Eat Mor Chikin

Chick-fil-A has a brilliant ad campaign... cows holding up handwritten (or should I say hoof written?) signs that say, "Eat Mor Chikin!". I just had to post this photo of my grandson, Asher, holding a stuffed cow from Chick-fil-A. All I can say is if Chick-fil-a doesn't hire him as a spokesperson, they are making a huge mistake. Who could look at this photo and not want to run out and get a chicken sandwich? This child could make them a gazillion dollars.
Eat Mor Chikin!"

The Hungry Fish

So this happened...

The report out of Greensburg is that Elliott dumped an entire container of fish food into a friend's aquarium. I guess he thought the fish looked hungry. It may not seem funny to you, but knowing my grandson, I find it hilarious.

Ask my mom about the time little Mickey (yeah, that would be me) threw a golf ball through his grandparents aquarium. I don't remember it, but I've heard it caused quite the mess.

Ol' Elliott is taking after his Goppa!

Prayer needed

Please pray for my sister-in-law, Terri Randall. She has been sick for many months and doctors have been unable to pinpoint what is ailing her. This morning things came to a head when we thought she was having a stroke. By day's end a stroke was ruled out and a neuromuscular disease is now suspected. There are many types and degrees of neuromuscular diseases and we are awaiting test results to zero in on what is going on with her health. Please join me in praying for Terri, her doctors and our family.

Hacked!

I'm sure you heard the recent story and subsequent lawsuit where the U.S. government wanted Apple to help them hack into the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorists. In time the FBI was able crack the iPhone's security and the lawsuit was dropped. As it turns out there was a simpler solution to the problem right under our noses the whole time.

A new season

I think we should create a new season. We could call it "Sprinter". Sprinter because the calendar says spring, but the weather says winter. On Saturday the high temperature is only supposed to be about 38 with a low of 20. Sub freezing temperatures in mid-April. Say it ain't so! Wake me up when spring returns. UGH!

Case in point!

Remember what I said about kids playing hooky on Opening Day? Well, I had 6 students absent today. I have no idea if they all attended Opening Day festivities, but 6 out of 22 students is a lot. That's 27% of my class. It's difficult to teach with more than a quarter of your class missing. I just have to catch those kids up the next day. I still say Opening Day should be a city wide holiday. Who's with me?

It's a holiday!

Today is a holiday, and yet I have to work. There's something wrong with this picture. Well, okay, it's not exactly an officially recognized holiday, but it should be. Today is Opening Day for my beloved Cincinnati Reds. Today is the day when winter comes to an end, spring arrives, and baseball makes its glorious reappearing for another season. Today is the day hope springs eternal. Today the Reds have just as much chance of winning the World Series as anybody else. This will not be the case in few weeks, but hey, a guy can dream, right? Welcome back, baseball! I sure have missed you!

And about that holiday thing? For all intents and purposes the city shuts down for Opening Day. The festivities start early in the morning. There is the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. There is a sea of red downtown as fans swarm to the area in and around Great American Ballpark. I am certain productivity is drastically down at every company and business around the tri-state today. Today is the one day where many students play hooky and teachers are not only okay with it, but they salivate with jealousy as some of their students enjoy the day while they are stuck indoors working (*SIGH*). Yes, I am speaking form personal experience. I have students who informed me last week they would not be in school today. They excitedly told me they were going to the parade and the game (and I smiled, congratulated them and silently died a little inside). Oh to be 9 years old and carefree again! When my only worry was how many hot dogs I would get or what flavor Sno-cone to choose.

Happy Opening Day everybody! Now if you'll excuse me, work is about to begin and I have a job to do. Go Reds!

Tornado!

The date was April 3rd, 1974. On this date 42 years ago, the midwest experienced the most widespread and worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history. I was seven years old and I remember my dad calling my mom from work and telling us to get into the basement. He stood at the St. Bernard Fire Department and watched a tornado heading up I-75. As it turned out, that tornado did not strike St. Bernard, but it did hit nearby Elmwood Place. That same day tornadoes struck Xenia, Sayler Park and countless other locations across the eastern half of our nation. It is a day I will never forget and I always think of it on this date.

Vlad

Many years ago when I started dating Tami, I was surprised to find out she used an inhaler for asthma. There was nothing wrong with that, it's just that I'd never known anyone who used one. Of course I had to make it into some kind of joke. I've always had a goofy sense of humor and I used it in this case. When Tami would ask me to retrieve her inhaler, I'd simply grab it, hand it to her and say, "Here's Vlad!". Vlad?, she asked. "Yes, Vlad the inhaler". If you don't get the joke, don't feel bad. Many people didn't. Vlad the inhaler is a play on the name Vlad the Impaler (aka Count Dracula). I have called Tami's inhaler, Vlad, for more than 25 years. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon the image below. I couldn't believe somebody else made the same joke.
Here some jokester took an image of Vlad the Impaler and put it on an inhaler.

Reagan

With the recent passing of former First Lady, Nancy Reagan, and with a Presidential election looming (where we wish we could find another Ronald Reagan), I thought about the quote below. I'm not sure when Reagan said this (heck, I'm not even sure he really said it at all), but it got me thinking about teaching. There seems to be this mentality in the field of education that we can absolutely help every child in every way possible. When we (as teachers) see one of students that has gone down the wrong path, we always say the same thing. "We can't save 'em all!". That's not to say we don't try to help every child in every possible way (we do!), but if a teacher believes he/she can fix and/or save every child that walks through the door, they will drive themselves crazy and exhaust themselves in vain. The job of a teacher is to give 100% effort every day and to do everything in his/her power to steer the child in the right direction and to give them the tools necessary to be successful in life. The rest is up to the child and the decisions he or she makes as they grow older. As for me, I will do my best today (and every day) to help the children in my classroom.