Amazed by Grace

Awkward turtle...

2010-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

....ahem....uh, hi.

So, uh...I guess it's been...well, a while. Right? Yeah.

So, hmmm...well, let's see. What's new, right? Well...um...I have a beard now. Oh, and we moved. Oh, and we have a new baby girl named Ava.

So, I guess you could say things have changed....a bit.

In fact, things are SO new, that I don't have a clue where to start. But, I am. Starting, that is. So, here goes.

It's summer time. Bibi and I have created a schedule where I work in the mornings, and she works in the afternoons. It's been great. We got a Friends of the Zoo pass, which has enabled us to visit the zoo whenever we want to, which is GREAT. (I recommend it, if you have the means.)

Oh, all right. I'll talk about our little biter, Ava.

Back in December...well, a year and a half ago, December, we found out we were expecting. We agreed to try the whole "homebirth" thing again, and it was awesome. Our midwife was amazing, and she was exactly who we needed to have.

I feel so scattered...it's almost like i haven't posted in a while.

So, I'm skipping ahead, past the whole "moving while extremely pregnant" thing to the end. Or, at least, near the end. Because Grace was two weeks early (as you recall, we found out she was breech at just over two weeks before her due date, and this led to a c-section at the hospital. As opposed to a c-section at home? Apparently I like to state the obvious.) we were somewhat expecting Ava to be early, too. Bibi's due date was August 18, 2009, and we just sort of started expecting things to happen, oh, about the last week in July. (Or a little before that.) I went back to work at the school around August 11th, still expecting this little bundle to appear any day now. The school year started August 17th, and I had basically fully expected to miss the first two weeks of school. When labor day rolled around, and we were still getting NOTHING, we were kind of flabbergasted.

We were not at all expecting that we would wait three and a half FULL weeks past the due date, to September 11th, 2009. Wild, no?

So, around 1AM, September 11th, Bibi's water broke. When we looked at the fluid, it looked like it was kind of dark. Like there was meconium in the water. We freaked. We immediately called our midwife, and she told us that that was not a good sign, and that we needed to clarify how dark. To us, it was pretty dark. So, she told us we needed to get to the hospital immediately. Like, five minutes ago. We called my in-laws, they came over to get Gracie and our dog, and Bibi, my mother-in-law, and I went to the hospital. We checked in (kind of) and were taken to triage, where they inspected Bibi a little more closely. Turns out, it wasn't that dark, and they were not too worried about it.

So, we high tailed it out of there (a little eensy bit against medical advice) and started for home. We had just started walking toward the car, when the contractions hit full tilt. Bibi was unable to talk through them. I called our midwife. She told us she would meet us at home.

We got home around 6am, and Ava was born at 9:45 that morning. Tho whole process took just less than 8 hours. Sheesh. My heart beats fast just thinking about it, and it was almost ten months ago.

So, my beautiful little girl is amazing, and the love of my life. (Just like Gracie, and Bibi.)

Here's a picture...

Out of the Blue Update...

2009-03-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll.

So, about a year ago, I made myself the ad hoc director of Morale at my place of employment. I started sending out e-mails, about one a day, that just told people what the day was going to be like. It was silly, it was funny, it was pretty much me.

This year I kept it up, but expanded it to the whole school. I've gotten some pretty positive feedback, but in looking back at the year, I realize that I do not have all of them, and that made me kind of sad, because it's some of my best writing since college. So, I have put all of the e-mails that I DO have saved on a new blog, viewable by everyone. I will update it every weekday when I send one to my coworkers.

If you're interested, here is the address:

www.thedecidersblog.blogspot.com

Thanks, and enjoy.

Tommy

Yes, we did!

2009-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

So, back in November I began a post that was supposed to explain why I was so excited about President Obama winning.

It didn't take.

Long story short, I feel responsible for the deaths of all of our soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, as I voted for President Bush. And, as I can see now that the war in Iraq is unjust, it seemed that the only thing that I could do was to put forth as much effort as I could to achieve this day.

(No, I don't claim responsibility for Obama's win; that belongs to all of us.)

So. Now that we have a president who will work diligently towards removing us from Iraq, I can feel somewhat better. I don't think that this absolves me of my culpability, but it does do something to aliviate the heavy feeling in my gut.

So...Happy Obama Day. And, God bless ALL of us. (NOT just the USA.)

Tommy

7 Things

2008-12-08T04:14:00.000-08:00

My friend the mechanic asked me to do this, so I thought I would give it a try. The idea, apparently, is to make a list of 7 random things that people may, or may not, know about me.

I don't know if there are that many things that the 1 or 2 readers of this blog don't already know about me, but, like I said, I'm going to give it a try.

1.) I am completely color-blind. This effects a lot of things you wouldn't think about. The obvious ones, like putting together outfits, and pointing someone out in a crowd ("That guy in the blue shirt" is always met with a blank stare). However, nighttime driving is always and adventure. If I'm driving with Bibi, it's not unusual to hear me interrupt her mid-sentence with, "Red or yellow?" This is always in reference to the flashing stoplight that we are approaching. Another one, one that I don't even think Bibi knows about is our toothbrushes. Mine is a blue one, and Bibi's is pink. I can't tell which one is which without comparing them, which has led to more than a couple close calls.

2.) My appreciation of Frank Sinatra began Thanksgiving my Junior or Senior year in high school. I was watching a PBS special with my Uncle Steve at my Aunt Anne's annual Chilli dinner. It was about Sinatra's Duets CD, which was the first one I ever bought. I know have something like 20 CDs, and three albums. He still swings.

3.) I am anal-retentive beyond any comprehension by the casual observer. My CD's are still (mostly) alphabetized by genre (although since I don't really listen to CD's anymore I don't know how accurate they REALLY are), my records are alphabetized, my DVD's are alphabetized with a separate section for the tv shows, and my clothes are organized in such a way that I put all clothes that have been recently washed behind the clothes that havnen't been worn, so that I don't wear things more frequently. (It doesn't always work out that way, as I have one or two shirts that I almost never wear, and one or two that I love and therefore wear more often.) However, as I was telling Bibi a few days ago, my system on the iPod has gotten much more relaxed. For about two years now it has been my mission to "shuffle" manually all of the songs that I have rated 4 or 5 stars. (That's roughly 4, 596 songs.) Up until last May, I was on track to doing that. (Which meant a ridiculous amount of work and discipline in listening to the iPod; I couldn't necessarily listen to what song came up, if I had listened to a song on the same album, or by the same artist within the previous 9 songs. I know. Anal, no?) Anyway, last May Bibi's computer, the one with iTunes on it, broke down. Things kept on track for a while, but then the lack of "updates" made it so that the iPod kept stalling out on me. I have now been listening to any old artist of song that I want to for about two weeks and it's surprisingly freeing. (Mainly Bob Dylan and the Who, although Townes Van Zant and Jeffrey Foucault were in the mix for a couple of days last week.)

So, I'm getting better.

4. Bibi and I LOVE 7th Heaven. It's on from 5-7 Monday through Friday, and we make it a special point to watch at least one of those episodes. We really get into it. Cheesy as all heck, but darn it, that's good television. (I even tried whisper-talking like they do on the show, but I'm just too loud.)

5.) I am cutting down on coffee. At one time, a couple of years ago, I was up to two pots a day. About a month ago, I realized that the 12 cups a day might NOT be the most healthy choice I could make. So, I have cut down one cup every week, and I am now to around three cups a day. And, I am drinking lots of water while at work, which is awesome. (Coffee intake CAN be related to cold sores, and the one I have right now didn't even fully develop, which is awesome.)

6.) When Tim Russert died last May I took it really hard. Bibi and I watch Meet the Press and This Weekend with George Stephanopolous every weekend, and so Tim Russert dying really was like losing a friend. It was horribly cheesy, but I told Bibi sometime that weekend (he died on a Friday) that we had invited him into our home every week for almost two years, and it was going to be a strange and difficult process. What can I say, we like our political discussions.

7.) My marble project. Three weeks ago I began Grace's marble jar. I counted out the number of Saturdays between then and when Gracie turns 18, (864 of 'em) and placed that many glass stones in a big jar. Each Saturday before I go to bed, I take on out, recognizing that I will never get that Saturday back. It's been a really special reminder that the time I have with my little girl is finite, and that I need to make the best of what I have with her. Yesterday, I told Bibi that I wanted to change the project a little. I am going to be keeping all of those stones, and I'm going to give them to Grace on her 18th birthday, as a present; a reminder of all of those days that we had together for when she goes to college.

All right, that's all. I guess I'm supposed to tag some people, but I honestly don't know who all reads this, or if they have a blog or not. So...uh, if you are reading this, and if you have a blog, leave me a comment saying so, and then go do this too. (It was surprisingly hard and fun.)

All right, Happy Monday everyone!

Tommy

The Magic of Christmas

2008-12-01T04:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. As a long standing personal tradition, it was also the day that marks the beginning of the Christmas season for me: I start listening to nothing but Christmas music, I put up my Christmas tree, and in general start thinking about what I should be doing to get ready for Christmas as far as presents for family and friends.

This is all quite new to my wife, as she was raised Sikh, and Christmas was not a part of her tradition.

This year has been somewhat different than usual. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping, for one thing, and I started listening to some Christmas music about a week or so ago. (It was a huge change for me, believe that...) However, I just wasn't quite feeling up to putting up the tree and the decorations. Until, that is, I woke up yesterday morning, to find a layer of beautiful white snow blanketing the ground. Then, I was pretty much ready to go.

So, after breakfast yesterday morning with the in-laws (which consisted of chocolate, coconut, and pumpkin pie!!) and a quick game of Taboo, Bibi, Grace and I headed back to our house to get started. Grace fell asleep along the way, and so Bibi and I made the multiple trips down to the basement to bring up our tree, ornaments, stockings, lights, and various other necessities. I put on the Christmas Music playlist on random, Bibi warmed up some hot cocoa, and we got out a plate of fudge cookies to munch on. Leo, tired from playing with his girlfriend Molly, fell fast asleep on his bed.

The tree went up quickly, the lights were strung up without difficulty, and the ornaments looked beautiful as the went on, one-by-one. We cleared off a prominent place for my Nativity Scene, and it was around this time that little Gracie awoke from her mid-day slumber. She came out of her room, and immediately wanted to be cuddled by Bibi. However, after a little mama-time, Gracie soon realized that there was something different in our living room. She spent the next four hours or so laughing and giggling and "oohing" and "ahing" at our tree. She was standing on the couch, reaching over the arm pointing to various ornaments, and blowing kisses to the gingerbread men. At one point, Bibi turned to me and said, "You know, they say that that children bring out the Magic of Christmas." And, even though this isn't Grace's first Christmas "technically", it really kind of is.

However, the best part for me was when I was putting our dinner in the oven, and Bibi was carrying Grace around the kitchen, telling her what all I was doing. Grace's attention was drawn to the Nativity Scene, and in particular the baby Jesus. Bibi started describing how Christmas-time is when we celebrate Jesus' soul coming to earth, and how this was a wonderful thing for all of humanity. Grace's reaction to the baby Jesus was priceless. She started cooing, and laughing her sweet little laugh, and all she wanted to do was hold the little baby Jesus figure. Her eyes got really big, and she just kept making this unbelievably magical sounds, as she marveled at the little statue in her hands.

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

(Sorry, that was cheesy.)

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

This is God's country!

2008-11-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

Or is it?

Gotta be honest...in reading the Bible a couple of times (something like 7 or 8 times, actually) I've yet to see the verse where God, or Jesus, or David, or Paul, or John, or...well, really anyone come to think of it, says anything at all about blessing or choosing or electing America as the chosen country.

There is this really strange parasitic/symbiotic relationship between evangelical Christians and the Republican party that really gets under my skin. You see, in reading the Bible, I did notice many times where God, Jesus, Paul, etc. talk about the whole world being God's chosen. So, while I understand the Republican party focusing more on this country and "our" interests, I do not understand the stance taken up by many Christians that America is God's country. It just doesn't click for me. I think that God has used America, to be sure; but just because God used a donkey to talk to Balaam doesn't mean that the donkey is the new chosen people, you know what I'm saying?

I think, actually, what is happening is much worse than a mere misunderstanding of theology. (As if that would be no big deal.) I think that by perpetuating this idea that America is a Christian country, and that our focus should be on God first and America second, we separate that which God has put together; i.e. the world as a whole.

I read a book a few months ago about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. In it, Desmond Tutu talks about how we actually harm ourselves when we de-humanize or denigrate others. And, I think by putting Americans above others, which is an act of dehumanizing or devalueing, we as Christians actually diminish a huge blessing that God wants us to have. We are a brotherhood of humanity. God made everyone on this planet, not just the white ones, or the ones who have already accepted Jesus in their hearts. Because we are all connected, and because of the bond we all have through God's presence, when we say that others aren't as important as we are, becuase of their geographical and national boundaries, we are actually mocking God, and that's never a good idea.

So, when the Republican party talks about how we as Americans should be putting America first, that makes sense, because that very well may be their goal. But when Christians start talking about that, regardless of political affiliation, I think that they may be missing something.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

The inevitable pre-election divisive issue blog post. (Or, how it's possible to be voting for Barack Obama BECAUSE I'm pro-life.)

2008-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it was bound to happen eventually, right? I mean, I do write about a lot of things on this blog that I have strong opinions about, so it was going to happen sooner or later...right?

Anyway, here goes.

Growing up I was a dyed in the wool staunch Republican, complete with the obligatory Rush is Right t-shirt and the khaki pants button down shirt that went with it. I read Limbaugh's entire canon, and thought he was Ronald Reagan reincarnated. (Not really, we Republicans didn't hanker to no "re-in-car-nation.") That meant that I was pro-life, and any no-good, two-bit, lousy politician who didn't vote to get rid of Roe Vs. Wade was just asking to get voted out of office. No, seriously. I really did think that.

Well, going along with my discussion earlier about recognizing the complexity of certain issues, and realizing that there are multiple ways to look at things, I wanted to talk to you all (yes, both of you) about what being pro-life means to me now.

(Stipulation: Almost all of this can be found in the Jim Wallis book, "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong, and the Left Doesn't Get It".)

Being pro-life means much, much more than thinking that the number of abortions committed in this country is a travesty. Being pro-life means attempting to hold on to a consistent ethic of the sanctity of human life--where ever that life may be. This has numerous ramifications, much more then the obvious abortion issue that gets focused on so much.

Being pro-life means that I want to eliminate the causes of, or perceived reasons for abortions in this country; rampant poverty, both generational and situational; a government that practices generous corporate welfare and cringes at the mere mention of government assistance for the poor as "socialism"; sky-rocketing health care costs, and a cultural acceptance of chauvinism and sexism that perpetuates the ideas that women are inferior and subject to the whim and desires of men. (Don't throw the Bible verses about women being subject to men in my face; if you've read those verses, don't stop there--the very next half of the verse talks about husbands serving their wives like Jesus serves the church, in humility, with compassion, and with a perfect and Godly love.) All of these issues combine to form a perfect storm of challenges that face too many families and individuals in this country. We Christians should be ashamed, utterly and totally ashamed that we are spending so much time and energy trying to stop women from getting abortions without paying any attention whatsoever to WHY they feel the need to get one. Instead of picketing Planned Parenthood and the various doctors who offer these painful and costly (both mentally and spiritually) procedures, we should be picketing the senators and congress-people who provide tax benefits to the wealthy but forget about the millions of Americans are working their asses off every day to make ends meet; we should be picketing the insurance companies who make it their goals to deny claims for health care, and exploit those who do not have the adequate resources at their disposal to fend for themselves. Until we focus on the causes of abortions, we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

But, as I was saying, a consistent ethic of the sanctity of human life doesn't stop at birth. Therefore being pro-life, for me, means believing that health care should in fact be a right, not a privilege. America is one of only two countries in the world that doesn't have some form of universal health care provided by the government. And, to the immediate cry of "socialism!" that I will hear, I say this: Either you have a private company, whose only objective is make a profit--NOT to provide the best health care it can, or you have a government, imperfect as it may be, which may slow things down a bit, but that will ensure that everyone, from the least of us, to the greatest of us, will be guaranteed basic and necessary health care. Again, until we as Christians make this a priority, we are not even close to hitting the mark set out for us.

Pro-life for me means that I can not support the death penalty. I do recognize and admit that there are numerous verses in both the Old and New Testaments that can be and often are used to support the idea of capital punishment, but my understanding of Jesus' words are that we are called to love those who hate us, and to forgive those who harm us. Therefore, I can only hope and pray that our nation--and, dare I say our world-- move beyond the idea of punishing someone into being better, and work towards loving people enough that they become better. I know, that is pie in the sky, but what is more "pie in the sky" then a God who loved the world enough...?

Being pro-life means that I am completely and totally against unjust and unrighteous wars. Being pro-life means that I believe in and acknowledge, and respect, and value the life of someone who I have never met, who lives very far away from me, has a different skin color, and who worships--or doesnt!--different than me. The civilian casualities in Iraq and Afghanistan are not "collatoral damage". They are devastating losses of life, no less devastating than that of the unborn child that most American Christian's pray for.

I know that what I've typed here today is going to rub some of you the wrong way. I know that it may indeed anger some of you. I invite your comments, your criticisms, and your questions; I only ask that we keep any conversation civil.

Respectfully, and thankfully...

Tommy

The $150,000 Question...

2008-10-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

I recently read a friend's blog post which was about the media's new found obsession with Sarah Palin's expensive wardrobe, and the media's pass on Barack Obama's record-shattering campaign fundraising. The argument goes, in a nutshell, that Barack Obama is spending bazillion's of dollars on his campaign, and that, in comparison, the relatively small amount Sarah Palin spent on clothes shouldn't matter.

Two thoughts:

1.) I think the reason I'm a little bit shocked by the amount Ms. Palin spent on clothes is that is was donated money; money that hard working people donated to the Republican ticket in hopes that it would be spent on something worthwhile in getting Senator McCain and Governor Palin elected. It is arguable whether or not $150,000 in clothes for the Governor actually respects the intentions of those donors. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I did not donate to the McCain campaign, so it would be difficult for me to say definitively whether this is true or not. However, it would be my guess that most people donated to the McCain-Palin campaign, NOT to the McCain-Palin closet.

2.) The idea that Barack Obama is somehow in the wrong because more people then ever before have been energized and motivated to donate on a small scale boggles the mind. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I can say this definitively, because my wife and I have donated $100 to Senator Obama's campaign. (We did this in two installments, each of $50.) See, here's the thing, Senator Obama has inspired, motivated and encouraged so many people to see the need to contribute in any small way that they can. It actually brings to mind the parable of the widow in the Bible. For those of you not up to date on your New Testament stories, it goes like this: There once was this old lady who had practically nothing. She left the temple shortly after a rich man who gave a whole bunch to the church. As the old lady left, she put in a few pennies, worth practically nothing. However, the point of the story was that because the old lady gave from her "little", it counted for more then the big donation the wealthy guy gave, which didn't really matter to him, because he had plenty. And, what we have in the Obama campaign is a whole lot of people giving out of their "little" to the point where it has added up to more money then any candidate in the history of the United States has ever had available. This is a powerful concept. Across this great nation more of the little guys, not the Joe the Plumber's who are apparently raking it in to the tune of more then $250,000 a year, but the teachers and stay-at-home moms who are making $42,000 a year are donating to a cause they feel is going to change the world. Not just America, but the world.

So, Sarah Palin can go buy all the clothes she wants from the money that she and John McCain have raised. I don't know if that's what the donors wanted, but that's because my money is going to a candidate who I feel represents me and my desires for change. (Not a change of clothes.)

Thanks...

Tommy

Special Comment (not by Keith Olberman)

2008-10-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know why I deleted the comment in the previous post, by someone who calls themself "Rocky2". I don't normally believe in censorship, as a rule, and I do support the right to speak your mind. However, I do want to uphold a certain level of intellectual integrity, and when I think your comment is a spam comment half way through, and then all sense of coherence and logic flys out the window, I don't feel that your comment meets the needs of this blog.

Having said that, I do indeed welcome any and all comments given in good faith. You don't have to agree with me, but, as I tell my students...you do need to prove it to me.

Commence discussing...

Don't Stop...Believin'...

2008-10-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

So, why did I make the title of this post the title of a song from a 70's and 80's rock band? Because! I've realized that life is a Journey. (Get it?!)

I know, that was cheesy.

Anyway, I actually do have a reason for this post. I don't know if you guys realize, but there is an election coming up. And, as so often happens with politics, the national dialogue has become very passionate, very heated, very polarized. That almost seems inevitable, doesn't it? I mean, there are very legitimate, very distinct differences between "positions" in this country. But, I have hope...hope that this isn't so inevitable...so, unavoidable. (Hence, the title...?)

As I have discussed and debated with friends and coworkers, family members, and random people I meet on the street, this division between positions has become more and more obvious, more and more pronounced. Don't even get me started on the talking heads that dominate the political culture on tv and radio. With very few exceptions, the distance between us is emphasized far more then that which connects us. And, the reality of this life is, that we are absolutely NOTHING without that connection between us.

