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Time travel may not be possible but my nephew, Bryan, managed to pull off the next best thing. When we were visiting together recently, he took an old recipe that’s been in our family for generations and whipped up one of my all-time favorites.  We’ve always called it “ice box cake.”  You begin with cookies--real, homemade, mouth-watering sugar cookies.  The cookies are layered in a baking pan.  Between the layers you pour a filling made with pineapple and other sweets.  Then the whole thing is frozen and topped with whipped cream.  Trust me when I say it’s delicious! Sitting and eating a piece of icebox cake with my family brought back a flood of childhood memories.  When I was growing up, the house rule was that you always got to pick your birthday meal.  Invariably, I would pick icebox cake for my dessert.  What I remember most is how exasperated my mom would get when she was fixing the cookies.  The dough had to be rolled and chilled for an hour or so.  But, honestly, I couldn’t wait.  I loved eating the cookie dough.  So I would sneak into the kitchen, and then, with ninja-like skill, I would steal a big hunk of cookie dough from the refrigerator.  Eventually, my mom waved the white flag of surrender.  Whenever she made icebox cake, she actually began doubling the recipe for the cookies so I could eat my fill of cookie dough. My mom passed away a few months ago.  It’s funny how something as simple as a piece of cake can play with your emotions.  In my mind’s eye, I could see my mom cooking dinner like she did every day.  Always busy.  Always smiling.  It stirred up a warm, contented feeling.  I could also see my mom chasing me out of the kitchen, which happened quite often when I was a teenager.  Sometimes she emphasized the point by waving a wooden spoon.  Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face. I’m grateful to Bryan for deciding to fix my favorite cake.  I’m sure he did it as a tribute to my mom.  I can tell you it was a high-flying success.  But more than that, it was also a golden ticket to my past.  Thanks for the trip through time, Bryan!

For anyone who was fortunate enough to turn legal during the disco era, it was great fun! There were so many clubs to go to. Tin Pan Alley and The Palace were my favorite weekend hangouts. We would go to one on Friday night and the other one on Saturday night. The floors flashed to the beat of the music. We danced the night away and never left before last call. Although I barely got to experience disco, I managed to squeak in the last year or so before it faded out of existence. What a time we had! The music was great! Also, one of my favorite songs was born during that time. “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang. It was released in September 1979 and was a whopping 14 minutes long. My friends and I danced through every moment of it. I still love it and will dance every time I hear it! Also, Best. Lyrics. Ever! Although it wasn’t the first rap song, it was the most defining to me because it was the beginning of my love of rap music. Just for a little rap trivia, The Fatback Band had the first rap song released, but because everyone thought that rap was just a flash in the pan and no one thought it would become mainstream, it was on the B-side. Once it became popular, it was switched to the A-side. For all you young folks out there, back in the day we bought records (vinyl) with music on both sides. The most popular song was labeled the “A” side and the less popular was the “B” side. Fast-forward too many years to feel comfortable and I still love rap. There are many rappers on my play list that I enjoy but my favorites are LL Cool J, Dr. Dre, Drake (before auto-tune, although I still have his latest album), Nicki Minaj and Eminem. Music has always been a part of my life. I do everything to the beat of music. I clean the house, I drive my car and I exercise to rap. There’s just something about it that energizes me and keeps me going. Once I plug in, cleaning and workouts are a breeze. Do I get made fun of because I love rap music? Absolutely! Do I care? No. Many years down the road you may see me walking along with my cane, but you can bet I’ll still be rocking my ear buds listening to my favorite rap artists. Music doesn’t have an age limit, and I refuse to be limited in any of my musical choices because of the number of years I’ve lived.

