Summer Camp

It was a privilege to join our church youth group at Camp Caswell on Oak Island near Wilmington, North Carolina. I was one of two male chaperones to accompany seventeen youths.

One thousand youths, leaders, and chaperones from 44 churches were gathered at this excellent facility for worship, Bible study, devotions, meal preparations, and fun leisure time activities.

Morning and evening services were held each day in Hatch Auditorium. The worship leader was former NFL football player, Derwin L. Gray. This evangelism linebacker from a south Charlotte church exhibited great passion for Jesus. We were inspired by his preaching on the scriptures in The Holy Bible. I estimated a hundred youths committed to follow Christ by stepping forward during the invitation.

The theme of the week was iLove - love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; love oneself; and love your neighbor as yourself.

One day's message was on human sexuality and how God created sex for procreation and pleasure between husband and wife. Mr. Gray left no stone unturned as he preached to teenagers about avoidance of intercourse, oral sex, masturbation, dry humping, and porn. He talked to us about the value and rewards of saving virginity beyond teenage years for a future spouse. His message reminded everyone about temptations we face everyday with the marketing of sexual imagery and the behaviors of men and women in pictures, movies, media, and on TV. Many teenagers at church camp purchased a "purity ring" as a reminder to themselves and friends of their goal to remain pure until marriage.

Further discussion with teenagers about sex education was held when the youths were separated by gender. The teenagers' youth leader and chaperones met with their respective gender group to further discuss the message. This allowed students and their youth leader to talk about appropriate attire, degrees of kissing, behaviors at school, and the use of daily prayer to help stay the course.

Has your teenager received biblical guidance on sexuality?

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Click here to see more photos of the camp area and the fun time had by all.

Have a good week!

The Other Side

As an infantry fighter in the jungles, mountains, and rice paddies in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in 1966, one might think I wouldn't read a book written by a former NVA enemy soldier. You might feel it would be upsetting or heighten Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to read about a past enemy's experiences of combat, death, and destruction while fighting Americans.

Bao Ninh, pictured below, was born in 1952 in North Vietnam. He deployed south with the Glorious 27th Youth Brigade to fight American and ARVN soldiers in 1969. The unit consisted of 500 hastily trained youths. Only 10 survived the war. Mr. Ninh was one of the ten survivors and was part of the Ho Chi Minh's forces that overran Saigon on April 29, 1975.

His book, The Sorrow of War, was a huge bestseller in Vietnam and was translated from Vietnamese to English by Phan Thanh Hao and edited by Frank Palmos. The English translation copyright was 1993 by Martin Secker & Warburg Limited in Great Britain. The copy I read was published by Riverhead Books in New York.

The novel's central character is a young fighter by the name of Kien. Tu was the name of a fellow fighter with Kien. "Tu was killed at Gate 5 of Saigon's Ton Son Nhat airport on the morning of April 30 only 3 hours before the war ended."

Kien described the deserted areas of Hanoi during the bombing raids and the troop-train movement of NVA soldiers south when U. S. President Lyndon Johnson ordered periods of ceased bombing.

Kien's life following the war is absorbed with memories of that jungle place in the Central Highlands where, in '69, his brigade was almost annihilated by helicopter gun-ships at tree-top height, artillery, napalm, and Phantom jets. That place is referred to as "Jungle of Screaming Souls".

Kien describes life after the war. Many times at night he lies in bed and is attacked by helicopters with the "whump-whump-whump sound of the rotor blades". In reality it's the ceiling fan in his bedroom."

Mr. Ninh writes in the novel of Kien saying, "I am watching a U. S. war movie with scenes of American soldiers yelling as they launch themselves into combat on the TV screen, and once again I'm ready to jump in and mix in the fiery scene of blood, mad killing, and brutality that warps soul and personality. The thirst for killing, the cruelty, the animal psychology, the evil desperation. I sit dizzied, shocked by the barbarous excitement of reliving close combat with bayonets and rifle butts. My heart beats rapidly as I stare at the dark corners of the room where ghost-soldiers emerge, shredded with gaping wounds."

Mr. Ninh fought, I fought, and comrades on both sides fought in Vietnam over ideology. The fight was not for land, natural resources, food, or water rights. It was about differing cultures and the desire to spread one over the other (the north and south).

But, if one is not willing to defend a way of life, then one should be prepared to accept change in his speech, language, style of dress, behavior, thinking, or even his religion if an outside force brings different ideology. Would you fight to defend a way of life?

Have a good week!

Satisfied Customers

I've added Kent Shropshire and Dean Goodman to my mental list of satisfied customers. Dean (L) and Kent (R) are in the picture above.

The 4,000 pound white oak log was delivered to my sawmill by these gentlemen for milling into inch and a half thick boards 12 inches wide to floor a farm trailer.

The men were cautious and skeptical after experiencing poor quality sawing by another sawyer. They commented that prime logs had been converted into boards of wedge shape and wavy cuts. "It was very difficult to work with the lumber," said Mr. Goodman.

