WE WON!!!!! WELL, "THEY" WON.... !!!!!

Ok - Maybe not so much "WE" and much as "The St. Louis Cardinals"!!!!  The STLC WON THE WORLD SERIES 6-2!!!  Yeaaaaaa!!!!! I am sooo very happy!  Why, you ask?  Well, let me tell ya!

Final score of 2011 World Series

Back in 1987, my Dad took me on a daddy-daughter trip to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and St Louis.  It was time to pick up his airplane from the manufacturer, who had just run its yearly diagnostics.  It just so happened that the St Louis Cardinals, my Dad's favorite team of all-time, was playing in the World Series that year.  He was giddy with excitement!!  We had a wonderful trip, but by far the most memorable part was attending the game with Daddy.  He was like a kid in the candy store! I kid you not!

We arrived and had no hotel reservations because all the hotels in the area were sold out. So we ended up staying at a hotel that was 3 cities away... and in the "Presidential Suite" nonetheless!  (It was ALL they had available!)  He had the concierge guy find him "scalper tickets," which he did. (I won't even tell you HOW MUCH he paid for those things!)

On game day we showed up about 1-1.5 hrs early. There were all sorts of vendors outside and Daddy just HAD to stop and shop for everyone in the family.  Hats, T-shirts, Christmas ornaments, Collectible Spoons, Sweatshirts, Cups, you name it.  Something for everybody. He was peeing his pants from all the excitement!

Once we bought all out stuff, we headed in to the game.  For the price he paid, you'd expect to sit in the Presidential Box.  But we were behind right field, waaaaay up on top - with only ONE row of people behind us and then the huge drop-off of the back of the stadium behind them. Yeah. We were in the nose-bleed section surrounded by a bunch of druggies who cared less about the game and more about 'partying.'  No matter.  Daddy ignored them and went on to have the time of his life.

I can't remember if is was game 4, 5, or 6, but the Cardinals lost to the Minnesota Twins that year.  Daddy was sooo disappointed.  But, while we were there he told me several things.

1.)  He told me that while he played baseball, basketball, and football in high school, he loved baseball the most.  He was so good in fact, that 5 teams were wanting to recruit him. I can only remember they included the Blue Jays, the White Sox, the Red Sox, and the Cubs. I can't remember the other team. But, before they could, he hurt his shoulder and couldn't play baseball any more.  So he focused on his next love: basketball.

2.) He told me "You know when you're little, you sit at your desk and sometimes you just doodle?  Well, since I was about 5 yrs old, the St Louis Cardinals were my favorite team and I'd sit for hours just doodling the "STL" on my paper, on my books, on anything I could get my hands on." And he "doodled" it on the napking right there in front of me.  Effortlessly.

The "doodle" my Dad would draw

3.)  He told me that all his life his one dream was to watch the Cardinals play in the World Series in their Home Stadium and WIN.  (Sadly, that day, they didn't win.)

4.) He told me that even if he was dead, he'd ask Father in Heaven for "time off" to watch his favorite team from that great peep hole in the sky.

He told me many other things that night, all of which I keep in my heart and remember with fondness.

Well, a few days before the World Series began this year, our daughter, Jessica, who no longer lives at home, texted me that the Texas Rangers had done so good this year that they were playing in the World Series.  This is the second time the Rangers have been in the World Series recently.  While I'm not a HUGE sports fan like Daddy was, I can appreciate good games, good teams, and big events like the World Series.  I thought to myself "Now that Nolan Ryan took over the Rangers, and they seem to have kicked their game into higher levels, maybe I can get excited about the Rangers and start supporting them when they play. So the next day I casually looked up when they were playing and who they were playing.  To my utter shock they were playing The St Louis Cardinals in the World Series, beginning in BUSCH STADIUM!!!!  AAAACCCCKKK!!!!  WHAT?????  No way can I support the Rangers.  The Cardinals have been "my team" ever since that trip with Daddy!  I was 100% behind the Cardinals.

So for games 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 I listened faithfull online to the game (thank you ESPN Sport Radio! as we don't have TV.)  WIN.  LOSE.  WIN.   LOSE.  LOSE.  Game 6 is up now... on the very same freaking night as Emily's 10th Birthday Party!  OH NO!!!!  Well, nothing could be done about that.  The Busch Stadium game for the previous night had been rained out, so they cancelled and rescheduled.  Too bad for me. 

So, we did Emily's party, came home with all the kids, finished the party and the minute the last child left the house, I got online to see who won.  THE ST LOUIS CARDINALS!!  IN THEIR HOME STADIUM!!!  WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!   I cried, and cried, and then cried some more.  I KNEW, absolutely, without a doubt, that Daddy had watched and it was then I felt him smiling down upon me and say "they won! Remember our time together?" and I cried again.  

I was sooo very happy.  Above all for my Daddy.  Dreams DO come to pass.  Even if we have to wait till we are in the next life.  I was so very happy for the Cardinals too.  And happy for me.  But above all I was happy for the memory that Daddy created for me.  The time he took to take me on that trip, just the two of us.  The stories he shared, the "piloncitos" (little gifts) he bought me, the experiences we shared, the TIME SPENT TOGETHER.  Walking up and down the "Rocky" steps in Philadelphia (remember that movie?)

