Broccoli

I have a friend who teaches 4th grade at a parochial school is western Cincinnati. He was discussing the new $100 bills with his students. They were wondering whose picture would be on these new bills. One student chimed in with this little gem. "I sure hope it's not that Broccoli O'Bottom guy". Hilarious!

Whole Lot Going On!

We're grandparents and we're biased. We admit it and we are not ashamed. We adore our little Sveta. She is growing up so fast! She is incredibly smart and already seems wise beyond her years. She's gorgeous too. When I'm around her, I just can't stop looking at her.

If boys can be pretty, our sweet little Elliott fits the bill. We love everything about his precious, angelic little face. Tami's favorite is his mouth. My favorite is his hair. It seems to go every which way. We love to look at his picture and say of his hair, "There's a whole lot going on up there!". And when you look at his photo, the description fits. There is indeed a lot going on up there!

A Teacher's Nightmare

I'm entitling this post "A Teacher's Nightmare", but it may be more accurate to entitle it "A Student's Nightmare". Allow me to explain...

The deep south received a rare and crippling winter storm yesterday. States like Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and even northern Florida received ice and snow. Needless to say these folks are not used to driving on asphalt covered in frozen precipitation. I heard a news report that driving conditions in Birmingham, Alabama were so hazardous that some students were forced to spend the night at school because the roads were too dangerous for their parents to pick them up. Let me repeat that. Kids... spent the night... at... school!!!!!!!!!! Just typing those words sends shivers down my spine. I cannot imagine spending the night in my classroom with 20+ kids. The reasons are obvious. I won't ramble on with the details. In fact, I'll probably have REAL nightmares tonight just thinking about this scenario. UGH!

The photo below was sent to me by my Father-in-law. I have every reason to believe it is legitimate and not photo shopped. Oh the irony! Good Golly!

State of the Union

President Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union address tonight. I had to laugh when I saw the headline on CNN today.

State of the Union: FRIGID!

I also read about the President issuing an Executive Order today. He wants to raise the minimum wage for federal employees and is going to do it without congressional approval. The President boldly stated he has a pen and a phone (implying he will issue more Executive Orders with no regard for the United States Congress or the U. S Constitution). Call me crazy, but doesn't this fly in the face of the system of checks and balances (designed to balance the power between the three branches of government)? Knowing the President is trying to circumvent any obstacles to his agenda, it caused me to imagine the following pretend scenario:

Mr. President, have you ever heard of the Constitution?

Of course! That's a three masted, wooden warship used during the War of 1812. Its nickname is "Old Ironsides".

Uh-huh! That's what I thought.

Out of my control

At the risk of sounding negative, I have to get something off my chest. Honestly, I prefer to view this as being realistic, but some may look at this post and feel it is negative. You be the judge.

In an effort to make teachers more accountable for the content they teach, the state of Ohio has instituted a new evaluation process for all teachers. It's called Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES). Before I go any further I need to tell you I am not against being accountable for what I teach and for what goes on in my classroom. I can comfortably make that statement because I have absolutely nothing to hide. I believe I am a good teacher, with good methods who has an excellent rapport with my students. I am more than happy to be accountable for my teaching. I have no issues with being evaluated on my performance in the classroom. The problem with OTES is that classroom observations and formal evaluations are only 50% of my "grade". The other 50% is based on student performance on high stakes standardized state tests. Do you see a problem with that? 50% of my yearly evaluation is based on my performance in the classroom (this is COMPLETELY within my control). 50% of my yearly evaluation is based on students' scores on state tests (much of which is out of my control). A casual observer may ask, "If you teach your material well, won't your students score high on those tests? What are you worried about?". In theory that sounds fine. That is until you encounter students who put little or no effort into their daily assignments and place no value for their own education. That is until you encounter students who either refuse to do their school work and even disrupt class to the point where they aren't learning and neither is anyone else. That is until you encounter students who come to school hungry, neglected, abused or simply out of an environment that is not supportive of the school or their child's education. If you think these sound like teacher excuses, please think again. Teachers work very hard to counteract the many, many difficult circumstances children live in. The fact is, teachers have these kids about 7 hours a day. They spend 17 hours a day, weekends, holidays and summers with someone that is not their teacher. The bottom line is this: 50% of my teacher evaluation is based largely on things that are completely out of my control. Keeping in mind also that my pay raise (or not) and my employment (or not) is based on OTES. Yes, folks, with low enough scores on OTES I could be fired from my job. Once again, I have no problem being accountable for what is within my control. I don't wish to be accountable for what these kids experience when they are not with me. I've said this before, but it bears repeating... let's evaluate doctors on the survival rate of their patients. Never mind the thousands of things that happen to people that doctors cannot control.

