Goin' to Town

Yesterday we went to the biggest city in our region.  It's about an hour away and we usually make the trip once a month to shop at some stores we don't have nearer.  Our list of stores to see is static in that there are a few stores we go to most every time; it varies as we find new sources of  food and equipment and new places to see.

Yesterday was a long day for multiple reasons.  None of our children came with us. We tried to persuade them, but to no avail.  Turns out that was better for us as we had no time limit to push us along.  We were able to take our time at a few places and really discuss if we needed an item we were considering.  Would it help us in the long run?  Would it be something we might not find in the future?  Is it a quality item that would last?  We eventually came away with a few things that answered those questions in a good way, and left a few items in the store for others. We even came away with some tools that we weren't even looking for when we came to town.  Overall we came away with what we needed and could afford at this time.  Some interesting sights were seen, as well as places visited.

We ate lunch in the civic center area at a collection of food trucks.  We are fans of taco trucks and have a list of regulars around the area. This was more than just tacos.  Grass fed beef sloppy joes with mushrooms. Chipoltle chicken with cole slaw. Hand made pies. BBQ of all sorts.  Wood fired pizza.  There were about 6 trucks with a variety of items.  They meet at various places around the city for lunches and it was good.  This Friday it seemed they were catering to the crowd from multiple government buildings, but there were families bouncing around, jurors with name tags and a few trustafarians.

After a wonderful meal while listening to some music in the park, we moved on to the business part of our journey. We unfortunately had to make a stop at the big mall, but a new nursery, Sierra View, was on the list; a gun shop; REI, had our yearly dividend burning a hole in my pocket; a leather store for class materials and Trader Joe's helped make the list enjoyable.  Along the way we looked into a few other stores when they offered something we might use.  I probably need to mention we stopped along the way and purchased some supplies before arriving in the big city.

Some long discussions took place regarding the purchases.  We spent a bit more money than expected, but the purchases were for items that we would use for a long time and would be bought eventually. Currently we have some concerns about the monetary system and are spending what we have on hard goods instead of trying to save.  Some may not agree with that strategy, but it is the path we are treading.  The longer talks concerned a pair of hiking shoes and a kitchen knife.  Both were on sale and both were something we had been talking about for long term needs, just not now necessarily   That being said, the extra money spent isn't going to cause problems and we now are better set in case something happens. That should say when something happens.

The bigger questions raised were from being in public settings.  I don't get out much in a normal week.  I go to work by bike, go to practice and then home. When home I work a bit around the yard and help in the garden less than I should and hopefully I will do more garden work soon.

But I don't get out of town much, so a trip to the city exposes me to many and varied people.  I do like to people watch, but now it's tinged with awareness of situations.  The mall was a mess of humanity.  We ended up replacing a phone for a son. He knew we were going to the big city and gave us the money to pay for the phone.  That was our only reason to be in the mall.  But what about the rest of the people?  I wondered if it was a "clothing optional" dress code for a bit.  What a people thinking when they leave their house?  Seemed like many were just trolling the walkways.

It ended up being a long day, but productive.  We saw some new things, bought some things we need for the long term, and had some delightful talks between the two of us.  The talks helped focus us on what we need to do next on our journey.

Bread and Wine:Readings for Lent and Easter

I found this in a bookstore in Northern California over the Christmas break.  I was looking for something to read to start the day and this looked appropriate for the upcoming time of the year.  The same company publishes a similar book for the Christmas season.

This is a collection of short essays from a wide variety of Christian and non-Christian writers.  The essays are anywhere from 1 to 4 pages long and cover the Lenten season.  Stories of the Last supper through the Crucifixion to the Rising on Easter.

I found the book a great way to remind me of the what happened leading up to Easter.  It was a good way to start the day and focused my thoughts for the day.  Good enough I purchased some similar books by different authors and look forward to reading them also.

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Schools are required to do many things and I would suppose most schools do most of the requirements.  I think ours does, so yesterday we had an eminent danger drill.  The staff had training in part of a regularly scheduled meeting, and this was the second training meeting since December. We were told in the meeting that some time in the morning there would be the drill. I personally tried to avoid telling the students when the drill would happen, but they knew pretty much when it would happen.

I also had prepared my students on what to do for my classroom. After the first meeting there was an assessment of our school by local police.  During the walkaround of campus suggestions were made about different buildings and rooms.  The room I am in was hands down considered the worse protected and the worse to protect on campus.  Two walls were nothing by windows. There is no way to duck and cover, and the curtains don't slide well, and cover only 2/3's of the windows on one wall.  It feels a bit like a potential shooting gallery.  The only option is huddle in one of the back rooms, which is what I told the students is the plan. I cleaned the storage room and hoped the 30+ bodies would fit.

The good news is we all fit into the back room.  For the most part the students responded correctly.  I did peek out the door at a bad time when hearing banging on the outside door.  Not a good move and one I certainly will repeat.  Many of the students haven't learned to be quiet.  I'm not sure the that would be an issue.  In previous lockdowns students have changed their behavior drastically, so I figure most would be quiet.

My thoughts did turn to the thought of armed teachers a few times.  I did wish I was armed.  I certainly know I want more training in that realm.

