Hero of the Day...

Last night on the Seattle news, I saw that Nathan Hale High School had cancelled, indefinitely, school dances. Apparently the recent homecoming dance turned into something too much like the beginnings of an orgy, and the school principal, Dr. Jill Hudson, said enough is enough -- no more dances.

To her, I say, "GO, HONORABLE PRINCIPAL, GO!!" It's about time someone drew a line and enforced it. On camera, the principal declined to go into detail as to what the offensive actions were. In the school paper, she was more direct -- but to honor her sense of propriety (which I also appreciate) I will not quote. Suffice to say that a student was quoted as saying, "We were sexually harrassing each other, that's what she said." "What I'm determined in calling it is inappropriate behavior," said Hudson. "I cannot allow that at school functions."

Kudos to her for putting students' behavior and responsibility above their right to fun. You know, this doesn't happen often these days -- at least not nearly as often as it should. Dr. Hudson is the Hero of the Day for showing the students and parents that dances are not important, but behaving yourself most certainly is.

I don't doubt she's feeling the heat. "There are definitely some students that are upset," said a male student...And no doubt some parents have already purchased the duds for the winter dance, and the kids are worried about senior prom. I'm sure she's hearing from them. I only hope she's getting some back-up as well.

"I believe the solution can be put together between students and myself so we have a safe and respectful senior prom", Dr. Hudson said.

Kids -- you want a senior prom? It's pretty simple...BEHAVE YOURSELVES!


quotes from King5.com

NEWSFLASH:

WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR ALLEGES THAT FOX NEWS CHANNEL REPORTS THE NEWS TO MAKE A PROFIT!... a PROFIT, people!!! How nasty is that?! Even worse, it seems to be working! People by the millions are tuning in to Fox News, leaving other cable stations trolling for an audience. I naively assumed that CNN, MSNBC, and even the networks had profit as their goal as well...I thought it was merely due to their lack of success, that they became unprofitable. Silly me! Apparently, they were earlier having some difficulty moving down to non-profit status...Oddly enough, they can now thank Fox News for helping them achieve this higher plane of non-profitability as cable -watching Americans, of their own free will, abandon these former giants of media monopoly. Oh fickle Americans, can’t you see that being unsuccessful – I mean unprofitable – is the honorable way to do business, especially in the media? It shows that you owe no man – or does it mean that you owe every man? Either way, it’s the way to go. Evil Fox News...trying to make money...Feh! Before you know it, we’ll see "opinion journalism masquerading as news"! Can’t have that, now can we?

What a relief!

I am so glad to hear that the NFL is all about sensitivity. In denying Rush Limbaugh the opportunity to become an owner of the St. Louis Rams, various people involved in the league indicated that sensitivity is where it's at -- and in their opinion, Rush hasn't got it.

Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay, accused Rush of making "insensitive comments". DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association said, "Our sport...overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred". NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, "divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about".

They must be turning over a new leaf! I, for one, am interested to see this new era in the NFL...This must mean no more trash talking on the field, no more "your momma is so dumb she thinks a quarterback is a refund" between the offensive and defensive lines... No one should try to take out the other team's quarterback, or injure any player. No more holding -- after all it is against the rules, even if the ref doesn't see it. No more trying to strip the ball -- that's really insensitive! Let the guy make the run --he's trying hard! No more trying to recover fumbles -- the poor guy who dropped it feels bad enough. It's insensitive to capitalize on his mistake. I think we should see a lot more penalties declined, and I suggest that they change that terminology to "apology accepted, replay the down". The fans should cheer for both sides -- it's divisive for some to be enthusiastic for one team and not the other. In fact, I think they should stop keeping track of the score --- I mean, WINNING! How divisive is that! And the on-air commentary! It is almost completely devoted to pointing out errors made by the coaches and players -- SO insensitive.

When I think about the game, I can now see why the NFL sees the need for greater sensitivity. The whole sport is rife with a lack of feeling and empathy for others...Perhaps Rush is not quite the epitome of insensitivity when compared with some participants in the sport -- you know, the ex-convicts, dog killers, wife beaters, and rapists (I know, it's insensitive for me to bring this up) --but you have to start somewhere. You can't have a minority owner allegedly say mean things! Even if they can't prove that he said those things, I can see why the NFL has basically told Mr. Limbaugh, "You should use tact, you fathead!"

Where have all those signs gone?

Yesterday we took a meandering drive through the foothills on Highway 9. We were enjoying the wonderful fall weather, and searching out farm fields that we had worked on back in our custom farming days.

As we followed this windy road and that, driving back into far corners along the river, I noticed that no longer did these roads have "DEAD END" signs posted. Instead, all the signs said, "NO OUTLET". 'Nary a "DEAD END" sign to be seen!

I've been wracking my brain since to figure out if "DEAD END" is somehow not politically correct for these oh-so-politically correct times... Does it show some bias against the dead? Is it too harsh to say that DEAD is the END? Is it unkind to those whose residences are located at the DEAD END, implying that they are some sort of loser, simply because of location? Perhaps it is just insensitive to post the word DEAD, as it may be a traumatic reminder to some... And, truly, I suppose it could be a traumatic reminder to us all, as, one day, we shall all be DEAD.