Now, a little disclaimer here, I'm about to talk about religion. So, if you are one who thinks that religion and politics should remain separated, please be warned.

I'm a born-again Christian. I believe the Bible is indeed the word of God. Having read the Bible, a couple of times, I am comfortable "admitting" that there are troubling spots, passages that "seem" contradictory, that seem to...almost lend themselves to a variety of interpretations. I wouldn't have always allowed for that possibility...when I was younger, I was much more a "black and white" kind of a guy. (Just ask my family...!) However, as I've grown older, experienced more of life, read more, seen more, and grown to understand God more, I have realized that it is the gray areas that we should EMBRACE...not hide from. These gray areas are a very integral part of human existence...and, because I believe that God became human and hung around down here, I think God understands what human existence is like. I think God "gets it".

In fact, I kind of think it's part of God's plan.

Stay with me here, if you're still here at all.

If you look at the broader themes of the Old and New Testaments, there is an underlying progression that is deceptively simple, but complex, none the less. In the Old Testament, God was an angry God. Fire and brimstone, eye for an eye, laying waste to whole countries, and entire peoples. Pretty graphic; almost like a Tarrantino movie, you know? But, in the New Testament, we get this seemingly abrupt change, where Jesus talks about forgiveness, and loving your neighbor, and so on.

To me, this speaks of a bigger concept. As we humans go through our lives, it is our ultimate goal that we move beyond black and whites to much more complex ways of living our faith, our philosophy. Jesus' words were so much more then just "think good thoughts". Jesus issued a challenge that is much more difficult, and therefore much, much more meaningful then what actually happens for MOST of us. What does LOVING your neighbor mean?

I think it means that if our neighbor has a McCain-Palin sign in their front yard, I need to understand that there are probably very sincere and heartfelt reasons behind that choice. If I am truly "loving" them, I will not diminish the ideas they have by saying they are red-neck, gun-toting, hillbillies, who are dead set on taking away the rights of individuals, who are all out to bash gay people, and who probably want to make us all bow down in the same pew at church. That, to me, isn't being very loving. (It doesn't, of course, mean that I have to agree with them.)

The flipside is also true. I am, as I said, a pro-life born-again Christian, who is absolutely dying to cast my vote for Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America. Now, unlike what was recently said on my wife's blog, I am not voting for Senator Obama because I want to kill babies. Seriously, I really don't. I have read Mr. Obama's direction on abortion, and feel like he understands the complexity of this issue.

Two things--one, did you notice I've used the word complex a lot? These issues are complex...they are not simple. They are NOT black and white; and, two, did you notice that I used the word "direction" instead of "position"? I kind of feel like that's what we should have...directions...not positions, or stances. Abortion is a horrible, awful, painful, difficult, and ugly thing. And, more often then some of us would like to admit, it is seen as necessary by those who choose it.

Our goal should not be to eliminate the ability for women to have an abortion. Our goal should be to eliminate--in as much as we can--the NEED, perceived or otherwise, for abortions. Now, who among us can't agree with that? Are you seriously going to stand (or sit) there, and tell me that you don't really care to address the needs of the women who feel pressed into this difficult spot? So, we have common ground. We ALL want to make abortions as unnecessary as possible. Now, the discussion can continue as we express how we want to go about doing this. But, we can all keep in mind that, Democrats or Republicans, Socialists or Capitalists, Evangelicals or Atheists (and everything in between), we all have a goal in common...and this makes solving our problems much, much more possible.

There are more issues that could be discussed, but I want to leave you tonight with a summing up of my point, which is that, regardless of who you are voting for, regardless of WHY you are voting for that candidate...there is ALWAYS common ground to start from in our conversations...and there is always a connection between us as humans. I think that this commonality is that we are all connected to God. Some people call it the Divine Spark, some call it the Holy Spirit, some would quote Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet who said that before we were born, God knew us. That doesn't refer to SOME of us...it means that God hand-made ALL of us, and therefore, we all have God in us, and it is that "God-in-us" that we should ALL strive to see.

As the Sikh teacher Siri Singh Sahib said, "If you can't see God in all, you can't see God at all."

Thanks, and God bless us...ALL of us.

Tommy

PS: Oh, and JNo, although I don't think Hulsof is horrible, Jay Nixon has my vote, for two reasons: Health Care and Education; in particular his desire to expand the A+ program to include two years AFTER the two years at community college. I think he's got good ideas.

Weekend Update

2008-10-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. More will come, but I really wanted to let people know about my wife's most recent post. It's an open letter to Governor Sarah Palin, and it can be found at mamasense.blogspot.com.

I would give it a preface and context and all that, but, well, she's a much better writer then I am, so it seems a bit redundant, and a waste of your time. So, go on over there and check it out. The title of the post is: "Real Amerca: Letter to Sarah Palin".

And, I'm not posting on this site again until ALL of you go check it out.

Seriously.

I'm not kidding.

Tommy

Barack Obama Isn't Jesus. (He's Nehemiah.)

2008-09-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't ACTUALLY think that Barack Obama is the reincarnation of the Old Testament figure Nehemiah. However, I do want to put forth that as far as a Biblical comparisons, you could do worse.

Why make the comparison at all? Well, those of us who are quite fond of the work that Senator Obama has done (so far) are frequently attacked for ascribing messianic characteristics to our favorite presidential nominee. (I don't actually know anyone who has claimed that they think Obama is our savior; not saying it hasn't happened, but I haven't seen it.) So, apparently, being enthusiastic about someone who is doing good works means that we have a horrible case of ObamaisJesusitis.

I would disagree. I don't think that if Senator Obama wins, all of our worldly troubles will vanish in the blink of an eye, that dogs and cats are going to start living together or anything. Hardly. It's not like the guy is perfect. He's just someone who (I think) is incredibly capable in the arena of bringing people together for a common cause, and someone who knows the proper balance between civic responsibility and faith-inspired duty.

Which brings me to my original topic.

Nehemiah was a civil servant. (He was the King's food taster.) Upon realizing the hardships that people were facing in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, he asked for permission to leave his post in the King's presence, and go to work with his fellow Israelites. Senator Obama left his cushy job in the halls of academia to go to work as a community organizer. He saw the difficulties people were having in their every day life, and saw a position he could fill.

Both Nehemiah and Senator Obama were/are able to rally people around a common goal and to get people to work together for that common good. (Interestingly enough, Nehemiah's opponents ridiculed him openly by saying that the wall would never be fixed b/c there wasn't enough tax revenue to do so, and that raising taxes was the only option. Of course, that doesn't parallel to Senator Obama's work at all...oh...wait, it kind of does, doesn't it?)

Finally, Nehemiah knew that in order to get the people together, the task had to be blessed by God, but that just as important in the grand scheme of things was inspiring and assisting people to work together NOT for their own interests, but for the common good. Rebuilding the wall could certainly be described, if one was so inclined, as a "socialist" activity. (I mean, why couldn't the King subcontract that job out to the highest...er, lowest bidder, "Haliburtoniah?")

And, Senator Obama, in my very humble opinion, understands the need to balance individual responsibility and social responsibility. This plays out very differently for Mr. Obama then it does for most Republicans, but it is no less sincere and legitimate in it's differences.

But, that might be better saved for another time....

Anyway, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Is there anybody out there? (Or, We Won't Get Fooled Again)

2008-09-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi.

So, it's been a while, no?

Yeah, sorry about that.

Last time I posted was sometime last school year. (I think it was near the end of the year, at least.) Obviously a lot has changed since then. I taught summer school, celebrated my daughter's first birthday, celebrated my second wedding anniversary, turned 30, went on a family vacation, and saw My Morning Jacket in concert. (It was GREAT.)

So, in case you haven't noticed, there's this election going on. And, since I kind of pay a little attention to it, I thought I might jot down a few notes here. Now, nothing I right here originates with me. Most of what I will be writing can be found, albeit better written, somewhere else on the internet. I just wanted to put what I thought went well together, here.

So, with that in mind, I will now give my two cents.

I have just a couple of thoughts on the candidates, and the majority of my focus will be on something else.

Senator McCain is a great American hero. He fought hard for our country in the military, and served our country admirably for many years as an elected official. For these years of service, we do owe Mr. McCain a debt of gratitude. We do NOT owe him our votes for President of the United States. Senator McCain has disappointed me a great deal in the past year or so. The John McCain we see now is NOT the John McCain we saw in the 2000 election. That is our loss. If he was the same man, this election would be one worthy of the office of the Presidency. My reason for stating that? For one thing, Senator McCain's claim that Senator Obama has 'forced' Senator McCain to lower the level of nation discourse to name calling, character assassination, and plain-old lies, (I would be politically correct and call them "falsehoods", but that just pisses me off) because Senator Obama has "refused" to join Mr. McCain at the townhall meetings is a ridiculous notion. (It reminds me of the schoolyard bully grabbing your hand and saying "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself.) Mr. McCain, your choices are, indeed, YOUR choices. You have no one to blame but yourself. I teach my fifth graders that every day. Saying that Mr. Obama wants to teach kindergartners comprehensive sex education? False. Senator Obama wants to teach kindergartners about saying no to strangers and understanding that bad touches are a bad thing. However, Senator Obama has NOT struck back by saying that Mr. McCain is FOR child molesters. (That kind of logic is beneath Senator Obama but apparently NOT beneath Senator McCain)

Govenor Palin. See, the thing is, it would appear that Senator McCain merely wanted a woman on the ticket. There are NUMEROUS Republican women who have years of experience in public service and who are actually literally ready for the office of the Presidency. The fact of the matter is that Sen. Obama has worked on Foreign Affairs committees, Health Care committees and numerous other committees which at the very least mean that Sen. Obama is familiar with what the President needs to be dealing with. I find that even as I type this, I can't even coherently type all of the issues that I have with Ms. Palin. I will however quote John McCain in his description of this opponents last fall. Being the mayor of a town for a small time and the governor of a state for a small time does not make someone ready to be President.

Senator's Biden and Obama are respectable candidates, too. The thing about these two men is that they recognize something that I have realized slowly over the past few months. In real life, not in speeches or in theory or in the official party line, in REAL life, there are very few black and whites. Is abortion ALWAYS wrong? Is increasing taxes always the wrong thing to do? Should health care issues be handled by individuals, or should we joing the 21st century and realize that we are one of only TWO countries (in the whole world) that doesn't view health care as a right, but a priviledge. These gentlemen see that there are myriad views and perspectives and that while it may be a more difficult task, for the future of our country, maybe we should stop trying to simplify things and actually address the nuances and subtlties of the issues. (See here for a great example from Senator Biden.)

I will try to post more about why I am voting for Senator Obama and Senator Biden, but for now I want to talk about something that really bothers me.

The press.

The media has often been referred to as 'the fourth branch' of the government. It is supposed to be an additional support in our system of checks and balances. It has become apparent that this branch has become nothing more then dead weight. It should not be the candidates jobs to fact check each other. We should not depend on Senators Obama and Biden to point out in their every interview that Gov. Palin was FOR the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it, and that even when she was against it, she still took the money, and has a record as receiving more earmarks than most governors in the country. The media should point in every headline and in every major story that Senator McCain's add about sex education is at the very least misleading and pushes the very bounds of taste and integrity. Neither party, none of the candidates should be allowed to get away with out and out ridiculous statements. (For example, saying that because Gov. Palin can see Russian from her state, she is ready to deal with foreign affairs. That is an offensively insulting statement, and it proves that those who utter it are unworthy of the office of the Presidency.) But, my point is NOT that Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin are making ridiculous statements. (That should be obvious.) What outrages me is that the media reports that they are saying things like that without pointing out the ridiculousness of the statements. The medias job is to report the TRUTH, not what the candidates are saying. For example, Senator Obama claims that Senator McCain is going to only give tax relief to the richest Americans, and to major coporations. Is this true? It should NOT be up to Senator McCain to prove or disprove this. It should NOT be up to Senator Obama to prove that he does not want to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000. However, the media is not doing a damn thing to verify the truth behind the claims on either side of the aisle.

I'm mad. I'm mad as hell at what this election has become about, but I'm furious that the media is not only allowing it, but perpetuating it.

Please. Vote for Senators Obama and Biden. Our country, our children, and the entire WORLD depends upon it.

Thanks,

Tommy

Occupational Hazards...

2008-04-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, we took the fifth graders to the Kansas City Zoo today.

And, let me just say, you haven't lived until you've spent the whole day with forty-five 11 years olds and a gorilla playing with himself.

Ah, teachable moments.

More later...

Tommy

The Return of the Blogger

2008-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

So.

Here I am.

There you are.

My wife, Bibi? Yeah, she's writing one amazing blog nowadays.

It's intimidating. I'm not bothered by the fact that my wife's blog is significantly better then mine (funnier, updated more frequently, has pictures, and is about...actual topics, etc.) but it is a bit intimidating, none the less. I think I now have performance anxiety.

I hope I don't complete this post too quickly.

Anyway.

So, I have a couple of thoughts that I would like to put down for you all to see. First off, as promised...I want to tell you all about the turn that my daytime fantasies have taken.

As I previously posted, I have always had little scenarios playing in my mind. It's always been something that I have been able to do both without any real thought, and guided actively by my own imagination.

So.

I now find myself pondering some of the strangest, darkest, and most disturbing possibilities that I've ever...well, I don't even think that I would have thought these things possible. It's not that they are particularly original, or that they fit into some really sick and demented segment of the pyschotic world. No, it's more the FREQUENCY that I find frightening.

For example, as I sit in our office, I heard a crack from the other room. In all likelyhood, it was probably Gracie playing with some blocks. (As was evidenced by her laughing hysterically shortly thereafter.) However, in the infinite span of one second between the crack of blocks and the delightfully precious squeal of laughter that followed, I was pretty sure that something had fallen, and it was Gracie's neck snapping that I heard. Just an hour ago I left to take Leo for his walk; and, as I was coming to the last corner, I was pretty sure that I would see smoke eminating from the house at the bottom of the hill. When I did round the corner, I was not relieved to see that there was no smoke, as that simply meant that I would find the bodies of my wife and daughter having died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the 25 minutes I was gone.

Or, when Bibi comes to pick me up at work. I always step outside or wait by the doors, and I'm always early.

Always.

However, if Bibi is not there--about 5 minutes before I should even expect her to be there--then I realize that it must be because of the horrible accident along the way. Some drunken douchebag who doesn't deserve to breathe the air that is trapped in our diaper pail has clearly ripped my wife and daughter from my life, and he's probably fine. In fact, he's probably not even aware that there is part of the car (or worse!!!) dragging under his barely dented car. (That a$$hole.)

I could go on. I know that when I do drive myself home, I'm going to arrive just a few seconds too late to catch the rapist/child murderer who is leaving my home dressed in a Culligan uniform. That van that drove by yesterday? The one with the ice cream menu on the side? Yeah, he's actually stalking us, timing his heinous acts just so that he'll drive by me on my way home. In fact, he'll stop at the top of the hill, watch me go in, and then smile to himself as he drives away. Don't even get me STARTED on the Schwann's man. (That bastard.)

So, as you can see, I no longer have time to imagine myself rescuing masses from terrorists or various other evil doers.

Because now?

I'm too busy imaging that they win.

All right. I was going to talk about the Polygamist's compound raid, becuase I got thoughts about that whole thing, but I think I've blogged myself silly here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Notes on Fatherhood...

2008-03-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

So, at first, I thought it was normal.

I thought all new dads went through something similar to what I'm seeing, and that it was no big deal. In fact, I thought it was kind of funny--you know, a little low-grade psychosis to go with that new infant smell.

Now, I'm not so sure.

You see, as my mother would tell you, I've always had somewhat of an active imagination. As a kid, I could entertain myself for hours with or without any toys. It probably has something to do with the volume of books that I've devoured in my lifetime, but I'm sure that there is more to it than just that.

I've always been a fairly active daydreamer. It was pretty cool, because I could do it and still pay attention to whatever I was supposed to be paying attention to. In church, I used to sit in the pew imagining terrorists or unspecificed badguys (this was pre-9/11 afterall) trying to take over the church and myself leaping to the rescue. (During my Indiana Jones stage...which was pretty much the whole of my childhood and adolescence, there was always a mysteriously available bull whip conveniently located under the pew in front of me.) At school it was only different because of the plethora of availabe damsels to rescue. (There were too many old people at church, but I'd rescue them anyway--'cuz I'm cool like that.)

So, all of those daydreams were kind of cool. I'd get to look like the hero, and it would lend an air of excitment and possibility to places that weren't....that exciting. (Incidentally, when I worked at the library in college, I was always rescuing the special reserve books from bullets; how lame of a daydream is that?!)

Now, though? Well, I'm not quite ready to discuss how things have changed just yet; I'm working on how best to express it. However, in the next few days, sooner, rather than later, I hope, I'm going to let you in on how fatherhood has changed--in a pretty dramatic way for me--these frequent mental occupations.

But, more on that later...

Update:

2008-02-06T20:20:00.001-08:00

Uh...so, this morning when I said that Grace was about a half a second from crawling?

I guess I was kind of right.

She crawled tonight!!!

(c;

Tommy

It's Been a While...

2008-02-06T04:25:00.000-08:00

Gee, I think I've forgotten how to do this thing...

is anyone out there?

Well, to both of you...things are very good here. I am alive and well, Bibi is alive and well, and Grace is alive, well, and enjoying her two front teeth. (Early Christmas present for next year.) She also says, "da da" and "mamamamamama" which, you know, is really cool.

She's about a half second from crawling, which means that you can't set her down anywhere and expect her to stay there.

It's weird. I haven't blogged in so long, which means that I have literally tons of things that I should write about, but it also means I have no IDEA where to start.

So, I quit.

Just kidding.

I'll post more tonight or tomorrow once I actually put my thoughts into some semblance of order.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

Brief Update...(101 in 1001)

2007-12-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Let's get right to it...

First, JNo, a peace wreath is a festive holiday wreath, made into a peace sign. (Garland strung down and through it, rather artfully to create a beautiful--and timely!--peace sign.) It's awesome.

Second, as my title alluded to, I am thinking about participating in what I think is quite possibly one of the coolest internet memes I've ever seen: 101 in 1001. You can check it out here. The idea, in a nut shell, is that you make 101 achievable, measurable, challenging goals that you will accomplish in 1001 days. If I start it on January 1, 2008, I would have until September 28, 2010 to complete all of my tasks.

So, while this is a highly personal and introspective task, I would like to solicite suggestions from all of you as to goals that I can set for myself. Between now and 1/1/08, I plan on coming up with the actual master list, and setting it down in stone (figuratively--that's not going to be one of my goals!!) here on my blog.

So....suggestions?!

thanks!

Tommy

...it's beginning to look....

2007-12-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

a lot like Christmas!

Bibi, Grace, and I had an unbelievably productive--and busy!!--weekend. We got started Friday by hanging out with my sister, which was a lot of fun.

Saturday we got a kind of a late start, but ended up getting almost all of our Christmas shopping done, including a wreath project that Bibi has undertaken (it's a gorgeous "peace wreath", and it's awesome) and our new family Christmas tree. Which, is a bit big. Actually, it's HUGE. We had no idea how tall 7 and a half feet tall is, but I'm now aware that 7 1/2 feet is actually 19 feet. Did you know that? I didn't.

Anyway, last night, when we were done shopping, we watched "Knocked Up" which was great. The last scene was SO damn true. I seriously drove home at 12 miles an hour. Good times.

Then, last night, Bibi cut my hair. And, while cutting my hair, we found out I have ringworm. On my damn head.

What the hell?!

Anyway, so this morning I got up and went to do some grocery shopping, pick up the tree we had purchased yesterday, (which wouldn't fit in the car with Bibi, Grace, and me) and get a hair cut at the barber shop to fix what Bibi had done. (She did really well, but she's never cut hair before, so it needed a little "finishing.") This afternoon we watched "Sicko" (which was FANTASTIC--we're moving to either Canada, Britain, or France, by the way) and then we got going with the Christmas.

We made some hot cocoa, got out a plate of cookies, and put on my Christmas music. We lit a bunch of candles. We then put together the 19 foot tree, the lights, the decorations, and my Nativity Scene.

It now looks--and smells!-- like Christmas.

Welcome, I say.

How are you all getting ready for the season?

Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

NaBloPoMo--Rest in Peace.

2007-11-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

Ah, the best laid plans, the road to....well, you get the idea. Posting every day in November? Shyeah, right.

So, something kind of amazing just happened.

But first, back story.

I've mentioned once or twice how night time can be challenging in our house, as Grace really loves her mama, (I know she loves me) and can often times only be consoled by Bibi. Well, while it is silly, and pointless, this stings. It stings--a lot. However, over Thanksgiving--which was wonderful--I got to spend lots of time with my daughter (boy, is that still weird, or what!?) and it was fantastic. I really felt like she was getting more comfortable around me, more used to me, and that I was really growing closer to her. It was great!

