Fundraiser to benefit LCpl Nicholas S. Perez Elementary's Library

American Legion Auxiliary Travis Unit 76 is holding a fundraiser. It was decided we would donate the proceeds to help the library at LCpl Nicholas S. Perez Elementary School. Perez Elementary is a newer school, so there is much empty space on the bookshelves. A new school gets a limited number of books, and it takes time to expand beyond that, especially for a school with many families of lower socio-economic status. Our Auxiliary wants to help fill those shelves.

So....the prize is a customized cross-stitch of the service emblem of the winner’s choice that will be framed along with a photo of the selected service member. This is an example of what you could win.


Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. You can purchase raffle tickets by mail. Make your check payable to American Legion Auxiliary Travis Unit 76. Mail it - along with your contact information so we can send you your raffle tickets and contact you if you win - to:

ALA Travis Unit 76
c/o American Legion Travis Post 76
PO Box 1214
Austin, Texas, 78767.

Merry Christmas!

99 things on the wall

Found this New Year's Eve at Kat's (of Moms in the Right) other blog. Thought I'd do it, too, since there were things I had actually done on this list....

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (in a tent doesn't really count)
3. Played in a band (tried learning piano when I had a roommate who owned an awesome antique upright, but I didn't really have the time to devote to it...)
4. Visited Hawaii (would like to)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/World (World, Spring Break '92)
8. Climbed a mountain (well, not climbed, per se, but I have hiked to the top of one, way back in high school, down near Neuschwanstein Castle - I've got awesome pictures to prove it!)
9. Held a praying mantis (when I was a kid)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (not on your life!)
12. Visited Paris (would have liked to...)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (thankfully, no...)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (we didn't have time to wait to go up in it, but I have been on Liberty Island)
18. Grown your own vegetables (personally, no, but my parents did when I was a kid)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (More than once - to and from Berlin on the Duty Train in elementary school, to Florence from Augsburg my junior year of high school)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (are you crazy??)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (Ummm...)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Sunset, on the beach on Anna Maria Island, Florida, Spring Break '92)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (a 4-hour whale-watching cruise in Alaska)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (not the actual birthplace, but the country, at least)
35. Seen an Amish community (from a car, while driving up to Hershey, PA to do some Christmas shopping when I was near Philly on business)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I was happy with my situation after I sold my house in Arkansas, before I decided to go back to school)...
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (During that trip to Florence in high school)
41. Sung karaoke (a few times - at a company Christmas party more than a decade ago, and at my 10-year high school reunion)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (the "Old Faithful" in Napa Valley...)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (No - see #12)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (my dad & sisters were extras in Varsity Blues as fans at a high school football game)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (toyed with the idea, with my crafty stuff)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (see "cruise" above)
63. Got flowers for no reason (I've barely gotten flowers, never mind "for no reason")
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I'm not allowed to give blood - I lived in Germany during that Mad Cow scare...)
65. Gone sky diving (I don't plan on jumping out of a perfectly good airplane...)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Dachau, near Munich)
67. Bounced a check (not on purpose, of course)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (ICK!)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square (maybe? I can't recall all the places we visited that one day we went into Manhattan before flying out of JFK the next day)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (not a speeding motorcycle, and only as a passenger)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (does "from an airplane on the way to CA count?)
80. Published a book (not yet...)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (3 times)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (we convicted a child molester)
91. Met someone famous (walked past Johnny Cochran in BWI once)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one — (2 grandparents, and an aunt)
94. Had a baby (hopefully someday, if I ever find "Mr. Right")
95. Seen the Alamo in person (more times than I can recall - used to live in San Antonio)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

What Christmas is all about...

A classic courtesy of Charles Schultz...



Merry Christmas to all!

Finished project

I wanted to make my mom a Christmas-themed scrub top, but it was hard to do it in secret, because that meant I could only work on it when she wasn't home. I was finally able to finish it last night:















And, happily, I guessed good enough on which size to make, that it fits ;-)

I met a SEAL today

Subbing has been a little slow since my extended sub, for an opening position I had applied for and (obviously...) was not selected to fill, that ended just over a month ago. Yesterday, I was able to pick up a half-day sub for this afternoon. So, I left my other (contract office job) about 10:45 and headed to the school. It was in a first grade class, and the teacher warned me she had a class full of talkers. Yeah, that was a bit of an understatement... I managed to make it through the day, and even though one little boy quite a handful, I'd be willing to give that classroom another try if the teacher decided to invite me back for future sub jobs.

