Locked in the Car....

Well, I've heard the story told all my life. I was, I was I was an infant. It was cold, the car was dicey and was reputed to NOT be reliable.

My mother left me sitting in the car and went inside. I was a good kid but she could have realized that I paid attention to things. I engaged pattern recognition.

I don't think there were seat belts then. I can picture a million times in my life where my mother threw her arm across my belly as she had to slam on the brakes. She had quick reactions. In the birth of the sixties she had some of the skills that allows one's offspring to survive. She can only hope that I'm a mutant that has some knowledge of the environment. One who can transfer information to one's offspring.

I left my child in the car so that I could go pop a letter in the mail and then realized that the keys were in the ignition. I was fortunate that a LOT of people stopped off to help and a tragedy was averted.

It was SO hot and it was actually freaking amusing on about a million levels.

I have this gut reaction. I can see the face of my girl in her car seat. I know it's hot, it's freaking August. I'm mailing a birthday card for her grandmother. I see her behind the glass.

I'm in Mesquite, Texas at the main post office. Any number of people gather around. They are all sympathetic. I've gone in to post something and was just so unfortunate enough to lock the keys in the car with the baby.

To this day, I'm grateful to all the people who tried to help. I had an old chevy so someone tried their chevy key. There was one fellow. Kind of an old farmer gentleman. He had a plan. He didn't say a word.

I can see it. I can see this man in my mind's eye. I can see him moving about and not saying a word.

My mother parked the car. She had to post something. She didn't turn the car off because there were issues about it starting up again.

She came out and there was no car. It was gone. She noticed the police chief and others running by. She ran down the hill where the notorious car had plunged into a brand new car on a brand new car lot.

I was apparently discovered at the bottom of the hill in the floorboard with the hat pulled down over my face.

I was a cheery infant that learned that pulling off the parking break of the auto is not always a good thing.

I think I am astonished when I think of what I got to do when I was handed off to the other grandparents.

I'm so lucky to have ancestors that celebrate life.

I don't think I was a bad child. I was curious. My big people were responsible for setting limits for me.

I have spent some amount of my life riding in an combine. I was young. The only time I ever got to spend with one uncle seemed to be riding on the combine. He would take me along and talk to me about farming stuff when I was a small child. He told the other children that he didn't get to see me very much, so ... he had to see me when he could which is why I got to ride in the combine. The other kids lived near him. I was the one that lived far away and I am grateful that he cared enough about getting to know me that he offered to carry a small child with him while he worked. I can still see the field stretching in front of me.

I can remember him coaching me to say a bad word. I can remember thinking that he was about the coolest guy that I ever knew. I was so sad when he got blown up and burnt beyond recognition. He was always such a good looking guy.

Honesty

Okay this is part of the pity party. I was feeling raw.

I love you too ****. My objection is to lies being purported as a Christian truth. That is offensive to me. I would think it would be offensive to you as well as I would hope a lover of honesty.

Either that, or you believe gossip that is unsubstantiated and spread the misinformation further without seeking the truth of the matter. That's all I'm asking of you is to look at the truth.

Is that wrong? I would teach my children that we don't spread lies. I learned that somewhere.

I don't even want to get into politics. I don't really care about political ideology. I believe that our leaders should be intelligent and ethical. Well, I can dream can't I? When was the last time the US had THAT going on?

I love my country. I am a patriot. It's our obligation as citizens to scream bloody murder to the powers that be. I tell young people if they don't vote, then they better not complain. I vote every possible time that I can.

I think it's wrong to spread information that is untrue. I shouldn't have to be telling you this.

I'm willing to hear your response. I respect you.

Love,

Susan

Thanks for clearing that up for us Susan. We Christians do not understand his actions on a good number of Christian traditions listed below we have enjoyed throughout the years in America. I do hope we are wrong about him but I trust the Lord will see us through this mess we are all going through. I don't think if he is Christian he would totally ignore all that we hold dear in this country. But it is a free country right now and I pray it will stay that way. Love you ****

---

Please check out the snopes article.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/prayerday.asp

http://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/SummaryJudgementGeitner.PDF Obama was actually named as a defendant in a challenge to the legality of a National Prayer Day.

