The Median Sib

Streisand has been Bush-bashing at concerts.  People who pay upwards of $250 for tickets to hear her sing are treated to typical Democratic Bush-bashing along with some songs.  Recently, when an audience member complained, she commanded him to “Shut the f*** up!”  How classy!  Not.  After delivering that statement,

Streisand noted that “the artist’s role is to disturb,” and delivered a message of tolerance

Okay.  She must indeed be an artist because her behavior was disturbing.  Apparently, though, her definition of tolerance is that people should be tolerant of her, but she shouldn’t have to be tolerant of them. Maybe you should follow your own command, Babs.

RT and I flew to Grand Junction, TN yesterday and got our new British Labrador Retriever, Jake, from the Southwind Kennels.  We mulled over several possible names and finally decided on Jake.  It’s short, masculine and easy for the dog to learn.

We spent HOURS at the breeder’s, working with different dogs - deciding which one would be the best fit for us.  Initially, I wanted a black lab that had a spot of white on his throat.  However, “Blaze” (as I nicknamed him), was not very cooperative, wouldn’t let us pet him, and wasn’t very sociable.  We wanted a dog that was calm and companionable.

At first we weren’t interested in Jake - can’t remember why - but he chose us.  And the more we worked with him, the more we saw that he was exactly what we were looking for.  He was calm, he enjoyed being petted, he was obviously intelligent and eager to please, he heeled, sat and retrieved very well.  The calmness was the most important trait, though.

We figured the big test would be the plane flight home.  RT’s plane is a small 4-passenger plane - very noisy without earphones, and of course we didn’t have doggy earphones.  We also didn’t have a crate for Jake.  So he sat in my lap.  We were wondering how he’d handle the noise and the unfamiliar experience of flying.  He was WONDERFUL!  He sat in my lap with his head stretched out on my arm.  He didn’t flinch when RT cranked up the motor, didn’t flinch during take-off or landing.  He was absolutely perfect.  And that thrilled RT since he wants Jake to accompany him in the plane for some of his business trips. 

Last night Jake was a little nervous when we first settled down for the night.  We put him in his crate in our bedroom.  He howled and barked off and on for about 10 minutes.  Then he settled down and slept all night.

This morning - he STILL had not done either “business” since we’d brought him home.  We knew he must be quite uncomfortable by that time.  We had walked him often before bed last night and first thing this morning.  However, he would not relieve himself.  Finally, though, he took care of both businesses in the appropriate spot.  Another milestone passed. 

Jake is solid black, he was born on April 17, 2006 - which makes him almost 6 months old.  I’m glad we chose an older puppy.  I think he’ll be much easier to train.  RT took him over to the land awhile ago, and I’m about to head over there to join them.

The photo above isn’t of Jake.  It’s a photo of a British Lab I found online.  However, you can see photos of him HERE at the kennel website.  I don’t know which of the four dogs is him, though.   I’ll take some photos today to post here at THE MEDIAN SIB.

There are many differences between first graders and fifth graders. Today, however, I heard one statement that could be THE one perfect statement to illustrate those differences.

My group of six first graders came into my classroom. Once we had finished the preliminary activities, I held up the book Bill and Pete by Tomie de Paola. We had read the book last week. “Today,” I told the children, “we’re going to read it again. Since you already know the story, this time I want you to think about how we can summarize the story after we finish re-reading it.”

Aden, a particularly effusive learner, piped up, “Oh WOW! This morning I was thinking that I wanted to read Bill and Pete again and write a summary about it!”

I swear that’s what he said. I was so dumbfounded that I wrote it down immediately. My first reaction was to think, “Yea, right!” But then, I looked at him and I saw that he meant it sincerely. His enthusiasm was boundless, and he was genuinely excited at the idea of writing a summary of Bill and Pete. I doubt if he had TRULY thought about it before our group time, but that wasn’t important. He was so happy about the idea that a little exaggeration was okay.

So there you have it - the one statement that can differentiate between first graders and fifth graders.

A fifth grader could very well have said exactly the same thing. As a matter of fact, I can see a couple of my fifth graders making that same remark. However, the sarcasm would have been dripping from their words.

(1) “Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10

(2) “If you need wisdom — if you want to know what God wants you to do — ask Him, and He will surely tell you. He will not resent your asking.” — James 1:5

(3) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11

(4) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –Luke 12:34

(5) “Love Suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” — 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

(6) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we all live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” — Galatians 5:22-26

(7) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:19-21

(8) “But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:13-14

(9) “And I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.” — Romans 8:28-29

(10) “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it unto me.” — Matthew 25:40

(11) “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

(12) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” — 1 John 5:14

(13) “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” — 2 Timothy 1:7

Click over to The Education Wonks to read this week’s Carnival of Education. As always there is much to read. I’m running late to work now because I got so caught up in reading some of the great posts that are highlighted there.