Sorry, doc, your patient died. You're getting an unfavorable evaluation.

But he was shot in the chest! I didn't shoot him, someone else did.

Sorry, doc, you should have worked harder and employed different treatments.

***************************************************************************************

Maybe firemen should be evaluated on whether a house burns down or not.

Sorry Fireman Fred. That house burned down. You're getting an unfavorable evaluation.

But the flames were already through the roof when we arrived on the scene.

Too bad. You should have arrived sooner and used different firefighting methods.

But we responded the moment we got the call. The fire burned for some time before anyone discovered it.

Sorry, you should have worked harder.

***************************************************************************************
Maybe dentists should be evaluated on the oral health of their patients.

Sorry Dentist Jones. Your patients have too many cavities. You're receiving an unfavorable evaluation.

But my patients don't always come in every 6 months for their check ups.

I'm Sorry. Maybe you should offer some incentives to get them in regularly and that still doesn't address all those cavities.

I give my patients free toothbrushes, toothpaste and excellent information on how to care for their teeth.

You must be doing something wrong. Many of your patients have cavities. You need to change your methods to keep up with the times.

But I can't force these people to brush and floss their teeth. I can only work with them when they're in my office.

Sorry. I guess you need to work harder.

***************************************************************************************

Do you get the point? Those scenarios involve factors out of someone's control and sometimes a lack of personal responsibility on the part of the client. A teacher can work and teach like a dog while the students are in the classroom, but we can't force them to listen and try. We can't force them to do their homework and we definitely can't control their home lives. Yet in many respects my performance as a teacher is based on those things out of my control.

And another thing...

As much as you'd like to think all students will put their heart and soul into taking state tests, this is not always the case. Believe it or not some students look at these long, grueling tests and decide they require too much work. Yeah, you heard me right. Some students will blow off a high stakes test no matter how much you plead with them and stress the importance of the results. Some students will make a paltry effort, others will mark down anything. Yes, it's true. Some students will intentionally sabotage a high stakes test simply because they "don't feel like doing it". What can a teacher do about this? Not much, if anything at all. State law says under no circumstances may teachers look over student tests and ask that they redo questions or write more on a woefully inadequate essay question. Test ethics are serious business and a teacher can (and should be) fired for tampering with tests. A teacher's job is to hand out the tests, supervise the testing session and collect the tests when students finish. Nothing else. It's maddening when I watch a student not trying. I know my butt is on the line and this little angel won't put any effort into the test. Yet half of my performance as a teacher is based on 12 year olds (some with raging hormones) who would rather be doing almost anything than listening to some old man blather on about reading, writing and arithmetic. Middle schoolers are not known for being motivated to work. Pre-teens would much rather worry about who is dating who, who broke up with who, play video games and argue and squabble over the most trivial stuff you can imagine. Am I a good teacher? I don't know. You'll have to ask those 12 year olds having a spat over who wrote a love note.

Tales from my school

As most of you know, I teach in an inner city school with a multitude of very needy children. Not just needy in the sense they are poverty stricken, but also needy in an emotional sense and a need for love and nurturing sense. Sometimes things happen that make me want to laugh and other times things happen that make me want to cry. Today it was both.

I start of each class with what is called a "Bell Ringer". A Bell Ringer is a warm-up activity to get the students prepared for class and ready to learn. Most days this activity involves putting two incorrectly written sentences on the board and the students must correct all grammatical and punctuation errors. I also include two analogies that the students must complete. For example, Apple:Red :: Banana:________. Obviously the answer is yellow. One of today's analogies was Foe:________ :: Enemy:Ally. Of course the answer is "friend", but that's not the answer I received today. When I asked for the answer, one young man answered, "Fye". Fye????? At first I thought he was referring to the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk saying, "Fee, Fye, Foe, Fum". This would be a reasonable (yet incorrect) answer for a child who had never heard the word foe. I asked him to clarify his answer and he said, "Yeah, fye. You know, the number after foe". I was dumbfounded. I really didn't even know what to say. I think my response was something like, "Ummmm.... yeah. No. Good try though". Sheesh!

