"Cheer Cheer Cheer for the Highlanders"

This little guy is representative of the Scottish Unit from the band from my old High School in Lake Wales, FL  At that time, the band was under the direction of Mr. Tom Bishop.  Mr. Bishop composed our Alma Mater and arranged a couple of "fight" songs for football games and was really good at his job. Mr. Bishop (from all reports) was an excellent Band Director, which was evident from the quality of the band.  I can't recall how many years straight that the Band received  Superior ratings at District and State competitions. Not being able to play a note on any type of instrument any more complex than a comb and tissue paper, I never personally experienced being in the Band.  But those that were, loved it, loved him, loved the music, loved his marching programs, and just generally loved all the aspects of the Band. 

During the Football Season, the band would present a new half-time show put together by Mr. Bishop for every home game.  While they didn't play at every home game, the Scottish Unit (which was exactly what it sounds like....bagpipes and drums and kilts) would lead the band onto the field playing a Scottish song the name of which I cannot remember at the moment, but it was very stirring and I would get a lump in my throat every time they started on to the field.  The Scottish Unit had uniforms that were completely different from the regular band uniform and basically looked a lot like this little cartoon character. I can't recall the name of the tartan either, but it was black and yellow with a bit of green and red.  The jackets and vests that they wore were black with gold/yellow trim, as were the traditional Scottish hats they wore.  (Photo below, sorry its black and white.  You just don't get the same feel as when you see them in color.)  The rest of the band was in creme colored uniforms with gold/yellow trim, and quite impressive on their own, but never so stunning as when The Scottish Unit would be out in front, and the rest of the band was stretched from one side of the field to the other!  They were the most gorgeous band I have ever seen OR heard....simple wonderful. 

The Scottish Unit
circa 1963

Mr. Bishop passed away quite a while ago, but the legacy lives on.....the Alma Mater is the still the same, I believe, and the Scottish Unit and the rest of the band looks just as stunning as always!  I'm so glad it hasn't changed very much; there is no sense in messing with perfection!

The reason I am writing about this tonight is really quite simple.  This year's football team is about to take the field to play in one of the semi-final games to determine the State Championship for their level schools around the state.  Kick-off is just about now!

Go Highlanders!! I should be there to cheer you on in person (once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader!), I wish I was there, and even considered going, but in the end, the timing just wasn't right.  Nevertheless, I am there in spirit, watching with bated breath, shouting myself hoarse, and on pins and needles as the boys play their hearts out.   Hugs and kisses to the players (both old and new) and I will have my fingers crossed all evening thinking about you.  Do your best, guys!

And if Mr. Bishop was still with us, you could bet that at half-time, the band would inspire everyone as the Scottish Unit took the field!

UPDATE......

Sad to say the Highlanders lost,  I don't know the final score, but whatever it was it wasn't quite enough.  Don't feel bad team, there's always next year!!

"School Days"

Way back, a millennia or so ago, when I was in high school I did everything I could to avoid advanced math and advanced science classes.  As I may have mentioned a few hundred times, I'm not any good at math and I wasn't any good at it back then either!  I hated trying to understand anything to do with numbers.  Because I hated it, I did not even try very hard either.  (Shhhh, don't tell my mother!)  Somehow I managed to figure out that a lot of advanced science classes used a lot of advanced math. So why would I torture myself by taking calculus, or trig or chemistry, or physics?   All that was required for graduation in my high school was to take either a life science or a physical science, so I stuck with Biology.....no numbers!  In the math area I never had to take anything higher level than Solid Geometry (which was no snap, let me tell you!)  

Well anyway, I'm not sure if it was just the times, or that it was such a small town, or if I just blocked it out, but I don't recall ever hearing anything about a Science Fair or the like.  I certainly never did an individual major science project for any kind of competition or even NOT for any kind of competition.  That was just fine with me!  In fact, having to do something like that would have been my worst nightmare come true!

That was in high school, before that in Junior High (before Middle School was invented) and elementary school, math and science were much more basic and there were no Science Fairs there either.

But, oh my dears, times have changed!

I told you some months ago that M-t-G is in 6th grade this year and attending a Magnet Middle School with an advanced academic program for bright kids.  She is doing very well (for the most part "A"s).  She is even in an honors math class.  She loves math and does very well in it.  (She does not take after her Grammy in this regard!  Thank goodness!)  Each of her classes is challenging and for the first time she finds she has to work harder than she had to in grammar school.  This is a good thing, because she is finally being required to think and put some real effort into her classes.  Still she loves it (most of the time anyway.)

Last semester for her science class all the kids were required to undertake an individual project that they worked on all semester.  The assignment was to make a time-keeping device that would ring a bell consistently every 1-2 seconds (I think.)  They had to do everything themselves and could use only things from around the house.  They could spend no more than $10.  They had to keep a journal of their daily progress, then give an oral presentation of the plan, another presentation of the working device, and finally a written report outlining the whole project, the steps taken, the processes used, and give a demonstration of the working device.  Yikes!  

