Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The good:

Ernest picked up his winnings from the orthodontist's contest. That's a strange semi-rhyme (Dontist/Contest). He was really happy. "I don't usually win things," he said. That's how I often felt as a child. I was so surprised when I won a teddy bear at a Sons of Norway Christmas dinner. I might update this post later with that picture, if I can find it.

The bad:

Frank had "stomach flu." I asked him where he got sick. "On the bridge." This is the pedestrian bridge at his community college....I pictured him splattering cars 100 feet below, but he said he made it to a trash can. This photographer has a beautiful series of photos on the campus. Click the link if you're curious.
Photo From Kaplan Aspect on Flickr.com

Also...the beginning of the month and paying bills. Huge bills show up at the end of the year. Car registration (3 of 4 cars), car insurance (all of them), and property tax bills. Ouch. The reason I'm never EVER EVER selling my mother's house? And why we're going to live/retire there some day? Because the property tax is grandfathered...under $600. Our own house's property tax bill? Huge, even with the Prop 13 controls...because it still goes up every year. And we've owned it 20 years. Up up and away.


The ugly. [You've Been Warned]

Something happened at school today. Do I err on the side of caution, and fuggetaboutit? Or do I speak my mind, couching the situation in euphemisms and comparisons, so you get my drift without me saying anything incriminating.

[Update: OK, I did speak my mind and that post was up for a while, but then my overly cautious sense of judgement kicked in and I decided to delete that part. I'm leaving your comments, however. Thank you.]

9 comments:

Jen said...

All I can say is wow. I'd be mad too. I thought a giant leap had happened yesterday and it saddens me that it was a smaller step than I thought.

Louise said...

The good is nice!

The bad is annoying.

The ugly? I don't know why parents talk about a lot of things in front of their kids. First, if it was done maliciously, the parents should be called in. If they were just TALKING (because even where I live where I see no racism at all and I've heard whispered comments of concern here and there) in concern, when are people going to learn that certain things are NOT appropriate for children because they are too young to understand and repeat properly?

I get paid nothing for working at school. I sort of enjoy it, and I know I make a difference. The thing is, with parents that are not always the brightest (it seems), SOMEONE needs to make a difference. But there might be a point when those someones are not us.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the Good!
At least he made it to the trash can on the Bad.
The Ugly? Sad, sad, sad.

Tricia said...

The good news is wonderful, and that ugly news...I'm kind of at a loss for words here. It breaks my heart because as you mentioned, this kind of stuff starts at home, and there's so much of it.

Mary Alice said...

Instead of loud, listen to this and pay particular attention to the lyrics.

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/listen/0,,4415952,00.html

"Each quiet act of dignity" We must continue one foot after another, planting little seeds of good, of love, of inclusion instead of exculsion, of understanding... and one day the good will be so powerful that all the hatred will just wash away.

barbra said...

That is truly ugly. Shockingly ugly. I would have called those kids' parents straight away! I hope the principal did, but I kind of wish I had been able to say some things to those kids and parents.

Unknown said...

I got here after you took down the ugly... sorry for whatever happened. I totally recognized that bridge when I saw it. I have to admit I went to the flickr to put a name to it. SBCC! I took a few classes there back in the day.

dkuroiwa said...

I'm late too, but...from the comments I can only imagine what was said and in any situation when you wonder later if you should have said something, many times it's probably better that you didn't.
And the puking? There's a part of me (the 10 year old little boy in me!) that thinks if Frank hadn't made it to the trash...THAT would have been cool. But...so glad he made it (the adult is back!)
For the good...that Ernest...he has got some great looking teeth!!
And what a load of loot he got!! Very Cool!!!

Vanessa said...

I too am late and don't know what the ugly was, but something tells me I would have been very upset too.