Then, yesterday, after a really hard day at work, I came home and Grace pratically screamed every time I came near her. I know it doesn't signify some great and permanent change, like she'll never be held by me again, but it was hard. And, last night, as I was trying to get Grace calmed down, things just weren't clicking. So, Bibi suggested that we read "Goodnight Moon", which is Gracie's "Favorite Book." (I'm thinking to myself, yeah, how can a kid who isn't even six months old have a favorite book?!) So, we lie down in bed, Bibi nursing Gracie, and me propped up against the wall, and I begin reading. About page 2, Grace pulls away from Bibi and stops nursing to...get this...look at the pictures as I read them. She stared intently at the pages as I read them, and then, when the book was done, she went right back to nursing.

It was awesome--my daughter takes after me!! She's a reader!!! (c;

Well, now to the amazing part.

Today, after a slightly better day at work, Grace was a lot more comfortable around me. She didn't flail her arms about in an attempt to get me to pass her to Bibi. I was feeling good; 'til the end of the night. Bibi and I had put Gracie down on the bed, and she was asleep. We were getting some things done, and Bibi was working. Gracie started crying, so I went to get her, and I picked her up. Not only did she continue crying, she literally was pushing herself away from me, and looking around for Bibi.

That sucked.

However, after just a few minutes, Bibi suggested we try reading to her again. I quickly agreed, having seen some degree of success with that last night.

We got into our positions, but I was laying next to Gracie, while she was nursing with Bibi. I began reading, and not two pages in, Gracie stopped nursing, looked at me, and smiled at me, really big. It felt really good. But!!! It doesn't end there; no, you see, Gracie kept looking back and forth between Bibi and I, smiling at each of us, for just a few more pages. And then she rolled towards me, sort of grabbed onto my arm, and began switching back and forthe between the pages of the book and me, smiling the whole time.

After the book was over, I kind of jokingly asked Gracie, "Gracie, do you like it when Daddy reads to you?" and...to both Bibi's and my surprise, Gracie quickly nodded her head 3 or 4 times, as if she was responding to my question.

Constantly, completely, and thoroughly, I am amazed by Grace.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

This moment brought to you by Joe Firstman...

2007-11-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

So, earlier this evening, while Bibi and I were attempting to enjoy a relaxing evening watching episodes of the Sopranos, and just "chillin' out", as the kids say, something really cool happened.

Gracie had been a bit fussy, throughout the evening; she had not really napped at all during the day, so she was kind of feeling the effects of that this evening. (It should be stated that Grace responds MUCH better to Bibi's attempts to un-fussify her than to mine.) Bibi had been putting forth a valiant effort, but to very little success. Bibi has also been feeling a bit under the weather, and had had a REALLY busy day trying to get the word out about our new (and TEMPORARY!!) dog, so she was feeling kind of beat after trying to calm Grace's nerves. She asked me if I wouldn't mind taking a shot. I said of course not, and I took Grace. We started walking up and down the hall and through the living room, while Bibi started a load of dishes; I decided to put on some music, and attached my iPod to the stereo; and chose, after some deliberation, Grace's soundtrack, which, if you don't remember, Bibi and I put together shortly after Grace was born. We were walking, I was swaying, and I was kind of singing to Grace as we went, when our (Bibi and I) song came on. It's a song by Joe Firstman, called, "Car Door (Dancing in the Aisles)" and we used to listen to it driving down to Kansas City together shortly after we got married. It's, on a very basic level, about a couple who is unblelievably happy together, and about how special little moments together are. Well, it just kind of struck me, as songs are wont to do, how amazingly blessed I am, as I stood their dancing with my beautiful daughter, watching my wife, and I started to get a little choked up (ok, I started bawling) and as the tears began (gushed) Gracie put her hand on my neck and started to pull herself to me, in a sweet little hug.

Nothing--nothing!--could ever compare to that feeling. It is, in a word, amazing. The title of this blog could not BE more appropriate.

God bless everyone, and have a wonderful weekend....

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Thursday Night Lights

2007-11-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

So, I have to concur with JNo about the media portrayal of the presidential election; although, I would have to go on to say that it's not just the media, but the whole election process. At first I was excited about this election being between the rock stars of the political realm (Guiliani, Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and eventually Fred Thompson. However, I'm now seeing the error of my hopes; I no longer want some rock star to be running; I want someone who really has something to say, and isn't afraid to say it. There are things I like a whole lot about Obama, but he's really just not getting where he needs to be...I think my dad is right, and he probably should have waited til 2012; he would have had more experience, and I think he would have just been a whole lot more savy all around.

At this point, I really want somebody unexpected to jump out there and WOW us with depth and content, as well as poise and dignity. (It seems to me that the Repub's have "calm and collected" down, and the Dem's have "passionate and whiny" down. Gotta change that.)

So, we are less than a year away...and only a few weeks (well, 7 0r 8 til the first primaries, anyway) from the primaries...should we stop talking/thinking/hearing about next year's election, or should we get all into a frenzy?

You tell me...

Thanks!

Tommy

Just a quickie...

2007-11-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

So, as I posted the other day, there are certain things that I don't really feel I can post about; my job, mainly, is one of them. Today was a prime reason why I don't post as often as I should.

There were things that happened at work that I WANT to post about, but I just can't post about them.

So, there.

I voted today. One year from now is the presidential election. I wonder when the news sites are going to start talking about that....

Rufus, our new dog, is doing quite well. Leo loves having a playmate, and he's very well behaved. Well, he's well behaved for the most part. Leo knows not to beg for food; he knows not to chew; and he is AMAZINGon the leash. Rufus? Not so much.

We took him to the vet to see if he has a microchip; no such luck. So, now we're going to make up signs to post around the neighborhood to try to find his owner. I REALLY hope we find them soon, because our house? DEFINITELY not big enough for this many people/pets.

Tomorrow is hump day...got any plans?

(Somebody PLEASE send topic suggestions SOON!!!!)

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

RANT ALERT!! (with self-disparaging realization near the end...)

2007-11-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

So, last night when Bibi and I were watching tv, I saw what is, in my opinion, the WORST thing that tv, and corporate America, does....start Christmas adverts TOO early.

No! No! No!!! I mean it here, I'm not kidding around! The rule is, and I take this VERY seriously...NO Christmas advertising until AFTER Thanksgiving!!! There is a REASON that the Thanksgiving Day parade ENDS with Santa Claus...THAT is the official start of the CHristmas Season, and not a damn day before, ok!? Are you listening out there?

So, today, after having all of those angry thoughts run through my head, I decided that I would start making a list of books that I want for Christmas.

Readers Everywhere--A hypocritesayswhat?!

Me--What?

Readers Everywhere--Exactly.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Mulligan for Tommy

2007-11-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's what I call yesterday. I get a do-over. For those of you who don't know, NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month, in which people who are overly optimistic and have no realistic sense of their own schedule, commit to posting once a day, every day, for the whole month of November.

Me?

I last two days.

So, I call Mulligan. I get to start over. It's pretty neat when you make up your own rules.

Anyway, so yesterday was the first Saturday in a long time that Bibi and I didn't have anything pressing we had to do...we were going to have dinner with some friends, but he got sick (which was good, b/c I wasn't feeling all that well, either) and so we ended up getting tons of stuff done around the house, and still finding time to watch lots of Soprano's on DVD. (Bibi loves the show, and I'm learning to love it; it's quite good, actually.)

And today we got up and had breakfast with Bibi's parents after I watched Fred Thompson look like a deer in the headlights on Meet the Press. Dave, I know you think he's going to get the nomination, but...seriously, what the hell, man? I honestly don't think he evern knew what Tim Russert was asking half the time, let alone what the answers should have been. But that's just me.

This afternoon Bibi and I made chilli and cornbread, and had my sister over for an early dinner. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I do make a damn good chilli, if I do say so myself. (And, incidently, I do.) Actually, the only thing better than my chilli, is Bibi's cornbread. So, yeah, it's a pretty darn good meal. (I have no idea why I decided to censor myself there, and nowhere else....strange, isn't it?)

Anyway, the last thing I want to comment on here is that tonight while walking Leo, we got ourselves another dog. Well, atleast for now. This beautiful brindle dog came flying out of nowhere, about half way through our route. At first, I'll admit, I was afraid...I was petrified...sorry, anyway, it was kind of scary, this brindle boxer/pit-bull animal came flying at me, and it started jumping around Leo. Now, my neighborhood is notorious for allowing their dogs to run free and loose. It pisses me off, to be honest. I live about half a block from a MAJOR thoroughfare, and we see TOO many dead animals along it to let our dog roam free. So, as I was saying, this dog runs at Leo and me, starts jumping around, and I got mad. I looked at the houses around where I was, and practically shouted "what the hell is wrong with this neighborhood?!" (My sister volunteers for animal cops and tells us horror stories about people mistreating--to put it mildly--their pets, and allowing your pet to run free this close to Sterling, really got me riled up). Well, I looked at him, and I realized that he was really playful, and quite sweet. So, I said to him, "Sit", and he did! So, I started walking back towards our house, and I said one time, "come!" and he followed me all the way home. I showed him to Bibi, and she agreed that it would be horrible to let him just run loose, so we put Leo's kennel in the garage, (we don't know if he has fleas or not) and tomorrow after work I'll take him to a vet to see if he has been microchipped. In the meantime, he's cute as a bug in a run, and very well-mannered. (I'm going to try and convince Bibi we should be able to keep him...shh! Don't tell her!! Oh, and, Bibi...if you're reading this...ignore that last part!!!)

All right, well, that's how our weekend was...how was yours?

Tommy

Just under the wire...

2007-11-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!

So, how's it going?

Today was the end of another work week...had some interesting experiences at school today, which brings me to the topic of tonight's post....no, it's not the interesting things that happened today, or this week, for that matter. I want to write about strangeness of not being able to talk to all of you about something that takes up a good third of every day. The vagueness that that kind of post would require would render the post nearly meaningless, and that is something I would kind of like to avoid. You know, meaninglessness. (I think I'm just going to add a suffix to that word in every sentence of this post, in a meaninglessnessly kind of way....nope, that one didn't work--damn.)

Anyway. My point is, that I can't really write about the thing that takes up MOST of my time, the thing that is the most eventful of all the things in my day.

Of course, there is Grace....but, well, it's weird. She's wonderful, and amazing, and I'm constantly in awe of how much she is changing and growing...but, I don't know how to put in to words what I am thinking when it comes to her....while I am fairly satisfied with my skills as a writer, and I think I have a decent vocabulary and grasp of the English language, when it comes to writing about Grace, everything I write seems so flat, so static, so....lackluster that it really isn't worthy of the subject.

And, books? Well, happily, I no longer have the time I once did to read. Whereas I used to read at least one book a week, now it is taking me multiple weeks to slowly get through one. (I say happily, not because I don't WANT to read anymore, but I certainly do enjoy that which is now taking up my time.)

So. There we have it....the point of this post is....I want very much to keep posting, but I don't know what exactly to post about....

Any suggestions?

Anybody else think that Kucinich and his alien encounters STILL make him a better candidate that most of the others?

Talk amongst yourselves....

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

NaBloPoMo

2007-11-01T20:48:00.001-07:00

At my better half's request, I am participating in National Blog Post Month, along with her. We'll see how well that goes. Stay tuned, to see how quickly this best laid plan falls apart. (c;

Two things: One, an update on one of my recent posts. I was listening to NPR today, and there was a story about Juvenile offenders, and how they are treated througough the country. An interesting article, in light of my recent musings on the justice system and correctional system. Apparently, two states can easily demonstrate the differing ways to view young adults and children in "the system". Do we treat them like the hardened criminals they appear to be, or do we treat them like children and young adults who they also appear to be.

In Missouri, which this NPR segment was about, the recidivism rate was 7.something, while in Texas, the rate was topping 50%. Take a WILD guess as to how the different states treat their offenders.

What was cool about this segment, though, was that the program that I've been getting trained in was very similar to the one being described. (So, I've got SOME reason to believe--other than my own personal experience--that this plan is going to work!)

And, second, I'm reading a really interesting book right now, that I wanted to share with you all. I'm not done yet, so I can't quite say that it's going to be up there with, say, the Bible, Blue Highways, or Lamb, but it's pretty interesting so far; it's called "Last Night I Dreamed of Peace". It is the diary of a North Viet Nam civilian doctor assigned to work in a clinic in southern Viet Nam during the Viet Nam war. It's just really interesting to see her point of view and to learn about what some of the "enemy" were thinking about us during that confusing and controversial time. (And, as I always find is true, there are some poignant and pointed connections to be made with what is going on in the world today.)

The thing that is so interesting, is the way this woman viewed the Americans; to her, we were this horrible country that was trying to do some horrible things to her countrymen and family. The language she uses, the way she describes her hopes and fears; I've never heard or read a member of a communist party, and it is truly different. I feel very naive and very ethnocentric when I read about how she puts the welfare of her fellow citizens above that of her own. (Our soldiers most certainly do that, and should be shown our gratitude and thanks on a regular basis for all that they do; however, she was a CIVILIAN, not a soldier; how many of us who are NOT in the army adhere to that kind of "greater good/interconnectivity mindset?) It makes me a little more aware of how selfish I can be, and how selfish our society can be.

What are you all's thoughts? Anyone scared I'm reading a communist text? Is this going to get the Dept. of Homeland Security buzzing around on me?

If anyone has thoughts...drop 'em off here...

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

2007-10-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

I had this really thought-provoking and intriguing post that I had planned on putting up tonight; it was a post that was sure to inspire and anger, to irritate and fluster; a post that would cut you all to the quick, and make you all write responses that were both insightful and honest, responses that would fully address the state of the human condition.

But, instead I thought I'd put this...

There she is...my little blessing from above. Grace: Unmerited Favor.

Yup.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

A seemingly random post...

2007-10-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

So, through a seemingly connected string of events, I've had something odd on my mind lately. And, with an explanation as prologue, I have a question for all of you. Perhaps this will repeat my hit post of last season on education, perhaps not.

Here it is.

Over the summer, Bibi and I watched the show Deadwood, which was about a town with no law and no order. Well, no LEGAL order.

Now we're watching the show "Oz" on DVD. It's about prisoners, guards, and the entire correctional system.

A couple of years ago, I read a book, the title completely escapes me, but it was a collection of essays written by prisoners, many of whom were jailed for political reasons, but not all.

When I was in college I did prison ministry with my college religous organization, CCF. We went to a maximum security prison in Iowa a couple of times to meet with prisoners in a new religiously-affiliated prison rehabiliation program.

And, the most randomly connected experience, I have been in training for two weeks for the discipline system at my school.

All of these things call to mind the question that I put forth to you, my faithful readers, now...
What, in your opinion, should the goal or purpose of the Prison System in the United States be? Should our goal be punishent? Should our goal be entirely punitive? Or should we focus our energies on rehabilitation? And, if, as I suspect many of you will feel, it should be a mixture of these two goals, how in the world do you suggest we do that?

A couple of stats to start us off:
1 in 27 people in the United States is either in prison right now, or has spent time in prison. The recidivism rate for offenders is 75%. (Incidently, the rate is identical for students who have been suspended in the public school system; 75% of those who have been suspended are suspended more than once.)

So...there you go. What say you, blog-readers?

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to your responses...

Tommy

Procrasti-what now?

2007-10-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

EDITED: With Pictures!!!

So, I must confess, loyal reader, that the reason I haven't posted in almost three weeks is not entirely due to my hectic schedule and the ninety five meetings I have to go to each day....er, uh...week. I've been avoiding posting because I set the expectation during my last post that I was going to post about books this time around.

Note: I just checked my last blog, and I actually didn't mention anything about books, so apparently that was just an internal expectation, so...uh, I guess I have no decent excuse. My bad.

Anywho, for those who know me, or who have read the beginnings of this blog, you will know that I am somewhat of a reader...I like to read a bit. Ok, well, a lot. So, the idea of making an informal list called my "must list" of books, is a bit like John Cusack's character in High Fidelity making the ultimate mix tape. It can't be done. However, I'm going to try and suck it up here and put down at least the outline, or preliminary sketch of what my 'must-list' of books would be.

So, with that priviso in place, here we go...:

First, we're going to go with "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore. I know I've mentioned this author, and this book on this blog before, but it bears mentioning again. He's good. More to the point, that book cannot be described as good, because that would be like saying that Frank Lloyd Wright liked to tinker around with building stuff. Saying that "Lamb" is good is like saying that Jesse Owens was fast. It's like saying that I occasionally drink coffee. It just doesn't even come close to the level the book actually achieves. I'm not using hyperbole here, I'm just trying to speak truth. In fact, while this book does not replace the Bible, I would say that any Christian who wants to come to a clearer understanding of who Christ could have been, should read this book. Period.

Second, we're going with Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon. This is the book that inspired my road trip a few years ago. It is the book that Jack Kerouac was TRYING to write, and didn't. The way I usually describe it is this: Heat-Moon was a professor at Missou in the 70's, and got laid off. So, he got in his little bus, and drove all around the country on the "blue highways" (non-major roads). Along the way he meets people, sees the country, and goes through his own internal journey. Heat-moon was a professor of English, so he brings a myriad literary illusions to his work, and he is Native American, and he brings to his work a certain level of natural spirituality that connects the mundane (driving all around the country) to the spiritual. (Put another way, he connects the profane--that which is NOT holy--to the sacred--that which is holy.) Go...read it. (And, John...if you still read this blog...you actually have my copy, so seriously, you have no excuse not to read this book, ok?)

Third, and lastly for this post, Watership Down, by Richard Adams. This is ostensibly a book about bunnies. However, unless you're as dense as a post, you'll understand that this is more of a retelling of the exodus than an rabbit tale.

Ok. I'm tired...it's late, and I have work in the morning. So, I'm going to go to bed. I promise you that I will update again, and I will have more books that you should read at that time. In the meantime, though, if you would like to add to my list of musts, be it must listens, must sees, or must reads, please do so in the comments. I'd love to hear 'em.

Til then...here are some pictures of Grace, courtesy of Bibi's blog...

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

The (Un)Official List....uh, continued.

2007-09-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday we discussed movies and tv shows. Today, we're switching to songs, artists, and records.

SONGS:

A little song called Silver Sword, by a little band named Huckleberry. Unfortunately, you all are at a loss here. The band broke up when I was in college, and it was relatively unknown college band, but a friend of mine's older brother was in the band, and the lead female singer went on to join the Christian band Waterdeep. However, should you ever stumble on someone who has the song Silver Sword, you should definitely check it out.

You Can't Always Get What You Want--the Rolling Stones. I learned this lesson once while driving with a girl that I really liked, who didn't really like me. She was telling me all about her new boyfriend (who she is now married to, by the way) and this left me feeling pretty damn bad about myself. (Oh, woe is me, etc.) Then, I noticed a little ditty playing on my car radio, and I kind of tuned her out, and listened to the lyrics. I realized, in a fairly profound way, that it was very true...while I may have "wanted" her at that time, it really wasn't what I needed. (And, as both she and I are wonderfully happily married to VERY different people, we both got EXACTLY what we needed....thank God.)

I'm Alright--Jeffrey Foucault. I've mentioned this guy numerous times here, but it bears repeating. This just happens to be my favorite song by him.

Feelin' Good Again--Robert Earl Keene. Yes, it's country. Yes, it's a country slowish song. And, yes, it just so happens to sum up every single emotion you can possible feel when going "back" to a place you love to visit.

Ok, in all honesty, this is an EXTREMELY introductory list, and is in NO way exhaustive. (Clearly, as I've only put four songs down.) So, we'll return to this list later.

ARTISTS

Jeffrey Foucault--again, I ask. Why haven't you gotten his CD's yet? SERIOUSLY!

Frank Sinatra--if you didn't like him while he was alive, check his stuff out now. I particularly like his fast stuff, but his slow songs were great, too.

The Racounteurs--Jack White's "other" band.

Colin Hays--he was originally one of the "men at work" from the 80's, and he's made some great stuff recently.

And, finally (for now!), The Who. I was, embarrassingly enough, turned on to the Who when there was a Simpson's episode about the Who coming to Springfield. When I was in college. LATE in college. Maybe even grad school. (D'oh!) I ran out after the episode and bought the Who's greatest hits album, and Whoa! It's freakin' Great!

Which leads me to....
ALBUMS/RECORDS/CD's

The Garden State Soundtrack--if you don't have it by now you should be ashamed of yourself and your entire music collection. Period.

Scrubs Sountrack--oddly enough, most of the music in this show was compiled by Zach Braff, just like on The Garden State Sountrack. So, guy's got taste.

Jimi Hendrix: The Jimi Hendrix Experience--great, just great.

The Beatles "Love" Album--this record was put to gether by Cirque de Solei (don't everyone write me to complain about my spelling of that freakishly weird Circus group's name) for one of their shows. All of the songs are just tweaked a LITTLE bit, and man does it make a difference.

Ok, I actually have to go run to get ready for work, but now its your turn again....

