Something That Relaxes Me

I don't know why, but watching this truly relaxes me.

Some words I live by.

Be who you are and say what you feel.  Because those that matter, don't mind; and those that mind, don't matter.

A Lesson To Learn

This is something a friend sent me.

A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges.

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She t old them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

A Salute for a PNNer

I heard in a post today the word 'cockles' mentioned.  Yes, I had heard it used before, but never truly understood what the heck it meant.  So I held out my hand to a wonderful woman. Held out my hand in that frail way you do when you could easily get slapped down for being uneducated on the subject matter. I knew of course that this woman would not ever slap someone down, not even her enemies.  She just isn't that type of person. Ok, well wait, she WOULD beat down her enemies, but would probably THEN, pick them back up, dust them off, look straight into their eyes and say, "So... what's really bugging you? Can I help you?" 

So... I wrote her a personal letter and asked her in a way only I would ask. What the hell is a cockle? Her answer was so delightful, warming, and insightful, I had to share it with all of you.

Cockles are a type of bivalve mollusk, once a staple part of the diet for many British people (you may recall that Sweet Molly Malone once wheeled her wheelbarrow through Dublin’s fair city, crying “cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh!”). They are frequently heart-shaped (their formal zoological genus was at one time Cardium, of the heart), with ribbed shells. Older, yet wiser, people use the phrase "warm the cockles of my heart." Apparently cockles reminded someone way back of the shape of one's heart. It means in her phrase that it touched her heart! 

She consistency oozes MoMness. 

Yes, I am talking of Mother Of Many. 

I would like to take this time to give her a PNN Salute!

Thank you, MoM, for being YOU.

Today

Today, is a new day.  Today, my keyboard will not act up and spell words wrong.  Today, I will take long deep breaths.  Today, will be relaxing.  Today, I will seek out ideas for new stories.  Today, I will write something, whether on paper, screen, or in my mind.  Today, I will laugh at my own dumb@ssness.  Today, atleast once, I will say, "I love you."  Today, I will blow a kiss.  Today, I will give a hug.  Today will be different than yesterday.  Today, I will be different.

Today is upon me.  I will seize it.

Today, ... is serene.