The "Rocky Steps" at the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Seeing the St Louis Arch "doorway to the west."  I remember driving past the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia and mentioning to Daddy that I'd heard they have a weird handshake when they go in, and he said not to make fun of them, and that we LDS also have what some would consider a "weird handshake" in side our own Temple, but it's to be kept sacred.  I remember seeing the Botanical Gardens, the Museum of Art, and Lemon Hill Mansion in Philadelpia,

Lemon Hill Mansion

the Anheuser Busch Brewery in St Louis, the Liberty Bell (I touched it!), Independence Hall,

Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in Background

the underground "mall" in downtown Philly, Grand Central Station where Daddy accidentally left his "cochito" under the Amtrak seat and had to RUN back to get it (his entire life was inside that "purse-like, zippered bag" where he kept all his important documents.) I remember the hotels we stayed in, the FANCY dinner we had on Moshulu on he Delaware River (the largest, 4-mast ship still afloat in the world), even though we were only in jeans. (ugh!)

   Moshulu Ship/Restaurant  (left: outside view,  right: inside view)

 I remember the Normal Rockwell museum in Philadelphia as well as walking by the very homes where the Founding Fathers actually stayed while they participated in the Constitutional Convention. I remember on the flight home, the weather got really, really bad.  Daddy was NOT one to take chances.  He was the most careful pilot that existed.  So we ended up having to land in Dodge City, Kansas.  I was excited!  DODGE CITY!  Wow - like a real western and everything. :) However, once we got to Dodge City, we looked at our calendar, and realized I need to get back sooner than we were able to get back to Lubbock.  Namely because I HAD to fly out the next day in order to get back to El Paso in time for work the following day.  So Daddy put me on a Greyhound bus, and I rode to Lubbock.  My first (and LAST! might I add) bus trip.  Soooo l-o-n-g!!!!  Got to Lubbock, just had time to pack up and get to the airport and fly back to El Paso.

That was an inspiring, memorable trip.  And to have relived all that this past week as the Cardinals WON (did I mention they WON the 2011 WORLD SERIES in the HOME STADIUM!?) the World Series, was just exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, joyous and a slew of other emotions. 

 (The old Busch Stadium, which was there in 1987, is on the right. The new Busch Stadium is being built on the left, and is partially on the footprint of the old stadium., is the one this year's World Series was played in..... and WON!)

And... to top off this emotional past 10-days: The 19th was my parent's 55th wedding anniversary, the 24th was Emily's 10th birthday, 25th of October was Daddy's 77th birthday, and the 27th of October (the night one of the most exciting games was played into overtime!) was the 18th anniversary of Mama and Daddy's death.  Add PMS to all that, and you can see why the post that preceded this one was all about my being so emotional and taking it out on my sweet, dear husband who does NOT deserve that at all. (I'm sorry again, Bob!!!)

 July 1987 - my parents and me

I'm still happy that the Rangers are such a better team than they have been in the past.  And I must admit, the World Series Games were awesome, if not very strange too!  Both the Rangers and the Cardinals played outstanding games.  Daddy LOVED those kinds of games! You know, where the teams keep "one-upping" each other - first one team scores, then the next, then the next, the next .... and it goes into over time.  EXCITING!

Thank you, Mama and Daddy, for so much more than I could ever say in mere words. And thank you, Daddy, for a trip that I will remember for all Eternity. I love you and miss you both so very much! But I look forward with great joy to reuniting with you forever one day! I'm so thankful that you are MY parents!

YEA CARDINALS!!!!!

I'M A GOLDEN PIGGY! :9)

I love my husband. He is so cute.  It took me a few months, after we first met, to "get" his ways and understand his British-style humor.  But once I did, he's kept me rolling on the floor with it.  (should I have used ROTFLOL instead?)

So... you know how we women sometimes feel like our husbands are just not paying enough attention to us?  Sometimes I feel like I mean nothing to him (though I know differently.)  And 99% of those times happen to be when I'm .... well,.... during "that" time of the month.  Yeah, so, last night was one of those "times" and I just laid in to him.  (Why is it we always hurt those we love the most?) 

I guess it was my time to feel insecure and need some extra TLC, and went about looking for it in all the wrong ways. 

So, after my hunny went to bed, and I had a chance to read from the Scriptures and also an AWESOME ARTICLE on Meridian Magazine, I came back to my senses and felt awful for the things I'd said earlier.  So I wrote him an email to apologize, knowing that I'd not see him in the early morning before he left for work,then straight to the airport for an out-of-town business trip.  I apologized.  A lot. And his reply made me "lol!" and :'( all at the same time. 

You have to understand that he has created his very own "Bob-isms" and they are always clever, cute, and hit the nail on the head with few words. (I wish I had that talent!)  You must also understand that I love and collect little piggies, hence his reference. Here is his reply to my apology, and I hope it's not too personal to share.  I just HAD to share. It's too cute ta-not-to.

"Take a pound of gold. Melt it. Shape it into a little piggy. Toss it into the mud. Do other things to it that are not polite. Does this reduce the value of the gold? No, the value remains. Nothing I do to the gold will reduce its value. Ever.

You have value. You are loved. You are loved by someone who is busy and in high demand. And, at times, a bit stupid. That does not change you.

I love you. I will talk to you tonight."

Isn't that sweet?  Deep?  Touching?  Funny?  REAL?  I love it.  but more importantly, I love HIM.  I must have done something extra-ordinary in the pre-existence to get this man as my husbandage (another "Bob-ism"). 