What did I miss, where did I TOTALLY screw up?

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

The (Un)Official Tommy Must List...

2007-09-11T04:05:00.000-07:00

After receiving no requests whatsoever, other than that of my own inner narcisist, I thought I would write down for you all, my semi-capitive audience (no, please! Don't navigate away from this page!!!) my very own "Must List". (Author reserves the right to modify, amend, delete, and edit without prior notice.)

So, without further adieu....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOVIES:

Joe vs. the Volcano--This is an extremely underated little film, which just so happens to be the first time that America's sweethearts were paired together. (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.) Yes, it does happen to contain a lot of silly humor, (although not bathroom humor) and yes, it does happen to be "about" a guy who decides to jump into a volcano. But, that's not REALLY what the movies about. It's about the path that we all must choose when we make our way through life. And, it's about how accepting we are of the path that we see in front of us. It's about making conscious choices about our lives.

And it's got a ukulele!

The Last Time I Committed Suicide--This is a strange pick for me. It's a movie based on the letters from Neal Cassidy to Jack Kerouac, both of whom were "beat poets". You see, I personally think that Jack Kerouac was one of the most overrated authors of all time, and his "masterpiece" On the Road was a horribly overrated book. While it did capture the frenzy of Jack's lifestyle, it was not, for me, this moving and poignant story of dreams and desires, pain, and heartache. It was about a bunch of guys who drive around with only one thing on their minds: Drugs.
And, I have nothing against drug use IN BOOKS, but it has to be important to the story, and the story has to be worthwhile. This one? In my opinion, not so much.
However, TLTICS, is not about all of that. It is about how the choices we make effect all future choices in a very profound way, and that when you make a life altering choice, it can, basically, "kill" the self you wanted to become, and force you to become someone different. Hence, the line, "It wasn't the last time I committed suicide."
Plus, it has the great quote "And so life goes. And so love goes. And so I go. Carry on my brother. Carry on." which was used by some of my friends as the closing to all of our e-mails back when I was in college.

The Journey of Natty Gann--Great little Disney movie about the Depression. John Cusack (you can't go wrong) and Meridith Salinger (whatever happened to her?!) and a wolf. There you go.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TV SHOWS

Sporst Night--Without a doubt, the finest half-hour television show that has ever been produced, and in my opinion, the finest that WILL ever be produced. Funny, smart, emotionally intelligent, this half hour show that survived for all of two-Emmy-Winning-Seasons was written by Aaron Sorkin, and covered much more than the inner-workings of a Sports Center-esque television show. This show brought up many issues that we face in life, and I STILL get choked up watching about 6 of the 40-some episodes. (E.g.: The Apology, The Six Southern Gentlemen, The Christmas Episode, Isaac's Comeback episode, just to name a few.) The show also brought about the most satisfying conclusion of any show I've ever seen, when it found that it was going to be cancelled during the second season. I still get goosebumps.

Plus, it's one of the most quotable tv shows ever.

"Oh, and if you're driving to the stadium this weekend for the big game, please...don't forget to take your car."

My Boys--I've already mentioned this in this blog, but seriously....if TBS doesn't put this show on DVD, then I'm going to...uh, write them a strongly worded letter suggesting that they do so. Quickly.

And, of course: Lost, Scrubs, The Office, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, and probably a BUNCH more, but as the title says...this is the (un)official list.

Now, I didn't realize that this was going to be so extensive....so, more to follow, including Books, CDs, magazines, records, and more.

But for now....what movies and shows have I aggregiously forgotten to place on my list....?

Now, it's your turn!

Leave me your musts....

(And, thanks for stopping by....)

Tommy

Just another manic Mond....uh, Tuesday. (Or, Question: Does baby puke sting?)

2007-09-04T20:30:00.001-07:00

So, the weekend was great. Went back to Iowa, saw the folks, and had some time with good friends back in good ol CR of I.

School was good today, although the first tuesday of every month is going to suck donkey...um, snot....as I start the morning with a 7:30 (AM!!) meeting, have a full day of school, a faculty meeting til 5, and a PTA board meeting, which I am required to attend, at 6:15. Now, you don't really know how much you love holding your daughter and seeing your wife's beautiful face until those days when you don't actually get to do either one of those.

Ughs.

Tonight, after my 6:15 meeting, I was changing Grace's grotesquely large poo-y diaper, and was loving it, as she looked up at me with that gorgeous toothless grin on her face. I finished snapping the onesie, and picked her up. I held her up to my face, giggled with her, and gave her eskimo kisses (rubbed noses) and then lifted her slightly higher to kiss her tummy.

That's when she puked in my eye.

And, if you were wondering, yes. Yes it does.

I cried out in surprise, Grace started crying, as I startled her, and Bibi laughed.

Good times....good times.

Thanks for stopping....have a freakin' great week ya'll. (Mom, that "ya'll" was just for you.)

Tommy

Bi-monthly update...

2007-08-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

just under the wire, too, eh?

Well, school has started. And, when I get a hang of things, I'll let you all know how things are going. (Should be in just a few months. June at the very latest.)

Grace is WONDERFUL. She's so cute. I'm not going to lie. When I got home today....I started to cry...I missed her so much while I was at work. She's so sweet.

Anywho, just wanted to drop you all a line to let you know that I am indeed still alive and well.

And, for those of you who don't know about it, there's a show called "My Boys" on TBS. On the show tonight, there was a "douchebag intervention" to get one of the guys to stop being such a major league, free range, grade A douche. It was awesome.

Any thoughts from those of you out there? (I'm thinking that would be mom, sarah, maybe amy, and my in-laws at most. Anyone else still checking this sorry excuse for a blog?)

(c;

God bless ya....and, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Einstein's Theory of Relativity Explained....

2007-08-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight it occurred to me that I have learned something recently.

When a baby is crying...and, I mean REALLY crying, cheeks all red, eye's squinched up, tears streaming down the cheeks, and that long, long cry that takes up all the little one's air, so that the cry is actually a quiet one, which makes it all the worse...that kind of crying....well, five minutes of that stuff can seem like an absolute LIFETIME of impotence and helplessness.

And the 5 and a half hours between when she finally falls asleep and you wake up to change her in the wee hours of the morning? Yeah, that seems like about 8 seconds.

See? Einstein's Theory of Relativity explained. Not too tough, if I do say so myself. (c;

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

The dog days of summer....

2007-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

If any of you have not read the first page of Tuck Everlasting, you really should; reason being is that the first page has this unbelievably descriptive depiction of the oppresive and stifling heat that usually arrives around this time of year. So....there ya go. Thought it was appropriate. Oh, and if you can't handle the heat (hardy har har) you should read Brian's Winter, by Gary Paulsen, as it it the same thing, 'cept about cold.

So, last time I posted was a while ago. I had just passed a kidney stone, and was leaving for family vacation the next day.

I have had not more kidney related issues, thank goodness, and so no more needs to be said about that. And, I'll thank you to mind your own business. (c;

Vacation was a lot of fun. Bibi, Grace and I drove south to Table Rock Lake, where we were meeting my mom, step-dad, my sister and her boyfriend, and my other sister and her girlfriend.

The drive down was mostly uneventful. Gracie was wonderful in the car, and did not cry excpet for the last half hour, (we got lost, otherwise, it would have been even less eventful.) I have to say, southern Missouri is definitely a beautiful area. The bluffs and hills, or...ahem, 'mountains', were all absolutely gorgeous. It was a wonderful drive.

We were staying at a really nice resort, and were pretty much able to enjoy ourselves the whole time and do whatever we wanted to. (You know, how vacactions SHOULD be.) I read, relaxed, and even played some putt-putt.

Good times, good times.

We came back last Thursday, and got lost again. Different part of the trip, but for about the same length of time. I'm a very good driver....yeah. Charlie Babbit.

Fast forward through to Monday, the 6th. Bibi dropped me off at work, and I got the opportunity to meet some of my new co-workers, and work on my classroom a little bit. Registration was Tuesday, so our principal had asked if any of the staff wanted to come in and help spruce things up a bit. It was fun. Didn't meet everyone, but enough so that I don't feel like a complete newbie anymore.

My classroom is AWESOME. It's HUGE. I have: two teacher's desks, a couch, two comfortable and relaxing reading chairs, a table for conferencing, extra desks arranged for partner reading, a sink and drinking fountain, desks and room for 30 students (although I only have 25) and, as was previously mentioned, two windows. Legen....(wait for it)...dary.

Tuesday we had our first day of New Teacher Orientation. It was during this day that we covered all of the necessary legal stuff: professional expectations, sexual harrassment, confidentiality, substitute teacher requests, sick days, personal days, etc. We also went on a "Raytown Scavenger Hunt to acclimate ourselves to the community. Met some new people during that, which was cool. (I have such a hard time meeting people....heh heh heh.)

Today we had day TWO of our four-day New Teacher Orientation. We spent the entire day getting prepped for the districts Communication Arts curriculum. (How the district expects you to teach reading, writing, etc.) We were able to plan the first month of one subject, and the first week to second week of another subject. We're going to be given already prepared lesson suggestions and helpful tips as well. Tomorrow we work on Math curriculum.

I will say this....the Raytown Quality School District has impressed me a great deal in my short time working here. They are thorough, and the provide a seemingly endless supply of supports to their teachers in order for the teachers to provide a seemingly endless supply of supports to their students. (You know, like they should!)

All right, kiddo's; I'm tired, and my bed is singing the siren song of comfort....

thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

Warning: NOT for those easily squeamish....

2007-07-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Two funny stories.

One: Around father's day I started having severe back pains that were reminiscent of what I've heard it's like when you have a kidney stone. I watched it for a little bit, drank water like it was wine, and watched my body carefully.

About a week ago, I started having painful urination, little to no urine and a CONSTANT urge to urinate. It was really uncomfortable, and VERY frustrating. Tonight, while brushing my teeth, I realized I was about to pop. I quickly put the toilet seat up and WHAM! The sharpest pain I've ever felt (in that location) was followed by the joyful and wonderous release of a VAST amount of backed up pee that was being blocked by a kidney stone the size of an elongated mung bean.

I feel much better now. Whew. (c;

Oh, the second story?

Tonight, while Bibi was nursing Grace, Bibi chuckled to herself and started speaking like the Crocodile Hunter. "Ah, there she is....she's a beauty! She's the Nipple Hunter! Argh!"

I dropped what I was doing and stared, jaw slackened, at my wife. Grace does this thing where she will open her mouth, take aim, and then shake her head vigorously from side to side like she's not sure where her prey is going. So, now...my daughter is known as, "The Nipple Hunter"

Heh heh heh...fatherhood. (c;

Thanks for stopping by...

Just a PSA: I'm going on vacation until Wednesday or Thursday, so I'll be away from the computer. Drop a note to let me know how ya'll are doing!!!

Tommy

Daddy moments...

2007-07-26T18:04:00.001-07:00

Today Bibi was giving Grace a bath. I was in the bathroom, handing things to Bibi (soap, towel, etc.) trying not to get in the way, and I had a moment where I just stared at Grace...she was lying there in the tub, being held by Bibi and she just had this look on her face of sheer and utter contentment. She was making some silly faces, too, and kicking her legs everyonce in awhile, but mainly she was motionless just glancing between Bibi and I.

I couldn't help it...I teared up. She is the most precious and beautiful thing I've ever seen. Oh, man. It was awesome.

I stopped by my new classroom yesterday. It's huge (at least, it looked huge to me) and it has tile floors and....wait for it....windows!!! Two things: I've always been saddened by my last school's lack of windows in the classrooms. I thought it was a shame that the kids didn't have that chance to stare out the window and enjoy seeing the sky, the weather, the animals, etc. I remember very fondly every once in a while looking out the window at Arthur Elementary in good old SeeTheRabbits.

Oh, and I love classrooms with tile floors. Can't stand carpet in a classroom. Muffles the sound, and I have a hard enough time with out that to struggle against. So. There ya go.

Anyway, that's all I got right now....

God bless, and thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Alas, dear Potter....

2007-07-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

This too, shall pass.

Today, we mourn a great friend and loved one.

No, this is not a spoiler, I'm not sayin' Harry Potter died, and I"m not sayin' he didn't die. I'm sayin' the series is over, and that is sad for us.

The seventh book was amazing. If you didn't think so, well, you're probably illiterate, and you didn't know it. It was an immensly enjoyable read, and Bibi and I couldn't stop reading until the very last page. And then, all was well.

Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to leave your (SPOILER FREE!!!) comments about the HP series in the comments section.

Tommy

Harry Potter and the Magic of Reading

2007-07-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

So...gotta question for ya'll.

Bibi and I are reading Harry Potter to Grace, (more to each other, but it's fun to read to a six week old, too) and we're anxiously waiting our chance to go to the fifth movie, and to receive the seventh book in the mail, which Bibi got me for my birthday.

So....here's the question....

any of my faithful readers belong to the hoardes who believe that Harry Potter is evil?

Can we have a nice respectful debate about the merits or liabilities of the enjoyment of this unbelievably popular series of books?

Let's begin the discussion, shall we?

Tommy

So there's this guy who has a blog...

2007-07-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

that he only updates once in a blue moon. Sorry 'bout that. (c;

Anyway...what's up ya'll?

Is there anybody out there? (A little nod to Burlap to Cashmere)

So, what's going on with me? Well...

in the last two weeks Bibi and I have been enjoying our little bit o' Grace. She's growing up so quickly. She goes to college in just a few short months....oh, wait....no that can't be right.

She is now 5 and a half weeks old. She is as cute as ever....well, here--I'll show you...

Isn't she cute as a button?!

Anyway...this was taken back at Father's Day by my sister Amy. (Hi Amy!)

Other than staring adoringly at Grace and trading her back and forth and cleaning an OBSCENE number of diapers on a semi-regular basis, it's been pretty quiet at the Estlund homestead.

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago (as I mentioned in the last post) and I've been enjoying the post-birthday celebration. I bought myself a couple of books (Fireshouse by David Halberstam, and another copy of Blue Highways {the best book ever} by William Least Heat Moon because I've reconciled myself to the fact that...(ahem) a certain someone is most likely NOT going to give it back to me. John, I'm looking at you buddy. Hey! Don't you look away from me!

Ahem, sorry about that.

Oh, and as a kind of special treat--as is fitting for a birthday present--I got myself a mini-fridge.

Let me explain.

My gorgeous and lovely wife is a vegetarian. She was raised vegetarian and, as I found out during our dating/engagement, to her, meat is not just something she doesn't eat....it's an absolutely repulsive and disgusting thing that she absolutely doesn't want in her fridge. And, as I got to know--and love--her, I realized that this was something that I could do out of love and respect to her. (She also realized that she can love--and respect--me, even if I don't stop eating meat.

So, we now happily have a mini-fridge in our kitchen for all of my favorite meat based foods.

It's a beautiful thing, compromise, isn't it?

Oh, and we've been reading Harry Potter to Grace. We're on book four, trying frantically, and I'm willing to guess, hopelessly, to get through the rest of four, five and six before big number seven comes out. So, if you do read number 7, please for the love Hermione, Ron and Neville, please do not give away the ending, ok?

All right fair enough.

Ok....so, back in the days leading up to Grace's arrival in our lives, I had the hope that this blog was going to have some kind of miraculous metamorphosis into a "daddy-blog" that everyone could come see, in order to read all about the insight and deeply profound lessons that I'm learning as I make my way down this new path.

I'm realizing that those lessons aren't as earth-shattering as I thought that they would be.

She poops.
She poops a LOT.
She sleeps a lot--when we're awake, and she is awake when we'd kind of like to be asleep.
She smells good, though. That's amazing.
She likes her mama's touch a bit more than mine, which is ok, because I"m still a bit uncomfortable with the whole "holding a baby" thing.
I'm really shaky on my feet at 3:30 am when it comes time to changing her diaper mid-feeding. (And, that shakiness can lead to the horrible fear that I'm going to drop my beautiful daughter, which, in turn reiterates my discomfort when it comes to holding said baby, which just perpetuates the shakiness at....well, you get the picture.)
A 9 pound baby gets surprisingly heavy after awhile.
It is only after Bibi comments that Grace hasn't pooped or peed on me in a while, that she will indeed, poop, pee, and then VOMIT on me, all within ten minutes of said comment. (We did a lot of laundry that day.)
There was a time, and, we're talking like six weeks ago, that I would have changed clothes if my shirt had gotten dirty before leaving the house. That time is no more. I went the store, my new favorite coffee shop, the library, and back to my house before realizing that I had Grace's spit-up all over the front of my shirt the other day. And I didn't care.

She is absolutely, withiout without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

And, Bibi and I were very pleasantly surprised, after having everyone tell us how much Grace looks like me, when we opened up one of her parents photo album, and saw a picture of Bibi when she was a newborn--and it looked as if she was Grace's identical twin. Good for Grace--I don't think I'd make a pretty girl.

All right, faithful readers...I promise I''ll try to come up with some lessons from fatherhood for you.

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

PS: I reread this and was going to edit the insane number of typos that I found, but I realized that that was another lesson.....lack of sleep can cause typoes.

One and one makes three....

2007-06-30T21:51:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone....my better half is a MUCH better writer than I am...so I thought I would give you a link to her blog, so that you could read her account of our beautiful daughter Grace's birthstory.

So, go here.

And, well....uh.....that's all.

More later!

Tommy

So...a Democrat, a Republican and Ross Perot walk into a bar....

2007-06-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

I just took a little quiz over at okcupid.com, and...apparently, I'm a Social Liberal, an Economic Liberal...and, unbeknownst to me, I've been harboing some latent Socialist tendencies all these years.

Huh.

Who'd a thunk it?

Oh, and Baby Gracie is doing well. She's a joy and she's started becoming more and more aware of the world around her. She found her hand the other day. That was cool...

more pics and more updates to come...

guess what this Friday is?

(c;

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Tommy

Exploding Poo and other joys of Fatherhood....

2007-06-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

So, in one of my previous posts, I told you all about how Grace had poo'ed all over Bibi, and that she had peed on me. Great fun right?

Well, yesterday, I was a bit worried about Grace. She had been fussy all day. She looked upset...she looked concerned...she looked...well, not to be too paranoid, but she looked like she was in pain.

Last night, right before I took Leo for his walk, I went in to change Miss Gracie. I was chatting with her, just loving the fact that I get spend time with her, when her face scrunched up...she was making a very frustrated, strained face.

And then...

It happened.

There was poo...well, everywhere. The wall, the towel under her, my arm, my hand, I'm pretty sure that had I been leaning any closer, I'd have gotten a good amount of that crap in my mouth. (Pun, obviously intended. (c; )

And, afterwards?

Miss Grace was just all smiles. Apparently, she HAD been in pain. Gas pain, poo pain, whatever you'd like to call it...she was feeling...uh, pressure. (c;

And, just like that, she wasn't.

And, for those of you who were waiting...here are some more pictures....

Here's Grace and her puppy Leo. He loves her so....

And this one is, obviously of Gracie sleeping.

The Rebirth of Slick...

2007-06-14T14:37:00.001-07:00

I'd like to thank everyone who has read and responded to the last post. I appreciate all of your thoughts and ideas, and I respect the validity of all of them, while I may not necessarily agree. And, with that in mind, I'd like to extend my previous post, and go into depth a little bit more...

One of the interesting themes that has come through quite clearly is the idea that my wife and I should be glad, we should be thankful, that our baby, and my wife, are both healthy and that, in the end, that is all that matters. On the flip side, it's possible to see all of the obstacles and challenges that Bibi and I went through in the last week and to get bogged down entirely in those aspects of the birth of our first child. It would appear, unfortunately, that we have to diametrically opposed outcomes, wouldn't it?

I would like to propose a third...

And, in order to begin this third option, I need to clarify just a bit what was going on in our brains last week...we were a flood of varying feelings and thoughts. The idea that I mentioned in the last post, that of "mourning the loss of expectation" comes in here. Let me explain.

Bibi and I were deeply saddened by the fact that we were going to have to have a c-section. It is a mere truth that we were holding on beyond all hope that we might be able to have a natural childbirth experience, free of medical intervention. We spent the better part of Monday night, Tuesday, and some of Wednesday, mourning the loss of this hope. It was an intimately and closely held desire that we both had, and those die painfully, and slowly.

During this time of mourning, it did NOT go unnoticed that a c-section may indeed be the very thing that would save both my child's, and my wife's, life. It was with a very profound sense of appreciation and gratitude that Bibi and I willingly consented to the c-section, as we recognized that this is very likely the reason that we as a people are able to do that kind of a procedure.

Indeed, what I have learned from this experience is that it is possible to be totally and completely overjoyed at the outcome, and heartbreakingly devasted by the means. While these two feelings might SEEM opposed...they are not mutually exclusive. You've got to be able to separate the "stuff", from the "stuff".

Thank you all, again, for reading, and stay tuned as I regale you all with tales of Grace's explosive poo that ended up all over Bibi (WITH PICTURES!!!) and how Grace was kind enough to poo and pee all over me this afternoon as I changed her diaper. (Thankfully, no pictures were found.)