Today, unlike that extended sub job, included the responsibility to walk all the students out to be picked up. Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of 15-20 kids you've only just met when there are all the other classes out for dismissal, as well. Most of the time, kids are good about saying their parent or whoever is there to take them, or the car is there, or whatever, and sometimes the parents will come up to us instead of the kids running off to the parent. That little handful's dad came up, and was letting me know he was taking his son. He's possibly somewhere about my age, and he was nicely dressed, with a long, dark, winter overcoat. Then, I noticed the Trident on his lapel. I asked if he was a Navy SEAL. He said he was, and that most people don't know the significance of the Trident. I, of course, thanked him for his service. He told me what team he's served with, and when he'd served in Iraq (I won't post that here). After something he'd said, I mentioned I was currently reading Marcus Luttrell's Lone Survivor, in which BUD/S is described. His response? "Don't remind me..." He asked if I'd read any Richard Marcinko. I haven't, but I'm aware of his books. He said he's acquainted with Marcinko, and he'd bring some books to the teacher for me, just in case I subbed there again. I wasn't expecting to meet a SEAL, and I'd wished very much that I had my wallet handy (it was still back in the classroom), because I have some cards in there to give to people like this father of a first grader, thanking them for their service. Maybe I will get the chance again, if I am invited to substitute in that classroom again. But, it just goes to show you: you never know when or where you might come in contact with one of America's defenders...

Celebrating the season

A little while back, I was playing around, looking for a different blog layout. Didn't find a "regular" one that I was able to get to work out properly to my liking, but I ran across a couple for the holidays. Since I am big into Christmas, I downloaded them to try out at the right time of year. So, I'm celebrating the season with a different look for a while. Yeah, I know - I'm missing a lot of my usual stuff on the sidebar. I'll get around to adding that, maybe this weekend, but it's almost midnight, and I have to go to work in the morning, so I'll be needing to get to bed here shortly. I'll be doing a bit of cat-sitting for my little sister this weekend, so I be hanging at her new apartment, enjoying her comfy new living room furniture and her new 42" HDTV, and I'm sure I'll be dragging the laptop along, too ;-) Oh, and, happy birthday to her. She turned 24 today.

Words of Wisdom

I've been reading The Button Box:A Daughter's Loving Memoir of Mrs. George S. Patton by Ruth Ellen Totten Patton (the younger of the Pattons' two daughters). I've not been able to just sit and read, with some of the other things I've had going on, but when I know I'll have some "down time" (waiting for appointments, break time when I am subbing), I bring it along.

I've got a lot of stuff in storage right now, and I needed to go dig something out. My storage place is right next to a Sonic Drive-in, so I figured I'd grab some lunch before "excavating" for my toaster oven...

The first thing that grabbed me today was something I think would be very much at home on some of the threads over at Cassandra's place:

A marriage is like a tree; sometimes it is in bud; sometimes in blossom; sometimes in leaf, sometimes in fruit, and then; sometimes the leaves will all fall off and it will look dead, but if you keep on cultivating the roots, always cultivating the roots, it will come alive again. (p. 261)

Not too much after that, Ruth Ellen relates the story of a young lieutenant and a lady friend who came to see Mrs. Patton during the Patton's last time in Hawaii. Seems the young lady had gotten thrown out of her family's home after "getting into trouble (remember, this was the 1930s). The woman who "helped" the young lady through the birth of her child up the baby up for adoption and introduced her to a man who "promised her a good job in San Francisco" (p. 266), and the poor girl ended up in a whore house in Honolulu. The young lieutenant met her shortly after her arrival and "fell in love with her, bought her time-book from the Madam who was a well-known and respected figure in Honolulu [ed. - prostitution was regulated and legal there at that time; remember that Hawaii was not yet a state], and intended to marry her. (p. 266)" He wanted Mrs. Patton to "check her out" and hoped for a "seal of approval" from Mrs. Patton (p. 266). Mrs. Patton did approve. Apparently, the lieutenant later became a lieutenant general in the Air Force, and he and the lady (who "was an asset to him" [p. 267]) had a successful marriage and four children.