The other situation is much more serious and quite sad. You know how cold it has been lately. Sub zero temperatures and double digit sub zero wind chills. Brutally cold conditions. Several days last week we delayed school until 10:00 to allow the temperatures to warm (if only slightly) for the kids to come to school. This did not stop some parents from dropping their children off at school just after 7:00. THREE hours before the start of school. This saddened and sickened me. What parents drop off their kids in those conditions to have them stand outside for several hours waiting for the doors to open? Except for the custodian who unlocks the doors and turns on all the lights, I was the first to arrive that morning. I wasn't about to let those poor kids stand out in that deep freeze. The custodian was not in sight of the door, so I was the only one who could help. We normally open the doors about 25 minutes before the opening bell. Not today. I invited the kids inside and had them wait for some other adults to arrive. I sent a few kids various places and even let one sit in my warm classroom for a few hours. I'm guessing these parents assumed caring teachers would allow the kids indoors early (obviously we would), but they took a serious gamble. If I had not been at school early that morning, those kids could have been outside for half an hour or more. That's a long time when the the wind chill is 10-15 below zero. I'm not asking for a pat on the back. No decent adult would let kids stand outside in that mess. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

On a similar note... relating to these frigid temperatures. I am flabbergasted at the number of kids who come to school wearing nothing but a hooded sweatshirt. No coat, no hat, no gloves, no scarf. This is NOT a chilly autumn morning. These are arctic-like conditions. The school and other agencies offer free coats and other winter clothing items. Some kids get them and promptly destroy them or lose them in a household that could only be described as chaotic. The whole thing just breaks your heart.

The Super Bong

The Super Bowl is one week from today. The world championship of NFL football. The most watched TV show on the planet. The game even people who don't care about football watch just because everyone else is watching it. The game that some people watch more for the commercials than the game itself.

This year the Super Bowl will pit the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks. I'm not the first person to notice this, but I do find it somewhat amusing that these two states (Colorado and Washington) are the only two in America where the sale of and smoking of marijuana is legal. This is why I think it should be called the Pot Bowl or even the Super Bong. In light of this new development, the following changes have been made to this year's game:

For many years the game has kicked off just after 6:00. In honor of the Super Bong, this year the game will kick off at 4:20.

The Super Bowl has traditionally been the day the most snack foods are sold nationwide. This year all sales records for snack foods will be shattered due to the abnormally high number of people with the munchies. Hershey's Chocolate and Taco Bell are expected to have especially high sales.

Super Bowl crowds have traditionally been raucous in nature. Extra security measures were always necessary for the big game. This year security will be at a minimum due to the unusually mellow attitude of all the fans. "Dude, like, the Seahawks just scored a touchdown. I'm a Broncos fan, and like, I totally don't care". (Followed by uncontrollable laughter). However, extra ushers have been hired for the Super Bong. "Dude, like, where's my seat?" (Followed by more uncontrollable laughter)

The playing field will be made of "grass", if you know what I mean.

The logo at midfield will not be the traditional NFL shield, but a giant marijuana leaf.

The national anthem will be sung by Willie Nelson (a notorious pot smoker) and the halftime show will be performed by Cheech and Chong.

This is just a prediction, but once the game begins, the "joint" will be jumpin'!

Enjoy the Super Bong next week, folks. Go Broncos!

Still some good ones

Just when you think the world is a terrible place and everybody is only looking out for themselves, something occurs that changes that view.

This happened to me today. After 4 inches of snow fell overnight, I went out to shovel the white death out of my driveway. I hadn't been shoveling very long when a guy pulled up in a big, new tractor with a snow blade attached. He asked if I needed a hand. Thinking he was trying to make a few bucks, I politely declined and said I had the situation under control. He said he wasn't charging anything and it would only take a few minutes. As I leaned on my shovel, I watched this kind gentleman plow my driveway. He accomplished in three minutes what would have taken me well over an hour. When he was finished I thanked him profusely. He told me it was no trouble and smiled as he said he was looking for an excuse to play with his new tractor anyway.

There are still good and decent people in the world. My aching back is grateful for that.

Say it ain't snow!

Please tell me the weather forecasters have made a mistake. Please tell me we're not in for more snow. Please tell me I'm in the middle of a nightmare and I'm going to wake up to warm temperatures and sunny skies.

This weekend we are not going to have one, but two Arctic Clippers. Snow tonight and tomorrow with another round on Sunday. Old Man Winter is unleashing his fury on us worse than winters in recent memory. UGH!

Money Smart!

Big news out of Greensburg (no, we are NOT expecting another grandchild). Jessi and Barry made an offer on a house and it was accepted. There will be more details later as they become available. I have seen photos online and the place looks GREAT!

When Sveta was told about the new house she asked her parents if they had enough money to buy it. When they told her they were borrowing the money, she told them it was not good to borrow money. They had to explain when buying a house it's okay to borrow money. She's only 5 and she already knows going into debt is a bad thing. Such a good little steward at such a young age.

On another note... Tami watched Elliott while Sveta and her mom went to Disney on Ice today. Needless to say Grandma is totally wiped out! But she says it was TOTALLY worth it!

