I played basketball this morning, as I do most Wednesday, but today was different. For the first time since I badly sprained my ankle, I played without the air cast! Wow! I was quite tentative at first, but gradually worked into playing at full speed. (Well, full speed for an older, fatter me…)
So I was quite excited (and winded) after 45 minutes or so of hard running, jumping, shooting, cutting, foot shuffling… it was great!
Nice to have my ankle mostly back. 🙂
A couple things recently have made me wonder about the future of our country. I know that I have a limited view, as I have only lived 31.5 years here (minus 3, actualy, since I was in Venezuela for 3 of those) and for most of that I was not really aware of the adult world necessarily. But even with my limited perspective, I don’t think that we are heading in the same direction as the folks who were willing to sacrifice every bit of their lives for a place to live in freedom.
Not too long ago we received the proposed school budget in our mailbox. It was a nice little flyer with graphs and charts and tables. Everything was meant to make me feel good about the $38 million or so we were going to spend on something I don’t even really believe in over the following year. The good thing (if you can call it that?) was that at least about half of the total was covered by state aid to our district. The rest would be covered by the small amount of residents in our two towns. The proposed budget was of course an increase. It was on average around $100 or $200 per year per household, I believe.
But actually, I don’t remember the specific numbers because the last page is the thing that just blew me away.
My taxes are already too high. We have some of the highest school taxes by percentage in all of western New York. So, I was already planning to vote “No”, until I saw a nice little comparison chart on the back. They lined up last year’s budgetl, their proposed budget (which was higher), and the contingency budget, which was THE HIGHEST. And, almost as if to just rub it in… there was a little paragraph saying something like, “See? If you vote “No”, you’ll actually be paying more… so, you should vote “Yes”.
I was appalled. Angry. Ready to run for office and straighten up this mess. “That is un-American,” I said to Jen, “That’s like those countries where there are elections… but you can only choose one thing. I know that’s not what America is supposed to be. It’s “We the people”… not “We the select few who know better than the rest of you”.
One more story that evoked similar reactions in me.
While at the homeschool convention, we heard of a home schooling couple from Long Island who were asked by their school district to furnish more information than they were required to by law. They knew this, and said told the school district, “No, we’ve submitted all we are required to, thank you. We’ll be moving along now.” They even got the Home School Legal Defense Agency’s lawyers involved who legally, and acurately backed them. The school district, however, decided to make an example of them and now are (quite illegally) pursuing “legal” action against the family. They have managed to get the courts to allow them to investigate them for “Educational Neglect”. What?!? The family just would not submit birth certificates!!! Now, a representative of the school or state or something will be interviewing the children one at a time, without the parents present. That’s as far as it has gone currently, but it’s scary that it can even go that far!!
Who do we think we are? Why in the world do some of us feel we are better, smarter, more able to decide than others? Why are we letting this happen to our country?!?! We are a nation that is supposed to value freedom above all else. So many have actually given their lives for that, from the Revolutionary War until now. And yet, we spit in their faces by such actions. And astonishingly, both cases involve our public education system. Perhaps there is some connection, but I think it’s broader than that.
There is an ugly cancer in us that will eventually consume us entirely. The notion that some are better than others. Our declaration of Independence states quite clearly that “All men are created equal, and endowed with certain unalienable rights”. Those are the words we are founded on, and need to be reminded of.
We, the people of this great nation, need to be reminded of what America really is.
At the homeschool convention, in and empty corridor, I heard someone whistling behind me so I turned around to see who it was. I found a young girl not too far from me, and no one else. When I saw her, I thought, “Well, it couldn’t be her… she’s a girl.” It was then that I realized, girls don’t whistle. Why is that? Why is it only guys, and mostly old guys who whistle?
As I kept looking around, I finally found the culprit. A dad slightly older than me rounded the corner, lips pursed in a happy little whistle. Gender expectations satisfied, I turned around and kept moving.
But I couldn’t help but wonder… why don’t girls whistle?
I guess it happens every year here in the early years of a century, but today is perhaps a unique same-number day…
6-6-6
I think there’s even a new evil, scary movie with that title coming out today.
There are lots of ideas as to what the number given in this verse mean, but I really don’t know. I just think it’s cool that the month, day, and year all match today.
🙂
Our friend Joe has gotten himself a little traveling gig. He’s representing the Hampton Inn hotels as a “Bed Head”. 🙂 Pretty interesting. He’s the one pictured above. There are no movies of Joe’s BedHeadedness on the site yet, but I imagine there will be eventually. You can also enter to win a $5000 visa card giveaway or something. Fun stuff. 🙂
It’s your link for today…
PALMYRA, NY – It was an exciting evening for residents of the Southwest 100 block of Canandaigua and Jackson streets in the village of Palmyra. A rabid racoon was terrorizing the neighborhood for a few hours this Sunday afternoon.
