Random Photos from Mother's Day

I Know It is Here Somewhere

Sharing!  Remember?

Got It Together

I Am Smiling

Don't Make Me Laugh--I'm Near the Water

Mothers

Mother and Children

Thinking of Sailing Away?

And Poppop gets Stuck Carrying the Driftwood

I was reviewing the many photos taken during our Mother's Day excursion to the State Capitol and decided to share some of them. They are all pretty good--but these were special. Chris took all of the ones that she is not in.  I took those.

Zero Tolerance is an Abuse of Justice

There, I wrote it.

I have written it before, although  maybe not so direct in Zero Tolerance is for Computers.

In the name of zero tolerance, mindless people in positions of authority blindly apply directives without regard for what makes us different from any other animal or plant on the planet: the ability to reason.

Today, I submit an article from yesterday's Baltimore Sun titled: Two Easton lacrosse players suspended under zero-tolerance policies.

Let me summarize the article for you--but I encourage you to read it for yourself.

Two high school lacrosse players were found to have contraband--a pen knife and a lighter in their lacrosse gear bags during a search of the players for alcohol before a game.  The items, as confirmed by the coaches, were used to repair their sticks during matches.  The boy with the pen knife, Graham, was handcuffed and charged as a juvenile with possession of a deadly weapon and suspended for 10 days.  The other boy, Casey, was suspended for one day for having a lighter which was classified by the school as an explosive device.

Another Baltimore Sun article summarizes the situation as follows:
"Talbot County residents are no doubt sleeping easier after the school system used a policy of zero tolerance for deadly weapons to crack down on two high school lacrosse players who were caught with a small penknife and a lighter used to repair their sticks. However, we feel it important to warn them that they still may not be safe. After all, we hear that the baseball and softball players bring dozens of long, aluminum clubs with them to games and practices. For that matter, children as young as kindergarten routinely carry sharp, wooden sticks, and there are even special machines in virtually every classroom to hone these "pencils" to murderous points."

Here is the problem--on the sidelines of lacrosse matches coaches and officials considered these to be tools of the sport. In the equipment bags on the bus headed to the game they were considered contraband by a school official.

The ramifications of the actoons of the principal on these boys' future college careers could be significant, by having to report a suspension on their applications.  Further aggravated by the school superintendent's letter to Graham's parents which read: ""Given the severity of this violation expulsion is warranted," she wrote to the family in a letter in April. But because of extenuating circumstances, she said, she would allow the student to return to school after 10 days."

Really?

This is mindless application of rules without engaging the brain.

And people wonder why educators (think about this for a moment), are held in low esteem by many people.  The very people who should be advocating for the application of reason and common sense are the very ones mindlessly applying rules without thinking--is a pen knife in a lacrosse bag really a dangerous weapon for which a high school senior should be suspended? Especially when it is used as a tool and has been approved for use as a tool by other educators (the coaches)?  And then the superintendent writes a letter like what was written.

And don't forget--Graham served the entire suspension (missing valuable teaching time) while his parents attempted to appeal after being given erroneous information about not being able to appeal. So whether he is cleared or not and ultimately gets his record expunged--the punishment was served.

Casey is also working to get his record expunged, too. The school handbook, reportedly, does not define a lighter as an explosive device.

What is the message here?

Maybe going to college makes people dumber?

No the real message is that we need to be able to apply rational thinking to situations and not hide under a zero tolerance policy.

Reflections on Annapolis

Annapolis Statehouse

Annapolis

Standing on the very end of the piers Sunday where Annapolis drops off into the river and out into the bay, I was reminded of the quaint beauty of the capitol city of Maryland. Looking back on the Capitol Building as the dark clouds were gathering behind it, yet it was still in bright sunshine we a scene to remember--and we snapped enough images of it to hopefully remember it anyway.

The streets were crowded with shoppers and walkers and the occasional Navy-whites clad academy students making their way through the crowd.

