Kathleen H. Taylor
fieldaflowas@yahoo.com
Eighteen days until Thanksgiving. Forty-six days until Christmas. Where has the time gone? I wish Father Time or Mother Clock would just chill so I can catch up on the things I didn't get done over the summer.
Do you need a way to relieve stress and get rid of those rotting jack-o-lanterns? I, personally, enjoyed shooting ours with a 30/30. One can set those babies up on a fence post and have at it. I never really thought I was 99.9% redneck until I participated in that event. Not only does it relieve stress and get rid of pumpkins, it also keeps the cows away from the house.
For some reason, a gun shot makes the cows a little antsy. Maybe it's because they have seen their friends get too curious and too close to guns before. Anyway, if you plan to add this to your list of Redneck Olympic events, please ask for permission and have someone watch your back in case there's an epidemic of rotting pumpkins in your area. I am in no way advising or recommending doing this without an adult present. I even had to have supervision if that tells you anything.
Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? I am and I am not. Our Thanksgiving has gotten smaller and smaller over the years. More and more empty seats. It's kind of depressing. I recall there was a point in time we needed two tables and enough stuffing to feed the National Guard.
There was a "big" people table and a "little" people table. I can remember very clearly being at that little table sitting on those coffee cans. The children looked forward to that holiday they were big enough to sit at the adult table. Now, we are down to one table and many not able to attend because of work or various reasons. However, there are always enough for the usual baby sister tortures I receive. They all will talk about amazing things they have done all year and then it will be my turn. They just fill in the blanks for me. "Well, Kathy, we see you have lightened you're a hair a few more shades this year." Or "what career move are you making now?" I guess harassment is in the big brothers' and sisters' job description. They make sure to fulfill their duty. But, we are thankful we have each other to pick on.
I have been thinking about all the things we couldn't have at school this year. We couldn't have sugar, fat and the list is endless. What about the things we could have in school? Why can't we put band and choir back in school? There are so many kids who would benefit from music itself and being a part of something. I don't' think we would have half the truancy issues if we still had music in our schools. Kids are able to express themselves and even find a talent they never knew existed. Who wouldn't want to go to school when there's going to be time to be creative and be themselves?
I know there is a ton of interest in this county, but, the traveling after school to practice is a huge issue. Since I am on the school topic, I am just going to go ahead and express another area of concern. I have been made aware of countless situations where a student has been allowed privileges and behaviors that would normally not be acceptable in anyone's classroom or even at home.
I am not really understanding why this is being allowed while it is disrupting the classroom and hindering our children's education? Apparently, no one is really looking at the big picture. Instead of working together to figure out a solution, they choose to ignore it so all the kids can learn these behaviors as well. So, we, as taxpayers, can look forward to funding plenty of juvy centers in the future. OK, Dorothy knows when to click her heels and shut up. Hopefully, the great and powerful Oz will take us back to Kansas.
"Something More" by Sugarland is my pick for the week.
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