Do you ever hear or read something that makes thoughts start rolling around in your noggin? One thought leads to another and then you start to wonder what was so important about that little tidbit that got you to thinking so hard in the first place.
Well I ran across one of those tidbits of information the other day as I was scrolling through the minutes of one of our district school board meetings. I don't know why this item jumped out at me unless it was the fact that it was one thing stuck there in between Board Policies and Personnel Decisions.
"Mr. SoandSo discussed with the board the possibility of hiring a Mandarin Chinese teacher."What??? There was no mention of the board's reaction to this little item on the agenda but I've been anxious to find out.
We're a rural district with, I'm guessing, 400 or so high school students in grades 7 through 12.
We're a mostly farming district in a mostly farming county; our 2000 census had our population at 26,445 (it wouldn't surprise me if this has dropped significantly). The percentage of persons of Asian decent in the county at that time was 0.32%. Over 59.04% of the population insist on speaking ebonics, another 39% is so tried and true redneck that their language
sounds foreign, and
they discuss the possibility of hiring someone to teach Chinese???Hell, I'm thinking we need to hire a couple more English teachers cause I think in our English speaking country we should be making darn sure that everyone knows their country's native language. I know for a fact that we rednecks in the county would surely gain some benefit from additional English lessons.
I'm sure there are arguments that it might be a good idea to be able to communicate with one of the major rising powers in the world but I really don't think a rural high school that claims not to have the funds to cover all of the special education needs, or a bigger and better technology lab, should even consider hiring a Chinese teacher.
If there's money to spend on education buy computers, or something to benefit the entire student body for a change.
Ok, that's out of my system.
I've mentioned before that I pretty much dislike theaters because most of them smell like a musky, sweaty locker room, and I really don't care to be in a large, dark, room full of strangers. I much prefer to choose who sits near me when I'm laughing, or crying, or both. This is the reason that I love being able to buy or rent a movie on dvd and bring it home to watch. I also occasionally enjoy watching a good movie on one of the Direct TV Starz channels. This doesn't happen often because I swear Direct TV has more reruns than local TV ever thought about.
Anyway, when PopPop and Zach came home late Friday evening from a short fishing trip I was watching
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Pop grabbed the remote as he always does when he comes home from somewhere, because he's a man and it's like another body part, but I told him, "Turn that channel and you die!"
I happen to like many of the movies where they mix up real actors and animated characters. So after a bit of mumbling he settled down in his recliner and was soon snoring away (this is another man thing, grab the remote, turn the channel, go to sleep)
On Saturday when they returned from yet another fishing trip, I was watching
Arthur And The Invisibles. I slapped his hand when he grabbed for the remote and told him I was watching something. He sat back in his recliner and said, "Jillian is starting to influence your television viewing choices."
Well, so?
Can't you just hear this Momma Martin saying, "Y'all better lay down and go to sleep, don't make me come back in there!"
Here's a picture of a sleepy puppy. He barely opened his eyes to acknowledge this crazy lady with a camera bending over him. Go on over to Miz Lynn's for links to other Black & White challenge participates.
A click will make these a little bigger.
Zach had another field trip with his group today and they were 2 hours late coming home. I sat in the school parking lot, in my pickup, in my pjs, in the heat and humidity, and watched the western sky get darker and darker.
I was awakened by shrill arguing this morning as 3 little girls came tumbling through the door; My day had started.
Beauty is sleeping puppies, (although one of them isn't sleeping). The other 6 were sprawled in a pile of heads and tails. This was the sweetest shot.
This is beauty to our Beans cause that child loves hoppies. For her only one thing is more beautiful than this baby bull frog,,,,
,,,,that would be TWO baby bull frogs. These largest of this pair was only an inch long.
My first moss rose bloom of the year. I love these tiny little flowers so the flower boxes on the deck are full of them.
Zach is in Little Rock with the Gear Up group enjoying a field day, but I'm not lonely. 
This is just a few of the graduating 6th graders (I think there were 56). They looked so grown up and were minding their manners through it all.
This is only a few of Alexis' (aka the Chick) kindergarten graduating class. They all showed their best sides and really put on some great performances for us.
Alexis accepting her diploma.
Zachary accepting his diploma. (thank the heavens!)
My first doorway is on that old barn that sits out in the field behind our house. I think it was built back in the 1940's or 50's and it's still standing, barely. I love old barns.
I snapped a couple of shots of this doorway because I notice the reflections in it every time I drive out of Helena heading west. It wasn't until I took this photo that I noticed that something must have happened here recently. That looks like some sort of patch on the bottom of the door.
This is the doorway leading to the entrance hall of the Pillow-Thompson House in Helena, AR. It was built by a well-to-do family who's ancestors donated it to the PCCC of the University of Arkansas in the 90's. There are quite a few old southern homes in Helena.
This view of the doorway leading into Estevan Hall, another historical home in Helena, is kind of spoiled by location of the camp chairs. Estevan was built in the 1826 and was occupied by the U.S. Army during the Civil War.
I think this used to be an old school building. I thought the steps that lead to a darkened doorway was interesting. I'll have to find out for sure what this building was.
This doorway leads into St. Marys Catholic Church in Helena, AR which was built in 1936. I think of all the doorways that I've seen in my life, church doorways are my favorites.
On Saturday when they returned from yet another fishing trip, I was watching Arthur And The Invisibles. I slapped his hand when he grabbed for the remote and told him I was watching something. He sat back in his recliner and said, "Jillian is starting to influence your television viewing choices."
Road washouts
Flooded fields (there's a farmer's soybeans or corn planted under that water)
Even some of the highways are flooded.
See the 4 little circles at the top of this track? Is it a bear? A cougar? I followed the track down the turn row and right into my garden where Molly, that huge St. Bernard from next door, took a shortcut to her house. So there you go, it's a Molly track!
The tires on an irrigation pivot are circles. This pivot also makes a circle in the field as it waters the crops.
The unbroken circle is an age-old symbol of eternity so perhaps that's what was originally meant when rings were given during Wedding ceremonies.
Old Man river is overtaking his banks again.
Water was almost in this person's house.
This was our road on Saturday afternoon. We went out for a few supplies in the big 3/4 ton farm truck.
This is just inside the Lexa city limits. I haven't seen water across the road here in about 35 years.