This article is totally untrue. The photo of Obama was taken at a Mosque in Istanbul where courtesy dictates that one removes ones shoes.

Whoever created this is giving "Christianity" a bad name by spewing things that are untrue.

Sigh

I'm just having a pity party. I feel overwhelmed and underloved.

I come from just about the most awesome family on the planet. I just wish that they included me when they did things. I get left out a lot because of various reasons. I read about all the wonderful and fun things that they do and I'm NEVER invited.

Maybe they think it's kinder to just not TELL me about the things they do together. I don't think so. I'd like the opportunity to say, "I don't have the money to go on that Hawaiian cruise." What's REALLY sad is that sometimes I do have the money to go but they talk around me and ignore me.

I love them so much, but I don't think they think very much of me.

Appropriate

I was walking out to my car Wednesday and heard a kid sitting on the brick wall say "Hey bitch." (Not to me--to a girl of his acquaintance) I winced and went on. Yesterday I heard the same kid do it again and I stopped and said "Sweetie, do you know what appropriate means?" He said he didn't. I explained that it meant... there was a time and a place for everything. I asked the young woman if she appreciated being disrespected that way and she said she did not. THEN her little friend says "Yeah, she don't want to hear that shit." I looked at her and said "Can you at least say 'stuff'?" She laughed and said "stuff!"

Eve of Destruction

Today has kind of a sad note. I saw things that made my heart hurt. Someone or group of someones came into the courtyard behind my building and perpetrated destruction.

Being an art teacher, I'm a creative individual. I'm spending a lot of my instructional time working on creating art decoration from trash. It hurt me to see that someone busted out windows and tore off bumpers and flattened tires and knocked off side mirrors. Some group of folks spent some time just busting things up with a vigor.

Why? Were they angry? Were they vengeful? Were they bored? I don't understand.

I'm disillusioned on more than one level. I'm not feeling safe. A kid stuck his head in my classroom and asked to have his balls sucked. I asked for security to look on the cameras to see who it might be. It hasn't happened.

This might be truth, this might be fiction....Someone reported confiscating a child's journal that indicated violent intent.....we're talking murder....with specific targets.... Who wants to fool around with that.

Several times my child has given off suicidal intent. Several times we've gone straight to a facility for risk assessment. One does not fool around with things such as "I want to kill myself" or "I want to kill Mr. B."

A danger to oneself or others....I think that's the definition of a risk. I really don't want to feel risky. I want to encourage children to learn. I want to learn new things myself. I think that's why I'm about to pounce on Volume 1 of the 1898 edition of Green's England. (wiggles eyebrows) That's COOL stuff.

I am an anachronism

Okay, I really don't think I am so old. I'm kind of old because I've been around a half century and I've had the chance to observe younger folks.

I can read a watch that only has tic marks. Most of my students cannot. They cannot read any kind of analog watch. They can only see a digital representation.

More to be revealed.

The but for the Grace of God Go I

Wow. I had a very serious


reminder


of my own business.

It was all good and fun. We went to San Antonio to visit my best friend who had moved there after 8th grade. I'd certainly been down there a bunch of times. This was my adopted family. I didn't know what it felt like to have siblings. I learned to love Mona and the boys.

My boyfriend with a car impressed my parents and his parent enough that they let us mobile down the road from Dallas to San Antonio. The boyfriend was a very sweet boy with a car that had 8"x2" steel beams in the door. That is probably a significant factor in the creation of this entry today.

We got to San Antonio. David's mother would probably have a fit if she knew that we made San Antonio in four hours. I've been between Dallas and San Antonio more times in my life than I can count but I only EVER stopped in Austin ONE time at a Whataburger on my way by. I'm really kind of sad that I only ever saw Austin as a speed bump between Dallas and San Antonio.

Tom, I'm sorry. I'm thinking that if I ever get to go to Austin that I'm going to have to see it with you. Please.

We left San Antonio early in the morning. We wanted to be on the beach by sunrise. That is a noble intention.

