Everybody at some point was young enough to think it inconceivable that they could die. That's why you do so many stupid and reckless things the younger you are. More often than not, we come out okay and maybe just learning a lesson to be more careful the next time. Unfortunately, others don't survive.
When I saw this article in the local Sunday paper, my stomach sunk. If you don't know the kids, you feel sorry and bad for the parents, but then tend to move on. In a small town like Cartersville, though, it seems everyone has a connection. Therefore everyone is affected.
My connection to this goes back to my first year of teaching. Everyone will tell you that your first year in that profession is the roughest one. Even though I ended up loving being a teacher, that first semester sucked. Kids will take advantage of you and smell blood in the water. It was in my freshman geography class that I had Zach Shedd.
There are kids who make teachers want to quit, and there are those who make the job fun. Zach was one of the latter. That was a rough class and he was one of the ones who made it possible for me to make it through. Because of him being an overall hard worker and great kid, I gave him my Top Cat award, given to the top student by a teacher among all that teacher's classes.
I don't know if it was something in the water or what, but I ended up teaching a lot of twins while at Woodland. After Zach I had his twin brother, Devin, in my ninth grade English class. Teachers aren't supposed to play favorites, but there are just some kids you like more than others and you'll give them a little more slack. That's how I was with these guys. I ended up just liking them both.
One thing Zach, Devin and I would bring up around each other was Alabama football. Having a lot of class such as myself, they rooted for the Tide and we'd talk or complain about Alabama. For some reason I also kept running into these guys around town, which was cool.
I now work in Atlanta at a small newspaper. When I heard Zach was at Atlanta Medical Center, I knew I had to go. His mom, Tabitha, has been sleeping in the waiting room outside of the ICU since Sunday. When I got to see Zach, I was ready to give him a pass if he couldn't remember me. After all, the kid had come thisclose to death.
It did me good when he remembered who I was. There's a tube in the back of his head draining out fluid. His hip is broken along with his right femur. I asked him where it hurts the most and he said," My head... and neck. My leg. Chest. All over."
He doesn't remember much about the wreck and asks his mom from time to time about the others. He doesn't know that the other two girls in the back seat with him died. The doctors say it's too risky for him to know.
When tragedies like this hit, words tend to sound shallow no matter how profound they would normally be. In these, the initial stages, people want to assign blame. There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now keep these kids and their families in your prayers. Not an oh-by-the-way mention either. Don't bother if that's going to be the case. Make it real and heartfelt and earnest.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I knew it as soon as I saw it ...
As soon as I saw this story about a Reuters photographer taking a picture of a note President Bush slid to Condoleeza Rice during a UN meeting, I smiled. It wasn't because of the note itself asking whether it was a good time to go for presidential whiz, but because of how Bushhaters were going to attack it.
They jumped on it from the start, adding to their list of social gaffes by our president. Actually, many of these are funny. I suspect that my reaction to them is the same as our president's -- laugh about it and move on. In this case, he was checking with his secretary of state about proper protocol. That's it.
For the most part, I'm a Bush supporter. By that admission some people will make instant snap judgements on me. I must be stupid and uneducated. I'm a conservative just to the right of the Klan. I obviously care nothing about the environment or people of other races.
When I hear these people speak or read what they say, it fascinates me. At one time it made me mad. The longer I was exposed to their words, though, the sentiments started to sound familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but one day it hit me. For the most part, Bush-bashers (those who look for a fault in everything our president does. If it rains at their kid's birthday party, it's due to not signing the Kyoto agreement.) are those high school girls who hate other girls and have no clear reason why. There might have been some tangible reason at some point, but that was long ago and now new reasons are created at every move their object of loathing makes.
I can't stand President Bush/Tiffany.
Why?
Oh, I just can't. Look at him/her. He/She is just so stupid! I can't stand them!
That's all the reasoning needed.
Oh, some logic will be tossed in there. However, the truth will always be that if the same point were brought up by, say, any Democrat, it would be great. For Bushhaters, it's blame the messenger no matter what.
