Loooooong day !

Today is open house at the school. It runs from 5 until 7. I am off work at 3:30. My principal asked me if I planned to drive to Mt sterling (30 minutes) after work and then drive back. I was thinking, NO! She put me in for comp time from 3:30 until 7, which I thought was a nice gesture.
That makes my day nearly 12 hours at school.

This week is going to be difficult enough without adding the strain of a long Monday. We only have students Monday and Tuesday. We still work on Wednesday. Then we are off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. The students are pretty fired up for the upcoming days off. That makes today and tomorrow more hectic than usual. According to the other teachers, their students are wilder than ever. Either my students are unusually calm, or they are normally wilder than ever, because I don't see much of a difference. The key this week, as it is every week, is to keep them busy. Busy students are non trouble making students.

Still, it is a long day.

The weekend was good though. It was a quiet weekend. Chella had a friend over for what turned out to be most of the weekend. Nate was no bother though. Chris was gone for the most of the weekend. A friend, Bob came to look at TJ's car. He thinks it is the starter. At this point I can believe that. It seems, little by little, every part of the car is wearing out, lol.

I cleaned most of Hell while Bob looked at the car. I am about 2 hours of work away from parking a car or truck in there. This week should take care of that.

I am the SkillsUSA advisor for my school. The students dues are $13. I told the students that could not afford that , that I would work something out with them. One student came to me and expressed his desire to have something worked out. I told him that I would hire him to put insulation in my attic. He was happy with that. I will get him over the weekend to do that. (yes, I will pay him more than $13 for it.)

He is a good kid. He had a few problems before hand, which came to a head last week. We had a conversation with the principal, and then he and I had a sit down. I explained how it had to work. He was quiet for the first time in a while (usually some smart comment.) Since then, he has been a changed student. He always liked the shop part of the class, but didn't like the class part of the class. It takes both to succeed in this field. He is coming around.

My best student is Rebecca. After her, there is a student in fourth, Kris, that is very good. Kris is one of those hyper kids. He was all trouble last year. This year he is a go getter. He still has hyper issues, but is very happy to work in the shop. He also grasps the idea that what happens in class carries an equal importance.

After the two of them, TM is probably one of my top students. It is hard to rank them, as some are better at some things while others are the best at other things. Overall, though, I would have to give those three my top spots. I have smarter students, but they don't want to work. I have harder working students, but they are not too smart. These three are a good mix of both. They are great students, and good workers, or great workers and good students. I would recommend any of them for a job.

It is after 6 now, during another boring, nobody shows, open house.

Y'all have a good evening.

Biding ....

I am just biding time.

Tammy has the truck. She is working until 4:30 ish. We have to be in Lexington for a board meeting at 5:30. There was no need for me to take the truck, drive to Mt Sterling after I got off, picked her up, and then drive to Lexington. Well, at least not until I become a major shareholder in some oil company. So, here I am at school, biding time.

I was going to do nothing while doing my biding, but I just couldn't. I was going to avoid doing any work for the school, but that didn't work either. I came in a little late yesterday. We were running behind. I had to get gas. Chris wasn't going to work, then he was. By the time we got close, he wasn't again (not his call.) I still had to drive him to his job, because his boss was going to give him a ride home. So, I got to work close to 8. I was 1/2 hour late.

I usually stay after work most days a 1/2 hour or more and work on classwork. You know, writing tests, lesson plans, grading tests, etc., the things that all teachers do. I couldn't do that yesterday, as I had to get home to take Tammy to work (this one car things sucks at times.)

When I got to work this morning, there was a note for me, from the principal, that I needed to fill out a leave slip for that 1/2 hour. OK, I understand that I was late. I was here before any students were to be in class. I have given oodles more 1/2 hours than I have taken. It ticks me.

I decided, that even tho I had to be here late today, I was going to play games on the computer, listen to the radio, or anything else to avoid working on school stuff. Yeah, like that is going to work. Here I was, until a few minutes ago, working on a test for my second year students. I usually try to write my own tests, as I know better what I have emphasized than a group of test writers who took it straight from the text.

It just isn't in me not to do it. It doesn't hurt the state. It doesn't hurt the administration. It hurts the students, and that, I can't do. It just isn't in my makeup.

Tammy is in my ear. She is on her way. She is behind a slow poking truck that, as she says, can't decide if he wants to drive or play tiddly-winks. Life is never dull with her.

I am heading off. I will get all my stuff together and meet her outside.

Y'all have fun.

No to the Jeep

The Jeep was ragged out. The body and interior were fine. The engine was great. The tranny was crappy and there was a roaring grinding thing in the right front tire. So, no go for the Jeep.

Tonight, I find out about a 91 Mazda 626 with a turbo.

The car search continues.

Other than that it as a typical day around 35 hormonal teenagers.

Wanna trade jobs ?

Taking a minute to catch my breath and catch up

It has been a fun filled weekend.

Friday night was uneventful. We did go look at a 93 Jeep Cherokee sport. We are looking for a 'back-up' car for when or if one of our vehicles breaks down. Tammy's car has been in the mood lately to be off the road and it strains us to use just one car/truck. The Jeep was ok, but there is oil on the engine. It has a leak somewhere. The place of the leak is important. It can be something simple or something serious.

We stayed in Friday night.

Saturday morning, I was up around 5 am as usual. I had a friend coming to pick me up around 9 to go to Morehead KY to pick up a washer for my daughter (A). She called Friday. Her was broke. I made some calls and found her a used one, with a warranty. It was in Morehead. OD arrived about 8:30 and off we went. We picked up the washer and another washer and stove. OD has an auction house/furniture store in Carlisle KY. He got the others to sell. He gave me the one for my daughter at his cost, $50. A was worried about the cost. She didn't have the whole $50. I told her that I would pay for it and call it an early Christmas present. We brought it back to Mt Sterling. I told her I would bring it to her on Sunday.

We went to look at a cavalier and a Toyota at a friends car lot.

Saturday night was a class/party at a friends house. It was fun. Tammy made up 5 trays of goodies (meats, vegies, crackers, cheeses, deviled eggs.) We were there from 6:30 until midnight. Great company. Great conversation. Oh yeah, we took Brewer home to Chas. YEAH !!

Sunday was a great morning. I was up around 6 am or so. I went back to bed around 8:30 am and tried to get friendly (LOL.) Tammy was sleeping soundly and as much as she wanted to wake up, she couldn't. So, I settled in for a little more shut eye. She woke up a little after and my idea came to fruition.

We got up around 10. We did the hurry and got dressed and headed out for church at 11 am. Church was good. The pastor is OD (yep, same guy with the washer.) After church we came on home. Around 3, we loaded the washer, Chris, Becca, the pregnant Lacey, and headed for Nicholasville. We unloaded and hooked up the washer, visited with grand kids, and off we went again.

We stopped in Lexington to show Lacey to Chris and Chas. There, we helped Chris install a ceiling fan and then off to Mt Sterling.

It was dark for a while by the time we got home. We settled in for the night.

And .. How was your weekend?

Plague Warning!!

The plague stopped by my house this week in the guise of a sweet little blonde freshman. Chella brought something home from school this week that no-one wanted. She came in feeling poorly. By the end of the evening, she was worse. Then came the puking, pooping, fever, blahs. This was Tuesday evening.

Tammy took her to the DR on Wednesday. She has the PLAGUE, more commonly called the stomach funk, or stomach virus, or intestinal flu. By then, Tammy was feeling it as well.

Thursday, it got to me. I missed work, but didn't miss many opportunities to go to the bathroom. Chella still had it. Tammy still had it. She went to the DR and was diagnosed with the stomach flu PLAGUE.

Thursday evening the PLAGUE hit Chris. Thursday evening late and all night, it attacked Kyle. He spent most of his time after 8:30 puking and sleeping. He did not go to school today. Chella did go to school, but with an uneasy stomach. Chris went to work, as did I, and as did Tammy. We are hellbent on spreading this PLAGUE.

Life is good.

One of my favorite days

Today is one of my favorite days, Election day, the 'right to gripe' day, the best way to be heard day.

We, as individuals, have largely lost the ability to control much in our day to day life.

It tickles me when I get the emails about taking charge of controlling gas prices. If we band together and buy gas only on certain days, or from certain companies, we can send a message to the oil/gas producers and effect a change. That is purely idealist BS. If you thought that worked, I am sorry to have to be the one to pop your bubble. If every citizen bought a bike and we stopped using gasoline, we might make a dent, but the Gov't and big business is still going to buy gas and ship products. We sent a message to the gas companies a long time ago. We told them, by our buying habits, that we will pay whatever they charge and drive where ever we go. So, we really don't have a voice in gas prices as a whole. We can affect how they affect us. We can change our driving habits and lower our usage and affect our own pockets.