DAMN. We had an issue. There was a dude driving a red Peterbilt. He'd pulled over at some point and didn't turn his headlights on. He got back on the road and hit us.

The car caught on fire. It burnt. There were fine guitars in the back and they melted.

I have some remembrance of the event. I imagined spinning over and over backwards and coming to with two folks carrying me away from the burning. I can imagine seeing the flaming inferno. I used to have glasses but they got shook off and melted into the Cutlass.

Oh, well I'm very glad that guy pulled that girl out. I'm glad that guy pulled ME out.

Snow Day, Slow Day.

Hey, there were some meaningful lessons learned. Snow is cold. One should wear a coat and hat and have a scarf and gloves.

I saw a kid go by today and he had a new scarf. I'm guessing his momma cut very neatly the length of a blanket. I'm thinking she sacrificed a blanket so that her children had scarves today. What a great mom.

We had children who came to school today with no coat. A LOT of them came to school today with no coat. I asked children that I passed where their coats were and they said "At Home." One kid asked me if he could have my coat and I told him that I had the sense enough to wear mine.

What parent would allow their precious child to go out the front door of the house today without a coat?

If you look at the video of our ornery children fighting, will you please notice HOW many of them were not wearing a COAT?

These children do not seem to understand basic survival skills....Wear a coat when it is snowing.... SO, our weather was TOO extreme for the understanding and comprehension of our students who apparently do not have parents that are assertive enough to tell that child to dress up warmly.

This is a great learning opportunity for all of us. Our students apparently have parents who have not taught them such basic survival skills as "wear a coat when it snows." Parents, if your child went out today without a coat then you should be ashamed that you've not taught them better.

If you didn't know that your child was so dull as to leave the house today without a coat or hat or scarf or gloves then your community should teach you about taking reasonable care of your children.

I seriously passed hundreds of children today that were not equipped to be outside. Most of them were outside when I passed them.

If the district doesn't realize that our students do not know how to dress for this kind of weather then they need to make allowances for the stupidity of the general population and take appropriate action when the weather is "extreme."

Today was extraordinary. I think we set a one day snowfall record for North Texas.

Today was extraordinary. Folks try to extend blame. Many of us were culpable. There are some of us who know to dress warmly when it snows. There are some of us who don't. Hopefully those of us that DO know are in a position to educate the ones that DO NOT.

We get snow like this rarely. I'm seeing friends that are comparing to 1978.... That was 32 years ago.

I hate seeing my school that I love reviled because such a small population chose to make a public spectacle. I can only believe that some of our students were encouraged to act out by the presence of hovering local sensationalist journalists.

Will we go round in circles?

I had a conversation today with Juan. He's one of my son's friends. He graduated from a local school. He was in the green and white striped band. I told him some of our recent crazy stuff. He can't imagine that folks are rude when we try to ask them to follow the rules.

I was just talking about my current issues.

I got a new student Friday morning. It was very apparent very quickly that she was a child that came with baggage. It's very easy to tell that a child has some issues.

As I teach a class that involves hazardous materials I was concerned. I do not usually admit children to my class at mid year unless I know their artistic abilities and have signed off on allowing them in. This child came in without any "head's up" or notification to expect her.

SO, I need to listen to everything that she says to me or she might throw a fit and attack other students or lay down in the floor and kick and scream. As she talks non stop, it's going to be hard to listen to her all the time and still instruct my class. I've been told not to give her sharp objects. She showed me her art supply bag. She's already carrying sharp objects.

I want to teach this child something. I know that she didn't want my class.

I will try to find something that she wants to make.

Ode to Leah Beth

What can I say? Today has been pivotal. I've gone from the status of parent to grandparent.

It's so wonderfully awesome. There is a new human that is alive that is one quarter me.

I say now, I cannot wait to meet this person.

Welcome Leah Elizabeth Ayers. I can only imagine your potential as a human. I think you will be kind. I think you will notice humankind going by in all its peculiarity. Some of us are responsible for stewardship and I pass this task to you granddaughter.

Happy New Year and welcome to Planet Earth!