Bob, I love you forever.  I am sorry you have to put up with my idiocy at times.  I am sorry I take it all out on you, my one truest friend and helpmeet. You are the best husband I could ever have asked for, because you are perfect for me.  You balance me.  You make it real for me.  Life means nothing to me if I cannot share it with you, my media-naranja.  (For those who don't speak Spanish, that literally translates as "half-orange," and what it means is "you're my better half.")

Thank you for loving me and being true to me and our sacred covenants we made with Father. I so look forward to spending eternity with you in our perfected states!

IF

One of my favorite poems of all times is Rudyard Kipling's "If".  Our son learned it and memorized it for school (LOVE homeschooling!) and it is now one of his favorites also.

Yesterday, while checking my emails, I received my weekly newsletter from Thomas Jefferson Education Online, and it's "quote of the day" was "If" - but revised for girls.  Loved it!  So I'm including both renditions below for your enjoyment.

First the original Boy version, followed the updated Girl version.

"If" for Boys 

 "Outward Bound" by Norman Rockwell

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

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"If" for Girls

 "Girl at the Mirror" by Norman Rockwell

If you can hear the whispering about you
And never yield to deal in whispers, too;
If you can bravely smile when loved ones doubt you,
And never doubt, in turn, what loved ones do;
 If you can keep a sweet and gentle spirit
In spite of fame or fortune, rank or place,
And though you win your goal or only near it
Can win with poise or lose with equal grace;
 If you can meet with unbelief, believing,
And hallow in your heart a simple creed,
If you can meet deception, undeceiving,
And learn to look to God for all you need;
 If you can be what girls should be to mothers--
Chums in joy and comrades in distress;
And be unto others as you'd have the others
Be unto you--no more and no less;
 If you can keep within your heart the power
To say that firm, unconquerable "no";
If you can brave a present shadowed hour
Rather than yield, to build a future slow;
 If you can love, yet not let loving master,
But keep yourself within your own self's clasp,
And not let dreaming lead you to disaster
Nor pity's fascination loose your grasp;
 If you can lock your heart on confidences
Nor ever needlessly in your turn confide;
If you can put behind you all pretenses
Of mock humility or foolish pride;
If you can keep the simple homely virtue
Of walking right with God--then have no fear
That anything in all the world can hurt you;
AND--which is more-- You'll be a Woman, dear.

-Gale Baker Stanton

IT'S ELEMENTARY MY DEAR....

I have often remembered, thought about, and tried to recite a certain poem that I learned while I was a little girl in Mexico.  Each morning we'd arrive at school and when we were ready to begin, the teacher would have us all stand in a line, according to grade (as she taught several grades together in her one-room schoolhouse.) While we stood in line she would first have the oldest children check all the younger children for "cleanliness," because "cleanliness is next to Godliness."  Next, if I remember correctly, we would recite a short something from the Roman Catholic Catechism.  Then we would recited 2 or 3 poems which she taught us and had us memorize.  She was a stickler in teaching us to not make it sound like a "sing-song."  She insisted on good intonation and sound for each poem, "as if you're telling a story, not just reading and singing the words."  There are a few poems I remember.  However, I only remember the main parts of them.  So today I found the one I was thinking of.  I had such a happy, jiggly-heart when I read it all.   I felt like I was back in time, 7 years old again, and without a care in the world but making sure I used the right tone of voice while I read the poem "El Viejo Ratón" ("The Old Rat"):

Hay catorce lauchas, en torno a un ratón, viejo, rengo y ciego,pelado y rabón.
-Cuéntenos, abuelo, lo que le pasó.
Y repite el cuento que otra vez contó:
Pito colorín, pito colorón.

Por una cocina, me paseaba yo. Limpias las baldosas, fregado el fogón,

no había en el suelo ni un grano de arroz.

La señora escoba, todo se llevó.
Pito colorín, pito colorón.
Dormida en un banco, sobre un almohadón, una gata negra, hacía rom rom.
Cuando un gato duerme, pasea el ratón. Esto lo sabemos, ustedes y yo.
Pito colorín, pito colorón.
Andaba esa noche, del banco al fogón, con mi larga cola, como un gran señor.
Pito colorín, pito colorón.
De pronto descubro, cerca de un rincón , que un trozo de queso, la escoba olvidó.
Lo que no se barre, lo come el ratón. Esto lo sabemos, ustedes y yo.
Pito colorín, pito colorón.
Huelo me relamo, doy un mordiscón, y en una trampera , mi cola quedó.
Pito colorín, pito colorón.
Por comer de prisa, me quedé rabón. La laucha más laucha, pregunta al ratón:
-¿Y la gata negra, no se despertó?
-Fue por un milagro, que no me comió.
Pito colorín, pito colorón

English Translation:

There are fourteen she-rats, Circling a he-rat

He's old, lame and blind, hairless and tailless.

- Tell us Grandfather, What happened to him.

And he repeats the story, Which he told before.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

I was passing, Through a kitchen, The tiles were clean, The stove was scrubbed

On the floor wasn't found, Even one grain of rice. Mrs. broom took everything away.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

Sleeping on a bench

Upon a large pillow, A black female cat, Purred and purred.

