crew and Eazy E lyrics, I'm not so sure I'd want middle schoolers listening to it, either...but, these days, we have the internet to gang up on, not the artists.

If Kid Rock were around when I was in middle school, he'd have been one of my favs. Heck, as a 35 year old guy now, he's one of my favs (call it bringing out my redneck roots...a country boy funked up by growing up on gangsta rap)

I don't think there's anyone, even Kid Rock himself, who'd say his lyrics are family friendly. Heck, if Tipper Gore still wanted to ban music, it wouldn't be hard to figure out where she'd go first. Kid Rock's songs are full of references to drugs, alcohol, sex-name a "sin" and Kid probably has it covered lyrically. And did I mention I love his music? Hey, what can I say?

It's well known by anyone who listens to Kid's music for more than a few minutes that he promotes his persona as a big time party guy. You don't come up with lyrics like this without being a partier: "I'm in it to win it like Yzerman, I can drink about 15 Heineken...puffing the Winston, drinking the 40"

So, musically, I love to crank up Kid while I'm working out. I, however, don't really want my young neices and nephews listening to him.

Last week, Kid Rock hosted the CMT awards. When he performed, he glossed over some of his more offensive lyrics. This is national television and Kid is far too smart of a professional performer to want to get in bad with the FCC. So, where's my issue?

The folks at CMT included a skit or two in the awards show. One, in particular, made me a little disgusted. It showed Kid, several country musicians and even Paula Dean all in a back room drinking and partying. The "reporter" in the skit stumbles upon this room of partiers and gently confronts Kid saying stuff like, "Kid Rock! I thought you were going to wait until after the awards show to start partying." To which he replies, "Yeah, I don't know...I'm drunk."The reporter then goes to talk to Paula Dean and the country artists (also drinking it up) and asks them, "Oh my! Paula Dean...I didn't expect YOU, of all people, to be in here, too!"

Honestly, the acting in this skit was embarrassing. And what does Paula Dean have to do with music, anyway? Yet, here's my thing...

This is Kid Rock's persona. We all know it. Still,someone at CMT had to think this skit was a good idea, write it, secure "actors" for it, a location AND choose to include it in a family friendly awards show. That adds up to a whole lot of people making a whole lot of choices without thinking through how this is going to be perceived.

Kid Rock is just being Kid Rock. I think the "I'm Drunk" comment could have been ad libbed. If so, that was unnecessary on this awards show. Still, he's just doing what he does. The real morons are those at CMT that allowed this skit to go on, glamorizing drinking and drunkenness to families across the country. For country music having such conservative roots and morals, someone at CMT dropped the ball on this one.
Kinda makes me long for the days of Tipper Gore when she'd have called the CMT execs on the carpet for this showing

Elon University

On Tuesday, March 9, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at Elon University. This program was sponsored by Elon's Safe Rides program, a system of transporting Elon students safely around the area. Whether the student is intoxicated, fearful for their safety or it's just too cold out, Safe Rides is there to help keep Elon students safe.

A huge thanks goes to Elon's own Nicole Parker, Pope, Kimberly, the SPARKS(s), and everyone who made my time in NC so memorable! Gotta say, hitting some North Carolina BBQ didn't hurt my feelings, either!

Also want to thank the brothers of the Lambda Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma for helping provide transportation on Tuesday. Was great to get to know the brothers of the Lambda Lambda chapter. The chapter also showed up in full force to support my program – and that's showing a brother some love!

The Drop

If you've read "After This..." or "The Other End Of The Stethoscope", you may also been one of the tens of thousands who've said, "This story should be a movie!"

Well, you get your wish!

We've just released a short film entitled, "The Drop." This short film follows yours truly from his freshman year of college, through the crash that blinded and disfigured me, and into the rehabilitation process that had to be necessary before returning to college. The official site for the movie is:

www.TheDropMovie.com

As with almost any film project, there was film left all over the floor of the editing room. I hate that. We had so, SO much more that just wouldn't fit into the seven minute time limitation.

Specifically, "The Drop" doesn't mention that this crash was caused by an intoxicated driver. Was it in the screenplay? Absolutely. Did we film the scene where the Marcus character is told he's blind due to an unsafe choice by a third party? Yep...but did it get in the movie? Unfortunately, no.

Yet, if you want to see an inspiring tale of overcoming tremendous obstacles, I hope you'll watch the film at:

www.TheDropMovie.com

And, if you'd like to help us out, I'll tell ya how...

See, the seven minute time frame is due to the fact we wanted to enter "The Drop" into a certain short film contest. That contest is sponsored by:

www.TheDoorpost.com

If you go to www.TheDoorpost.com and search for "The Drop", it'll show you the method for voting and viewing. The more views, the more votes. The more votes, the closer we are to having a full length feature with a strong anti-DWI component.

