astrid
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Posts posted by astrid
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....I should mention that I've only seen a few episodes. It's all I've been able to stomach.
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I feel badly for those kids. One of the older twins is really whiny and grumpy, and I can't help but think it's partly because that's what's modeled. I've heard the little girl make statements that really seem like they came right out of the mother's mouth.
Maybe the're really different off-camera, but from what I've seen, there's a really negative vibe going on there.
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I've probably missed your posts before but this is the first time I've seen your name pop up and I just wanted to tell you that I've missed your "face." :)
No advice re: your sweet boy, but he sounds simply wonderful, and unique in his own way.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello!
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...how does conversing with the neighbors, walking rather than driving, and reading while walking play a role in being crazy as a loon?
Forgive me if I didn't have the time to post the lengthy explanation that I sat down and wrote earlier this evening. My comment about him walking and reading was meant to paint a picture of the man, tall and gaunt (and he is.....that's a fact!!!!) that we see regularly. He IS a striking figure in his always-present black trenchcoat and book. His "idiosyncrasies" have had such a negative impact on my life, the life of my family and 9,990 other people in my small, poor community that it's a bit difficult for me to be objective.
Believe me, what I wrote was the tip of the iceberg. Never mind. Don't believe me. Vote for him if you wish. because if history is any indication, we'll have four more years of what we've had for the last eight. Since the guy can't manage his own crappy properties in this sad little forgotten mill town, I'd seriously doubt his ability to run the country.
Didn't accuse you of the negative feedback or reputation point or whatever the heck it is. Simply noticed it and posted about it.
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We help each other to the best of our ability, but are still obligated to take care of ourselves. The hi-def TV and Ford F-150 trucks really aren't necessary to live in the world. Yet, it seems like the people most in need of a helping hand have better TVs, more cable stations, and a rockin' car...and we are subjected to paying their Medicaid/Medicare and other extraneous expenses. (I've actually seen acquaintances with the above mentioned scenerio and it grates my last nerve.)
Oh yeah, baby. You're singin' my tune. I TOTALLY AGREE.
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but since I've already got my first negative rep, I figure in for a buck, in for a quarter. So here goes. And please, this is not meant as a personal attack on anyone. I have no way of knowing anyone's personal situations with regard to health care, food stamps, etc. It's just my own personal opinion about the GENERAL QUESTION. Again, I do not mean this as a slam, a personal attack, or a condemnation of those who are on Medicaid or have large families. You asked for opinions, so here's mine, for what little it's worth :o :
Medicaid is funded by taxpayers all over the nation. I'm glad it's there for folks who need it, and I definitely think it's a necessity. The inequality of our health care system is staggering to me.
I personally view pregnancy as a personal choice because it can be prevented. Leukemia, for instance, is not so much a personal choice. Pregnancy is. Maybe not spiritually for some, but basically, we have the technology, and it's readily available to everyone.
So if a person knows that they are on, or will have to rely on Medicaid, and they continue to consciously make the decision to continue to get pregnant, I would personally see that person in a bit of a selfish light. *I* want a baby, and *I* KNOW I can't afford it, but *I'm* going to have one anyway. Because *I* want one, and *I* believe I'm entitled to one, and Medicaid is the "Lord Providing." See, I'd tend to view Medicaid as "The Taxpayers Providing."
IMHO.
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I could always seem them, just didn't know how to leave them! Figured it out, though. Go check! ;-)
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I have not read much of the original quiver thread. I hadn't thought much about it at all, having a small family myself. But having just opened a bill for $965.23 for dd's much-needed MRI on her knee, the one I put off for weeks, even though we've got health insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) and beat myself up royally for putting it off because of finances, the one which revealed a badly damaged cartilage, I cannot even begin to fathom how people with large families handle medical bills.
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I"ll give you one, Tutor! :-)
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I said he and his family have a long history of behavior that is, for lack of a better term, less-than-community-minded.
Some of you see him as a man on a mission. I see him as a neighbor who owns so many run-down properties in this town which could be put to good use in this run-down, depressed, defunct mill town. Teen center, arts center, library addition, etc. Yet they're not. He applies for federal grants to "fix up his buildings" (when he could darn well afford to do it himself!) and instead of putting the money into fixing their facades so they bricks don't rain down on the sidewalks, he has energy-efficient windows installed in his long abandoned factory buildings so that he doesn't have to set the heat so high to keep the pipes from freezing. Some of the windows were stolen (to be resold, no doubt) and rather than replacing them, he just had a blue tarp nailed up. These buildings are prominent on our main street, which also happens to be a main US Route. It sends a terrible message to folks entering our town, or just driving through. The building department has sent them notice after notice to clean up their act, yet they refuse.
