The Median Sib

Hot Air tell about how Zacarias Moussaoui had decided that he didn’t REALLY mean what he said earlier at his trial.  You know, that stuff about knowing about the 9/11 attacks and how he was supposed to be a part of the team that carried them out.  No, he didn’t mean any of that.  It’s just that he figured we’d believe he was guilty anyway.  He was sure he couldn’t get a fair trial.  So he just said he did it — even though, of course, he didn’t.

Reminds me of a second grade student – I’ll call him Billy - I had about ten years ago. We had a science exhibit, and another child came crying to me because Billy had broken her project. I asked Billy, and he readily admitted his guilt. I didn’t even have to say the usual “You’ll feel better if you tell the truth.” Since he had broken the project deliberately (he was angry with the girl), I called his mother who said she’d talk with Billy.

The next day the mom came in and said that she had talked to Billy and learned that he really hadn’t broken the project. 

“Oh?” I inquired, “Why did he tell me that he did?”

Her response was immediate and confident.  “He knew you’d believe he did it no matter what he said. So he said he did it even though he didn’t.”

I was dumbfounded. Did she really believe that? She knew me – I had taught Billy’s older brother, and the mother had gone to great lengths to be sure Billy was in my class that year.  I’m known for being soft-spoken and mild-mannered.  And furthermore, I knew Billy. He was not shy about standing up for himself.

But let’s look at his options: (1) Consequence of admitting his misdeed to me: I’d make him apologize to the girl and “walk the fence” for ten minutes during recess. He could handle that. However, I told his mom about it, and thus there was an additional consequence added to the equation; (2) Consequence of admitting his misdeed to mom: He’d almost certainly get a spanking, grounding, or both. Plus, he knew that if he denied doing it, she would believe him.  It wasn’t a difficult decision for Billy. 

Did Billy’s mom really believe that he didn’t do it? Yes, she did. I dropped the issue because I figured Billy’s punishment in having to deal with such stupidity in his mother was far worse than any consequence I could have given him. And sadly, the ensuing ten years have born that out. Billy has been in and out of trouble, and he recently was arrested for burglarizing some homes. I’d be willing to bet that his mom is blaming someone else for that, too.

And how does that relate to Moussaoui? He thought he could handle the consequences of admitting his wrongdoing. He was ready to “be a martyr” and die.  However, he didn’t get the consequence he expected. He didn’t want to be stuck in a prison cell with no way to draw attention to himself and glorify himself to his fellow terrorists. So now he’s recanting his confession. It’ll be interesting to see who buys his story…because some will.

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Last summer I picked blueberries with some other members of my family and froze about 14 pints of them.  Throughout the year I’ve used a pint here and there to make blueberry cobbler.  But now May has arrived - with blueberry picking season just a few weeks away - and I still have 7 or 8 pints  in the freezer.  What to do with them?  Sunday afternoon I decided to continue with my current canning craze and make jam out of them.  Blueberry-orange jam, to be exact.  It’s worth the trouble.  Here’s the recipe:

4 cups mashed blueberries

1 1/2  Tablespoons finely grated orange peel

1/4 cup orange juice

1 package powdered pectin (1.75 oz.)

4 cups sugar

I used a potato masher to mash the blueberries but soon decided that was too slow.  I got an electic hand blender (one of those wand-looking things), and that worked real well.   I measured 4 cups of coarsely blended blueberries into a large pot.  I added the orange peel, orange juice and pectin and brought it to a boil.  I then added the sugar, stirred it, brought it back to a rolling boil and boiled it for another three or four minutes.  Meanwhile in another very large pot I had boiled the jars and lids.  I used 8-ounce and 4-ounce decorative jars.  I ladled the jam into the jars, wiped the rims of the jars and put on the lids.  It made a LOT - next year I’ll do half that.  I then put the jars back into the boiling water and boiled them.  The directions call for 10 minutes of boiling.  I went overboard so I know for certain that everything is sterilized and well sealed and safe to eat.  So I boiled the sealed jars for about 30 minutes.  Folks, that jam is delicious.  The orange kick added to the blueberries is phenomenal. 