Kent and Dean became sawmill "hands" as we had fun milling the lumber and working together. As both men departed the job site with the lumber, they expressed satisfaction with the quality.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Have a good week!

DC Trip

While our daughter was on the east coast on business, my wife and I joined her in DC last weekend.

We toured sites we'd never before visited. The Holocaust Museum, Jefferson Memorial, National Cathedral, and Union Station were first time visits. We also road the upper deck of a Gray Line tour bus.

We stayed two nights in the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel close to the National Mall.

More pictures are available by clicking here.

A rededication of the Lincoln Memorial happened while we were there.

Have a good week.

Vanishing Values

Virgil Gray Conrad never held a mortgage, never borrowed money, and never used a credit card.  Cash or checks have always been the method used to purchase everything.  The only exception was an appliance purchase using Sears Revolving Credit (SRC) many years ago. When Mr. Conrad received the first statement and saw the interest expense, he quickly paid the full amount due and never repeated the consumer trap of buy now, pay later.

Gray and Martha Mock Sprinkle married on April 25, 1947 after Mr. Conrad returned from the Pacific Theater where he fought in the 81st Infantry Wildcat Division during World War II. Before he returned home, Major General Paul J. Mueller pinned a Silver Star on Staff Sergeant Conrad  for his acts of valor during the invasions and battles on Angaur and Peleliu. The 321st Regimental Combat Team, where Conrad was assigned, lost 170 men (KIA) and 545 wounded. Enemy forces killed were 1,300.  Former Secretary of State George Schultz also fought with the 321st RCT on both Angaur and Peleliu. Captain Schultz was the only Marine to have fought with the army unit as he served as Marine liaison officer. 

Gray was born February 4, 1919 in Lewisville, North Carolina which is now a small incorporated town next to Winston-Salem.  Mr. Conrad grew up in the rural area where his father farmed and worked as janitor at Lewisville School. Young Conrad often helped his dad sweep the school floors in return for a sandwich from the school cafeteria. When church socials were held for fund raising, a nickel would buy a cone of homemade ice cream.  Children who didn't have a nickel were allowed to lick the dasher.  Gray was one of those youngsters without a nickel.

Reverend G. W. Fink was the depression-era preacher at Lewisville Methodist Church in 1930. He told the parishioners, "$30,000 is needed to build a new church building.  Some of you have money and some have muscle."  The Conrad family were among those who had muscle and responded to the call by employing their labor to mill trees into lumber to satisfy the church pledge during the building project.

After the war, Gray worked for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for a few years before he entered barber school on Trade Street.  Barbering has been his life profession for 50 years.  He still cuts a few heads of hair only on Mondays in the shop beside his home.  Mr. Will Reynolds, tobacco tycoon, was a regular customer in Gray's first barber shop.  A haircut was priced at 75 cents. Mr. Conrad was both puzzled and amused by the old man's lack of gratitute and habit of not offering a tip for Gray's service.  

Gray proudly tells of building his house in 1955 partly with his own labor and with money he and Martha saved from their earnings. Martha worked as a bookkeeper at Snyder Lumber Company on Vargrave Street in Winston-Salem for several years, a tax preparer a few more years and later in life became a teacher's aid at Vienna Elementary School.  

"The floor joists in the house are 2 by 12 oak lumber", said Gray as he described the timber he had milled for their house.  When Gray and Martha moved into their new residence, materials costs and contractors were paid in full in the amount of $11,040.  

Those dollars would have the buying power of $88,320 in year 2008. Think about that for a moment.  How many folks today accumulate that much money before buying a home?

Today the loving couple still live in that attractive, well maintained, and comfortable home. While Gray tends several garden plots and cuts hair one day per week, both Conrads are assisted by a live-in caregiver, Rhonda Mabe. Ms. Mabe attends to daily duties inside the house and sometimes in the yard and garden as well. For several years now Mrs. Conrad's health condition has required full time assistance from both her husband and Rhonda. Gray, now age 90, accepts the difficulties of aging, caregiving, housekeeping, and barbering in the spirit of ... soldier on.  

A girl and boy were born to Gray and Martha in December 1952 and November 1954. Their daughter, Margil, (derived from the first 3 letters of Martha and the last 3 of Virgil) was born first and is an eleventh grade history teacher at Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina. It is heartwarming to hear Margil describe her childhood. She adored her hero daddy and frequently visited the barber shop to see her father at work and to meet customers and people in the community. Their son, Larry, also speaks admiringly of the way Gray and Martha supported his youth activities in scouting, school, church, and more.  Larry achieved Eagle Scout status.  He is now a 29 year employee at Nortel in Research Triangle Park and lives in Raleigh with his wife and two sons.  Margil and Larry closely monitor and frequently visit their aging parents.

Gray has always been a sociable person.  He is respected, admired and liked by many people. Spirited debates often occur at Old Richmond Grill where he visits friends for morning coffee. Gray is usually the one who incites others who erupt into loud talk as they espouse "truth" about the matter under discussion.  Politics, social programs, work, and money are popular topics.

