"Stoner..."

So... I've been teaching an Intro to Micro Economics this semester at Alluvial Flood Plain State University.  I love what I do... I love the interaction with the students and most of my colleagues...


All in all, this is a good bunch of students... fairly motivated... but there are always some that are just slackers... kinda like Bull Shiznitter that I wrote about HERE.   Oh... for the record, Mr. Shiznitter stopped coming to class the DAY that basketball season ended... I guess he really wasn't motivated to do anything to pass the class...

Anyhoo... as the semester was drawing to an end, I told the class that I would allow them to either take the exam on the last day of scheduled classes, or that they could take the exam during the regularly scheduled time during the week of finals... 

Out of a class of 35 students, I had 9 decide to take the exam this past Wednesday... There was this one fellow in the class who always looked like he had just toked that last toke...

Bless his heart... and he shows up to take the final... about half way through the class period, he comes up and asks...


Stoner:  "Hey man... am I takin' the right test?"


Mr. Shoes: "You are taking the same exam that everyone else is taking... why do you ask?"

Stoner: "Like, no one is here, man... where is everyone?"


Mr. Shoes: "Weren't you in class the other day when we discussed all of this? That you could take the exam today or next week?"

Stoner: "No, man... I didn't hear that... are you sure you told us?"

Mr. Shoes: "Yes, I am sure... that's why only a few students are here today... the rest are waiting until next week..."


Stoner: "Hey, can I wait and take it next week too?"


Mr. Shoes:  "Yeah... give me your exam and your scantron..."

... and Stoner leaves the class room...


One of the remaining students says, "that's not fair... he got to see the exam... he will come back and have an advantage on the rest of us."


And I replied... "No... he has no clue what was on the exam... and if you think he has an advantage, you can give me your exams now, and you can come back next week and re-take it as well..."


That seemed to have settled the remaining students down some...


I hope Stoner grows up and wins the Nobel Peace Prize... or finds a cure for some dread disease...

... but I doubt it...

~shoes~

'This Religious Holiday Weekend...'

I was reading another blog this morning about the commercialization of our religious holidays... Primarily Christmas and Easter. I remember being a kid and being SO excited about the approach of Christmas... I would think of all the things I would want Santa to bring, and to a lesser extent, Easter, and hunting for Easter eggs and what other goodies the Easter Bunny might leave.

I did pass these traditions on to my kids...


Buried in those times of receiving, was the story of the birth of Jesus, and of His crucifixion and His rising from the Dead... but being a kid, I was more interested in the toys and candies...  I learned to put those things into perspective... my perspective, over my Life time.

I remember trying to figure out just why every year that one could find 'The Ten Commandments' on Television every Easter season... there isn't an Easter Story in there...


As I grew up, and learned more... I was able to understand and place everything in its proper perspective...

I understood the story of Passover... I didn't at the time, as well as the significance of other important Jewish holidays... I understood better the stories of the birth of Jesus and possibly, from a Christian standpoint, the greater story of His Death and Resurrection...


My Mom and Dad selected a local Methodist church for my 'litter' of kids to attend as we were growing up. My oldest litter mate eventually married a Baptist and changed churches... I remained a Reprobate Methodist...


I recall my brother inviting me to come and listen to a speaker that they were having this one Wednesday night... I asked him to tell me about the speaker, and he told me...


"He used to be Catholic, but he's saved now..."


... and my mind just reeled...


I don't understand why one group of people are so offended or put off by another group's religious beliefs...  I don't understand why, over the time of recorded history, so many people have been killed in the name of God... or a god or group of gods...


My best friend at work is Hindu, and over the time I have known him, we have had many interesting conversations about religion and spirituality... He is very accepting of others' religious beliefs, and doesn't put anyone down for what they believe.  Maybe this is where I have developed my idea of being more spiritual than religious.


I think for one to have a religious belief system is good... even being agnostic or atheistic doesn't offend me.  My personal belief system has become very much of a 'cut-and-paste' belief... and I am ok with that...


I'm not sure where I am going with this post... other than to say that I wish people of one belief weren't so hard on people with other beliefs... Obviously, I have problems with those belief systems that allow the injury/death/mayhem of others...


Anyhoo... Happy Easter to those who celebrate Easter... and Happy Passover to my Jewish friends... and if there are any other religious holidays at are occurring at this time, I've omitted them entirely due to ignorance on my part, and no intended religious snub.

~shoes~

"Rest In Peace, Staff Sergeant Rogers..."

(From The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, MS)

Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers came home Thursday, his body borne upon a sea of waving American flags and hands held tightly in salute for the Brandon Marine killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.

From Airport Road and along U.S. 80, hundreds of onlookers gathered to pay their respects, as local law enforcement officials and members of the Patriot Guard escorted the convoy to Ott & Lee Funeral Home in Brandon.

Rogers, 28, was killed April 7 while conducting combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. His body was flown into the Mississippi Air National Guard Base in Flowood about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Rogers' funeral is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday at Pinelake Baptist Church off Mississippi 25. Visitation is 6-9 p.m. today.

Since Operation Enduring Freedom began almost a decade ago in Afghanistan, 4,421 Americans have died. Of those, Rogers is the 15th Mississippian to die in that conflict.

In response to Mississippi's most recent war casualty, residents came out in droves Thursday to offer their appreciation for Rogers' sacrifice.

Firefighters with Pearl and Brandon were stationed along the highway, displaying large American flags from their ladders, as business owners and members of the communities joined in to show their support for the war hero.

Families were grouped together along the roadside, while some children played on grassy hills.

Danielle Criddle, a former classmate of Rogers, stood across the highway from the funeral home where Rogers was being taken.  "He was an awesome guy, friendly and spoke to everyone," said Hattiesburg resident Criddle, who stood next to her young daughter Kailyn, and her mother, Kami Levern of Brandon. 