When the cat is sleeping, A rat will go for a stroll. This we know, you and I.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

I was going that night, Between the bench and the stove, With my long tail, As if I were a gentleman.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

 All of a sudden I discover, Near a corner, That the broom forgot, A piece of cheese.

What is not swept up, A rat will eat. This we know, You and I.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

I smell I lick my mouth, I give a big bite, And my tail is left, In a big trap.

Pito colorín, Pito colorón.

For eating in a hurry, I am now tailless.

-And the black cat? She didn't wake up?

It was only by miracle, She didn't eat me.

I know.  It doesn't rhyme as well in English, and for Americans (who are not "romantic" like Latins are, it won't even make sense or sound like a logical poem.  But it is.  Teaches the kids that if they make the choice the "play while the cat's away", there will still be consequences.  I remember reciting this all those times and imagining the pictures in my head of this old rat without hair, tail, walking with a cane, and blind and deaf. And I do remember thinking "I better not try to get away with stuff, because I'll get caught just like the rat did and he got his tail chopped off. I'll probably get a spanking!"  That was enough to scare me away from many-a-things. HaHa!  Hey! It worked!


Oh! I truly had the most wonderful childhood. It was not perfect.  But it was wonderful and happy.  I'll see if I can find some of the other poems later.  That would be nice, wouldn't it?

MARRIAGE: HALF A PAIR OF SCISSORS

I read this article on Meridian Magazine, and my heart just pumped with the adrenaline of truth - so I thought I'd post it on my blog as well.  This is a down-to-earth, real description of marriage.  What it is; what it isn't.

I get so sad when I see so many myself, in today's world, who either "live together," or come up with a number of excuses as to why they can't, or won't, get married. I think they truly have no idea how very much they are helping to mess up this world by making those choices.  They simply don't see it.  And it would take a life-time of teaching them foundational principles (which they obviously didn't receive while growing up) to explain it to them.  I'm no implying here that these folks don't have principles.  I'm implying that the foundational, eternal principles that help them to understand the sanctity and necessity or marriage and family were never taught them from the get-go.  They had other principles taught them perhaps.  But not the necessary ones in order to truly understand.

Well, before I ramble further, here is the wonderful, truth-filled article for your enjoyment and pondering.....

Benjamin Franklin said “A single man is like half a pair of scissors.”

Poll after public opinion poll reveals that married persons are happier than those unmarried, and healthier, and more satisfied with life, and that they live longer.

Marriage can create a state of commitment and of contentment that is absent in single life.
Marriage is never perfect, but married individuals develop more of the characteristics and the character that are associated with personal growth and that point in the direction of personal progression.  Marriage partners, even in less-than-ideal unions, compensate for each other’s weaknesses.  They comfort and support each other, and they create a kind of synergy where the total is more than the sum of its parts.

Marriage is the natural state of affairs.

Of course there are many who fit in the category of wanting to be married but who have yet to find the right person, or to have the right person find them.  We believe their time will come.  Our spiritual belief is that everyone will have the opportunity, sometime, for marriage and family.
It’s two other categories that we worry about:

1. Those who are married and wish they were not, (though of course not all marriages can or should be saved) and
2. Those who are not and plan to keep it that way. 

Frankly, these days we meet a lot of both of these two types.  They say things like:

• “It’s just not for me.” 

• “I’m more of a solitary person.”

• “I don’t think I could ever find a person who could live with me.” 

• “I’ve got a dog, and that works for me.”

• “Frankly, marriage is just too hard; I’ve got enough on my plate.” 

• “It wouldn’t fit with my lifestyle or my life goals.”

• “I just don’t think I’m ready for the responsibility.”

Or, worst of all, “I’ve seen a lot of marriages and frankly, I wouldn’t want any of them.  Marriage takes away your individuality.”

Wait a minute.  What is the message here?  Are people saying that happiness is all about ease and lack of responsibility and commitment?  That loving yourself and being an independent individual is more important than love or commitment or sacrifice or teamwork or trying to find something bigger and better than self?

Come to think of it, there is a third category we worry about:

3. Those who are married but think of marriage as a loose or convenient relationship that meets a few of each other’s needs but  doesn’t really create a new entity or partnership that is more important than everything else.

You see, we believe, deeply, in something called “oneness,” which to us essentially means that two people can totally and completely commit themselves to each other, forever, and combine the qualities that each of them have into one new whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
We don’t think ideal marriages are two people with everything in common or where both have the same qualities, the same temperament, and the same perspectives. Why would you want to live with a clone of yourself?

Rather, the most exciting and powerful marriages usually bring together two people with different strengths and gifts and skills.  The two combine to create a new oneness entity that has all of the things that both brought to the table (or to the altar) and then on top of that develop even more combined qualities, producing something much more complete than either could have ever become on their own.

Don’t long for a frictionless marriage of endless agreement and sameness, but for one of the ever-interesting and ever-challenging new combinations and mutual appreciation.

Think of it as a numbers game.  Imagine something that we will call the ACH index, a form of life measurement standing for Achievement, Contribution, and Happiness.  Let’s say that the average individual scores about a 3 on the index, but with lots of effort and self-improvement might develop the qualities allowing him or her to eventually get up to a 5.  Each individual, of course, has a different set of skills and gifts to work with.

Now imagine a merger (or marriage) where two individuals come together and commit to a partnership that combines all that they are into a new entity.  The combined score on the ACH index now averages around 6, and with work can reach 10.  On top of that, their synergy together and their combination and blending of purpose can add an additional 5 on the index, potentially pushing the score of their oneness up to 15.

