Happy Memorial Day

Since 1868, Americans have celebrated Memorial Day to honor those who fought and died to preserve our freedom. We set aside one day each year to pause and reflect on the debt of gratitude we owe to the brave patriots who stood in the breach when the defense of liberty demanded the ultimate sacrifice.

Perhaps President John F. Kennedy captured the spirit of this holiday best when he said, "A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers." By honoring the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect our freedom, we ensure that their heroic spirit will live on in this new century.

Indeed, this spirit is alive and well in today's Armed Forces. In the mountains of Bosnia, along the DMZ in Korea, in the rocky Sinai desert, in the skies over Iraq, and the blue waters of the Pacific, our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen stand watch -- day and night -- guarding freedom's frontier. Today, as in the past, they bear the burdens that make America's blessings possible for all its citizens.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join every American in honoring those who gave their lives -- and all of their tomorrows -- so that we might live in peace. We also salute the dedicated men and women of today's Armed Forces who actively preserve this noble legacy.

-Gen. Henry H. Shelton, USA
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Memorial Day Message for 2001
(Now it is Iraq and not 'just the skies over Iraq'
and Afghanistan needs to be added.)

Remembering

The best thing about this picture is that each of us can remember a time at the beach in a setting such as this. In my day, the little cove at Corona Del Mar. In our early years together, Huntington Beach. In yours, Malaga Cove and Redondo. Later, Santa Monica and now Morro Bay. Missing from the photo is your grandfather ( 1903-1964). I can still remember listening to the Indy 500 as we worked in the yard in San Marino. A member of "the greatest generation". He led a full life in his 61 years. I'm sorry he never had a chance to see all of of us.

Note: photo copied from LGF.

Exams

Here's an interesting last-minute decision regarding California's graduation requirements. Seems a judge just overturned the senior exit exam requirement, which about 47,000 seniors haven't passed...

What do you think? Is this exam something that should be required before a senior receives a diploma? Or is it simply a meaningless/discriminatory barrier?

Oh, and Dad, here's a little something to raise the blood pressure...

Happy Friday!

Those Crazy Seniors

Yes, today was the last day of senior classes. And as is tradition, the senior prank also occurs today. And today's was the best of the lot, at least since I've been here! What could be better than to walk on campus and be confronted with a petting zoo of exotic animals? To top it off, the seniors dressed up as animals themselves. I've never seen so many smiles! Hats off to a truly creative and good-natured prank.

Th-th-th-that's all, folks! Have a great day.

Time Marches On...

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” - Albert Einstein

Yes, this week is a period of passing. My last day of classes with my seniors is tomorrow. Our softball season is over. And the season finales of Grey's Anatomy and The West Wing have aired. All reasons for mourning. But rather than drown in despair, we must look to the future! After all, it's almost summer, we've got a couple of tykes about to travel beyond the terrible twos, and the Fourth of July to look forward to!

Monday night I helped chaperone a 10th grade get-together at Peter Vaughn's house. They organized a scavenger hunt on foot around South Pasadena. Yes, I'm out of shape... The kids had a blast. Here's my group in front of an historical plaque:

On Tuesday, the 10th graders went off campus for the day on a retreat to set the stage for next year. Thursday and Friday the juniors will be doing the same thing. So my classes are decimated once again. These first three weeks of May, I average about 50% attendance on any given day, thanks to these retreats and the AP tests...

No big plans for the weekend yet, although I may try to make it out to the Renaissance Faire on Sunday. It's the last day, and it looks like fun. Hope everyone is doing well!

It was a winner!

Flowers from BBHC!

Iris from nature!







Window boxes

(at last)!





Yes, Yes, Yes! It was a wonderful Mothers Day - sorry the pictures don't reflect the beautiful colors of the Iris, the colors the flower arrangement and the excellent job Pappy did on the window boxes but had to use our old camera - new one needs a new chip (which is on order). Had a great brunch with A & R and nice chat with Son Jo so my day was complete! Window boxes are awesome and the red geraniums look so cute!

Happy Mother's Day!

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle

My personal favorite Mom quotes: "Nobody does anything until everything gets done!" and "So where's this Spruce Goose?"

Happy Mother's Day!

It Starts Winding Down...

So the softball season ended this week with a win over Mayfield and our traditional(!) loss to Poly. We fought the good fight, but lost 5-0. All in all, a challenging season. But I think the girls had fun, and that's the important thing, right? The only thing left to do is put together the annual slide show. Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry...

Tonight I'm off to see a play: The Nerd. Looks like it could be funny. I'm taking my friend Wendy, since it's her birthday tomorrow. Hmmm. Seems to me something else is happening tomorrow, too. What could that be?



(Click on the smiley...)

The weather's finally turned nice. We had some great days for softball and I couldn't bring myself to go into my classroom today. Maybe tomorrow...

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Fizzle instead of Sizzle

Guess they're going to enjoy this, this year.

Instead of this.

And we even had a block party to attend!

Yeah!

Yippee! Looks like a French Family Fourth is on the horizon... Watch out for those loud planes, Christopher.