I love parades and went to Wheeling’s parade for more years than I care to admit. And since Wheeling changed their parade to include lights, I have helped decorate a few floats and been in a couple of the parades with one or both of my kids.  According to online records, Wheeling’s first parade was in 1930.  In those early years, it was estimated that 100,000 spectators (dressed to the nines, mind you) came out—or jammed the streets of downtown Wheeling—to revel in all that is good about a wonderful tradition that continues today.  Wheeling’s parades have showcased all the area schools, including, at one time or another, some of Wheeling’s high schools—Wheeling High, Triadelphia High, Warwood High, Lincoln High and Linsly Military Institute, along with all our surrounding community schools in West Virginia and Ohio. Our parade would not be a parade without all the beautifully decorated floats, of course, Santa Claus and especially the school bands.  I love hearing a band in the distance and was always disappointed when they passed and happened to be taking a break.   Many clubs, businesses, organizations, hospitals, local fire departments and all those wonderful dance studios participate.  The little ones in their cute (and not so warm) costumes are adorable.   And don’t forget the beautiful horses—which there was always a more than aromatic, nasty mess left on the streets.  I always felt bad for those bands and participants that had to walk behind the horses—not so nice.  At one time I don’t think they had anyone following the horses as they do today to pick up after them.  But, nonetheless, I love horses in parades. I admit it has been a couple of years since I went to Wheeling’s parade and just stayed home in the warmth and comfort of watching it on TV.  But this year I plan on attending.  One of the memories that has stayed with me is WVU’s band coming to Wheeling.  I could not wait to see them and was disappointed that they did not come every year.  If you have not heard, they are coming to Wheeling this year!  It is one thing to see them on the football field in all their glory—they are so, so good.  It is even more stunning to hear them coming in the distance at a parade and then watch as they parade by— impressive, just impressive! So if you love bands, especially The Pride of West Virginia, make plans for Wheeling’s parade this year because we are in for a treat.  This year’s Fantasy in Lights Parade is set for Friday, Nov. 18.   Something else to be proud of is the fact that The Pride of West Virginia has been invited, for the first time, to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. That parade is at 9 a.m., Nov. 24.  Don’t miss it.

I don’t like to call it a “Bucket List.” I call it a “Living My Life List.” A couple of years ago, I turned 50 and went skydiving with two good friends. That’s when I knew it was time to start living my life to its fullest and to do the things I would have never done while my children were young and needed their mum.  Now that one son is in his mid-20s and the other boy just turned 30, I feel it’s time for my husband and I to do things we have always wanted to do (within reason, of course). Two events that are on my list are both are in New York City - seeing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and watching the ball drop in Time Square on New Years Eve. I’m not much of a crowd person and neither is my husband, but I would love to experience the excitement and energy of the crowds at these two events. At the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I want to see all of the balloons, singers, dancers and stars who ride on the floats and the bands! Who doesn’t love a good band?  Our own Pride of West Virginia, the WVU Marching Band, will be in the parade this year. What an honor for them to represent our wild and wonderful state. If I couldn’t be down on the street watching the parade, I would hope to view it from the best hotel room New York City has to offer. The same thing goes for New Years Eve. To watch these two once in a lifetime events would make me so happy. In light of these ideas, my husband asked me if I’ve ever given thought to where the attendees at these events go to the restroom. When he asked me that question, it shed a new light on being down in the crowd.  Once again, it is the excitement of it all that makes me want to experience these things.  Even if I have to stay in my hotel room and watch, I can at least say I was there. I hope to someday have these events crossed off of my “Living my Life” list. After these, it will be on to the next events that I want to do. Rock on, people. Rock on.

As Halloween is quickly approaching and I get prepared to celebrate this fun holiday with my daughter, I cannot help but look back and reflect on my favorite childhood memories of Halloween. Halloween was done much differently when I was a young girl than it is now. For instance, there was no specific time frame set such as there is now, typically 6-8 p.m.  Therefore, we would start at sundown and go to the houses that had lights on.  We would trick-or-treat until we were too tired to walk any longer or until all the lights in the neighborhood were off.  Sometimes that would last until 10 p.m.!  To ensure we had a sack big enough to hold all of our loot, we would bring pillowcases with us to dump all of our goodies in. Once trick-or- treating was over, we would take our candy home and our parents would inspect it to make sure it was safe to eat.  They would usually throw out the candy apples or any homemade goodies to ensure our treats were all safe. We were quite creative with our costumes.  When I was trick-or-treating with my family and friends, a lot of our costumes were homemade.  There was everything from ghosts in torn up bedsheets and white face paint to zombies with ripped up clothes and bloody face paint.  If you happened to have a store bought costume, it consisted of basically just a plastic mask and a matching outfit.  Today’s costumes have much more to them with added accessories such as wigs, jewelry, slippers and crowns for princesses, and swords, numb chucks and other toy accessories for your bad guys and super heroes. While the times have changed, and we now have curfews to help keep kids safe and more creative costumes to make the Halloween experience more fun, there are a few things that have remained the same.  Folks still carve pumpkins and light them up for festive and creative Halloween decoration.  Another thing that hasn’t seemed to change the Halloween experience is the weather --it’s usually cold or rainy. To all of my fellow trick-or-treaters, stay safe, warm and remember to have fun!  Have a Happy Halloween!