Overall the event was a success.  I found that the mistakes made can be addressed.  I had no computer access and that will be a problem because it is our communication in such situations.  No radio or phone use is the rule; not that I had either in the room. There was some miscommunication amongst the leaders, but nothing life threatening. Some teachers performed better than others, as expected.  So it would seem we are prepared, at least on the surface.

I still wonder if we can really be totally prepared though.

What Happens When You Miss Class?

As a baseball coach I get asked from time to time why we practice so much and why do we take a game so seriously.  I think they are both honest questions, but many people don't like my answers.

I approach baseball just as I do school.  The purpose of school is to educate young people so they can function in a society.  Whether I'm teaching English or Crafts or Baseball, my task to to make the student more knowledgeable and better after they leave my class than they were when they entered.  It isn't as simple as that, but that's the idea.

The other reason is self discipline.  And to me that is the more important task to teach. I know I was like many when I was in high school. If I were able to meet my high school self today, I wouldn't be impressed.  But I've come to realize that most of us mature and learn as we age. We learn self discipline.  I learned through sports, mostly baseball because I played it longer.

And now as a coach of many years, I have learned many more lessons.  Many of my generation in the Vietnam and post Vietnam era didn't have the military to teach us discipline.  My father's age group had the common experience of the military to help mold them, and they had the Greatest Generation to teach them in school and business.  Sports today is a more frequent commonality for young people than the military.

Why am I thinking of this?  A casual reader of the news could tell you of troubles now and ahead.  A serious look at what is happening could scare some people.  We are in for more hard times before good.  If we ever get good times.  More than ever the act of teaching self discipline appears important. And less listened to by those that need the skill. When two young men, who were scheduled play a significant role in our last game, chose to miss a class on game day, they aren't allowed to play.  The outcome of the game is irrelevant.  The lesson they learn is important.  And the learning is what will help them in the future when hard events are happening.

So we make practice hard, we require hair to be cut short, and you have to attend every class every day.  Because Baseball is just a game, but life is for real.

A Future That is From My Past

I've been thinking about my grandparents lately. Three of them were born in 1910 and one grandfather a few years before that.  I never knew him, the older one; he died when my mother was pregnant with me.  Can you imagine their lives?  Working at a high school I see students that leave with big expectations of what they will do as adults, just as my grandparents did. They became an adult, got married in 1928 or '29 and began a family.  Then the world changes.

I never really talked to my grandparents about their lives, at least not the hard times.  My parents filled in some of the details, but they couldn't or wouldn't share the thoughts of their parents.  On one side my grandfather left his young family in the Midwest and moved to California to find work.  He found a job as a ranch hand for $1 an hour, saved for a year, went back and got my grandmother and father and moved them to California.  My grandfather worked for Mr. Powell the rest of his life. My father, his brothers, myself and my brother all worked for Mr. Powell at one time or another.  Maybe that's where I learned loyalty.

My maternal grandfather worked and owned a few businesses, turkey farmer and gas station, before losing them during the Depression.  He eventually became a truck driver, first long haul back and forth from Southern Cal to Texas.  In time he moved his family back to the Central Valley and he hauled gas for a local distributor.

When I really think of my grandparents, I recall my grandmothers.  Both of them had gardens in my earliest memories. After my grandfather died, Grandma W became a nurse, but still had a garden until she moved into an apartment.  She had berry vines that we learned to be careful around, but sure enjoyed the fruits.  After her move she grew flowers and she taught me to dislike Bermuda grass and to be diligent in cleaning any beds of the invasive roots.  To this day I am found digging deep to cleanse the earth of Bermuda stolons.

Grandma G lived in the country with Grandpa in a house on one of the Powell ranches.  This was prime land in the Four Creeks area of our county near where the first white people settled.  The land was between two rivers and Grandma G always talked about how the soil was so rich because of the periodic flooding between the rivers.  She grew almost everything, but her cherry tomatoes, potatoes and onions are what I remember.  One Saturday I was with my father at work.  We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's for "dinner" on the way home.  "Dinner" was in the middle of the day to those Midwestern raised people and the meal reminded me of Thanksgiving.  Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn and iced cream for dessert.  I had never seen such a meal prepared in the middle of the day except at Thanksgiving.  Later I asked and my father explained that is how my grandparents ate.  Working on a farm, a big meal was needed to give energy to complete the work. He also reminded me that much of the food was grown by Grandma also.

So as we have moved into the growing and raising of our food, I think of those that came before us.  We do it because we want to have some control of our food. They did it because that had to.  But will we have to in the near future? I often look at what is happening and think we are preparing for our future. A future that will be reminiscent of my grandparents.

Water From the Sky

It's raining outside, so it must be baseball season.  We are currently having one of our driest winter/spring season changes. This is usually a great time to play baseball in our Valley.  It's been dry all week. But yesterday, on a day we have a double header, it rains.  We got the first game finished and had to stop in the bottom of the first.

Maybe it was a mercy rain.  We lost the first game 10-4 and committed 11 errors.  Today is another day.

P.S.I do like rain for our gardens and I do like to eat, so rain on.