7/25/2011
The Institute for Educational and Social Justice: Study: Low-Income Children Can be Well Prepared fo...
The Institute for Educational and Social Justice: Study: Low-Income Children Can be Well Prepared fo...: "Parents matter. This is one of our strongest and most deeply held convictions at The Institute for Educational and Social Justice. And..."
Laughing til it hurts!
:-O)!
What fun we had today at work! That's right---at work!
It was a dark and stormy day, and the Summer Laborers were on the job at one of my local elementary schools. Somewhere between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., it started to rain. The skies opened up, complete with thunder and lightning! We ducked into shelter after the second flash happened, within a mile of us.
I went inside to use the bathroom, and the other four guys got into the trucks. The storm blew over within about 15-20 minutes, and we regrouped. I heard from the school head custodian that a neighbor had come over to complain about the noise from our weed whackers.
Later that morning, one of the crew happened upon a paper wasp nest on the hillside. He had weed-whacked within about an inch of it! We took a lunch break at noon and went back out to the hillside. The wasps were all abuzz with our activity, and seemed to keep their distance (or maybe we kept ours)
The next thing I know, the crew members were throwing rocks, baseballs, soccer balls, and anything else they could find, at the nest. The wasps were flying around a little more intensely now, and ripples of laughter started. The more they threw, the more we laughed. I hadn't worked up the urge to join in the target practice yet, but finally couldn't help myself. I put down the weed whacker and picked up a baseball, softball, golf ball, and soccer ball. Wheee! Up the hillside went the balls, and down the hillside went the wasps after the marauding balls. Meanwhile, with each throw, we sprinted in all directions away from the returning balls.
One of the crew members, all dressed in his "high fashion" outfit made of black plastic lawn and leaf bags, found a long thingy to poke at the nest. He couldn't quite dig out the complete nest with that contraption, so he decided to attach a garden spade to the end of it. The spade handle didn't quite fit inside the thingamajiggy's groove, so another crew member took out a large knife and started to whittle it down to size. With spade and spear united into a deadly weapon, the great wasp hunter crouched down in the tall grass on the hillside.
At this sight, I started a long series of belly laughs -- uncontrollable a la Laurel from Laurel and Hardy! The crouching and poking and running away from the nest went on for a few more minutes, and more projectiles were thrown in the general direction of the nest. I even took the weed whacker and whacked a portion of the nest that had come apart from the main part.
Finally, after lots of laughs and missed shots, the great hunter found his mark, and the hive came rolling down the hill. One of the crew took the partly-developed wasps out of their little segments, one by one. A bold suggestion -- "let's light it on fire!" Another one quickly followed -- "let's make a molotov cocktail and blow it up in one fell swoop!" More belly laughs!
At last the remainder of the nest went into the pond, where it is still floating! Those wasps are going to get confused when they come out of their compartments. They might join the duck family for a float on the pond.
Well, I haven't laughed so long and loud for a long, long time. And yes, we did actually get some work done before we left at 2:30!
7/05/2011
Nora's Baptism
Nora looks so peaceful on her big day--July 3, 2011. God has given our family a wonderfully-made gift!
7/03/2011
Lindsay, Nora and Benjamin June 2011
Nora Lorain Pargman was born on June 16. This image was taken at Anna Joy Schuler's wedding on June 25. Pictured with Nora are my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, and grandson, Benjamin.6/17/2011
Last Day of School
Today is the last day of school for me --- then Monday is the first day of schools. In reflecting back on the year, it's been one of growth and insight. Each child is unique, as I've been finding out up close and personal! I've tutored kindergarteners, monitored students during lunch periods, mentored a fourth grade boy, and was one of two adults in the school safety patrol. I've volunteered in the library and at with local junior high school band.
Today is promotion day for the 6th graders. I'll miss them as they go on to jr. high school. I'm playing my trumpet along with the 5th grade band during the ceremony. Each student has created a poster of art work, poetry, thoughts, thank-you notes, etc. They're posted all over the gym/auditorium/lunchroom walls.
Now to answer a question you might have had about that first sentence. I plan to start as a summer laborer for the school district on Monday. It will be doing jobs that couldn't be accomplished while the students were in the buildings. I expect to be performing a variety of grounds, maintenance and custodial tasks through the first part of September.
6/16/2011
Nora Lorain Pargman
What a wonderful thing to have a granddaughter! Nora was born today at 2:08 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. I received the news from Sue by phone while I was at Woodlands Elementary School. Hey there, Randy! Just in time for Fathers Day! I love this picture! Love, kisses and hugs to Nora and Benjamin, Randy and Lindsay!
6/15/2011
1 of our 16 sunsets #FromSpace yesterday That beautiful view ... on Twitpic
NASA photo from way up there! Just think--16 sunsets per day!
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