Isn't it ironic?

Oh the irony!

Renewed!

As an educator I am required to renew my teaching license every 5 years. Along with the cost of $200 (that's a gripe for another day), I have to take 6 semester hours of graduate courses in order to renew my license. These courses are SUPPOSED to keep teachers current on educational trends and basic knowledge. I find them to be a waste of time and money (but that is also a gripe for another day). I have have been working on my coursework lately and just recently finished it. After numerous steps in the process and a lot of red tape, I finally received my new license today. HALLELUJAH! It is really a load off my mind. Obviously I could not teach without a license, and without it my livelihood would be cut off. I only say that to lay out the worst case scenario. I never, ever would let that happen. But the process is long and arduous and I am so happy and relieved to finally be "legal" for another 5 years. The icing on the cake is I only have to do this one more time in 2021. After that I will retire. In August I begin my 27th year of teaching. That blows my mind!

Takes me back!

I didn't realize as a young man that growing old would be such a bizarre experience. As I prepare to turn 50 years old next year, I find myself reminiscing more and more about the past and finding enjoyment in nostalgia. I see something that brings back a memory or hear a song that brings a flood of thoughts and emotions out of nowhere. I think this is why I have come to appreciate the genius of the movie, "Back to the Future". Marty McFly gets the opportunity to go back in time and see his parents in high school and to see what his hometown was like before he was born. How cool would that be? Aside from all the time travel and nostalgic feelings this movie evokes, I also love the subtle jokes in the movie. One of my favorites is when Marty auditions for the school talent show with his rock band. They play the song, "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News. The principal then interrupts the audition and says into a megaphone, "I'm sorry fellas. I'm afraid you're just too darn loud!" The subtle joke is the principal is played by Huey Lewis himself. The photo below brought that memory back for me.

Barking Dogs

When we lived in Finneytown many years ago, we had a neighbor whose dog barked all the time. Day and night for hours on end. This neighbor, Tom, kept Boomer, a large white St.Bernard dog in his yard. What made the situation worse was that the fence between Tom's yard and ours was only about 15 feet from our bedroom window. Ol' Boomer may have just as well been in bed with us. He had a low pitched, growling, loud bark. It took about two seconds to wake you up in the middle of the night. I remember one time in particular when Boomer was barking constantly about 2 or 3 in the morning. Tami was fed up and called Tom to tell him Boomer was barking and needed to bring him inside. Unbelievably Tom claimed Boomer was not barking. Tami didn't take that very well. She asked Tom if he thought she would be calling him in the middle of the night if he wasn't barking. How can anybody be that oblivious? The whole neighborhood can hear your dog barking and you say it ain't so? Geez!

The photo below reminded me of Boomer. I wish I had thought of this all those years ago.

You're Late!

Attendance in my school is a HUGE problem. Student absences and tardies are out of control. I had 22 students in my class this year and the photo below is the stack of tardy slips for those students only. Each time a student arrives at school late, they receive one of these slips. Also keep in mind many of these tardy slips represent times when students were hours (not minutes) late.

Fishing

I was born in the wrong era. Check out the snippet of an article from our local paper. This kid got a scholarship to go to college for bass fishing. BASS FISHING?????? I took cruddy courses like psychology, sociology, philosophy, English composition, British literature and anthropology. This whippersnapper gets to go to college for fishing???? Where oh where did I go wrong????????

Here's a small piece of the article:

A Lawrenceburg High School student-athlete will soon be angling for fish in collegiate waters.
Hunter Schneider, 18, signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to compete in bass fishing at Adrian College in Michigan. Hunter is the son of David Schneider and Lisa Jones, both of Lawrenceburg.
Schneider is one of 16 members of the Lawrenceburg High School bass fishing team. Although the sport is not yet sanctioned in Indiana, he is one of the best anglers in the state.

With the explosive growth of high school bass fishing tournaments, young athletes are making a name for themselves in an organized sport quite different from traditional games like football, baseball and basketball,” said David Schneider. “Now there’s a program that offers national recognition for outstanding young anglers, just as there is in each of the “stick-and-ball” sports.”
Schneider will receive a “hefty” scholarship to join the Adrian College bass fishing team that is among the best in the nation.

Grandkids

Since school has been out, Tami and I have had several opportunities to babysit the grandkids. It is exhausting work, but we LOVE every minute of it. We have the absolute best grandkids in the whole world. We enjoy the grandkids so much because we get to have fun with them and then go home. This is so much different than being a parent when you have to deal with the tough stuff and it's not all fun and games. Being a grandparent is what happens when you're a good parent and then you get promoted.

T-shirts

Whoever created this graphic meant it as a joke. But I must confess this totally describes me. I've never been one to turn down a free t-shirt and I rarely ever get rid of t-shirts (even ones with holes in them). My rationale for keeping shirts with holes is using them for mowing or yard work. When they become completely unwearable, my old shirts become rags. Waste not, want not.

I have way more shirts than any human being would ever need. Ask my wife... she'll tell you. When we got married, I probably had over a hundred t-shirts (and that's no exaggeration). Nowadays I don't have a hundred, but I'm willing to bet I have more than 50. Crazy, huh?

I would live here

I would TOTALLY live here! Are you kidding me? A three boat garage and fishing anytime I want. Yes, please!

A sign of the times