Yesterday's Post

For those that read yesterday's post... Sorry for the typos. My mind must have been somewhere else. I fixed the errors this morning and now the post reads like it's supposed to. I guess it was just one of those days :-)

By the way, there will be a better post this evening. Stay tuned.

I complain, but....

I spend a lot of time complaining about winter and how it causes me so much discomfort. With temperatures expected to dip below zero tonight, I must pause and be thankful for having a warm house with a roof over my head. Thankful for a warm, cozy bed where I can rest comfortably every night. Thankful for having enough food to eat in the midst of one of the harshest winters in recent memory. I have no reason to complain. All my needs are fulfilled and I am blessed beyond measure.

Wish you were here!

I received a call this morning saying the start of school would be delayed by 90 minutes. I got ready as I always do and hopped in the car for what I predicted would be a wild ride to work. I was correct in my prediction. I almost didn't make it. There is a small hill near my house and I couldn't make it up. I tried to back down and slid sideways. Fortunately I got turned around and went back down nose first. After finding an alternate route, I slipped and slid all the way to work. And then it happened... as I pulled into the school parking lot my phone rang and I got the message that school was now closed. DRAT! I risked life and limb for nothing!

I am back home safely now and I'm looking out the window at what appears to be about 4 inches of snow. It is supposed to snow for several more hours and I'm guessing we'll end up with 5+ inches. The temperatures are in a free fall toward zero and the wind is howling as well. The weather outside is not fit for man nor beast. Furthermore, the events of this morning only cement my love of winter and snowy weather. THE SNOW IS LOVELY! It's a veritable winter wonderland out there.

I will leave you with this. These photos were taken about 9:00 this morning and are for the benefit of my Mom and sister in Florida. I'm thinking of putting them on a postcard with the caption, "Wish you were here!".

Uncle!

Enough already! Uncle! Uncle! I surrender, winter. You win!

We are expecting 2"-4" of snow overnight. The morning commute is supposed to be a mess. The snow just keeps coming and there seems to be no end in sight. We're not even through January yet and I'm not sure how much more winter I can take. This has been a brutal winter for sure. *sigh*

Go Broncos!

My Denver Broncos are going to the Super Bowl! For the first time since 1999 I have a rooting interest in the big game! Go Broncos!

Summer in the Rockies?

Okay folks, now THIS is getting ridiculous! Yesterday I may have mentioned that I do not care for winter. You may have had to read between the lines as I wasn't very direct with my words. In case you missed it, I might have alluded to the fact that maybe, just maybe winter is not my favorite season. I'm speaking in jest of course. Everybody knows of my strong aversion to winter.

The sun is shining today and I was beginning to feel a little better in regards to winter. That was until I turned on the Denver Broncos football game. I was watching the game (being played in Denver) and I noticed how nice (and warm) the weather looked. Hmmm... my mind must have been playing tricks on me, right? Then I saw some fans in the crowd with short sleeved shirts on? Wait... what? Did somebody switch the game to Miami and forget to tell me? Nope. I was definitely looking at Denver. A quick internet search for a Denver weather report showed a forecasted high temperature of 66°. Are you kidding me? Keep in mind this is January in the Rocky Flippin' Mountains, folks, and they are enjoying a balmy 66°! Here I sit in Lawrenceburg, Indiana with no mountains for miles around and I'm shivering my tail off. There's something SO wrong with this picture. This coming week we are preparing for single digit temperatures as another arctic blast is headed our way. Meanwhile the good people of Denver, a mile high in the Rockies, are busting out the shades and sunscreen. I can't win.

 

Freezing Up Here!

Let me say this succinctly and frankly. I...... Hate...... Winter......!!!!! Get the message? Loud and clear? 10-4? I hate it, despise it, abhor it, loathe it, resent it, detest it, and any other adjective that describes a complete disdain for something. I am sick of shoveling snow. I am sick of freezing my tail off. I am sick of gloomy, dreary, dismal days and dark nights. I am sick of ice. I am sick of everything that has anything to do with cold weather or winter. There is nothing and I mean NOTHING that I like about winter. And no, the snow is NOT beautiful! I don't want to hear anything about curling up under a blanket with a good book. I don't want to hear how nice it is to snuggle next to a crackling fire. The bottom line is there are no redeeming qualities to this miserableness we call winter.

It's for the reasons listed above my Mom and Cliff head to Florida this time of year. They are quite fortunate to be able to enjoy the warmth of the Sunshine State during the drudgery of January, February and March. Every minute of every day I wish Tami and I could be down there with them.

I have a running joke with my Mom. Every time I call her I don't even say hello. I just yell, "WE'RE FREEZING UP HERE!" And we are freezing up here.

