Subbing

I have been subbing for a variety of classes lately, everything from construction techniques to U.S. History. It amazes me what teachers expect (or should I say, don't expect) from a sub. I have watched more movies than I can count. I even talked to one teacher ahead of time, and told him that I was certified in Social Sciences/History, and he said he would make lesson plans where I could actually teach. He still had me show a video for two days, but he allowed me to comment on it as it played. :o( Students and aides in the classes that I sub for tell me that I do a better job than the teacher I am subbing for (not bragging here, just commenting). That is a sad commentary on how complacent some teachers get as they teach day after day. I hope I never get there.

Keep smiling. Have a great day! Stick.

TWENTY-THREE YEARS!

We have been married for twenty-three years. We celebrated this weekend by going to SLC and spending two days. We ate too much, spent too much, slept too much, and in general had a great time! We cannot believe that 23 years have gone by. We just met a year, or two ago at school. We look at others we know, and are thankful for each other. Many are not even married anymore, and others wish they weren't. We have been very happy for our 23, and look forward to many more to come. To my wife--I love you, and I'm thankful you chose me! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

I have discovered a Black Hole. It exists right here in our High School. I can make assignment sheets for every student in a class, and give them each one. I even make extras. Within 24 hours, those assignment sheets have disappeared, including the memory of them in every students mind. I can give review sheets for tests, which include all the questions and answers necessary for them to pass the test with ease. Within 24 hours, the sheets are gone, and so are the answers and any memory of them in many of the students.

I had a student sit and goof off while we reviewed for the test. I told the students MANY times that if they studied the review sheet, they would do well on the test. MANY. TIMES. The test contained the EXACT questions from the review sheet, and I gave them the answers when we reviewed. The EXACT ANSWER! This student scored well below the passing score, and had the gall to ask if he could retake the test, because--ready for this--he didn't study. Students who didn't read the book all the way through; students who didn't study, but listened in class to the review both passed this test. Some had an almost perfect score. I think for those that didn't pass, the block hole drained the answers away. Now if we could only get it to work on those ozone depleting CFC's and the liberal press.

Take care. Watch out for those Black Holes. Stick.

Spring In Wyoming

The first official day of spring has come and gone. Wyoming is still confused about this season. Within in the two weeks following the first day of spring, it snowed more than it had all winter, and temperatures dropped down to single digits. Yesterday, it was warm and sunny, and today started out that way. This afternoon, the clouds rolled in with wind, and it has started to cool off again. Last year, we had six inches of snow on June sixth. I guess we just take each good day as it comes. (on a side note, we did see the sure SIGN that spring is really here--ROAD CONSTRUCTION AHEAD.)

Another Memory

Thinking about my last post, I thought of so many other things that we loved to do when visiting our grandparents. Others have commented about a horse my grandfather used to own. We called him "Old Tony". He had been born to one of grandpa's other horses, and he was what grandpa called a "jughead". In horseman's terms that means the horse won't amount to much, and won't learn well. Grandpa wanted to put him down, but according to Lonehawk, our uncle, he talked his dad out of doing this.

That horse was trained, and turned out to be one of the best horses grandpa ever owned. He used to amaze people with the things he could do on voice command. He was part quarter horse, and part Morgan (I think), which meant that he was a very big horse. He stood over 17 hands (well over 6 feet), and would often be seen carrying 3 or 4 kids at once. He could climb into, and out of, a pickup without any loading ramp. When loaded with a deer, he could be told to go home, and he would take the deer back to the house without any rider.

We would often go to the field where grandpa grazed him, and call him to us for an impromptu bareback ride. He was in many parades, and even raced a couple of times in the holiday horse races.

He wasn't the only horse that I loved to ride though. My uncle Karl owned what was probably my favorite horse. It was a cream colored palamino looking horse called Flint. The summer I rode him the most, I was 16. I was tanned as brown as any Indian, and my hair was sun-bleached to almost blond. I would put on my moccasins, and a bandanna headband, and would ride all over town. I thought I was very cool. Probably not. Please let me keep my delusions though. :o)

Make some memories. Stick.

Walking the Fence

Growing up, we used to love to go visit family in Southern Utah. There were people to see, horses to ride, rivers to swim and fish in, mountains and hills to walk and climb on, and many other things to do. Today, our children (nieces, nephews, etc.) will complain sometimes about nothing to do when we visit there. Have they lost the ability and imagination that we had, or is there really less to do than when we visited as youth.

One of my favorite things to do was walking Uncle Karl’s fence. It was like a right-of-passage to walk the entire length of his fence-line. You started with the white, log fence up near the house. It was the widest, but some of the logs could be loose and roll when you walked them. Then came the slat fence. It had board nailed flat on the inside that you walked on. This was easier to walk, but it swayed a little, so you still had to be careful. Then came the tall board fence where you had to walk the skinny side of the 2x4 nailed to the back. Finally came the barbed wire fence. This had a smaller log that ran on the inside that you walked on. I learned the hard way what could happen if you fell forward across the barbed wire on this fence. In spite of that, I remember the sense of accomplishment in walking the entire length.

We spent hours hiking in the hills, looking for arrowheads (before it was illegal), pine nuts, animals, or whatever we happened across. We hiked just to explore. We built forts and hide-aways, climbed mountains, and in general enjoyed being kids. If it was hot, we invariably ended up either in the irrigation ditch, or the river, and it didn’t matter if we had swimsuits, or not, usually we just went in clothes and all. The boys tended to fish more as we got older, but even that sometimes took a back seat to other activities.

Granted, today when we all gather, we like to sit and talk--probably not the most entertaining activity for younger kids. Maybe if we were more exciting, the kids wouldn’t complain as much. Tough. Make your own fun. We did.

Walk your own fence. Stick.

Something New Has Been Added

My second daughter, R, decided that she needed a car for when she goes to college next fall. She has been working this school year and saving her money. So......



She just bought a 2007 Dodge Caliber. It is a cute little front wheel drive SUV. It has four doors, and will seat Five (four comfortably), with a decent sized cargo area in back. It is supposed to get 30 MPG highway. It has a nice stereo that she can plug her MP3 directly into, and handles well. I will TRY to post a picture of what it looks like. :o)

I hope that she is happy with it, and that it gives her many years of service. I also hope she is able to continue making the payments, for my credit score sake. :o)

Hang in there. Drive safe. Stick.