Mrs. Patton, being a concerned mother, worried about the virtue of her two girls remaining intact. Ruth Ellen's recollections of the lessons:

Ma had told us from as long as I can remember that a woman's only truly personal possessions are her reputation and her virginity; you inherit your maiden name from your father; your husband trusts you with his family name when you marry; but your virginity is yours and yours alone to give to whom you choose, and if you give it away for nothing you get nothing in return. She said that virginity was a physical fact and that chastity was a spiritual virginity and it was to be handled with equal care. After Bee [ed. - the Pattons' eldest daughter] and I resented being different we started to glory in it, and keeping ourselves for Prince Charming in his golden cloak was very real. (p. 267)

If more mothers would teach this to their daughter today, and if those daughters would take those lessons to heart, I think certain things would be so much better today than they are...

Challenger: A Free-flying American Bald Eagle

Got this link in an email from a new internet acquaintance. Challenger is an American Bald Eagle who was rescued at five weeks of age who became human-imprinted and unable to be re-released into the wild. He is now an ambassador of the efforts to preserve his species. He was named to honor the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Challenger that was lost on January 28, 1986.

Question...

Have we ever had a sitting president who had a child on active duty in the military?

I asked my dad that this evening - him being the history teacher and all - and he said there was a Roosevelt involved with the D-Day invasion.

I did a little checking, at that was Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., eldest son of President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, but as far as I can tell, he was not in the military while his father was still in office.

So, does anyone know of one? If not, if John McCain is elected President, he would be the first, what with his son Jim, 20, in the Marine Corps (as a Lance Corporal at this time), and his son Jack, 22, in his fourth year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

I guess the same question could he asked of sitting Vice Presidents, as well. Would Sarah Palin be the first, with her son, PFC Track Palin, having just deployed to Iraq. Of course, Joe Biden has a son in the JAG Corps in Iraq right now, too.

9/16/08: Welcome ASP readers!

Update: JROTC needs help [Bumped]

Yes, it's about 3am. Don't ask ;-)

I was just checking in with all my blog reading before hitting the hay since I've not been home since about 8am Saturday morning until maybe 45 minutes ago. Good thing Saturdays are generally light on posting... Good news from CJ about the fundraiser I had posted about previously: As of May 31, $3307 has been raised towards sending to JROTC cadets to Drill & Ceremony camp. This is $193 shy of the original goal of $3500. Help put it over the top!

Update, 1:40pm: CJ informs me that the Air Force [6/2 - cross-stitch] isn't getting any love. Any Zoomie want to help correct that?

Update 6/8/08: YEAH! Our goal was reached, AND exceeded! Thank you to everyone who helped!

"Forrest Gump" getting out of the Army

Thought it was kinda cool that the boy who played the "young Forrest Gump" actually grew up to join the Army. Now, Michael Conner Humphreys' enlistment is up, and he will play Eddie Livingston, one of the original "Pathfinders" of the 504th Parachute Regiment in World War II in a movie of the same name. Read the whole story here.

A few things out of San Antonio

I got a call from my mom on the way home from work this afternoon. She said she had good news and bad news: which did I want first? I said the bad news. "Karam's is closing." "NOOOoooo!!!" The good news? There will be Karam's tamales & chili for dinner tonight (my parents went to San Antonio today for the funeral of my dad's elderly cousin [by marriage]). I think a trip to SA is in order in the next month (before they close their doors, after about 66 years in business) for Karam's dine-in, along with a bunch of tamales to go (they freeze really well).

The other news out of San Antonio is also good/bad. I had heard on the radio recently (I like to listen to WOAI out of San Antonio for Rush & Hannity) that Our Lady of the Lake University, in appreciation of our military, was offering tuition assistance to qualifying personnel. I'd been too busy with other things to write up a post about it. In checking their website this evening, it's a "Military Scholarship Program" that will cover the difference between the government tuition assistance of up to $250 per semester hour (I assume this is the GI Bill?) and OLLU's rate of $628 per semester hour, so a military member can go to school (for either a Bachelor's or Master's degree) for free (not counting books & fees). The scholarship of $378 per hour is also open to military spouses. Our Lady of the Lake University should be applauded for their generosity to our military and their spouses.