Some Days

As of today I have made 862 blog posts. With very few exceptions I post something every day (and sometimes I even post two things). As you can imagine, occasionally it gets a little tough to come up with something to talk about (well, something interesting anyway). Today that's not really the issue. I have plenty on my mind. The real issue is fatigue. Some days just get busy. Today I worked, came home and promptly shoveled about three inches of frozen white wonderfulness out of my driveway, took my family out to eat and then found out Tami's car needs more extensive repairs than we initially thought. Now I've taken a seat in my comfortable recliner and quite frankly I'm too pooped to post. Or at least too pooped to post anything worth reading. Sorry folks, this is the best I can do tonight. I promise something better for tomorrow. Oh yeah, I almost forgot... happy weekend!  

And then there were two...

The Professor died. Russell Johnson, the actor who played The Professor on "Gilligan's Island", passed away this morning at the age of 89. He is preceded in death by The Skipper, Gilligan, and Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III. There are now only two remaining castaways... Ginger and Mary Ann. It sure makes me feel old when five out of seven people from one of my childhood TV shows are no longer alive. Now sing along with me. I know you know the words...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship...

Watch Out!

Have you ever seen the sign "Watch for Fallen Rock" while driving down the highway? I never really gave it much thought and pretty much ignored the message. Maybe I should be a little more serious in heeding the warning. In fact, if it was enough of a problem that warranted the placement of a sign, maybe I should indeed watch for that fallen rock.

I'm thinking this guy didn't see the sign:

Breaking the Ice

Every year Abby's high school has a winter formal dance. It's called the "Snow Ball". Abby usually just goes with a group of friends, but this year has decided to accept the offer of a date from (gasp!) a boy!

I actually have to give the kid credit for being clever. He handed Abby a zip lock bag that had been filled with water and then frozen. He told her to unzip the bag and then slam it to the floor. The ice shattered and chunks were everywhere. Amongst the ice chunks was a smaller baggie with a note sealed inside. Abby opened the note to find the following message:

Now that we've broken the ice, do want to go to the Snow Ball with me?

Quite an imaginative way to request a date, don't you think? He must be a nice kid. Abby only likes the good boys. I'm sure they'll have a good time.

Less than a car payment

Have you ever heard the expression, "Driving a car until the wheels fall off"? This pretty much sums up my approach to cars. I've never owned a brand new car (and probably never will). I have always bought quality used cars when possible and have purchased a few beaters when that's all my finances would allow. We currently have three cars and they are all in some stage of disrepair. Honestly, money is so tight right now and the economy is showing no signs of improving, that completing all necessary repairs to the cars is just not going to happen.

Tami took her car in for a front end alignment and tire rotation today. She is getting the tires balanced soon and she is in desperate need of new brakes. All of those repairs are going to require a sizable chunk of money, but when you look at the price of buying a different car, those repairs probably total less than a few car payments. I'd rather make the necessary repairs a little at a time than get a new (used) car. Michael's car needs some work and mine does too. Those repairs will have to wait. As long as we are getting from point A to point B safely, that's all that matters. We literally drive these cars until the wheels fall off (or at least until the car costs more to repair than the value of the car itself).

I honestly don't understand how some people are constantly upgrading their cars. It's like they always have a car payment. I can't imagine that. Of course, people who are single are totally different. With only themselves to provide for, having nicer cars is okay for them. For we married folks, we're just happy if the car starts and stops the way it's supposed to. Where some folks have fancy stereos and a lot of luxury features, my cars have old french fries under the seats and coffee stains on the carpet.

I guess fancy cars just aren't that important to me. However, if I ever find myself unexpectedly wealthy, my dream car is a Jaguar. They are fancy and sporty, yet sophisticated. I don't need some pimped out hotrod chick magnet. I don't drive fast and the gas is too expensive as well. Besides the only chick I'm interested in attracting would already be in the passenger seat anyway. By the way, no french fries or coffee allowed.

Filling in the blanks

I read my Bible regularly. Notice I didn't say I read my Bible daily. If I said that, I'd be lying and I don't want to do that. I'm working toward that goal, but haven't quite gotten there yet. I'd also like to tell you I've read every word of the Bible, but that would be a lie too. That's another goal I'm working toward and God willing, I'll get there in the near future.

Anyway, in working toward that second goal, I have employed a strategy I call "filling in the blanks". Essentially I am searching the Bible for books I've never completely read or maybe never read at all. I'm happy to report I'm having difficulty finding passages I've never read before, but admittedly there are some. For example, I recently read the entire book of Revelation. I know I've read bits and pieces of it, but I have never read it in its entirety. I did the same thing with the books of Ecclesiastes and Lamentations in the last few weeks. I am currently reading Song of Solomon and rereading the book of Job. Obviously some books I've read many times over. The Gospels, Paul's epistles and the Pentateuch (i.e. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). In the meantime, I will continue filling in the blanks and will soon be able to say I've read the complete canon of God's Word.