P.S. Don’t want to deal with sterilizing jars?  Just wash the jars well, fill with the jam mixture, leaving a half inch at the top, seal, and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours to set.  Them place in freezer until ready to use.

Back in the late fifties/early sixties, my father was the minister at Watkins Memorial Methodist Church in Ellijay, Georgia.  Since he was an outstanding preacher, he was often asked to preach at revivals at other churches.  Each time he returned home after a few days away, he brought a small gift to each of us children.  One time his gift to me was a small brown leather diary.  I was in the fifth grade at the time. 

I loved that diary and wrote in it faithfully.  When it was full, I got another one.  Later in high school I made my own diaries with paper and cardboard - sewing them together to form a book.  I remember that on the front cover of one I drew a big heart with a crack going through it and wrote in large letters: ”Diary of Broken Hearts.”  Yes, I was a drama queen. 

I kept a diary from fifth grade until a few days before I married PawPaw in 1969.  At that time I decided that I was “leaving my past behind and entering adulthood” and should do away with the activities of my childhoo.  And with great ceremony, I burned all my diaries. (another DQ moment)

I’m fortunate to have only a few real regrets in my life, and that’s one of them.  It would be SO cool to be able to read my journal entries from fifth grade through junior high and high school and the first two years of college. 

I started a new journal not too long after I got married, and I still have all my journals after that.  It’s nice to go back and read about the early years of my marriage to PawPaw, my pregnancies and the births of both my children - now 27 and 31.  Once I started using a computer about ten years ago, I stopped keeping a paper and pencil journal.  All my writing since then has been done on the computer - and I lost lots of it when my computer crashed once.  But still I have a drawer full of journals - and every year or two it’s nice to glance through them and remember some of the fun times in my past.

Joan at Daddy’s Roses has a contest going on to create words . . . well, I’ll let her tell you:

According to a couple of questionable sources the Washington Post hosts an annual contest asking its readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting,or changing only one letter, and then supply a new definition. This contest has been referred to as The Mensa Invitational.

You can visit Daddy’s Roses to see the examples that Joan has provided.  Here are my contributions:

bivocal - The ability to talk and blog at the same time

sobnoxious - an adjective describing someone who cries so much it’s annoying

bamboobled - what happens when men are tricked as a result of being distracted by large-breasted women 

debilicake - to be sick from eating too much pastry

Very simply, political correctness is censorship by intimidation. 

(1) I’ve been feeling rather yukky since Friday.  The whole stomach upset thing which resulted in an experience I’ve never had before and hope I never have again.  I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say at 4:30 yesterday morning I was scrubbing the floor and walls, and one load of laundry has gone through the hot water cycle three times.  And I still feel bad - got a horrible headache.

(2) I tried cross-posting at Blue Star Chronicles while Beth was out of town.  I couldn’t get it to work.  Sorry, Beth.  Everybody, please click over there and visit her so her site meter won’t plummet too far because of lack of new reading material.  She’ll be back this afternoon.

(3) My mother wrote a wonderful post about Liberty in Law - Christianity and America.  VERY much worth reading.

(4) “Immigration protest” is a misnomer.  What’s going on is illegal aliens - i.e. people who have deliberately broken the law and disrespected the United States - are asking for special favors to continue doing so.  It has nothing to do with immigration.

(5) I’m looking forward to seeing Sunshine graduate from water survival class on Tuesday.

(6) I bought another gallon of strawberries from someone who was selling them by the road.  He said he had just picked them that morning.  I made more strawberry jam.  It’s delicious - although with my aforementioned stomach ailments, I’ve only eaten a little of it!

(7) I had my nails done on Thursday.  Yesterday I broke a nail.  That fits in with the general way the past few days have been going. 

I went through a year of being unable to sleep, and my doctor prescribed Ambien.  I hated the idea of taking sleeping pills, and so I cut each pill in half so I’d only take a half-dose at a time.  As a result I was able to get some sleep occasionally.  My year of taking Ambien was an eye-opener - which is paradoxical since it’s supposed to be an eye-closer.  (Sorry - weak attempt at humor).  The sleep carried a price, though.