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, when I’m on the way to work, I make sure my radio is on 97.9 so I can hear “Faith Break” by Dr. Harold Olds around 7:45 a.m. Dr. Olds is the pastor of Brentwood United Methodist Church, and “Faith Break” is a short, positive message for the day.

This morning’s topic was a particularly good one. Dr. Olds talked about “conspicuous consumption competition” and how people feel the need for more and more “stuff.”

Then he ended with a really good quote. I was driving and couldn’t write it down immediately. So my quote may not be exact. However, it’s close:

“Identity isn’t determined by what you have. Identity is an inside job.”

Amen.

I will vote straight Republican. It comes down to one indisputable fact. The Democrats and their “progressive” anti-war posturing have been responsible for more American soldier deaths. If the “dissent is the highest form of patriotism” crowd could have displayed some REAL patriotism by keeping their anti-anything-remotely-connected-with-George-Bush vitriol to themselves for awhile and at least TRIED to show the terrorists that the USA is united, this war could well have been over by now. Meanwhile more of our precious service men and women are dying daily because the enemy continues to be emboldened by how eagerly the left is playing into their divide-and-conquer strategy.

Republicans aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but hell would freeze over before I’d ever vote for a Democrat. And even then, I wouldn’t do it.

Today, during a class discussion about summarizing, a fourth grader piped up with this totally unrelated comment: “My cousin has worms in his butt that causes blisters.” Okay, I GUESS it could be considered a summary, but it definitely was NOT on topic.

The other kids giggled. I said, “Thanks for sharing that.” We went on with the lesson.

Kat at Cathouse Chat has a wonderful post on the role of forgiveness after the Amish children were murdered last week. Kat makes several valid points.

As an individual, I am commanded to forgive. The thing is, God doesn’t say “After that person apologizes, then you forgive.” No. He says, “Forgive.” The reason for this is quite simple: to hold on to rage and anger and bitterness harms no one butourselves. . . .

Vengeance is God’s business, not yours.

However, this moves us to the responsibilities of governments. One of the ways that God exercises justice is through the governmental process. The government bears the sword of justice, and it is supposed to wield it upholding the law and protecting the innocent. Romans 13: 1-4:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. [emph. mine] . . . .

The government is not called to forgive, it is called to uphold and enforce the law.

I’ve seen that the Amish have gone to this man’s family, offering love and support and forgiveness. I think this is a splendidly gracious thing to do, and a beautiful example of the Christian worldview. I think this will help them in healing their shattered lives, and provide peace and comfort in the midst of this terrible tragedy.

But what has this man’s family done that needs forgiving? They are victims of his actions as much as the Amish families are. I am glad that the Amish did it, because this family needs to know that they’re not blamed, and that they will not be ostracized. But in the strictest sense of forgiving a wrong, it is not required, because they did no wrong.

Just to remind you that there are more victims of this atrocity than we usually keep in mind…

I’m a reading specialist. That means that I give the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) to literally hundreds of elementary school children each year - kindergarten through fifth grade. Last year, I even gave it to my then 4-year old granddaughter. She was taking “Hooked on Phonics” at her preschool, and I was curious to see how HOP skills transferred to reading other texts. Since I had purchased my own DRA kit a couple years ago to use with children I tutored at home, I had everything I needed. I gave Sweet Stuff the Level A and the Level 1 tests. She did well, I gave the results to my daughter and I promptly forgot about it . . . until today.

Today I got an email from the reading specialist at Sweet Stuff’s school. She said that Sweet Stuff’s teacher had come to her with a problem. It seems that when the teacher started to administer the DRA to Sweet Stuff, Sweet Stuff quickly informed her that Grandma Carol had already read “those books” with her. The teacher didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t give the assessment with those texts because the results wouldn’t be valid. I was BUSTED!

The reading specialist explained in her email to me that she understood how kindergarteners are and that she took what Sweet Stuff said with a grain of salt. She obviously doesn’t know Sweet Stuff very well. The girl tells the truth at all times. No grain of salt needed. If she said Grandma Carol read those books with her, then that’s what happened.

Not to worry. I quickly emailed the teacher and reading specialist that yes, I had given Sweet Stuff the DRA, but that it shouldn’t be a problem since the teacher could use the DRA Alternative Text set with Sweet Stuff for the first couple levels (which, as her loyal grandma, I can affirm she is beyond anyway). Then they can go back to the standard kit starting with Level 2. I apologized for not letting them know before that I had already given the DRA to Sweet Stuff, and I thanked them profusely for the wonderful job they’re doing with Sweet Stuff since she adores school and adores her teacher.

