Just thought you ought to know.

A man died in Wichita.

Just thought you should know.

Not much as been said about him. No public broadcast, nothing to even indicate that he won't be around anymore. I wish there would have been more said--more than his name, Randall "Randy" Taylor, more than his age, 47, more than "in a van".

I think that is sad. Why?

I dunno, but I believe it has something to do with the fact that he was found in a van, where neighbors said it was not uncommon for him to stay when he had nowhere else to go.

A van...

Temperatures are below 16 degrees, and he's dying in van.

You would think people would be concerned, be curious as to who he was, what he did, why he was alone...but nobody cared.

A life was here, and now it's gone. Did anybody notice that?

The coroner determined he died from "natural causes and exposure"....geez, ya think so? So the cold DID at least contribute to that, but we don't like to think about that. As if it matters.

Did I tell you this man was outside in a van?

Oh, I did?

Hehe, that seems a little funny to me that he was outside in a van when it was so cold that people brought their dogs inside. But, obviously nobody cared to bring a human inside.

Once upon a time, a death like this would have brought shame and humility to us.

Not anymore.

The cold weather has been sharp and bitter, but you know what?

Our hearts are much colder than the weather when we allow tragedies as this one to occur.

A man froze to death in a van here.

Just thought you ought to know.

~Peace

Kids, Kids, Kids

Keely blogged yesterday about her wonderful kids at work...and it reminded me of my kids at work on Thursday.

For the first time since I've been working with children, I handed out 3 suspensions.
Here's the story:

On Thursday, I was having my weekly lunchgroup in my office. This "special" group is for kids who I've targeted as being truant, and if they meet a certain goal, such as coming to school for 3 days in a row (I know that doesn't sound like a big goal to accomplish, but for these kids, it's a miracle!), then they get the honor of having lunch in Miss Victory's office. What a privilege, huh?! lol

I had three 5th graders in there with me, Veronica, Jason, and Matt. They were being rather rowdy, but I didn't crack down on them too hard; they were excited because they hadn't seen me in an entire month since I had been on Christmas Break.

Well for some reason, Jason asked me if I was ever gonna have kids.

"I dunno, Jason. After I spend 12 hours a day with a bunch of lil munchkins, I don't feel like going home and dealing with more. We'll see...maybe one day."

Veronica then proceeds to say, "I know where babies come from. They don't come from your buttocks, they come from the OTHER hole!!!" lol...By this time, they were laughin' their little hearts out. So then Jason comes up with, "Yeah, and it's called the urethra!!!" lmao

I didn't really know what to do, so I just kinda changed the subject and started asking them what they'd been doing in class. It was then that Matt began telling us all a story of how his uncle gets drunk all the time, and it makes him sad...blah blah blah blah....

"Miss Victory, have you ever gotten drunk?" Veronica asked.

"Veronica, that's an inappropriate question for you to ask your teachers, but I will tell you this: choosing to get involved with alcohol and/or drugs is not the smartest decision."

She was satisfied with that answer, but then, Jason came up with,

"Have you ever been laid?"

I think my jaw dropped on that one lol...I said, "Jason, do you know what that means?"

"Yes." he said.

"Ok, then tell me what it means."

"I can't, Miss V. I can't say that."

"Oh, yes you can, Jason...if you're big enough to ask me if I've ever gotten laid, then you're big enough to tell me what that means."

At this point, I was doing everything I possibly could not to bust out laughin'.

"Ughhh. OK, OK, OK! It means have you ever had S-E-X!"

lol I thought I was gonna lose it, but I didn't. I just said, "Ok, class, now we all know what that means. Is that an appropriate question for Franklin students to ask?"

"No, Miss Victory!"

I wasn't gonna suspend them for their conversations, but the more I thought about it I realized that we just finished with a 2 week focus on sexual harrassment, so I think they were trying to see how far they could push me before they crossed the line. I figured I'd better nip it in the bud.

lol...I love kids.

~Peace

lol...what's so funny about burying someone under 12 blankets at a slumber party?...i like this pic cuz it's like a perfect example of a slumber party...i totally passed out, leaving the girls in charge of the camera, with my glasses on, next to my MASH paper and bag of twix lol

My cute lil pregnant sister at her babyshower Saturday

Only Mexicans use church pews in their kitchens

Muh lil "hermanos" on tamale Sunday

It's a fact now--



I am no longer a victim of dial-up! lol



Of course, I AM still using my precious little Dell, so I'm not all the way up to Lance's ranks...



but, maybe one day.



~Peace