I can’t remember the last time I missed a trick-or-treat night. Having children ranging from age 28 all the way down to seven, and if I include my own childhood, well, I’ve rarely missed a trick or treat night.  To be perfectly frank, I gave birth to my third child on Oct. 26, and I was sure to take my first two children out for their trick-or-treat the day I was released from the hospital.  I may not have moved as quickly as they would have liked, but I wasn’t missing out on their exciting night. My brother and his wife came to Wheeling this past weekend with their sons.  We took my nephews and my youngest daughter to Boo at the Zoo at Oglebay Park.  The excitement is one thing that never changes and brings back happy memories of each and every Halloween.  Some of these were fairly warm evenings and some we battled the snow, but all of them ended up being a memories that have not gone forgotten. As a child growing up, we always made our own costumes.  In general, we would be witches, vampires, the standard ghouls and goblins.  Now that there are so many options from the local stores and websites, every child can be just about whoever they want to be and get to walk in the shoes of some of their favorite characters for a day. My youngest daughter has never wanted to be anything scary.  She usually chooses a Disney Princess of some sort, and this year it was Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  My nephews, chose superheroes and their little outfits had built in muscles. The costumes we saw throughout the park were amazing. Walking around the zoo on the chilly Saturday afternoon was such a delightful experience. They proudly showed their costumes. Both of the boys had a little bit of the superhero personality of the character they adorned, and my daughter showed off her best Ariel singing voice, to whomever would listen, to go along with each “trick-or-treat” and “thank you” that came from her mouth. The older children, of course, are planning on Fright Night at Kennywood Park and the Wells Township Haunted House. I enjoy a good scare, but nothing can beat the sparkle on the faces of the children when they come to life as a character they admire. Whether you choose a happy Halloween or a spooky one, may you all have a safe journey through the mysterious evening.

There’s nothing quite like this time of year. All around us we see and feel change—not only in the temperatures, but the trees and flowers that go from being brilliantly colored to bare and dying. While the foliage is dying around us, many communities come alive this time of year in support of their high school football teams. There’s nothing like sitting under those Friday night lights supporting your hometown team. The scents and chill of the fall season in the air, and there is a sense of anticipation and excitement for the upcoming football game. Although I am more of a basketball fan, football truly is the All-American sport. Who sits out in the pouring rain and freezing temperatures to watch a game? A football fan. Who takes their shirt off in freezing temperatures and paints their chest their school colors? A football fan. I am very proudly from the Cameron, W.Va. area and am proud to be a Cameron Dragon. I am so happy for the wonderful season that our coaches, players, cheerleaders and community are getting to experience right now. It has been a long time coming. I am more proud of the fact that even though we are having a winning season this year, our tiny little community always seems to rally around our kids and coaches to support them through both wins and loses. I think many of the local schools in the surrounding area get a lot of support from their communities as well, which is great. Whether they are having a winning or losing season, the players and cheerleaders work hard, often year round, to be the best that they can be, and coaches have a thankless job at times. They sacrifice time with their families and friends, put in countless hours, occasionally deal with irate parents, all while trying to mold a young person into being the best athlete, and person they can possibly be. Many times they leave an impression or have a positive impact on that young person that goes beyond the football field. I hope that we, as fans, can remember how much time and dedication our young people and coaches have put into their sport, and support them in both good times and in bad. They deserve it! For now, I can’t wait to sit under the Friday night lights this week and root for my team—Go Dragons!

Have you received a flu or shingles vaccine? Over the years, I have had mixed feelings on both, but they have become the norm for many. Just what do we know about these vaccinations? Let’s see…the shingles vaccine contains a weakened chickenpox virus that primes your immune system to defend against the disease. The flu vaccine covers only certain strains. None of them guarantee total protection from these viruses.  It’s obvious why a person would wonder what he or she should do? In all actuality, these vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body within days or weeks after the injection(s).  At that point, the antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine.  I guess a little bit of something bad can be something good.  In some cases, you may not be prevented from contracting the virus, but may have a much more weakened version of it had you not gotten the shots. There are actually a wide range of different vaccines and some are specific to certain age groups.  Some are designed for timing of an exposure, but in whatever manner or form, it can actually become a lifesaving vaccination, particularly in the very young, elderly or those with compromised immune systems.  On the flipside, some vaccines just aren’t good for people with certain health conditions. I encourage you to take a few moments and talk to your healthcare providers.  Do some research and ask the questions that you need answered and feel comfortable enough to make that important decision for you and your family. Regardless of what you decide, keep in mind that the flu and shingles viruses can become very serious matters rather quickly. I am weighing my pros and cons, but there is one thing I am certain of is that I sure am fortunate to be in a country where I have healthcare options and the ability to make those decisions because these are available to me and my family.

