Dads,
DNA, and
Baseball


Christmas, Anniversary and birthday all rolled into one - you guessed it - it is TIME FOR BASEBALL~~~~~~~
Am I in hog heaven or what. For the past few weeks baseball has been more like freezeball. Never has my face been so cold or my rear end so frozen, but today...........ah today........ the sun was out, the heat was on (87 degrees), and there I sat with my sunflower seeds and water..
(If you are not quite understanding why my zeal for baseball, click on the right hand side under archives for 2007, then go to July 31, 2007 to see the love of baseball.)

I have often wondered if maybe the scientists stopped to early when they discovered the DNA module, and now the markers on those DNA strands because I believe that they just might have missed the most important stand of all - those particular loves that come from your parents. After all why would I be obsessed with crossword puzzles, or love sports, or love baseball. My love of words comes from my mother, my love of sports comes from my father. Baseball has become my therapy.

My father was the typical great dad; he loved baseball, he even was that Little League coach that when all the other fathers were to busy, my dad stepped up and coached for many years. I think that is why my brother has carried the torch and coaches for his sons, and maybe (again I believe it is in the DNA) his sons -or his daughter- will carry on the torch and coach the next generations.

I have to tell you a funny story about my mom, as many of you know she recently passed away from Alzheimer's, but her humor never left. Even as it was getting worse, she would call and say how she loved baseball because she could forget she was watching it, sleep and when she woke up it would still be on TV and the score would be just about the same....... ha ha ha

Baseball has a fluidity - a flow - I know I mention water a lot and the peace that comes from a still lake or pond - the almost glassy look of perfect quiet. Sometimes when a pitcher throws the ball there is that moment of stillness when the body is in perfect form and flow. The silence of the ball as it leaves the hand, the motion of the spin, the sound as it hits the catchers glove and the roar of the umpire "s t r i k e 3"........

Baseball is suppose to be slow, it was designed as a summer afternoon event that you brought your family to watch as you sat out on the lawn and had a picnic. It was never intended to be a billion dollar business where players take enhancing drugs and get paid mega millions. As I watch so much of the dirty muck that goes on day after day about who is dirty and who is clean I find myself wanting to slap them silly and say "enough" no more salary, no outrageous ticket costs, lay a blanket down, eat fried chicken and bring on the the guys that play because they LOVE the game.

I wonder if what I am really saying is "bring back the family"...........

This season my "happiness cup" runeth over........... I have two teams that I am watching with particular enjoyment. I have 2 families. My natural family - Nephew Josh playing for Creighton Prep in Omaha,

and my school players: Denton, Bobby, Byron, Sean, Josh, and Logan.

Each of these young men bring that innocence to baseball, that fun element, as baseball should be. they are the excitement of what the future of baseball can and should be.

So here's to both teams - may they win their state championships, may they NEVER loose the love for the game, and may they always remember:

" We flow like water, there may be twigs to block our flow,

but it is what is under the top ripple of water that

defines the strength and direction of the river."

End of an Era

There are times in history when the pundits say "this marks the end of an era" and for the most part they are correct. But what happens when it is a personal "end". Several things have happened lately in the small town where I teach. There has been name calling, hateful websites constructed to demean and destroy people, but there was always the sense that "tomorrow" things would get back on track - people would heal- and I would get up and do the same thing I have been doing for the past 18 years - after all isn't that what we say about all run-away trains..............Eighteen years ago I was a naive young teacher starting her first day at a new school. I decided late in life to change my career and teach - I believe that teaching is actually embedded in our DNA - no matter how hard we try to ignore it pushes its way into our hearts.

End Number 1
After interviewing with Mr Hammack I was interviewed by Mr. Jerry Burd. I liked him - he sounded positive and encouraging. Little did I know that a few years later he would become my superintendent - and I would become the SEA (teachers union) president. I can not tell you what a wonderful relationship we had - his door was ALWAYS open - I can not remember one time when I went to his office that he did not stop what he was doing and spent some time with me - discussing issues (even to this day we laugh about the "tennis shoe" issue). He truly loved the school, the school district, and most of all he loved the kids. EVERYTHING he did was basically to help make it easier for the students to achieve. There have literally been dozens of "new" ideas for teaching and Mr. Burd had us explore them all.
We found out that Mr. Burd has decided that enough is enough and has opted to retire effective this June. How sad that the "End of an Era" has to be so painful. I am sure that those who had this hidden agenda had a party while the majority of us felt a deep sense of loss - sadness- and a questioning about how a school district that has raised test scores, that has a wonderful sense of family, can loose a leader like Mr. Burd.We will survive, after all, it is a school and educating our young will continue - but there will be that sense that something is gone.

