Inspiration From A Father's Day Card ...

A Father's Day card from my children & grandchildren,

To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being.

John Lubbock.

Open Letter To The Families Of San Diego Unified School District(SDUSD) Students …

by Charlama Chaffee

With all of the budget cuts and lay-offs, next school year is going to be very different.  Many schools will have no one in their libraries.  If someone is in your student’s library, they will probably have much shorter hours.  This means that your student will have less access to all of the books and other materials that your tax dollars have purchased.  Maintaining these valuable and expensive collections will be that much harder.  Ask your school how many hours your student’s library will be open next year.  For the vast majority of SDUSD students, the library will be open much less next year, if it is open at all.  Does your student enjoy using the library before school, after school or during lunch?  Does your student play games, use the computers, catch up on homework, read or talk quietly with friends in the library?  In all likelyhood they will not be able to do this as much next year, if at all.

Furthermore, if your student is at a year-round school, changes will be happening on July 1^st.  Because of the budget cuts and lay-offs, a large number of classified personnel will be shifted around to different schools, most with fewer hours and many with a loss of benefits.  These people include, but are not limited to:  secretaries, financial clerks, office clerks, site techs, health techs/aides, security personnel, library techs/aides, teachers aides, attendance clerks, et al.  They are the “lucky” ones.  Many people in the above jobs are being laid off as of July 1^st; they won’t even be able to finish out the school year.  So, if your student is at a year-round school, he/she is going to have a lot of new adults to work with for the last three, very busy, weeks of school.  If you are not sure if these changes will affect your student, ask at your school.  Virtually all schools will be affected, if not on July 1^st, then most definitely come September 6^th, the first day of the 2011 – 2012 school year.

Check your student’s school, then contact the school board if you have any concerns.  You can contact all of the board members by e-mailing them at mailto:board@sandi.net or you can reach them by calling (619) 725-5550

In addition, each board member has a separate e-mail box:

Richard Barrera, Board President  mailto:rbarrera1@sandi.net

           

John Lee Evans, Board Vice-President  mailto:johnleeevans@sandi.net

Shelia Jackson, Board Member  mailto:sjackson@sandi.net

           

Kevin Beiser, Board Member  mailto:kbeiser@sandi.net

           

Scott Barnett, Board Member  mailto:sbarnett@sandi.net

The Recession Hits Everybody......

 1.        I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

  2.       Wives are having sex with their husbands because they can't afford batteries.

  3.       CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

  4.       Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

  5.       A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced.

  6.       I saw a Mormon polygamist with only one wife.

  7.       If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call and ask if they meant you or them.

  8.       McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

  9.       Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

10.       Parents in  Beverly Hills have fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

11.       My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!

12.       A truckload of Americans were caught sneaking into Mexico.

13.       A picture is now only worth 200 words.

14.       When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.

15.       The Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.

16.       Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

And, finally...

17.       I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck. 

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

What Does Love Mean? …

YOU HAVE TO LOVE THIS,

RED.

WHAT LOVE MEANS TO A 4-8 YEAR OLD...

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.
Touching words from the mouths of babes..

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
year-olds.     'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have
imagined.
See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn't bend over and paint
her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time ,
even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne
and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French
fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip
before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing
, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy
are like that.  They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend
who you hate , '
Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt , then he wears it
everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked
at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford .'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone
all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little
stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you
mean it , you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

The best was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry , the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard , climbed onto his lap , and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor , the little boy
said ,

”Nothing , I just helped him cry”

When there is nothing left but God , that is when you find out that God
is all you need. Take a few seconds and simply say the following small prayer:

Heavenly Father , please bless all my friends in whatever it is that
You know they may be needing this day! And may each of their lives be full of
Your peace , prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer
relationship with You. Amen .

Suggest this to five friends and ask them to suggest it to five friends.

Within hours you helped a multitude of people to pray for other people.
Now watch the power of God at work.

God Bless You All !

A Little Humor To Lighten Things Up

 1.        Birds of a feather flock together and _ _ _ _ on your car.

  2.       A penny saved is a government oversight.

  3.       When I’m feeling down, I like to whistle.  It makes the neighbor’s mean dog run to the end of his chain and gag himself.

  4.       The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing, at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the most tempting moment.

  5.       The older you get the tougher it is to lose weight because your body and your fat cells have become such great friends.