Thanks all, and enjoy....and, as always....

thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

The Rebirth of Cool...

2007-06-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

All right, race fans, you've waited long enough. It's been exactly one week since our beautiful daughter Grace Khalsa was born, and I've got a little time, so I thought I'd "grace" you all with a story. So, sit back, relax, and I'll tell you.

Way back, before Bibi and I even got married, we talked extensively about the many thoughts that we both had about pregnancy and about child-rearing. (Huh, communication....who'd a thunk it?) We knew that there were certain things that were really important to Bibi and me. (More for her than me, as I hadn't REALLY spent all that much time considering whether or not an episiotomy was a good thing or not....or, what an episiotomy was, in all honesty.)

So, we knew that we wanted to have a home birth. We wanted to utilize the services of a midwife, and that we wanted to have as natural a childbirth as possible--no medication, and as little medical intervention as possible. As we grew close to our due date, it become a very special thing...I really looked forward to participating in this beautiful metamorphosis and transition in to a new chapter in our lives.

However, as is often the case, God has different plans.

Last Monday, June 4th, Bibi noted that she had seen spots on three separate occasions that day. Due to her slightly higher blood pressure throughout the latter portion of her pregnancy, we were on the look out for pre-eclempsia symptoms, and she was now exhibiting some. (Seeing spots, headaches, and higher blood pressure.) We called our midwife, and she came over around 9. It was at this time that we decided that our midwife could go ahead and attempt to "encourage" labor, as Bibi was 38 weeks the next day. And it was during the "stripping of the membranes" that our midwife noticed something strange....instead of a head, she was feeling what was most likely the babies butt. This, to say the least, was not good.

Suzanne (the midwife) then recommended that we get a sonogram. Up until this point we had not had a sonogram, as it is still unclear what long term side-effects can occur. However, knowing if our baby was breech was important enough, and we agreed.

So, the next morning, Tuesday, June 5th, we went to KC Medical Imaging and had a sonogram performed. It was quite breathtaking to see our little one in there...eyes, nose, and mouth were all obvious, and he/she was sucking his/her thumb. However, he or she was indeed breech. (Upon leaving, Bibi began gushing about how gorgeous our little one was, and how precious the pictures they had given us of the baby were; I looked at her, and whan asked what I was thinking, answered completely honestly: That, in my opinion, the picture looked like proof positive that there really are aliens. It was, in all honesty, frightening. Of course, we thought that was hilarious, because I was kidding....wasn't I?) When we returned home, our midwife came over to suggest certain techniques that could possibly help in getting the baby to turn over. These consisted of playing music for the baby, with speakers down near Bibi's pelvis, having Bibi lay upside down on an ironing board with a bag of frozen peas (in our case spinach) at her breastbone and two burning "moxa sticks" next to her pinky toes. Suzanne, at some point during the day informed us that, if we weren't able to turn the baby, we would most likely have to go to the hospital and have a c-section. This was obviously as far from the outcome we were hoping for, and it was disheartening to say the least. We were then instructed to go to a pool and to have Bibi stand on her head. We did so.

Around 6 o'clock, when we came back from the pool, Bibi started having some contractions, and she had not felt the baby flip over. She decided to have a bath, and try to relax. It was during this bath that Bibi noticed that her mucus plug had come out. This meant that labor was most likely to begin very soon. We waited a while, realized that Bibi's contractions were only getting stronger, and called Suzanne again. She told us that we should get ourselves to the hospital at once so that they could give Bibi an IV to try to stop/slow the contractions to buy us more time.

We packed a bag, piled Leo into the car, and headed for Bibi's folk's house to drop Leo off. We then drove to the hospital. It was a strangely calm drive. We were both, as Bibi's mom Guruparwaz put it, "mourning the loss of expectation." We got to the hospital around 8:30 or 9, and an IV was inserted. We hung around the hospital, monitoring Bibi's contractions, and orienting ourselves to the waiting game we were beginning. Around 11:30 we were sent home, because the nurses said that Bibi's contractions had slowed down significantly. (This was news to us, as they had actually increased in frequency and intensity, but we were hungry and scared...what did we know?) So, we went back to Bibi's parent's house, and had a quick dinner, and then decided to stay there, as the contractions were exacerbated by riding in the car. Thus began one of the longest nights of our life....

The contractions came every 6 minutes from 11:45 pm, and increased to every five minutes the next morning. Realizing that things were progressing, that we had run out of time to get the little one to flip over, we headed back to the hospital, tired, but at peace with what was most likely going to be the outcome.

Checked in by 8 o'clock am Wednesday, June 6, we spent all morning, and all afternoon discussing baby names, calling family members, and accepting what was coming. Our midwife informed us, through a doctor at the hospital, that there was one more option...performing a "version" to get the baby to move. What this entails is this: in an operating room, the doctor would attempt to physically push the baby, from the outside, around in the womb. We were told that we would do this after Bibi had had an epidural, so that if the need arise, we could jump right into an "emergency c-section". Wanting to be sure and exhuast all reasonable avenues, we agreed.

At approximately 5:00pm, the anesthesiologist arrived and gave Bibi the epidural. I was given a set of scrubs so that I could go into the OR with Bibi. We wheeled Bibi down the hall way, and entered the OR. The physicians were all leisurely ambling about getting ready for this procedure. Both Bibi and I were wracked with nerves, excitement and worry. The version began, and it was as horrible to watch as one might suspect....the doctor was literally wrenching Bibi's belly, and the baby. After what seemed like about 10 minutes, the doctor noted that the baby's heartbeat had dropped unacceptably low, and it was time to move on. Instantly the lacksadasiqual atmosphere was no more; doctors and nurses snapped into action and the c-section had begun. Bibi was immediately frightened by the fact that she could still feel everything that was going on, and did not want the operation to begin if she was going to feel the incision. The doctors informed her that it was perfectly normal that she could feel "some things" but she would not feel the incision. This was not a great deal of comfort to either of us.

The c-section began after a curtain was placed in front of Bibi and I. Periodically I would peer over the curtain to see what was happening on the other side. I would not recommend doing so. Ostensibly, a c-section consists of making a "small" incision in the woman's abdomen, and removing the baby. What they don't tell you, and the tv shows don't show you, is the amount of exertion it takes on the doctors part to pull the skin of the abdomen back, so that the other doctor can reach in and rip the baby out, in what can only be described as a terribly violent and utterly unnatural "procedure".

Our baby was "removed", or born, at 5:57 pm, on June 6th, 2007. At that time, we found out that we were indeed the proud parents of a baby girl. She was whisked away from us, to the other side of the room so that they Newborn Nurses could clean her up. (They had been instructed NOT to clean the vernix off, as it is an excellent protectant if massaged into the babies skin.) I was confused as to why it was taking so long to get her back over to us, as we wanted to put the baby to Bibi's breast as soon as possible, so that she might benefit from her mother's milk. After 11 minutes, I was asked if I would like to see my daughter...I of course said yes, and told Bibi I would only be gone for a minute.

I walked over to see my daughter and was just amazed...she was grotesque. (And, of course beautiful, but let's be honest here....newborn infants are NOT cute...they are covered in vernix, and have just gone through one HELL of an experience....vaginal birth or c-section, it doesn't matter. She was gross. Beautiful, to be sure, but gross none the less.)

It was there that I was informed that the nurses had not been able to ween her off of oxygen yet; they had tried at 5 minutes, and had been unsuccessful. It was actually as I was standing there that she was weened finally. They brought our daughter over so that Bibi could see her, and the nurses informed us that she would need to be taken to the newborn nursery and given a bottle of formula, because her blood sugars were low. (50 is the minimum, and she was at 41.) Scared, confused, and wracked with doubts, we agreed. I reluctantly left Bibi to go with my daughter.

In the newborn nursery, our baby was given a bottle of formula--and thirty minutes to increase her blood sugars to at least 50, according to the Nurse Practitioner Tammy. At the end of the 30 minutes, her blood sugars were down to 30. She was going up to be placed in the NICU immediately.

I had to go and tell Bibi. That was one of the hardest things in the world for me to do. To make that walk, actually from the NICU, down the hallway, right to the elevators, down one floor; out the elevator past the "families waiting room", take a right, a left, walk passed the nurses station, and to our room. To do all of that, knowing that I have to tell my wife, my sweet, beautiful wife, who has just gone through hell that our little girl was going to be out of her arms for who knows how long. Yeah, that sucked.

Bibi took the news well and we commenced getting her healed. We went up to the NICU about 9:00 that night, and were able to see her. And, this began a whole new chapter for us at the hospital. The NICU nurses were....well, less than what you would hope for.

One of the things that Bibi has been looking forward to most of all, is breastfeeding our baby. She sees it as an amazingly powerful and intimate link between the mother and child, something that nothing else can replace. Also, it's much healthier for the baby, as it is exactly what the baby needs, when it needs it. So, you imagine how hard it was for Bibi when we found out that our girl was going to be put on formula. (Babies who are bottle fed before being put to breast have an increased likelihood of experiencing difficulty in learning how to breastfeed later on.) This can be compounded if a pacifier is used; it's called Nipple Confusion, and we had specifically told one of the nurses who was in the OR that our baby was NOT to get a pacifier.

So, it was a little difficult when we, finally, were able to go to see our baby girl, and she was lying there, surrounded by tubes, wires, cords, and an IV of glucose, and a pacifier stuck in her little mouth. It may not seem like that big of a deal, but, when you go from seeking a homebirth, with no medical intervention, to an unplanned c-section with a baby in the NICU, it would be nice to have SOME say in the treatment of your child, you know? Bibi politely mentioned that we didn't want her to have a pacifier, and the nurse immediately bristled, as if to say, who the hell are you? (Uh....the child's mother?) Then, as was perfectly within her rights, Bibi asked about getting a chance to breastfeed. The nurse, who was already upset, apparently thought that this was the most unreasonable request imaginable, and responded by saying something along the lines of, "well, if you really want to do that, it will most likely result in having a feeding tube placed in the babies throat." She then proceeded to tell us that having too much stimulation would negatively impact our baby and that we should limit our time up there. (How 'bout letting the new parents have, oh, I don't know, some time with their child?!)

Thursday, Bibi and I divided our time between our room, with our families, and Grace's little area in the NICU, avoiding the nurse from the previous night, and the periodic lectures from other nurses. We began making our every four hours trip to the NICU so that Bibi could nurse Grace, followed by Bibi and I using the breast pump so that we could get as much of Bibi's milk to the nurses to supplement the formula they were using.

Friday Bibi and I were told that Grace was doing much better, and that her numbers were pretty consistantly in the upper 50s, with a couple of tests in the low 60's. We were told that there was a chance she would be released to the main floor sometime that day. Around 4 oclock in the afternoon we were told that all Grace needed was two scores trending up towards 60 and she would be good to go. It didn't matter what time it happened, even if it was 3 in the morning. We were ecstatic. I even glanced at Grace's chart and saw it myself. However, at midnight, her last two scores had been 56 and 54, consecutively. The nurse, who was a new one, told us that she had been told that the nurse practitioner had decided that Grace needed two scores ABOVE 60. Bibi and I were shocked. The new nurse, who was indeed just doing her job, walked away, visibly uncomfortable with how upset we were. Bibi and I just looked at each other, shocked, and unable to move. Finally, I snapped out of it, and said, "I'll be right back." I walked out of Grace's cubby, and turned towards the nurses station. Our nurse, Pam, was talking to the Nurse Practitioner, Tammy. Pam came out, saw me (and the intense look on my face), paused, and then came over. She began to try to speak, but I interrupted her, "It's obvious that I'm very upset. I want you to know that I am in no way upset with you. I am, however, very upset with this situation. I've seen the chart myself, and I know that the chart did not say two scores above 60. The chart said two scores trending toward 60. Now, obviously, 56 and 54 are not trending toward 60, so it would be wise for Grace to stay up here now. However, I'm just a little bit, and I feel legitimately so, concerned that when I come up here tomorrow, I'm going to be told that she needs two scores above 65. Or two scores above 70. What stock can I put into what I'm being told, if the doctor's recommendations are being overruled?"

Tammy, having overheard all of this, came out of her office, and came over to talk to me. She then explained that, there had been new research done, and that 60 was now the new minimum, and that some doctors were still using the old information, but they were going to go by the new information. (Apparently she forgot that she was the one who told me 50 in the first place, back on Wednesday. ) However, Tammy went on, since Grace seemed to be doing well, as long as our nurse Pam didn't mind coming down to our room every 4 hours and testing the blood sugars there, Tammy didn't see why Grace couldn't come down with us then. (And the crowd goes wild...!)

So, Friday night, at midnight, Grace was released to our care, down on the third floor, just so long as Pam would continue to check her blood sugars. It was the sweetest sleepless night of my life. All day Saturday we continued checking her blood sugars, rejoicing in her 68, her 74, her 71. It was wonderful.

And, at 3:30, we were told that Grace would be discharged from the hospital after having just one more "short" test performed. We gladly agreed, and the nurse wheeled Grace into the Newborn Nursery. Three "short" hours later, Grace was returned to us, and we began gathering our belongings. We had one last good laugh before we left; Bibi's dad, mom, and my mom all crouched on the floor, trying to figure out our new carseat, me standing behind the car seat, instructions in hand, trying to get a word in edge-wise, and Bibi laughing hysterically at the expression on Grace's face; Bibi said it was something along the lines of, "what the heck are you people trying to do?!"

We piled our belongings into our cars, and proceeded to make the longest 15 mile-an-hour-drive-in-a-forty-five-mile-an-hour-zone ever. I once asked a friend in college, who had just become a dad, does your driving change over night? Do you automatically get better, more careful, safer?

The answer?

Hell yeah, you do.

And, that's our story...so far.

Thanks for your patience, and thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

Picture number 2 of 1,000,000

2007-06-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Rest assured, the story will come, but for now...

Amazed by Grace....

2007-06-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hey! Here's a picture of my daughter. (c;

A brief update...

2007-05-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

Two things....

1.) I have a job! I left Kirksville last Thursday, and had two interviews lined up that afternoon. I thought they both went well, but I liked one of the schools a great deal more than that other one, for a number of reasons. The principal there said that he was going to call me back either that night or the next morning, but I imagined it would probably be much later...like, this week sometime. However, as Bibi and I were discussing that fact, my cell phone rang, and it was that very principal asking if I would like to take a fifth grade position at his school next year. (I said I would like that very much.)

2.) We had to rewire our phone jacks b/c they were a) old and busted, and b) just old. With my father-in-law's help and guidance we rewired the lines in the bedroom and the kitchen. And, after having him explain what I should do in the office, I rewired and connected the jack there. And, that, my faithful readers, is why I am now able to post this! Whoo hoo!

3.) Bibi and I are expecting our newborn any freakin' day now....

stay tuned for frequent-ish updates.

Tommy

It's Story Time!

2007-05-20T19:56:00.001-07:00

So, hey!

As my title would suggest, it's story time gang! So, sit back and relax and let me tell you all a WONDERFUL story!

Once upon a time there was a young man who was living a very good life in a small town. He was married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and was getting ready to become a father for the first time, and he could not have been more excited. He was so happy about his wife being pregnant, and his wife was happy, and everyone was happy.

This young man was also very happy in his chosen profession. He was a teacher. He was working in the same school that he had started working in, and was very happy. Except, well, he was having doubts. He wasn't sure that he was doing as well as he could have been doing. He was reflecting back on this time as a teacher, (almost five years he had been teaching) because he was getting ready to move to a new city.

Everyone told him what a great teacher he was, but he had some secret doubts. He knew that he cared, but caring and a quarter will get you a cup of piss-poor coffee at a truck stop on I-35. He had been sure that he would get at least a few job offers in his new big city, and that the transistion would go very smoothly.

But, it hadn't gone smoothly.

He had gotten a screening interview in the Big Fancy School District and then hadn't heard a thing for 3 months. (And, that felt like an eternity!!)

He was starting to suspect that maybe he had put all of his eggs in one basket, and then grace-lessly dropped that egg-filled basket off a very high buildling.

Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-plop!!!!

And, with these new dark doubts plaguing our young man's mind, he started thinking back on all of the students that he'd had over the years....

and of one student in particular.

Our teacher had started his teaching career with a very special class of students. They were all wonderful and unique creatures, blessings from God, to be sure, but our teacher saw them more like a plague of hissing cats. They were always egging each other on, acting out, pushing, bickering, and in general not acting like our teacher thought his first class would act. And, in this class, there was one young man. This young man had come from an exceptionally trying background, with a lurid family life, a horrifying school experience, and failures and stumbling blocks far too numerous to recount in this short story.

Our teacher knew of this young man's challenges, and he also knew of his pattern of acting out in the classroom. Our teacher wanted to be different for this student. Our teacher wanted to make a difference in this young man's life. Our teacher wanted to be that teacher who would help this student see that things could be different; that he could succeed. Throughout the course of the school year, there were any number of conflicts between student and teacher. The student even told the teacher that he was an asshole. He said that the teacher should get a different job, that he shouldn't be a teacher at all. The teacher refused to give up on, or let up on this student, and the student, as students are wont to do, refused to give up, too. This continued on all year long, teacher pushing the student, student pushing back at the teacher, and so on. The teacher continued to try to make a difference and, probably tried to write something meaningful in the students yearbook at the end of the year, hoping--most likely in vain--that it would have some kinf of a sustaining impact on the young boy.

And, in time, those struggles, those attempts at reaching the young student, got lost in a sea of attempts and struggles for our teacher.

And then, one day, long after that young boy had been removed from the school district, long after he had been committed to the juvenile detention system of that particular state, about the time our young teacher was worrying about whether or not he would get a job in his new home, he received three very significant phone calls.

The first phone call was from a school in his new district asking him if he would like to come in for an interview. The second call came an hour and a half after that interview, from the principal asking him to come back for a second interview.

And the third phone call?

That call came when our teacher was finishing up packing up his house, getting ready to move to his new city.

The caller?

The young student from that first class.

He had been looking through his things, and had happened upon his old fifth grade year book, and he had seen that his teacher had written in it, "I wish you nothing but success in the future, and I know you can achieve it."

He was calling because he had gotten his G.E.D. (early!!) and was applying to go to radiology school in the fall. Oh, and he also wanted to apolgize for all the stuff he had done in the teacher's class.

Our teacher chuckled, dumbstruck, and told his long lost student that it was quite all right, and that he was just very glad to hear from him.

They chatted for a while and said their goodbyes. And, as is often the case, the student would never realize the impact he would have on this one teacher.

And that, my faithful readers, is story time for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Random picture....

2007-05-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

I found this picture on the interwebs the other day...thought I'd share it with you all. It's a picture that was taken during the winter (obviously) by the local newspaper.

More soon....

I ain't no fortunate son...

2007-04-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

I believe I've mentioned my music project with my class before, and I wanted to update you all on something pretty cool that happened last week.

Last week my song was Fortunate Son, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the kids were really enjoying it. (They've enjoyed the music a whole lot more now that we're (mostly) done with classical music, but that's ok...:) ) Anyway, in Social Studies we were finishing up the beginning unit on the Civil War. We were talking about all of the events leading up to the Civil War, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides during the war, and the attitudes and behaviors of both the south and the north during the Civil War. One of the issues we addressed was the fact that civilians in both the south and the north were able to evade the draft by either owning a certain number of slaves, or by buying your way out of the war. We discussed whether or not this was fair, what it meant to the poor and underprivileged, etc. Well, in a flash, like a...uh, (ahem) surge, it hit me...the song fit perfectly with this aspect of American History. I printed off the lyrics to the song, had my class read them as I played the song, and watched as they began to make the connection between the song and our discussions of the Civil War. Some kids asked if the song was written about the Civil War. I explained the connection to the Viet Nam war, and the correlation between the song, and both wars. Then, to culminate that particular part of the class, I sat back and reveled in what I was seeing...20 ten, eleven, and twelve year olds singing along with CCR and really getting it. It was truly something special.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, I allow my students to get my attention when I'm unable to attend to them by saying "O Captain, My Captain". One of my students had checked out a book on Civil War poetry and songs. She found the Whitman poem (O, Captain! My Captain!) about Lincoln, and excitedly showed it to me, as if I didn't already know about it. I read the poem to the class, we discussed what it meant, and for the first time, my students smiled just a bit deeper when proclaiming, O Captain, My Captain!

It's been a good couple of days in class, to say the least.

Anyway, I've been working on my playlist of songs for "Music Time". I know I asked for suggestions before, but...any new ones?

And, as always, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

April is the cruelest month...

2007-04-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sad news from the literary world. David Halberstam, one of my all-time favorite authors was killed today in a car accident.

When I was a sophomore in college, I was given the opportunity to have dinner with this remarkable man, along with a number of other students. I was able to sit at his table and talk with him about his many books, his illustrious career, and his time as an embedded journalist during the Viet Nam War. I left that meeting with a profound appreciation for his work, and I have enjoyed absolutely every book I have read by him.