End Number 2

The second piece of news came as a total shock! I remember when my friend called me and said “Mr. Smith has resigned”. I just stood in the kitchen and kept repeating “I can’t believe it, I don’t know what to say”. Finally I said I would have to call her back because all I kept saying was “I can’t believe it”. This man was the School Board President.
He has been there forever. I can tell you the first time I met the man and what his message was to the teachers that morning. He inspired us to be the best teachers we could be. He promised us he would work with passion to get us the things we needed to be successful in the class. Even as I write this I can not find the words to express how much this man has meant to the school, the teachers but most importantly to the students.
Do you realize that we have one of the best school districts in Northeastern Oklahoma?? Do you realize that we have over 50 smartboards in the classrooms, while Tulsa teachers are just praying for computers? We have computer labs and testing that some school districts will not see in ten years. We are so cutting edge in some of our technology that other schools come to us for training. ALL OF THIS comes from a school board that had FAITH in our teachers, and had a DESIRE to see our students succeed.
He will be so missed. I wish him all the best, all the love that he inspired in our students, and all the happiness and peace that comes with knowing that YOU were HERE for a reason, a purpose and you have succeed in the plan that God had set for you.
Good bye and God Bless

Mr. Burd, and Mr. Smith



(the train is still out of control……..)

"The Glory of Sonic Ice or How I miss Mom and Dad"

I know it’s been a while since I updated my blog – but given the ice storm, the clean-up, the holidays and other minor crises of life I think I can be forgiven. Today’s blog is dedicated to the wonders of “Sonic Ice or missing Mom and Dad”

You see, there is a stomach virus going around that is absolutely horrible by any standards. Nausea seems to be the worse part of the virus. After frequent bouts of throwing up everything including your toe nails, the feeling does not simply go away. It hangs on and on until you feel you are loosing your mind. And of course everyone has a horror story to share about how many times they have thrown up – 9, 15, and 37 times in one day. All making the newly infected person all the more afraid of what is about to happen.

Mike’s bout with this virus started last Monday. He had worked Sunday night; everything was fine, woke up Monday morning and began throwing up. This continued until Tuesday, but even today he is still plagued by the nausea. I prayed and prayed to God for anything but the throwing up, I offered my body up for any other illness out there to take its place. You see in our family we are not afraid of natural disasters, fire, or even death to some degree but when it comes to throwing up we are terrified. So I fought everyday, took vitamins, stayed the positive thinker, continued my prayers, and took care of mike as a good wife should………. But on Friday morning at 2:10 am my body succumbed to the horrible virus and I found myself in the bathroom following the path that so far family, friends and students have taken. But I feel lucky in that my bout was minor in comparison to the other stories I have heard. My time in the bathroom was limited to only 4 “events”. But the nausea has continued.

The only cure on the market at this time – Sonic Ice. Now you might be wondering why Sonic Ice – well it comes in small small chunks – the kind you love to munch on after you finish your drink. They fit either a small spoon or can easily be picked up by your fingers. (We buy it by the large bag, bring it home and section it off into large zip-lock bags. That way we don’t get the clumps of ice that come with normal bags.) Just the idea of food in the stomach is enough to cause one to run to the bathroom, but ice works out fine. It is cold, wet, refreshing, and can melt without using any muscles. It is what you need to replenish the body.

I can remember as a small girl my dad bringing in glasses of chopped ice trying to make us understand why we need to eat all that ice – “it will make you feel better and when you throw it up it won’t hurt as much” I can remember him saying to me one horrible day. So I ate the ice and have done so ever since when faced with the nausea.
Mom’s cure was an immediate bowl of chicken soup – I can’t figure out if it really is the broth or the salt in the broth that really cures the person, but to this day I also reach for the chicken soup when sick. Since Friday morning I have consumed 5 saltine crackers, 2 pieces of dry toast, and 2 cups of broth.

Today I am going to try and guilt someone into bringing a chicken and putting it on my front porch for me to cook and make some more chicken soup. To have a chicken brewing, a gallon of water, salt, a few veggies, a few Jewish phrases and a blessing or two and I should be better within the day.
I am 54, sick and still wishing for dad’s chopped ice, and mom’s chicken soup. But will settle for the love of my husband, the prayers of my family, the blessings of the Lord, and Sonic Ice.

I am woman, hear me roar In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an' pretend

'cause I've heard it all before

And I've been down there on the floor

No one's evergonna keep me down again

CHORUS

Oh yes I am wise But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong (strong)

I am invincible (invincible)

I am woman

In the last blog I wrote about boys and their dads. In this weeks blog I think I will focus on the girls, their mothers - and of course the mothers to our boys. You see girls tend not to get as much attention in the High School years as boys. Let’s face it – on the news Friday night it’s all about the boys, but where do the girls get attention.