It's a shame, really. We need dissenting voices in America. Keeps people honest and jives with the checks-and-balances stuff we've been taught since fifth grade. But these folks have pigeonholed themselves into complaining about every little thing with our president. For many observers, it's made liberals' voices sound like the same old gong being pounded with no variation in frequency or message.
Here's where it's tossed in my face about the president's low approval ratings. Here it is: I don't trust the numbers. Also, if there is enough negative press, there will be polls to reflect it. Keep in mind that even though Churchill led England in the fight against Germany, he was still defeated in the next election. History has a weird way of viewing the maligned. I think it will ultimately turn out to be the same for President Bush.
They jumped on it from the start, adding to their list of social gaffes by our president. Actually, many of these are funny. I suspect that my reaction to them is the same as our president's -- laugh about it and move on. In this case, he was checking with his secretary of state about proper protocol. That's it.
For the most part, I'm a Bush supporter. By that admission some people will make instant snap judgements on me. I must be stupid and uneducated. I'm a conservative just to the right of the Klan. I obviously care nothing about the environment or people of other races.
When I hear these people speak or read what they say, it fascinates me. At one time it made me mad. The longer I was exposed to their words, though, the sentiments started to sound familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but one day it hit me. For the most part, Bush-bashers (those who look for a fault in everything our president does. If it rains at their kid's birthday party, it's due to not signing the Kyoto agreement.) are those high school girls who hate other girls and have no clear reason why. There might have been some tangible reason at some point, but that was long ago and now new reasons are created at every move their object of loathing makes.
I can't stand President Bush/Tiffany.
Why?
Oh, I just can't. Look at him/her. He/She is just so stupid! I can't stand them!
That's all the reasoning needed.
Oh, some logic will be tossed in there. However, the truth will always be that if the same point were brought up by, say, any Democrat, it would be great. For Bushhaters, it's blame the messenger no matter what.
It's a shame, really. We need dissenting voices in America. Keeps people honest and jives with the checks-and-balances stuff we've been taught since fifth grade. But these folks have pigeonholed themselves into complaining about every little thing with our president. For many observers, it's made liberals' voices sound like the same old gong being pounded with no variation in frequency or message.
Here's where it's tossed in my face about the president's low approval ratings. Here it is: I don't trust the numbers. Also, if there is enough negative press, there will be polls to reflect it. Keep in mind that even though Churchill led England in the fight against Germany, he was still defeated in the next election. History has a weird way of viewing the maligned. I think it will ultimately turn out to be the same for President Bush.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Mixed start to football season
There are times where I want to be in a great mood concerning something, but there is just one thing holding me back. It's something that just sticks in the back of my head and keeps me from enjoying an overall picture.
That's the case with football right now. For me, Christmas might officially come on Dec. 25, but it actually kicks off the first week of college football. High school is already going on at that time, and I consider it somwhat of a pre-season. The NFL is a nice extra a week after college has started.
Although my old high school is doing well (2-1, ranked in their class. The only loss coming at the hands of a ranked school in a larger classification.), college is a different story. My Jacksonville State Gamecocks are staring 0-3 in the face after dropping a heartbreaker to Furman on the last play of the game and last week losing to UT-Chattanooga with 10 seconds left. UAB isn't the same team we beat in the mid-90's. They're a legit D-I school. I was looking forward to perhaps a home playoff game this year. That possibility is all but gone. We need to win the Ohio Valley Conference again just to make the playoffs.
It would be a shame if JSU goes in the tank this year and it could all be traced back to one play at the end of the first game of the year. If Furman's QB, Ingle Martin, is just tackled a second later, the clock runs out at the Gamecocks have the biggest win since the move to D-I, perhaps the biggest upset in school history.
On the same vein, Alabama's season may have been saved on Tyrone Prothro's good-grief-did-you-see-that catch Saturday night. On a fourth and 12 at the end of the first half, Prothro's 42-yard catch puts Bama at the one. One play later makes the score 21-17, Southern Miss. Without that catch, you wonder if Alabama wins.