Like I really needed another project

I had an unfavorable interaction with a kid today. He's a big kid and he first used profanity and then after that made threats.

I've been hurt by several students. I was assaulted three times while I was at Hillcrest. I don't imagine that the kids will be much better now.

I looked into this child's background. He's a smart kid. He's in a cluster. I want to help him, but he was threatening to me. I'd love to have several conversations with him, but I also do not want to fear that "He's going to get me."

Life in the Big City.

Letter to a friend

I have more grandmothers than most folks. My father died when I was 3 and my mother remarried so I got an extra set of grandparents plus an extra set of step grandparents.

Both my real dad's mother and my step dad's mother died of liver cancer.

It is a MEAN UGLY BITCH. My suggestion is to get to her and be near and say everything that you need to say and do it FAST. Don't think that there will be much time. My step gram lasted six weeks after diagnosis. My real gram lasted less than three months after diagnosis. The illness is awful and the palliative treatments are just remedial.

The important thing is that people that love her go NOW and tell her how much they love her and that they will look for her on the other side. I got a "final call" and got to be there in time to speak my peace with my grandmother and tell her that I loved her and that it was okay for her to go. I think she was waiting for me (I was the only grandchild that was far away) and i talked to her and told her about my children and how they were doing and how much I loved her and that I would stay there with her and that it was okay for her to leave because there were a lot of folks waiting for her and that in the grand scheme of things that the rest of us were not that far behind her. (Pauses to wipe tears).

What I learned was that some of my family didn't want to let her go. They were the ones that stood around and were trying to lay hands and pray for a healing. I was the one that told her it was okay to move on, and she held tight on my hand until she was ready to leave.

...and a lady always knows when it’s time to leave.. My grandmother was a lady in every sense of the word.

This is hard

Died: July 20, 2009 in Afghanistan

Sgt Gregory Owens Jr, of Garland Texas joined the Army in January 2007 and arrived at Fort Drum in June 2007. Greg was a field artillery automated tactical data systems specialist with the 4th Battalion, 25 Field Artillery Regiment. His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. He died at age 24 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle followed by an attack from enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He is survived by his parents.

Army
4th Battalion
25th Field Artillery
3rd Brigade Combat Team
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Fort Drum, New York

He is survived by a great number of friends who loved him dearly.

I was fortunate to have Greg in my art one class his sophomore year. He was cute and funny and nice and always delightful. Most of the kids in class are nowhere near as nice. He was a joy.

I remember getting very annoyed with him later in the year when I found out that he'd attended "THAT party" where there was a wet t-shirt contest and were underage folks drinking. I was pretty annoyed about the whole thing on a number of levels (including seeing photographs of my students and the children of co-workers). He wasn't sorry. I think he was pleased at getting to go to the likely party of the decade. I was just more annoyed because he was a sophomore that paid five bucks to get a cup to get into that party and that there were not adults there to monitor what happened. He did not seem worse for the wear. He was actually very "cool" about the experience. Much more so than some of the upperclassmen who attended.

Greg was SMART. In art class, relative smart doesn't necessarily come up very often. I appreciate folks who work hard. Greg was not the most gifted artist, but his intelligence came through over and over again. I realized that he was smart enough to recruit for the Academic Decathlon team. I asked him nicely and he said he thought it would be a fun, cool thing.

It was a fun cool thing. He was a great team member and was always a positive influence on our hard headed group. Greg was not one to complain. He was one who would say "We can DO this." He was always smiling.

I was a little sad that he didn't have room for Decathlon his senior year, but he did get to be Drum Major. Our team would yell for him because he was one of us. We were proud to see him lead our band, showing his leadership skills.

When he graduated, he came and presented me with a laminated bookmark. It had his picture and it had my name on it. It was a "remembrance" of him. I've never gotten another like it in all the years that I've taught.

Greg stayed in touch with me since he graduated 7 years ago. I got periodic emails checking in to see how I was doing and to let me know how he was doing. I talk to a great number of my former students, but none who were so diligent as Greg.

I will miss his sweet soul. I honor his service.

