time flying by

I haven't posted since October. The days fly by. Josey is now 15 months old, and is more fun daily. She loves to get dressed a bit earlier than her mom in the mornings, and then go with me out in the garage or the yard (depending on the weather) to play. She loves the dogs, and if she's sad, all I have to do at my house is let dog Gracie come in the house. Josey understands more every day, and sometimes will follow commands, like "bring me your shoes", but not always. She also communicates her wants better, and knows to point now, thank God. Yesterday we lunched with Lana, and Riley was there. It's easy to see Josey's going to wart Riley for years.

my favorite little spook

Seeing Our President!
When I learned President Obama would be in College Stations speaking in October, I tried several ways to get tickets and had no luck. Then on Thursday, 10/15, I got a call from Sondra Haltom at the Texas Democratic Party saying I had the opportunity to have 2 tickets. I was so excited. My daughter Laney wanted to take 1-year-old Josey, but they wouldn’t allow that – too distracting. So I took the 18-year-old granddaughter of Lois Brown, a strong local Democrat who also had 2 tickets, for herself and her daughter – so 3 generations of that family saw Obama. I later learned that I got my tickets because Bill Holcombe, of Crockett, couldn’t use his and asked that they offer them to me. I’ll owe him always.
It was a long afternoon. We picked up our tickets at the College Station Mall by 12:30 p.m. and got in line for the buses that would take us all to Rudder Tower. The buses started running at 2. At Rudder we surrendered all hand-held items to be searched, and we walked through scanners. I was glad I’d left my pocket knife in my truck. We were in our seats by 3, and Rudder Auditorium was full. I was lucky in that we were very close to the stage, only about 12 rows back.
We were first entertained by a delightful Aggie a cappela singing group called Apotheosis, and that alone was worth the trip. At the end of everything, I think it was the Aggie Singing Cadets that sang patriotic songs, and again, that was wonderful.
George Bush Sr. talked first. I was amazed at how tottery he was, and he walked with a cane. Then President Obama spoke. Neither dwelt on politics, and both were very complimentary and supportive of the other. They talked about community service and giving of oneself. One of my favorite things came at the end. They were on a raised platform, stepping up or down about a step above the stage – and Bush and Bob Gates had been seated to the left of the microphone on that platform while Obama spoke. They began exiting to the right, with Obama ahead. After he stepped down, he paused and waited for Bush Sr. and took him gently by the elbow to steady him, and they walked off the stage that way.
It had been a very long afternoon – we weren’t allowed food or drinks in the buses or Rudder. As we left Rudder, most of us were disappointed that the buses weren’t waiting. We waited impatiently for about 15 minutes, getting crankier. Then from behind us to the left we heard sirens on that street, and we turned to see 3 police escort vehicles followed by 2 SUVs with flags on the corners, and then more vehicles – and we realized it was our President and Bush, and we then understood why the buses weren’t there yet. Security had closed down the streets until Obama and Bush Sr. had departed campus. Everyone relaxed more and waited.
There were protestors across the street and to the right, but I’m not sure if they were ever seen or heard by the President. There were also Aggies protesting the protestors. One sign said, “Free Nelson Mandella” (a little late) and another, my favorite, said, “Make awkward inappropriate sexual advances, not war.”
It was a truly grand day.

a symbol of my youth has died

Mary Trevors, of the 1960's singing group "Peter, Paul, and Mary", died last Wednesday, Sept. 16, of leukemia - age 72. The group's songs used beautiful harmonies despite the turmoil of the protest movements. To me, lots of their songs are classics for my generation.

fun times

Josey is gradually getting over her latest respiratory infection. She's getting so mobile! She's really not too happy unless she's down in the floor moving around, and I love to be there with her. She eats supper at my house pretty often, and I love it when she does -- I hope that continues throughout her life. She is so much fun, and I really love it when I pick her up and she lays her little head down on my shoulder! Last night she was standing on the floor in front of the couch, beside her mother, and she leaned over against Laney's leg and let go with both hands, standing there probably for a minute and a half with no hands! Watch out world, here she comes soon!

blessed rain!

Yesterday afternoon we received just a hair under 2 inches of rain, in less than an hour's time! I celebrated by burning feed sacks. I'd been reading Elmer Kelton's book, The Time It Never Rained, and it was so realistic and true-to-my-daily-life that I had to put it away for a while - maybe now I can finish it. I really like his writing and can't believe I've never read any of his work before. We got .3 of an inch more of rain during the night, and it looks like today will be wet too - thank God!

Laney and Josey arrived during the rain, since the wind was blowing hard. Laney had pulled off her denim blazer and wrapped it over Josey in her arms to keep her dry - but Josey didn't like her head covered so had uncovered the top of her head. When she came in the door, her little head was soaked and her hair so cute and curly, and she had such a grin on her face - it looked like she too knew the rain was a wonderful thing. Lana decided Sunday to teach her to raise her hand and give folks a high five (and then we clap and cheer), and she's doing it constantly now, and loves it. She's such a joy!

36th year in education

Monday, August 24, marks my 36th one to begin as an educator - hard to believe. It seems like at least half of the parents that come in to register students were also students of mine before.

Josey, Laney, and I went to B/CS yesterday to the annual horsemen's market & to shop. Josey has 2 new top teeth. It was a fun day.