Happy Birthday, Hairmica!
Fri, 3/07/09 – 12:56 | No Comment

Much to my surprise, Big Guy was a Fourth of July-type person from the start.
His first celebration came at a local college when he was just shy of his first birthday but already walking. Walking …

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Happy Birthday, Hairmica!
Fri, 3/07/09 – 12:56 | No Comment

july_fourthMuch to my surprise, Big Guy was a Fourth of July-type person from the start.

His first celebration came at a local college when he was just shy of his first birthday but already walking. Walking all over the place that evening, in fact. Of the 10,000 people there that night, he met 9,999 of them.

Silly new parents that we were, we expected him to be asleep early. Instead, he was awake and howling. When the bombs started bursting in air, though, he was all smiles - just the opposite reaction of what we’d expected.

Boots did sleep through his first Fourth, but he was less than two weeks old. His second Fourth, he had his first ice cream cone. He didn’t get that  you could eat the cone and kept bringing it for refills.

It wasn’t until this year, though, that Big Guy began to grasp the holiday. For him, it’s been “Hairmica’s birthday” his entire life. I always had to bake cupcakes and we always had to sing - all the trimmings of a proper birthday party.

He’s so much more sophisticated now. An educated rising first-grader, he’s learned all about the pilgrims.

He’s watched protesters in Iran and understands that sometimes people are forced to protest or fight to get the government to listen.

He’s aware that Hairmica has rules that (sort of) make the government listen to people.

He knows who George Washington is but he thinks he’s his great-granddad. “He has to be Baba’s father. George Washington is the father of the whole country.”

And he’s sort of pieced the story together about how long ago the pilgrims started getting mad at the king because they wanted to have their say and they had to fight the king to get it.

He certainly understands being mad at authority and fighting for what he wants - he understands that all too well, much to my regret at times.

So this year when we celebrate, the day won’t be just about cupcakes, ice cream and fireworks.

It also will be about remembering the battles fought to create this country and about the smart people who set up the rules for ruling it. Rules that have bent, stretched and morphed but nonetheless survived for 233 years.

Happy Birthday, Hairmica!

Copyright 2009 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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Don’t like pizza dancers? SWAT them away
Fri, 3/07/09 – 11:33 | 2 Comments
Don’t like pizza dancers? SWAT them away

It’s probably a stretch to call pizza dancing an art form, though at least one national chain holds a competition to recognize the company’s best at twirling the board.
It’s also a stretch to call people …

A walk in the park and damaged feet
Thu, 2/07/09 – 12:07 | 2 Comments
A walk in the park and damaged feet

I am not an amusement park person. I haven’t been since I puked all over my brother and sister on The Spider - a rides that takes you up and down and round and round …

Road tax idea would have Uncle Sam riding shotgun
Thu, 2/07/09 – 0:13 | 2 Comments
Road tax idea would have Uncle Sam riding shotgun

Good news for conspiracy theorists: The government might not need its fleet of black helicopters for much longer. Isn’t it nice to see possibilities for economizing in this budget climate?
If a study under way at …

Abuzz in a bad way about Dad’s return
Tue, 30/06/09 – 12:14 | 2 Comments
Abuzz in a bad way about Dad’s return

Here’s a new one to add to the list of “things to check on while a soldier is gone for months and his car sits unused in the driveway”:
Bees.
They weren’t bucolic little honeybees like the …

Obesity problems aren’t hidden but they might be unseen
Tue, 30/06/09 – 0:02 | 4 Comments
Obesity problems aren’t hidden but they might be unseen

The eyes and the brain are amazing organs, allowing us to see and interpret the world around us.
Or, in some cases, letting us delude ourselves into believing we’re seeing something different from objective reality.
That’s what …

Dad’s story: So this is what the civilian world is like
Mon, 29/06/09 – 10:27 | 2 Comments
Dad’s story: So this is what the civilian world is like

My phone freaked Dad out at about 4 this morning - come to think of it, that’s his normal wake-up time, so I’m not sure why it even fazed him.
I’d gotten out of the habit …

Notion of banning links misses a link in why readers go online
Sun, 28/06/09 – 23:03 | No Comment
Notion of banning links misses a link in why readers go online

In about an hour each morning, I can browse five newspapers - two national, two state and one local - without killing a single tree.
When I’m finished with that, I survey a dozen or so …

Dad’s story: A birthday promise kept
Sun, 28/06/09 – 10:56 | No Comment
Dad’s story: A birthday promise kept

Back in the spring, Big Guy was upset that Dad’s birthday fell during basic training and all he got was extra push-ups from his drill sergeant. Forty-two - one for each year. Then he had …