Sorry!

Sorry! It's a powerful word and we've all had to use it. We've all done things we regret and had to apologize for. When used properly the word sorry can have an impact like few others. In my marriage, being willing to admit I was wrong and apologize has helped smooth over many a rough spot. I'm sure Tami would tell you the same thing about herself. Apologies have worked wonders in our married lives.

At school, I have always tried to emphasize to my students the importance of being honest and being willing to apologize. I have apologized to my students on many, many occasions. Sometimes I falsely accuse a student of doing something he/she didn't do. Sometimes I forget to do something I said I would do. Whatever the case, I am not above apologizing to a child. I've always told my students if they do something wrong they should admit it, apologize and assure me it won't happen again. If they do those things, there will be no further consequences from me. I consider the matter closed. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the way the 6th grade mind works. More often than not, 6th graders lie about doing something wrong. Sometimes they admit their wrongdoing, but are unwilling to apologize. For some reason, apologies come hard for these kids.

In recent years I've noticed a difference in the use of the word "sorry" at my school. It used to mean a person felt bad for what they did and would genuinely try to avoid repeating the offense. Now the word "sorry" has come to mean something entirely different. It means, "Quit talking to me, Mr. Meyer, and leave me alone!". Most times when I correct a child, they quickly (and almost without thinking) say, "Sorry!'. A minute or two later the same child usually repeats the behavior and I repeat my correction and I hear that famous word again, "Sorry!". It's a sad state of affairs when the word "sorry" becomes empty. It means nothing. Saying you're sorry and actually BEING sorry are two different things. Sadly, very few of my students are actually sorry. Most of them use the word to deflect attention from their misbehavior and to attempt to get me off their cases. I'm onto them though. I refuse to let them get away with empty, meaningless apologies. Maybe one day the word "sorry" will carry meaning and weight again, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

   

Not Forgotten

With all the photos and videos of Elliott posted recently, readers of this blog may think I have forgotten Sveta. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We had a really good time with Sveta last night too. She's always good for a few zingers when we see her. In fact, one of the things that makes her so much fun is never knowing what might come out of her mouth.

Last night when we arrived, Sveta was quite a distance from us and yelled, "Hi Grandma!". Because we were kind of far away from her, Tami thought she yelled, "Hi Goppa!" and told me to say hello in return. Sveta corrected Tami and told her she had indeed said, "Hi Grandma".... and then added, "you need to get your hearing checked!". In print it doesn't sound so humorous, but in person it was so funny!

Usually I'm the one being told to get my hearing checked!

The Water Boy!

I mentioned last night that we went to Greensburg to babysit the grandkids. As always, the night was filled with fun moments, but the highlight of the evening was watching Elliott play in the water. He was as good as gold, but only got a little fussy when he got got hungry. Sometimes he would get himself too worked up to take his bottle. Thankfully his mommy gave us the solution to that problem before she left for the evening. She said he loves water and to simply take him to the kitchen sink and turn on the water. Well, the first time Elliott got into a screaming fit, he seemed inconsolable. We walked him over to the sink, turned on the water and he instantly quieted down and became mesmerized by the flowing water. It was AMAZING. We had also been told that he loves getting INTO the water. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Off came the clothes and into the kitchen sink went our little water boy. In a word.... CUUUUUUUUUUTE!

Click the link below to see the video for yourself:

Water Boy

Worn Out!

After a long day of work, we drove to Greensburg to babysit the grandkids. It was an absolute blast, but we are worn out. More to report tomorrow. Happy weekend, everybody!

Listen!

We were all young once. I'm sure you all remember older people giving you advice and telling you what to do. I'm sure you also remember thinking those older people were full of hot air and pretty dumb. And I'm guessing you ultimately found out those older people were right more often than not and gave some really sound advice. I admit it. I didn't put much stock in what older people were telling me when I was younger. I thought the world had passed those folks by and I had everything figured out. You all know how that worked out. I quickly learned I had no idea what I was talking about and all those older people got really smart in a hurry.

Now I am one of the older folks and I'm the one trying to impart my knowledge and life experience on younger people. As you may expect, my words usually fall on deaf ears. I guess the youngsters think the world has passed me by and THEY have the world figured out. It's a vicious cycle.

The lesson in all of this (at least for me) is that older folks don't know everything. They've just had more time to make a lot more mistakes and the chance to learn from them. Trust me. I've done a tremendous amount of screwing up in my life. If these kids would just listen, I could help them avoid so much trouble.