Personally, I'd like to see this sort of story become so commonplace that it's referred to in the anti-DWI world. And if you'd like to help, we'd be really, really appreciative!

Pure Energy...Or Pure Stupidity?

While sucking down my morning java, I was flipping around the Sunday morning news shows. I came across a very well known physician who is often seen on these sorts of talk shows.

One of his commentaries was about the consumption of energy drinks while consuming alcohol. Paraphrasing here, but the spirit of the doc's position was this:

"If you're going out to have drinks, don't consume energy drinks. They mask the effects of the alcohol."

Um, isn't that precisely why people DO drink energy drinks?

Whether it's mixing energy drinks with booze to create a cocktail that won't knock you out, or slugging down an energy drink at the beginning of the night, this is precisely why people do consume these things! And why? Because going out on the town, dancing, drinking, socializing, flirting...they're all fun. And when alcohol may make a drinker sleepy or groggy, why wouldn't he/she want to suck down some energy so as to continue the night?

Back in the day, people used to think that, if they were drunk and had to drive home, a cup or two of coffee would help sober them up. We now know that this is simply not true. It may keep the person more alert and less likely to nod off, but it does not diminish the level of intoxication. Only time can do that.

Whether it's energy drinks or a cup of coffee or whatever, these news studies don't really tell us anything we didn't already know. And as always, it's personal responsibility and having a plan that'll truly keep you safe when you're out on the town. Be careful, folks!

The Problem With Letting Crazies Talk...

I have this personal philosophy. The crazier someone's ideas (neo-Nazis, isolationists, eco-crazies, etc.), the more I WANT to give them a platform to speak. The more looney someone's ideas, the more likely they are to spout off enough that people will see how "off" this person's viewpoints are.

Now, there are some obvious issues with this philosophy. Namely, we're assuming that those in the audience are able to rationalize how crazy the speaker's ideas are. As we know, this isn't always the case. Heck, it may not even be the case very often.

So, here's a story to bring this around...

Recently, a man was charged in an impaired driving crash in the midwest. No one was killed in this single car crash, but the driver himself was injured. Apparently, while he was driving, said impaired driver had been huffing inhalants.

Bad enough, right? The thing is, the driver said he learned how to get high from inhalants off the TV show, "Intervention." Really?

If you haven't seen it, "Intervention" shows some horribly sad stories of addiction and abuse of substances. It's reality TV, so of course, they show some terribly shocking cases. Somewhere in this driver's mind, he watches a tragic story on TV and thinks, "Hey, that sounds like a thing I'd like to try!"

Just like my philosophy of letting crazies talk as much as they want, there's a downside to "Intervention." I.E., it teaches people in the audience to get high.

I caught an episode of "Intervention" a few months ago, featuring a wife/mother. Alcohol was her drug. For most of the episode, she was seen staggering around the house with a giant bottle of mouthwash, swigging it all the while.

Now, if I was a 14 year old kid ready to experiment with alcohol...would I go through the difficulty of stealing booze from a store, sneaking it from the parents liquor cabinet or trying to get someone 21 to buy? No way! I'd be headed to the medicine cabinet and grabbing the Scope.

This is why it's so, so essential for parents to know what their children are watching. That way, parents can intervene to be sure the kids know the dangers to themselves and others before trying something they've seen on the tube.

Buena Vista University

Feb 8 found me speaking for several different factions of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. This was my first trip to Storm Lake and, well, it lived up to the name! For a Floridian boy now, being knee deep in snow drifts and negative temps was quite the eye opener! (pardon the pun)

The only thing more fun than being hunkered down in a warm suite, cuddled up under a blanket watching the Superbowl with Marvelyne was the programs themselves. A HUGE thanks goes to the human relations class, the Buena Vista student athleetes and coaches, the nursing and pre-med majors and reps from the local hospital for the patient care program. Plus, the nearly 20% of campus that showed up for the evening keynote...Wow! You guys rock!

Extra special thanks goes to Donna and Tom Musel for being such incredible hosts! Had so much fun with you guys...smiley fries and one of the best reuben sammiches ever! Look forward to a journey back to Storm Lake sometime in the future!

Idaho State University

On Feb. 4, Idaho State University hosted yours truly to campus for keynotes. Thanks to the fraternities and sororities at ISU for being such an awesome audience for the afternoon keynote, and thanks to the general student population of ISU for coming out that evening!

Special thanks to Aaron McCabe, Val, Sammie and Tanya for being such awesome hosts! Also thanks to the ISU chapter of Kappa Sigma for welcoming in a brother into their midst! Thanks, gentlemen! AEKDB

What's the Answer?

The below link is to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch concerning drunk driving in Missouri.