We as a people and a planet are diminished by his loss.

Letter to My Sister

We finally got home tonight from an astonishing road trip.

We left here last Tuesday and headed for Oberlin, Oh. for the ArtMetal Shindig. We went across Arkansas and met my friend Gregg who is an attorney in Little Rock. We wrestled over the lunch ticket. You've met Gregg but you were possibly six at the time. He was my road trip buddy in college and I rode with him to a LOT of out of town football games. He would call me and say "Skinney, we are leaving for the LA Tech game in twenty minutes, I'll pick you up in fifteen." I should tell you some day about the adventure we had when North Texas played Memphis State. Poor Lillian got her windshield smashed out. There was also mustard all over the car.

We went through Memphis and stopped at the visitor center on Riverside Drive. I know that your only connection to Memphis is that you were baptised there. I was so offended by the nasty rude behavior of the workers there. We've gone on any number of road trips over the years and we always stop at the visitor center when we've gone over the state line to get a free map and look at local attractions and pick up hotel coupons. I love Memphis, I've lived there several times in my life...as a small child, as a medium child and as an adult... I was born in West Memphis. Did you know that? I used to lie to people and say that I was born in West Memphis because my mother didn't make it across the bridge to Memphis. It's hard to admit that one was intentionally born in the Truckstop Capital of Mid America. There is a Grayhound racetrack there and a Pancho's that got busted for serving cat meat.

We stopped a little ways further on in Memphis to get gas. I begged Mark to let me stop and ask after Tops BBQ. We pulled off very near where we used to live in NE Memphis. Mark remarked on our way back that he was happy that the Summer Drive In was still in operation. He has a thing about drive in movies. That is another story (but we may go to the drive in tomorrow night for the 4th of July) We pulled off and I walked up to a woman working in front of the store. "Excuse me, Miss" I said. The woman ignored me, I might have as well been invisible. "Excuse me, Miss?" I asked again. She was facing me, but she had her Ipod going and she successfully ignored me. I went into the store to get a drink and I asked a woman that was nearby if she knew the territory. She admitted that she didn't know Memphis well. She and her family were coming from Dallas to their home in Nashville. She was at least pleasant and congenial. I spoke to her as we waited in line to check out and the clerk behind the counter heard my search for Top's and very earnestly gave me directions to the nearest location and smiled and told me that Top's was the BEST. I DID get my Top's BBQ and it was wonderful.

We went on to Nashville. I'd never been there before and was impressed. It is a very pretty city and very scenic. We spent the night there and got up the next day to head further north toward the Shindig.

I have lived in the MidSouth for some of my life and have seen billboards since I could read for Mammoth Caves. Mark told me that our route took us right by Mammoth Caves. I begged for a side trip to see something I've heard about all my life. It was gorgeous. It's in the middle of Kentucky and we wandered through hills and trees to find the site. There are at least a dozen different tours of varying difficulty. We got there and chose the next available tour which was "moderate." I don't know if you have ever been through caves but this one was impressive. It was not as dramatic as Carlsbad, but it was interesting and tight fitting and I worried at times about Mark getting his bulk through the passages. It was 500 steps down and 500 steps up. The tour guide TJ said to look forward because there were low hanging rocks and that they did NOT need new "names" that children should not hear. Seriously, several rocks were named "SHIT" and "Goddammit" and various other versions as our crowd came through.

We made it as far as Cincinnati that night. I'd never been to Ohio before. Mark's father was born just outside Cincinnati. It is a beautiful city. I don't know why I didn't think it would be pretty. In some ways it reminds me of Portland, Or. There are beautiful buildings built into the hillsides.

We made it to Oberlin the next day. We were kindly hosted by Nick Fairplay and Elizabeth Meadows. Their shop was amazing. Nick is a stone sculptor and is carving lions to go to the Utah State Capital. We had a blast. We got to play with metal and I got to use a cutting torch and it scared me. At least I didn't drop the torch.

There were little boys there and they ran Mark ragged. He did magic tricks and carried them on his shoulders and ran all over the place until he was ready to drop. They didn't want him to quit, he was the best new toy they'd ever had.