Gray Conrad's life embodies core values that have not been adopted by many people in following generations. The qualities and ideals of patriotism, willingness to put oneself in harm's way, one marriage, living debt free, living within one's means, tilling soil, and growing fresh vegetables are traits that have largely vanished in modern society.  Only time will reveal if those core values were wisely abandoned.   

Gray, thank you for being a friend.

The three pictures were taken on June 1, 2009: Starting at the top photo is Mr. Conrad, next is his house, and last is Vienna Barber Shop. Click to enlarge the pictures.  The bottom image is the awards ceremony where Gray received the country's third highest award for valor, the Silver Star.

Have a good week! 

 

Quality Family Time

Last weekend our children and grandchildren joined my wife and me at Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing near New Castle, Virginia.

The remote camp offers rustic cabins and a central lodge for family-style meals, meeting members of other groups, and hanging out with camp leaders and directors.

Camp activities specialize in building teamwork, instilling personal confidence, bonding with each other, and engaging in fun activities in the outdoors away from TVs, cell phones, and computers.  The young camp directors are well trained professionals with much experience in leading groups. 

The 900-foot zip line and 50-foot climbing wall were especially challenging for us all.  My wife now holds the distinction of being among the oldest females to successfully climb the 50' wall. The picture below is me struggling to hold on using fingers, toes, or sides of my feet.  I actually fell twice before I crawled over the top ledge like a breathless climb out of the deep end of a swimming pool.

We flew down the zip line at 30 to 35 miles per hour.  See the top picture of my son-in-law.

We also hiked trails, ran, canoed Craigs Creek, and gathered around campfires each evening after dinner.  We highly recommend this site for summer youth camps, school groups, families, and company employee team building.  The camp offers Outward Bound experiences for young people as well.  There are ropes courses, caving, rock climbing and much more to do if you desire those experiences.

Here is their web site: Wilderness Adventure

My gallery of more pictures is available here: more pictures

Our family members departed on Monday and traveled home to Seattle, Chapel Hill or Pfafftown. 

Have a good week!

Table of Honor

The Table of Honor in the picture above was set to represent the patriots who gave their lives while fighting for our country.

The table was set at the banquet on May 2, 2009 in the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in Wilmington, North Carolina.  The occasion was the NC Department Convention of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Chapters throughout North Carolina and South Carolina were there for the annual meeting to conduct business and elect officers.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart was chartered by Congress in 1958. Chapters are made up of members who received a Purple Heart Medal in wars from WWII to the present wars on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

One highlight of the banquet was the announcement of "Patriot of the Year". This year the decision went to Daniel T. McGinley of Fayetteville.  Patriot McGinley is founder and past commander of the Fort Bragg Chapter 2226. McGinley, seated beside his wife Chome in the second picture below, is an enthusiastic organizer and worker for the 160 members in the Fort Bragg chapter.

In order to understand the character of this man, consider his history. McGinley served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.  Between and after these wars, he finished college, formed successful businesses, and wrote several books. When his age was 40 in 1967, he endured bureaucratic obstacles and incurred considerable personal expense to return to active duty and serve in Vietnam. There he fought as a Green Beret in the mountains and jungles for almost three years and received a second Combat Medical Badge.  "Can do" is an always attitude possessed by Patriot McGinley.

As you observe the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, I encourage you to think about the "Missing Man Table of Honor" setting in the top picture and reflect upon the men and women who died for the freedom we enjoy.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Have a good week!   

Bird Stops Man and Machine

A Carolina wren built her nest and laid eggs inside my sawmill .  I'm a hobbyist who mills logs into lumber for friends and neighbors.

When I began a milling job recently, a quick movement around a shield which guards the main pulley caught my eye.

The job lasted three hours as I suspected a nest inside the mill housing. A few days I removed bolts to open the shield and discovered a wren's nest with newly hatched babies.  I closed the protective shield and halted production until the birds mature and leave their nest.

Have a good week!

Field Trip

Last Tuesday I helped Ms. Rogers' Digital Communications students employ GPS devices to locate hidden objects in C. G. Hill Park in Forsyth County of North Carolina.

The class from Ronald Reagan High School arrived at the park by bus shortly after the start of the school day. We gathered around tables, discussed GPS receivers, and reviewed how satellites enable the devices to calculate our position and direct us to destinations.

Latitude and longitude coordinates were obtained from Geocaching dot com. These sets of numbers were entered into the hand-held GPS devices. The instruments and "radio waves" from orbiting satellites directed us to exact locations where metal or plastic containers were hidden. The students used the navigation system to trek through woods and fields in search of the hidden caches. We spent two hours in the beauty of the outdoors to successfully find four treasures.

Click here to see more pictures of students moving throughout the park.

The field trip occurred on a warm and clear day. The park was alive with people walking, birds chirping, squirrels feeding and students learning. One student lured a cautious squirrel to our picnic table as we concluded the morning by eating pizza before we returned to the school campus.

I very much enjoyed the time I spent with both Ms. Rogers and her impressive students. The curiosity and behavior of these fine young people gave me certainty that a bright future is in store for them.

Have a good week!

Where Do You Get News?

I recently downloaded from the Internet onto my computer a link to Livestation.  It's a way to access worldwide news delivered by other countries. One of the more interesting is the network from the the middle east.  Al Jazeera is now available in English with reporters for that network working around the world.

One can also access BBC, French, Russia, China, and many other countries reporting the news.

I also enjoy watching NASA TV which shows live reporting in space and the training of astronauts.

I suggest you download Livestation and begin to see how reports of world events are done in other cultures.

Have a good week!

Should Be A Case Study

It was Saturday April 11, 2009 at 9:10 AM in the picture above. I was talking on my BlackBerry device to a technician in Indianapolis about trouble with my Woodmizer sawmill. The hydraulics weren't performing up to standard as friends and I milled a 3,000 pound white oak log.

After I described the problem and answered a few questions, the technician diagnosed the problem as most likely a weak battery. I replaced the battery and we were milling again at 10:20 AM at normal performance.

Throughout 15 years of operating this brand of sawmill, I've related to many friends how the Wood-Mizer company should be a Harvard Business Review case study about starting a business, product development, sales, and customer service. This company began in the U. S. around 27 years ago by a Polish immigrant who grew his idea and mill design into a company that has manufactured and distributed 40,000 sawmills to 110 countries.

See the pictures below how friends and I continued sawing and produced quartersawn lumber.

Have a good week!

Seattle Underground

When Seattle streets were first built in the mid 1800's, some were below the water level of the Puget Sound when the tide was high. This presented flooding problems and sewage disposal issues for the growing city during the late nineteenth century. Those streets, sidewalks, and stores were eventually elevated by building the same above the troublesome ones. Walls were built, beams installed, and new streets and sidewalks constructed, and the lower level abandoned.

Today, guided tours are available to enter this underground space and hear a guide describe the founding and growth of this northwestern U. S. city.   My wife, daughter, and I took the tour a few weeks ago.  I learned many interesting facts, but the one bit of trivia I learned was about the flush toilet.  The guide told us that Thomas Crapper popularized the flush toilet in the northwest with a shipment of 1500 units to Seattle around 1880. They sold immediately. You can see one of these toilets in a picture below.

Have a good week!

Rare Military Experiences

If the kindness, gentleness and history of Troy Leonard Kitchens were known, the thief probably would not have stolen property from inside the locked toolshed.

The same for whomever recently stole Kitchens' pick-up truck, kept it for a week, and added 700 miles to the odometer. Fortunately, the white '02 Ford Ranger truck was found abandoned at a nearby shopping center in the declining neighborhood of Winston-Salem where Kitchens has lived in the house he built with his hands 60 years ago.  

Mr. Kitchens told me, "I love everybody". He also said, "I hope I didn't kill anybody in the war".  He was referring to WWII and fighting in the Pacific Theater with the 503rd Pacific Regimental Combat Team (PRCT).  These infantry paratroopers fought difficult battles on islands of New Guinea and the Philippines.  Mr. Kitchens is a rare individual with three parachute jumps into combat.  

Kitchens parachuted onto battlefields:

at Nadzab, Markham Valley, New Guinea on September 5, 1943

at Noemfoor Island, New Guinea on July 3, 1944

at Corregidor, Philippines on February 16, 1945

Mr. Kitchens is authorized to wear the Basic Combat Parachutist Badge in the photo below with 3 Combat Jump Stars.  Few men are qualified to wear this badge of honor.

In addition, Kitchens participated in three beach landings where he was delivered near the shoreline on a Landing Ship Transport (LST) and then waded onto the sandy beaches in water up to his nose.

At Corregidor a hand grenade wounded his face and chest in early May 1945.  An enemy bullet entered his right leg near the knee for a second wound on May 20, 1945.  The war ended and a Purple Heart Medal was awarded to PFC Kitchens while hospitalized on Negros Island. An honorable discharge was bestowed him at Fort Bragg at 1:00 AM 12/26/1945 when he arrived there by troop train in the middle of the night.

Kitchens returned home to his wife who bore his daughter a few months after he was drafted in March 1942.  Mr. Kitchens buried his wife at Salisbury National Cemetery in 2005 after 62 years of marriage.  Her casket is nine feet under and some day Troy will be laid to rest on top at six feet under.  In the meantime, Troy lives in retirement from R. C. Flynt & Son, a sewing machine cabinet maker, where he worked 38 years and 4 months.  This family owned company in Winston-Salem, N.C. employed about eleven people. Troy missed 31 days during those years which included time away for an appendectomy and gall bladder removal another time.  He retired in 1986 with no pension, no bonus, and no "thank you" on his last day. He doesn't understand why the owner was angered by his retirement.  The company folded a few years later.

The picture below shows Mr. Kitchens holding a carving he completed in 1946. Troy has the ability to visualize an image inside a block of pine or maple and use a pocket knife to remove the wood around the image leaving these finished horses and wagon in this project. (click on this picture and others to see the intricate detail) This is one hobby he continued throughout life. Charcoal drawings of human faces are framed and displayed on walls of his home.  He drew them. Playing the guitar is another talent he possesses.

Troy believes God sustained him throughout his life.  One devoted uncle was somewhat helpful to him during childhood. The parents he was born to on 6/23/1924 in Greenville, S.C. had a difficult time. Young Troy lived a few years in an orphanage in Asheville, N.C. and his teenage years were on a dairy farm in Mt. Airy, N.C. where he developed strong hands and powerful forearms from milking cows.  He left Flat Rock High School after the tenth grade.

I feel fortunate to have met Mr. Kitchens through membership in the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. When Troy and I had lunch to talk about this writing, I told him "I, too, have plans to be buried in the Salisbury National Cemetery in Rowan County of North Carolina".  It will be an honor to be placed in a straight line somewhere on the forty acre site where this patriot will rest. Meanwhile, I will enjoy his friendship and the bond of this fellow veteran until that day comes to one of us.

As far as thieves are concerned, if they would knock on his door and express their need, Mr. Kitchens would probably offer to help them.

Have a good week!

 

Dinner for two, $142.17

When menus are printed daily on high quality paper, it's a signal that prices will be high.  Here are a few dining experiences we had in Seattle.  Click to enlarge.

Welcome Home!

After World War I, the cavalry retired their equestrian herd as a mode of transportation in wars and battles. 

When I joined the cavalry in 1966, the methods of troop movement were jeeps, Huey helicopters and parachuting from fixed-wing or rotary aircraft. Years after my volunteer service as an airborne infantryman in Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry in the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, the Defense Department reorganized the 101st into "air assault" with utilization of modern helicopters.  The division stopped parachuting and expanded the helicopter fleet. 

The reorganized Troop A recently completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan flying "choppers" like the one in the picture above. This OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aircraft is produced by Bell Helicopter and powered with a Rolls-Royce engine. Their armament can consist of Hellfire or Stinger missiles, rockets, and a 50 caliber Browning Machine Gun. Currently, Troop A consists of 10 helicopters, 16 pilots (3 are females), crew chiefs, and other military occupation specialty persons for a total of 45.

The troop returned last December from duty in the South-Central Asia country to their home base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  Fort Campbell is near Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee. 

Alpha Troop Association is a veteran's group open to all who served in this military unit. Membership consists of retired or discharged veterans, and active duty soldiers.  An association board meeting was held in Clarksville earlier this month.  Association leaders hosted a welcome home party for the soldiers and their spouses.  The party was held Friday evening at the Black Horse Pub and Brewery in downtown Clarksville.  There were unlimited drinks and food for three hours as war veterans and spouses mingled and met to thank each other for service in the military unit.  All were thankful for the event and the fifteen or so board members gladly contributed their personal money to pay all expenses of the evening.

The pictures below show the party and the festive mood.  One picture shows the current troop commander presenting a signed guidon to the Alpha Troop leader and commander of the troop from the Vietnam era. The guidon flew at base camp in Afghanistan and was presented to Alpha Troop Association out of respect and appreciation for the moral support extended to the current troopers.

The last picture shows me sitting in the cockpit of a helicopter inside a hangar on Fort Campbell.  I dreamed of being a pilot when I was an infantry paratrooper in Vietnam in 1966, but this is the closest I came to fulfilling that youthful dream.

Have a good week!

  

Document Based/Menu Driven

This picture is one classroom session I attended. I was in a total of twelve sessions during the three days. My wife attended twelve different sessions.

TI-Nspire is the next generation of graphing calculator after TI-83 and TI-84. It's actually a computer that will save and retrieve documents using familiar commands. This is helpful when students run out of time in class and need to save finished or unfinished work for the next day.

A file on the calculator will show 5 tabs similar to manila folder tabs. Each tab is an application.  One is "calculator" which is for formula entry, another is "spreadsheet" for data, a third one is for "graphs and geometric shapes", one for notes, and one for "data and statistics". These apps are all connected for the problem being worked.  Just click or key to move from one app to the other.

One session leader demonstrated how to use TI-Nspire to compute the frequency of prime numbers between 0 and 1000. He next computed the frequency of prime numbers between 1001 and 2000 and so on to 50,000. The calculator plotted these frequencies as data points in one app. He used the "slider" feature to increment the formula while data points were plotted on an X-Y coordinates plane. The "grab hand" was used to grip the X-axis to stretch it to accommodate the 50 increments. Can you guess the shape of the curve that best fit these data points?  If you decided a logarithmic-like curve that never quite touched the X -axis, you would be correct.

There are many excellent features about TI-Nspire.  One is the ease with which data points can be loaded and examined by gripping a polynomial curve or geometric shape to change shape or size.  The calculator automatically records all data points into apps from movements that changed the polynomial or geometric shape.

Return here next week for more of my reaction to the conference.

Have a good week!

Click on images to enlarge.

Learn, Lead, Inspire

My wife and I attended the International Conference of Teachers Teaching With Technology in Seattle from February 27 to March 1, 2009. The conference was sponsored by Texas Instruments and was their 21st annual event. The three days of sessions included over 1,700 participants, 531 first timers, 27 countries, 28 exhibitors, and 380 presenters.

Teachers across the United States showed how they utilize TI-Nspire calculators, Digital Projection, SmartBoards, and TI Navigator System to teach students Math and Geometry, Science, Chemistry, and Physics.

The conference was held in the Washington State Convention Center. Melendy Lovett, President, Education Technology at Texas Instruments extended welcoming remarks to begin the three days of sessions. The keynote address was delivered by Jason Ryan Dorsey, author and motivational speaker.

I'll report, next week, on some of the sessions I attended during the three days.

The pictures here include views inside the convention center and a look through our hotel room window.

Have a good week!

Four Minutes

See the four minute video to be inspired and feel pride. Click here:

Have a good week!

Teacher Quality

The table above shows teacher quality for the same schools I reported last week.  Student test scores on standardized testing at the end of course was displayed on last week's blog post. Scroll down further to see that data.

Click on the chart to enlarge the data.

Have a good week!

Schools' Report Card 2007-2008

Click on the chart to enlarge the the data.  Highlighted data indicates the schools with the best performance.  Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina scored highest on End of Course Testing compared to the high schools shown here.  My theory is that the students there are probably more disciplined due to the concentration of military families.  What do you think accounts for the high performance there?

You may want to study the data of other North Carolina schools or see additional statistics.  If so, use the URL below to see all NC schools. 

http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/

Have a good week!

Life's Greatest Lesson?

I don't admire or respect a college professor who gave unearned A's to all male students in his classes during the late 1960's so their draft deferments would remain valid. The professor was against the Vietnam War.  I wonder how females in the classes felt about the men getting undeserved A's?  I wonder how those men feel today when they reflect upon their inflated grade point average?

I just finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.  The book is about Morrie Schwartz, a professor of Sociology at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, who retired in 1994. This very popular professor had a large following of admiring students. 

After retirement, Professor Schwartz became afflicted with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  Mr. Albom (a former student) visited "Morrie" in his home fourteen times during the course of the terminal disease.  The visits were always on the Tuesday which related to meeting days with the teacher in college sixteen years earlier.  

The point of the book was how the teacher taught to the very end of life. Morrie described losing control of all body functions and becoming totally dependent on others as his neurological system was destroyed beginning in the feet and slowly advancing up the body to the neck.

Morrie and Mitch Albom reflected on life and all its meanings as the two visited.  The professor taught at BU in the sixties when the campus was:

 "...a hotbed for cultural revolution. Drugs, sex, race, Vietnam protests.  Abbie Hoffman attended Brandeis. So did Jerry Rubin and Angela Davis.  Morrie had many of the radical students in his classes. That was partly because, instead of teaching, the sociology faculty got involved.  It was fiercely antiwar, for example.  When the professors learned that students who did not maintain a certain grade point average could lose their deferments and be drafted, they decided not to give any grades.  When the administration said, "if you don't give these students grades, they will all fail,"  Morrie had a solution: "Let's give them all A's."  And they did."  (page 111)

Professor Schwartz was an agnostic throughout his life, but after the diagnosis of ALS, be began to rethink that position and eventually decided that life is "Too harmonious, grand, and overwhelming a universe to believe it's all an accident." (page 196)

It is sad that it took him a lifetime to reach his conclusion.

Have a good week!

The Economy

Point number 1: Contracts are binding.  When adults enter into a legal contract to borrow money under certain terms, the borrower is bound by the contract unless the lender agrees to a change.  If a change in terms is agreed upon, then there are new expenses to rewrite the contract.  The original borrowed  money is still owed.

People who borrow money must repay the money or surrender assets to cover the loan amount. If job loss, bad health, credit card debt, divorce, newborns, or whatever causes the debtor to get in arrears, the borrowed money is still owed up to the settlement of one's estate at time of death. (bankruptcy might excuse some debt repayment) 

Point number 2:  Even if 2 to 3 million new jobs are created, that will only return employment to levels of a few years ago.  The jobs will most likely be at lower pay than before and old debts will need to be repaid with earnings from the so called new jobs.  The repayment of old debt will limit spending on new "stuff" that creates growth in the economy.

Point number 3:  I hear commentators and leaders say "when banks and lenders start lending again ..." as if to imply the economy will then recover.  I believe that banks and lenders will not return to lending money to high risk borrowers as many did in the past.

The United States economy will continue to slow and debtors will be enslaved for a long time.

Conclusion:  People should not borrow money except for one modest shelter and barely adequate transportation.  Borrowing to start or expand a business venture is one other exception.  Education loans should be avoided.

Have a good week!

