Why My Class Didn’t Recite the Pledge of Allegiance

The short answer is that I didn’t know why, exactly. It did not begin as some sort of ideological stand, and it didn’t have to do with the ‘God’ thing, at least not directly.
It began with a conference with a family before the start of the school year. Their daughter had been homeschooled, but she [...]

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4. I have a sensitive stomach.

(if you do too, you might want to skip this post)
I don’t really like peas very much. Mostly my mom gets the sweet little ones, which are ok, but sometimes she buys the mushy ones on accident. I hate those. I also don’t like the crunchy skin part of a baked potato. One time [...]

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My Political Compass

Even though I am a socially liberal, live-and-let-live type, I have always been what you might consider conservative in most things economic and in how I’ve chosen to live my life. In politically heated debate, I am often the token liberal in the conversation, perhaps mainly because I like open-minded debate, and do not necessarily [...]

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The Supernatural Washing Machine

Did you know that there is a washing machine out there that can actually supply drinking water? I didn’t think so either until I saw this advertisement in the Chicago Tribune:
“A Bosch washer could supply a lifetime of drinking water for 67 million people.”
This kind of advertising drives me nuts. It is more than a [...]

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3. Snapshots

Patty was in a car accident. She had a light blue car called a Bug and a big truck came and hit her in that little car. She has a scar underneath her eye and sometimes a little piece of glass will come up out of that scar. I guess the doctors couldn’t get all [...]

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A Fish Tale

Several months ago the National Geographic featured a picture from photographer Edward Burtynsky’s project titled, succinctly enough, “China.” It was of the inside of a poultry processing plant – hundreds of workers, all in pink scrubs, blue aprons, shower caps, plastic gloves and masks, each working over a plastic tub of chicken parts. At [...]

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School Prayer, Part Two. The End.

After posting about the school prayer issue in Illinois, my sister mentioned to me that her attorney friend was a little skeptical about my argument. He noted that the establishment clause simply prohibits the official establishment of any particular religion over another (B, let me know if I’ve got this wrong). I appreciate all reasoned [...]

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2. The Big Woods

Bonnie and I were smooshed up in the backseat of daddy’s car and we were driving at night. We were going to Wisconsin! It was nighttime and it was the darkest it could be. Then there was a problem with the car. The lights went out and then it was so dark you couldn’t see [...]

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1. Piano Lessons and Ice Cream

Early memories. Possibly part of an ongoing project.
I get piano lessons once a week. Mommy takes me and we drive there. Mrs. McNally gives me my lessons. Her piano is downstairs in her basement and we go down there for the lessons. I sit on the bench and Mrs. McNally sits next to me. She [...]

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Shhhh…I’m having a moment of silence.

While the Illinois legislature could have been doing other things like, I don’t know, BALANCING THE BUDGET, two weeks ago it passed a law mandating a moment of silence in all public schools. As a person who has been in the trenches of the public school system, I can say unequivocally that silence can be [...]

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