Sunday, May 31, 2009

Freedom To Homeschool Listed As Factor In Survey Of Freedoms

Folks who know me know that I love my home state of Colorado. I love its flag, its history, and its geography. More importantly, I love the freedom we have to homeschool our kids, which showed up in a university's survey of freedoms, going state by state. According to this article from the Grand Junction Sentinel, Colorado is "in a virtual tie with New Hampshire and South Dakota to be the most free state in the union." Not to do too much patting on the back here, but that's one thing I am very proud of. It's also one thing we have to guard very closely. The defense of freedom starts with words in print and words in speech and eventually ends with words in action.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Freedom Of Speech Isn't The Issue In T.V. Feud

Family Guy and Two and a Half Men are two of the funniest shows on television. I've seen them and they are hilarious, but I can also state that they're also two of the raunchiest. So when the Parents Television Council notices and takes action, why are they surprised, let alone offended?

Yet offended they are, and they've fired their own shots in return. The problem is that they don't stick. Funny or no, I don't let Family Guy or 2.5 Men in the house. There's a difference between being funny and being good funny. Good funny is being funny without resorting to titilating and embarrasing their viewers. There are plenty of funny shows, but there aren't nearly enough good funny shows.

For movie reviews that help you make a choice, my pick has to be PluggedInOnline.com.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Questions Asked By Tourists Visiting Colorado

I love living in Colorado. It is a wonderful state to live in. Vacationing is easy. Just pull into your own driveway, take the phone off the hook, put up a tent in the yard and technically, you're camping. Seriously, though, we have trouble taking a vacation to a place that's too close by. Driving thirty minutes to camp or stay in a hotel feels a little weird. So, folks in Denver like to think they'll retire to Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs folks think about retiring to Buena Vista or Leadville. I'm not sure where the folks from Leadville will retire to, but with the winters up there, I bet it will be someplace warmer or even tropical.

In honor of the start of summer break and the commencing of vacations, I thought I'd put up a list of things tourists have said while visiting Colorado or that people have asked Coloradoans when they defy reason and leave the state.
  1. What time of year/At what altiitude do the deer turn into elk?
  2. Where do you put the moguls in the summer?
  3. You don't ski? I thought everyone in Colorado skied! (also applies to wearing cowboy hats)
  4. Y'all got paved roads in Colorado? (not yet, but Woodrow Wilson mentioned we'd get some soon)
  5. Do you own a horse?
  6. Do you ski to school? (also applies to sled dogs)
  7. Where do Rocky Mountain Oysters come from? Is there a lot of water in Colorado?
  8. Do you need oxygen tanks to live there?
  9. You live in an igloo right? (Bonus: How do you walk around your house without slipping?)
  10. So what's South Park like? (Tell them Casa Bonita is real and they won't believe you.)
  11. Why don't trees grow on top of your mountains?
The photo at right is from the top of Mt. Evans west of Denver. It's a bit of a read, but the details are riveting, especially when you count the screws used to mount the sign. There's a reason they did that.

For those who want to look more like a local or who really want to know what the answers are, I've put them down below.
  1. Deer and elk look similar, with antlers, snouts and four hooves, but trust me, they are two very different species. Elk tastes better, in my opinion.
  2. Moguls are turned inside out, shaken hard, and put on a plane from Aspen back to L.A. ...Wait, that's movie moguls. Ski moguls are mounds of snow that are created by skiers as they carve down the slopes.
  3. Although I haven't seen a survey of state residents and skiing, I'll speculate that a surprising percentage of residents do not ski, and fewer still are those who have skied in the last three years. There are a lot of reasons for this, but lift tickets are horribly expensive, I-70 is terribly crowded, and we keep thinking we'll go next year.
  4. Duh. These are likely the same people that ask if we ride horses everywhere or if we still fight Indians, both of which questions showed up on a "dumb questions" page online as legitimate, documentable inquiries.
  5. See explanation 4 above. No, we do not, although it's practically required for someone to live in Golden. Do I have a cowboy hat and boots? Ain't tellin'.
  6. See explanation 3 above. Skiing to school is not practical unless you live at the top of a mountain, and then you've got other problems, like lightning, wind, and a dog that refuses to go outside in either, remembering that the last time it did, it nearly died. If you tried to ski to school (without the aid of a snowmobile or truck known as skijoring), you'd have to cross-country ski, and then we'd accuse you of losing your mind.
  7. No, there is not a lot of water in Colorado, which is why we have lawyers who litigate exclusively over water rights. The lack of an ocean and the lack of a local delicacy prompted a joke that's groin--er, grown into a novelty dish. I will not mention the ingredients, but you can read more about Rocky Mountain oysters here.
  8. Contrary to all the press our altitude receives, people from below 2,000 feet ASL who take it easy the first 24 hours or so can acclimate fairly well if they drink plenty of water. People who don't are soon usually flat on their backs complaining about the lack of oxygen. That's when we bring them a tank and tell them not to drink alcohol while they're here. We breathe just like they do, only better.
  9. Another Duh. Although, we have winter festivals with snow carving and such. How do we keep from slipping? Seal skin.
  10. South Park is a big, empty broad expanse of Kansas that we imported to break up the monotony of all those mountains. There is no town called South Park, unless you count Fairplay's effort to capitalize on the show's popularity. It is brown (or white) and mostly treeless. Antelope do play, but mostly they just stand around, gawking at the tourists.
  11. Above 11,200 feet or so, trees do not grow in Colorado. This is called timberline. It is too cold, snowy, dry and dark for trees to grow above that threshold. Alpine tundra is beautiful and has small wildflowers that manage to thrive in that climate, including my favorite, the Columbine.
Like I said, I love Colorado. I plan to live here the rest of my life. I've seen nearly everything in the state, so if you're coming to Colorado, give me a shout and I'll pass along what I know.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Things Bitter Homeschoolers Would Like To Say

