missing my companion

listening to old records that bring back so many heartfelt memories and loving reflections.  i was brought up on "Chicago", Barry Manilow, and my dad introduced me to Glenn Miller and big band.  can't believe the things out there today that are called music.  only sex, violence, drug use, and total chaos in today's music.  very little depth, story-line, and very little real music.  eveything's techno, computer generated: music, lights, even vocals.  yuck.  give me "real" music, real people, real lyrics, real instrumentation, "live" music.... my wife's been gone two weeks and she probably doesn't appreciate the music i'm listening to.  but it sures makes me miss her...... love you, boo-boo bear

goodbye Oklahoma

another adventure in life.  moving to another state probably for the duration of our lives.  my home, my heart, is Oklahoma.  but...... i have to admit that life in Oklahoma, especially as an educator, has not been a piece of cake.  i can take the tornadoes, ice storms, gale force winds almost daily, and an educational system in turmoil and financially insolvent.  (and a retirement check that the state should be embarrassed to pay).... but it's home.  it's my heart.   it's very comfortable.  i don't know what the great state of texas holds for us, but it will be an adventure.  i hope my physical, emotional, and spiritual hearts can all withstand life in texas.   LOL. goodbye Oklahoma.... and thanks!  XOXOXOXOXO

what now?

what were they thinking?  when you get to a certain age:  no goals left, kids grown, been a leader, been a follower, had successes, had failures, and now nothing left to look forward to but eternity.  what do people think when they reach the end of their middle years and sit at home and stare at the walls?  help please!  i'm lost without a goal, a reason to get up the next day, a purpose to want to really live.  what do people think when they travel, buy expensive objects, have more money than they know what to do with, but still are lost and unfocused?   what happens when no one is there that really cares about you anymore, especially as a couple? kids are grown and living their lives as you once did.  all the people you served and listened to and cared for and laughed and cried with. i guess it's as a movie line was once stated: "death is the greatest and last adventure". 

hit and miss

what are they(truckers) thinking when they change lanes, left to right, just before ascending a hill?  they cut in front of you, slow down due to the hill, and cause everyone behind them to slow down drastically.  and then it takes forever for them to get up the hill and change lanes because they are usually passing another truck.  HUH???? i'm sorry i don't get it.   i don't dislike truckers but this makes no sense at all.

what are school systems thinking?

why don't we just come out and finally admit what we've known all along?  there are very few if any school systems that really care about the academics of their schools.  yes, they want their scores high, but why?  so students can be smarter?  heck, no.  only because it makes them jump through the hoops that the federal and state governments have set for them.  they don't want to lose the funds or be an embarrassment to their patrons and parents.  it's a competition that everyone loses at.  school boards, parents, patrons, and certainly federal and state governments could care less about students' life success or failure.  let's stop fooling ourselves and admit it. students come out of high schools woefully behind in life skills:  common sense, morality, small engine repair, construction, estimating, applicational math.  yes, there are some that succeed.  they are going to succeed if you keep them in a box until their 16 birthday.  and some are going to fail, no matter the technology, special help, and hours of tutoring they receive.  but the bottom line is that we don't CARE for students, young people, anymore.  only what they can do for us or how they make us look to the general public or to their parents.  let's start teaching the heart, common sense, manners, and applicational life skills to all students and quit worrying about the stupid tests scores.  so what if germany, japan, china, and everyone has higher tests scores. we don't live there and most of us will never be in the international markets.  we live right where we are. and this country needs all the help it can get and NOW!

what were u thinking?

i have begun a series of conversations regarding specific concerns i've encountered that just make me want to go up to strangers and say: "what were you thinking?", because i just can't believe you would say, do, act, eat, etc. what i just saw or heard from you.   people, and myself being a "people", do absolutely stupid stuff that just blows my mind away.  i am far from perfect, but i hope i can look myself in the mirror and say: "you have not purposefully done something stupid today."

here's my first concern:  yes, i'm a rabid Oklahoma University fan!  but, seriously, how can the NCAA allow players to sign professional baseball contracts and then return to play amateur collegiate football.  Brandon Weeden is my example.  did i hear correctly that he received a 560,000 dollar signing bonus? really?  and other players that have struggled, somewhat, to make it through college, get deemed a professional if they talk to an agent as an underclassmen.   HELLO?  NCAA.... you've screwed up, AGAIN!  unbelieveable that the announcers talk about how calm and cool he is under pressure.  HELLO?  he's 28 years old, pitched for the most storied franchise in all of baseball, albeit minor league.  he should be calm and cool.  he's got a bankroll bigger than oklahoma teachers of 30 years.   okay, let's hear how this is all sour grapes.  but i say it's a travesty that needs to be changed immediately.  players want to sign lucrative baseball contracts at a young age should not be able to then "change their mind" and change sports.  WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.