Yes, Jenny Sanford, you will survive
Sat, 27/06/09 – 9:11 | 2 Comments
Yes, Jenny Sanford, you will survive

What kind of dolt, having been caught in an adulterous affair after he leaves a love letter to his mistress lying around, returns to the scene of the crime six months later?
A dolt like South …

Preserving my treasures one project at a time
Fri, 26/06/09 – 11:17 | 2 Comments
Preserving my treasures one project at a time

If there’s anything I retained from my first job out of college, it’s recognizing the value of the phrase “it’s for the children.”
I was a reporter covering schools in several counties, so I heard that …

A SWAT for turning a student sit-in into a smackdown
Thu, 25/06/09 – 21:56 | No Comment
A SWAT for turning a student sit-in into a smackdown

She’s been banned from giving a speech at graduation, banished from grad night at Disney, suspended for two days and lost a summer tutoring job she was counting on to help pay for college.
Aurora Ponce …

The magical power of turning 4
Thu, 25/06/09 – 11:44 | No Comment
The magical power of turning 4

He went to bed one night a callow youth of 3, egcitick about his birthday the next day but not quite understanding that if he’d just go to sleep it would be here before he …

Introducing the Class of 2022
Wed, 24/06/09 – 10:36 | No Comment
Introducing the Class of 2022

They’ve learned to count to 100, by single digits as well as by 5s and 10s.
They’ve learned the sounds that all the letters make, thanks in part to a lovely little alphabet song to the …

Talking it out through Thomas
Tue, 23/06/09 – 9:59 | 2 Comments
Talking it out through Thomas

There was trouble on the Island of Sodor this morning as I cleared the breakfast mess.
“Mommy, Thomas is crying,” Boots anguished. “It’s his birthday, and Percy is taking all the cake. And all the presents.”
“Can’t …

Develop a national test before deciding what to teach is backward
Mon, 22/06/09 – 20:01 | 2 Comments
Develop a national test before deciding what to teach is backward

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s plan to start developing a national test before anyone’s even come up with national standards is far worse that putting the cart before the horse.
It’s more like hitching up Secretariat …

Upping the ante on Oscar-worthy performances
Mon, 22/06/09 – 11:34 | No Comment
Upping the ante on Oscar-worthy performances

Had I not been the target, Boots’ backyard baseball performance yesterday would have been hilarious.
Big Guy and I were playing catch while Boots sulked inside with his Thomas DVD. After about 15 minutes, the game …

Password policy more prurient than practical
Sun, 21/06/09 – 22:45 | One Comment
Password policy more prurient than practical

Credit reports, criminal history, references and past employment: All valid information for a potential employer, though credit reports aren’t relevant in all instances.
Anything the employer can turn up online about an applicant: Fair game. It’s …

Egg-free cookies and cream ice cream
Sun, 21/06/09 – 21:47 | No Comment
Egg-free cookies and cream ice cream

You know that old ditty about screaming for ice cream? It’s a good thing my daily newsletter from Feels Like Home lands while the guys still are awake, or there would have been no getting …

Review: Van’s All Natural Waffles
Sun, 21/06/09 – 21:10 | 2 Comments
Review: Van’s All Natural Waffles

I absolutely hate the idea of paying $3.49 for six frozen waffles. Yet, I have been because once summer hits I lose all inclination to stand at the stove and flip pancakes.
That’s why Van’s All Natural …

Dad’s story: New challenges in advanced training
Sat, 20/06/09 – 11:13 | 2 Comments
Dad’s story: New challenges in advanced training

Dad thought months of people barking at him in the basic combat training land of push-ups for punishment was bad, but that was because he had no idea of the new kind of anguish waiting  …

International politics, kindergarten style
Fri, 19/06/09 – 22:47 | No Comment
International politics, kindergarten style

The images from Iran caught Big Guy’s eye as I caught up on the news this evening.
“What are the people doing, Mommy,” he asked, partly out of a desire to delay sleep but mostly due …

I’d drink to that if I could find a cup
Fri, 19/06/09 – 11:42 | No Comment
I’d drink to that if I could find a cup

I had a chilling moment this week when I realized that, while I haven’t exactly turned into my mother, I have adopted one of her pet peeves.
The discovery came as I was washing dishes. Big …

A SWAT for hunting down people who want to remain anonymous
Thu, 18/06/09 – 20:00 | No Comment
A SWAT for hunting down people who want to remain anonymous

It’s a situation so outrageous that even those who don’t like the American Civil Liberties Union are singing its praises.
A federal prosecutor in Nevada wants a judge to force the Las Vegas Review-Journal to turn …