I remember clearly one day attending a  meeting at another school.  I pulled into the parking lot and gently brought my car to rest against the car parked facing me.  It was like watching a movie in slow motion.  I turned to the student teacher who was riding with me, and said something like “Did I hit that car?”  She nodded in the affirmative - most likely thinking I’d been hitting the sauce a  little early in the day.  That night - horrified that I’d been so foggy and certainly hadn’t set a professional example for my student teacher - I took each half-pill and cut it in half.  I was down to taking 1/4 pill each night.  I was still a walking zombie often during the day.  After a few days, I stopped taking them altogether.  It wasn’t worth the risk.

My sleeping problem was solved shortly afterwards when the snorer and I parted ways, and I’ve slept wonderfully chemical-free ever since.

My point is that if Patrick Kennedy was taking Ambien - especially if he’d been taking it long term and in full or increased doses - he most likely DID have no recollection of what happened that night.  It’s powerful stuff.

Others posting on this topic: My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy,  Michelle Malkin, The Liberal Wrong Wing, Scared Monkeys, RightWinged, Wonkette, The Radio Equalizer, Stuck on Stupid, Wiz Bang, Sister Toldjah

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Freedom Of Speech: Not If You Disagree

Cross posted from CommonSenseAmerica by Christi S. King

The far left relies on their `right to freedom of speech’ whenever their words (and diatribes) are questioned but it seems that the far left believes they are the only ones entitled to this right.

From WBBM 780-Chicago

Unruly Crowd Shuts Down Immigration Debate

A community forum on immigration ended just about as fast as it began Thursday night in the Logan Square neighborhood when protesters disrupted the event and shouted down the controversial participants.

“No free speech for terrorists!” chanted the demonstrators who crowded inside the Fourth Congregational Church at 2625 N. Tallman Ave., where the event was being held.

WBBM Newsradio 780’s Steve Grzanich reports organizers had barely started the introductions when the noisy protest began.

The demonstrators succeeded in stopping what was supposed to be a debate between advocates of immigration rights and a group called the Illinois Minuteman Project which supports stricter enforcement of U-S immigration laws.

“They have to know that their racist ideas are not going to be tolerated,” said protestor Maria Melquiades of Chicago. “Racism kills. You don’t debate racism,” she said.

“All immigrants are welcomed and Minutemen are not,” said protestor John Eriksen of Chicago. “Where they are, they need to be shouted down because they are racists and Nazis,” he added.

The forum had to be cancelled when police were called in to disperse the protestors. Officers arrested one demonstrator for disorderly conduct.

Hmmm, the far left has apparently decided that they will dictate what can and cannot be debated in America. What part of freedom of speech do they not understand?

When people are silenced and forced to live in fear of repercussion because of words, thoughts, and ideas, where is the freedom?

That is not America. That, my friend, is the ugly face of communism.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

I have two granddaughters - Sunshine is three, and Sweet Stuff is five. They’re going to the beach with their mommy (my daughter) and daddy in a week.  My daughter wanted the girls to have swim lessons so they’d be safer around the hotel pool.   She asked around, and found a woman who has an unusual approach to teaching young children to swim.

I’ve been to two of the lessons, and they’re incredible!   They’re not really swimming lessons as much as they’re survival lessons. The lady who teaches the lessons had a child who drowned at a young age.  He’d had swimming lessons at the Y, but those lessons didn’t teach him how to survive if  he fell in a pool.  So the mom researched and found this method of survival swimming, she found someone who taught it, and now she has made it her mission to teach it to others.

Today was “graduation day” for Sweet Stuff.  She had to be in the water - fully clothed - jeans, long-sleeve shirt, hooded sweater, shoes and socks.  She was able to alternate swimming (under water, eyes open) and resting (floating on her back) to get to the side of the pool - fully dressed with heavy, wet clothes on!  She was able to do it even when she was disoriented by being flipped head over heels (which would most likely be how they’d feel if they fell into a pool).  Seeing young children flipped like that, then coming up and swimming, rotating over to float, and then swimming again until they reach the side of the pool - just amazing!