Since I administer the DRA so frequently, I’m accustomed to using the Alternative Text Set quite often. However, I imagine a kindergarten teacher would rarely have a need for it. So I can understand the teacher being concerned about what to do.

I forwarded all the emails to my daughter, and we had a big chuckle over Sweet Stuff busting Grandma Carol. I can just hear that little voice telling Mrs. K, “My Grandma Carol has already read THOSE BOOKS with me.”

Well - the people who make some movies disgust me. I saw THIS in the news today. Some things are just wrong. Period.

Major Chains Refuse to Play Bush Death Film
By NICOLE SPERLING AND ANNE THOMPSON, Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 6) - Newmarket Films set itself an unusual challenge when it decided to release the controversial faux investigative documentary “Death of a President” just six weeks after acquiring the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

But it might face an even more formidable obstacle because several major theater chains are refusing to play the film, which mixes real news footage with dramatized segments depicting the fictional 2007 death of President Bush.

Newmarket, the 12-year-old Los Angeles-based film financing, production and distribution company, plans to open the film October 27, just in time for the November 7 election.

“Yes, it’s controversial,” Newmarket co-founder Chris Ball said. “It’s quite a compelling political thriller. In many ways it is sympathetic to George Bush. It talks about a rush to judgment. In no way is it a call for violence.”

But the country’s largest theater chain, Regal Entertainment Group, has passed on playing the film, citing the subject matter as the primary reason. “We would not be inclined to program this film,” Regal Entertainment Group CEO Mike Campbell said. “We feel it is inappropriate to portray the future assassination of a sitting president, regardless of political affiliation.”

Texas-based Cinemark USA also has declined to play the indie film, corporate spokesman Terrell Falk said. The circuit, which recently completed its acquisition of northern California-based Century Theatres, will not allow the regional player to book the film either. “We’re not playing it on any of our screens,” Falk said. “It’s a subject matter we don’t wish to play. We decided to pass on the film.”

Boston-based National Amusements, controlled by Viacom Inc. chief Sumner Redstone, still is in negotiations as to whether it will play the R-rated film from director Gabriel Range, who reportedly was the subject of death threats before the film’s debut in Toronto.

“We’re currently in discussions with the distributor of the film,” said Wanda Whitson, director of corporate communications at National Amusements. “The availability of the film in our markets is an important factor affecting this discussion. Our film department does consider all films, and we’ve run controversial films in the past.”

Newmarket distribution consultant Richard Abramowitz insisted he was having no trouble booking the film, which initially will open in several hundred locations. “Every day during a busy time we are picking up plenty of screens,” he said, citing the Landmark Theater chain as being supportive.

Abramowitz declined comment on problems with theater bookings. “We’re getting a good reception in a lot of places. No matter how tight the screens are, once a film has success, it’s always easier to get more screens.”

Although a consortium of distributors led by Miramax Films’ Harvey Weinstein pushed the politically polarized “Fahrenheit 9/11″ into theaters very quickly in summer 2004, and Paramount Vantage took only four months to open Al Gore ’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” it is rare that a film goes from acquisition to release so quickly.

One distribution executive questioned the wisdom of rushing “President” into cinemas in advance of the election. “In the midst of all the backlash and controversy it seems to make sense to ride the moment,” he said. “The film is so topical and incendiary, you’d think that to wait is to waste it. But the film may not have enough time to gestate and get the best theaters booked. They are finding out how difficult and crazy this timing is.”

“President” marks Newmarket’s bid to reclaim its title as a champion of product other distributors deem untouchable. The distribution arm was built from the ground up in 2000 surrounding the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” when other distributors passed on the film. It eventually took the movie to a $25 million North American gross and went on to a winning streak with “Whale Rider,” “Monster” and Mel Gibson ’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

RT and I went camping Friday night. We camped at the building site for our new house - which is less than three miles from where we’re living now.

The air was crisp, the fire was warm, and the mood was relaxing. There is something about relaxing by a campfire and listening to the night sounds around me that makes me chill out. I could feel anxieties and worries literally draining away.

We have a routine for setting up camp. I set up the tent - a quick and easy job - while RT gathered firewood and got the campfire going. Friday night, since we didn’t have a hammer with us, RT came around to give the tent stakes a final boot-shove to make sure they were deep enough. Once the fire burned long enough to have a good bed of coals, we started dinner.