He and his family could do so much good for this community, and yet they refuse. They have paid for a "community lawyer" to work here in the community, but instead of working for people who can't afford an attorney, as the position was designed, she works solely with the local Taxpayer's Association and works six ways to Sunday to wring every cent from the school budget. She will not take a case from anyone who is the victim of, say, unfair housing practices, or is a single parent needing to recoup money from a crooked contractor, but if you want to sue the town or sue the school board, she's your gal. For free. Paid for by Ralph. The damage she's done to our little town, on behalf of the Nader family, is unbelievable.
There are so many local instances of the Naders meddling in affairs of the town, and blocking needed change. They abhor change, (regardless of what Ralph says on the campaign trail!) and their stubborness has had very far-reaching affects on our tiny local hospital which is bleeding to death, our public schools, our infrastructure, our local landscape, and our political climate. One school is abandoned and badly in need of demolition because kids are partying in there, etc. It's a public eyesore. It's a menace to the community. Yet Ralph has repeatedly blocked the demolition, and used their "community lawyer" to do it, because "It's the elementary school that Ralph attended." It's been vacant for years. It's dangerous. But they bought it and they won't even think of tearing it down for the good of the community.
One final point: I used to teach 7th grade English in town. In 2000, when Ralph ran, I was teaching my students about public speaking, and the Social Studies teacher was incorporating the election into his curriculum. Ralph was scheduled to speak at our local Community College (started with funds from the Shafeek Nader Trust) which is within walking distance of the middle school. I got permission slips signed, prepped the kids on what to expect, had them think of questions to ask him, contacted the college and arranged for my students to have seats and to be able to ask Ralph questions after his speech. We went, the kids were all excited, and when the time came to ask him questions, he stopped us and said that he only speaks to adults, and does not "waste his time with kids, who don't understand the political ramifications of this election." HE SAID THIS IN FRONT OF THE KIDS!!! They were crushed, and so was I, but I wasn't surprised.
I could go on and on and on. So yeah, I have a bit more background which colors my opinions. It is NOT just that he walks, reads and talks to neighbors. NEVER did I say it was.
And FTR, I read the first few quiverful posts and haven't read any more. Nor do I care to, because frankly, I find it offensive that scripture is being used to encourage women to just keep having babies, regardless of their state of mental, physical, emotional or financial health. But that's my personal opinion.
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Or anyone else, for that matter. We all have a right to our opinions.
Personally, I find discussions such as the "quiverful" threads to be distressing, since I"m the parent of an only child and often feel, when I read those threads, that parents who choose to limit their family size are somehow inferior. So I don't respond, and I don't let it get to me. I know I've made the right decision for me.
To each his (or her) own.
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:eek:
Laura is an anthropologist at Berkley (I think it's Berkley, right?) and she's the only Nader who left our town. My friend (and dd's drama teacher) is an anthropologist who was a friend of Laura's and was hired by her to teach democracy through drama and literature in our local school system. She told me this story about Laura Nader: Back when she was hired at Berkley, it was still a real "men's club" and the rest of the men in the Anthropology department were incensed that a woman was hired on the faculty. They used to hold department meetings in places like the men's room and other places and not tell her about the meetings in advance. She tells one story of climbing in the window at a faculty's home so she could join the meeting that was going on in the drawing room!
Claire is a sociologist and used to teach classes at Columbia Univeristy, and Shafeek, the oldest brother and the only Nader who was well-liked in town, died in the early '80's of leukemia. He wasn't bad looking. The rest, well...:eek:
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Ah, and I had been jealous of your beautiful house. I can get over it now.:p
Ralphie strolls by, nose buried in a book, long black trenchcoat hanging on his tall, gaunt frame. Seriously....that's the picture. We all like it when he's in Washington. His family owned a restaurant called the "Highland Arms" in town for years and were famous for being real tightwads. There's a famous story in town from the 1950's of a woman who had a heart attack while driving down the main street. She drove her car up on the sidewalk and through the plate glass window in the front of the Highland Arms. Everyone jumped out of the way, and to the woman's aid. One lunch patron was injured, and he and the driver were taken to our small-town hospital. After the ambulance left, a lunch patron got into her car and backed it out onto the street, while some of the other men who were in the restaurant started cleaning up the glass. They got it all cleaned up and then left to go back to work, having forgotten all about their half-eaten lunch in the excitement. Ralph's father chased them down with their lunch checks, and demanded that they pay up right then and there on the street. Nevermind that those men had cleaned up his whole restaurant, he insisted that they pay up. Later that afternoon, he sent Ralph and his older brother, Shafeek, (now deceased) up to the hospital with the injured man's lunch check so he'd be sure and pay for the lunch that he ordered.
That's just one story. They're not well-liked in town at all.
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Big, fat, Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker :)
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LOL! You've had your share of wacky neighbors, haven't you? You have my sympathy!
Ria
1. The scary whack-job who was involved in that horrible home invasion in Cheshire, CT in July, and
2. Ralph Nader, but his family has lived down the block for two generations. They're huge slumlords in town. I'd love it if he's spend the $$$ he's going to blow on a futile presidential bid on some of the broken down old buildings he owns in town, including one GORGEOUS Victorian carriage house which is so neglected it's falling down, raining bricks on the sidewalk that leads to an elementary school.