We stayed at the "Turquoise Dump" as Rich called it. It was very charming in a Bates Motel sort of way. It wasn't too far from the Shindig. The proprietor, Mr. Patel was a striking figure. He was intense about his concern for us being next to neighbors who paid for the "adult" channel for fear they would disturb us. I got the impression that Mr. Patel also rents by the hour and was pleased to have folks who actually stayed there for several days. We were next door to Rich and Alice so it was all good.

Marilyn gave us some lessons on foldforming. I had never done it but had some knowledge of the process. I made a very pretty leaf. She also gave us lessons in Viking Knitting which I had also never done and could not get my comprehension around the written instructions. It was much simpler than I expected and I picked it up pretty quickly.

Lynda and Elmer the blacksmiths from NC came and set up their forge. I did play at forging a piece of copper. It's amazing how soft the metal is when it is hot. They were wonderfully lovely people and we enjoyed them very much.

We left Oberlin and headed for South Dakota to see Rachael. We skirted around Chicago and headed up to Wisconsin. I'd never been there before and was very pleased at how pretty it was. We spent the night in Madison and seriously have never had to drive around in circles so many times to get to a hotel we could SEE. The road system is pretty interesting there. We left there and headed toward Minnesota and ended up in an hour long traffic jam right by the Great Wolf Lodge. Fortunately it wasn't too hot and Mark was being patient.

Crossing into Minnesota was amazing. I'd never seen the Mississippi River so close to it's source. It was even prettier a few miles up with a view of lots of little islands sticking up from a vast lagoon of water. The cliffs looking over the water were very steep and dramatic.

There were huge wind farms in Minnesota. We would come around the corner and the huge windmills would stretch as far as the eye could see. On our way across Arkansas we saw a truck carrying one of the blades. We didn't know what it was at the time, it looked a bit like an airplane wing, but not quite the right shape. We saw several more on the trip after we'd seen the wind farm. It's good to know that SOMEONE is trying to use sustainable resources.

It felt good to hit the South Dakota border, even though Rachael was at the far side. We miss her so much and it's good to see her. We soon recognized some familiar landmarks as we hauled ass across the state. The speed limit is 75, so of course Mark goes 80. He thought we'd get to Rapid City pretty late, but he drives faster than he realizes. We got there and were ready to crash and burn.

We got up finally the next day and took our girl to lunch at the Firehouse Brewing Company. Wednesday was fun because her fella was coming home and we were excited to meet him. We picked him up at the airport and took him out for continuing adventures. We went up to Deadwood and spent some time feeding money to slot machines. It was fun, I only spend as much as I'm willing to allot for entertainment purposes. I think Mark actually came out ahead a bit. He's so funny, if he gets a little ahead, he cashes in his ticket and puts the "overage" in his other pocket. He was positively jingling by the time we left. We decided to go over toward Hill City to the Prairie Berry Winery for a wine tasting. What's even more interesting is that we purchased a bottle of Red Ass Rhubarb wine. It's really pretty good. The names of the wines there are pretty funny. I tasted the 3rednecks and Lawrence Elk.

Sadly, we had to head south on Thursday. I was able to convince Mark to go see the Crazy Horse monument. It was impressive and there were so many people there. I was astonished at the crowds. The work itself is so grand in its scale and will be the largest sculpture ever when completed. We wandered all over the complex and then went in and watched a short film about the history of the project. When we came out, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and it was chilly. Mist poured through the gaps in the mountains. The way out included a drive through Custer State Park which wound in and out of the hills and then onto range land. I loved the road signs that said "Buffalo are dangerous" and "Wildlife at large." We did see quite a few buffalo and they are LARGE.

Western Nebraska has some charm. It is also scarily underpopulated. We'd go for miles without seeing anything but fields and power lines. Kansas was more of the same, but I loved the rolling hills. Oklahoma went by fast, we'd gone so many miles and getting close to home was a good feeling. We saw so many speed traps. It was evident that some folks were getting off to an early start for their 4th of July celebrations.

It's good to be home, but it's nice to have adventures!!