I really do love my job and I enjoy the students that I work with.  I get to be there to see the looks on their faces when they suddenly “get it” and the whole subject hits home.  It is glorious and sometimes I have a bit of a hard time not getting all choked up about it.  (Don’t tell my students that, they think I am tougher than that!) 

I get to take a student that “sucks at math” or “hates writing” and turn that around and see the look of pride when those statements are no longer truths for that student.  I consider it a privilege that when my students see me at church or at Starbucks, they don’t avoid me or merely wave and go on their own way.  They actually sit down with me for a while and we have wonderful conversations about everything from religion to soccer.  (This, according to some of my students, is pretty much the same thing.) 

So I don’t think that teaching high school students is tough, I think it’s amazing.  I also think my Washburn students are amazing.

Washburn Academy can be reached at 727-647-1668.

A 15 year old boy in Fern Park, Florida stole a bus and then took it on its regular route, collecting three passengers and fares. And apparently this is not the first time that he has done this.

I say instead of charging him with a crime, they should just give him his license. The article is worth reading in its entirety.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He
performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 On FM dial in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

Hi Sue,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you’ve been feeling down lately at work,
so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it’s not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first
must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to
the office. It’s a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial
water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the
sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to
the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now
this sounds like a darn good plan, and I’ve used it several times with
no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is
take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my
whole suit with warm water. It’s like working in a Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to
itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse.

Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from
my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.

The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my
suit. Now, since I don’t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish
couldn’t stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as
fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually
grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt. I informed the dive
supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were
unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers,were all
laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling
thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber
dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing
but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with
tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and
told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream
put the fire out, but I couldn’t poop for two days because my butt was
swollen shut.

So, next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about how much
worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt. Now repeat
to yourself, “”I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.”" Now whenever
you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day? May you NEVER have a jelly fish bad day

I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, “How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?” I turned around and walked back out and never went back.
My husband didn’t say a word…he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY:

I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women’s type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said , “I think I like playing with men’s balls.”

THIRD TESTIMONY:

My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case,
the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, “No, I’m just looking at your nuts.” My sister started to laugh hysterically.
The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY :

While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of
her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons.
I told her that if she did not start behaving”right now” she would be
punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, “If you don’t let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy’s pee-pee last night!” The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and
walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard as the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY:

Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in awhile. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said “No”. I kept thinking “Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don’t have any clean clothes with me.” Then I said, “Danny, are you SURE you didn’t have an accident?” “No,” he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. So, I asked one more time, “Danny, did you have an accident?” This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled “SEE MOM, IT’S JUST FARTS!!” While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down.
An older couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they’d
ever had!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY:

This one had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a
very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow, but don’t get any?
We had a female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have
snowed and didn’t, turned to the weatherman and asked: “So Bob, where’s that 8 inches you promised me last night?” Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too, they were laughing so hard!

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this: What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder
about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life? Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+ 18+11 = 98%
and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%
So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that While Hard Work
and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.

Is it possible that strangers could step into another person’s life and take it over completely? Could they gain the legal right to dictate where another person will live and what medical treatment he will be given? Could they then cause that person to be lost for years, or even a lifetime, in an abyss of mental hospitals and board and care facilities?

Could this really happen in spite of the fact that the person continuously states, even in court, that he does not want these strangers to make decisions for him? Could these strangers still be given the legal authority to decide where the person is housed, when he is sedated, and if he is to be institutionalized?

Could a judge allow these actions without ever asking for all the facts? Could such disingenuous and destructive practices actually happen and be implemented all in the name of help? And, could this happen to someone you know and love?

Fiction, you say? Drama? Not possible. In a civilized society this could never happen.

Look again.

Only by confronting something as it actually is, can we learn how to take responsibility and then become able to do something about it.

Easy Lasagna

Don’t cook the noodles first! Just assemble, cover and bake:

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 qt. thick spaghetti or marinara sauce (1 can Trader Joe’s Marinara sauce 28 oz. + enough Classico Spicy Tomato & Basil sauce to make a quart works well)
2 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil or 1 tbs. dried basil
1 lb. lasagna noodles
15 oz. part skim Ricotta cheese
1 lb. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. grate Parmesan cheese

This makes 15-18 servings.
one 8×8″” and one 15X9 1/2 X1 3/4.
Sauté meat in large skillet breaking up as it cooks.
Combine sauce with water in a bowl.
Spray pans with Pam.
Cover bottom of pans with a layer of the sauce mix.
Arrange a layer of noodles, layer of cheeses, layer of meat and layer of sauce.
Repeat layers, ending with sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Cover tightly with foil.
Place on a baking sheet; it splatters while it cooks.

Preheat over to 350 F.
Bake an hours until noodles are tender.
Uncover and let stand in oven for 15 minutes.
If it seems dry, add more sauce.
Can be baked a day ahead and re-warmed in a 350 F. oven for about 45 minutes.

Put the following into your kitchen aide and beat well:

6 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of egg nog
1 cup of half and half
1 cup of orange juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 stick of melted butter (I use some of this to butter the pan with)

Add one very large loaf of egg bread to the following mixed ingredients and allow it to soak for a few minutes. Stir it until all the bread has absorbed most of the egg mix. (This is where you can improvise. You can use fresh bread or drier bread, use 2 mixed loaves of bread or you can use fruit bread. I use a large loaf of Panatone Italian fruit cake and it is delicious!)

Pour into a bundt mold or any pan and cook for about 1 hour at 350 degrees when it is golden on top and your knife comes out clean.

You can add a variety of options to this. I recently added a banana, a cup of blueberries and some pecans. The sky is the limit!

Enjoy!

If there was ever a living person more worthy of support that the Dalai Lama I’d be surprised. From every interview and/or second hand account of visits with this icon, he has demonstrated that he is a person of good will. Not only that, but this is a well-read, intelligent man with a sense of humor. He is remarkably abreast of the present day concerns on individual, political and global level.

So, at risk of offending China, I think we should honor this remarkable man. Afterall, it is pretty obvious were China’s government stands on human rights. Are we going to cow to a powerful trade nation, or do the right thing and stand behind a man who is worthy of support?

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows and you give one to your neighbor.

COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows, the Government takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM: You have 2 cows, the Government takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows, the Government takes both and shoots you !

BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows, the Government takes both, shoots one, milks the other and throws the milk away…

ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your. publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A HINDU CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

AN ISRAELI CORPORATION: So, there are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?

AN NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION: You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute…