A Drunk Man and His Horse

I thought this story was pretty cute and wanted to put something easy on my blog for a change. I wish things like this could happen here and we could laugh about them and move on with our lives. Anyway - great story!

Why do they show this crap???

In the two hours in between killing two people and then later killing 30 more this guy was creating a way that he can be remembered for the statement that he wanted to make. Why are we giving him that in his death. I'm not surprised that NBC is airing it, but where do we draw the line. When will we stop giving these people their 15 minutes of fame? To be one of the families that lost their loved ones then have to see the pictures of a young man glorifying his actions. I find it infuriating!!!!!!

I also keep seeing articles that are saying Virginia Tech did everything that they could. Really? How does little to nothing become everything? There was two hours to help inform people about what had happened that morning. This student was known to have problems in the past, he was kicked out of classes for his essays and plays being so grotesque and graphic. It's unnerving! I'm not saying that it could have been avoided because I don't think it could have, but action should have been taken right away. It's just not a situation where you could say it all happened so fast. This boy clearly moved methodically and at his own pace. Why was he allowed to do that? Every high school I have worked in has an emergency plan for serious situations like this one, so why didn't this college have a lockdown plan?

On a similar note there were some kids in my class today talking about Columbine. Many of the kids knew very little about what had happened. Some had heard about Columbine, but weren't really sure what had happened. Others were just asking me about when it happened because it was ancient news to them. I think part of our problem as a country is how easily we can forget. I know there are defining moments in history for each generation, JFK being shot, Challenger explosion, Berlin Wall, and more recently September 11, but we need to be more than just aware that they are things that happened. As a country we need to get involved enough to understand why these things are significant so we don't repeat past mistakes.

My Soccer Peeps...The Nebulas

I thought I would write a little about what I have been up to lately. I have volunteered to coach and under 10 soccer team. It's an interesting concept where the kids are there to have fun. They play each position for five minutes at a time and everyone gets relatively equal playing time. The game is played 5 on 5 so there are there offensive players, a defender, and a goalie. It is a great way for the kids to get a lot of contact with the ball and I think a good starter league. I'm not real sure how much I would like it for older players who are really trying to improve their skills and be competitive in high school or college. I just don't think they would get what they need, but for little kids I think it is great.

We had our first game last Saturday and got beat pretty bad (even though the rules are they don't keep score). My kids are all relatively new players, so we are all getting used to how it works. We are however having a lot of fun! It's been great getting out and kicking the ball around and helping the kids improve.