Dinner Friday night was hoppin’ john (black-eyed peas, mild Ro-tel, sliced turkey sausage). Hoppin’ john traditionally includes rice, but I forgot the rice and it was great without it. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten any camp food that wasn’t delicious. There’s just something about food that’s been cooked over a campfire that makes it wonderful.

After dinner we heated water so RT could have some hot chocolate and I could have my camomile tea. Then we just sat by the campfire talking, sipping our drinks and enjoying the peace and quiet. Comfortable. . . relaxing . . . soothing.

We’ve got our camping “sleep system” figured out. We have two twin-sized inflatable mattresses and a cordless pump. It takes me about a minute to inflate both mattresses. I’m careful not to inflate them too much so that they will be cushiony rather than hard. That’s the secret! The tent is small - and both mattresses side-by-side completely fill up the width of the tent. There’s still a foot or so of space at the foot of the mattresses for our other stuff. We put our sleeping bags and pillows on top of the air mattresses, and we’re good to go.

As it got later, the air got colder, but we were warm and snug and slept wonderfully. There is something about sleeping outside on a cold night in a tent. As long as the bed is comfortable, the sleep is deep and restoring.

Breakfast Saturday morning was bacon, eggs and biscuits. The bottom of the biscuits were burned black, but the tops were perfect.

Another fun camping trip in the books.

I love my job. Working with children means that no two days are ever the same. The kids amuse and entertain me on a daily basis. Part of my job is serving as the faculty sponsor of our elementary school’s literary magazine. Fourth and fifth graders are the “staff,” and for each issue they submit surveys, interviews, book reviews, etc. to go along with the stories, essays and poems written by the other children. This past week I learned that we need to be careful about what we select as a survey question.

A fifth grader asked a class the question: “What was your most embarrassing moment?” There were lots of funny answers. Many will be in the magazine. Some of them, though, will never make it to the magazine. Since I am the final editor, I make the decision of what goes in and what’s left out of the magazine. And I believe that some words and topics simply don’t belong in an elementary school’s “literary” magazine. Here’s a sampling of embarrassing moments we won’t use:

“The most embarrassing thing that happened to me was at a shooting party. The cops boxed us in and told us to put our hands up and one of the toughest men looked as scared as could be. Me and Max threw our toy guns and were so scared we scooted back behind everyone. It was a mistake in the end.”

Cops? Guns? A shooting party? Is this a game? A fourth grader wrote this! What’s going on?

Then there was Hooters. I’ve been to Hooters. The food was ho-hum at best, and since I get no thrill from seeing women in skimpy outfits, a return visit isn’t in my future. However, this week I learned that Hooters apparently is not just for adults:

“We went to Hooters and my dad did a very funny dance with balloons tied to his pants.”

Balloons tied to his pants? Well, yes, it probably WAS funny. But at Hooters with elementary school kids as an audience? I’m not sure that was the best parental decision. Here’s another Hooter’s experience:

“Last year my brother had to have his birthday at Hooters. So that night they had him stand on a bar stool and sang happy birthday to him. Then when he got off the bar stool, he fell down. Then when we ate chicken wings, he got stuff all over his face.”

That’s benign enough, but I just don’t want to have Hooters and bar stools mentioned in the school’s literary magazine. Apparently Hooters isn’t the only restaurant where embarrassing moments occur:

“We went to Joe’s Crab Shack because it was my brother’s birthday. He had to do the hula hoop. He tried to do it, but he spinned it and it went right down. They gave him another try and it went down, but he was still shaking his hips. His girlfriend was watching him.”

Nah - I also don’t want a story of an older brother shaking his hips while his girlfriend watches.

Parents are prominent figures in a few embarrassing moments:

“When my dad took off his shirt in front of my friends.”

“My mom was going to buy underwear for me and my sister, and she asked my sister and I what size we wear. OUT LOUD!”

“On my birthday, I turned on music and my mom started dancing. She ripped her pants.”

Peeing was the prevailing theme of some embarrassing moments as well:

“I had to go to the restroom, and I peed in my pants.”

“I was sitting on the couch and my mom had just mopped the floor. Dad scared me, and I almost peed my pants.”

“It all happened when my mom was pregnant with me. We were going on a vacation and my mom had to go to the bathroom. My sister was sitting in the back, and all of a sudden she threw up on my dad. And I was kicking my mom, and she was laughing so hard that she peed on herself.”

That’s what she gets for laughing at the poor man with upchuck all over him!