“I saw him come across our neighbor’s yard,” explains local tax payer, Greg Campbell, “and kinda meander his way down the side of our house. I peeked out my side door to see him up close and boy was he a sight! All snarled and crooked, and he was growling and sorta, hissing, as he ambled by. He even tried to come in the door! I shut it of course…”
Reports began circulating of the wild animal’s antics. A few dogs were attacked by the creature, and neighbors began warning one another of the danger to their pets.
“Our neighbor told us that some dogs had been attacked,” said tax payer Amy Tones “so we were a bit concerned about our own dog. Sick racoons stay in the same general location, so I wasn’t sure what we were going to do when we had to let her out later tonight!”
But worries subsided when two shotgun blasts rang out shortly after 6pm. The local sheriff department sent a man down to a house on Jackson street where the animal had been cornered in a tree. The first shot knocked the critter out of the tree, and they had to fire a second round to finish him.
“Tough little critter,” commented one resident.
Life has returned to normal for this quiet neighborhood, after quite an exciting series of events instigated by one tough (but sick) little critter.
The 2005-2006 Buffalo Sabres season is over. They gave an extraordinarily valiant effort tonight in Raleigh, NC, but left the ice in defeat, 4-2. (Surprisingly, the score I predicted in a previous entry today…)
But I would like to say, this is the best I have ever felt about a playoff defeat of any Buffalo team. This team was simply incredible. We had 4 out of 6 defensemen out of the game. One of the replacement guys had only put SEVEN SHOTS EVER on any goalie before tonight, and ended up scoring the first game tying goal. His first NHL goal. The defensive subs played great. The rest of the team did not complain, they just picked up the slack and took it to the Hurricanes all night. The pucks would not go in the net as much as they would like, but the tenacity was incredible. There was no quit in this team.
And so, though we lost the game, and the series, they certainly have nothing at all to be ashamed of.
Great season, guys! Looking forward to next year! This is a young team with lots and lots of potential. Look out NHL… here come the Sabres!
I know, I know… it seems all I talk about these days is hockey. Well, it’s a lot of what we’re doing. Until the Western Conference Finals ended early, we were watching some hockey almost every night! Yippee!! It’s been great. And tonight, the Sabres are in game seven of the ECF. It’s down in Carolina, but so far, the Sabres have eliminated their first two opponents on their home ice. That is a good trend for tonight’s game!
A week or two ago, my boys and I created the entire 2005-2006 Sabres squad in an old Sega Gensis game. (NHL 98) So I have been playing through a season with the boys in black and red. Last night I was on a game against the Hurricanes! I thought, this is perfect. This will be the outcome of tomorrow’s game.
The scoring began with Carolina. And they scored two more! 3-0 late in the second. Mike Grier scored to make it 3-1. Third period, Carolina scores – 4-1. The game ended 4-2. Unfortunately, that might be how it goes! 🙁 BUT, not enjoying losing, I continued until the next Carolina game, this one was in Carolina… and the Sabres (on a Maxim Afinogenov goal) pulled out a tenacious 1-0 victory on foreign ice. Awesome!
So, tonight will either be 4-2 Carolina, or a thrilling 1-0 win by the Sabres.
Probably.
🙂
I’m sure I’ll post a report here, win or lose.
One more thing to pass along here. We subscribe to a podcast called Vintage Toon Cast that offers free, public domain cartoons via the iTunes Music Store (or their website). The kids loved the old Superman series from the 40s.
Well, I just saw the one from the 50s called Duck and Cover. An educational video teaching kids to “duck and cover” when an atom bomb explodes. 🙂 It’s crazy. If you grew up in that generation (Mom & Dad…) maybe it’s not as crazy, but really… would a newspaper over your head help prevent injury from an atomic bomb??? Pretty crazy stuff.
Watch here on YouTube.
I don’t know if this is for real or not, but I saw it on a news post from CNET.com today (I think). Someone put together a little 10 question quiz that is somehow related to the US Citizenship Test? It was only 10 questions, so I thought I’d try. I got em all right! Crazy. I must be an ultra-citizen. Uber-citizen. Super-Ultra-Mega-Uber-Citizen.
🙂
If you have a minute, and the interest, click the link below and see how you do. 🙂
| You Passed the US Citizenship Test |
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