  6.       The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

  7.       He who hesitates is probably right.

  8.       Did you ever notice?:  the Roman Numerals for forty(40) are “XL.”

  9.       If you think there is good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody.

10.       If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

11.       The sole purpose of a child’s middle name is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble.

12.       Did you ever notice?:  When you put the words “The” and “IRS” together they spell “Theirs.”

13.       Dogs Beg … Cats Demand.

14.       There’s always a lot to be thankful for, if you take time to look for it.  For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt.

15.       What’s the secret to facing a birthday?  Accepting mortality?  Aging well?  Looking towards an uncertain future with optimism?

I’d have to say … beer.

Help Me Get Through The Days …

Why do some people we know seem to be intent on making everyone around them miserable?  Like a human “black hole” , they seem intent on sucking all the beauty and joy out of life.

*          This individual is the neighborhood gossip, never has anything good to say about anyone and spreads around all the dirt she can dig up or make up.  “He said or did this”, “She said or did that”, etc, etc.

*          This individual is always saying: “They can’t do that … it’s illegal!”.  Whether it is or not.  Unless, of course, it’s convenient for her or puts money in her pocket.

*          This individual constantly rails against “Government Entitlement Programs”, then complains that the government is supposed to send her more work because: “This is a woman-owned business!”

*          You can’t say anything to, or in front of, this individual because; “years ago” she, a member of her family, or someone she knew did it better, faster and/or cheaper.  Conversations stop when she enters a room.

*          This individual has had, or knows someone who has had, every disease known to humankind and some completely unknown.  “The doctors are still trying to figure it out.”

*          This individual has to have the best of everything and then constantly whines about the price.

*          This individual has to be right all the time.  She’s done everything, been everywhere and is an expert on EVERY subject.

*          This individual personifies:  “Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt.”

*          This individual will, if you have the audacity to disagree with her on any subject, tell you:  “If you don’t like it, you can go home” and then whisper trash about you to everyone else for the rest of the day.

*          This individual is so paranoid, she has to have bars on all the windows and an iron fence around the property.  At the end of the day, everyone has to stand around outside until she mounts her broom(gets in her car) and leaves.  She then drives home, next door, to MORE window bars.

*          This individual has never found a restaurant she likes.  She eats the food, complains about it and/or the service, then tries to get the meal free.  It’s gotten so bad even her family is finding excuses not to join her.

*          This individual is totally incapable of processing the shame of making a mistake, so she finds some way to blame all of her mistakes on others.  She makes decisions, but always attributes them to some one else, just in case one of them is a mistake.

I just, partially, described an individual I have to be around most of the day.

I feel kind of like Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid:  “I’ll never find balance, this way.”

No, this person is NOT a member of my immediate family nor related to me in any way, though she acts like she’s everyone’s mother/doctor/benefactor/etc.

Just as anti-matter is the opposite or counter-part of matter, this individual seems to be anti-human.  I believe this is a mental aberation called Narcissism.  I’m sure there’s some of the narcissist in all of us, me included, but, constantly being around someone who is completely narcissistic is physically and mentally demanding and continually stresses ones soul.

There is an excellent book on the subject entitled:  Why Is It Always About You?:  The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism  by Sandy Hotchkiss.

Insights from that book, thinking about going home in the evening and prayer helps get me through the days.

Words Flowing Onto The Page …

I started to write this post about how difficult it is to stop writing if the words keep flowing onto the page.  It’s like they have a life of their own … sometimes it feels like being a conduit for thoughts to flow from mind to finger tips. NOW  THEY’VE  STOPPED  FLOWING!   HELP!

I spoke too soon.  Is this what they call “Writer’s Block?”  It’s really stressful.  Not being able to get going on a writing project is one of the most frustrating things I’ve experienced ………………………….

I’ve been reading a book on Blogger and maybe I’m suffering from a “601” error; too much data coming in too fast. (The Andromeda Strain  - ©1971). 

The other day I received the book my wife ordered for my birthday, about 10 days before, from Amazon.com®.

Google Blogger for Dummies by Susan Gunelius - 2008 (©2009).

I asked for it after checking a copy out of the library (twice) and realized it would be a great resource to have. Owning it and being able to use a Sharpie® highliter on it makes it even more useful.