We grumble about prices and then write the check. We are sending a clear and concise message to the industries of corporate America.

However, today I get to make a difference. I get to cast the one thing I have, that no-one can do for me. No illegal immigrant can take this task away from me. No governmental body can stop me. No police will prohibit me. Today, I get to cast my vote, my voice, into the sea of millions and it carries the same weight as each other voice. Is that great, or what ?

I was told, this morning, that I could not vote. I moved and didn't change my registration in time. I have registered to vote in Montgomery County, but I am not on their register. BUT, I found a way. I can't go to Lexington to vote, I don't live there anymore. I can cast a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot was introduced nationwide in 2004. Provisional ballots are to prevent wrongful disenfranchisement. So, I will be going back to the polling place to cast my provisional ballot this afternoon.

Yeah !

In August 1974, I was 16 and a senior in high school. I took a class called Current Events as part of my History credits. Our textbook was Newsweek Magazine. I studied the Vietnam war. I studied the Nixon Presidency. I got hooked on the news and hooked on being a part of our nation. My part is my vote. I am hooked on voting.

It was November of 1975 before I could vote. In KY, 784,157 votes were cast in the gubenatorial race. Of those 784,157 votes, 3318 votes were cast in Woodford County. The votes were 470, 159 for Julian Carroll and 277,998 for 'Bob' Gable. In Woodford County, the votes were 2262 for Carroll and 1056 for Gable. I was one of those 3318 votes.

I remember the polling place. I remember the railroad tracks just beside the little building used. It was a magic time.

It still is.

The workweek begins ..

Here it is Monday again. For all its bad press. It isn't really such a bad day. Any day you return to work after a few days off seems much worse.

I worked for a contractor once that killed the magic of Friday completely. We worked every Saturday on a job for 10 months and they paid us on Thursday. So Friday wasn't pay day, and it wasn't the last day of the week. It was just another day.

I imagine that people that work swing shifts and different schedules weekly feel the same about Mondays as I felt about Fridays then. It is just another day. Fortunately, my current job does not require many weekend working days.

The students come back, for the most part, with the same Monday blahs. The weekend is over. Time to sober up. Time to put on our learning caps. This week will be different. Tomorrow is election day. There is no school for the students. I have to be at work. We have an inservice day. I do get 4 hours comp time for voting, but I will still be at the school. So, Wednesday will be a Wednesday for me and it will be a second Monday in the same week for the students.

The weekend was great. We got to see an old friend, Russ, who was in town from Owensboro. We went to lunch on Saturday. He loved the new house. He is considering a move back to this area.

On Sunday we went to church in Flemingsburg to hear my dad preach. Dad is 76 years old, retired from pastoring several years ago, but still goes to churches, preaching and teaching. He and mom are still very active. It was great to see them and fellowship with them. Afterwards, we went to Blue Lick State Park Lodge for a 50 yr wedding anniversary celebration of the pastor of the Flemingsburg church and his wife. There were 2 other couples there that also had 50 or more years in marriage. My mom and dad have been married for 53 years this month. Rev. Plowman and his wife celebrated 50 yrs earlier this year, and he did a reaffirmation of vows for OD and Glinda at the celebration.

How was your weekend ?

Insurance lunacy

Ok .. The scoop on the roto-rooter procedure ...

I called the office that is handling the procedure. They got my information and informed me that my insurance was only covering 80%, so I had to have 20%, plus the deductible up front. They prefer to collect that at the time of the procedure. The deductible and the 20% comes to around $140.

I called my insurance company to find out why the 80/20 split and the deductible were being charged. It seems that if the DR orders the procedure as the result of some underlying medical cause, it is considered a medical procedure and is subject to the 80/20 split plus the regular deductible. If the procedure is because I am of the age to have it done and it is part of a routine visit, then I only have to pay the $10 deductible. This puts me in a odd position.

My DR's exact wording was: "We are not sure what is causing the pain, and because you are nearly 50 and due for a colonoscopy at that time, we are going to schedule one." My 'procedure' fits both categories. It is not because of the abdominal pain (which has practically disappeared) alone. If I were 10 years younger, there would be no colonoscopy.

Technically, it is because I am 49 that I am getting it done.

I called the DR office doing the work and explained it to them. They refused to change the way they bill it. They did say that once they billed it, if the insurance company paid it all, they would reimburse me. Yeah, like that will happen. Once they mention the abdominal pain, related or unrelated, an insurance adjuster, who is looking for any way possible to write a smaller check, will latch on to that like a bulldog to a bone.

My insurance company further told me, that even if it were a routine procedure, if the DR found anything, it would then be considered a medical procedure and I would again be liable for 20%.Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of insurance companies telling DR's what medical procedures they should do, and what medicines they should prescribe?

How many times has a DR prescribed a medication, only to have the patient told by the insurance company that they will not cover that, but will cover this ?

Does something seem askew here ?

Oh yeah, I told the DR office doing the procedure that we were cancelling this procedure and we would reschedule at a later date when it is going to be a routine thing. So, my blind date with the roto-rooter man is postponed. So, Wednesday is still hump day, but now is not anal probe hump day. Gotta go change the calendar ... see y'all later ...

yep, it is a new cut. The long locks are gone. 

The DR said ....

ok .. It isn't my gall bladder. It isn't my appendix. It isn't my heart.

They really aren't too sure what it is, so excluding things is the second best thing. They suspect that it is something in the stomach wall, something causing spasms. The pain radiating to my shoulder, they say, is my acid reflux.

They gave me some Prevacid to take before the meal, and told me to continue to take my Ranitidine at bedtime. Then they gave me a tranquilizer for my tummy. If it begins to hurt, I am to put two of these little bitty pills under my tongue and let them dissolve, for faster entrance into my bloodstream.

That is one of the most difficult tasks to do. It seems so easy. However, them little suckers do not want to stay under the tongue. They crawl out. Then you try to put them back, with your tongue, and end up putting them between your lip and gum. Finally, I have to get them out and put them back manually.

I finally get them to dissolve, and they don't seem to make any difference.

BUT ... The real good news is: They scheduled me for a Colonoscopy next week.

Yeah, a camera in my anus, wahooooooo. Tammy says it is about the size of her little finger. The DR says they will give me an anesthetic in an IV and I will wake up after it is over. That is always a scary thing, to go to sleep at a DR's office and wake up with a sore butt. It is easier to take knowing that it is supposed to happen. It would be totally different if it happened at the dentist office.

Oh course, my luck, just before I pass out, I'll see the Channel 18 truck outside and their cameras are HUGE !!!

I'll wake up with an anus you can park your car in and a form to sign saying it was ok because the DR's camera malfunctioned and they we already in the building.

Wish me luck.

Interrupted in the middle of ...

The High School here called us about Chella's recent absences. They were not going to be excused because she has already used her THREE parent excuses for this year. THREE !!! That's it ? She is allowed only three parent notes in one year.

We called the school, and the school board, and the state office. The Asst. Principal at the HS wasn't available, and everything seemed to point to him as the person with which to begin.

So, I began composing a great email to him about this whole situation .. Here is what I got:

Mr. XXXXXX,

I am Chelsea XXXXXX's step-father. We were called by the school and informed that her absences on Thursday and Friday will not be excused and she will not be allowed to make up the work, because she has used her three parent note excuses for the year.

Chelsea has asthma and severe allergies. She is very prone to upper respiratory infections, such as colds, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, and a host of other respiratory ailments. We do not take her to the doctor for every sniffle or fever. My wife has dealt with this situation with Chelsea for nearly 16 years, and is best qualified to determine when a DR visit is warranted. Your own policy, which does not allow her to be at the school when running a fever over 99°, means she will miss school at times that she does not need to go to the DR.

We need to resolve this issue. Chelsea is an extremely bright student, but will fail no matter how hard she tries if she is not allowed to make up her work.

It is in her medical file at school about her asthma. It is a established fact. We can get a note from her DR stating what infections she is likely to get, and that everyone of them does not require medical attention.

I realize that each district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky has the right to set their own polices concerning absences and what will or will not be accepted as excused. However, these policies should have some semblance of rationality. A normal child will contract more than 3 colds a year.

I got this far into my brilliant email, and he called us back .. dang it .. and I was on a roll .......

Oh yeah, my DR appt is at 1:40 pm.

Sorry

I know it has been a while since I posted.

It seems we are busier than ever these days. There is always something to do, or somewhere to go.