I swear this is a little, piddling, NOWHERE town, population 10,000!
Crazy.
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:rolleyes: Yeah. That's right. Ralph Nader lives down the street from me. This is his hometown and still his primary residence. He votes here, and lives here about 80% of the time. And he's crazy as a loon. He stops and talks to us about our dogs frequently, because he's always WALKING by, never driving. He doesn't drive, he feels that for him to own a car would be endorsing a product of the auto industry. That's just one example......there are so many others!
The family is not well-liked here, for a long laundry list of reasons going back many years. Last time he ran, here in his hometown of 6,000 registered voters he recieved exactly eleven votes. Yes, I know the reasoning behind his tossing his hat in the ring. But again?
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Yay, Doran! Glad you stepped outside your comfort zone and called your dr. friend. Here's hoping you caught it in time---- and happy anniversary!
All Best,
MM
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Here's how mine started:
I flew from CT to Atlanta for a weekend to attend the American Kennel Club Parent Club Conference. LOTS of meetings, LOTS of talking, LOTS of sitting on straight chairs in a big lecture hall. On the shuttle from the airport to the hotel (about an hour long ride) I started to feel a weird burning sensation on my back, right side, about bra-height, and extending under my right arm to the side of my breast, around the right breast and up my breastbone between "the girls." Along with that, I had a REALLY sore muscle along the right side of my back, just to the right of the spine. Of course, I chalked it up to lugging my suitcase, carry-on and laptop through the busy airports, and sitting for two hours in an uncomfortable airline seat. Didn't think much of it; too anxious to get to the conference, etc.
I checked into my room, laid down on the bed, and noticed that the skin that HAD been burning was now kind of numb. Even when I touched it, it was weirdly numb, as if I'd had a big dose of novicaine. And now that muscle was excruciatingly painful. WEIRD, but again, I was too busy to deal with it, so I popped some advil and went down to happy hour. Weekend was painful, advil didn't help at all, and I was never so glad to get on a plane toward HOME.
Two days later, it was still numb, and I had what I thought were two ingrown hairs or "zits" under my arm, in the midst of the big wide numb patch. Flew home, whined to my mom (retired nurse) who said, "I think youv'e got shingles!" I called the dr. and went in, but it was too late to get any kind of prescription, so I had to tough it out. The pain went away after a couple of weeks but the numbness hung on for a couple of months. Occasionally, I still get a couple of days of the weird numbness, but I guess that's par for the course. Sometimes happens. What I learned was that more and more young people are getting shingles. I asked about my age, and the dr. said that age didn't have much to do with it anymore.
Just my experience......I hope it's NOT shingles for you, but if it is, I hope you find relief soon!
All Best,
Molly's mom
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:) Thanks so much for your input! Rough Collie, you went above and beyond the call of duty on this one !
We've got tons of ideas, can't wait to get the party started!
Thanks again!
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Dd and her friend, both ten, have decided to throw a "Super '70's Party" next month. They got the idea from an American Girl Magazine article about same.
I think we'll do shrinky dinks as a craft, but I need a source for the shrinkable, bakeable plastic sheets--- does Michael's have them?
'70's snack ideas: so far I have Jiffy Pop and Pop Rocks.....I've got to think some more!
So, let's hear your favorite '70's foods, crafts, music, etc.
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Please? Please? Pretty-please? :o
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Hi there,
I'm thinking of applying for a position at a local community college-- "Assistant Director of Admissions." It's a field I"ve wanted to get into for a while, having been on the "teaching" end of things for many years. I'm tired of teaching, and want to pursue some other avenues. Admissions is an area that I think would be a good fit because of my vast experience dealing with students from all walks of life in my adult ed/adjunct faculty/middle school teaching positions. Admissions would allow me to stay in academia, but not have to be teaching. Anyway, I"m going to give it a shot.
So I'm re-tooling my resume, and I wonder two things:
1. I've worked part time since i"ve been homeschooling. Should I include homeschooling on my resume?
2. I have a BA, and was halfway through my MA when my dad was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. I stopped taking classes so that I could help mom care for dad and take him to the dr/chemo/radiation appointments an hour away. He passed away after a year of fighting the disease, then we brought Molly home and started homeschooling so I never finished my MA. Should I include coursework? Something like, "Completed 15 credits toward a M.S. in Reading and Language Arts from Central Connecticut State University"
Or should I leave it off completely, because I didn't finish the degree?
Opinions? Comments? Am I crazy? :o
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Article on CA court ordering homeschooled kids back into ps.
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Sorry, but from a source like World Net Daily, I'm not inclined to
a.) believe this is the whole story
or
b.) muster much sympathy if the family hasn't followed the rules.
Thousands of people homeschool in California. This seems like just another example of the yellow journalism that World Net Daily employs to feed their faithful readers a steady diet of mistrust and persecution.
JMHO.