We Take So Much For Granted

Desks Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at  Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten.  On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.  When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.  'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'  She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'  They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'  'No,' she said.  'Maybe it's our behavior.'  She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'  And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period.  Still no desks in the classroom.  By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.  The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom.  Now I am going to tell you.'  At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.  Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk.  The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall.  By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.  Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks.  These heroes did it for you.  They placed the desks here for you.  Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens.  They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education.  Don't ever forget it.'  By the way, this is a true story.  'IN GOD WE TRUST'    "...ONE NATION UNDER GOD"

 

I'm 63 and I'm Tired

This was shared with me by a friend and I felt the need to share it also. I'm 63 and I'm Tired - VERY PROFOUND READING!

Robert A. Hall is the actor who plays the coroner on CSI if you watch that show.  He also is a Marine Vietnam War veteran.  This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in the United States of America .   "I'm 63 and I'm Tired"By Robert A. Hall I'm 63.  Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked hard since I was 18.   Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years.   I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my  job or my income, and I worked to get where I am.  Given the  economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired.  Very tired.  I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic.  I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.  I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes."   Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help.   But if they bought Mc Mansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money. I'm tired of being told how  bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers.  In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of   Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China   the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela . I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because  they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls;  of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery";  of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.   I'm tired of being told  that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama,  when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities  (harming them the most), government contract set-asides,  tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless  children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.   I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation.  I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.  I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but thinks that Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of  presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever.  Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News?  Get a clue.  I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.  I'm tired of being told  that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.  I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.  My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live.  Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.   I'm tired of being told  that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do.  Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off?  I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I #@*# sure think druggies chose to  take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.  I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime.  What's next?   Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?   And, no, I'm not against Hispanics.  Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion.  I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record  and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.  I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military.  They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second  decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves.  Do bad things happen in war?  You bet.  Do our troops sometimes misbehave?  Sure.  Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are?  Not even close.  So here's the deal.  I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the  girls were Christian.  Then we'll compare notes.  British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.   I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption.  Read the papers; bums are bipartisan.   And I'm tired of people telling me we need  bipartisanship.  I live in Illinois , where the " Illinois   Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years.   Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.   I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.  I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.  Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor.  The majority of Americans didn't have that in  1970, but we didn't know we were "poor."  The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.  I'm real tired of people who  don't take responsibility for their lives and actions.  I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.  Yes, I'm #@*% tired.  But I'm also glad to be 63.  Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making.  I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.  Robert  A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. There is no way this will be widely publicized !

Family Woes

Things have been crazy at Granny’s house. In one week, I think we ended up at the ER or walk-in clinic like 6 times. Both kids had ear infections in both ears, both had near pneumonia, Maddy and Mel had pink eye, and then when they start getting better Granny gets a bad sinus infection/head cold.  Finally, we are all feeling better.

“May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.”

 Irish Blessings quote

Have a blessed week ahead.

Granny

Word Play

(No offense to the blondes out there who know and love football, I am one too.)

A guy took his blond girlfriend to her first football game.

They  had great seats right behind their team's bench.

After the game, the guy asked her how she liked the experience.

"Oh, I really liked it," the blonde replied. "Especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just  couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents."

Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, at the beginning, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game,  everyone kept screaming 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!'

 I'm like, "Helloooooooooooo - it's only 25 cents!"

Have a super day!

Granny