Friday, we were going to break down and go singing, until we realized that Tammy had to work on Saturday, and I had an all day class. It was the update class required for my Mater Electrician license. There is a group here that offers the classes free to teachers. I was taking advantage of that offer.

I have been experiencing some mild stomach pain on and off for a little while. Saturday morning, on my way to the class, I ate a little breakfast. This caused a sharp stabbing pain in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen. It was about six inches to the left and just below or even with my belly button. It went away once I was at class and walking around and sitting.

The class lasted about 6 hours. We skipped lunch to end it earlier. So, I was out about 2ish. On my way home, I stopped and grabbed a bite to eat. When I got home, I was in terrible pain. I looked it up on the pain chart at one of the medical sites, and it was classified moderate pain. When I got up to walk, it jumped to severe. The pain also radiated to my left shoulder. We began looking on the web for possible causes. Where the pain is, is away from everything that should be causing the pain.

I have heard from several what they think it might be. I just did the real smart thing and called my friend that is a Physicians Assistant. She says it should not be gall bladder unless my organs are reversed, which is possible but not probable. She thinks it sounds like colon or most likely, stomach. That is because the pain is almost immediate upon eating.

I have already called into work. I will do some paperwork from here and email it in, so my students will have work to do (oh joy.) Of course, stubborn me called into work on my way back from being under a house working on a furnace.


I will call my DR tomorrow morning to get in. If I can't be seen, I will go to the Urgent Treatment Center.

I appreciate kind thoughts and prayers (if ya are the praying type.)

I'll let ya know what happens.

Unbelievable !!

Ok .. Before I begin, I must warn you that this is a volatile subject, one which carries passionate arguments on both sides of the issue. That being said ... Let's go on ..

Seventeen years ago, in the middle of April, the followers of a cult leader, dug a pit. Less than one week later, on April 17th, Jeffery Lundgren bound and gagged Dennis and Cheryl Avery, and their three daughters, ages 7 to 13, put them in the pit, and shot them to death. He then had followers cover the pit with dirt and stones. The bodies remained undiscovered for several months until one of the followers went to the police.

Mr. Lundgren was arrested and convicted. He was sentence to death. He has exhausted all his appeals, and was scheduled to die on October 24th by lethal injection. Now, an Ohio judge has stayed the execution, based on the fact that Mr. Lundgren is overweight and diabetic, and this would put him at greater risk for suffering during the lethal injection.

Hey, I don't want to see anyone suffer needlessly, but if it were me, we would take Mr. Lundgren out to a farmhouse, have him dig a pit the same size as the one in which he killed the Avery's, then shoot him five times in non-lethal areas of his body. Then, after he has felt just a small taste of what his victim felt, shoot him in the head and pile on the rocks and dirt.

How is it that someone is so concerned about the rights of the condemned not to suffer needlessly and yet, it was that persons total disregard of that right in others that got them there in the first place. All of a sudden, Mr. Lundgren is so concerned about others that he wants to join in a lawsuit that would change the protocol for lethal injection, to prevent others from suffering. If he had just a smidge of that concern some 17 years ago, he would be on the outside trying to change the protocols. However, I suspect, that if it didn't concern him, he would be opening his mouth.

Maybe God told him to try to change the protocols. According to him, it was God that told him to kill the Avery's. I don't know exactly who was talking to Mr. Lundgren, but it wasn't the God I know. The one I know said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

I know the opponents of the death penalty are jumping all over this possibility of 'excruciating' pain and suffering from the lethal injection. Just as the proponents of the death penalty are climbing all over the brutality of the crime, and the fact that the Ohio Parole Board recommended against clemency. It doesn't matter where you fall on the fence on this one, it is a travesty, that someone with such callous disregard for the suffering of others should even ask us to be concerned about his own suffering for that disregard.

OK, I feel better now.

Feel free to post your disagreements. I am not afraid of those that disagree with me. It makes me dig deeper into my beliefs foundation, and that makes me stronger. Who's knows, you might change me mind.

And we are still not through it

OMIGosh

Who would have known it could be so crazy?

Now, we had festivals and events in Lexington that would carry on into the wee hours, with revellers in every corner of town. However, Lexington is a town of 268K+. It is set up to handle large gatherings, well, except for traffic. Lexington can't handle regular traffic.

(I was coming thru Lexington at 2PM on a Friday afternoon. There are 2 major roads leading into Lexington from the south. They are Nicholasville Rd and Harrodsburg Rd. At 2 PM, Friday, Nicholasville Rd was bumper to bumper for more than 3 miles. I made the opportunity to cut across to Harrodsburg Rd, and it was bumper to bumper thru town and beyond. What the heck are all these people doing on the road in the middle of a work day? This was not rush hour. This was 2 hours before rush hour. Incredible.)

Anyway, Mt Sterling is a town of just over 5600. It has 3 corridors that run east/west. They are High St, Main St, and Locust St. Then there is 1 corridor going north/south. It is Maysville rd. It even does a little jog thing thru town, where you have to turn and turn to stay on Maysville Rd. On the North side of Main and all of Locust, from 5 blocks west of the house to 20 yards of the house is COURT DAYS. It started (officially) on Saturday and runs thru Monday. It has been a zoo. From the edge of my driveway, I can look up Locust and see a slowly churning living wall of people. There is a constant stream of walkers from blocks and blocks east of us that pass to and fro in front of our house.

Tammy is freaking out because, at least, 1 out of every 5 passersby is carrying a firearm of some sort. Some have rifles, some have shotguns, some have pistols. (We did find out if you are carrying more than 2 firearms and you are congregating and talking to others with firearms, you will be fined $300 for illegal firearms trading. Odd.) There is much trading. There are many vendors. There are countless food merchants. It is Festival !!

We have allowed some to park in the side yard. Kyle goes to the corner with a sign and works the traffic. Anyone with room for 3 or more cars has a sign and offers to allow parking .. For a fee. We did the same. We made enough on Saturday and Sunday to pay for Tammy's new cell phone. (We wont talk about what happened to her old one. Let's just say that cell phone and washing machines .. Not a good mix.)

Oh yeah, we had a great anniversary. The gifts were simple and from the heart. I have no clue what the 3rd year anniversary is. I tried to buy her some outlet extension boxes and some wire track molding, but the supply house was sold out. Oh well, maybe next year.

I took off work on Thursday and Friday. That was good. There were no students at my school anyway, Fall break. A few of my students were at Court Days and stopped by to say hi.

Now, Court days ? Well, in the olden days, Montgomery County was the largest in KY. It stretched from its present eastern border all the way to the West Virginia state line. The judge was only in town on a certain Monday each month. All those that had business with the court would be in town on that day every month. They came from near and far to do their business. Since transportation wasn't as modern or convenient those days, many travelers took advantage of the day to do their monthly shopping. There was also much horse trading of items of all shapes and sizes. Eventually, vendors caught wind of the possibilities and began setting up on court day each month because of the increased chances to sell their wares.

Modernization (to some point) occurred. The county gave land to other counties. Montgomery County is now one of the smallest counties in KY. Court business is taken care of daily as it is all across the land. Court day became an annual event. It is estimated that over 130,000 people will pass thru Mt Sterling during these three days. We were out earlier to pick up a prescription for Tammy, and as far away as 2 miles, they were parking folks for $5. Beyond that, they still parked, but it was less.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to be back at work. Tammy has to work as well, but later in the day. The kids have had their two day crash course on parking cars. They will be manning the fort.

Tammy has a big case of the tired's. I am not far behind.

How was your weekend ?

Three years

Three years ...

To a baby, three years is a lifetime. To our fifth grader, it is just under 1/3 of his life. To our 15 year old, it is 1/5th of her life and the forever that has to happen before she is 18. To Tammy, it is one thing, and to me, it is another.

I turned 49 last week. I was delighted at the looks of shock amongst our friends who could not believe that I could be that old, but, yes, I am. I am nearly half a century old, and while this post is not about my age, it is a relevant fact. How someone looks at time is dependent on so many mitigating circumstance. It is relative to how long one has been living. It is relative to one's health and circumstance. It depends on whether you are looking at 3 years until retirement or 3 years in jail. It changes from the time you are 10 to the time you are 50. It depends on whether you have to endure 3 more years or have only 3 more years to enjoy.

At 10, I was a happy 6th grader at Yates Elementary, oblivious to bills and responsibilities beyond simple chores and schoolwork. At 20, I was married, working as an electrical apprentice, and preaching. At 30, I was working as an electrician, expecting our third child, assistant pastor of a church, and spending too much time on the road keeping food on the table. At 40, I was divorcing, living alone for the first time in my life, and still trying to discover who I was. In 1 year I will be 50. All of my life, in increments of 10 years, or 5, or 1, or even months and weeks, have led me to where I am right now.