That same morning a friend recommended this book and even offered to send me her copy, not knowing I already had one on the way.  Thanks for the kind offer, Sheila.  She brought up the point that some of the information is slightly dated, but, overall the book is very useful.  I agree with her.  My computer and I are both older than that so we should do fine.    hahaha

You might be able to tell from the movie references, especially if you know me from Facebook, I am  a movie buff.  Not to be confused with a movie expert, which I am not.

I have a rather large, eclectic collection of movies on DVD.  Some, like The Andromeda Strain – ©1971 – Arthur Hill, I like for the story line.  Others, like Chisum – ©1970 – John Wayne, more for the star/cast.  Still others, like Silent Running – ©1971 – Bruce Dern, for both.  Then there are those, like Fiddler On The Roof – ©1971 – Topol, for the story/star/cast/music.

Until I started writing this, I didn’t realize how many of my favorite movies, other than ALL with John Wayne, fall into the 1965 to 1975 release range.  The release dates in my movie library range from 1931 to 2010, some 79 years of cartoons, cinema and TV.  If I don’t have it, I probably don’t want it or need it.  If I started watching DVDs right now and didn’t have to eat, sleep or ---, I would finish up in approximately;  64 days / 20 hours / 26 minutes.

May God have mercy …

My main DVD player died shortly before my birthday.  My wife took me to Walmart to get a new one.  I couldn’t find a 5 DVD carousel like I had, so I got a single disc Blu-ray player.  That may have been a mistake.  Now I am getting Blu-ray versions of some of my favorites.  I already have 6 and now, courtesy of Eric (one of our three sons), there’s 3 more on the way.  That doesn’t include the 4 still on my Amazon Wish List.

OMG – a monster is born – a Blu-ray monster!

Maybe I should devote part of my blog to movie reviews?  I certainly have a lot of material.  I think maybe I better start reading reviews to get a feel for it.  Of course, since these movies were of my choice, I might be a little prejudiced.  Ya think?

It’s late and I think my mind and fingers are getting out of sync.  I keep having to re-type things so they make sense and my spelling is getting terrible.

Tips To Avoid Type 2 Diabetes !!!

I am a diabetic.  I am going to have to start using insulin because my body is no longer responding to the oral medications well enough to control my blood glucose level.  I picked up my Rx today.

MAYBE THERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE !

Shared from a story on MSNBC.COM

According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology  my problem may be that

I’m not drinking enough beer!

The study showed a link between moderate alcohol consumption and lower diabetes risk.

Also, Chinese researchers found that polysaccharides, a type of carbohydrate found in tea, helps control blood glucose levels.

Another study links broccoli, which contains chromium, to increased insulin sensitivity, thus lowering blood glucose.

Harvard scientists found that a daily serving of dairy decreased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 9%.  They think the calcium in milk products is somehow involved.

In a Sweedish study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, researchers determined that coffee, in addition to clearing the cobwebs in you head, wakes up your insulin receptors.  For each cup you drink daily, you decrease your risk of insulin resistance 16%.  A separate study found that men who drank regular coffee daily significantly reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes.

Isn’t this redundant ???     Insulin resistance is one of the primary causes of type 2 diabetes.

Australian researchers found that one and a half glasses of wine downed shortly after a meal plunges blood glucose back to pre-meal levels.

Sounds like a plan, to me.

You should avoid sweet dessert wines, such as port or sherry.  Ask for a Riesling instead, it’s sweet but won’t boost blood sugar.  Is it any coincidence that many Australian wineries produce Riesling?

Here’s the kicker:

“Researchers at the University of Missouri at Columbia have found that your muscles’ insulin efficiency decreases after just two days of inactivity.  A drop in insulin efficiency can increase your chances of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.  After rest, receptors on muscle cells become less efficient at signaling the amount of insulin bound to them, and as a result, less glucose is taken into your muscles for energy.  That leaves more glucose to wreak havoc in the rest of your body.  So aim for physical activity most days of the week (walking is good), expecially if type 2 diabetes runs in your family.”

Walking is good for you!  DUH ….. What do you think was their first clue?

You think, maybe, your muscles are taking in less fuel because THEY AREN’T DOING ANY WORK?

In conclusion:

Eat lots of broccoli.  Drink more coffee, tea, beer, milk and wine.  Take a hike.  You probably won’t be arrested for WUI (Walking Under the Influence).  If you’re going to follow this regimin, I would suggest you know the location of the nearest restroom at all times!!!

Caution:  The “Wind At Your Back”, from the old Irish blessing, may be caused by all that broccoli and beer.