On a side note, just got out of an assembly here at school - the guest speakers were Christoph Geiseler and Alan Gaskill, speaking about their experiences in China and the organization that Christoph founded to bring music appreciation to students : Modern Imporvisational Music Appreciation (Mima). Pretty impressive for a couple of guys who graduated from college in 2004! They both conducted themselves (ok, bad pun) very well and I think the students enjoyed the assembly - especially the drum jam session at the end. Peter Bachmann's solo was particularly inspiring! Dad, you can tell Julia she has a son to be proud of...

What a way to start a week...

Well, after an annoying weekend of trying to use my ATM card at various places around town (Target, Starbucks, RiteAid...) and getting turned down, I made a trip to my local branch of BofA. Seems someone had tried to use my card number to make some purchases at Best Buy to the tune of around $1800! Fortunately, the bank denied the purchase and put a hold on my card. So I guess it was worth the inconvenience! But now I'm without my card for about a week until they send me a new one... And the only potential charge I may have to deal with is $15.99 at a Bed, Bath and Beyond.

So let's try to profile this identity thief. First he/she waltzes into Bed, Bath and Beyond and buys a nice pillow case. Then crosses the street to Best Buy and goes for a new computer! Hmmm. A high-tech nerd who likes to sleep comfortably?

Shhh - don't tell C&H but ..

Pooh Bear unveils 80th birthday portrait

Winnie the Pooh has joined the Queen in having an 80th birthday portrait.

Jane Bown, who photographed the monarch earlier this year in celebration of her 80th, was given exclusive access to Britain's beloved bear at Hundred Acre Wood in Sussex.

Ms Bown, a distinguished octogenarian herself whose previous subjects have included Sir Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali and Samuel Beckett, said: "It was a happy experience and I was totally enchanted by him."

Pooh has been invited to attend the Children's Party at Buckingham Palace on Sunday June 25 to honour the Queen's birthday with the biggest celebration of British children's literature.

The first book featuring AA Milne's famous character was published in October 1926. Hundred Acre Wood is based on Ashdown Forest, which was near the author's country home Cotchford Farm.

Courtesy of the London Daily Mail

Dad says it all...

Wow! It really is getting insane, isn't it? I've been running the numbers, and it looks like it's going to be cheaper for me to fly up for the 4th (and Nickel Creek!) then to drive... And that's right now. Everything I hear is that gas prices are only going to go up...

The last few days have been busy - another couple of tough losses on the softball front (12-7 to Westridge, 5-0 to Rio Hondo). The girls are playing better (at least in my eyes), but they still tend to have one or two innings where everything breaks down defensively. Mental and physical errors, walks, hit batters, you name it... Next week is the last week of the season (I think it's safe to say we won't make playoffs this year!) with games on Tuesday and Thursday. Then it's time to put together the end of the year slide show. Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry...

My friend Hope was in town from San Antonio this weekend for a friend's wedding. I don't know the friend that well, but I know all of her friends, including one of the bridesmaids. So I was invited to tag along as the "plus one". A nice wedding (right around the corner from All Saints where Brian and Becky were hitched. The reception was at the Altadena Country Club. A good time was had by all...

Naomi, Jooyun, Hope and Robby

Today's a lazy day - probably do some grading, then dinner with my Gourmand dining group. Location TBD. We always keep it a secret until everyone arrives... It's not my turn to choose, so it's a complete mystery! One of my friends who used to be in the Dining Group before she moved has started her own dining adventure, and posted a blog to keep track. She's hilarious - here's her link: http://thedinettes.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone's enjoying a nice weekend!

'tis True!

Color me metallic green with fender skirts and picture me at the University of Colorado getting ready for a saturday drive in the springtime rockies.

Today's the Day!

Ok, I've been a little out of it. Sunday was an all-day review session with my AP students (9 till 6!) for their big test today. As I write this, my students are across campus taking their Calculus AP exam. I tell myself I've done all I can, but of course I'm wondering - was there something else I could have done? Augghhh!
I brought in bagels and OJ this morning, but most of the students were too focused on the test and went straight to their classrooms. I also posted a few posters around their test rooms, reminding them of common errors... Every little bit helps, right?
So now I'm sitting in my classroom wondering how they're doing... This is the time when I get a glimpse of what it's like to be a parent, I guess!

Elsewhere on the SoCal front, we lost another softball game yesterday, 13-0 against a new independent school from out by Magic Mountain (Golden Valley). Ouch again. I'm not sure why we have these non-league games scheduled so late in the season... We have two more games this week on Thursday and Friday. Both games are twilight games (starting at 5) due to AP testing. Mayfield and Rio Hondo, here we come!

On a side note, I ran across this quote and this picture in my email today:

"Without music, life would be a mistake.... I would only believe in a God who knew how to dance.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Dancing Tree:

Pretty cool, huh?

Looking forward to June! And Alli, you should post that link about the shopping mall apartments here! On that note, when I lived in Florida, Rick and Janine had an apartment above the local shopping area. It was an outside mall with a central courtyard in Boca Raton. Very high-end shops on the ground floor, with apartments/condos on the upper two floors. Definitely not my style!

Have a great Wednesday!

Here come the campers

That's right - the second week in June will see us at Morro Bay State Park. Do you know anyone who is almost 3 years old who might want to spend the night with Gammy and Pappy after hotdogs and smores?