So, where am I right now?

I am working as a teacher, teaching electricity to high schoolers. I am a new home owner, again. I am still on my journey to discovery of who I am , or perhaps just on the journey to accepting who I am. I am still a father, grateful of the lessons that path has taught me. I am a husband.

Three years ago, Oct 11, 2003, Tammy and I stood in front of family and friends, expressed our love in vows and song, made promises, kissed, and celebrated. Three years ago, I married one of the smartest, wittiest, prettiest, most honorable persons I have had the joy to know. Three years, we have enjoyed our life. Three years, we have walked up hills, climbed mountains, rested in valleys, together. (Really, it has been 4.5 yrs if you count the 18 months we dated, but let's keep it simple here.)

Three years is just the beginning. Three years and her touch is just as thrilling, if not more. I still smile in my heart when I catch sight of her while we are out and separated for a moment. I still watch her sleeping. I still watch her reading. I am still amazed we are together. I think I have almost stopped worrying that she will come to her senses someday.

Three years, and Honey, I'll still ask you, every day, that one question, "Will you marry me?"

Three years is not enough time to begin to know you. There are so many complexities we have yet to explore. Tomorrow, we start on year 4. I'll fill up with gas, cause this is going to be a helluva ride.

I love and adore you, TJ

Cloistered

How quickly we adapt.

We have been in Mt Sterling for just over a month now. We have settled, somewhat, into the quiet town life. We are just 3 blocks or so from the main intersection of downtown. (Yes, residential areas begin with 3 blocks of down town .. In most every direction.) I don't know about the rest of the family, but I have grown accustomed to the pace of the town. Of course, some may say that I was living in the small town pace while living in Lexington, but, I digress.

I leave Mt Sterling (pop. 5600, 73 churches, 7 motels, 1 cinema, 1 drive-in, and 1 airport[where you can learn to fly]), between 6:45 and 7:00 am, to go to Winchester (pop. 16,378, 52 churches, 7 motels, 1 cinema, and 1 drive-in) to work. I do this at least 5 times a week. I have gotten used to slowed down pace of these small communities.

About once a week, unless we can avoid it it, we go to Lexington (pop. 268,000, over 230 churches, 68 hotels/motels, 5 indoor malls, 7 colleges, and 4 TV stations.) On a recent trip to Lexington, I stopped at a convenience store to grab a Diet Dew, as I was just parched. I sat for a minute in the truck watching the people. They bustled (yes, I used the word 'bustled') about. They were all focused on their path. They had that singularity of purpose. "I know where I am going. I know how to get there. I know what to do on the way. I know what to do once I get there."

That isn't to say that people aren't the same everywhere. However, I began to think about living in a small town. I have to say, in my opinion, one of the biggest killers of hospitality is being rushed. Most people just don't have time to be kind. In Lexington, that is like a dog chasing it's own tail. The faster you chase, the faster it runs away. Everything is a hurry up. Everything is a rush. People drive like they do because they are rushed. The rushing makes it worse.

Oh yeah, back to the first word of the post. Cloistered.

A cloistered community is closed in. It is mostly self-sufficient. It operates at its own pace. I noticed, Lexington has a pace. Winchester has a pace. Mt Sterling has a pace.

Yes, there are thing we cannot do in MS. There are things that cannot be done in Winchester. I am liking, however, the much slower paced MS. I like my quiet street with only the occasional honking horn after 9 PM. I like not living in a 24 hour community.

Lexington, you are the place of my birth. You will always have a place in my heart, but Mt Sterling is quickly becoming 'home'.

Cloister me.

I just do not get it.

Violence, I understand. If raised in a violent atmosphere, then violence could very well be your first response to most things. I have personally seen children, when introduced into a violent situation, through divorce or remarriage, react to situations with the same type of reaction they have seen. Violence is a difficult cycle to break, but it can be done.

The thing I do not get, is the whole “I was molested as a child, therefore I molest children,” thing. It seems to me that something so degrading and horrifying would be the last thing you would want to revisit on some other child, in the position you were in, years earlier. I would think, that admitting it to yourself, would make you a champion against such offenses.

Now, in light of recent revelations, Former Rep. Mark Foley, has suddenly gained the courage to come out of the closet (like the revelation of you sending sexually motivated IM’s to males, didnt do that for you. “Surprise everyone, I am gay.) and has decided to bring to light (just a little light) his unfortunate childhood that included molestation at the hands of some clergy (to which every clergyman in his life is saying, tell us who it was, so we will be out from under this cloud.)

One of my pet peeves, is telling someone under me, to do something, or stop doing something, and them telling me what they are doing, as if that means they don’t have to conform to what I said. (Like today when I told one of the auto students [yes, I have them today] to leave the lift alone, he felt compelled to tell me that he was showing someone something on it. It doesnt matter. I didnt ask why you were doing the thing you shouldnt be doing. I simply told you to stop doping it. The proper response is to say, yes, Mr. Simpson, and stop.)

Dude, you were caught. You did the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons, and were caught. Do not tell me why you were doing it. Do not use whatever contrived motive you thought you had as an excuse to slip out from under the responsibility umbrella. You did it. Pay for it.

Like the sign in the glass shop window, “If you break it, you buy it.” Mr. Foley, you broke it, now buy it. I do not need your DRs excuse or your lawyers note. I need you with your responsibility and remorse, to step up, and say, “It was my fault.”

Man, you broke it. Do the right thing. Stop hiding behind your fabricated vague past. That is so lame. It is so high school.

I remember once in High School. I had a class I hated. I skipped it just about every day. The class was split by lunch. So, while that class was in lunch, I would slip in and mark myself present. If we had grades, I would give myself a decent grade. I didnt make myself an A student. Well, eventually I was caught. Someone turned me in. The principal called me in. He asked what I was doing in the lunchroom when I was supposed to be in class. I told him, “I was skipping,” and that was the last truthful thing I said in that meeting. There were drugs involved, threats, fears, retaliations, etc. I lied my ass off. He bought enough of it to excuse my skipping that day (they did not know about the other days.) I walked away a free man.

That is not going to happen here. This is the big leagues. You may garner some sympathy with your stories, but you still need to pay the price.

If you believe that this is a cycle, you need to break it here. The kids you touched (Physically, mentally, or emotionally) need to see you pay the price. They need to see the ramifications of those actions visited upon you.

I may be way off base.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Oh yeah

It's my birthday !!

Peace, y'all.

holey moley .. is it that long ?? 

Tapping fools

Kyle came home with some interesting stuff from school today. One of the math problems they had involved tapping their finger on the desk. They timed themselves for 10 seconds. Then they had to figure out, at that pace, how long it would take them to tap 1,000,000 times. That was fairly simple. Kyle tapped 37 times in 10 seconds.

One million taps @ 3.7 taps/second will take 3 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes, 30.27 seconds.

The teacher has a thing he does to get the kids to work. One thing he does is offer them a problem, that, if they answer, will exclude them from homework for that day. That is pretty cool. It is, until you give them a problem that is well beyond their abilities. Make it possible. Make it reasonable.

This teacher told them to figure how long it would take to tap one billion times. OK, that isn't so hard.
1,000,000,000 taps @ 3.7 taps/second will take 8 years, 208 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes, 30.27 seconds.

Then he added that they had to figure out how long it would take to tap one trillion times. That is a little more than the average , or even above average 5th grader can figure. So, with a few taps on my calculator, I figured 1,000,000,000,000 taps @ 3.7 taps/second would take 8570 years, 78 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes, 30.27 seconds.

I don't usually give the kids answers to homework. It defeats the purpose. I know how to do the math. I know how to figure it out. They need to know. Kyle understands the concept of doing the division and multiplication to figure out the problem, but that is a bit much to keep straight. I figure at least half of my sophs, juniors, and seniors cant do it.

8570 years ... Those are some tapping fools.

Trying to get back on track

I am trying to get back on track with my blog entries. I have been doing the hit or miss thing, lately.

It has been rather hectic since the move (and some time before) to Mt Sterling. I have to admit that I love this small town (pop. 5600 approx.) versus the big city (pop. 268,000 plus) of Lexington. That is not to say that I didn't and still don't love Lexington. There are things that are only Lexington. There are things there that cannot be found anywhere else. There are places and people you will not find elsewhere. However, the traffic, I will not miss. The crowding, I will not miss. Enough about that.

Today is a 'no student' day at the school. We have an advisory meeting for each program. It will be good to see my advisors, many of which are friends of 30 years. Some are new friends. They are all related to my field and will tell me what the industry is looking for in employees, so that I can better teach my students the things they need to succeed.