I wrote a tribute to my sister-in-law, Liz, who lost her battle with breast cancer in May 2013. I still miss Liz and I thank God that I had the chance to help take care of her with the blessings of Bordas & Bordas because they are a Christian law firm with family values. This year, I want to remind you how important it is to get mammograms and pap smears. Doing these two tests could save a life and the life it may save could be yours.  If any type of cancer runs in your family, you owe it to yourself and your family to go and get checked. Just this year, my 21-year-old great niece was diagnosed with breast cancer, and one of her cousins started a “Go Fund Me” page to help preserve her eggs.  The chemo will more than likely destroy her eggs, and with her being so young she would like to have a child in the future.  Her outlook is amazing, and, as I have said before, a positive outlook is half the battle. My husband’s side of the family has a history of cancer. About 17 years ago, we lost his first sister to breast cancer, a few years later his mother lost her battle with liver cancer and then Liz, who fought like an MMA fighter, lost her battle to breast cancer. Men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m here to tell you that cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care about the color of your skin, the size of your body, the size of your bank account, if your are married, if you are gay or straight, if you believe in God or if you are an atheist, if you have children, if you’re young or old, if you have a job or not or if you have two legs or four legs. You are the ones who need to be your own advocates and do whatever you can to help the fight against cancer for you or your pets. I have several friends who have had stage four who are now are cancer free. They are proactive with screenings and do whatever it takes to keep the cancer away.  I can also tell you that there is no worse word to hear coming out of your doctor’s mouth than when he/she tells you that you have cancer.  I know, I’ve heard it. I was blessed that they caught it in time. So don’t wait to get yourself checked. Encourage your loved ones to get checked and be sure to get your pets checked. Do whatever you can to kick your cancer’s butt! Rock on, people. Rock on.

As a part of my role with the Allegheny County Bar Association, I am excited to announce the upcoming “Threads for Vets” clothing drive. This winter, various law firms throughout Allegheny County will be participating in a clothing drive to benefit local veterans. New socks, gloves, hats, scarves and other winter necessities can be dropped off at the Allegheny County Bar Association’s headquarters or at participating law firms. The collections will continue through Jan. 13, 2017, at which time the donations will be distributed through the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania. The Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania is an organization with the mission of providing essential housing, employment and vital support services to local veterans, service members and their families with the goal of improving their self-sufficiency, sustainability and quality of life. Like many of us, I have close family members and friends who have served to protect our country and am excited about the opportunity to give back.

I live in a fairly busy neighborhood -- lots of traffic, folks walking up and down the street. But that doesn’t intimidate the wildlife from trying to maintain their foothold in the neighborhood.  After all, they were there long before we started building roads and houses.  It’s fairly common to see several deer bedding down for the night across the street.  It is never a surprise, but always a delight, to pull into my driveway to find a deer feeding from the apple tree in my front yard.  She looks at me as if to say, “What are you doing here?”  Well, I live here.  There is also the occasional rabbit or chipmunk, but recently, I’ve had some new faces in my yard.  Imagine the surprise and excitement my visiting grandchildren experienced when they looked out grandma’s window and saw a possum!  Not the prettiest animal God created.  After much squealing and investigation, we discovered there were two possum eating the apples from my tree!  Later in the evening, the kids were inspecting the front yard again for activity when they noticed the branches of the apple tree shaking violently.  Upon closer examination, they discovered a raccoon up in the tree shaking apples to the ground!  Hearing the thump on apples on the ground is a distinct calling card for the deer.  Before long, there was a deer in the yard eating the apples the raccoon was shaking from the tree!  Of course, I had to explain to the 5-year-old that possums and raccoons are not to be touched.  They can carry rabies and other diseases.  But what a busy display of nature to conveniently observe from my front window.  Needless to say, the apple tree is nearly bear now, but not before feeding a wide variety of foragers.  I know animals can be pretty destructive to our flowers and gardens, but it is fun to sit on your couch and watch all manner of wildlife parade by the window.  Pretty fun stuff!