If you haven't read any of his work, I highly recommend you give it a try.

To David Halberstam: a man with class, a humanitarian, and a great author; you will be missed.

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

Strangers in the Night...

2007-04-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened tonight...

A VERY funny comedian, by the name of Zack Galifianakis was performing at Truman. I used to watch his show when I was in college all the time, and my old roommate Brad was a HUGE fan. However, both Bibi and I felt totally wiped out by the week/weekend, and we were unable to get tickets to see him. I was kinda bummed by it, but at the same time, knew that we both needed a quiet night in.

So, around 9 we were walking Leo on our usual route, when my shoulder started hurting; I asked Bibi if it would be ok if we cut out the last leg of the walk so that we could get home. She, of course, said yes, and we turned to head back home. As we were passing the Truman faculty parking lot, I glanced to my left, and saw a very bearded man, dragging wheeled luggage behind him. I paused, and without thinking said, "Are you Zack Galifianakis?"

It was!

I asked if he minded if I introduced myself. He said sure. We walked over and I introduced myself and we kind of chatted a bit. He asked what brought me to Kirksville, and I said that I was a teacher here. I admitted that, while being a huge fan, I hadn't been able to see the show, and then asked how was it. He said it was pretty good, but, you know, these college audiences, some of the material just goes over their heads. But, as long as you curse a lot, they love you. (c;

He then asked for directions to a good restaurant, and I told him how to get to Il Spazio. We then finished walking Leo and came home.

So, that's how I met Zack Galifianakis.

More later...!

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Insert catchy title here.

2007-04-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Anybody know any songs about fathers? I like to title my posts with song titles, and I couldn't think of anything for this one.

Disclaimer: Rambling post about a lot of different topics, and containing a lot of gushy emotional stuff. Be warned.

You ever had one of those days, when things aren't all that great...I mean, don't get me wrong, they're far from bad, but it's just not THAT grea? And, then...outta nowhere, you have a glimpse of how blessed you REALLY are? I was sitting in my classroom today while my students were working on their assignment, thinking about the massive weight of things that have been kind of slowly creeping on top of me, and I thought about coming home tonight, and it hit me like a ton of bricks, (way more quickly and powerfully than that "woe" nonsense), how unbelievably happy I was that I got to GET to come home to this wonderful woman, this partner of mine. I honestly almost started crying at my desk I couldn't wait to come home to see my Bibi. It's a good thing, no? It brought to mind the lyrics from one of my favorite singers, one who I've already posted here back in November.

"Now is the time of collection
Now is the season undone
Now is the winter of my discontent
Made glorious summer
By your sun "

Jeffrey Foucault--Sunrise in the Rearview

Anyway.

Onward to other topics.

So, I've been thinking about fatherhood a lot lately. (Imagine that.) I was thinking back to a couple of years ago when I was visiting Kansas City and I was hanging out with a friend of mine who had recently become a father. He was a friend of mine from my freshman and sophomore year, who was the epitome of that goofy and great friend that I imagine everyone has freshman year of college...he was just this funny, cool, mildly wild (is that possible?) guy who was liked by everyone, but was in no way remotely "adult", you know? And, I remember VERY clearly watching him with his son...watching him change his son's diaper, play with him, relate to him...it was one of the most amazing things I've seen in some time. I mean, it really stuck with me. I can't wait to be that guy...to change diapers....to play with my child, to be....a dad. I. Can't. Wait.

And, speaking of that....I've been thinking about family, and parenthood, and such....and, it's been a whirlwind of thoughts....

For those of you who know me, who've read the earlier posts on this blog, etc, you know that I've kind of been stuck in this rebelliousness about family for sometime. I think everyone goes through it to some extent or another at some point in their life, but I think maybe my phase was a bit on the long side. Anyway...in this mindset I was pretty critical of my parents, of my childhood, of how I was raised, about family in general. It was a very strange thing, and it led to me having some pretty strong opinions about how I wanted to raise my kids. I read a really good book a couple of weeks ago called, "Fathering Right from the Start" about being a dad, and it really struck me. This is what I learned/realized.

I want nothing more than to be the kind of parent my mom, dad, and step-dad were. They parented with nothing but the purest intentions and motivations, and with nothing but love as the core of their decisions. They loved me, and my sisters, with all of their hearts and all of their minds and souls, and they wanted nothing more than the absolute best for us. And, my faithful readers, that is the kind of dad I want to be.

All right...those are just some thoughts I've had...feel free to comment. (I love getting comments.)

Tommy

Our House, in the middle of the street

2007-04-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Yep. We gotta house. We signed a one year lease, we get the keys next time we're in KC, and we're really excited about it. Bibi loves the three bedrooms, I love the garage, and Leo is going to LOVE the HUGE fenced-in backyard.

And baby? Well, baby's gonna love having a home all to ourselves. Baby's also gonna love the quiet residential neighborhood, the well huge shade trees, and the fact that we're not gonna have to live out of a cardboard box. (c;

Oh, and our midwife's appointment on Saturday was awesome. Everything is going along swimmingly, and as of right now the baby is entirely viable. (Which, you know, is a good thing.) We've been feeling our little one kick a LOT lately, and last night we could feel the babies legs/arms gliding under Bibi's belly. (say that three times fast: Bibi's belly, Bibi's belly, Bibi's belly. It's even hard to type fast!!!) And, let me tell you, there are few things in life MORE surreal than feeling a baby move under the momma's skin. Sheesh.

I know, I know, it's been almost, what, a fortnight since my last post? Much has happened. And, well, I don't even know where to start. So, I'll leave it up to you...

got any questions ya'll are wondering about?

Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

Baby baby...

2007-03-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, in reviewing my post from the other day, I realized that I kind of left something MASSIVE off the update. It's stupid, and I feel stupid for having done so.

Bibi is now 27 weeks. (For those of you guys out there, that's roughly 6 months along.) The baby is kicking up a storm now, and wakes Bibi a couple nights a week in her sleep. And, the weirdest part? You can actually SEE the damn thing from the outside. Yeah, that's right...it's wiggling around in there so much that you can see, with your eyes, little mounds moving around. It actually keeps reminding me of two VERY different movies.
1.) Alien, when the guy's really sick and then all of a sudden out pops the little angry alien creature spitting mad? Yeah, I keep thinkin' that's gonna happen, and it makes me very nervous.
2.) Spaceballs, the scene where the guy in the diner gets really sick and out pops the creepy little alien creature who starts singing and dancing, "hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my ragtime girrrrrrrl...", and it makes me very, VERY happy. ( I loved Spaceballs, what can I say!)

So, yeah, the baby is coming along fine, and we're both VERY excited.

This weekend two very good friends came into town unexpectedly, and it was a wonderful surprise. John, Becki, we had a great time Saturday night and lunch was fun, too. Bibi loved getting to meet you, and we'd love to hang out again. (You know, the next time you guys are in Missouri, or we're in Indiana. (c:)

Tonight, Bibi and I had just a wonderful time after our respective jobs were done. We both came home, realized that we were hungry, didn't really want to cook, and also really, really wanted to spend some time outside because it was so nice. So, we packed a pic-a-nic and walked to a grassy knoll near our house. We took some veggie burgers, chips and dip and some grapes and a blanket, and our awesome dog, Leo. We spread out the blanket, got Leo's bone, and sat down. I was a bit nervous about having Leo on our blanket with us, but, it was so cool...Leo sat there, and didn't even TRY to get our food while we enjoyed a lovely picnic in the sun. It was simply wonderful.

And, that reminds me, what are you all looking forward to with the dawing of Spring? (And, for those of you keeping track of my music project at school, Vivaldi's "Spring" is our song-of-the-week this week. I found it fitting.)

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Once again, i'm easy like Sunday morning....

2007-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

So, yeah, I pretty much suck as a blogger, don't I? Haven't updated in...well, WAY too long. So, thought I'd let you all know what's been going down. So, last we talked, was back in February. (Again, sorry!!)

We had spring break, and Bibi and I went down to KC for the week. We got there Sunday, the 4th, after a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and hung out with Bibi's family for awhile. We had just a couple of goals for our week. We wanted to find a house to buy and we wanted to relax. We spent Monday driving around different areas looking at houses for sale by owners, and writing down numbers to call. We then made what seemed like an obscene number of telephone calls trying to set up walk-throughs. We looked online and tried to get contact numbers on what really WAS an obscene number of houses. We finally got a call from a REALLY excited realitor who wanted to show up two houses that we had looked into. We then drove out to where the houses were, and we were immediatly disheartened. To say that they were nothing but a crap heap with an expensive price tag would be a grave insult to all crap heaps with expensive pricetags in the world. They were disgusting; and, to be honest, the neighborhoods did not leave me with a "hey, I feel really safe here!" feeling.

So, I was feeling down, to say the least.

Tuesday we got up and decided we were going to re-energize ourselves and try again. Bibi went out to lunch with a friend, I sat outside Starbucks and read (more on that later) and at 3 we met with a much more reasonable realitor in Independence. We told her what we were looking for, what we were NOT looking for, and she came up with a folder's worth of houses that she wanted us to look at and let her know if we wanted to look through 'em. They were all MUCH nicer than the previous houses we had looked at, and they made us feel much better about our chances. In fact, two of them we almost fell in love with at first sight.

Wednesday we met with the realitor again to walk through some of the houses. The first houses we really wanted to go through was right in the low to middle of our hoped-for price range. However, the realitor called us and told us that, alas, it had been put under contract the night before. So, we couldn't look at that one. The second house was a little on the high side of our price range and was really small--it was very nice, to be sure, but WAY too small. The third house, and yes, I know I'm getting a little "Goldilocks" on you was...well, it was a little on the high side, but definitely not TOO high, and it was perfect. In fact, it was huge. It was wonderful. We wanted to play it cool, and all of our pre-approval papers were in Kville, so we told our realitor friend that we wanted to give it some careful consideration, but that we did indeed like it. The rest of the week was spent relaxing and enjoying our time in KC.

I read two books over break. "Somebodies and Nobodies" by Robert Fuller, and I'm reading "Only Revolutions" by Mark Z. Danielewski now. Somebodies and Nobodies is a www.bookcrossing.com book, and it's up for grabs if anyone wants it. It's a look at, what Fuller calls, the most pervasive source of "dignity abuse" in our world, the "cancer" that faces our world really; and that abuse is the abuse of rank in all it's myriad forms. Basically, according to the author, if you were to take all of the defining characteristics of all of the "isms" in our world, (e.g. sexism, ageism, racism, etc.) they could all be summed up as an abuse of rank, real or perceived. And the real crux of this abuse is that it by necessity deprives all humans of their one truly important need: dignity. It was interesting. So, like I said, if you're interested in it, let me know, and I'll send it your way.

"Only Revolutions" is by a very intriguing author. Danielewski is a master at writing complicated and unique novels. The construction of the texts, and the structure of the story is very unorthadox, and makes for a very unusual reading experience. The story is in two parts: One part is Sam's story. Sam is a forever sixteen year old who travels all around America with his girlfriend Hailey from the 1860's to the 1960's. The other part of the story is about a girl named Hailey who travels all around America with her boyfriend Sam from the 1960's on. But, in order to see the complexity of the structure, you need to get yourself a copy of this book. (c;

Ok, so that diversionary section was put there on purpose. I did that because after Bibi and I got back from break, as we were filling out our paperwork, we realized that with the baby coming, with the move to Kansas City, and with me not having a job lined up officially yet, buying a house right now would definitely NOT be the best choice for us. So, we're going to go back and look at some rental properties and see what our options are there.

And jobs? Well, I had a screening interview in Lee's Summit back in February and I thought it went really well. When Bibi and I came back from break there was a letter from Lee's Summit basically saying that they thought I did really well, too, and that they would be passing my information on to any schools in the district that had openings, and if they were interested in setting up an interview, the district would get in touch. (Basically, 'we'll call you'.) So, that sounds promising, but it's a wait and see kind of a situation. So, we'll wait and see. (It's Napolean's Battle Plan. I'm going to show up in KC and see what arises. Hopefully it works better for me than it did for him--I don't really want to die in exile on the island of Elba, you know?)

Ok. Well, it's getting to be time for a refill of coffee. So, you all have a great Sunday, and I promise an update before next weekend.....hopefully. (c;

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Live from Kirksville...it's Weekend Update!

2007-02-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

Well, hello out there!

How're things going?

Yeah? Oh, that sounds nice!

So, it was a great weekend.

We went to KC for a couple of reasons. On Saturday morning, I had my first job interview in the KC area. I thought it went swimmingly, and I'm really looking forward to hearing about it in the next week or so. (They send out a letter.) Stay tuned!!!

Sunday, finally, we got to meet with our midwife. That was awesome. She told us that everything is going along well, and that she thinks things are fine. We listened to the heartbeat again, and she said that she thought it sounded like a boy's. (We're not finding out, so this isn't definite, but, well, it sounded awesome. (c; )

Then we came back to Kville and we have five days left til Spring Break. We're going back to KC to look for a house. Busy, busy, busy. (c;

Still reading the Counterinsurgency Manual. I'm on the appendices, so it shouldn't be too long now. What are you reading now?

Thanks for stopping by...
Tommy

Won't Get Fooled Again!

2007-02-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I am still alive and kicking. Things are going well here in the 'ville.

Tim, I got your message today, and I didn't get a chance to call you back. I'd love to hang out sometime soon. Let me know when you're coming up.

This weekend was a great one. Friday night I worked at Il Spazio, and Bibi was going to go back to KC for the weekend, but Friday night it started snowing, and snowing, and snowing and then it just kept right on snowing. So, Bibi did not go back to KC. After work, we hung out and called it a night fairly early. Saturday we got up and Bibi went to a meeting called "Birth Circle" for women who are recent mothers or mothers-to-be. She had fun; I, in the meantime, got some dishes done and read. (More on that later.)

Saturday night I worked again, and Sunday was a LAZY day. We watched some shows that we have taped, and just hung out. Monday I hung out at Java Co, read, and hung out with some friends. (It was wonderful.)

Last night--Monday night--Bibi and I wanted to try out a new recipe, so we got out one of our cookbooks, and made a traditional Irish dish called Colcannon. It was deli-wait for it!!--cious.

All right. So, now on to the literary updates.

Apparently the book that I talked about last time, the Newberry Award winner, has caused quite a stir on the internet. And, as it's getting a lot of buzz, I don't feel too bad naming the book here. It was called "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron. And, if you google it, you'll find all manner of arguments regarding its value as a book because of it's use of the word scrotum. Now, I don't know if I stated my feelings clearly enough last week, so I'll say them again here....the word scrotum is not what I have a problem with. The fact that this book was recognized as the best of the best for children's literature is what I have a problem with. (It's just not that good.)

And, what am I reading now, you may ask? (Ok, so, maybe you don't care what I'm reading now. If not, then why in the world are you still reading? That's what this blog is about!) I just picked up a copy of Lt. General David Petraeus' "Counterinsurgency Manual" for the United States Army. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, he was just made the head honcho of all the troops in Iraq, and last summer he wrote a new version of the counterinsurgency manual for all the armed forces. I thought I would check it out, as he has some pretty revolutionary theories on fighting the insurgency in Iraq (i.e.: making the Iraqi people secure is a task that will require something more than just bullets and tanks, and that in order to successfully complete the tast ahead of our troops, our number one goal is to put the Iraqi people in charge of their own future.) In know...wild, isn't it?

All right, so let me leave you all with a thought: Last week the House of Representatives debated (fairly pathetically) the issue of whether or not to pass a non-binding resolution against President Bush's troop surge plan. The senate wasn't even able to debate it, and the proposed vote failed. Now, here are my questions: 1) What the hell good is a "non-binding resolution?, and 2) Isn't it the job of the American people to protest when they disagree with the actions of their government, and isn't it the job of the government to, you know, actually DO something about it, instead of attempting to pass purely symbolic, and in reality absolutely meaningless "resolutions"?

Your thoughts....

(Thanks for stopping by!!)

Tommy

Easy like Sunday morning....

2007-02-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Greetings readers!

The end of the week was good. Thursday night Bibi and I made chocolate chip cookies and they were good.

Friday was good as well. I went to work (I'm back at Il Spazio) and then Bibi and I went to a get together for some of her sorority sisters, and that was fun. Saturday we just hung out with a friend who came over to work with me on my iPod. (Good stuff--thanks Dan!!). Then, we cleaned up a little around the house, and I went to work again. It was a really weird, slow night.

During all of these things, I was reading a new book. On Friday I finished "You Suck" by Christopher Moore, and it was succulent. (Har dee har har.) However, I needed a new book, and so I went to talk to my school librarian. She was excited to see me, because we often talk about new kids books and developments in the realm of children's lit. So, here's the deal...

There's this new book. I don't want to be too specific, but it is the 2007 Newberry Award winner. (That means that it is being acknowledged as the best of books written specifically for children.) However, in the first page there are references to decidedly un-childlike topics. And, on page nine, the entire page is dedicated to that same topic. At first glance, having only seen those two pages, I was chagrined and taken aback. See, I'm not for censorship AT ALL. However, common sense has to play a huge part in determining whether or not a given reading material is appropriate for a specific age group. I was really, really torn. There are a lot of factors to consider: value of the rest of the piece, importance of the questionable material in context, and the literary "worth" of the piece as a whole. For example, I feel that Huck Finn, an unbelievably excellent book, is important as a whole because the use of the controversial "n word" is purposeful and designed to highlight the hypocracy of racism in general, and slavery specifically.

So, I read the book. And, here are my conclusions: While the book deals with some excellent topics, i.e.: abandonment, death, belonging, redemption, family, finding one's "higher power" and making responsible decisions, just to name a few, it does so in a way that does not redeem the use of the questionable material. It's good, but...it's not THAT good. I think that it is appropriate for older kids, and since my kids are the oldest kids in my school, and the book would be available to younger, less emotionally mature kids, it probably isn't the best option to put it in our library, but placing it at the middle school would be a good choice.

So, here's my question for you....

Censorship...a necessary evil, or needlessly draconian administrative micromanagement tool? And, are there any books that you've read that should, or should NOT have been censored?

Discuss....

It's been awhile...

2007-02-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Sorry about the lapse in posts...I don't really have a good excuse....so, I'll make one up.

Space monkeys. Space monkeys came and messed with our internet connection. There were wires and fiber optics and little bits of space monkey everywhere. Very messy.

Anyway, I'm back!

Let's see...so, last time I posted I talked about my new music plan for my classroom. So far it's been really cool. My class enjoyed Pachelbel's Canon in D, and now they're enjoying Beethoven's 14th Sonata, better known as the "Moonlight Sonata." I've also really enjoyed getting the suggestions from those of you who have made comments. I think I've got a bit more than I bargained for--there is a LOT of very significant music out there, you know? (c;

Last night, after watching American Idol, which we love, Bibi and I had a BLAST doing the dishes. I know, I know, we're such dorks, but we were rocking out to James Brown in the kitchen doing ridiculous little dances and just all and all having a blast. It was really fun. (It's an amazing thing when you get to spend your life with your best friend!!!)

On the literary front, I've read quite a few books in the hiatus. I read a book called, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Toll. VERY interesting book. It's about spirituality, reality, time, evanescence (the quality, not the musical group) and the nature of our existence. Very interesting book. I'd recommend it highly.

After that I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a very interesting and skillfully crafted tale about a Greek family that came to the US in the 1920s. It follows the family line through three generations while exploring issues such as national pride, war, politics, sexuality, gender, family, adolescence, and the value and importance of death as it relates to life. The narrator is a hermaphrodite born and raised as a girl who then realizes that he is actually male. The author, Eugenides, does an amazing job of allowing the narrator to "sound" feminine as a child and preteen, conflicted as all teenagers are as a teenager, and then masculine later in life.

Very well told story. Again, I'd recommend it.

I also read a book on the Bradley Method of childbirth. That was really interesting. I learned SO much about childbirth, labor, the female body and the miracle of life. Even if you're not going for a natural childbirth, I'd recommend it as a refresher for that unit during high school on human reproduction. (c;

And, now, I'm reading the new book by Christopher Moore. It's called....(wait for it...) "You Suck: A Love Story". It's a sequal to Moore's comedic smash, "Bloodsucking Fiends", also a love story. (With vampires.) So far, hilarious. At one point, Moore refers to someone who gestures wildly with his hands as having "ASL Tourettes". (c;

All right. That's all. Hope you're all having a great time out there. Anyone else counting down to Lost's return tonight?!

Congrat's to Matt and Courtney...(don't forget...I'll perform the ceremony if you'll let me!!!!)

Thanks for stopping by ya'll!

Tommy

Music hath powers...

2007-01-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

So, I've decided I'm making a change.

For those of you who don't know, I play music for my students whenever they are given time to work on assignments in class. I have a random assortment of CDs in my classroom that are mostly classical and some blues and jazz/be-bop songs. I'll play them for the kids, and I love the fact that they get a chance to hear some music that they MIGHT not otherwise be able to.