Tonight, hopefully, will be a door planing night. Several of the doors in the house stick or wont close completely. They are solid wood doors and can be planed slightly to fix the problem. I have to borrow a planner from the Carpentry teacher or buy one. The C teacher will want to tell me how to do the job, so buying one might be the better idea.

Other than that, it promises to be a quiet night.

Oh yeah, one of the changes that happened coming here was Chella getting into ROTC. She loves it. She is up for promotion. She is staying out of trouble. Discipline problems at the school are detrimental to her ROTC career. I think it is that, and the fact that she is growing up. Congrats, Chella, I am proud of ya.

I might also add here, that I am proud of all my kids. All seven of them. I told my oldest once, that there was nothing she could do that would make me cross the street to avoid her or make me ashamed to introduce her as my daughter. I may not always agree with her choices and decisions, but she will always be my daughter, regardless. I feel that way about all the kids, my 3 and Tammy's 4.

later all.

Are you ready for this?

It is still a busy week.

Thursday, we went to revival in a neighboring town. A friend in Carlisle pastors a church in Flemingsburg. Another friend from Indiana, now pastoring in GA, was preaching. Mom and Dad were going to be there and asked us to join them, and we did. Now, I am used to driving in Lex, with all 268,000 on the road trying to get into the same parking place that I want. It was just over 30 miles to where we were going. We left the church at 8:47 pm and drove home. We drove 25 of the 30 miles and encountered 5 cars along the way. 5 cars ! ! Small town driving is one thing, but driving between small towns, you better have a good working cell phone and ample coverage area, in case you get lost or break down.

Friday, I get up. The clothes from going to church are in the chair. It is easier to grab them, khaki's and nice shirt, than to dig for jeans and an appropriate T. I get to work, and you would think they have never seen me dressed up that much.

Friday night is laid back. Easy going. Relaxing.

Saturday is a rush. Tammy has to take Chris to Louisville for meeting with psychiatrist recommended by the court. I have to take Chella to Kenneland Race track for a walk for DSACK (Down Syndrome Association of Central Kentucky) for charity. I take Kyle with me, and take him to Caimon's for the weekend. I do some work on Dad's apartment building. Then I pick Chella up and drop her off at Fayette mall to meet a friend, and off to the house.

Tammy gets home, and we go to the grocery to pick up some scripts and get some needed things. One of the things needed is toilet paper. (My girls and some of my close friends will tell you about my phobia about running out of toilet paper.) I keep plenty around. Tammy goes off to get her scripts and I go down the TP aisle. I like Charmin, but any nice brand on sale will do. Anyway, I am looking for regular rolls of Charmin. I see big rolls. (12 big rolls = 24 regular rolls, it boasts.) Farther searching brings the 30 big roll pack, equal to 60 rolls. Then there are the MEGArolls. (6 rolls equals 24 regular rolls.) All I want is to find a package of regular rolls of toilet paper.

I just want to be able to wipe my ass, not do algebra. If x=regular roll, and y=big roll, and z=mega rolls, how long will it take to give you a headache in the bathroom. Come on, we go to the bathroom to relax, not do long division.

Grocery shopping has become more and more complicated. If you cant get your kid to do their math homework, and you are worried about them failing math, send them to Kroger to get regular rolls of toilet paper. They will rush home and plow into their math books. I always wondered how math was going to apply to my life after school. (We have all heard that argument .. I'll never use this after high school.) One trip down that aisle should convince them otherwise.

After that trip, I had to go home and nurse my aching head.

ahhhhhhhhh .... Slow Sunday

After several attempts in vain ...

I tried several times to post to my blog, each time meeting with some sort of computer failure.

Good news ! Monday, the new Auto Tech teacher started at the school. My student population dropped from 61 to 38. I know it doesn't seem like much to have only 36 students in the course of a day, but it is, if you think it through. 3 of my classes consist of 4, 4, and 4 students. The remaining 2 classes, both first year students, are 12 and 14 students. Still, 12 and 14 don't seem like a huge number, until you consider that they are in the shop at least 50% of the time, working around power tools and some darned expensive equipment. Add to that, that the HS sends us the kids they can't control, for the most part.

This makes enormous sense. We can't control him in a classroom. Let's send him to a shop with power tools. Of course, it does make sense. He/She is out of their hair for 90 minutes.

Still, it is easier to teach 12 than it is to teach 12 and watch 17.

This week has been a mostly good one. Come on, I teach HS students. A mostly good week is a great week by anyone else's comparison.

It is hump day. All downhill from here. Let's see if I can coast it on in.

I am impressed by my Bravada. We needed to move a fridge from the old place we lived. We needed to do it today. We didn't have a truck we could borrow on such short notice (well, probably did, but didn't try too hard,) so we (meaning me and the mouse in my pocket) decided to use the Bravada. For those that don't know, a Bravada is an SUV. It is the fancy version of the Chevy Blazer. Anyway, Tammy took the Bravada and with the help of Jordan and Sierra, put the fridge in the back of the SUV. They laid down the two second row seats, and were even able to close the gate. As I said, I was impressed.

Now, we have to unload it. Awaiting the Chris. You know the type. Strong back, weak mind. Perfect for such projects.

Later y'all

This is after much receding 

Flooding on our street 

holey moley, batman

Another week has passed. It has been busy.

Still no Automotive teacher, and last report was that we wont have one on Monday, either. So, I am still pulling double duty, mostly. I did have a day or two this week when I wasn't doing the double. They had a sub in. My thinking (flawed, I am sure) is that, if we are not paying a teacher, why can't we afford a sub ? We did have a sub for a month before we hired an IT teacher.

Wednesday was a trip. We had a field trip scheduled. We were taking 80 kids to a Construction Fair in Shelbyville, KY. Tuesday afternoon, an hour before the end of the school day, we get an email from the high school and 34 sophomores will not be allowed to go because of a PLAN test. The thing on Wednesday was going to take 30 minutes and it was going to knock the students out of the whole days trip. I called a counselor and got her to approve them going. Then they called back and said the Principal nixed the whole idea .. No Sophomores.

We prepared to go, sans nearly half the group. The phone rings and it is Robyn (one of the counselors) and the Sophs are almost done. If we can wait 10 minutes, they can go. We wait. Then I have 74 students going with me and 2 others supervisors. It was an interesting trip.

It made for a split up week.

But .. Friday is finally here.

It was a tough day. Still, I made it. I am here. I am resolved to go on.

I am looking forward to getting out tomorrow. Dinner with friends. Singing. Fun Fun

Yes, I know

It has been a week since I last posted.

It has been a busy week. School is insane. Literally !

My principal called my classroom and asked when we were going to be done with the new classroom we are building. It is slated to be done in December. She wants it done in two weeks. Add to this that I still have an extra (can't take into the shop) 28 students. I have 2 classes of first year students, 11 and 14 in them, that are not at the level to help, that they should be, because I cannot take them into the shop.

Auto Teacher # 3 is now precariously dangling, about to drop off the list, maybe. Here is the run down:
#1 .. Took the job .. Had to give notice .. Then decided, since his daughter was sick, that he wouldn't take the job, even after Herculean efforts to get his teaching certificate reactivated.

#2 .. Great candidate .. Going through the process .. Suddenly, there is a marijuana conviction in 1990 .. Mistakes of a young man .. Disqualified him for a teaching certificate ..

#3 .. Great candidate .. Took the compass test (comprehensive readin, writin, & 'rithmatic test) .. Passed it .. Took the NOCTI (National Occupational competency Testing Institute) to see if he knew what he knew .. FAILED it ! .. retaking it .. We will see

My 2 week, can you do me a favor, has now turned into 5 weeks .. I have insisted that they get someone to take the class next week.

There is good news about Tammy's car .. I wont steal her thunder though .. Go to her blog (www.troubleshandful.blogspot.com) to find out what that news is .. She should have some news there this afternoon.

We are off this morning to a yard sale of one of my students .. Then to WallyWorld for some phoneline parts .. Then to crawl under the house to add phone lines .. Oh joy! All I can say is: It is good to have children of house crawling age in the house !

more to follow .. I will try not to be so remiss in my blogdom duties ..

Nine-eleven

Five years have passed since the Twin Tower Terrorist attacks. It seems as far as a lifetime ago and as close as yesterday. I have heard people recalling it for days. There have been special ceremonies and marked moments of silence. We observed a moment of silence in school today at 8:47 am, the time the first plane hit the tower.

Lots of people have talked about how 'nine-eleven' changed their lives. I have taken inventory to see how much that day changed my life.