Unfortunately, OLLU, founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence, is in the news today for something entirely different. Last night, there was a 4 alarm fire in the old main administration building. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the Main Building was heavily damaged. The San Antonio Fire Department is investigating the cause of the blaze. Some are wondering, however, if this fire is connected to a recent bomb threat on campus. Regardless of the cause of the fire, it is sad to hear of the damage done to the historic main building. Listening to WOAI on the way home this afternoon, I learned that this building, not surprisingly, was appointed with lots of wood, and had a beautiful architectural style not seen in modern buildings. While the university is initially concentrating on getting students back to class (classes were cancelled today - about 110 students have been displaced because of the fire). There has also been a fund created for the rebuilding effort. Anyone who wishes to contribute may do so by credit card or by check (Make payable to OLLU. Mail to: OLLU Development Office, 411 SW 24th Street, San Antonio,TX 78207), or, if you are somewhere with a Frost Bank, they (Frost) have "set up account no. 01-0494593 for those who wish to donate to the “Our Lady of the Lake University Rebuilding Fund.”"

Sources:

OLLU update
WOAI: Investigation Begins Into Our Lady of the Lake Fire
CBS 11: Building at 'Our Lady of the Lake' Campus Burns

Fellow Marine's Heart Saves Another in Transplant

A Marine who survived two tours in Iraq was murdered in a case of mistaken identity in Chicago. In death, he saved the life of another Marine.

Racism and intolerance: disappointing at a liberal university

You might think that a gay porn star, speaking at a liberal university, couldn't possibly say anything to garner a negative reaction from the campus community. But, you would think wrong...

Mike Lucas, founder of Lucas Entertainment, a gay adult film company, was at Stanford University, apparently to speak about safe sex and AIDS. Somehow, the subject of Lucas' views on Islam came up. And THAT is what has gotten him into trouble with members of the Stanford community...

Mr. Lucas wrote an Op-Ed that appeared in The Stanford Daily responding to the controvery:

What fostered my distain for Islam? The contempt that Muslim men vomit on women, treating them with less respect than camels. That includes the infibulation — female circumcision — of young girls; the imposition of chadors and burqas; the decapitation of adulterous wives (but never adulterous husbands); the fact that, in most Muslim countries, women cannot go to school, see a doctor or even leave their own houses without a male escort; the approval of polygamy; the arranged marriages that involve girls as young as 9; the barring of women from taking part in public life or in any receptions, even those of their own weddings; the death penalty for drinkers of alcohol; the mutilation penalty for thieves; the public killings of homosexuals. Doesn’t all of this originate from the Koran? Have you ever thought that, instead of protesting me, you should protest against those atrocities, maybe organizing some short demonstration in front of Muslim embassies? Why instead are you unleashing your hate against one who speaks against those crimes? Why are you denying my right to compare the Koran, the text in which these facts originate, to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf?” The Koran, that for 1,400 years has tormented humanity more than the Bible, the Gospels and the Torah combined? Do not suppress or boycott someone who has a different opinion, even if you disagree with this opinion. Debate it. Argue it. In a civilized manner. Otherwise, what is the difference between you and Islam?

H/T Instapundit

Not the usual trip to the dentist

I found this story while checking out the headlines at FoxNews.com. It's this kind of risk that always made my mother only let the dentist use a local whenever I or my siblings had certain dental work done.

I've been going to the dentist pretty much as far back as I can remember, likely beginning in San Antonio when I was maybe 5 years old. Back then, it was just the standard cleaning. As I got older, there were the typical cavities to be filled. I always got irritated that I brushed better than my older brother, but he never had as many cavities as I did. Then, I had to have braces and something called a "tongue crib" to help correct a bit of an overbite (the dentist - a fabulous pediatric dentist) thought I had been a thumbsucker when I was little, but that was not the case. Over the years, I went to the dentist regularly.