How many lives might be saved today and in the future with highly automated vehicles? The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says that it is committed to finding out. The DOT recently issued its Federal Automated Vehicles Policy (“FAVP”) in order to facilitate the safe introduction and deployment of highly automated vehicles (“HAVs”). The DOT issued the policy as agency guidance rather than in a rulemaking “in order to speed the delivery of an initial regulatory framework and best practices to guide manufacturers and other entities in the safe design, development, testing and deployment of HAVs.” This guidance targets vehicles that incorporate HAV systems, such as those for which there is no human driver at all, or for which the human driver can give control to the HAV system and is not be expected to perform any driving-related tasks for a period of time. First, it is important to know that there are different levels of automation. The DOT has adopted the SAE International (SAE) definitions as follows: • At SAE Level 0, the human driver does everything; • At SAE Level 1, an automated system on the vehicle can sometimes assist the human driver conduct some parts of the driving task; • At SAE Level 2, an automated system on the vehicle can actually conduct some parts of the driving task, while the human continues to monitor the driving environment and performs the rest of the driving task; • At SAE Level 3, an automated system can both actually conduct some parts of the driving task and monitor the driving environment in some instances, but the human driver must be ready to take back control when the automated system requests; • At SAE Level 4, an automated system can conduct the driving task and monitor the driving environment, and the human need not take back control, but the automated system can operate only in certain environments and under certain conditions; and • At SAE Level 5, the automated system can perform all driving tasks, under all conditions that a human driver could perform them. Using the SAE levels, the DOT draws a distinction between Levels 0-2 and 3-5 based on whether the human operator or the automated system is primarily responsible for monitoring the driving environment.  HAVs represent SAE Levels 3-5 vehicles with automated systems that are responsible for monitoring the driving environment. The FAVP is divided into four sections: (1) Vehicle Performance Guidelines for Automated Vehicles, (2) a Model State Policy, (3) National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (“NHTSA”) Current Regulatory Tools and (4) New Tools and Authorities. The Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles (“Guidance”) outlines best practices for the safe design, development and testing of automated vehicles prior to commercial sale or operation on public roads. It is anticipated that the DOT will require manufacturers and other related entities to submit a Safety Assessment to the NHTSA each HAV system that would cover the following 15 areas: • Operational Design Domain: How and where the HAV is supposed to function and operate; • Object and Event Detection and Response: Perception and response functionality of the HAV system; • Fall Back (Minimal Risk Condition): Response and robustness of the HAV upon system failure (process of either allowing the driver to retake control or finding a safe place to stop the vehicle in case of a malfunction); • Validation Methods: Testing, validation and verification of an HAV system; • Registration and Certification: Registration and certification to NHTSA of an HAV system; • Data Recording and Sharing: HAV system data recording for information sharing, knowledge building and for crash reconstruction purposes; • Post-Crash Behavior: Process for how an HAV should perform after a crash and how automation functions can be restored; • Privacy: Privacy considerations and protections for users; • System Safety: Engineering safety practices to support reasonable system safety; • Vehicle Cyber Security: Approaches to guard against vehicle hacking risks; • Human Machine Interface: Approaches for communicating information to the driver, occupant and other road users; • Crashworthiness: Protection of occupants in crash situations; • Consumer Education and Training: Education and training requirements for users of HAVs; • Ethical Considerations: How vehicles are programmed to address conflict dilemmas on the road; and • Federal, State and Local Laws: How vehicles are programmed to comply with all applicable traffic laws. While the FAVP references ethical concerns (discussed in last month’s blog), it does not offer much, if any, guidance relative to liability.  While automated cars are programed to avoid accidents, accidents are still inevitable, and when they occur, who will be responsible?  For the time being, the traditional tort laws of negligence and products liability will be available for accident victims.  We can presume that with more automation, the manufacturer’s liability risk increases. The Model State Policy encourages states to allow the DOT alone to regulate the performance of HAV technology and vehicles.  The DOT confirms that states retain their traditional responsibilities for vehicle licensing and registration, traffic laws and enforcement and motor vehicle insurance and liability regimes; however, the DOT desires avoid a 50-state patchwork of regulations regarding the performance of HAVs.  The NHTSA will also work with the states to fill the gaps in current regulations in order to establish one model state policy.  One major issue to be debated is in the area of liability – some states may believe that with HAVs, the “driver” is the manufacture, while others may take a more conventional position and hold the consumer liable. The policy goes on to explain NHTSA’s currently available regulatory tools and how they might apply to AVs. The NHTSA has four primary “tools” that the agency uses to address the introduction of new technologies and new approaches to existing technologies, which are: • Letters of interpretation; • Exemptions from existing standards; • Rulemakings to amend existing standards or create new standards; and • Enforcement authority to address defects that pose an unreasonable risk to safety. Finally, the DOT identifies potential new tools and authorities that would help DOT ensure that AVs can be developed quickly but safely. Some of these include: replacing the current self-certification process with a premarket approval process; a “cease and desist” power, allowing DOT to immediately halt production if a serious and immediate safety risk is found; and post-sale regulation of software updates. History shows that with new technology, often times manufactures will be under pressure to fast track its product to market, which may cause safety to take a back seat leading to an increase in the risk for harm for the driver and the public.    Accordingly, consumers need to do their research before purchasing first to market technologies, since most often, at least in this realm, first does not necessarily mean the best.