It was pleasant.

The traffic was snarled, as it usually is but no one seemed to mind to much--that is just the way it is. Annapolis is like that. Don't go there is you worry about getting snarled in traffic--you will.

Sunday, Mother's Day, a day to remember.

Monday Musings - May 9, 2011

1. A day to remember Mother's.  And I realized--for a lot of people there is pain associated with the day. Raw emotions of loss and emotions of not being able to have.  Yet we are all children and it is a necessary time to remember Moms.

2.  A week later and he is still in the news--Osama bin Laden-that just tells me how much he affected all of us in his hatred for our way of life and the threat he posed.

3. I saw the locust trees were in bloom along the road and I remarked to Chris that I hadn't seen them around the house yet. But, as we returned last evening after the day in Annapolis, I smelled their sweet fragrance on the breeze and knew that while I hadn't seen them, they were still there.

4. Chris and I remarked while driving yesterday that the leaves have fully filled in the blank spaces of the trees. Spring has done its job and we are ready for summer. If only the temperatures would cooperate.

5. I have to brag a bit, as Chris and I were driving to Annapolis yesterday with the top down on the convertible, she looked at me and remarked: "I love this car on days like this."

6. I love the car every day--yesterday was just the icing on the cake.

7. Another reflection on yesterday's adventure: the day had every marking of a catastrophe in the making, nine people in four different vehicles with occupants on four different missions all coming together in a small crowded city to spend time together shopping and wandering around. BUT--amazingly, it worked, really well. Congrats to all. And dinner was a good choice, too. Next year, let's try to be a bit more green! But, maybe it worked because everyone knew they could pull out at anytime and no one felt trapped in a bad situation they could not extricate themselves from. And as it turns out--it wasn't bad.

8. Just a note on the Orioles. That sucking sound coming from Camden Yards is the Orioles season going down the drain unless they can figure out how to score more than 2.3 runs per game (last three games). For the season, the pitchers ERA is 4.77 and the batters are only scoring 3.91 runs per game--someone tell me how that is going to work out at the end of the season. I'm not a genius--but I can see that the math does not add up.

9. Discovered while shopping yesterday: there is one thing I do like to shop for and that is wine. Especially when samples are offered!

10. Coolest thing discovered when shopping yesterday--Himalayan Mineral Salt--it is a nice shade of pink.

Annapolis on Mother's Day

A Mom is Always "On Call"

The crew was together enjoying the day. I got to buy some wine as we enjoyed the city.

Cameras flashing and the mothers in the group were enjoying their special day.

It was a beautiful day

Mother's Day - 2011

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere.

I had the experience of going to the mall yesterday to get a gift for my love and the mother of my children--and I can report that even though I was there early--the mall was under siege by hundreds of other men, many with small children, who were similarly trying to find the perfect last minute gift.

The store I was in actually was using a sign in sheet to control the crowd and ensure fair service.

I got a bit behind the power curve this year and I was reminded why I like internet shopping better.  No lines and I don't have to leave home.

But I procrastinated.

Ugh.

Even so, happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere.

I hope your day meets all of your expectations.

Saturday

What is it about Saturdays?

They seem to be full of so much promise and potential that I hate to waste even a moment. But then, I also love the idea that I don't have to be anywhere in the morning and can watch the Today Show, drink coffee, rread the paper, surf the web, and take a couple hours to just soak it all in befire charging off on some mission to buy stuff to complete a project and keep myself busy the rest of the day.

Of course if i get bored, I can always go shopping. Like that is something I would ever look forward to doing.

But I am lucky.

The rhythm of my week is generally Monday to Friday with weekends off. So I can plan my weekend inactivity.

Others, do not have such a luxury. Someone has to work weekends, and nights. Their weekly rhythm is very different and perhaps changes every week or so. I wonder how they adapt to the differences and if they feel as if the world does not consider their contributions since they are outside the normal view of work and life? Although--from my experience being on vacation a couple of weeks ago I can report that shopping on a Tuesday is far more pleasant than fighting the Saturday crowds.