When I was in junior high, my mom had to have her impacted wisdom teeth removed. The dentist told my mom that her kids could likely have the same problem with their wisdom teeth later in life, and to consider having us coming in to have them removed. So, I first had one removed. Oral surgery - my wisdom teeth had not yet erupted, so the oral surgeon had to cut through my gum to remove it. Local, so I was awake for the whole thing. This dentist did good work, and the only thing that bothered me during the procedure was opening my eyes and seeing a needle on a suture coming out of my mouth... Later, I didn't have fun times with the narcotic they prescribed for the pain - made me feel like my head was being squeezed in a vice...

The next time I had the oral surgery, I had an appointment with a different dentist (I was an Army dependent and went to military dentists, so you didn't always see the same one every time). They decided to take all three remaining wisdom teeth at the same time. Nothing like hearing the dentist ask his assistant for a bone file and hearing lots of cracking and crumbling taking place in your mouth. Somewhere, we have that first wisdom tooth that was removed. There wasn't any tooth to give me after that second oral surgery...

My brother wimped out after one wisdom tooth being removed...

Anyway, like the young man in the news story, I don't breath through my nose. Whenever I was having the work done to correct my overbite, the dentist would take molds of my teeth. I had the hardest time with that: I had to think about my breathing, and breath through my nose while the mold was being taken - otherwise, trying to breath "normally", through my mouth, I would start to gag on the mold form. I never considered that being a mouth-breather might be a problem had I ever been put under general anesthesia for dental work. Just something to think about...

Must-reads from Bill Whittle

H/T Tigerhawk

Bill Whittle has two new posts:

You Are Not Alone (Part 1)

You Are Not Alone (Part 2)

I can only hope that I would act as one of the Remnant...

Updated 5/23/07, 10:59pm

For those who weren't already familiar with Bill Whittle, I recommend going back to read these:

Tribes from September 5, 2005

Seeing the Unseen, Part 1 from November 6, 2006

Make a Choice from November 7, 2006

Seeing the Unseen, Part 2 from April 7, 2007

These are not the results you're looking for...

When I was looking at my SiteMeter statistics last night, I just had to laugh a little about this one:




They got, based on their search words, the exact opposite of what they were looking for on this one. I'm sure they were looking for something to justify an opinion that the United States has been turned into a police state since George W. was elected, and they get something stating that, quite clearly, that is not the case...

Miss Ladybug, M.Ed.

Well, I've done it. Today, I graduated. Miss Ladybug, Master of Education, Summa Magna Cum Laude. Thankfully, I didn't have to sit through some cheesy commencement address - apparently, that honor was reserved for those candidates who were assigned to this morning's commencement ceremony.

I started work on my Masters in June 2005. I wouldn't have been able to finish it so quickly if not for my parents. It was tough at times, but I had my goal in mind, and I was determined to meet it. So, after 19 months, 12 classes and student teaching, I'm done.

My dad, who became a teacher after retiring from the Army, had advised it was best to student teach in the fall. Doing so would allow for more time to secure a teaching position for the next school year, while allowing for gainful employment through substitute teaching. I tell you what - those applications for teaching positions are much more complicated than for any other job I've ever applied for.

I have a particular district in mind for where I would like to teach, but I'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. I'm better off than some of my fellow graduates, since I will have the freedom to relocate for the right job - I'm not tied to the district where I currently live. I don't have a spouse, or a lease or a house to sell. As I continue to submit applications, I'm sure I'll post an update when I have found a place to teach. I might get lucky and find a position to begin in January, but more likely, it will be later in the spring when I find something for next fall.

Relief...

Well, I had a huge load taken off my mind last night. I sat for my Masters Comprehensive Exam on October 6th, and didn't feel that I was properly prepared and was worried about how I performed. It is a strictly pass/fail exam. I received an email last night notifying me that I had passed all sections of the exam and would be recommended for graduation, pending successful completion of all my coursework. Since I successfully completed all of the courses that apply towards my degree this past summer, I am proud to say I will graduate with my Masters in Elementary Education (M.Ed.) in December. Now, all I have to worry about is completing my student teaching assignment and passing the state certification exams, and then (of course) securing a permanent teaching position somewhere in the Central Texas area.