Living with an adolescent

Charley is growing up.

At 17 mos, he has the social skills of an impulsive 12-year-old. He is motivated by fun: everything is a potential toy; everyone is a playmate.

Like Klaus.

Klaus, the boxer who lives on the other side of the privacy fence that encloses our yard, is Charley's age, and they are buddies. We should not have been surprised when they conspired to tunnel under the fence to play. Klaus' people are good sports about this, but they have small children who could be injured, so efforts to secure the perimeter occurred on both sides. First they put in an electric wire and fitted Klaus and Clover, his gal pal, with special collars. That kept them in, but it did not keep Charley out. Then I had a load of big rocks delivered which I placed along the fence. That slowed them down for just a bit. They found a sweet spot where they dug under the rocks. Filled that in with bigger rocks. That was when I discovered their accomplice was the very strong little boy who lives with them. The biggest rock of all may have finally put an end to this.

Now winter is setting in and the ground is too hard for easy digging. Nasty weather makes it hard to ensure my dog gets enough exercise. Charley misses his friend and their playful romps and I feel bad for him. He has been grounded to the backyard and he is lonely. Play dates will be arranged.

This is the life of any parent whose adolescent has a social life but no drivers license.

The Flushing Youth Council

Comprised of students from Powers and Flushing High School, their entry in the Harvest Fest scarecrow competition wore an orange hoodie with logos from both schools, and carried a "unity" sign. The two schools are athletic rivals, and the students usually are chanting across a gym at each other. They come together, however, at Youth Council where they engage in community issues and service projects.

2007 Relay for Life

The path is lit by hundreds of luminaria, in honor of our friends and loved ones who have faced cancer, and in memory of those who have lost their battle. The mood is contemplative.

I know that spring will come soon because our committee is preparing for the 2008 Relay for Life. The theme is "Celebrate - Remember - Fight Back" and we will do all of that.
The Youth Council has decided to use a New Year's Eve celebration theme: "It's a New Year!" The rest of the relay teams will want to be prepared for the noise at midnight that will be coming from the Youth Council's site. I am posting a few pictures from last year's relay. Anyone who would like to make a contribution should follow the American Cancer Society link. http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife

Desperation is never attractive

Please, Hillary, do not lose your dignity. Tonight's news was about new ads for your campaign which they described as "negative." Voters really are turned off by that.

Are you listening Nielsen?

I wonder how many other Americans elected to watch the rerun of Celebrity Rehab over the State of the Union speech last night. I would have preferred to read a book, but Charley likes to "help", so tv is the easier choice while he is awake.
The choice saddened me. It's the first State of the Union I have ever missed since being mature enough to sit through a long speech. I have taken detailed notes on such speeches, back in the teaching days, to use in class the next day. They have been interesting and important, but not this time. I can not stand to listen to anything more this President has to say. I am amazed that he and his VP have not been impeached, then criminally charged and imprisoned for fraud, conspiracy to commit perjury, malfeasance, and simple stupidity.

Winter Watch

We have been fairly warned. Area weathermen have shown the coming storm on their national maps. It's in the southwest now, and will come marching north and east to hit Michigan tomorrow night, with a combination of significant snow accumulation and freezing rain. Either one is sufficient to make a real mess, and I'm curious to see how we will manage with both. Any going out and about will be done by tomorrow evening. After that, I just need to be able to get to Metro airport to pick up my returning world traveler, whose flight from Berlin is scheduled to arrive about 8 PM.