Bleak House

Have you heard the expression "I thank you a thousand times" or "I apologize a thousand times"?

A couple years ago a friend and old man used that phrase when he thanked me for something I did for him.  When he said those words, it occurred to me that I'd never before heard a thank you delivered that way.  His words stuck with me.

My wife and I watched BBC's 2005 miniseries of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House".   There were 15 episodes around 35 minutes each.  I enjoyed the series immensely; my attention was riveted to the screen.  

While watching the episodes, I heard characters use the "thousand times" phrase twice, once for a thank you and the other, an apology. These three are the only times I've heard sentiments phrased that way.

Another unique feature throughout the series was the way light was used on the faces of the characters.  Scene background was often dark and many times characters faces were partially shadowed just like on the DVD cover above. This made the faces, voices, and words the main focus.

Finally, there was agape love throughout and no scenes of sex and nudity.  The two young women characters were Esther Summerson and Ada Clare who were plain looking, but their manners, speech, attitudes, kindness, and goodwill made them extremely beautiful women and highly sought by the men around them.  I could write a thousand words more about Charles Dickens' Bleak House, but this might be enough to arouse your interest to view the classic story. 

Have a good week!

Figuring Out a Future

I've devised a way to help teenagers decide their dream job when they grow up. 

The idea is original.  I've never heard anyone else express this approach. This thought process might be useful to high school students, college students, and parents who give guidance to children about ways to decide and prepare for a profession.

Here is the idea, feel free to use it:

After watching an enjoyable movie, concentrate on viewing the credits at the end. As the film scrolls through the acknowledgments, read all the job titles of those who participated.  The titles will range from, producers, directors, screenwriters, musicians, camera crews, costume designer, and many more. Then visualize what you see yourself doing had you been a part of the movie's creation.  When you think about it, there will likely be thoughts about your current skill set or personal interests. You'll probably think about how performance in school indicates suitability for a certain job. Don't let that thought limit your dream, however.

Now think about the dream role you'd love to have had in the movie. The role may not match your current skills at all.  For example, you might love history or science in school, but the music score in the movie really resonated with you. Imagine yourself writing the music or playing an instrument in the score which accompanied the visuals of the movie.

On the other hand, you might enjoy literature or reading.  Imagine yourself writing the story of the movie or developing the screenplay.

Consider all jobs associated with the movie and imagine the role each played to produce the final result. Do this every time you watch a movie where credits are shown. Don't leave the theater early or walk away from the TV until you've looked at the credits.

As you wonder about the professions, research the expertise needed to perform those jobs. Construct a plan to acquire those skills and get close to people who will offer encouragement for whatever job you pursue. Make lofty goals for yourself and go after your final plan with passion.

The film-credit review approach is better than looking at a job list of the best and worst jobs as shown in the graphic below from a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. 

When a good movie is watched followed by viewing the job titles, one can see a wonderful outcome when the skills and efforts of many are combined.  Prepare to become a professional in any job you decide to undertake.

Have a good week! 

(PS: Sarah, thank you for your comment.)

 

Value of Blogs

Blogs can help us learn new facts, see different points of view, and gain insight into unknown places.  Here is one good example. The link below will take you to the picture above for a tour of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis.  Click on the link below, then scroll down.   The blogger will surely enlighten you with a tour of this ship. There are over 130 pictures and 5 short videos (10-15 seconds each). When you reach the photo of two green mints on a pillow, click on the MP3 link to hear the sound inside the sleeping quarters.

Continue the tour and see all the workings of this carrier and meet the men and women who cause the ship to function.

I was amazed by all that can be seen here.

Click here to open the link, then scroll down to start the tour.

Have a good week!

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

My informal poll of adults and high school students found that almost nobody knew the origin of the name "Winston" in the city name of Winston-Salem. The people I asked reside in the city or county of this named city and many are life-long residents.  I know it's not a big deal and few people give it any thought.  It makes no difference to people and has no effect on daily life. It's trivia.

For the inquisitive mind the answer about the name goes back to the Revolutionary War. Joseph Winston grew up in Wilkes and Surry Counties of North Carolina.  He became a leader of militiamen in battles at Moore's Creek Bridge, King's Mountain, and Guilford Courthouse. A monument and statue of Colonel Joseph Winston is located at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park near Greensboro. The photo below is the monument.

Around 1850 the town that grew next to Salem was named Winston after Colonel Joseph Winston.  In 1913 the towns of Winston and Salem joined and became Winston-Salem.

Have a good week.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

I looked back into my work life a quarter century ago to December 1983.  I found myself on the front row, second from the left in an archived photo taken at a service awards luncheon.  I was recognized for 10 years. Others were honored for up to thirty years in increments of five.

My age was 36.  My wife was home with our son whose age was 8 and our daughter who was 6. The group in the photo probably represented 15 to 20 percent of the corporate staff for the company where I was employed.  My job was exciting. The future was bright and a look at my profile on this blog shows, in part, how my future turned out - up to the present.

