And Here They Are

In the previous post I told the story of how Elvira and her boyfriend Beau worked together to steal a bag of treats from the cabinet. Here is Beau(on the left) and his girlfriend Elvira on top of the refrigerator.

You're Not Going To Believe This One

This post is not about the week's teaching as nothing really different happened on the school front. It was the the usual experiences of great teaching moments with inspired kids, dealing with kids who have crappy attitudes, and struggling with some personal health problems. This is about our cat Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

Yesterday I heard a rustling noise in the kitchen and immediately knew that Elvira was raiding the catfood cabinet again. This time when I went in I saw her boyfriend Beau sitting on top of the aquarium outside the cabinet. A sack filled with cat treat pouches was sticking halfway out of the cabinet. In a few seconds out popped Elvira's head with the sack of treats in her mouth. She passed the treat sack to Beau who took it and jumped down on the floor. Elvira followed and they ran out of the kitchen with the treats. Beau gave the bag back to Elvira and I finally caught up with them in the living room. I retrieved the sack, though Elvira did growl at me and slapped at my hand. While searching for a secure place to store the treats I temporarily stashed them in the stove. Elvira ran over and studied the stove door. She then pushed on the door in several places but did not manage to get the door open. I didn't get any photos of the "great treat escape" which is probably a good thing as most of you would have thought I had doctored the pictures. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it!

Pat Paulsen For President!!!!

Pat Paulsen's son Monty for president in 2012 and Pat in 2008. Let the new dynasty begin! Support Pat Paulsen, the simple savior of humanity. Look at the other guys we have to vote for and a deceased president starts to look great! Watch this video and visit Pat's Website for more details and campaign material. Vote for Pat in 2008 and Monty in 2012.

One of my students

I don't quite know where to begin. This morning at school we received the information that one of my students had died in an accident. One day he was in class and now he is not here. Quite a few of my students in that class were crying and upset. I think that part of their angst was grief over his loss and perhaps part of it was the sudden realization that they were not immortal. When you are young you think you will live forever. Something like this really drives home the fragility of our lives.

I will miss this student. He had a great sense of humor that I really valued. It is a tragic loss for his family, the school, and the community. He was talking about the future recently, not knowing that his time was limited on Earth.

The students are dealing with this by talking with counselors and making a card to send to the parents. Sometimes life is just not fair.

Buddy Can You Spare A Dime?

With less than a year to go before I retire from teaching I am really worried. Charlie Crist and the Florida legislature lowered the retirement supplement for helping with insurance. As it is I am going to be close to poverty trying to take care of 9 cats and a bunny. I have some retirement funds invested but with the way the stock and bond market has been going I will be lucky to have a fraction of my investments by next year. I was going to put all of this in interest bearing CDs and add the interest to my retirement checks. Now it appears I will not have anywhere near what I had hoped to have for that. Our retirement system is a joke. It doesn't support even a reasonable level of life in today's world. I would keep teaching but my health has been really failing this year and I just don't think I can do it any longer. It is all I can do to finish out this school year. I wish I could keep on teaching but at this point it is all I can do to stagger through the day. I refuse to be one of those teachers who are just filling up space and earning a paycheck. If I can't put in 100% then I do not belong in teaching any more. I will make it through the current year but that is all my body will let me do.

I just got an email from a former student. Here is an excerpt:

"You may not know it,but you are one of the most influential persons in my life. You were my first biology teacher.You inspired me to become a biologist. You are an amazing teacher and our students will be at a disadvantage without you. Thank you so much for everything, from my first internship in the sciences, to my first biology class, and my first game of chess (which taught me to manage my time and strategize). I hope to teach and research until the day I die and this all was thanks to a man who really could teach, make it interesting, and cared about my education."

So I may have to be satisfied with knowing I have helped several thousand students to achieve their dreams. My own retirement dream is looming as a nightmare for me and there isn't a thing I can do about it. Life is not fair and I never expected to get rich. I am just a little bitter at the fact that retiring teachers such as myself have to worry about having enough money to stay alive. My animals come first and they will be cared for. I may have to sell my car and eat a lot of beans to do this but so be it. I just think that the local and Florida educational system should be ashamed at how they treat someone like myself who has given 30 years of my life to teaching and inspiring students. Accolades are great but at the end of the day they don't put food on the table.

How To Dress A Moose

Alaskan governor and possible future V.P. Palin said that learning how to dress a moose is a valuable skill she has. One day I might want to move to Alaska so I have been practicing.

What do you think? Maybe something in a pink chiffon instead?