Going to the Dogs

Okay, I'm going to get on my soapbox. It's because of this story on KTBS: "An 11-year-old Shreveport boy was injured today when he intervened in a fight between the family Boxer and their new puppy."

It seems like every other day these people are telling us about some poor dog that has to be put to sleep because it is now dangerous. This is certainly a tragic story. Don't get me wrong, I'm deeply sorry that the child was hurt, that the puppy died, and that the Boxer was euthanized. My gripe with this is with the news station.

If you feel like this is REAL news that you must bring to your viewers (and I would question that), please do not show me the film of the animals. I have a real soft spot for dogs and it breaks my heart to see the boxer being led to his death (NOT pictured on this post). Can't you just report the story without the picture of the dog? Show me your interviews, if you must, but don't show me this family pet about to be killed. It smacks of yellow journalism to me. Yes, I know I can quit watching your station, I don't HAVE to look at it.

I really do hope this child recovers from his horrible physical and emotional ordeal. I also hope KTBS reviews their ethics standards.

(Photo credit: Puppydogweb.com)

Thoughts on Mount Everest and K2

I was scanning the New York Times online this morning and came across this story. It caught my attention because it reminded me of Into Thin Air, the book by Jon Krakauer of the 1996 disaster on Everest, which led me to think about my favorite podcast ever, The Rest of Everest by Jon Miller. Jon tells the story of Ben Clark, who was attempting to be the youngest American to summit Everest. I won't reveal how it came out, but the podcast is great! Jon went on the climb with Ben (he didn't make the full climb - Jon stayed at Base Camp most of the time, venturing up to the higher camps a few times) and they made a documentary of the adventure called Everest: The Other Side which Jon was kind enough to send to me. The documentary was aired on Dish Network. I use the documentary in my classroom when we read the "Into Thin Air" excerpt in my class. Ben's story is a wonderful story about setting your goals and doing what you have to do to reach them. So much more than a mountain climbing story and such a totally different look at Everest than was portrayed in Krakauer's book!

Looking at the photo of this mountain, I still can't fathom what makes a person say "Hey! I want to climb that!" I am terrified of heights, I hate cold weather, and I hate grueling exercise. So, this is obviously not for me. My students often ask me why someone would want to put their life in such jeopardy. As Ben Clark said, "The depth of the experience will always be greater than the height of the summit." From watching Jon's documentary, it is obvious there is a lot of camaradarie in mountain climbing - it's a real community of climbers up there. In fact, at the end of that documentary and especially the podcast, I felt like I knew those people myself.

Take a few minutes and check out Jon's site, linked above, and especially watch his podcast if you can. Even if you aren't an "Everest person" it's a great look at the culture of Nepal and Tibet, and you will learn something. The photography is over-the-top beautiful.

Photo credit: European Pressphoto Agency

Hoppy Bird Day!

A big 'ol happy birthday shout out to Sheryl; I totally heart you!!!!

The Wailing Wall

This is just a WTF moment for me. It's not just me, it's my neighbor too. Otherwise I might think I'm being overly critical. In fact, my neighbor Donny is the one who raised this eyesore to a new level for me. Ever since he mentioned it to me TWO YEARS AGO it's been a pet peeve. This green WALL, wait, no -- this PARTIALLY green wall is the gateway to my neighborhood. It belongs to a Mexican restaurant at the end of the street. On more than one occasion Donny and I have threatened to sneak down there in the dark of night and paint the whole thing ourselves (and we probably would NOT choose baby-puke green). While we're at it, I might take my hedgeclippers and chop down the tangle of growth at the end of the thing. Jimmy Hoffa could be in there.

Dear Mexican Restaurant: I just wonder if someone could tell me at what moment do you decide, "I'm not going to finish painting this wall." You ran out of paint? Here's my Sears card - go get some more! This has been like this for TWO YEARS! Do you seriously not see this when you drive into the parking lot each day? Does this not reflect in a negative fashion on your restaurant? Do you not CARE what your neighbors think of you? PAINT THE WALL!

Hollyhockalleujah!

My hollyhocks are blooming! I had heard that they would not bloom the first year, but this is apparently a myth. I totally love hollyhocks. I always admired Sheryl's hollyhocks in Iowa and at Liberty Hall they had gorgeous ones as well. I don't see so many of them around Shreveport, but I'm sure they are here and I am simply unobservant. Hooray for hollyhocks! (And yes, I know they are poisonous to dogs, but unless Checkers can unlock the gate, she can't get to them, and she can't unlock the gate because she doesn't have thumbs.)

Band Banter

I just got my tickets for the Air Force Band of the West concert for August 13. Steve and I take our cheap thrills where we can get them and these free concerts are really a lot of fun. Our first experience with this was last summer when we went to see the 156th Army Band at the Strand. We had dinner at Nanking first and then took balcony seats in the theater for the concert. It was really great! There was lots of patriotic Sousa type marches as well as, and our favorite, a Big Band ensemble. There was a great crowd there. It was Myron Turner’s farewell concert and at the end the band presented him with gifts.