M-t-G elected to make a water clock!  (I didn't even know what a water clock was!)  It was made using a wooden wheel which turned on a spindle with little medicine cups attached all around the wheel to collect the water which was funneled from a 2 liter soda bottle through a tube, the water landed in the little cups which made the wheel turn.  It had 2 nails hammered into the wheel.  As the wheel turned the nails would, in theory, strike a small bell within the time constraints given.  

M-t-G had to research the project, choose the elements she would use, figure out how and where to place things, build it, make adjustments until it worked the way it was supposed to and document everything.  It was an enormous project for an 11 year old.  Even a bright one!  Parents were only to provide guidance and that is was T.A. and Ratchlet did.  M-t-G did everything herself.  It took every bit of time that was allowed and she encountered many challenges and problems along the way.  In fact, the first time she was to give a working demonstration, it did not meet the time interval requirement.  She then had 2 more days to try to fix it and to present it again.  She made some adjustments and when she went to present it for the class.....it worked!!  Because it didn't work the first time, she did not get an "A", but she got a B+ (I believe.)  And she learned a lot about perseverance and commitment, and water clocks!

She was close to despair a time or two along the way, but she kept at it until she got it right!  We were all very proud of her.  She had participated in Science Fairs when she was in grammar school but nothing of the same scope, originality, ingenuity, and creativity.  She worked hard and she made it come out right.  She made a working water clock at the age of 11 in the 6th grade.  May I just say WOW!  What a project and what an accomplishment!!  And most of all....what a kid!

I don't know about you, but I sure don't think "School Days" are what they used to be!

This semester they have to make a working musical instrument capable of making 8 tones that are tunable!   M-t-G has chosen to make a hammered dulcimer....


Oh my Lord!!

I was in the middle of writing a different blog post, when I heard the news about the school shooting in New Town, Conn.   Because there is not yet  much factual information about how or why this happened,  so this is my gut reaction without a lot of factual information to back it up.

The shootings took place at an elementary school....an ELEMENTARY school....where children between the ages of 5 and 11 go to school.  Something most all of us did when we were between 5 and 11. I don't know much about the situation other than 27 people are reported dead.  Apparently approximately 9 of them were adults; teachers, staff, and such.  That means that at least 18 of them were children.....children somewhere between the ages of 5 and 11.  Eighteen children, shot dead at school.  It is reported that there was one shooter, who is also dead.

It may be unfair and judgmental of me, but at this point, I don't give a rat's ass about that shooter.  I don't care if he was mentally ill.  I don't care if he was a lost soul.  I don't care about whatever happened in his life that brought him to a point where he made the choice to kill 18 young children and 9 others who probably were devoted to the education and preparation for the future of young children.  I don't care about him.

NOTHING in his life, or belief system, or background, mental condition or anything else could possibly explain or excuse why those 18 young children and the 9 others were killed today.  NOTHING!

All I can care about is that 18 children woke up this morning and went off to school just like any other day and just like millions of other children all around the world.  They went off to school with their books in hand, maybe with a lunch bag, possibly nervous about a test, or excited about a school event, or even hating school as kids are sometimes wont to do. Most of them were probably really excited that Christmas was coming in just eleven more days. They went off to school where they are supposed to be safe, protected, and normal.

How can this be happening again?  What kind of world is this we live in?  How will the parents, families, friends, teachers, other residents of that town ever survive the loss of those 18 innocent children??

They were young children.  They went off to school this morning, but they won't be coming home today....or ever again.

"I Never Knew"

I read somewhere a long time ago, that one of the things that keeps you "young" is continuing to learn new things to keep your mind active (or something like that.)   If I pay attention, I keep encountering things "I Never Knew."  So I thought I'd share a few of my most recent factual finds, after all, maybe you never knew either!  :)



1.  I find it amazing that Author and Playwright of the Pulitzer prize winning drama, "Our Town", Thornton Wilder (born 1897) was actually three years YOUNGER than Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev (born 1894)!  Somehow they don't really seem like they could even be part of the same era!  A fact that I had to ponder for a while to accept that it could be true!  But it was!



2.  Have you ever heard of an  in·ter·ro·bang??  Me neither.  Although I am a reasonably well-educated and well-read person, I had never stumbled across this word.  But Webster tells me it is a real word!  Who knew there was such a thing?

Oh, you want to know what it means?  Well, of course you do!


An interrobang is a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), " indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question."  Hmmmm, seems like it would be very useful and should have appeared in printed materials a lot, don't you think‽    So, how come I've never seen it before‽‽  (That's definitely a rhetorical question.)



3.  This one is not so much of a surprise, considering how little I watch TV or go to the movies, still.....anybody still remember the original television production of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" from 1961 with Leslie Ann Warren as Cinderella?  I remember seeing it on our small (no more than 17 inches, tops) screen TV when I was about 14 years old.   I thought Lesley Anne was a beautiful Cinderella and I think I fell for the prince, just like she did!  :)  I love the music too....."In My Own Little Corner".... "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"...."Ten Minutes Ago."    Perfect songs for Cinderella and not nearly so cutesy as the Disney version's "Bibbetdy Boppitdy Boo"  or "Cinderelly."  But until this week, I never knew there was another very well done production of Roger's and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" made in 1997 with Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Alexander, and Brandi, in the title role. The Prince was played by Paulo Montalban, a particular appealing young man!  It was made with color-blind casting which I find disconcerting visually.  Nevertheless once you get past that (in just a few minutes),  I think it was actually better than the original!  Film for television has come a long way since 1961!  If you've never seen it either, the film is on YouTube and only about 90 minutes long.  And there isn't a singing mouse in either version!!