It’s not up to Mom to find it this time
Thu, 18/06/09 – 11:32 | No Comment
It’s not up to Mom to find it this time

Big Guy is the reigning monarch of the misplaced.
Where are my shoes? “Did you leave them by the door, like you’re supposed to.”
I can’t find my pants. “Did you check the dryer?”
What did you do …

Waiting for the Net to fizzle? Don’t
Wed, 17/06/09 – 18:58 | No Comment
Waiting for the Net to fizzle? Don’t

Been sitting back on your haunches and dismissing this whole online thing as a preoccupation of the kids, the techies and the well-heeled?
You might want to stand up so you can get a clearer look …

Putting the aged clothes horse out to pasture
Wed, 17/06/09 – 11:15 | No Comment
Putting the aged clothes horse out to pasture

Want to clean a closet quickly? Do it when you’re grumpy and clothes you’ve kept for no good reason for years will fly into the discard pile simply because you’re in the mood to not …

Charter schools not an automatic cure, research shows
Tue, 16/06/09 – 20:00 | No Comment
Charter schools not an automatic cure, research shows

Here’s one that should shock U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan out of his school-boy crush on charter schools or, at the least, make him pause before he forces the nation to go steady with the …

Many options but few good choices
Tue, 16/06/09 – 11:00 | No Comment
Many options but few good choices

I’m sitting at my desk with 15 browser tabs open and wondering why my Internet connection is creaking.
The 15 tabs is standard operating procedure. What’s different, though, is the pages they’re connected to: Four school …

Keep looking back - at least a little longer in car seats
Mon, 15/06/09 – 20:00 | 9 Comments
Keep looking back - at least a little longer in car seats

Now I know how one of my sisters-in-law felt when I asked her not to turn baby Big Guy on his belly while he slept.
Her youngest child was only 6, and her pediatrician always had …

The throne now reigns in the house hunt
Mon, 15/06/09 – 11:00 | No Comment
The throne now reigns in the house hunt

It’s been almost a decade since I’ve looked for a house - combing floor plans in search of my dream kitchen with a small attached home doesn’t count - so I’m  shocked lately to find …

Time to take the Singulair question to a doctor
Sun, 14/06/09 – 10:00 | 4 Comments
Time to take the Singulair question to a doctor

I partially bought the drug-company spin on Singulair in January largely because I wanted to:
The Food and Drug Administration found no link between the popular asthma drug and increased suicide risk, which led manufacturer Merck …

Epiblogue: Big Guy gears up for game day
Sat, 13/06/09 – 20:00 | 2 Comments
Epiblogue: Big Guy gears up for game day

Big Guy being Big Guy, he immediately was suspicious of the basketball jersey when it arrived in the mail Friday.
Even though he’s begged for one every game of the NBA championship series, even though it’s …

Will Smith, you are hot!
Sat, 13/06/09 – 8:47 | No Comment
Will Smith, you are hot!

Sexy is the man who’s man enough to sidle up to his beloved and whisper the hottest words in the English language in her ear: “I’ll take care of the kids, honey.”
Works on me every …

Breaking out on his own at age 5
Fri, 12/06/09 – 10:16 | No Comment
Breaking out on his own at age 5

I’m not supposed to be here.
I’m supposed to be at a museum 45 miles away, watching 80 kindergarteners ooh and aah over helicopters and fire trucks while they occasionally pay attention long enough to learn …

A SWAT for waiting a decade on digital textbooks
Fri, 12/06/09 – 6:20 | No Comment
A SWAT for waiting a decade on digital textbooks

It seems there are two development paces for digital textbooks in California:
There’s doomed-to-fail-fast for public schools that wants to kick off by this fall, and there’s pokey procrastination for colleges that wants to wait until …

I love the NBA - but only for Big Guy’s sake
Thu, 11/06/09 – 11:13 | 2 Comments
I love the NBA - but only for Big Guy’s sake

It was our equivalent of a prenuptial agreement settling religious differences in raising the children:
I could brainwash any offspring into following the Cincinnati Reds, while Dad was allowed free rein in turning them into Los …

It’s your birthday? Oh crud
Tue, 9/06/09 – 11:16 | 3 Comments
It’s your birthday? Oh crud

Life would be so much easier if Boots had just stuck to the plan four years ago.
He wasn’t supposed to be born until early July. I dreamed of a little Yankee Doodle  baby and smiled …

Two months and a needless lawsuit later, Internet access restored
Mon, 8/06/09 – 23:08 | No Comment
Two months and a needless lawsuit later, Internet access restored

It’s right chivalrous of Education Networks of America to take the fall for officials in two Tennessee school districts that were sued after they banned students from accessing Web sites with information about lesbian, gay, …