Well it‘s up to the mom’s of this world to let the girls know how valuable they are not only to the family but to society as well. We can go back in history to the early English scientific observatory where women were not allowed to “publish” their conclusions, to Germany where Maria Winkelmann had to “play” assistant to her husband while making discoveries including a comet she discovered in 1702 - even after his death she was only allowed to continue her research by posing as an assistant to her son. But it is through the continued works by women like Margaret Cavendish and her books that young girls of the 1700-1800’s were introduced to the possibilities of science and math and a life outside the realms of labor and home.


Even as far back as the 1970’s girls graduating high school were pretty much granted four professions, teaching, nursing, secretary or homemaker. Now I do not mean to demean any of those professions, I am just saying it would have been nice to know I could have been a rocket scientist (ok those of you that know me and my math skills stop laughing).



For my senior girls – the world is open to you – you have so many opportunities available, so many options as to where your life can take you. Never settle for anything less than what you want. Never let anyone tell you “you can’t do it”. You have the strength, resourcefulness, and power to be whatever you want. You are women, let the world hear you roar…………


Senior girls that were involved in Volleyball, Softball, band and football and their parents celebrate Senior Night 10/26/07








Mothers and daughters,
Fathers and daughters.
The evidence that God has decided that perhaps the world does deserve another generation........















Every year on Senior Night the mother's get together
and perform a special dance for their sons and daughters. This year was terrific!!! Here's to all the mothers - those strong women who will spend the next few months fighting back tears of saddness that their child is leaving, mixed with tears of joy and accomplishment seeing how their hard work has paid off. Yes you are wise, and its wisdom filled with pain, and yes you paid the price but LOOK how much you gained - you were strong, you are strong and this generation of seniors thanks you!!!!!!!!

Life Passages
There are certain events in our lives when we find ourselves going from one stage to another. When people ask why I teach high School, specifically Seniors, I always reply that I love watching them pass from one stage in life to the next. This year is no exception as I have watched them enter into the “last” of their school year activities:
The last homecoming,
the last float,
the last home football game.

So for this week I am dedicating this site to my students who on Friday night celebrated “Senior Night” with their parents at the last home football game. Each picture represents those moments in life that are a toss up between happiness and sadness – the beginning and the end.


I love this picture of the moment when a dad places his arm around a son, a bonding of ideas, memories and a recognition that they are no longer the little boys who brought home frogs, but now young men that are about venture onto life’s field of college, careers and dreams.

So here’s to memories, fun, sadness, the future, friendships, and a realization that although this may be the “last” of something in their lives, it is also the “first” of something new.

Casey and Abbie

Amanda and the girls





Colton and Louie

Lets hear it for the boys





Katie, mom and dad

Jay will always be remembered.

Every few days I will try to update the site with more pictures of seniors and their parents, the game and Senior life.
I hope you enjoy these pictures.
d

Baseball, Family, and Summer

Ah........... the boys of summer, America's past time, BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!

There is something unique about spending an entire week sitting on a hard bleacher, eating sunflower seeds, and watching your body sizzle from the burning sun, that drives us to say "we love our baseball"..... but we do - day in day out - baseball consumes our lives for over 160 games.
But............ the best game in town is NOT the gazillion dollar paid "pros" . It is the essence of baseball, that vulnerable age where there is no real ego, no "absolute" need to win, no pressure from the parents that drives the kid to early ulcers of stress. The best baseball is in the 13 and younger league. It is the true baseball, pure as it was intended.
Ok - I realize that there are always going to be the overzealous parent who freaks out if their kid doesn't play, or doesn't get the winning out. But what I really mean is the ambiance that is summer baseball.
Heat,
Kids, Baseballs,
parents cheering,
and kids who just love what they are doing.
So why the waxing nostalgia???
I had one the of the best weeks of my life 2 weeks ago when my brother and nephew , Mason, came to Tulsa for the National World Series for the 13 year olds............. Super Series.


Not only did I get to see my brother - who we only get to see about twice a year - we got to watch Mason play ball. We (my sister and I ) were there, morning - 8:00am games, and there at night (10:45pm) when that game started. We were there Sunday through Friday morning................ we were there, cheering, sweating.
There is a peace, a smile that comes over the face when you step out of the scene and just look around and watch the innocence of the world in those kids.

Will any of them go on to the Pros??? don't really know. But what I do know is that there was a lot of love on this team, between the players, the parents, and especially for two Aunts that were just happy to be there.