Our second trip was this spring when we went to see the USAF Falconaires perform at a local high school auditorium. We loved this one. They played a LOT of big band music, which we both love. An elderly gentleman sat next to me and his toe was tapping the whole time! They had a female vocalist, TSgt Christina Saalborn, and she was awesome. The best part of that concert was Louis Prima’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” in which the drummer MSgt. Christopher Gaona played an extended drum solo that blew me away. If you sit still to that song, there is something wrong with you; in fact you are probably dead. The band, in a humorous gesture, walked off stage in mock-disgust during the drum solo because it was so long, but it was a class act – they just wanted to highlight MSgt Gaona’s performance.

Recently we saw the 156th Army Band again at the Strand and they added a rock ensemble to the show which was different. Because Steve and I are old-fogeys at heart, we liked the Big Band ensemble better, but it was still fun.

One thing they all do is near the end of the concert, they will play the songs for each military service branch. If you have served you are supposed to stand up when they play your song. There are always lots of Air Force folks around here and lots of them stand up. Lots of Army folks. Very few Coast Guard people here! Steve has a lot of fun with this because he gets to stand up twice (Air Force AND Army) and people look at him funny.

I’m excited to see what the AF Band has in store for us next week! If you want to join us, get your free tickets from The Shreveport Times.

Summer in the City

Look at this weather forecast! I'm the first person to jump up and broadcast how much I love summer, and I do, but this is ridiculous! My grass is shriveling up and begging for water; the sprinkler is no longer up for the job. I went to Albertsons yesterday and my tennis shoes stuck to the asphalt, and let's not even talk about how hot it gets in my car! The AC in my house runs almost constantly and I don't even have it set that low. Even Checkers balks at going outside in the late afternoon. And NO, it is NOT "global warming"! I've lived in Louisiana all my life and it ALWAYS gets this hot in August! Bah!

As much as I love summer, I'm starting to anticipate the first nip of fall in the air, the first leaves drifting to the pavement, the first gumbo weather! Sweaters! Jackets! LSU Football! It's coming!

I guess this is the perfect opportunity for me to settle in and get that last bit of prep work for school done because THAT will be here long before the fall weather gets here!

Tea Time

Steve and I went to eat at Yeero, Yeero tonight. It's only 103 degrees outside today so I decided to boycott the kitchen. Thus, Yeero, Yeero. A nice Greek salad sounded really good, but to be honest, the main reason I go there is for the Exotic Iced Tea. It rocks! Through the years we have asked a parade of servers for the recipe but it is apparently closely guarded. We surmised on our own that it was just iced tea with raspberry jello dumped in there, but of course, we are morons.

The closest we've come to breaking anyone down about it was our last server who told us it is a secret mixture of those flavorings they put over snow cones. He said they use raspberry (we were RIGHT!) and banana and cherry.... It is just embarrassing how many times the server has to come refill my glass. I will NEVER be able to duplicate this at home! But trust me, it's the best tea you'll ever drink.

Check out Checkers

Meet Checkers. She pretty much rules the house; well no, that's not true. My teenager rules the house but that's another story. Checkers is a Boston Terrier/French Bulldog mix and she is a sweetie. Checkers is pretty smart and understands several human phrases. For example, if you say, "Do you wanna treat?" she will run to the kitchen and jump up and down in front of the cookie jar. This means "Yes, give me a treat NOW!".

She also understands, "Do you wanna go for a walk?" When you say this she will run to the back door and jump up and down in circles.

The best part is when you say "Kitty kitty kitty!" Then she will run to the front window and bark madly, moan and wail. It's great.

Her favorite is "You ready to go to bed?" at which time she will jump on the bed and paw at the covers until she is completely underneath. She will also respond to "Go get your toy!" which means it's time to play fetch or tug of war.

Whenever I'm working on the computer she will jump in the wicker chair behind me and sleep, snoring of course, and doing that dog-twitch thing. I told her I was going to put her on the internet and she snorted at me and then demanded a treat. Like I said, she pretty much rules the house.

Hello Blogosphere!

This is just what the world needs! Another Blog! Yes, I have decided to join the flock and join the blogosphere. In fact, I'm also going to start, once I get the hang of this, a professional blog. That will come later. Much later, probably. Here, you can expect to find my random observations of life as I see it, which might include anything from what Checkers did today (that's my dog), political observations (I know, but I can't help it sometimes; I will try to behave), what's happening around town that's interesting, what I'm reading.... In other words, at this point, I'm keeping the door open as to where this blog might go. You NEVER know what you will find. I also will eventually post links to some of my favorite blogs (I have a few!) So, be patient with me as I learn my way around here and come back in a bit and see what has developed.