The Challenges of teaching in FL

This week's little predecodable reader brought out an interesting response from one of my students. I asked, "What is the man in the picture doing?" The response was "He's cutting his grass, but I guess it snowed."

What just happened?

Tuesday afternoon I was coming home from school just after 4 PM. As I was pulling into our driveway, I noticed a car backing up away from me, heading east on Mystic Point. He was moving backwards quickly so I stopped in my driveway to watch. I watched him back into a parked Nissan Sentra! Wham! Crunch! He got out (me still watching), looked at the back end of his car, and the back end of the Sentra. He got back in his car, and I thought that he was getting some paper and a pencil to leave a note. But this is 2006, Orlando, and he -- apparently -- an irresponsible teen-ager. He continued backing his car around the Sentra and down the street. I called 911 to report what I'd seen. I was asked, "Did you get the car's tag number?" Duh! I told you he was backing away the whole time...Florida only has one license plate, and it's on the back of the car, the end that was away from me!!!

So I was getting some donuts at the neighborhood Dunkin Donuts Saturday morning -- work day scheduled for the homeowners' association members to clean the cabana / pool area. I ordered a dozen glazed from the woman at the counter and she started to ring up my purchase. She looked at me and asked, "Are you 55?" I was nonplussed; no one had ever asked me that before. I had to think...when was I born? I finally figured out that yes, I was that old and stammered out a yes. I got a 10% senior citizen's discount! I liked saving 70 cents; not sure how I feel about the senior citizen thing. Gayle and I ate the donuts; only one other person showed up to clean.

Saturday evening we had a church social / supper at George & Linda Bruneau's condo. We had 12 people there, just right for good food and fellowship. The best part was that Pat's husband Steve came with her. Pat has been in a women's Bible study with Gayle for more than a year. Steve has been church shy but on many people's prayer radar. We had a great time. Steve hit it off well with Pastor Don; they both had grown up in Orlando and knew the same schools and many of the same people. And there Steve was this morning -- in church with his wife Pat! I talked with Steve for a while as we put the furniture of the cafetorium back in place after church. He enjoyed the service, told me how much he enjoyed Saturday evening, and said he'd be back.

Fall Comes to Florida

Even if it only means that we have the air off and the windows open, Fall has arrived - at least for a few days. The sounds from outdoors and fresh air smells are about the only indicators - but I was surprised at how just that much creates a different feeling, a changed atmosphere. I guess I have to grab at any little thing to experience seasons here. My assistant gave me a pumpkin scented candle and on the note it said "We can pretend." Working outside is much more pleasant so Rob made some plans to fix up the backyard a bit. The grass back there never did recover after Hurricane Charlie and he's looking for more shade for some bromeliads. We're hoping to paint the house this year. Maybe we can get some help from Bob (?) when he comes home at Christmas. We've been looking at paint chips - most folks in the neighborhood have gone to darker colors recently instead of the Florida pastels. I'm ready to get rid of the "pink". Here's a few pictures of my students at the Green Meadows Farm and Pumpkin Patch this past week. We had beautiful weather and plenty for them to explore and enjoy. They especially liked the horseback rides and holding the baby chicks.

Enough Already

OK, I have had it! Where is integrity and honor among the leaders of our country? It is apparent to the public that Mark Foley is a predator. It was known for several years that Foley had a problem and yet the House leadership seems to have minimized, brushed off, and now stonewalls. Bah! Anyone who knew and did nothing should resign.

Bush just put off requirements for more alternative fuels 20 more years and continues to deny that there is global warming. Maybe it is only a large weather cycle, but there is no question that the Arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate. Can we do nothing to get us less dependant on oil? Are we so tied to conspicuous consumption? Americans put more money into their pets every year than some countries have in their whole national budget!

Why is it that our politicians in Washington are so power oriented, so political that they cannot pass a decent, reasonable law on illegal immegration? Build a wall? What a waste of time, effort, and money. Even the Berlin Wall couldn't keep people in, and this surely will not keep persistent people out -- people who want the opportunities available in the USA.

The Senate race in Florida is between GOP challenger Katherine Harris and Sen. Bill Nelson. Katherine Harris has accused Sen. Nelson of not acting like a Christian in some of his voting in the Senate. This is the man who took his Bible with him as an astronaut on a space shuttle flight in 1986, the man who lead the national prayer breakfast, and voted against partial birth abortions. Nelson has my vote...

And why do we continue to allow people to possess hand guns and assault rifles? This is not a Bill of Rights question. These firearms were made for one purpose -- to kill people. I'm not against hunting, but let's stop the people carnage!

I ache for people who will truly lead. People want leadership, and yet what we have is a Chimera, a mirage in the desert. I want a new party called Common Sense, whose members understand and hold to honor and integrity, who know right from wrong and do what is right.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. -- Micah 6:8