For the record, I did notice the grammatical error in the graphic below. There should be an apostrophe after the "s" in the word elders.

Money!

What's the difference between real money and Monopoly money?

One has been fought over, destroyed homes, and torn families apart. The other is the American dollar.

Ha! Gotcha!

Heat Wave Approaching!

This is not breaking news. It has been the lead news story for about 4 days. The United States has been ambushed by record cold temperatures and is in the midst of a deep freeze we haven't seen the likes of in twenty years. Just about every place in the country is experiencing temperatures at or below freezing. Obviously points north are in the deepest freeze. Some wind chills in places like Minnesota and Wisconsin registered at 40°, 50° and 60° below zero. Interestingly enough, the temperatures the last few days in Minnesota were colder than the South Pole. There were also temperatures in those places that were colder than the planet Mars. You know it's cold when your hometown is colder than Mars for Pete's sake!

As cold as it has been the last two days, a warm up is imminent and temperatures will approach 50° this weekend. These temperatures have been brutal, but it all pales in comparison to the winters of 1977 and 1978. During those two winters snow was measured in feet and not inches. Temperatures stayed below freezing for an extended period of time and the Ohio River actually froze solid. I'm talking people walking on the river and cars driving on it. Now THAT'S cold!

Make no mistake. It's cold and it has been a tough winter so far. At least during those crushing winters of '77 and '78 I was a kid and had not yet learned to despise winter. As I grow older, I hope I never, ever have to deal with a winter like those.

Stay warm, everybody! More normal temperatures are coming soon! It's going to be a veritable heat wave by Saturday!

Smile!

Today was a momentous one for my sweet little Sveta. As is the case for any 5 year old, losing your first tooth is a BIG deal. I haven't heard the story behind this event yet, but I am looking forward to it.

It's a little tough to see, but the hole in her smile is on the lower left (her right). She's holding the prized tooth in her hand. Awwwwwww!

Rocky Mountain High

I'm guessing this is not what John Denver had in mind when he wrote the song, "Rocky Mountain High". The law in Colorado legalizing the sale and use of marijuana went into effect last week. This is just another instance of the world going to "you know where" in a hand basket. I shouldn't be, but I am flabbergasted that a recreational drug like this is now legal. Those who think this drug is harmless and will not cause any problems are fooling themselves. It may take a good number of years, but there WILL be consequences to legalizing marijuana. These consequences will be both short term AND long term. In order to keep from boring you, I will spare the sermon about the effects of drugs on people and society. You know as well as I do what they are. Legalizing marijuana will not eliminate those consequences, but will only serve to make it easier to suffer them. Meanwhile, "Pot Heads" nationwide will flock to Colorado to get Rocky Mountain High. What is this world coming to? This once great nation is not the nation of my father or grandfather. This is only another symptom of a nation in rapid decline. Sad.

I leave you with this humorous depiction of the very first legal purchase of marijuana in Colorado:

Hanging on

It looks like my hands haven't slipped off that cliff yet. I just got the call informing me that school is closed tomorrow. I have mixed feelings I guess. On one hand I'm happy to get the extra day. On the other hand, I don't like using yet another snow day.

Lowest temperatures in two decades will be swooping in from the north tonight and tomorrow. Brrrr!!!!

All good things...

It's said all good things must come to an end. So it is with my God sent, very enjoyable Christmas vacation. As I type this it is Sunday evening and I am staring a return to the grind right in the face. I'd be lying if I said I was okay with going back to work. I'm not. It's so difficult to go back to reality when I've been off for so long. As the evening wears on, I feel like I'm hanging off a steep cliff by my fingertips. With each passing hour it feels like another finger loses its grip. Tomorrow morning when the alarm sounds, I will feel like I've fallen off the cliff completely.

It's not that I mind working. I really don't. It's just that the job is so stressful, it's tough to get myself motivated. Teachers have become society's whipping boys and that's not a pleasant place to be. The American family is disintegrating before our very eyes. Many students and parents refuse to take personal responsibility for their actions and want to blame the schools. More specifically they want to pin the responsibility on the administrators and teachers. It really is sad. If more people would just step up and seize the opportunity for a free, quality education, the world would be a better place.

Along with record setting low temperatures in the forecast, there is also a good chance of snow overnight. The possibility of a snow day crept into my mind, but rationale prevailed when I decided it would only delay the inevitable. I would much rather get a snow day in February than extend Christmas vacation by a day. I'm just going to bite the bullet and go into my classroom tomorrow and be the best teacher I can be. As always, prayers are appreciated.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Lottery

I will never win the lottery. Why? Because I don't play. That's okay though. I am completely satisfied with my life and with what I have. I only mention the lottery because I read with interest the news story about the guy in California that split one of the biggest jackpots in history. It was newsworthy because the guy went two weeks without even knowing he had won. Can you imagine being a multi-millionaire and not knowing for several weeks? Wow!