The oneness reaches an ACH level three times what either could have reached as an individual.
This approach, and the focus on the new oneness instead of on the old individuals, can change our lives and lift the level on which we live it.  But it involves three extraordinarily hard adjustments:

1. Make interdependence your goal instead of independence.
2. Focus on development of the oneness at least as much as you focus on self-development
3. Work on making the other half of your oneness happy rather than your own half

I (Richard) was in graduate school during the era of strident, militant feminism, and the push for equality at Harvard was all about women being able to do exactly the same things as men.  I had a French friend there who was all for equal pay and opportunity, but who drew the line well before getting to sameness.

He arose in class one day to passionately express his love for the beautiful differences between men and women.  “If you make us the same, you ruin the world and destroy its excitement” he proclaimed, “Vive la difference!”

LeGrand Richards, the Mormon apostle, used to go to the same neighborhood church that we did.  He was in his nineties, and one day someone asked him the secret to his longevity.  “Well, he said, “way back, 65 years ago when my wife and I got married, we made a solemn vow that we would never fight or argue within the walls of our own home.”  I was impressed, but thought he must have missed the question and gone off on another topic.  Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he went on, “That’s why we’ve lived so long — we’ve spent so much time in the out-of-doors!”

A oneness marriage is not about not having differences.  It is about how differences are worked out and combined into a greater whole.

A Pessimistic View

We were on an airplane one time with a British fellow who told us he had been an analyst and marriage counselor for more than 30 years.  He claimed that he had found three types of marriage that were absolutely and totally conflict-free.  Intrigued, we got out a pad and prepared to take notes.  “The first type of conflict-free marriage,” he said “is where one spouse is totally dominant and the other is a total doormat.”

Our anticipation drooped a little, but he went on:  “The second is where the two live such separate lives and have such separate interests that there is no overlap and thus no need for disagreement.”

We still had hope for the third type.  “The third is where one or the other is dead.”

The point once again is that the goal is not to eliminate differences but to learn to resolve and combine them in creative, mutually appreciative, synergistic ways, and to care more about the other than about yourself.

Whose happiness do you think you have the most influence over — your own or your partner’s?  When you focus and work on the happiness of the other half of your partnership, you can see your results, and you strengthen the oneness.

(Next Week:  Part 2 of this article)

LET'S TRY AGAIN.....

This post was accidentally (oops!) left in "Draft" since January 2011.  But I'm going to go ahead and post it, for my own journaling benefit.

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A little over 24 hours ago, I had posted a really .... not-nice message.  I was having a terrible day/night. I was complaining.  I was having a pity party.  I wanted to just go "home" (as in..heaven) and I was really upset with my sweet husband for not fulfilling needs I had in the exact manner I wanted him to.

I've thought a lot the past day about all of that.  I feel selfish having posted such a post.  But I understand it's also part of life.  We all have our bad days... or horrible days for that matter.

After posting it, two dear, sweet friends made comments.  Just reading their comments uplifted me.  It made me feel like I'm not alone.  It reminded me that I DO have friends. Even if they don't live in the same city, they still are friends and care.  And that got me thinking.  Do *I* care about my friends and neighbors? What do I do for others?

Granted, part of my ranting was that I *DO* do do do, for my family and I feel like I'm running on fumes sometimes.  I don't do much for ME.  No one else seems to either.  But then tonight I read this from another friend's blog:

I have learned from her to serve wherever the Lord needs me. No calling is too small, nothing we do for others is insignificant in the sight of the lord. As it says in Matthew:

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." - St Matthew 25:40

I hope to continue Krista's legacy and always be engaged in a good cause and serve the Lord wherever and whenever He needs me. To serve the Lord we must serve others and it is in serving others that we forget ourselves and find joy and peace.

Krista passed away on December 10th.  She was under 45 years old, and left a sweet husband and two young kids behind.  She had been battling a brain tumor (cancerous) for exactly 5 years (almost to the day!)  All of a sudden she developed some liquid in her lungs, and couldn't breathe, and went to the hospital at 3AM and passed away.  Boom.  Gone.  I think many of us who know them had our hearts just drop out from under us when we learned of her passing.

Krista had a blog.  Now her husband posts on there.  He posted this message and it made me feel like part of the reason I'm so miserable right now is because I need to focus on ENJOYING serving others.  I usually don't have a problem enjoying serving others - unless it's my family.  Now, don't get me wrong.  i do love my family and I do enjoy serving them.  But what I'm trying to get at is that I think we take our family for granted.  I know I do.  And day after day, it seems that the daily family living "things" just get to me.  The quarreling.  The messes.  The never-ending laundry/dishes.  The time that Bob is required away from our family and I feel like there are times I never see him.  

I need to learn to serve my family with a happier attitude and one of gratitude.  

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.

Maybe that should be my mantra this year.

I know that I have been blessed FAR beyond what I deserve.  I LOVE DaveRamseys reply when someone asks him how he's doing.  He always says:  "Better than I deserve."  I think that is the perfect reply to folks when they say "Hi! How are you doing?"  "Better than I deserve!"

It is so true.  I think we ALL are doing better than we deserve.  I hate putting on a smile and saying "fine!" when in reality I'm doing horrible and feel like crap!  Or when I'm happy I still think "I'm doing great - but you should see what most of my days looks like!"