I haven't been intimately involved with the anti-DUI movement in Missouri since moving to Florida three years ago. However, I'm so pleased to see that the justices, lawmakers and policy makers are all on board for more effective anti-DWI measures.

A little factoid from my days at Missouri State University...

In an old substance abuse intervention class, we were taught a stat that said of 100 alcoholics, 94 will die as a direct result of their drinking. MVA, falling down stairs, drowning in a bathtub, etc. Four alcoholics will have organic brain damage which will effect them the rest of their lives. Two alcoholics will make it into permanent recovery.

Now, cross reference this with an old tour to the medium security prison in Fordland, MO. Every prisoner is required to work a 12 step program for his substance abuse issues. Due to these 12 step mandatory processes, this prison has only a 40% "rate of return" by prisoners released. The national and state average? 80%.

The question remains: How do we keep the chronic alcoholics with a history of DUI off the roads? Incarceration with a focus on treatment? Seems to work. But what about just keeping them off the roads? Obviously if a prisoner is incarcerated, he/she is driving nowhere. But it takes so many resources to accomplish this.

This is why so many folks in the anti-DWI fight are in favor of using technology to accomplish the goals. Breathalyzers installed in the cars of offenders, alcohol detection devices planted in steering wheels, retinal scans in rearview mirrors that show if a driver is drunk, etc. Does this technology cost a lot of money? In some cases, yes. But is this a better way to keep offenders off the streets? I think so.

Again, the most heartening thing of all is seeing such an active interest in the DWI fight. Props to Missouri for being so progressive with their DWI enforcement, prosecution and goals of keeping drivers safe.



http://m.stltoday.com/STL/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Im7SYAg7&src=cat

Britain's Busting Of Booze Hounds

This article gives a bit of an idea of combating excessive alcohol consumption in England. It's interesting the man quoted in the article says Great Britain's level of alcohol consumption is at an epidemic level. I heard the same thing said about the United States' consumption rate over five years ago. The American who stated this runs an alcohol rehab facility in California and studies the trends. A bit frightening...and something we need to stay aware of.

**************
New Year drunks should pay for hospital care?

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Excessive drinking over New Year's Eve could cost Britain's National Health Service as much as 23 million pounds, according to a report on Thursday which recommends drunks be charged a hospital admission fee of 532 pounds ($845.9).

"Alcohol misuse in Britain is at a level where it constitutes a public health epidemic," said the report by the right-leaning Policy Exchange think-tank.

Direct costs to the state-funded NHS, which provides free health care for Britons, are nearly 3 billion a year, with hospital admissions for alcohol intoxication doubling in a decade, it added.

The government should review its entire strategy for tackling the harms from alcohol misuse, it advised.

"We recommend that the costs of being admitted to hospital to sleep off alcoholic excess should be met by individuals, not the NHS," said Henry Featherstone, head of the think-tank's health unit.

"Those admitted to hospital for less than 24 hours with acute alcohol intoxication should be charged the NHS tariff cost for their admission of 532 pounds."

That amount would be reduced for those paying the costs of their own alcohol education and awareness course.

Department of Health figures confirm that total annual healthcare cost relating to alcohol misuse amounts to about 2.7 billion pounds a year.

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; Editing by Stefano Ambrogi and Paul Casciato)

Prevention In The Stratosphere

Shaming of wrongdoers in America goes back a long, long way. Think the stockades where early Colonists were held in public, the powers that be hoping they'd be embarrassed by the public ridicule.

That type of punishment has been proven ineffective, for the most part. Plus, with the Constitutional right of no cruel and unusual punishment, you don't often see people hung out to dry in your neighborhood.

Now, with the era of social networking, one D.A. in Texas is bringing a bit of the shaming punishment back to the forefront. The D.A. of Montgomery County, Texas is using Twitter to post the names of DUI offenders. Since beginning the practice, a couple dozen drunk drivers in Texas have had their names "revealed" to the public.

I put revealed in quotes for one reason: their DUI arrest is already public information. The D.A. is just using a creative and technologically advanced medium to get their names out in front of the public. Here's a link to an article and you can draw your own conclusions:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6802419.html

One of the complaints of the practice says it's not right to single out drunk drivers. His wish is that if the D.A. is going to do this, then the name of every arrestee should be put up on Twitter. My opinion? Fine by me!

The D.A. has a fine point: DWI is the biggest crime in his county. For such a prevalent crime, measures can be taken to try to prevent such a crime.

The use of Twitter to share the names of drunk drivers doesn't exactly fall into shaming alone. It's also a great preventative tool. If you were in this county, wouldn't you think twice about driving drunk to be sure your name is kept out of the media?

Either way, I applaud any efforts that keep drunk drivers off the road – when nearly 15,000 Americans are killed every year by this preventable crime, I'm glad someone in the criminal justice system is stepping up to try to make a difference.