However, I was feeling this week like it wasn't enough. That, while it's great that they hear Mozart and that I've told them that studies have shown that listening to Mozart while working on math can improve standardized math scores, it still isn't enough...there is SO much great music out there.

So, here's my plan.

I have scheduled out one song per week from here on out for the rest of the year. At the end of the day, after all other work has been done, students will be given a chance to listen to, take in, and learn about one song that I have deemed "culturally significant." This week (and next, because I started out on Thursday) is Pachelbel's Canon in D. So, each day we listen to the song, the students are able to draw what the song reminds them of, they're able to journal on it, or just enjoy it. We're going to discuss voice and how music--whether it has words or not--can clearly and quite effectively express the author/composer's feelings and thoughts.

So, what does "culturally significant" mean? Well, just a few of the songs that I have selected are: Moonlight Sonata, All You Need is Love, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Rhapsody in Blue, New York New York, This Land is Your Land (the original, complete version, so that my class can see that it's really a protest song),

Now, for this year I believe I have all the songs picked out. But, I'm willing to reassess my choices and selections as I go. So, here's your job....

what songs, dear readers, do you think are culturally significant?

Discuss.

Tommy

Live blogging the State of the Union Address....

2007-01-23T19:22:00.001-08:00

If you watched the State of the Union, here are my thoughts, as the speech happened. If you didn't? Well, these are still my thoughts as the speech happened.

Man, they clap a lot.

First time in the history of America that a woman has sat among the three at the head of the auditorium.

Seems as if the Democrats are doing up the civility thing a bit much. Are they actually cheering?!

Standing ovation for Madame Speaker. That's neat.

I have to say....there is a great deal of happiness in that building.

It's almost like a Catholic mass! Sit, stand, sit, stand, shake hands, sit, stand, sit stand....etc.

It's always funny how whichever party is NOT in the majority cries foul against the other party in respect to their bipartisinship. (Sp?!)

Balance the budget? How...uh, exactly do you think we should do that? By continuing to pay for an outrageously expensive war, while eliminating the cost of education by creating a ridiculous plan for taking away the funds of schools that meet a near-impossible expectation?

Eliminating wasteful earmarks? Sounds VERY good. Good

I like how Pelosi did NOT clap at the allusion to vouchers, but she DID applaud at the part about providing failing students with extra help. It's REALLy funny seeing how different Cheney and Pelosi react.

Health Insurance:
I may be wrong...but I don't think that most people take the tax structure into account when considering whether they can afford health insurance.

Is it just me, or does Dick Cheney's inner monologue sound like Billy Bob Thornton from Sling Blade? "I don't reckon' I got no reason to kill no body....mmmmmm".

I do appreciate that Bush is making an effort to acknowledge the fact that this country does depend a great deal on the work (not mooching---WORK!!) of immigrants, legal or otherwise.

I forget who said this, it wasn't me, but John Kerry looks like one of the trees that throws apples at Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Nucular. (c;
Yay ethenol!!!
I think I've heard Obama speak on the topic of energy independence, and he's got some great ideas. Obama recognizes that our dependence on foreign sources of oil ARE a threat to our national security, not just a "tree-hugger" issue.

Did you see that?! Robin Williams was right!!! George Bush is actually Cheney's puppet!!! They DRANK WATER A THE SAME TIME!!!! Bush can't speak while Cheney is drinking!!!!

Am I the only one who had never heard about those terrorist plots that we thwarted? Geez, I thought I was doing a good job staying on top of the news....yeesh....

Every time Bush mentions Iran, I assume he's about to announce that we're going to war against them, too.

Not to open up a WHOLE can of worms....but, terrorists are terrorists not because they hate freedom, but because they hate what they perceive to be the grave offenses we have committed against them. It's a bit of a difference.

As I teach my kids, you need to explain to me what SPECIFICALLY what qualify as a "victory" in Iraq. I don't feel like you've gone into enough detail as far as achievable steps towards that all to vague goal of "victory". Need more evidence to support your claim.

Talking about the reallocation of Iraqi oil funds SOUNDS good, but the Iraqi oil infrastructure is so far gone and in such a state of disrepair, that it's going to take a great deal of Iraqi monetary investment to get to the point where Iraqi oil will provide the country with profits. Where does that initial money come from?

How are you going to increase the number of recruits in the military when you're getting us further bogged down in an increasingly unpopular war? Every time we send troops back for another tour of duty, people who would have volunteered for the armed forces have more reasons to doubt the benefits of that choice.

You should all check out Larry Brilliant's work in helping to eliminate Small Pox from the world. It's impressive. (Bush was talking about our work on AIDS/HIV, and malaria.

Dikembe Motumbo is nineteen feet tall.

Baby Einstein and America's Most Wanted, working side-by-side? I mean, yeah...it makes sense if you think about it, but that's like....Run DMC and Aerosmith doing a song together....

Damn! The Dems are in a RUSH to get out of there!!!!

All right...that's all.

What did you all think of the SOTU address?

Tommy

120 Days of Joy....

2007-01-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

Today was a special day....

In Bibi's tradition, the 120th day of pregnancy is the day that the soul of the baby becomes more solidly linked to the mother.

Today was that day.

We had friends and family in to town for a special meal and a reading from the Sikh scriptures. The day was not in honor of the baby; there are many days and special events for that. Today was in honor of Bibi and the special role that Bibi will fulfill as the mother of our child.
"we are all born of a woman...compassion is learned in the lap of the woman and...
that peace is not possible anywhere that woman is not honored and respected."
We came together as a group of friends and family, to embrace the sacred nature that a mother inherently possesses.

It was a special day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Over the hills and through the woods...

2007-01-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well, thank you Nconner and everyone else who read my blog today. We are safely back in Kville. The roads weren't TOO bad...but, well, it was a bit precarious at times.

My knuckles are still white.

We had no major trouble, although we did see someone do a 360 into the ditch.

Anywho.

Had a great time in KC, although our midwife was unable to meet us, which was too bad.

All right, I'm going to go massage my knuckles so that they can get some color back into them.

How was your weekend? Are you staying warm?

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

A Request....

2007-01-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is a request to everyone in Kirksville. Bibi and I are potentially stuck in KC. It's Monday, the roads are...well, not good. We're contemplating not coming back today, but I need a little input. How are the roads in KVille, how are the roads supposed to be....and, how likely is it that school is going to happen/not happen tomorrow?

All right....go go gadget bloggers.

Tommy

Correction

2007-01-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone....thought I'd clarify my last post.

Bibi and I are moving at the end of this school year. I am MOST DEFINITELY staying at my job through the end of the school year....I am NOT going to renig on my committment to my students or my school.

What I meant in my last posting was that we are going to try and find a place for Bibi and I to get so that SHE can move middle of May, and I"ll finish up the school year and THEN go down to be with her. So. There ya go.

Oh, and we didn't go to KC tonight b/c the roads were so bad. Hopefully we'll be able to go tomorrow.

So....it's just a quiet Friday night.

What are you up to?

Tommy

2007-01-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I might actually provide some details for ya'll.

Bibi is due June 19th. We're not finding out the sex until she gives birth, and we heard the heartbeat for the first time on November 30th, and it was the MOST amazing thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It was amazing....oh, I get chills still thinking about it. (c;

Bibi is beginning to show and she looks BEAUTIFUL.

In other news, we're going to Kansas City for an appointment with our midwife this weekend. We're going to have an at-home delivery, and our midwife is in Kansas City. (We're hoping to move just before the school year finishes up, so that we can have our new bundle of joy in KC.)

I'm not going to lie....it's frightening....it's scary and nerve-wracking. And, it's the most amazing thing I've ever thought about...and I can't wait. (c;

That's all. Oh, have you seen the commerical where the family is sitting around the dinner table and the dad asks if the two kids have picked "their five"? The teenaged daughter lists five of her friends, and the son, who is slightly younger says, "oh that's interesting...I picked those same five girls. Your friends are HOT." The daughter looks at her parents and says, "are you going to do anything about this?!" And, they dad's response is the GREATEST line in a commercial EVER:

"Maybe you should have uglier friends."

Cracks me up EVERY time I see it. Bibi, too.

Good times, good times.

All right, my New Year's Resolution is to be a good father.

What's yours?

Tommy

I've got a secret....

2007-01-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

Hey....guess what!

We're having a BABY!!!!!!

June 19th. (Ish.)

We can't WAIT!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tommy

Pleasant Valley Wednesday...

2007-01-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

What's up, readers?

Well....it's been too long since my last post, and I wanted you all to know that I am indeed alive and kicking, and that things are going, for the most part, pretty well.

Christmas was nice.

New Year's Eve was great.

It's good to be back at school.

I have been reading, and most of the books have been really good. There was one that I didn't finish, and it was a difficult decision.

There is more to say, and it will be said soon....

Gee, that came off WAY more cryptic and dripping with meaning than I meant it to. Seriously, I just don't really feel like I have all that much to say. (I know, weird, isn't it?!)

Anyway. I hope you all had a wonderful time, filled with the spirit and sentiment of the season that has just come and gone.

God bless you all, and I hope the year starts out, and continues to be, a great one for you.

Thanks for stopping by, and check back for exciting updates! (c;

Tommy

We need a little Christmas....now....

2006-12-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

We're still alive here in Kirksville!

It's been a while since my last post, and I wanted to let everyone know what has been going on.

First of all, Time's Person of the Year was announced, and they decided that you are the person of the year. Yes. You. Well, no...not YOU, the person behind you. Yeah, you.

Confused? Haven't read the article, but apparently there's something about blogging, and webpages, and all that. Personally, I'm not convinced. I think computer's are just a fad. I mean seriously...if you think computers are here to stay, let me introduce you to my pet rock, Reggie. (c;

My Person of the Year? Hmm....I don't know. I think....well, it would have to be George W. Bush. The man is, I think, single handedly responsible for my increasingly Democrat-like views and positions, and for those of you who knew me in high school, that's no small feat right there. Close runners-up? Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Amacrazyguy from Iran for giving the boogey man a run for his money, and the monster's in my closet a chance for a vacation while these two nuts run the business. Sheesh.

Books? Recently read Speaking with the Angel, by Nick Hornby. Interesting book....it's a collection of short stories by various authors, including Colin Firth, who, I didn't know was an author. Anyway, it's registered at www.bookcrossing.com, but I'm offering it to the first of my readers who wants. Only catch? Gotta pass it on. (c;

This weekend? Was great. Bibi's family came in to town for her graduation, and we all went out for dinner. Bibi and I made waffles the next day (Saturday) for her family and my mom and stepdad who also came down. Went to the ceremony, and then went out for Chinese food. (Yum!!!) Sunday was relaxing, Bibi and I played cards A LOT and finished up some chores around the house. Last night I "was" Santa Claus for some coworkers' kids. It was a LOT of fun.

And, today was good. We've got two and a half days of school left, and we're all VERY excited about the break. (c; Oh, and for an hour and 20 minutes tonight? On the line with iTunes tech support fixing a ridiculously easy problem, that took FOREVER to identify. The problem? Needed to update my version of iTunes. Awesome. (c;

All right....now, I'm going to veg out and read "Swamp Fox: The Life and Campaigns of General Francis Marion". Good times....

Oh, and if you need the method for getting ahold of an actual real life human being at iTunes? I'll let you in on the secret if you e-mail me...(c;

Til next time, faithful readers...

Adieu...and thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

and the beat goes on....

2006-12-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

So, I just finished reading the Iraq Study Group report that came out last week. It was a very interesting read. I started reading the day that it came out (Dec. 6) and read a little of what the press was saying about it as I went. I had really high hopes before it came out that maybe this would really turn things around, and that maybe, just maybe we would have a glimmer of peace.
Apparently, I'm naive. It was very disheartening that the Bush administration was dismissing it out of hand. Admittedly, the recommendations were a bit lofty; realistically speaking, a lot of the recommendations and suggestions seemed too dependent on the decisions and actions of countries like Syria and Iran, and that might be difficult. However, why the hell won't Bush TRY?! I mean, it seems pretty obvious that excluding the countries that border Iraq from the whole process might be setting us up to fail...and, it almost seems as if this administration is acting in a way that would be positioning us to be in Iraq indefinitely.

So, any thoughts from those of you who have read the report? (Or, anywho one hasn't read it?)

Bah.

Anyway, welcome to my new reader Brigit, and to everyone out there...read a book! (c;

And, I'm still compiling my thoughts on Person of the Year. So, stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

...

2006-12-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

The tree....

is up.

Pictures to come, later.

Tommy

As per request....

2006-12-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Tis the season, after all.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Gotta be honest…I love me some Egg Nog (and, believe it or not...Corndogs...don't ask.) But, there’s nothing quite like pumpkin/holiday spice coffee from Java Co….

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? When Santa used to come, he would leave the presents under the tree unwrapped. My parents would not let us go into the living room until they had gotten their coffee, had gotten the camera ready, and had seen what Santa had brought before we did.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I absolutely LOVE the larger colored lights…the kind that are a little bigger than a hersey’s kiss? Those are awesome….so good.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Every single year that I have been in Kirksville I have looked for mistletoe, and not ONCE have I been able to find it. Bah! Humbug!!! However, had I been able to find it, you bet your sweet arse I woulda hung that stuff up! (Now, I just have to point at my cheek and Bibi kisses me….it’s nice!!!)

5. When do you put your decorations up? I’m currently working on legislation that would make it a capital offense to put up ANY decorations before Thanksgiving. In fact, I think it’s ludicrous to listen to Christmas music and put up decorations before the Sunday AFTER Thanksgiving, but that’s just me. However, once that Sunday comes…it’s officially ON.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Definitely sweet potatoes, although turkey is a CLOSE second. (There are few joys in life greater than a cold turkey sandwich the days/weeks after Christmas.)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Hmm…. I don’t know. I have to think about this one. Oh, heck, this one’s easy. (It loses something in the writing process, but I seriously sat here for ten minutes thinking this one over, and then it came to me, and I’m sitting her smacking myself on the forehead for not thinking of it automatically!) Every year, before Christmas dinner, my mom would give us our “table presents”. The “table present” is a small gift bag placed in front of your place at the dinner table, and it was always an ornament for the tree….but, it was MY ornament. So, when I left for college, I had 18 years of ornaments that were MINE, for my tree. It’s always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean….? Oh, in fourth grade, my sister was in the Joffrey Ballet’s version of The Nutcracker, and she performed in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center. So, we were there over Christmas, and afterwards it really got me thinking….how does Santa know where were going to be….how does he get into places without chimneys….and, at that age, I started realizing that it was kind of a preposterous idea. So, I asked my dad. It really took him back, and he struggled for what seemed like a couple of minutes, and then he told me the truth. It was that same time that I found out that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy weren’t real, either. Damn shame, I’m telling you. However, “Santa” still came until I was in college. He’s cool like that. (c;

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We opened all our gifts on Christmas Eve, growing up, and we got Santa’s gifts on Christmas morning. We still open all our presents on Christmas Eve, except with two houses, we have Christmas Eve at my mom’s house, and then on Christmas Day we have “Christmas Eve” at my dad’s house. And, I think we’ve always gone youngest to oldest (woo hoo!!!), although I don’t remember for sure.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights first, then ornaments, then tinsel. Christmas music is a must, and cocoa and cookies are a necessity. It should be an all day (or at the very least afternoon) affair. And, you should take your time and enjoy the simple beauty of each decoration before putting it on the tree. Tinsel should be applied one strand at a time, and only after a few minutes are you allowed to get frustrated with that progress and begin throwing large handfuls of the stuff on the tree. (But, then, you need to straighten it, so that it looks somewhat even—you don’t want the tinsel to cause the tree to tip over!!) Oh, and you should put one strand of lights up the middle of the three, in order to make it look a bit fuller.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Absolutely love it. It’s great stuff.

12. Can you ice skate? I’m pretty sure. I mean, I’ve never tried, but how hard can it be? (c;

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My number one favorite? Yeah, right. However, I will list my top 3 favorites. My sister Amy gave me a book about me when we were in college. It was really sweet. I still have that (of course!!!) and love looking at it every now and then. There is a SWEET picture of her attacking me with a saw. I LOVED getting my letter jacket my freshman year in high school, although “Tommy” in cursive looks way too close to “Tammy”. And, my dad always got me the newest Calvin and Hobbes books whenever they would come out, and last year he gave me the complete collection of C&H. Awesome.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Remembering that God loves us. Plain and simple.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? There is a little known treat called Cabin Bars. The fundamental aspects are: chocolate, marshmallow, peanuts. However, there is peanut butter and a few other things in there that make it perfect for Jesus’ birthday. Plus? I named ‘em.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Table presents. See above.

17. What tops your tree? Saddest thing in the world…we had/have an amazing tree topper that is made of some kind of a light wood and it is of the archangel Michael and he is holding a harp. It’s beautiful, and delicate, and touching. And, as old as I am, so it’s in pieces.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I like helping other people, by allowing them the joy of giving, which in turn gives me the joy of giving AND receiving. (I’m selfish that way!!!) No, seriously…I do love giving, but I don’t feel like I’m good at thinking of gifts on my own….so, it’s only when I have some sudden brainstorm that makes me think like I’m on the right track that I feel good about giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I think anything Johnny Mathis is wonderful. However, The Christmas Song, performed by Nat King Cole has to be up there. (Manheim Steamroller, Tran-Siberian Orchestra, Frank Sinatra, etc. All great.) And, if you haven’t checked out the Maybe This Christmas Cd’s, please….do yourself a favor and go get ‘em today.

Oh!! Keep the Person of the Year suggestions coming!! (c;

Thanks for reading....

Tommy

a proviso....

2006-12-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

I wanted to clarify the previous post...I'm hoping to provoke a discussion of individuals on the global scale...so, when I said who should be "My Life's" Person of the Year I didn't mean Tommy Estlund's person of the year, I meant that I couldn't call it "Time's Person of the Year", so it had to be My Life's POTY. (Have I clarified in ANY way, or muddied the waters ever more so?) So, in other words, is it going to be George W, Obama, Madonna and her crazy adoptive ways, Britney going commando, Lance Bass proving that you can be attractive to millions of teenage girls and boys, or someone else?

You...be the judge. (c;

Thanks!

Tommy

Happy December!!

2006-12-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well, how are we all doing this evening? (Or...uh, morning...)

So...I have to admit to a mistake on my last (well, second to last) post. I was watching Dr. Phil (feel free to make fun of my choice of television viewing) and they were debating home schooling vs. public schooling. Dr. Phil, in his defense of teachers, claimed that teaching was a science. For some reason, that didn't sit well with me. My immediate reaction was that that was wrong...that teaching is more of an art....that there has to be a certain level of fluidity involved, and that science meant, in my initial visceral response, something too cut and dried, too cookie-cutter in nature.

In discussing it was co-workers and in response to my readers, I have to acknowledge that teaching necessarily has to be a mixture of both art and science...that neither one alone will produce the desired results. The scientific aspect of teaching involves research based teaching methods; understanding that there are different types of learners, following and keeping up-to-date on brain research and the current political trends. The artistic aspect of education is exactly what I was focusing on initially--that teachers need to be constantly making adjustments for student needs, that teachers need to be aware of teachable moments and the moods and needs of each student and the class as a whole. (As one coworker put it, it's a lot like architecture....that without both a scientific, or analytical component, and the artistic component, you won't be meeting ALL of the needs of your students. I agree with that.)

Anyhow...that's all with that.

Went to KC for a wedding this weekend. Had a good time...really enjoyed myself. Watched an interesting movie..."Junebug." When we first finished watching the movie we all thought that it really wasn't very good at all...but then we started talking it over, and discussing what we thought the 'point' was, and we realized that there were a lot of different levels to the movie, and...most importantly...it did not have a "hollywood" ending, which left us feeling somewhat unsatisfied, but in reality added to it's worth as a movie.

And, finally, I've been reading a lot, and hearing a lot about Time magazine's Person of the Year declaration. I wanted to open up that question to you all, my hearty readers. So....who do you think should be My Life's Person of the Year?

(And, keep in mind...it doesn't HAVE to be a "good" person--Hitler was Time Magazine's person of the year in 1939...)

So....with that query I leave you....enjoy!

And, as always, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

2006-11-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

"Now is the time of collection
Now is the season undone
Now is the winter of my discontent
Made glorious summer
By your sun "

Jeffrey Foucault--Sunrise in the Rearview

I know I have written about this guy like twenty times, but he's really good. I was listening to him tonight, and this verse really got me....it's amazing when you know someone who can do this for you. Someone who--regardless of what all is going on around you--can make it all seem ok.

I gotta be honest...I thank God every day for Bibi...she is my summer sun.

Thank you Bibi.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

It's beginning to look...well, you know.

2006-11-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

Greetings loyal readers...

I apologize, once again for the delay in my posting. It's been a while. First...the update.

In the last week we got ready for Thanksgiving and the kids were very good. Nothing of note there.

Bibi and I went to Kansas City for the holiday, and had a fantastic time. Hung out with her family, most of my family, were able to relax a great deal, and just had an unbelievably restful time.

