I’ve been working on cellar cleanup in the hope that some day, we can build a rec room.
Found a suitcase full of really good CDs that Ron had in his storage unit, and he’s agreed to repair a wood CD rack so we can store his music properly.
I did get as far as cleaning off the pool table and setting up the net. I’ve been finding and putting aside decorative items so we can make this a space for Ron’s things.
We got word via email from Peter that Judy passed away yesterday at 5 PM.
In all the advice I’ve read about how to prepare for getting older, I’ve not seen a word about how to adjust to the death of friends.
I’ve done a lot of reading about Judy’s condition, which has been described as “unusual” and “rare”. As far as I can tell, it was treatable. I still can’t understand why her brain stopped functioning unless it was the result of infection.
I’ve known Judy for 20 years and can’t imagine her not being there for the annual Fourth of July party or other family occasions.
I saw Candy yesterday. She’s very unhappy, and I wanted to bring her books on tape, just to take her mind off things, but her nurse said that wouldn’t be allowed. Of course, she couldn’t explain why.
We went to Plymouth District Court today to support our friends who will be on trial for trespassing at Pilgrim: Joyce, Paul, Bill. We basically just sat there after talking briefly with each one. After listening to the lawyers drone on and on, my sympathies are with the judge.
This week’s theme is “just being there”, and it’s frustrating. There’s nothing we can do for anyone except that.
Good stuff from Senator Sanders:
“On February 7, 2013, Senator Bernie Sanders is introducing legislation to crack down on
Wall Street and corporate tax avoiders that are avoiding tens of billions in taxes every
year by shifting profits to the Cayman Islands and other tax havens. Rep. Jan
Schakowsky (D-IL) is introducing the companion bill in the House.”
I signed up with Credo today. Yesterday’s ugliness provided just the kick in the pants I needed. Up yours, Verizon Wireless, you snotty, sexist, tax-dodging SOBs.
We were without electricity for 66 hours, from Friday at 9 to 3 PM today. We were lucky: most of Bourne, Plymouth and Rochester are still without power and not projected to be fully restored until Thursday night.
I “celebrated” by doing a small load of laundry, running the dishwasher and baking.
It’s been raining today and some of the snow and ice has melted. I went to the Falmouth library to catch up on email this morning and was treated with such kindness that I started to cry.
Ron and I did the transfer station run around 9:30 this morning and by the time we got back, the BBBS truck had picked up our donations.
Hope they and everyone else who worked today gets home safely.
We parked our vehicles lengthwise in the driveway and brought in anything that could be a flying object. We have gas, batteries, cash, groceries and water. Loaded up on fruit and vegetables last night. It would be nice to have a generator and a fireplace.
Visited Candy yesterday. It was good for her to talk with Ron about his recovery from brain damage.
Bad news from Peter last night about Judy. This has been very hard to understand; the impact on the Nowiks will be unimaginable. If she were my sister, I’d be seething.
I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with a lot of kitchen and household odds and ends, so when the Big Brother Big Sister organization asked if they could schedule a pickup this week, that seemed a very good idea.
I started working yesterday and finished this evening. It didn’t take long to actually sort things out, but we’re expecting weather tomorrow, so Ron and I covered everything with plastic bags: 10 packages in all.
BBBS are a terrific organization and well worth the effort. Besides, I am happy to donate useable goods which are no longer of use to me.
Carmen Ortiz was a Democrat up-and-comer, a potential candidate for Governor or Senator. That is, until Aaron Swartz committed suicide.
Now she’s in House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s sights, and even some Dems are running for cover, like Rep. Jared Polis, an internet entrepreneur from Colorado.
Ortiz blew it and she’s handled it badly from the get-go, including not muzzling her idiot husband, a 1%-er IBM exec who posted his opinion of the case and Swartz’s family on Twitter.
Disregarding the merits of this case – and I personally think she was way, way, WAY out of line – Ortiz’s big blunder was misjudging the political fallout that she and (worse) her bosses now need to deal with. We have enough amateurs now in government, and we certainly don’t need one more.
We were watching one of Ron’s military shoot-em-ups last night as Fluffles was being his athletic self, jumping on chairs for attention and treats.
This suggested to me that our cat, especially when he’s in claws out/hissing mode, is really a tiny Marine.
Ron topped with, “Not a tiny Marine: a submarine.”
Your statement that “In many cases, charter schools are no friend of municipal public schools” seems an elitist argument at best: only the very wealthy should have the opportunity to insist on high standards for their children’s education.
You complain that where charter schools are available, those students needing “special services and attention” get left behind. You claim that “poverty has more to do with performance than anything else.”
Even if those assertions are true, why should “motivated” kids and their parents be kicked to the curb?
Rather, should we pander to families that can’t be bothered to motivate their kids or help them to improve their circumstances by getting an education – at public expense?
That’s pretty incredible when you stop and think about it: the child of a low-income family that may not even pay taxes can get an education – including language arts, history, math and science – at no cost to the family. And some people are unappreciative enough to not take advantage of that and it’s all the fault of charter schools. Unbelievable.
Mashpee spends over $20 million to educate 1720 students, or over $12,000 per student. The ratio of teachers and professional staff is less than 13:1 (source) If students are dropping out, failing or graduating with poor skills, I certainly don’t think that Sturgis, or for that matter Mashpee taxpayers, bear the responsibility.
We’ve been devouring episodes of Netflix’s first self-produced series “House of Cards”.
It’s a corker!