The older boy is going to go to his parochial preschool four mornings a week, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After getting a look at AISD's PPCD program in action, and sitting in with the church preschool, it was an easy call to make.
For the record, at AISD, the boy's speech therapy comprised one 30-minute session a week, shared with 8 other children. The rest of the time, the teacher and assistant did the best they could, but mostly they herded higher-needs kids inside and outside, to the potty and back, from one end of the classroom to the other.
At Mornings with the Messiah, the boy plays with the other children, speaks to them, is more involved and there's more doing and learning and less standing around waiting for the other kids to participate / line up / stop crying / etc.
--------------------------------------------------
Admiration / jealousy: Want to share two web sites with you that illustrate the gap between the creative ability I have and what I once would have aspired to.
The first: Garfield minus Garfield.
Some guy, reading the comics one day, decided that the Garfield strip without the fat cat was a very interesting place. Jon on his own is alternately manic, bizarre, psychotic, lonely, hallucinatory and depressed.
Alll the guy had to do was come up with the idea, and the rest kinda takes care of itself.
The second is Hyperbole and a Half.
Before you say, "Wait, those are crappy drawings," let me point out that it's the childish drawings that take the humor to the next level.
I'm particularly fond of this one.
I sit around these days and think what I could accomplish if I only had a little time. And then I look back at my 20s and I'm reminded that I had all the time in the world and all I accomplished was investing a whole lot of life into a copy desk in San Angelo that doesn't exist anymore and drinking in a lot of bars that either don't exist anymore or ain't what they used to be.
--------------------------------------------------
Outrage: I can't believe AC/DC is letting Target use "For Those About to Rock" in its advertisements.
It is bad enough that music from one of Johnny Cash's songs — God's Gonna Cut You Down — is advertising Jeeps, but the Target ad uses a wide swath of the song, lyrics, too.
Nothing is sacred, I guess.
--------------------------------------------------
Outrage II: If that Christine O'Donnell candidate had any shame, she would have quit the race over the First Amendment gaffe she made.
You can't run for political office at any level and not know that the first thing in the Bill of Rights calls for is separation of church and state. Later, of course, she would try to spin it, saying she meant only that those exact words don't appear, but her reaction at the time doesn't live up to that claim.
--------------------------------------------------
Football: Having read ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column for several years now, I'm ahead of the curve on the issue of helmet-to-helmet hits and concussions.
As a football fan of more than 30 years, and as a traditionalist who is generally opposed to change, I have to say that I'm willing to see the game change to avoid another day like this past Sunday.
I don't approve of players using their helmets to target the heads of other players, I don't believe that's how the game should be played, I think hard hits can be delivered without the helmet.
Maybe it's because I'm losing some bloodlust in my old age. Maybe, well, there's little doubt my opinion is greatly influenced by the idea that my children might play football.
Accidents, injuries and tragedies will continue to happen in football without the helmet-to-helmet hits. Just ask Joe Theisman or Eric LeGrand. But the flurry of concussions we saw on Sunday isn't necessary.
I understand those who don't want the game to change. I understand those who say they they don't want to change the way they play. I understand the frustration, the "well, shit, let's just play two-hand touch" exaggerated exasperation.
I understand the hesitation of geeky sports journalists and fans to stand up and disagree with some of the biggest, toughest (and, in some cases, meanest) men on the planet who are arguing vociferously for the right to maim each other.
But it's necessary.
TMQ's Gregg Easterbrook reminds us from time to time: Football is king of our world. But there's no guarantee that will always be the case.
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Thank You. . .
Posted by: new balance | October 25, 2010 at 09:50 PM