So, I think in effort to be 100% honest with all my fellowmen, I have adopted Ramsey's motto - "I'm doing better than I deserve!"

YOU GET WHAT YOU SEEK

YOU GET WHAT YOU SEEK

A traveler chanced at noon to rest his miles.
"What sort of people may they be," he asked,
"In this proud city on the plains o'erspread?"
"Well, friend, what sort of people whence you came?"
"What sort?" the packman scowled; "why, knaves and fools."
"You'll find the people here the same," the wise man said.

Another stranger in the dusk drew near,
And pausing, cried "What sort of people here
In your bright city where yon towers arise?"
"Well, friend, what sort of people whence you came?"
"What sort?" the pilgrim smiled,
"Good, true, and wise."
"You'll find the people here the same,"
The wise man said.

--Edwin Markham

My Dad told me this as a story one time, and taught me at a young age that it is MY attitude that will determine whether or not I am happy wherever I am and in whatever circumstance I may find myself in.  I never forgot that.  The older I grow, the more I see the wisdom in it.  I love you and miss you, Daddy.  So very much.

THE ANTIDOTE TO ALL WORLD PROBLEMS

CONQUERING

Conquer the angry man by Love,
Conquer the ill-natured man by Goodness,
Conquer the miser with Generosity,
Conquer the liar by Truth.

THE MODERN AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: BIRTH, HISTORY, FALL, AND SOLUTION - PART IV: ANALYZING THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL YEARS

PART IV

(Click here to read Parts I, II, and III)

A Failing Grade in Most Subjects

In our previous article, we revealed some of the atheistic plans designed by Horace Mann and John Dewey to change the thinking of this modern generation of students.

At this point we must emphasize that teachers and administrators of our public schooling system are not at fault for what happened during those experimental years. There are wonderful teachers who put their whole heart into their profession and love their students, and students love them. Principals and administrators have spent countless hours, days, weeks and years trying to solve the problems of Dewey’s educational delivery system. But as we will soon see, Dewey’s system is what has failed our children – not the teachers, and not the administrators. Dewey’s plan has actually succeeded in reaching the goal – which is to fail 80% of public school students nation-wide. The decline in academic and literacy standards became so scandalous that in April of 1983 the National Commission of Excellence in Education wrote in its historic report: “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre  educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves.”



FAILING IN READING

In May of 1988, Jack Kilpatrick wrote in his syndicated column:

“Forty percent of high school graduates entering the armed services are reading only at the

ninth-grade level. Eleventh-graders, as a group, are appallingly ignorant of American literature. Their average score on 26 questions of historical chronology was a miserable 51 percent. More than two-thirds of them could not place the Civil War.”

In 1993, the Board of Education in Washington, D.C. reported that “over 700,000 graduating seniors [nation-wide] could not read their diplomas.” (Sills, Op. Cit., p. 2)


Two years later, The Washington Times printed an article, with the headline: “U.S. Pupils Continue Slide in Reading–4th-Grade Drop Worst in Virginia.” The article quoted Colorado’s education commissioner and chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, William T. Randall, who said:

“The results of the 1994 NAEP [National Assessment of Educational Progress] reading report should serve as a wake-up call to Americans, or, better yet, a whack on the head…. Reading — as a skill, as an information-gathering process and as a recreation — is in serious trouble. The decline in test scores among 12th grade students is itself cause for alarm.”




FAILING IN HISTORY

Student knowledge in the area of history is also shockingly poor. William C. Bennett, National Secretary of Education, wrote an article in December of 1986, and said:

“There is a reason to doubt that we are successfully educating Americans about the world. A Southern Governors’ Association report recently documented the ‘international illiteracy’ in American schools: 20% of 6th-grade students surveyed could not locate the United States on a map!

“A 1985 survey by the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed that American 11th-graders knew astonishingly little of their own history. Two-thirds of them could not place the Civil War in the correct half-century. One-third of them failed the same test for the Declaration of Independence, for Columbus, and for World War I. Nearly a third could not say which two nations were our principal enemies in World War II. And to half of them, the names Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin were unfamiliar.

“…. Am I criticizing our children? I am not. If they do not know these things, it is in most cases not their fault. Blame for this situation falls on all of us whose job it is to educate American children.” (U.S. Department of Education release, 12/5/86)

A report from the Deseret News, Thursday, April 5, 1990, stated:

“Is there any field of learning in which America’s schools are not falling down on the job?

* “Barely half of 12-graders know that presidential candidates are nominated by national conventions, or that the Constitution guarantees religious freedom.

* “Among younger students, 62% of eighth graders apparently did not know that Congress makes laws. Nearly a third could not identify such historical figures as Benjamin Franklin or Abraham Lincoln. Only 25% knew that Lincoln’s main goal in the Civil War was to preserve the union.

* “Though more than half of fourth-graders knew the names of Columbus’ three ships, only 35% knew why the explorer sailed to America in the first place.”



FAILING IN MATH

In 1982, thousands of 12th-graders in various countries took an algebra test offered by the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IAEEA). Hong Kong ranked first, barely ahead of Japan. The United States finished 14th among the 15 countries tested–just ahead of Thailand, and just behind Hungary (From Daily News Digest, Phoenix Arizona, 8/26/87, p. 4).