Then there were the to-be-expected burping, pants-falling-down, and farting stories:

“The funniest thing that ever happened to me was when I burped really loud at the dinner table and everyone laughed. After all the other burps I did the loudest burp ever. Then everyone fell out of their seats and laughed their hearts out.”

“When my pants fell down in second grade.”

“One night we were watching TV downstairs. I was sitting on my basketball and I farted. I yelled, ‘Duck and cover!’ and I farted again. I said something else and I farted. I did that all night.”

Sounds like a charming family evening at home, doesn’t it? We had a dog once who did that all the time. Well, he didn’t yell “Duck and cover,” but a warning would have been nice.

And finally there are stories that leave me puzzled - What the . . ? Just read this last one.

“One time when I was 8 or 9 and I was on a campout and I was sleeping in a trailer. I woke up and my pants were nowhere to be found. I was looking everywhere before anyone woke up. So I went quietly to my mom and dad’s room, and I found my bag and I took out some more pants. I was lucky.”

His PANTS disappeared? That’s seems very strange to me - and NOT at all very lucky.

So next week the literary magazine will be published and distributed to all the children - pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. But it won’t have any peeing, shooting party, balloon-wearing, pants losing, hips shaking, or “duck and cover!” stories in it. Honestly, though, more kids would read it if it did.

(Note: Two weeks ago I wrote the following post and posted it. However, we ended up having to change our plans. TONIGHT we will finally go camping. No rain is forecast - but that’s okay. So I’m changing the date stamp on this post so it’ll show up for today! he he he I guess that’s the easy way to get a post in today - plus let my thousands of loyal readers - he he - know what I’m doing.)

(Originally posted on 9/22/06 - date changed and reposted on 10/6/06)

RT and I have decided to go camping tonight. It’s supposed to rain, but as RT said this morning, that just adds to the fun of it. Amazingly enough, I agree with him. And I can’t believe that I truly agree with him. However, I’m looking forward to camping tonight and I hope it rains.

Here’s a photo from last fall when RT and I camped near the Ocoee River which is near Chattanooga. We stayed at a state campground then. Tonight we’ll be camping at the site where we plan to build our home. So tonight’s camping will be a little more rustic than this photo.

Camping on our land is decidedly easier now than it was last year. Since last year RT has built a road that will take us right to the place where we will camp. We also put a picnic table up there which will make things a little easier. I’m looking forward to it. Food tastes so good cooked over a campfire, and the sleep is so sweet.

If you’re curious about my other camping adventures, follow some of these links:
Traveling the Backroads of Middle Tennessee - Camping?
Satellite dishes next to the tent
Camping
Tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, camp stoves
Preparation for camping - putting up a tent
The Camping Trip
Another Camping Trip & Another Birthday Party
Camping With PawPaw
Ocoee Camping
The Camping Trip - Lightning, Thunder and Rain, OH MY!
Winter Camping and Weekend Fun

LATER NOTE: Change of plans. No camping this weekend - will try again soon, though.

My baby - my precious Joey - is 28 years old today. Happy birthday, Joey! He was born at 3:50 p.m. on October 5, 1978. My, how the time flies past. Sunday evening we will have a family get-together to celebrate his birthday. He has asked me to bake a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum! Can’t wait! Joey and his wife moved into a new home last week - and it’s only about 5 -10 minutes away from where RT and I live. I’m very excited about that! Click HERE to read last year’s post and see photos of my sweet baby boy.

Here’s today’s news about part of what happened to the Amish girls in their last moments:

The oldest of the five Amish girls shot dead in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse is said to have stepped forward and asked her killer to “Shoot me first,” in an apparent effort to buy time for her schoolmates.

Rita Rhoads, a midwife who delivered two of the victims, told ABC News’ Law and Justice Unit that she learned of 13-year-old Marian Fisher’s plea from Fisher’s family.

What’s more, Fisher’s younger sister, Barbie, who survived the shooting, allegedly asked the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, to “Shoot me second,” Rhoads said.

“They were amazing,” Rhoads said, “absolutely amazing. There was a tremendous amount of calm and courage in that schoolroom.”

“Marian, the oldest one, did ask to be shot first,” Rhoads said. “The faith of their fathers really was embedded in them. … How many adults are willing to do that? Not many.”

Marian Fisher is being buried today, along with Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7, and sisters Mary Liz Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7.

Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12, is to be buried on Friday.

When I read of such incredible courage and compassion for others - especially in someone so young, I’m even further sickened by such morally bereft low-lifes as Bill Clinton, O.J. Simpson and Ted Kennedy who don’t even have the courage to own up to their despicable behavior - much less be willing to sacrifice themselves for others. A 13-year old Amish girl is more of “a man” than they could ever be.