Now my days are in high school classrooms as a substitute teacher.  I retired from my career job three years ago and changed direction. Instead of pursuing retirement time with adults, I turned to teenagers.  I believe my future is equally as bright today as it was twenty-five years ago.  I believe the future for teenagers and other young people will be filled with exciting opportunities.

Twenty-five years from now, it will be 86 years after my year of birth. I am excited about what lies ahead and hope I can help make the future years positive.

Click on the photo to see if you recognize my former colleagues. Click on the documents below to see a list of their names and the logo for the company where I worked.

Where were you in the twelfth month of eighty-three?

Happy New Year!

Home for the Holidays

One hundred forty-eight combat wounded marines and soldiers received checks last week at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg to cover transportation costs to their homes for the holidays. 

These active duty patriots are recovering from combat wounds received while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.  The checks came from donations made by citizens to the Military Order of the Purple Heart. MOPH is a service organization whose membership consists mostly of combat wounded veterans from WWII forward.  A women's auxiliary is also part of the organization.

Check amounts ranged from $300 to $1,559 to each of 61 marines and 87 soldiers.  The amount was dependent upon the distance to their homes.  The total amount hasn't been tallied, but will exceed $50,000.  Our local Chapter 638 contributed over $1,200 which represented money raised from donations by members and non-member citizens in the five county area.

The picture above shows Patriot Jim Casti dispersing checks.  Jim is the program organizer for the Wounded Warrior Christmas Leave Project in North Carolina. 

State Commander Patriot Jesse Torres is in the next photo.  Both Jesse and Jim were wounded in Vietnam combat and understand the experiences of today's wounded warriors.

I thank the readers of my blog who contributed to Chapter 638 which helped this cause.  

Read the letter below which further explains the program.

Click on the letter to enlarge it.  Their address is under the name if you wish to contribute.

Have a Merry Christmas!

What Do You See and Feel?

These four pictures were taken along the parade route in Mount Airy, North Carolina on December 7, 2008.

The hometown of Andy Griffith is located thirty miles north of Winston-Salem along the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountain range.  The parade route started at the Veterans of Foreign Wars facility on W. Lebanon Street and proceeded to Main Street where a right turn took us into downtown.  The total route was about a mile long with spectators on both sides of the street.

Our Military Order of the Purple Heart float was near the front of the procession.  I joined fellow members of Chapter 638 on the float and took these pictures. The photos show views as seen through my eyes.

I looked at the spectators and saw people young and old waving. Some mothers assisted their babies with an arm movement, many children and adults waved or gave a "thumbs-up" sign. An occasional man saluted us as we passed while some women shouted the words "thank you"!

As I watched these townspeople, I thought about the economic situation in the Mt. Airy area. I reflected upon the recent months and years of news about the high rate of job layoffs in factories that made socks, knit shirts, or sweaters. Some factories are closed permanently. Most jobs were sent "offshore" for reasons of costs and profits. Offshore profits that swelled executive bonuses and lowered costs which kept prices low in some retail stores.  (In theory, investors in common stock prospered also.  We all know how those investments paid off.)

I wondered about our past ideals and institutions of governance. Our institution of capitalism became unbridled and allowed unethical and greedy people to put other people out of work. Many who lost jobs were patriots with ten or twenty-plus years of devoted service to their employer. Now many can't afford the goods and services even at the low prices.

Somehow, it just doesn't feel right to me.  How does it feel to you?

Have a good week!

The Credit Crunch

"Take the panic of 1907, a bad year for for the entire United States. The fall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company in New York caused a panic that affected cities everywhere, including Atlanta.  In Atlanta, the Neal Bank, which had been in business since 1887, fell and more than nine-thousand depositors stood to lose their savings.  That is until in stepped Asa Candler, president at the time of both The Coca-Cola Company and the recently reorganized Central Bank and Trust Company."

This quote is taken from pages 108 and 109 in the book The Real Ones by Elizabeth Candler Graham and Ralph Roberts published by Barricade Books, Inc. in 1992.

Asa Griggs Candler, born in 1851, started the company after buying into the fountain drink business in an Atlanta drug store where he worked.  The story of this man, his family, the times, and the drink are documented in this book by family descendants.  Asa Candler, in 1888, jump-started a medicinal and refreshing drink that later became Classic Coke and The Coca-Cola Company.

The economy in 1907 was similar to ours in 2008 but on a smaller scale.  People were losing jobs, home prices were declining and homeowners were losing their homes. Asa Candler backed the bank in Atlanta, bought a million dollars worth of homes around the city at market value during the panic, sold the houses to buyers of modest means at a low down payment, and financed them for ten years at a low interest rate.  His method became a model for the FHA program that would later be adopted by the United States.  The recession of 1907 lasted around one year.

Our problems in the economy today are enormous compared to the economy of 101 years ago. The global markets of trade, debt, politics, investments, news, and information make our problems today harder to solve.  Solutions will involve more than the actions of a few wealthy individuals.

Have a good week!