Saw an interesting movie about quantum physics..."What the (Bleep!) Do We Know?". Put forth some very interesting questions that Q.P's brings to mind. Had some really interesting discussions throughout the film as well. Not for everyone, but interesting, none the less.

I finished "Go Down, Moses" a few days ago. Wow. Really a phenomenal book...very thought provoking and worthwhile read. I appreciated the help of Spark's Notes in getting my started, but enjoyed even more the ability to break free from that tool. (Remember kids, there's nothin' wrong with using Spark's or Cliff's notes as an aid, but the really don't act as a substitution for the real thing!!!)

My in-laws gave me Pudd'nhead Wilson as a present for a Sikh holiday, and I've already finished it. Gotta love Mark Twain's willingness to throw human weaknesses in our faces, you know? (c;
So, know a couple of thoughts...I don't feel like it's Christmas "time" yet. Not at all. In fact, I usually spend the Sunday after Thanksgiving decorating, listening to Christmas tunes, and eating sugar cookies and hot cocoa. I honestly didn't feel like it was really Thanksgiving yet, and I can't help but feel that it's not Christmas-time yet. I've only listened to a couple of Christmas songs, and that was somewhat half-hearted....I'm just not ready for it yet. Anyone else feel the same?

And, finally a question.

Is education a "science" or is education an "art"?

What do you all think?

Thanks for stopping by...and I promise to blog sooner than I did this time...

Tommy

This Week in Books...

2006-11-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

All right, all right...apparently my lapse in posting has made at least one of you irate enough to post a reponse. So....here ya go.

So, the election. Were you pleased? I have to say....it was interesting. In cruising around the blogosphere I noticed something, specifically relating to the amendment issue in Missouri. (For stem cell research.) Those people against the initiative were shocked and horrified by the fact that it passed. I believe the quote was, "what is America coming to?!" The people who were FOR the initiative were shocked and horrified by the fact that it was so close to NOT passing. And, in all honesty, the fact that there seemed to be some over-riding misconception about the passing of this bill was disconcerting as well. And, I believe the exact quote was, "What is America coming to?!"

I am hoping that things improve. I hope that Democrats can take the ball and run with it...in a positive direction. I hope that Robert Gates, Rumsfeld's replacement can make heads or tails of this snafu in Iraq. I hope that we can bring our troops safely and leave Iraq with some semblance of order and a future that is brighter than the present. I hope that Democrats don't become drunk with power and totally screw things up Matt Foley-style.

Anywho. On the literary front, I've got a few recommendations. I don't remember if I blogged about Things in Ditches, (I'm too lazy to look back and find out) but it's worth mentioning twice if I did. It's by Jimmy Olsen, and it's fantastic.

Most recently I read The Road by Cormac Mccarthy. It's what The Stand (Stephen King) would have been had Hemingway written it and it had been ordained by God. AMAZING. Wow. I don't want to say anything more but...wow. It is A-MAZING. Ok. That's all.

And, finally, now I'm reading Go Down, Moses, by William Faulkner. I have to say, it's the first time I've ever used Sparks Notes online to help me understand a damn book, and it's been VERY helpful, so far.

Ok. And, finally, the 2008 presidential campaign has officially begun. For those of you who haven't heard, Tom Vilsack of Iowa and Rudi Guiliani have both thrown their proverbial hats into the ring. So....who is going to make it to the heated campaigning and who is going to go down in a fury of flames and controversy?

All right....you all have an unbelievably great night...and we'll talk soon.
Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Get your @ss out there and VOTE!!!!

2006-11-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

I gotta say...I know that I am lucky...I am fully aware. I don't think that I need anyone to point that out. However, today was just one more piece...and, it fit.

I've been excited about this election for weeks. The electoral process really pumps me up...even with it's numerous flaws. Anyway. When I got up this morning I left even earlier so that I could vote before school. I felt such a feeling of awe leaving the polling place, as I realized that I was standing on the shoulders of giants, participating in this....privilege...this wonderful right....this responsibility. So, it was awesome when Bibi called me at school and told me that she was really bothered by the fact that she hadn't gotten her absentee ballot, nor had she registered here in Kville. So, she was driving to KC in order to be able to exercise her right. How amazing is my wife? There are people who can't even drive across town...heck, even some who won't cross the street to vote...won't bother to look up the issues, find out about the ballot measures or who is running. Not my wife....she'll drive three hours one in order to vote. (I love my wife!!!)

Thanks for reading....

Tommy

Adagio for Strings

2006-11-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

Warning: This post contains adult situations and descriptions...viewer discretion is advised.

This morning, as I was walking Leo, listening to my iPod, I had a very...hmm....how to describe it.....captivating experience.

One of the podcasts I was listening to was describing the importance of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. (If, for some reason, you are unfamiliar with it, please...do yourself a favor, and go listen to it....you shant be dissappointed.) Anway, at one point the commentators stopped discussing the piece in order to let the true musical meaning come out. At just that point, I came upon an elderly couple out in front of a fraternity house. What struck me was the vividness of their blue hats. These shockingly bright blue hats perched upon knotted, dirty grey hair. Their wrinkled faces deeply involved in their tasks. The dirty sweatshirts they wore under their blackened coats were tattered and stained. They wore matching black rubber orthopedic shoes and there was a gap of exposed skin between their too-small sweatpants and the tops of their shoes. They barely looked up at me as I walked by them, they were too intent as they looked through the dumpster, digging with bare hands through empty bottles, used condoms and last weeks discarded pizza boxes.

What struck me though, was the smile on the woman's face as I said hello. She looked at me, and her lips parted showing her toothless gums and her face lit up. The man, white facial hair patchy at best simply nodded....a minimum of a grin all that he allowed. As I passed they both went back to the task at hand.

All of this took no more than 45 seconds, and all the while Barber's Adagio lingered in my ears. I'm going to close this post with a line from a Johnny Cash song...it seems sadly appropriate now:

"And there's nothin' short of dyin'
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin' comin' down"

Carry on my brother.
Carry on.

Tommy

dog days....

2006-11-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hey, what's going on?

The end of the week went well. School was good, and we had our Native American Day festivities yesterday. My job is to do soap carving with my half of the fifth graders. (And, for those of you who have witnessed my natural artistic abilities, we're all thinking the same thing: Those poor kids!!!)

Last night Bibi has some friends in from out of town, and we went out for dinner. That was good. Had the duck...always a tasty treat.

However, when we got home, I took Leo out, and he threw up twice. Thought maybe he was just excited by having so many people over. Well, in the next two hours he threw up around 25 times. So, needless to say, we called the vet and asked what we should do. (Our worst fear, distemper, which results in death to about half the dogs that get it, was ruled out, as it's usually accommpanied by other significant problems. The vet told us that most likely he swallowed something that wasn't going to all the way through, and he was trying to get it back up. Well, we watched him through the night, he continued to retch til about 2:30ish, and then he slept through the night. We fed him a little bit this morning, and he hasn't been sick since last night. So, we think we're through the thick of it. Whooh. Glad that appears to be over with, let me tell you.

Well, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Hey, who is going to vote this Tuesday?

Tommy

A question....

2006-11-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

A question for you on this Thursday morning. You know, something to start the day. I was listening to NPR this morning, and one of the commentators who I really enjoy listening to, made the statement: "The Educational System is broken."

Now, I know that the last time I tried to discuss something educational, it was a fire storm. At the risk of opening up that, again, I'm curious. Do you think the educational system in America....is broken?

Your thoughts?

Tommy

A quick recap...

2006-11-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

So, dear readers, I apologize for the hiatus. Things are afoot, as they say.

So, just a couple of thoughts....

I recently read a great mystery by a Minnesota author, Jimmy Olsen. It's called, "Things in Ditches." I don't want to give too much away, but WOW. Great book....the whole time I found that I was rooting for both the murderer, and the cop trying to knab him. The last three chapters? Blew. Me. Away.

I'm know reading the second book in the Aaron Tucker mystery series. The first book is called, "For Whom the Minivan Rolls," and I'm now reading, "A Farewell to Legs". Good stuff. The main character is a freelance writer who inadvertantly becomes a detective. Imagine, Dave Barry meets Columbo. The best part of the book, after Tucker's great sense of humor, is his family. (His wife is amazing, and the way they communicate is fantastic; and, his son has Asperger's Syndrome....it's a neat thing to see that as a natural part of the story.)

All right. And, as promised, I wanted to let you all know my thoughts on the issue of same-sex classes. (If you haven't read the article....well, you should.)

There have been quite a few studies that show that putting boys in a class full of boys, and girls in a class with all girls, can be very beneficial. Most of the studies are anecdotal, but the results are very interesting. (Great things are happening in some inner-city schools.)

Well, Lost is on shortly, so I think I'm out of here.

Have a great night....and, well, I"ll talk to you all later!

Tommy

Wow.

2006-10-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

I can't say anything....but, I just had something work related happen. (Yeah, for those of you who think teachers are done with work at 3? It is now 8:00pm. So, there.)

Something good.

Something that I can take a fair amount of credit for....and, it makes me VERY, very happy.

(c;

Thank you ALL for reading...and, man...I hope you all's evening go HALF as well as mine is going.

WOW.

(c;

Tommy

I say tomato, you say tomahto...

2006-10-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, in the news today, we see that there are new regulations in the countries laws regarding same-sex education. At the risk of opening up a whole new can of worms, I thought I'd get everyone's opinion on that deal. What do you all think? Is same-sex education another piece of the puzzle toward educational advancement, or is it a throw back to the Brown vs. the Board of Education debates of the 50's? Is this necessarily discrimination, or is this acknowledging the possibility that boys and girls actually are different?

What do you all think?

(I'll share my view in a couple of days...)

Oh, and apparently boys are wearing their pants in a "sagging" fashion. This is news? ABC news is covering it tonight, as I type. People have been wearing their pants thusly since I was a freshman in high school!!! Argh!

All right, leave your thoughts on the gender education issue, if you would....

Thanks!

Tommy

I can be your hero baby...

2006-10-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

So, I feel like there is a lot I want to blog about, but I don't know where to begin.

On the political front, I do enjoy a good debate. As for Obama? Well, the whole cliche' arguement about Democrat's perpetuating a welfare state seems somewhat lackluster during an administration which has done nothing to change our welfare system because it is too busy trying desperately to convince an increasingly large number of people that what we're doing in Iraq is the right thing, when all evidence would point to the contrary. (I will point out that I do think it was a good thing to depose Saddam Hussein--good as in right, or moral.) However, it has become increasingly obvious that Bush is unable--or unwilling--to acknowledge his own mistakes. And, what is worse in my opinion, Bush seems unwilling, or again unable, to acknowledge that times change. What may have worked two years ago is not necessarily going to work now. He seems to think that any change of course will play into the hands of "the enemy", and that means that we are stuck on this ridiculous path that seems to have no successful conclusion whatsoever.

Now, does Obama have the solution? I wouldn't be the right person to ask. However, according to Obama this morning on Meet the Press, Iraq is a situation with either a bad solution or a worse solution. In other words, this will not end well. So we need to be able to assess the situation realistically and to reflect on whether or not what we're doing now is leading us down that path. In all honesty, I don't see in Bush the level of character needed in order to tackle that kind of contemplation.

In other news, it flurried today, here in Kirksville, MO. I love fall, I love winter, and I love spring and summer. I love all four seasons. As my friend Aaron said to me this weekend, "Purgatory is not having four seasons." I like that.

Oh, and for those of you in the mood for a good movie, check out "In America". It's about an Irish family that moves to New York. Fan-freakin'-tastic movie.

All right. Well, enjoy the last few days of October.

And remember if you're trying to impress someone this week...it's a "dog eat dog" world, not a doggie-dog world.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Laugh Your Cares Away....

2006-10-20T09:56:00.001-07:00

This is by far the greatest news out of California in YEARS.

Read this article:http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/20/film.fraggle.reut/index.html

It is GOOD.

(c;

Tommy

Greetings, beloved Readers....

2006-10-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to another post by....well, me.

Things have been well, since last we spoke at length.

I believe it was almost a week and a half ago, right?

Well, last week went well. Friday night Bibi was working on her capstone, so I went to a concert at a local establishment, and a good time was had by all. Some very dear friends mocked my reticence at admitting I was no longer a Republican. (As my favorite teacher from high school said, I was a republican in the original sense of the word, as in...a fan of the "republic".)

Saturday Bibi and I hung out, watched a movie, etc. Sunday, I got up and read, relaxed, and over all enjoyed the day.

This week has been good. It's funny...Parent Teacher Conference time always looms over my head as some frightening inevitability, and as always, goes unbelievably well. Had a great time, got to know my students, via their parents, a lot better. And, that's a good thing.

I'm sitting here in my house, in my gorgeous rocking chair (thanks, Gary!!!!) watching Leo sit on another chair (no, Mom, Leo's not allowed on the rocking chair!) chewing on his bone. He's a good pup. Bibi is in class right now, and I'm looking forward to the long weekend--we don't have school tomorrow b/c of the long day today. So, that's cool.

So, I'd love to keep the discussion from last time going...but, instead of knocking other people's candidates, how 'bout we just brag on our own candidates? I'd love it if our political discussions were smear free, you know?

Anyhow, I'm going to close with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

And, so life goes.
And so love goes.
And, so I go.

Carry on my brother. Carry on.

Hi everybody!!!!

2006-10-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I failed window proofing day of kindergarden.

So, just a quick few updates:

1.) Election day is coming...get registered!!!!

2.) In the spirit of democracy, I wanted to let you all know about this great website about stem cell research...whatever your view, it's always better to be informed. (Thanks JNo!!!) http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

3.) Life is good.

So....here's your question....who do you like for president in 2008?

(c;

Tommy

Technical Question...

2006-10-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

How do you all like the links I've had in my posts lately? Helpful? Or annoying?

--Tommy

FYI

2006-10-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you are familiar with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a condition on the Autism scale. I wanted to make you all aware of something cool that will happen next Monday. NPR's wonderful program, "This I Believe" will feature an essay by a child/teen with Asperger's Syndrome. You can hear the essay on your local NPR affiliate Monday during the morning program and sometime during All Things Considered, or you can read the essay, which will be posted Monday at www.npr.org.

I thought it was pretty cool, and I wanted to share that with you all.

Also, today we had our monthly staff meeting. The meeting was about a new reading program that we will be adding next year (in addition to the one we added this year) but we also talked about something a little more noteworthy. In response to the AK47 incident in Joplin, MO, we reviewed the Kirksville School's intruder program. So, that was interesting. Safety first, and all.

And, finally, for those of you living under a rock, Kim "I'm a complete lunatic" Jung Il of North Korea threatened to fire a nuclear missle. As of this writing, it seems that Il may be compensating for an apparent problem with premature....um, firing, as we know suspect that the tests on Monday may have actually gone horribly awry.

We can only hope.

So, until next time....as long as there IS a next time....

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

It would seem that I'm not alone...

2006-10-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/08/ING0FLHNM21.DTL

That is all. Oh, and Michelle, yes, I'm quite familiar with www.bookcrossing.com. I love that website....it's great!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled evening/morning.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Throw the book at 'em!!!

2006-10-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

I know I've had kind of an unintentional them going here with educational posts, but, well, when it rains, it pours.

This just in, filed under "I" for irony....

Dateline: Texas. (I think I told some people it was Florida...oops!)

Last week, during National "Banned Book Week", a parent filed a complaint on the behalf of his sophomore daughter. He objected to one of the books that her class was reading. Now, two things:

1) His daughter had opted to read something else, and was not being penalized for this choice.
2.) The book in question was "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury, about the perils of a society that bans books. Hmm....maybe he should have read it first.....

So, of course the fact that his daughter wasn't being forced to read the book meant that the problem was solved, right? Well, since you're reading about it here....guess again. The book was removed, entirely, from the high school library. So much for personal choice, right? Right?!

Ugh.

Here's the link....http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17270600&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

That's all I got. Oh, and an addendum to my earlier post about Studio 60's similarity to Sports Night. My anonymous poster was right....it's not as good as Sports Night. It never will be, because Sports Night was as close to television perfection as televions will ever again be. However, not watching a show because it isn't as good as Sports Night would mean not watching any televsion at all. So, instead of isolating myself from that medium, I'm going to accept the fact that no amount of hope, prayer, and angry letters threatening boycott to "the powers that be" will bring back the show, and I"m going to watch my DVD's as much as possible, and then? I'm going to watch Studio 60 because regardless of the show...Aaron Sorkin is the finest writer of televsion today.

So, there ya go.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Tommy

If you're driving out to the stadium this weekend....don't forget to take your car.

2006-10-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you Sports Night fans....apparently, it's back. It's changed it's name to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and instead of a sports show, it's a sketch comedy show (ala' Saturday Night Live) but, well, it's Sports Night. So, you know...that's cool. (c;

Tommy

this just in....

2006-10-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't watch/read the news today, sad, sad news out of Pennsylvania. What a shame....what a damn shame.

Oh, and Brad sent me a link that really fit in nicely with our discussion of trade schools and vocational training...so, here it is: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/13/crawford.htm

I found it interesting, and the timing fit in well.

I'll write more later, but I just wanted to let people know about these things.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Life Imitates Art

2006-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

I just heard about this, and wanted to share. A teacher in Texas took her fifth grade class to an Art Museum. (So far, so good.) While at the museum, one of her fifth graders inadvertantly saw a nude sculpture. The parents of said child claimed that the kid was permanently scarred for life, and would suffer immeasurable emotional harm. So, what happened? The teacher was fired. Huh. Thoughts?

Just finished The Human Story. Really enjoyed it. Great overview of human history, and I've just started The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyon. Good stuff.

All right, so thoughts about the teacher issue....

(Thanks for stopping by...)

Tommy

When the day is done....

2006-09-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, as I've said, it's been a week. Bibi and I had a nice time tonight. We took Lil' Leo to the vet, and got him all taken care of. He was so good at the Vet's office, and we felt really good on our way home. We have a better idea of how much to feed him, he got his shot, and we are going to take him back in about a month. We then took Leo to the quad at Truman and played with him for awhile. He chased a tennis ball and his frisbee for almost an hour. We also have a play date scheduled for sometime tomorrow with some other canine friends. Good times.

However, things were obviously not so good this week. For those of you living under a rock, there were two school shootings this week. Both were tragic events, but were tragic in their own right. The first has left the five young women, and six families permanently scarred. The second event, which just happened today, left a high school principal dead. A fifteen year old kid killed his principal. Unfortunately this had to occur in the light of the conversation this week about whether or not teaching was dangerous.

However, it's even more appropriate for other reasons. This week on this blog, as well as in our country right now as a whole, we are as divided as we have ever been before. Seems to me that people believe so fervently in what they see as truth that they are unable to see the value in polite discourse. I'm not, and please don't get me wrong on this, picking on any one person, or trying to point out one person. I would say that arrogance and condescension is just as antagonistic as all out name calling and insults. I don't want to seem trite or cliche', but...well, it just seems so unnecessary. Why can't we all just get alo....no, I'm not going to go that route. Why can't we be respectful? Why can't we treat each other with respect? We are NOT our values. We would like to believe that we are....we would like to believe that we fit neatly into a nice little package defined by that which we hold to be truth. But, the "truth" is, we are ALL hypocrites. (The one finger pointed at all of you leaves three fingers and a thumb pointing back at yours truly.) We all fall short of the glory of our ideals, no matter WHAT those ideals may be. Why can't we just acknowledge those short-comings? Why have we allowed our ideals and beliefs to bring us to the point where people are no longer able to have impassioned, and yet respectful, discussions about politics? Why can't we get passed the idea that we have to PROVE ourselves to be right, and just come to the table seeking understanding? Understanding does not mean agreeing, and one of the most important lessons I've EVER learned in life is that intelligent, thoughtful people can consider the same information and "facts" that I am seeing and come up with a completely different conclusion. Thus is life.

Ok...so, funny story. I signed on right now to jokingly write that my next topic would be on abortion, or gay rights, you now, something "safe" and sure to cause no stir whatsoever. However, I ended up sounding pompous, I'm sure. Sorry.

All right, I'm going to leave you all with a funny story:
June 29, 2000: I go for a post-dinner walk to enjoy the evening. As I'm nearing my apartment, I suddenly feel something wet on my neck. I feel it...it is clear. I look up. And there, in the tree above me. A squirrel. A squirrel....who peed on me.
September 12, 2006: I take Lil' Leo out for a walk after dinner. While walking, I feel something mushy on my forehead. (All right, all right...it's not a forehead, it's a fivehead.) I put my hand up to feel it. Then I look up. A squirrel. A SQUIRREL. A DAMN SQUIRREL DEFACATED ON MY HEAD!!! Now, I'm not sure, but....I think it was the same one. And, I think it was laughing at me.

Damn dirty squirrels.

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

PS: For those who were never formally invited to answer the question, here it is: "What is the most important lesson you've learned in life?" I know it seems random....but there is relevance here....I'm sure.