A Favorite Saying

Good riddance. A commonly used, and might I add valuable, term coined by the famous Shakespeare, this phrase communicates some of the most profound emotions a human could experience. A dictionary might define the phrase like this: A declaration or exclamation of pleasure over the departure or absence of an unpleasant person or thing. In simple language the meaning is thus: After the final examination in history class (a purely hypothetical situation), the pupils are allowed to dispose of their textbooks in the trash can - good riddance!

Somebody To Look Up To - Literally (8)

If one day as I was washing dishes, and a genie happened to pop out of a jam jar and extended to me the opportunity to meet someone, from the present or the past, I would choose to meet John Glenn, one of America's first astronauts. I admire John Glenn, along with the six other astronauts of NASA's Mercury program, for having the courage to ride into the unknown frontier of outer space. Some of the questions I would ask him would be:

(1) How did you get into the space program?

(2) How did you feel when you found out you were going to be one of America's first astronauts?

(3) How did you like the publicity of being such a celebrity?

(4) What was it like on launch day, after you were strapped in, and the hatch had been closed?

(5) Did you have any misgivings about riding into space on top of a missile?

(6) What was it like when you reached space and began experiencing weightlessness?

(7) When Mission Control told you of the potential problem with your capsule's heat shield, what immediately went through your mind?

(8) Can you describe the experience of reentering the atmosphere with the capsule's retro-pack still on? Was it terrifying?

(9) What do you have to say aobut our Earth, having seen it from outer space, asonly a handful of people have seen it?

(10) Do you sitll believe in space exploration? Why?

3rd Grade: Day 1 (6)

It was my first day at my new school. Weimar Elementary had no school-teacher so I was now getting to be shuttled back and forth with the other Weimar kids to Pine Hills Junior Academy. The fruitless search for a teacher had delayed our enrollment, and now we were arriving several weeks late. As the classroom door opened before me, 25 pairs of 9-year-old eyes locked onto me. Oh joy.
I launched head-first into the task of learning the do's and dont's of grade school life. Class began with a battery of ITBS evaluatory tests. My nose was starting to run and I was starting to worry. The scrap of tissue in my pocket wasn't going to last 15 minutes if I started falling sick then. Jason, a guy I knew from Weimar, suggested I ask the teacher to send me home sick. I waved my hand.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Tucker?" I called out softly.

"Now open the test booklet to page 4 and wait until I tell you to begin." Mrs. Tucker was finishing reading the test instructions. I waved a bit higher and harder.

"Begin the test. There will be absolute silence."

This will not do. The faucet on my nose was slowing unwinding. I stood up and purposefully strode to Mrs. Tucker's desk at the front of the classroom.

"Excuse me - " I started.

Glancing up with a horrified look on her face, Mrs. Tucker hurriedly shooed me back to me seat.

"Stay seated. You're supposed to be taking a test," she whispered. I tried to protest, but she turned back to her desk. This tissue's just gonna have to do.

By trial and error I was introduced to the "important" aspects of life, as stressed by my fellow 3rd-graders. Don't walk across the grass in front of the school. Don't play with the 5th-graders at recess. Finish lunch by 12:00: you're required to go play during the next half hour. When you're swinging, never let your swing line up with the girl's next to you: it means you're married. Etc.

The large life or death matters of 3rd grade have become the silly trivialities of yesterday. I have matured. Somewhat. But isn't it the same way for teenagers as well as grown-ups? Wouldn't you say so? If you said no, just remember that it's the people who deny this reality who started the whole dilema anyway.

It Trends to Get Weirder

Ms. Amarachi, our beloved English teacher, had us do some heavy reading for this post. The article by MSNBC entitled "Tattoos and Knitting" introduced the the topic of microtrends. Interests that have generally been ignored by those who are "normal" seem to be getting more popular, such as an increasing number of teenage knitters and tattooed businesspeople as well as the fast-growing group of videogaming moms over the age of 45. All I can say to the last group is that is weird.

So what are microtrends anyway? Microtrends can be described as large-scale deviations of a population from what previously was considered to be the norm. Say if 90% of all new Weimar employees were former Navy Seals, you'd have a microtrend.

Now there doesn't seem to be any logical explanation to this kind of a phenomen. Unless there's something wrong with the water, my hypothesis is that the interests of people these days are simply changing, perhaps because of the influence of the media. Some of these strange departures from the "norm" are just a matter of personal taste, but not all microtrends are harmless. A growing trend is to view the gay lifestyle as normal. This is degrading for society. Eventually the freedoms that people are trying to obtain that “don’t hurt anybody else” will eventually bring others down anyway.

The news article we had to read for this assignment is based on a book entitled Microtrends. The author came to came to the remarkable conclusion that if politicians were to cater to current microtrends, they would win instant popularity. Not surprisingly, he was hired by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Penn, the author of the book, had been meaning to write the book for years. He now decides to publish it, at the same time that he is involved in political campaigns. Interesting.

Now are there any microtrends at Weimar Academy? Not having the statistical information to back up my opinions I really can’t cite any trends aside from that fact that a lot more shirts are appearing at school with little eagle or alligator logo on them. Okay, maybe that’s just a fad. However, I do remember that when Rachel (my beloved sister) was in academy, there seemed to be a lot more Asians at Weimar. While Weimar Academy still maintains an international mix, it appears more students are from the States. But don’t quote me on that one, Audrey.