The story reminds me of one of my favorite jokes---

A guy calls his wife on the phone. "Honey, pack your bags! I just won the lottery!"

Wife says "That's wonderful! How should I pack? Hot weather? Cold weather?"

The guy says, "I don't care, as long as you're gone by the time I get home."

Teehee! Obviously if I won the lottery I would never throw Tami out like that. Geez! What kind of guy do you think I am? I'd give her at least two weeks notice! :-)

My son-in-law

As a parent there are certain things you want for your children. Most important is teaching them to be strong in their faith. There is nothing more important than equipping them to deal with the persecution they will face for being followers of Christ. You also want your children to be responsible, successful, productive members of society. Notice I didn't say I want my children to be happy. It's not the parents' job to make their children happy. If my children are strong in their faith and grow up to be responsible, successful and productive members of society, they'll be happy... and that makes me happy. Don't get me wrong. I WANT my children to be happy in their lives, it's just not my job to make them that way by being "the cool dad" or giving them everything they want. It's important to instill in children a strong work ethic and to show them anything worth having is worth working for. If I hand everything to my children and they did nothing to earn it, I have done them a tremendous disservice.

This brings me to the reason for this post. Another thing you want for your children is for them to find a Godly spouse and to have a wonderful, lifelong marriage. My first child, Jessi has accomplished this. Her husband, Barry Morton, is a Godly man. They have a good marriage and in turn are raising Godly children of their own. How can a parent want anything more for their child? As a parent, seeing your child in a strong, healthy marriage and seeing the fruits of their efforts (wonderful Grandchildren) is all you can really ask for.

Barry is a super guy. He's a great husband and father. He provides for his family and I never have to worry about my daughter or grandchildren in his care. Barry is responsible, caring, generous, kind and a heck of a lot of fun to be around. Honestly, the guy is hilarious! My only regret is not getting to spend enough time with him. And it's for this reason I am posting the joke below. Barry told me this joke a long time ago and I have always liked it. His version involved a cat, but you get the idea.

Here's to you, Barry! Thanks for being a terrific son-in-law!    

Thursdays with Edra

You may not be familiar with a book called Tuesdays with Morrie, but it’s fairly well known to sports fans (although this book is not a sports book). The book’s author is Mitch Albom. Mitch is a sports writer who found out his favorite college professor, Morrie Schwartz, was suffering from ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Mitch decided to pay Morrie a visit one Tuesday and after a rekindled friendship, visited him every Tuesday for the next 14 weeks until his death (hence the name, Tuesdays with Morrie). To be honest I never read the book. You may be wondering if I never read the book why I might be mentioning it here. Well, I’m glad you asked…

My mom and Cliff are leaving for Florida today and will not return until April. Their flight from winter always brings a mixed bag of feelings for me. Obviously I’m thrilled my mom and Cliff get to enjoy warm weather while I freeze my sweet bippy off here in Greater Cincinnati, but I’m also sad that I won’t get to see my mom for nearly four months.

In preparation for their inevitable trek south, I have been visiting my mom almost every Thursday for the last few months. I wanted to see her as much as possible knowing it would be a long while before I would be seeing her again. Spending Thursdays with my mom just reminded me of Tuesdays with Morrie. Thursdays with Edra has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I will miss my mom and Cliff while they are gone, but I will look forward to my Thursday visits with mom when she returns.

Enjoy the warm sunshine, Mom. I’m really going to miss you and I can’t wait until April (especially Thursdays in April).    

       

Happy Snow Year

It's January 2nd and the year is not off to a good start. 5+ inches of snow today with about the same forecast for Sunday. Temperatures next Monday and Tuesday will have lows of -5 to -10. Lots of snow and bone chilling temperatures... not the way I wanted to start 2014. As I was shoveling my driveway for the second time today, the only thought going through my mind was, "I hate this! I hate winter!". My plans of moving to warmer climates when I retire are only further reinforced when it's cold and snowy. My mom and Cliff leave for Florida tomorrow. I wish I was going with them in the WORST way. What? A guy can dream, can't he? ***Sigh***

It's Time!

It's time for my annual resolution to lose weight. As I say every year, I am SERIOUS this time. Tami and I are going to start eating right and getting some exercise. Maybe this year I won't be embarrassed to take off my shirt at the pool.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all my friends and family. May God bless you in 2014.

Soli Deo Gloria!