The most incredible thing is that these children do this with big grins on their faces.  They are so proud of themselves, and they’re confident.  They don’t fear the water as some children do.  The teacher is amazing.  She never forces them.  When children are hesitant, she guides them and shows them they can do it.  She encourages the children and praises their efforts, and they keep plugging away at it.  I observed one lesson in which she was working with a baby - maybe around a year old - who was able to alternate between swimming and floating.

When the children get water in their noses and start coughing and choking, it’s treated as “that’s what happens sometimes - no big deal.  You can cough it out and get over it.”  And it isn’t a big deal!  The children learn to not panic and to simply handle whatever happens.  If the child is tired and can’t swim any more?  They rotate over onto their backs and float for awhile until they’re ready to swim again.  They call it “resting.” The children are taught to swim with their heads under water and their eyes open.  It makes sense - they have to see where they’re going.  Swim, rest, swim, rest, swim - until they reach safety.  No goggles, no floaties, no flotation devices at all.

The lessons never last over ten minutes each.  That’s good because after ten minutes, the kids are exhausted.  Each lesson is one-on-one with the instructor.  Parents are always right there watching each step — and, in my case, grandparents and other interested friends and family.

I’m so proud of Sweet Stuff.  She graduated with flying colors today.  Sunshine is scheduled to graduate on Tuesday.

On the way to work most mornings, I listen to Steve Gill on WTN 99.7 radio.  I don’t always agree with Gill - especially when he gets on a roll about “nitwit” teachers.  However, I agree with him more often than I disagree with him.  So I keep listening.  Well, and there’s also the matter of not having much choice in Nashville radio morning shows. 

One day last week he talked about how the constant use of the hyphenated versions of Americans (African-Americans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Mexican-Americans) becomes divisive and encourages people to emphasize the differences in ethnic groups rather than the similarities and common goals.  I like that!  It is SO true.

All American citizens are Americans.  Period.

My sister, Beth, at Blue Star Chronicles is out of town with no easy internet access.  I promised that I would cross-post on her blog to give her readers something to read until she returns home on Sunday.

I tried.  I really tried.  And each day I try again.  But the login name and password she set up for me won’t work.  Each time I’ve tried, I’ve been denied access.  I’ve tried using uppercase and lowercase letters.  It simply won’t work.  It’s probably some little bitty step that I’m not following correctly, but I can’t figure it out.  However, I must also say that the situation is simply par for the course.  NOTHING in blogging seems to be easy at first.  Sharp learning curve at every turn.

Lesson learned:  Make a trial run BEFORE she leaves town next time.  If you get a chance, click over to Blue Star Chronicles and tell her to enjoy her trip and to not kill me for not posting on her blog while she’s gone.

UPDATE:  Beth was able to get online briefly, and she set it up again for me to post.  This time I could get to the admin page of her blog.  I wrote a great post (of course), but the only options were “Save and Continue Editing” and “Save.”  There wasn’t a “Publish” button.  All you other WordPress folks - any ideas what’s going on????

I was THRILLED when Shane was voted off SURVIVOR tonight.  I was even more thrilled that he was so bamboozled that he had no clue that it was going to happen.  He was the most immature and disgusting player on the show in quite awhile - strutting around with that stomach poked out and acting like he ran the whole show, asking Cerie to check his penis, walking around naked, making deals and swearing on his son’s name.  And, really, it was just plain weird that he had his son’s name tattooed on his chest. I never figured out why they didn’t vote him off in the beginning when he ASKED them to vote him off.  I mean, he was crazy — using a rock as a “blackberry.”  The man has serious problems.

I hope Cirie wins.  At least she has a sense of humor and seems to be having fun with all the idiocy around her.

I came home from school a little cross-eyed, loopy and head-achey today.  I gave reading tests ALL DAY LONG!  We’re entering the last three weeks of school for this year, and since I’m the reading specialist, I’m administering the DRA almost nonstop for the next three weeks.  The DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) is a valuable assessment of reading ability.  It is given one-on-one.  The DRA kit includes books on varying levels.  There a K-3 kit, and a 4-8 kit.  I have given the tests in each of the kits so many times that I practically have every story memorized.  I have the directions memorized, and I could probably give an assessment in my sleep. 