Fortune Magazine made this statement about schooling in America, in its February 1, 1988 issue “The progressive preference for utility and ‘effective living’ over the inspiring and instructive richness of our cultural heritage works its way all through the curriculum and powerfully shapes what high-schoolers learn, or don’t learn. These days cooking and driving courses count as much toward a high school diploma as English, history or science courses….

“Though progressive education has been doing its work for more than 60 years, it took the upheavals of the Sixties and early Seventies to exaggerate all its tendencies and hasten the evacuation of learning from the schools.” (p. 89)

An article in Time Magazine, dated June, 1988, states further that:

“Educators have been fretting for years about the state of math instruction in American public schools. In one attempt to get students on track, Congress in 1965 passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, sending a back-to-basics message that it hoped would improve achievement in math and other subjects. Last week the results of such efforts were totaled up in a newly released study titled The Mathematics Report Card–Are We Measuring Up? Its assessment of the performance of U.S. high school students in 1986: ‘Dismal.’

“The study was conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of Princeton, N.J., and based on tests given to 150,000 pupils from 1972 to 1986. Among the findings:

* “More than a fourth of 13-year-old middle schoolers cannot handle elementary-school arithmetic.

* “Nearly one-third of eleventh-graders say they generally do not understand what the math teacher is talking about.

* “Only 5% of 17-year-olds can handle algebra or multi-step math problems.

* Scores for blacks and Hispanics, despite modest gains, lag 7% to 11% below those for whites.

* “…. the average Japanese high schooler does better at math than the top 5% of Americans taking college-prep courses….

“…Mary Lindquist, professor of math education at Columbus College in Georgia and a co-author of the report, comes down hard on teaching methods. ‘We have taught kids to be little calculators, but they do not know why they do what they do,’ she says, adding, ‘They don’t know what numbers mean.’”

The Third Wave: Alarmed Parents Challenge Violence and A Degenerate Social Environment at School

The third group of concerned parents who decided to home school their children were those who became fearful for the safety of their children. Parents observed their children being threatened both physically and spiritually by an ever-increasing violent and deviant behavior that became prevalent in many schools. It’s becoming DANGEROUS to send our children to school!




VIOLENCE

In a Newsweek article of February, 1988, the major problems in the schools were listed in order of their importance. Their list reveals the true problems on school campuses: According to an article published in the Deseret News on August 29, 1994, conditions at many schools are frightening at best. For example, this article states that:

* Every school day, 160,000 students stay home from school because they are afraid.

* One in 11 teachers has been attacked at school. * Many teachers have considered leaving the profession because of violence and intimidation.

* Every day, 135,000 juveniles carry guns to school.

* A new poll of adults by Phi Delta Kappa, the professional education fraternity, ranks violence as the No. 1 problem in public schools and poor discipline as No. 2.”

Daily inner-city news reports tell of missing children, or violence on the school grounds, in neighborhoods, and violence of every kind within nearly every sector of life.


GANGS

The Associated Press released an article from New Orleans in March of 1990 which gave some frightening statistics and observations about the activities of youth groups–commonly called “gangs.”

Apparently they are increasing at an alarming rate and feeding off the public schools as “gathering places”. As the article notes:

“Some of the issues raised at the 17th National Conference on Juvenile Justice…give the impression that America is not a great place to raise your kids.

“‘Gangs are coming to a community near you,’ Ronald Stephens, director of the National School Safety Center in Encino, Calif., told the conference….

“The number of gangs are growing, Stephens said, with total membership exceeding 100,000 in the nation’s three largest cities: Los Angeles has 800 gangs, Chicago 120 and New York 50. The average age of a gang member is 23.

“‘There’s a gang for everyone: both sexes, many ages and every ethnic group…. The members are violent, enterprising and often free of remorse,’ he said.

“‘Kids are coming into gangs at an earlier age and staying in a longer time,’ he said. ‘Female activities are growing. Many are mules, carrying drugs or weapons.’”

“Who belongs to gangs?” asks a Deseret News editor, March, 1990. Here we read:

“Youngsters of all races, colors and creeds. Frequently, membership is made up of minority youths, youngsters who have trouble in school, those with troubled home environments, those who are lonely or lack success in their lives and who seek and find acceptance in the gang culture.

“In areas where gangs operate, the temptation, the peer pressure, the ‘easy’ money from drugs and the physical intimidation of young people can introduce fear, compliance in criminal acts and drug use into the lives of youth who might otherwise avoid such behavior….

“Parents may do their best and still see children fall victim to other forces, but no community program can ever really replace the home in solving the problem of gangs.”



DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Deviant behavior has been introduced into the school systems in a variety of ways. Most openly, by attempting to make these practices seem like they are merely”acceptable alternate life styles.” For example:

“School teachers in Madison, Wisconsin, are taught how they can integrate lesbian history into the public school curriculum. They are told in district-sponsored conferences that being gay is as acceptable as being heterosexual; that gay students need role models; that lesbian teachers in the district can provide those role models; and that those who disagree are ‘homophobic.’

“‘Subtlety is the key,’ the teachers are told. ‘Blatant, radical change only invites the negative reactions of Christian parents.’ The most effective way to incorporate homosexual ideas is through ‘the subtle introduction of terms, questions, stories involving lesbian couples and other hidden messages.’” (Focus on the Family Citizen, June 18, 1990, p. 10)

To see how far, how degenerate, and how brazen many have become, in the introduction of specific sex educational techniques in the classroom, one need only read the article printed in Education Reporter, in July of 1987, entitled: “‘Anatomical Dolls’ Stir Sex Ed Debate.”