Dejavu - For the 3rd Time (3)

Ah, yes. I have once again experienced the paradoxical joys of camping. Last weekend's annual Weimar Academy fall camp-out took me and my fellow classmates once again to the shores of Lake Tahoe to enjoy the sand and sun, the heat and cold, the food and hunger (between meals), and the best part of all: sleeping in a tent! Wow! Several discreet remarks from a few happy campers (including, but not limited to Ms. Polk) gave me the impression that everyone really enjoyed the comforts that sleeping in a sack of cloth on top of a slab of foam had to offer. Well I certainly enjoyed it.

Some of the highlights of the weekend for me were the canoeing, Mr. Bushnell's pancakes, canoeing, using my new tent, and of course canoeing. (Hey isn't that what lakes are for?) The annual hike to Desolation Wilderness is getting a bit old after doing it for three years. The last night at camp a full trash bag was left out and Mr. Boyd, the math teacher, got to listen to the melodious sounds of a bear grunting and thrashing his way about camp with the bag in its mouth. Yeah, camp-outs always have their share of excitement. I was loathe to leave the homework-free environment when we packed up Monday morning. Oh, well, not to worry. One more Tahoe camp-out until I'm out of here!

The Memory Lingers On (4)

Six years have gone by since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Time rolls on, yet for many, that day continues to haunt them as if it happened yesterday. On that infamous day America, and the whole world, learned just how far those who harbor hate can go to inflict pain on innocent people.
Ask almost anyone in the States if they remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard of the attacks, and nearly every person will be able to relate with perfect recall exactly what was happening at the time. I was in 5th grade at the time and when I showed up at school, everyone was talking about buildings collapsing and black boxes. The pieces started filtering in and slowly began to learn of the horror that had taken place that morning.
How and why should the world and America forget 9/11? Has it been possible to forget Pearl Harbor? Countless lives are lost everyday, but let this serve as a reminder to how base and hateful people who do not love the Lord can become to fellow mankind. Let those hurt by the tragedy mourn the loss, but when they are finished mourning, let them rise up and stand strong for the values that make America a free country. Only by seeing the past mistakes and failures of humanity will people be able to know how to live to love and not destroy. Yes, remember 9/11. And remember the One who cried as He saw the events of history that would bring destruction unfold before His prophetic eye.

Right, Wrong, or Borderline? (2)

Mexico President Felipe Calderon's recent speech regarding illegal immigration has brought up a recurring dilemma. Should the United States permit thousands of Mexicans living illegally in the U.S. or should they all be deported? How easy should it be to gain entrance to the land of freedom and opportunity? What is the answer to this perplexing problem?
The answer is simple: grant green cards to the right people and prevent the wrong people from gaining access to America. Very idealistic (translated highly probable). The only way to solve a problem of this nature is by correctly balancing grace - amnesty in government terms - and the law. Unfortunately this solution is unattainable by mere mortals. The complexity of a problem like this reduces the probability that a satisfactory outcome will be arrived at by the parties involved. I will therefore not attempt to provide a solution.

My thoughts on illegal immigration:

(1) It's important to respect the laws of the land. It goes against the laws of America to enter the borders without a proper visa.

(2) Immigration officers can sometimes be downright mean. Friendlier officers could result in legally admitting the correct people into the States. Then the government could deport all the bad ones.

(3) Personal situations are the driving force behind the actions of those crossing the borders to find work. They may be leaving a life of utter hopelessness behind, or they may be supporting a family back in their home country. It is a terrible thing for a bureaucratic machine to decide the future of a family.

(4) President Calderon mentioned that illegal residents contributed to the economy. This should be no reason to allowing law-breaking.

From personal experience, the desire to stay in a place where one has the right, in a much greater magnitude, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it can be very tempting go against seemingly foolish laws to remain in that position. The long-term complications may or may not be worth it.

Reversing the Shrivelry of Chivalry (1)

The dawning of the age of convenience has left an evident scar on the human of today. Effort just does not seem to be exerted. When your dishes are swept into a trashcan, when cell phones allow you to talk with someone ten feet away, and when a sophisticated piece of plastic called Roomba roams your kitchen floor cleaning up after you, how could you possibly be expected to politely pick up your classmate's homework should it happen to fall to the floor? Thus has occurred the "shrivelry" (shriveling up) of chivalry.
Society desperately needs in its young people the spirit of heroism and honor exhibited by the legendary knights. The following points are general guidelines that you could add to or begin your personal code of honor with:

(1) Pick up items that people accidentally drop. (Superior judgment based on the situation must be used if they start dropping stuff on purpose)

(2) Open doors for ladies. (If a lady, do not open doors for guys)

(3) Defend the innocent.

(4) Put others first. i.e. allow another person to have the first turn at water-skiing.

(5) Keep your word.

(6) Be courteous to everyone; extremely difficult but highly honorable.

(7) Live up to an honorable reputation.

(8) Do not accept dares to "prove" bravery; you can be confident that your honorable conduct will be evident to those who truly recognize it.

(9) Respect authority.

(10) Do not be afraid to assume responsibility/liability for an honorable cause. (Confess when you've been wrong.)

Following these points will be valuable in striving for moral integrity. Always remember that the underlying thing of every noble action is the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.