Today I had 7 hours of testing with very brief respites for a 15 minute lunch break and later a 10 minute stroll to the bookroom to shelve some leveled book sets that had been returned.  Well - and several quick restroom trips between tests.  

I heard children read the same stories over and over: “You Don’t Look Beautiful to Me,”  “Storm Chasers,” “Green Freddie,” “One Brave Heart,” Lights! Camera! Action!”  At one point I told a fourth grader that I had to stand up and stretch a little bit before starting her testing. The past four children had chosen the same book (”Storm Chasers”) and so had she.  I wasn’t sure I could stand doing a running record on the same passage again. So I got up and went to my little refrigerator and took a couple swigs of a Diet Coke. The exercise and caffeine helped. Then it was back to “Storm Chasers.”

When I first started giving the DRA last year, I had the hardest time learning how to score it.  It seemed impossibly complicated.  Now that I’ve given it hundreds of times, I’m seeing more and more just how valuable it is.  It allows the teacher to identify exactly what a child does well in reading and what the child needs to work on to become a better reader. 

I can finish a K-3 test in about 30 - 45 minutes.  However, I always spread the upper grade test over at least two days because even though it is a reading test, it requires the children to complete four pages of writing.  Actually, if I include the student reading survey, there are six pages of writing for the upper grade children.  That’s my only complaint about it.  With that much writing, it becomes a formidable and time-consuming task to finish the test, and I believe it becomes more of a writing assessment instead of a reading assessment.  Despite that, it’s a good assessment, and I gain a tremendous amount of information from it.  With the time requirements, it would be very difficult for a classroom teacher to assess an entire class of children, though.  Since my schedule is more flexible, I can discontinue my reading groups and spend all day on it.  A classroom teacher doesn’t have that  luxury.  That’s why I offer to do the testing for them.

I don’t mind spending a few weeks testing the children because I know that the results will help the teachers determine the progress of the children over the course of the past school year, and it will help the teachers at the beginning of school in the fall decide how best to teach them.

At the end of three weeks I may be a zombie. . . .or perhaps bald from pulling my hair out . . . . or I may start screaming hysterically if someone mentions “Storm Chasers.”

Thirteen Things I’ve Procrastinated Doing

1.  Using some paint to touch-up marks on the wall

2.  Going through about seven boxes of old papers

3. Getting my files organized

4.  Paying bills

5.  Making an afgan for Sunshine

6.  Making strawberry jam out of the gallon of strawberries I bought yesterday

7.  Mending the handles on some book bags I have the children at school

8.  Exercising

9.  Dieting

10.  Taking a baby gift to my friend who had a baby two weeks ago (I have the gift - it’s gift-wrapped and ready to go.  I just have to take it to her)

11.  Getting a new digital camera

12.  Cleaning my kitchen

13. Straightening up my garage

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Once again our justice system has demonstrated the lack of courage to execute a known terrorist - even one with responsibility in the murder of almost 3000 Americans.  Terrorists around the world are laughing at us.  Without question, it is a clear win for Moussaoui.  Islamic terrorists are likely cheering for this additional proof that we don’t have the stomach or courage to win this war.  While our soldiers are giving their lives for our freedoms, our politicians and judicial system are working against them at home.

Allahpundit at Hot Air has a round-up of viewpoints on the sentencing of Moussaoui. 

Bryan at Hot Air writes:

I don’t care if giving him the death penalty would have made him a martyr. We need to make a lot more martyrs, out of every last member of al Qaeda that still breathes.

I don’t care that he had a rough childhood. A lot of people who have rough childhoods don’t grow up to join a band of war criminals.

I don’t care if he’s mentally disturbed. You have to be mentally disturbed to join up with the monsters he called friends.

I only care that he could have talked, and didn’t, and that jury could have delivered justice today, but failed.

The spirits of the 3000 Americans who went to their fiery deaths on September 11, 2001 are surely dismayed at how little their deaths mean to those jury members.

It’s Wednesday morning, and that means the Carnival of Education is up at The Education Wonks.  Even if you’re not in education you will find articles of interest.  I’m always pleasantly surprised at the wide range of topics and interests that are highlighted in the carnival each week.  Click on over there and enjoy.