These are the things a lot of homeschooling parents would like to tell non-homeschoolers if social conventions and basic human kindness went out the window. Here's #13  (my favorite):
13. Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
The rest are pretty good, mostly because they hit close to the mark. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Familyman: Leaving Texas

I love Todd Wilson's latest post to his FamilyMan list. He makes a good point.
Hey Dad,

Hope this doesn’t offend any of my fellow dads in Texas, but we were all glad to leave the Lone Star State. I’m thinking we had a little too much unplanned time there…or maybe it was the way those Texans drive! Not only do they drive on the shoulder of the road…and are OK with that, but they have some mighty mixed up on and off ramps in their cities.

I’m sure we were almost killed at least a couple of times. Poor Gloria (the voice on our GPS) never talked so fast, “Get in the right lane…bear left, no I mean right…not that right lane, the other right lane…watch out for that oncoming car…Ahgggg!!! Can someone please unplug me?”

Whew! I’m getting worked up just writing about it.

Anyway, the kids and the RV are doing great, but all the time in the RV tends to put a strain on our marriage. In fact, I’m thinking about writing a book entitled “The Familyman’s RV Marriage Guide for Men.” I’m not sure of all the details, but I’ve been thinking about at least one chapter entitled, “The longer you wait to fix things, the harder they are to fix.”

Not only does it apply to RV problems like leaky toilets, tail light issues, and smoking motors, but it also applies to marriages…especially mine. You see the problem is that I’m a glass half-full kind of guy. I like to assume that things will get better on their own if I ignore them. Problem is…they don’t, especially when it applies to marriages…especially mine.

So, when I can tell that my wife is out of sorts, I kind of like to think that all she needs is a good night’s sleep. So, I plop into bed and go to sleep instead of dealing with it. Next morning, I wake to find that my wife is not over “it”. Instead, she’s a little MORE out of sorts. A few ‘sleeps’ later, and I’ve got marriage issues.

I’m just so stupid. When will I learn that if I take the time to address the problem when it’s first detected, it would make life a whole lot better for all of us? Because the truth is: the longer I wait to fix things, the harder they are to fix.

So, Dad, if you’re like me and have some “things” to fix, you better get at it.

You ‘da…Mr. Fix-it,
Todd Wilson
Thanks, Todd. Point taken.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Over Sanitization

With all the fuss over influenza, it seems that hand sanitizer, paper masks and the like have been in higher demand. In this germ-conscious society, is there even such a thing as "over sanitized?"

Yes, if you listen to Brenda Freeman, CMO of Turner Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media division. She's the brilliant executive over Cartoon Network who used the exact term describing Cartoon Network's former line-up. She said,
"We are casting a wider net to open us up to new partnerships and new audiences, we want to become a dominant youth culture brand, ... We are going to break out of the over sanitized kids environment, and that's ok."
This is the kind of executive and this is the kind of decision that I *dream* of removing from the board room and putting in a real-life environment, in this case, a food court. I would pick up a meal from each food stand, place it on the table and invite Ms. Freeman to a free lunch. I would tell her that she was free to choose whatever she was in the mood for, but that one of the meals might be contaminated because one of the chefs--I forget which one--wasn't feeling well. Since she feels things can be over sanitized, I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking the risk. Especially if she's hungry for market share.
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. - Jesus
HT: Plugged In Online.com

Sunday, May 3, 2009

A Letter To A Disabled Dad

Dear Dad,

I know things may not have gone your way today. You might not have even gotten out of bed. You may not have had any choice in the matter. Let me tell you that you matter anyway.

You may not have gone out to toss the ball with your son, or trim the lawn, or paint the shed that seems to weather in front of your eyes. Your honey-do list may be stale-dated, but your impact is as vital as the food on the table. You may not be able to provide any of the things you think your kids want, but their greatest wish is to see you better.

Dad, if you weren't there, who would your kids look to? You may see all the things you're not doing, but you don't see half of the things you really do! Your words, your thoughts about your kids mean the world to them. The same thoughts you may have had as a little boy are the ones they have of you. "I want my dad to be proud of me." "His approval means everything to me."

You see your weakness in your body. Instead, your kids see your strength in the face of a body that fails you. This is the strength they will look for inside themselves when they see their own failings in a world of challenges.

You feel like a burden to all you love and hold dear. They see you as someone they would carry on their shoulders across the face of the earth if you asked them to. It isn't the size of the burden, it's the size of the love that carries it that brings out the beauty in life.

Even when they fail you, even when you fail them, even when the words fly like weapons and the anger sears your heart, you matter. You see, it isn't that you're disabled. It's that you're there. You're there with the forgiveness, the love, the trust, the compassion, the patience and the wisdom God has given you. You matter because you're their dad. You're there, and no one can replace you. Maybe someone can be more eloquent, talented or able-bodied, but no one replaces you or your role in their lives.

Be the best dad by being there in the good and the bad. Everything else, we can work on.

Sincerely,

Another Disabled Dad