In the immediate, it added sadness for our nations loss, and joy for our nations unity. It prompted prayers and discussions. It fueled our hunger for news (mine began in High School in 1975 when our class on current events scoured Newsweek ever week and I fell in love with the news.) It caused my heart to swell in the devastation and in the heroic efforts of those involved. It even prompted a letter to the editor.

Now, five years out, I look back at those incredulous days.

I can give the short answer. Of course, it changed me. However, it didn't have any lasting profound effect on my life. I still get up and go to work, as always. I still love my children like before. I don't worry anymore than before. I feel we are as safe as we ever were and are ever going to be. I don't fly on any regular basis, therefore the security measures at the airports haven't affected me. I don't dwell on the events of that day, any more than I dwell on Pearl Harbor, D-Day, or any other national day of heroism or attack. They are there to remind me, and around that day, I think about what happened and how it changed our country. I know nine-eleven changed our country as a whole, but don't see the over time long lasting effects it had on my life. I know they are there. I know, in ways I may never know, this day has changed things in my life. However, to look at my life and say, this day, or that day, or any day, made a dramatic change, is difficult.

Change doesn't come in sweeping swoops. It comes in small things. It comes in daily things. Nine-eleven may have been the catalyst for many changes, but I think they were inevitable changes. They were going to be ushered in slowly. The Gov't was going to implement them secretly anyway. Nine-eleven gave them the chutzpah to do it on the 11 o'clock news.

Please don't take this as any attempt to make less of what happened and to make light of any of the lives lost on that day. They were all parts of someone's family, someone's circle of friends. Someone's co-workers, and so forth. I feel for everyone of them. I would give each of them their loved ones back if I could. I am sure they feel just like the mothers and fathers of our sons of Vietnam. Every war has it's casualties. Again, not to diminish the lives lost. This war was brought to our shores uninvited. It came to a new generation. Vietnam was over there. Korea was over there. The Gulf War was over there. For the first time in a long time, Americans were dying, in America.

The long and the short of it is this:
Nine-eleven changed us all. Some it changed individually. Some it changed in the collective way. The sorrow passes. The outrage dies down. The passion wanes. The pain diminishes. When it all gone, only the real changes remain.

Some are just as arrogant. Some are just as mean. Some are just as sweet. Some are just as helpful. ... And a few are different ... Different on an inside level ... That is the slow sweeping change .. The change that lasts .. The change that brings us closer to who we were always meant to be ..

And that makes us all different .. So .. Yes, Nine-eleven changed me.

Without incident

The weekend came and went without incident.

The waterbed is up. We actually slept in our bed last night for the first time in 2 weeks. Wahooooo. The sleeper sofa we have is a quest bed, for sure. It sleeps ok for a night or two, but after three nights, it is way uncomfortable. It was designed with the Ben Franklin motto (fish and quests stink after three days) in mind. If we had quests sleeping on that sofa, they would be looking for a motel room after three night. We toyed with the idea several times of tossing the kids out of their beds on alternating night and letting them have the sofa and us sleeping in their beds, but we did the 'bite the bullet' parent thing.

Last night was great. Sleeping in the bed. It was quiet. Much quieter than I am used to after so long in the big city. In one evening, at our old place, more people drove by our house than live in Mt Sterling. More than once we have looked at our watches to check the time and were amazed at how early it was. It was quiet. It was dark. It had to be ... What !?!?!? 8:30 !! No way !!

It is a change I will gladly get used too.

The rest of the weekend was quiet as well. We didn't venture out to do any singing or other evening activities. It was just a much needed quiet weekend at home.

Yep, I could get used to this. Of course, eventually, it will get old and we will be heading out on occasion to do the singing thing, but I am not rushing that at all.

And your weekend ?

front porch .. waiting for new porch people 

the angel hutch mantle 

Dining room .. in progress 

quarter side shot 

front ..early Sunday morning 

OMIGosh

I can't believe it is Friday!

I was looking at blogs and took a gander at mine and realized I hadn't blogged in 4 days. That is so unlike me. Of course, it is unlike me to be so overwhelmed with work. Two nights this week, I have taken tests home to grade and never got to them. Moving in is time consuming. Tammy and I have a great deal of respect for each others opinions, and, while we think alike about most things, the things we think differently about are just as important. One of those areas where we might clash is in setting up the cosmetics of the house. You know .. The picture hanging and such.

Now, TJ can put her knick knacks and glassware just about anywhere she wants and I am fine with it. I am equally as sure that her choice in the placement of the pics is just as fine. She, however, likes to get my opinion before committing to any permanent hanging. I appreciate that. It does slow it down a bit though.

Then there is the living room and our bedroom. For now, they are the same room. Our waterbed mattress was damaged in moving. I ordered a new one. Until it came, which was yesterday afternoon, we were consigned to sleeping on the pull out sleeper sofa in the living room. Tonight, we put the mattress in and fill it up. Give it a day and a night to heat up, and we will be sleeping on our H2O flotation bed. That will be so sweet. I think a sleeper sofa is designed to chase guests away. They sleep comfortable enough to toss and turn, but still sleep. However, after 3 nights (longer than any guest should stay) they can be murder. The tossing and turning increases exponentially. So, by the third night, you barely sleep. I have a very comfy recliner, but it doesn't fit two. Soon ... Sweet sleep.

Mid term grades are due this week. I still have my two week automotive class. That two weeks has stretched into 5 weeks now. It is getting more and more detrimental to both classes. It seems that I am the only person that sees this as a continuing problem, besides the students themselves.

Let's see ... The rest is the same. I am still threatening a haircut. It is still getting longer. The cookout was a blast. The gazebo is up. Slowly, things are coming together. Chris has court today. It won't resolve anything. It is just time consuming.

The weekend promises to be busy. I'll try to stay in touch.

Whew !!

What a whirlwind. The weekend finally arrived. It has been a good weekend so far. The highlights:
Friday was a try to stay in night. We had plans for Saturday. We (briefly) considered driving to Carlisle to pick up the loaner moving van to have it here in case we had time on Saturday to move some things. The problem with that was that we really didn't have time to move anything on Saturday because of previous commitments. If we had the truck, however, we would try to make use of it. That would make Saturday a day from Hades. Like I said, it was a brief thought.

Saturday, we met friends that drove in from Chicago for lunch. Retro-Girl & Dark came for a visit. Retro is from Lexington for the most part, even if she was a transplant from Ohio so many years ago. Dark is from Canada but worked here and became one of Kentucky's native sons. It was great to see them for lunch. We were joined by Dwayne and Tina (mutual friends) and Brandy and her brood (being Cy, adopted Belle, Fallon the felon, and Cadence.) It was a great time at Buffalo Wild Wings, eating, playing trivia, and just fellowshipping.

We left there for a stop by the old house for packing and moving, even without the big truck. We didn't make Tucker's BD party, but did join his parents, C & R, later for a surprise birthday thing for C. It was at our favorite Karaoke spot, Todd's Karaoke. Retro, Dark, Dwayne, and Tina were there as well. We were also joined by friends, Sandra, Sandra's mom Sandra, and Jack. There was singing, drinking, and dancing.

We left Todd's around 10:30 and stopped by the 11th Frame Lounge to see another set of friends. Then, it was off to the Hacienda.

Sunday started around 9 AM. We got special permission for Chris to be on our old street to help move. This required calling Pre-trial Services every hour. We also alerted Metro to be aware in case the "Tadpole" called to report Chris. We loaded, and loaded, and loaded. We got most everything out that is coming out .. and coming here. Anything else, is coming out .. To the street.

We got home with the load and unloaded in time to collapse for am hour. Then, it was off to return the graciously loaned truck. While returning the truck, we bought an entertainment center for the living room. I know, we just unloaded 3 truckloads of furniture and stuff this week and here we are, adding to that amount. Go figure.

It is finally late. We have a cookout planned for tomorrow. Time to grab some z's

Later all ..

And something of my own

it is hard to imagine the full sense of the pain
imagine one death ..
see the family taken in sorrow with the same suddenness of the death
no time to prepare, as if anyone could really be prepared for death
see the sorrow magnified by the friends and acquaintances
if possible, boil it down into one pill, that will catch in a communities throat
then take that un-swallow-able pill
multiply it by the other 48 passengers on that flight
feel the sorrow spread like a fog
it is a sorrow so deep that it escapes the families and friends
it grabs the heart of a nation
strangers sit on edge listening for news
flags are flown at half
an unexpected unpredictable chill follows the fog
our hearts cry out in an anguish that fears to escape our lips
our tears become our prayers
as we silently lift up the families of the fallen
once again, tragedy has forgone our differences
it has linked our hands one more time
we will rush to make some sense of the senseless
we will try to celebrate the lives lived
with the same heart that breaks for their loss
healing must begin in the strength of the mighty
and be passed to the hearts of the weakened
we will bind the wounds
and apply the balm
then ...
we will live another day

Ron Simpson, Jr.
August 31, 2006
To the families forever linked by 5191

Written by one of my students .. used with permission

In Remembrance of Flight 5191

I know that it is not easy

I struggle with every word

It’s hard to think of what’s going on

As I know everyone has heard.