So as I sit here planning my Saturday, oblivious to the sacrifices of those who allow me to be relaxed and complacent, I need to pause for a moment to consider the health care professionals, the police and firemen, the military and civilians in the DoD who are standing guard or who are on watch protecting our borders, and even the postal person who will bring the mail later today so I can get my weekly edition of Time magazine before it goes on sale in the stores--I have it good.

The birds are cheering the dawning of the day outside my window--so I really need to get moving.

I love Saturdays.

Insurance--Legally Required Rip-off

I've been on a slow burn at my insurance company for a while now. It seems that despite the economic realities of recessions and declining income that insurers have decided that since insurance is required--home and auto, they can continue to raise rates.

I was shocked to find that my home insurance increased $200 last year AND they tacked on a surcharge for having a "history" of claims.  Really? Isn't that what insurance is for? Yes, we were vandalized in 2008--robbed even, although officially is it listed as being vandalized. We were the victims! And we are still being victimized--by the insurance company. That is the only claim I've filed on my homeowners insurance that I have had with them for over ten years.  Someone needs to explain how a single event becomes a history of claims.  Maybe a history of "claim" but there certainly can be no plural.

It really bugs me when I see ads on TV for my insurance company--and then realize that's what they are doing with my premium money--buying airtime to increase the customer base--which increases the risk and ultimately makes my rates continue to increase.

I called them to inquire about the surcharge and the rate increase. You know that I received that standard "blah, blah, blah" answer.

Here is the rub--when I surveyed the other insurers--I couldn't do enough better in savings to make it worthwhile to go through the pain of changing from the company which has insured my family for more than 30 years.

But they have broken the faith with me.

Then my auto insurance renewed.  Ugh. Another modest increase because the annual mileage on one of my vehicles increased.  Why does it never seem to go down?

I surveyed other auto insurers and found that my policy is the most aggressively priced--even Geiko couldn't beat it--if you can believe that.  And State Farm was incredibly high by comparison.

And so I'm trapped--stuck with a company which I increasingly do not trust and would dearly like ot stop doing business with, but economics keeps us together.

Kind of like China buying so much US debt--we would love not to have China buying our debt--but then we keep creating debt.

As long as insurance is required, I will continue to be a policy owner--but I will continue to aggressively search for he better deal. It is out there, somewhere!

Cinco de Mayo

It is the fifth of May--and a huge holiday for North America.

It is my favorite foreign holiday--but in reality it should be a US holiday as well because of what our Mexican brothers did for all of us in throwing off the chains of colonial aggression in 1862.

Read about it at Cinco de Mayo.

Happy Cinco de Mayo--and may all your tequila be smooth.

Outdoor Living

It finally happened this year.

Martha Stewart Lily Bay Outdoor Living

We found an outdoor living suite which we both agreed upon and in a moment of insanity or lucidity, we purchased the outdoor living furniture of our dreams to install under the deck next to our beloved, albeit underused, tiki bar.

As some know, it arrived yesterday at the house, unannounced, in three huge boxes which I needed to zip home and get out of the rain. Yes it is outdoor furniture so that dampness should not be a problem, but I hate playing with wet Chinese cardboard. Yes, it was made in and shipped from China.

The area looks fantastic and if we can keep the mosquitoes away long enough to actually enjoy sitting out there when the temperatures finally begin to stabilize somewhere above 75 degrees, I can imagine bottles of wine consumed with friends under the dancing light from the tiki torches as the evening falls and the bats begin playing in the air above the open space the is the pool.

It was too cold last evening to enjoy the newness for more than just a few minutes.

But my mind was full of visions of the future and the pool is open. All that is missing is--warmth!

But summer is coming! At least that is what the calendar says and we are ready for its arrival a bit more each day.