Venice, Italy

As we continued on our trip we ventured into Venice. Now I know I will probably make a lot of people mad, but to be honest with you Venice was not my cup of tea. I could have been happy doing a one hour tour of Venice, learned about the history and gone back to the mainland. But...

I did learn about how Venice was built on top of trees that have petrified

under water. It was interesting to see the canals, and to know that there are no cars, no firetrucks, no ambulances - those are all done by boat.

The gondolas were interesting. Several of our students decided to take the ride. It was a little expensive but they wanted the experience.

This next part is a little personal so I hope you will not mind my detour from the "history" of our trip. You see, Tuesday May 29th was a nerve wrecking day for me because my daughter was back in Tulsa, Oklahoma having a C-Section for our second grandson!!!! With a 7 hour time difference only meant that I would have more "daytime" to worry. As I have mentioned before I find it hard to go by a Catholic church without lighting a candle, and for some reason I kept coming back to this church so I went inside and in the picture below you can see the two candles on the left - one for my daughter and one for my new grandson, with prayers that they would have wonderful lives, and be happy in the warm love of Christ.

All went well and I have an absolutely Beautiful Grandson named Jason. The next day I was on the bus heading to Switzerland when I took out some paper and wrote the following note:

" Life is good today. Yesterday I became a grandmother for the

second time to a beautiful Jason Riley.

Today I dipped my toes into the Adriatic Sea, and left

Venice behind. As we traveled north west to Verona we

could see the Alps, snow capped - and on my IPod I listened

to Enya and all of a sudden life was wonderful and peaceful.

My kids are asleep, and my life is fine.

The next song was "String of Pearls" by Glen Miller

- thought of WWII and the American Soldiers that had to

fight their way north from Italy to Germany - 60 years later

we sit on a bus, congested on a freeway knowing our

freedom and the cost our soldiers paid. I hope my

kids are able to appreciate their sacrifice."

Church

I wonder what my fascination is with the "Church". What is it about the architecture that I find so interesting. My faith is of the the Protestant church and yet I can not walk by a Catholic church in Europe without going in and lighting a candle..........or two......... and admiring all the beautiful artwork and statues. I must admit there is a peace there as well.

These pictures are from churches in Venice Italy, and Lucerne. Switzerland. These two pictures are from Venice Italy. the one to the left is St. Marks Cathedral.

It is believed that when St. Mark died his bones were stolen and brought to Venice where they were placed in safe keeping at a church later named St. Marks Cathedral. The art work in this church is indescribable as it is all in tiny mosaic pieces - mostly gold. All the churches in Venice have the lion with wings - it represents St. Mark. He is the patron saint of Venice.

This is the protestant church in Heidelburg Germany. We did not get to stop and go in, but it was beautiful even from a distance.

The next few pictures are from the Catholic Church in Lucerne. What impressed me the most was the use of Red Marble - everywhere. What also made this experience so unique was that someone was playing this wonderful large organ that just resonated throughout the Church. It was truly a moving experience.

This is the organ that is in the back of the church - absolutely beautiful.

What a group.......

It finally dawned on me that I have not entered a picture of our group.

Here we are - students, parents and teacher

This is a group picture we had taken at the base of the statue of King Victor Emanuel II of the United Italy. Each day our tour director would take a picture and post it on the Internet for parents so they could see what we were up to that day. They just forgot to tell me to tell them - so I doubt any parents checked the website.



There were some great bonds of friendship that came from this trip. Casey became a friend and helped keep me centered each day. - she has a great personality and is a wonderful young lady.

There is also a picture of her
with Cody H. and several of the others in the background. Cody took over1,000 pictures on this trip.... thank goodness Reasor's is running a 10 cent a picture sale....





Jake and Brittany in front of the statue of King Victor Emanuel the II. in Venice Italy








Here they are at the oldest church in Munich. great looking group of kids..........

Hope they are having a wonderful summer.

Enough life questions....... how about the trip???

Ok I know I have been a little melancholy about life, love, and the mystery of life so now it is time to get focused again on the purpose of the blog. TO SHOW PICTURES...........

The tour's first stop was in the city of Rotenburg ob do Tauber. This city is located in the Bavarian region of Germany.

The town is actually located on the top of a mount overlooking the Tauber River. It is one of the best examples still remaining in Europe of what a Medieval town would look like.
The name Rotenburg ob de Tauber actually comes from the words "rot = red" and "burg = town". As you can see in the pictures the city gets its name from all of the "red roofs".


The city is famous for two street Koboldzellersteg and Spittalgasse. As you can see the streets are very narrow, but are also beautifully decorated.

The town design was the inspiration for Walt Disney studios when they decided to create the movie "Pinocchio".



If you click on the picture you should be able to see the steeples in the background. They are of the church St. Peter and Paul built in 968.