These families have been shaken

They’ve lost ones that they loved

But I know they’re all looking down

On us from above.

Words seem so useless

I wish there was more I could do

Lord, help these families

They need us but they need you.

I catch myself every day,

Trying not to cry,

I can’t explain how much it hurts

Not knowing that was the last goodbye.

Although we have lost them,

They’re not gone for good,

Try to think of the happy times,

As you know, they all would.

Time can only factor,

What has happened in the past,

Tell yourself you love them,

And that, your love will last.

Kenny Johnson

August 31, 2006

Moving .. and Lockdown !!

We spent the weekend moving into the new house. There was some missed communications that cost us a few hours of moving time on Saturday, but we still moved a lot. A friend loaned me a closed 15 foot Chevy 3500 moving truck. We filled it to the rim on Saturday and unloaded. Then, we started again on Sunday. We had a lot less help for a while. Help finally showed up. I placed a few phone calls and most everyone that was willing to help was working. Donnie D came by on Sunday to help us with the couch. This couch is a killer. It is a sleeper sofa that will not fit comfortably thru most 36 inch doors. The entry way into the living room of where we lived was only 34 inches. We used a tire tool to get it in. It took a hack saw, a removed door, and lots of pushing to get it out. Fortunately, the new place has double doors in the front.

School came way too early this morning. Auto students are still frustrated. One or two in particular are determined to cause trouble in the name of boredom and the afore mentioned frustration. I am sure, however, they would cause trouble without the boredom and frustration. This just happens to be the reason 'de jour'.

Then it happened. A few minutes into fourth block. The speaker crackles. One of the Asst. Principals at GRC announces a Level One Lockdown. My students inform me that there has been a mercury spill at GRC. It was in the Ag Dept. All students coming to the ATC walk thru that area to get to here.

Lockdown is funny. The students are suddenly dying of thirst. They are suddenly floating their bladders. They become quite claustrophobic. Some get antsy, some get sleepy. The professional troublemakers among the group see this as a prime opportunity to misbehave with some seeming justifiable cause.

I will try to fill everyone in this evening.

Closed

Yes, it is true ... We closed on the house.

Let's have a moment of revered silence for a process that has finally stopped clinging to life, refusing to be put to bed for the final time.

OK, moment's over, let the party begin ! ! ! ! ! !

Now, by party, I mean, Moving !

We closed yesterday at 3:30. I had a NCCER certification class in the morning/afternoon. Originally, I thought the class was all day. I called the class presenter to check, so I would know what time to tell the Mortgage Broker to schedule the closing. She informed me it was a 4 hour class, which began at 9:30 am. This should have put me out of it by 1:30 pm. That would give me enough time to get to the house for the final walk-through and then on to the closing.

OK, it should. However, since nothing has worked the way it should on this thing so far, why should this be any different?

Since only 4 hours was going to be used for the class, I needed to fill out a 'leave slip' for the remaining time of the day. The school secretary/time keeper told me to put it down as annual leave. I did, and presented it to the Principal for signing. She told me I could not take annual leave while students were in school (per our employee handbook) even though this had been done up until this point. She said I would have to use sick time. The only rub there is that our last staff meeting included a discussion about requiring DR notes for sick day absences. [This is the result of one or more teacher using a lot of sick days.] (we accrue one sick day, and one annual leave day per month for the 11 months we are in school. I have just over 17 days of combined leave available to me. Obviously, I am not one of the frequent missers.)

K told me she would approve it this time but would require a DR's note for subsequent absences. Now, I am not looking for special privileges, but a consideration for all the things I do, might be a nice touch. I am pulling double duty to the detriment of my first and second period Electrical students with the intrusion of (now) 18 Automotive students in our class. Hiring a substitute would be a plan.

I am handling, teaching two different trades, managing the co-op as co-op director, and being the Skills USA advisor. The two classes combined are about 70 students over the course of the day. Add to this the over 80 students involved with Skills, and the dozen or so wanting to co-op, and I have my hands full. Then trying to work my closing around so that I do not have to miss any work, and it can become frustrating.

Still, I have managed to remain my usual smiling cordial self, mostly.

I did tell K that she could approve or not approve the time off, or write it up any way she decided, but I was taking off all day. She had already gotten a substitute for the whole day. So, she could approve my time off as annual leave, or she could write it up as time off without pay, didn't matter to me, I was closing on the house, with or without being paid for it. Don't get me wrong, I understand her job and her choice. She is a new principal and her boss is trying to make changes in our school in areas he perceives as problem areas. He does this by making them issues the he constantly brings up.

(He was interim principal while we were without between agent J's leaving and agent K's arrival. He would come to me and tell me we needed to get my numbers up. My program was brand new. It was in it's first full year. He brought this up every day, like I was supposed to mount a big white horse and ride to the High School and drag conquered students back down to take Electricity. He came up with no effective solutions, but only pointed to the problem daily. I am sure this is his technique with K as well. She is feeling the pressure of those over her and some perceived nonsupport of some of her hirelings.)

BUT .... We closed.

We have a house.

Monday, all of these recurring problems return, minus the worry about closing (it is replaced by the worry of paying the mortgage .. Just kidding.) The computer will be dismantled and reassembled, so, I can't say with any certainty, that you will hear much from us this weekend.

So, let me just say, one more time ... We got the house ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Raz-a-frz-a-braz-a-racker continued

Ok .. If you are a regular reader of either Tammy's or my blog, then you know we are trying to buy a house. It has been one headache after another. Probably 6 months or better ago, we found the house we liked. I remember snow on the ground when we looked at it.
We decided we liked it and began the process about financing. There were a few hiccups there with a phantom foreclosure on my credit, that never happened. It took much paperwork to get that cleared.

Then, there were the several extended closing dates. Most of these were the mortgage company's inability to communicate about exactly what they needed. They also seem to misplace faxes. Regardless, we still persevered.

Then we get a package from the bank about our loan, the closing costs were doubled and the interest rate increased. Hell no!

We talked with our broker and others, even getting an offer to close in ten days with a cheaper interest rate by going FHA. (he FHA angle wouldn't work because of the type of heating in the house. )

Our original broker got serious at the prospect of losing the loan after all the work they did and scraped the fluff away, and presented a bare bones, cut the cost, closing.

This worked.

Still dealing with extra kids, my Principal's version of 'shit runs downhill', and a wavering closing date.

We have set the closing date several times and watched careen on by, laughing maniacally at us on the side.

Raz-a-fraz-a-braz-a-racker

More to follow ....

Whewwwwww !!

Friday !!!!

Finally it is Friday. The extra 30 or so students is showing on me. Not that another 30 electrical students would be bad, but these students are not actually mine. The State is dragging it's feet about hiring a new automotive teacher. It is a quagmire. All the applicants were interviewed. All were liked. All would make a good teacher. BUT .... Each one had some small thing that didn't line up to the States requirements. Some were just minimal and the School is trying to get those fixed. The first one fixed is hired.

The problem lies, in that even when the State makes up it's mind, it will still be 2 weeks until the new teacher gets into the classroom. Most of the Auto students are getting frustrated (with good reason.) The rub is, that while they are frustrated, it is I that catches their anger. They get antsy. They get bored, because my class, as exciting as it is, is not automotive, which they signed up for. That makes it difficult for my students and them.

The strain of being 2 teachers short is even affecting our principal. She is running a bit on the ragged side. That strain is also passed on to the teachers. We are getting it from both sides. I am beginning to fell like a boob in a mammogram. I am getting pressure on both sides and feel like a pancake.

So ... I am glad it is finally Friday. That doesn't mean that Monday will be any better, but it will be after a 2 day break.

There is movement on the house buying front. I will report as I find anything out.

The pic the Lexington Legends gave me .. with the ticket (with my name on it) added 

Beautiful Songbird 

LoveBirds 

The Silverheaded Warbler 

Hitting the ground running

School is back in session. Wednesday was the first day with students.