As for the Falcons, I'm feeling pretty good about this team. It's the morning after we got back at Philladelphia for the NFC Championship game loss 14-10, on Monday night. (Monday Night Football makes me miss living in Wyoming and the Mountain Time Zone. There it's on from 7-10, the way it should be. I haven't seen a complete MNF or World Series game since moving to Georgia. Out there you also don't have to stay up all hours of the night to watch the college games out there with their teams and the crazy offenses.)
Although the Falcons won, it's different playing an Eagles defense without Jeremiah Trotter. He's one of those guys that when he's on the other team you want his head knocked off after he does one of those axe-chop deals following a big hit, but you'd find it absolutely delightful if he's wearing your colors.
As for Mike Vick, I don't want to hear anything else about him not being a true quarterback. Yeah, okay, what's your point? Don't call him a glorified running back taking snaps. If you can't bring yourself to call him a quarterback, fine. Just admit he's the only person in the NFL that does what he does at his position. He's a new breed of athlete, and this is coming from a conventional football fan that will take an awesome running game over a great passing game. I'll every time choose big-time defense over big-play offense. What we have in Atlanta, though, is something different in a quarterback and at time defies definition, so let him be.
That's the case with football right now. For me, Christmas might officially come on Dec. 25, but it actually kicks off the first week of college football. High school is already going on at that time, and I consider it somwhat of a pre-season. The NFL is a nice extra a week after college has started.
Although my old high school is doing well (2-1, ranked in their class. The only loss coming at the hands of a ranked school in a larger classification.), college is a different story. My Jacksonville State Gamecocks are staring 0-3 in the face after dropping a heartbreaker to Furman on the last play of the game and last week losing to UT-Chattanooga with 10 seconds left. UAB isn't the same team we beat in the mid-90's. They're a legit D-I school. I was looking forward to perhaps a home playoff game this year. That possibility is all but gone. We need to win the Ohio Valley Conference again just to make the playoffs.
It would be a shame if JSU goes in the tank this year and it could all be traced back to one play at the end of the first game of the year. If Furman's QB, Ingle Martin, is just tackled a second later, the clock runs out at the Gamecocks have the biggest win since the move to D-I, perhaps the biggest upset in school history.
On the same vein, Alabama's season may have been saved on Tyrone Prothro's good-grief-did-you-see-that catch Saturday night. On a fourth and 12 at the end of the first half, Prothro's 42-yard catch puts Bama at the one. One play later makes the score 21-17, Southern Miss. Without that catch, you wonder if Alabama wins.
As for the Falcons, I'm feeling pretty good about this team. It's the morning after we got back at Philladelphia for the NFC Championship game loss 14-10, on Monday night. (Monday Night Football makes me miss living in Wyoming and the Mountain Time Zone. There it's on from 7-10, the way it should be. I haven't seen a complete MNF or World Series game since moving to Georgia. Out there you also don't have to stay up all hours of the night to watch the college games out there with their teams and the crazy offenses.)
Although the Falcons won, it's different playing an Eagles defense without Jeremiah Trotter. He's one of those guys that when he's on the other team you want his head knocked off after he does one of those axe-chop deals following a big hit, but you'd find it absolutely delightful if he's wearing your colors.
As for Mike Vick, I don't want to hear anything else about him not being a true quarterback. Yeah, okay, what's your point? Don't call him a glorified running back taking snaps. If you can't bring yourself to call him a quarterback, fine. Just admit he's the only person in the NFL that does what he does at his position. He's a new breed of athlete, and this is coming from a conventional football fan that will take an awesome running game over a great passing game. I'll every time choose big-time defense over big-play offense. What we have in Atlanta, though, is something different in a quarterback and at time defies definition, so let him be.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Before and after New Orleans satellite images
This is unbelieveable. Whenever there is a flood in the U.S., it's almost always a small area or a drawn-out section, such as along the Mississippi River. What is going on in New Orleans is something reserved for disaster movies. Think of it: a city of nearly a half-million people now unliveable. Will these people just resettle in Houston or Jackson or Shreveport -- wherever the refugee bus dropped them off? This is a major city where nobody has gone to work in nearly a week now. At this time, I find myself among those dropping a ton of questions, with little answers.
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