4.  Now this is not a great revelation of some factual tidbit, but this one rocked me anyway....I found out that my husband, the Big Guy, with both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree, the fellow who enjoys reading as much as the rest of us in the family, the man who knows a lot about a lot of diverse and interesting things, the guy I have been married to for 46 years...... has never read "To Kill a Mockingbird!"   Never‽‽  Not only that (and this is really hard for me to believe), but neither has he seen the movie!!!  How is this possible ‽‽   One of the most influential and well-written books of the 20th Century, and he never read it!  Wow!  Talk about "rock my world!!"    


[Did you see the interrobangs?  I really am surprised they never caught on!]






So, have you learned anything new lately?  Want to share??  Go ahead!  You know you want to!!!  lol!


Class dismissed.....

"Sounds of Silence"

Even if you don't have any children, you probably noticed new school supplies in the stores for the last couple of months.  Yep, according to most school districts, summer ends sometime between August 15 and September 6,  when it's back to school.  Parents of school age kids trot off to Wal-Mart or Target or wherever, list in hand, to pick up the paper, glue sticks, rulers, protractors (do they still use protractors??  Do you even remember what a protractor looks like???  Or what you do with one??), notebooks, pencils, markers, erasers, and so on for the little darlings.  Oh, and don't forget a new pencil box!

I used to love helping Ratchlet get her supplies together.  It was fun to see all the new colors and designs and gadgets that come out each year.  Picking out a new lunch box (they never last more than one school year!) and new school clothes (even if it's just the school uniform in a larger size!),  all of it was fun, but then I only had one child.  I don't know how multiple-child families do it!  Just the logistics of doubling or tripling (or more) all those things and keeping it all straight so that Susie and her brother don't get their stuff mixed up (oh Heaven forbid!....."Mo-ooom! Make Susie get her cooties off of my new Darth Vader lunch box!!!")....I shudder to think!

Every year kids get older and the supplies get more complicated and more expensive!  No more lunch box, now it's calculators and laptops.  The sneakers they "must" have cost more than all the stuff from previous years put together!  Oh my, the mind reels!

It's a ritual and process that every family with kids goes through for a whole lot of years!!  A huge chunk of their lives is spent in school....from pre-school to kindergarten to grammar, middle, and high schools, then some go on to college (where it gets REALLY expensive....start saving the day you find out you are pregnant!  Trust me on this!).  Let me reiterate, every year costs more than the year before....pre-school crayons are cheap....college textbooks are NOT!
You will learn that EVERYONE applies for financial aid for college.  There is no shame in applying!  I've even heard that some people actually GET money!  Not us you understand, but some people.  Did I mention that it gets REALLY expensive??!

Of course, then if your kids make it through those four years and aren't totally sick of school, they could even choose to pursue a Master's degree and then.... (oh help!).....a Doctorate!!  We won't even mention Dental, Medical, or Law School!!  If your child chooses that route it's time to take out that 2nd mortgage because you will have used up all your money paying for college and grad school!

Now if you have raised your kids right, (meaning they understand that you are NOT Fort Knox), somewhere along the way they will take on at least partial responsibility for their education costs and will get a job AND apply for loans (which they will then pay off for the rest of their lives!).

Once you get to that point the end is in sight.  Usually by the time they are in their mid-to late twenties their school days are over and the financial drain on the Bank of Mom and Dad dwindles to a halt!  They are educated and on their way! They have an actual job, with an actual salary!!  And mom and dad can suddenly afford to buy steaks again!  Oh happy day!

Whether there is one child or six children, eventually the family reaches the point when all their kids are....dare I say it??....grown up. They have moved on.  They have moved out.  When the last one takes that very last box filled with whatever has been hiding in the back of his closet for the last 20 years, the house will echo every sound, the house suddenly loses its color and verve! Mostly what you hear are " The Sounds of Silence" 

You worry, you cry, will he really be able to take care of himself by himself?  He can't even find the clothes hamper most of the time!  Mom will decide to make one last sweep to make sure nothing was forgotten. "Oh,look, he forgot a sock!!  Well, I'll just drive to Denver from Miami to get his favorite sock back to him!! I can check on him and make sure he's all right, but it won't seem like I'm hovering exactly, 'cause he's gonna want that sock...Right???"  Yeah, right.

 After you've gotten past those first few weeks of empty nest, it won't take long before you turn his room into a crafts room, and you're looking at brochures for getaway weekends....or CRUISES! Then at some point he'll come back for an extended visit, and oh my word, you'll wonder how you ever lived with the noise!!

It's a long and winding road, getting those kids educated, raised to be responsible and functional adults. But the pay-off is worth every penny, every headache, every worry. Courage, my dears, you will survive, as will they. 

And looking back, you will be proud!