It IS much more innocuous to say that there is "NO OUTLET", although, being naturally blonde, I had to think about this momentarily to realize it had nothing to do with electricity. I just don't think of through streets as having "outlets". It's not as if it is more difficult to understand why one might not want to go down a DEAD END as compared to a NO OUTLET, though I suppose it is possible that NO OUTLET translates into other languages better than DEAD END. Could be some colloquial irregularities that are tricky there! And do people now say, "We live on a NO OUTLET road..."? "DEAD END" is so much more descriptive, and frankly, a little bit unwelcoming -- which was part of the advantage of living on one such road -- keeps the looky-loos out and enhances one's privacy.

For my part, I'll stick with the DEAD END. It has much more art, and a little mystery to it -- It makes your address special --Why give that up for political correctness?

Friday Night Lights...

I like football, but I LOVE high school football! I used to know very little about football. I remember when my boys first began playing I had trouble choosing whether to yell, "Go Defense!" or "Go Big O!" When I first started noticing pro football, I told my sister that I supported the Tennessee Titans because "I liked their outfits". She was chagrined by that one.

I’ve come a long way, baby! Having sat through 11 years of school football games ,watching my boys, I learned a lot and that’s where I came to love the game. Of course, it helped that the varsity coaching staff at our school was all about character and team work, and quality effort...A great group of guys to be role models made it a great experience for our boys. I think, more than any other sport, football requires each person making their contribution, however lowly or unseen, to bring success to the team as a whole...And therefore, every team member is valued, and quality effort is appreciated. It’s a great life lesson, and our boys were schooled in that doing something they loved to do.

High school football seems a lot more honest to me than other levels of the sport. Here you have a group of guys thrown together by location, not because of their calculated contributions by ability, and they must make the most of all their skills to achieve success. They grind it out, literally, every day of the season, practicing giving their all physically and mentally. In good years, they become a unit that enjoys the satisfaction of being more together than the sum of their parts, whether winning or losing. Some years they get the "gravy" of winning...Every year they get the benefit of learning more about life.

So I love to see the effort, the drama, the coaching staff’s leadership under those Friday Night Lights...It’s my favorite! I miss seeing my boys out there, and my love for football has increased to the point where I am looking for college games, and pro games to watch. In fact, the other day I caught myself spouting off to son, Jess, about how I think it unfair that Seneca Wallace, who is just not a quarterback, hasn’t been allowed to develop as a wide receiver. The SeaHawks could have used one of those too... "Get a QB back up who can carry it," I said, "and let Seneca play ball, at least!" When I realized what I had said, I qualified it to Jess with a "but what do I know about football..." and he reassured me that I had come such a long way that my comments were actually valid.

I felt quite proud of myself – and decided to not make any comments about the new lime green out..., I mean jerseys!

What?

I was stunned to hear that Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize today. I, like many others, am asking, "What has he done? What has he even had time to do?"

Articles on FoxNews.com revealed that "The Nobel Committee said its decision to honor the president was motivated by Obama's initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism...The Norwegian Nobel Committee lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation..."

Apparently, the Nobel Committee is very pleased to see an American president travel around the world apologizing for his country, and promising to be "nicer" to everyone. Apparently, this kind of activity has had the power to change the "global mood"... See -- if we just be nice, and let other countries just do their own thing -- you know, with despots and torturers, and corrupt governments that impoverish their people -- it seems to lift the "global mood".

Oddly, that lifting of the global mood seems to have skipped the good ole USA. The wave of optimism and hope for change has largely subsided except for all but the most naive. You can't look at Obama's mere months in office and conclude that there is movement toward improvement here.

When the prize winner was announced, even the assembled audience gasped in surprise. I join them, and it brings a cold fear to my heart that Mr. Obama has power to bewitch far above my expectation! Either that, or this Norwegian Nobel Committee is not above politics, and its members not strong enough to stand against manipulation. Rick Moran stated in his American Thinker blog: "...I suppose any organization that thought Yasser Arafat worthy of the same prize can't be taken seriously. But they are."

Take heed, Americans looking for hope and change. The world seems to love a President who will not choose "peace through strength". Look at the philosophy of those who hail him as a wonderful "peacemaker"...and see it for what it is worth.

Come on people!

I wandered through the thrift store yesterday and it was one of those days where no treasures presented themselves...Everything looked like junk.

It didn't help that there were items on the shelf that were dirty -- grills coated with congealed fat (HIGHLY GROSS!), dusty tables, dirty plastic trays...Come on people!! How difficult is it to wipe a rag over these things before you donate it!! You donate to help out the non-profit running the store -- doesn't it make sense to put a little effort in to making the item as saleable as possible?? Puh-leease!! I don't fault the people who stock the store. They are a small cadre that is dealing with mountains of items, working fast to get them out on the floor and out the door...They can't clean the plethora of items stacked in the back. But each of us who donate should be able to take a couple of minutes to knock the dirt off the stuff we bring...I mean, why not???

I left the thrift store feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the junk there is in the world. We just love to have stuff, and to get new stuff, we have to get rid of old stuff...and other people buy our old stuff to add to their stuff, and we head to Walmart to fill up on new stuff...Stuff, stuff, stuff!

Some days I worry that we will be overwhelmed and suffocated by all the STUFF. It never really goes away, it just moves around -- and grows...Aughhhh! Save us from stuff!!