Just up the road from Criddle stood Houston Ward, a retired Marine, who proudly held a large American flag toward the highway.  "I didn't know him personally," said Ward, a Brandon resident. "His sacrifice was great, and we have to honor him and his family for that sacrifice."

Military mother Pat Pace sat along U.S. 80 with a friend, waiting for Rogers' procession to pass by.  "After 9-11, my son joined the military and went to Afghanistan and Iraq," Pace said, adding that her son graduated with Rogers from Brandon High School in 2000.  Pace said she wanted to show her support for the Rogers family, drawing from her own experiences when her son was badly wounded in Afghanistan.

_________________________

Now... for the totally disgusting side of this story...  The scum from Westboro Baptist Church, of  Topeka, Kansas, plan to picket the church tomorrow where Sgt. Rogers funeral is to be held.

This is all the publicity this group of hate-mongers will get from me... I am certain that they will learn something some day about the power of God's Love... who deserves it, who earns it... and who doesn't...

This pretty well sums up my opinion about it all...

I wish peace and comfort for the family of Sgt. Rogers in the difficult days that lay ahead for them...  

God Bless...

~shoes~

"Liam Larry and Other Turmoil..."

Blah...


Today is a bad day... 


It's been a bad couple of weeks... 


it's been a bad semester... 


it's been a bad year...


Liam Larry... a source of quite a few of my posts has taken a turn for the worse, medically.  He just won't take care of himself.  This past Friday, there was a commotion in his class room... he became incoherent, he started rambling, he started talking about dying, he broke out in a bad sweat... one of the students became concerned and sought help from another faculty member.  An ambulance was called, and medical attention arrived. I was told that when Liam Larry was hooked up to a heart rate monitor, that it was mostly flat-lined with just minimal ticks where his heart beat should have been... he blood pressure was 72/38...


He has been a time bomb this semester... just a host of medical issues, emergencies... he would say things that would anger his friends and colleagues... he has just been a difficult person to be around...


He was told that he would not be allowed to come back to work without a medical release from his physician... he saw his doctor yesterday and the doctor wouldn't allow Liam Larry's return.


His Mom and sister are here to get him... they are going to take him home.  His Mom, age 80, could beat Liam Larry up if she had wanted to...


They were all here in the building a short while ago... I went to visit with them... Liam Larry doesn't look well.  Never mind that I have told my colleagues that I did not expect Liam Larry to be alive at the end of this semester.  I still don't... I walked to the elevator with him and his family... I shook his hand and stepped away from the elevator door...


As the door closed, I thought to myself... "Good bye, Larry..."  I doubt seriously that I will see him alive again...


This has been a tough academic year... 


Robert died...     


Another colleague was diagnosed with colon cancer last year about this time... he had surgery... it was bad... he went for a check up here just recently and discovered it had spread to his liver... he had surgery again... he won't be back this semester...


Yet another colleague with a host of medical issues had to take a medical leave of absence... he won't be back this year, and probably won't return...


That is four people out of not a very large group of professors... This is a reminder of how fragile... how delicate Life really is.


On a different tangent, I received an text from BoyShoes earlier this morning... it seems that his girl friend has been accepted into graduate school at a university some distance from here... He said he needs to talk to me... that he needs advice....  I am thinking that he doesn't figure into her plans.  I will give him the best Fatherly advice I can give him... he and I are going to a late lunch at 2.30...  He ended the conversation with "I love you, Dad..."


I had a text message exchange with GirlShoes last night... about issues between her and her Mom... She ended the conversation with "I really miss you, DadE... I love you..."




I'm honored that my kids come to me when they have these issues... I am glad I can be there for them...


There is uncertainty here at Alluvial Flood Plain State University, but my concerns are with my colleagues and my kids...  Spring semesters are always more intense than Fall semesters... I really feel worn down this semester...  I think I am not stressed, but maybe my recent blood pressure issues indicate otherwise... 

Life sure is looking different right now...

I'm very tired...

I'm very exhausted...

~shoes~

"Inspired By BoyShoes..."

A BlackShoes Post...

BoyShoes called me last week... wanted to meet for margaritas... I mean, who can refuse an offer to drink margaritas at the Hairball... and with BoyShoes, no less!!

BoyShoes is a funny guy... I do love him so.  So he tells me about going to a party that his girlfriend wanted him to attend.  He tells me that after a bit, the group split up... the girls going into one room to talk, and the guys into another.  He said that they talked about hunting, fishing... stuff like that. Evidently, it didn't take long for him to become bored with the male conversation, so he says he got up and went into the room with the young ladies... smart kid, BoyShoes...


He proceeds to tell me that they are talking about 'girl~stuff'... whatever that might entail... and some of the seamier sides of the relationships they are in, sex, cheating... things like that.  BoyShoes said he decided to step into the mix... and he tells me that he asks them,

"If your boyfriend was with another woman, and they were in a room masturbating, but not touching each other... would you consider that cheating?"

LMAO!!!!!!

He said he did it for a shock effect, but instead, he said that they seriously started talking about whether or not it would be cheating, and then that the discussion transcended into that of how they masturbate... and BoyShoes said he just sat there and listened and learned...  "Imagine that, Dad... all of these guys that I know... and I know how their girl friends pleasure themselves!!!!!"

He was grinning like a cat in a canary shop...

Of course, I could hardly believe that I was having that conversation with my son... so go figure...

... and I guess while I'm at it, here's a masturbation poster...

OK... this is a question for the ladies that I found in a sex survery...

Would you rather be with a guy who is:

A.  lousy in bed but amazing in every other way

B.  amazing in bed but lousy in every other way...

You can either blame, or credit BoyShoes for being the driving force behind this post...

~shoes~