Just a few years ago, a memorandum was sent out from the Los Angeles Unified School District, Office of Instruction, stating:

“On May 18, 1992, the Board of Education passed a resolution recognizing June of each year as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. The resolution is based on District policy contained in the “Educating for Diversity” document, which states as a District goal the development of “students who appreciate and respect diversity and understand the roles and contribution of people of diverse groups.” The document calls upon the District to include in the curriculum the historical and current role and treatment of homosexuals in society, “the contributions of gay and lesbian people in history and culture, and the current status of homosexuals as it relates to social policy, family diversity and human relations.” (Don Sills, Op. Cit., p. 1)

Other amoral behaviors are taught right in the classroom, in what are called “survival games.” These are killing games in disguise, a euthanistic, genocidal approach to solving problems. The students have to decide who will live and who will die. Writes author Dr. Murray Norris, president of Valley Christian University in Fresno, California:

“In one workshop for Oregon teachers, a group of teachers decided they would save a homosexual architect so he would be able to rebuild the world after a nuclear holocaust. At the same time, they would relegate to death, some other more normal person. Students playing the same game have given the same reason for saving the same person, while killing an older person they felt would not contribute as much to the community. Actually there is no real right answer to this game as all the answers are right when there is no right or wrong.

“These survival games, and other ‘reality’ games which teach cheating and bribery as part of everyday life, have come under fire by many parents. In Howard County, Maryland, the survival games have been dropped in public schools–that had provided them for children from kindergarten through grade twelve.” (“Weep For Your Children,” Op. Cit., p.8)

More appropriate for another study on the social, ethical, and moral trends of the nation would be the statistics of abortions, illegitimate births, crime, graft in high places, greed in low places, etc.–all of which are simply products of an educational system, inasmuch as people tend to behave according to what they believe. People believe in what they have been taught.




PERVERTED VALUES CLARIFICATION

One of the areas of greatest concern for many parents who have elected to take their children home, is to protect them from the teaching of perverted values. One of the most popular ways of doing this is a process called “situation ethics.” One of the best examples of this teaching technique is recommended in a manual called “Sex Education: Teacher’s Guide and Resource Manual,” produced by Planned Parenthood of Santa Cruz, California. One of their major stories is entitled “Alligator River.”

Here is that story quoted directly from their manual:

(This information taken from the California Monitor of Education, September, 1981, p. 7)

"The Alligator River" story is a widely used technique to help people clarify their values and become more aware of their own attitudes. It tends to be a fun way to initiate classroom discussion.

It seems that students face confusion on every side. In addition to discussing stories like the one above in class, they watch adults in high places appear determined to crush any desire a young person might have to obey parental admonitions and remain virtuous. In 1987 the National Education Association endorsed the distribution of contraceptives to students at school health clinics “in an effort to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy” (Ogden Standard Examiner, July 5, 1987, p. 10A).




SATANISM

One more area of “learning” that is growing by frightening proportions in the public school classroom, is the actual yet subtle study and teaching of Satanism. “An elementary reading textbook series called Impressions, published by Hold Rinehart and Winston of Canada, is alarming parents throughout the country. The curriculum celebrates witches in poems and encourages students to cast spells and find ‘familiar spirits.’ Some stories focus on violent death, while others have a New Age flavor. One story even centers on cannibalism. Artwork in the teacher’s edition is consistently dark and gruesome. Teachers are also advised in the guide that ‘there are no…universal truths.’ “Parents who complain to school boards about Impressions are told in several instances that the texts were part of an early Canadian edition not intended for the United States. But the offensive texts continue to appear in local school districts.

“A Northern California mother walked into her fifth-grader’s room during his school’s open house to find the youngsters gathered in a circle playing a Dungeons & Dragons-style game called The Wizard. The children cast spells on each other. A bulletin board explains the purpose of the game: to progress from one ‘spelling power’ level to the next. Humans are at the lowest end of the spectrum, having ‘very limited powers’ and ‘at the mercy of most monsters.’ Higher levels include enchanters, sorcerers, magicians and the Wizard.

“Shocked by what she saw, the parent questioned the teacher, who sees nothing wrong with the game. So, the mother began a lengthy curriculum challenge…. and the matter is still undecided.” (Focus on the Family Citizen, Op. Cit.)

No wonder parents–including former Secretary of Education, William Bennett–are crying out for sound moral education! His excellent symposium, as quoted in Insight Magazine, January 5, 1987, should be required reading for every teacher in public as well as private schools.


Summary of the Three Waves of Education

We have already demonstrated that generally there are three types of families who are extremely concerned for the welfare of their children’s education:


We have already demonstrated that generally there are three types of families who are extremely concerned for the welfare of their children’s education:

1. Those who were part of the first wave, desiring more control over the CONTENT OF CURRICULUM being taught;

2. Those who were part of the second wave, desiring a greater level of ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; and

3. Those who are part of the third wave, desiring an educational ENVIRONMENT free from violence and deviant behavior.

To further assess what parents are doing about these dangerous educational trends, we need to examine two vast groups who are steadily increasing in numbers across the entire nation: Home schooling families, and private schools.