My classroom is set up to handle 14 students comfortably. With the Auto students that are hanging in my class until we hire a new Auto teacher, I have over 30 in my first period. That drops to 28 in my second period. Then third block is a slight breather with only 8, followed by 20 in fourth, and then finishing with 6 in fifth.

Fortunately, I am teaching on safety for the first week and a half. That is benefitial to both classes. It has been rather hectic though. There are new rules and some on the returning students are bucking against it. Oh, well, life is a B. Get over it.

All in all they are a good group, but in a group of that size it only takes one or two to mess it up. Believe me, some of thses guys have very little compunction about behaving. It is much more fun to stir it up. My Principal tells me I have to be very hard at the first (and I agree) but, in a week or so, thses guys will have a new teacher, and they will start all over again with the pushing the limits. Oh, to be young and uncaring once more. lol.

Time is short around here. Students will be arriving shortly. I hope to post more this weekend.

Y'all have a good one.

Wowser ...

It is hard to believe that I have been quiet for almost a week. It has been an eventful few days though.

First ... Let me say that last night was monumental. I was scared nearly to death. I sang the National Anthem at a lexingtonlegends Ball game. It was a great experience. When I went in at 5:45 for my sound check and practice, the young lady that directed me told me to stand in the circle just outside the path from third base to home base and to look up at the 1300 booth. It dawned on me then, that the game, and my singing of the anthem were going to be on the radio. The feed the butterflies in my stomach a health helping of miracle grow. Still, I managed to warble through the practice run. I was practicing being nervous.

As instructed (Teachers can follow instructions) I returned to the area at 6:45 to wait. There were some people that had won opportunities to throw out ceremonial first pitches. Then the young lady told me, when they began announcing the Legends line-up, at player 5 or 6, I was to walk out to the box and wait to be introduced. Walking to the singing spot woke up any remaining butterflies that might have been sleeping.

I waited ... And then, the announcer announced, "Will everyone please stand and remove your hats, while Ron Simpson sings our National Anthem." The 40 to 50 that came to see me whooped and hollered. I waved to my family (20 of the bunch) and proceeded to sing, A capella, the Star Spangled Banner. I was one scared puppy.

After I was done, there was an ovation (which is normal for everyone I am sure.) I got a chuckle, because a friend told me that I would probably get a standing ovation. It never dawned on me that he would be right because I forgot that they would all be standing for the Anthem anyway.

Several people told me I did great. I thanked them. One older lady came out of the concession to tell me that I had a powerful voice. I swear, I was red.

We stayed until the 5th inning. As we were leaving, we walked past an area under a tent like, where folks could eat. A man stopped me and asked if I was Simpson. I told him I was. I worked nearly 30 years in construction and was assistant pastor of a church for many years during that time. I have met and talked with thousands and thousands of people. I figured he was someone that had met me somewhere. No, he wanted to tell me that my rendition was the best he had ever heard. I was flabbergasted. Needless to say, I can no longer tell Tammy that I am not much of a singer. Not that I am bragging, please don't get that impression. I am one of hundreds of thousands of people in this world that can carry a tune. Still, my five minutes in the sun were quite nice.

Had I known, that my performance was televised on the jumbo-tron, I would have been all that much more scared. LOL.

Oh yeah, The Legends beat the Columbus Catfish by a score of 2 to 1.

The house is still at a standstill. More paperwork required. Why is it, that everytime someone tells you that you only need one more piece of paperwork, that one piece never satisfies what they need. They say, well, I needed that one to proceed until I need another piece.

Oh yeah, Red, my daughter did record the event, I will get a copy to you, or put it online, if i can ..

Love/Hate

It is difficult to separate strong emotions. The strongest, and possibly, most fragile emotion is love. Every day we grapple with love and the extensions of maintaining it. The people we love are, on any given day, apt to anger us, disappoint us, disillusion us, irritate us, and generally cause us all manner of consternation.

One of the kids around here has a saying that she uses frequently. She says, “You can’t help who you love.” I have to agree. You cannot always select the people you love in your life. You don’t get the option of picking your parents. You don’t get your choice of siblings. Sometimes, you don’t even get the luxury of choosing the people with whom you fall in love. However, you do have a choice of the people you allow to hurt you.

If a relationship with someone you love is detrimental to your physical, emotional, or mental well-being, you have to make the choice to stay away from that person. That can happen in marriages, where one partner is abusive. It can happen in love relationship under the same circumstances. It can happen between parents and children. It can be on either side. It can happen between siblings as well.

There may be something in one or both of the participants that makes it impossible for them to co-exist in the same area. It doesn’t even have to be a failing on one side or both. It can just be something as simple as life choices. Something makes it impossible for one to have a personal daily relationship with someone they love.

The difficulty comes when we try to reconcile what our head knows and what our heart feels. Our head knows it is not healthy for us to be around this person. Our heart tells us of our love for that person and yearns to be in contact. It is never easy.

It is easier if we convince ourselves that we are angry with them. It is easier if we make them a villain (and sometimes they are.) Unfortunately, some days the mind gets quiet, and the heart screams the louder. We are left with the age-old quandary. “How can I hate someone I love?”

We have to be able to leave certain parts of ourselves out of the equation. We have to heart-love them and keep our distance with our mind. We have to compartmentalize it. Talking about it doesn’t make it easier. I have felt it in my heart. I have seen it in my friends. I have read it in the musing of fellow blog writers. The heart yearns. The mind warns. The soul laments. Then, we deal with the pulling.

I have found, when dealing with those issues, it is best to keep it simple. Do not delve into old issues, no matter how tempting it is to resolve them. Some things will not be resolved. Some things will never have complete closure. There will always be things in your life, that the only closure you will get, is the sound of you closing the door, on your side. Ignore the snide remarks that may arise. Ignore the cleverly (or not so cleverly) veiled references to past hurts. This is just part of the pettiness of the person with whom you are dealing. Make peace where you can, and leave the rest to the ages to settle. (My dad used to say, “charge it to the dust and let the rain settle it.”)

I look at it like this:

My daughters used to argue over some of the most inane issues (well, inane to me.) I told them once (probably much more than once, bit at least once), It doesn’t matter if your sister thinks the moon is made of green cheese. It does not hurt her to believe it. It doesn’t hurt you for her to believe it. It doesn’t matter. Some issues between those we love/hate are like that as well. (I am not talking about issues dealing with life and death that may contain vital life saving info.) So what if they think they were right. So what if they die thinking you were wrong. It isn’t worth the stress it will cause you to argue over petty issues. (I know, they are not really petty, but imagine them in the grand scheme. Is it going to damn or save you if the issue isn’t cleared up?)

Love what you love about them and leave the rest to the dust. Protect your heart and mind where it needs it. Take care of you. Let them take care of them.

Just my side of the coin ….

Back to work

The 06-07 school year has begun for me.

Today I am back in the classroom. The AC is still out. Today is to be the hottest day of the summer here. The high is to be 96°. My classroom is a room built upstairs in my shop. All the heat rises to fill my room. It is stiflingly hot here. Now, when I say the AC isn’t working, it is like this: There is a window type unit in the wall, venting into a small storage area that is closed off. The unit works, sorta. It does blow air, and sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, that air is cool. Sitting at my desk, I get these alternating cool and warm movements of air. The warm air is simply the air returned back to the room that the AC takes in.

Note: the way an AC unit works. It does not cool the air. It un-heats it. True. The AC unit takes in warm air and removes the heat from it. It returns the air with the heat removed, to the area. The then un-heated air mixes with the heated air and effectively lowers the temperature of the room, house, building, etc..

My AC unit sometimes removes the heat, and sometimes doesn’t remove the heat. It doesn’t make the room hotter, it just doesn’t make it cooler either. There is a slight comfort (term used loosely here) zone at my desk because it is right beside the unit. Any more than 3 feet away from the desk and it is stiflingly hot once again. I have not checked the temp up here, as it is best not to know. It is one of those things. It doesn’t seem as hot until someone tells you it is 100°'s where you are. Suddenly you are sweating and dying of thirst.

Here is the problem. While there is work to be done at my desk, there is abundantly more work to be done away from my desk. There are tables to be moved, chairs to be stacked, floors to be swept and mopped, and other furniture to be rearranged. The Maintenance Dept assures me that my new unit is on the way and should be installed this week.

The first day with students is August 8th. It is ok if I am hot. It is not ok if 20 students are roasting in a room.

On another tangent, 6 days until I sing the National Anthem at the Lexington Legends Baseball game. The Columbus Catfish will be in town. I am expecting about 30 friends to be there for the event. Did I say nervous?

Well, between the heat, the air, and my hair, it is time for me to close. I will be back ranting, raving, and rambling, later.