A story I thought would be a good way to end the year.....

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an
untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same.
However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy
named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other
children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could
be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs.Thompson would actually take delight in marking his
papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she
put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work
neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates,
but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle"

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but
his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school.
He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class." !

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when
her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper,
except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a
grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the
children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing,
and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she
exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.
Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you
smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading,
writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to
Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster
he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class
and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he
ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high
school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times,
he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of
honors He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his
whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his
bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the
best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed,
Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met
this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and
he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.
Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me
feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a
difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

(For those of you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

 

I enjoy my grandchildren. The oldest is fourteen and he only has his Mom. This resulted in me teaching him much of the things a father would have done. When I coached basketball he became my "ball boy" and later the team's manager. He learned a lot about the game and had a lot of opportunities to develop his skills against much bigger opponents. We went fishing together, read together, flew kites, and traveled across the country together. We shared much and he learned his lessons well.

Recently I realized I am learning as much from him as he has from me. A few years ago he and his Mom moved to a community that is near a big lake. One summer day we went fishing and he taught me the technique to catch Walleye's, a fish I had never caught. Within a few minutes I was looking at my first Walleye.

This past Christmas he was visiting and I realized that for the past few years he has introduced me to ipods, Facebook, iTunes, texting, and a number of other technical developments.

In him I can see the future. His world is much different than the one I grew up. He has skipped the world of records, tapes and even CD's and has gone directly to itunes and ipods. ee cummings would be proud as he has learned to text without using capitals.

As an educator I saw that students wrote less and less. Today students are communicating with just about everybody. My grandson is an active student and has gone on a number of conferences. He has attended summer sports camps and he meets fellow students from all over Alberta and Canada. It seems that the first thing his new friends do is exchange internet information. The next thing you know they are communicating through Facebook or texting one another. He and I can not sit and talk for longer than fifteen minutes before someone from somewhere is texting him. I now have a simple way of finding out if he is really interested in what I have to say, he simply shuts down his iphone.

Texting has seen a new language. It reminds me of the shorthand that I developed when I was at university, where are became r, and you became u. I remember using it during the lectures and then going back to the dorm and re-writing my notes in long hand. I did this for two reasons. The first was to make sure I could read my notes when I had to study for the exams that would be coming and then because I found out that by re-writing them It tended to improve my memory of the lecture.

All my life I have been pretty much a loner. I was an only child. When I graduated from high school I attended an university that was 2500 miles from home. When I decided to seek a new life I moved to Canada. Writing letters have always been one of my least favorite things to do and something I rarely did.

As I watch my grandson I get a glimpse of the future. It is one where no one has to be alone. One where no matter where you are you can contact a friend or a relative. It is a world that allows us to instantly see what is happening.

Purist may not like how the language is being treated, but for those of use who wanted our students to write more can not be upset that the students of today are communicating with each more than they have ever had. If I was a leader of a closed society I would be very worried. I wonder how many text messages or individual photos were taken of today's staged rally in Iran compared to the weekend protests?

I look forward to watching my grandson as he shows me the next stage of his life and provides me with another glimpse of the future.



 

One of the things I like about Obama is that he does not react immediately on the things that happen. Some people misunderstand that as being unresponsive or lacking in judgement. But, unlike the previous President that struck out at anything almost immediately, this President is much more calculating and thus much more dangerous.

I suspect that there are already plans a foot to deal with the pirates of Somalia and if I was a terrorist living in Yemen I'd keep one eye open and sleep in my clothes. I think the boys in Yemen made a big mistake. As long as they kept exporting their plans through a third country they were pretty much safe. With the screw up. for them, in Detroit they have been unmasked. It's like the emperor discovering he really didn't have any clothes on! Very embarrassing and in the end very costly.

Regardless of what many think America has been successful in picking off Al-quada leadership. One by one they have been knocked off by the drones in Pakistan and the noose around old Bin is getting tighter. Yemen is a country divided in three parts. The central government controls the capital and the area around it, then there are revolts going on in the west and east. Both are feeding and training grounds for terrorists. Sound a little like Afghanistan? Only difference this time is the Yemen central government is not prepared to do what the Taliban did back in 2001. Yemen's government will not resist American using special forces on their territory.

Oh. one last thing if we have declared a War on Terrorism why do we provide non citizens the same rights as Americans? Shouldn't they be declared war combatants? If a war combatant mingles among civilians and intentionally tries to hit a civilian target like an airplane should they not be treated as a spy or at least a war criminal? They shoot spies don't they?


 

Are you aware that 238 members of Congress are millionaires? That's right and unlike the rest of us they are getting a raise! Seven of them earn in the nine figures!

What ever happen to Ben Franklin's idea that members should not be paid just their expenses covered. There is an email going around the internet proposing a 28th amendment that would see members not receive any more or less than "Joe Citizen". The only problem is that the proposals deals with far more than salaries. It has a section on the election of Supreme Court Justices, a section on requiring the government to provide education by the internet and a number of other proposals that would make Orwell's "1984" Look like a walk in the park.

Like Churchill once said "it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

The problem with the internet is that it allows everyone to develop an opinion even those who do not understand what they are reading.My Mom once told me that keeping your mouth shut was a good way to kept people from finding out that you don't know anything. The trouble with the internet is it's a little bit like a lynching mob it doesn't take much to get people all excited about issues they think they know about but their actions are based more on false assumptions, rumors, and emotion than reality.

The world can watch what is happening in Iran and at the same time watch Americans make fools of themselfs over issues like the Balloon Boy or Tiger's off course activities.

But 238 millionaires in Congress leads me to ask, how many became millionaires before they went to Congress?

 

A while back I mentioned that since the President is limited by term limits that maybe Congress should also have term limits. Today I got an email from my conservative cousin where he was spreading an idea about term limits. It advocated eight years for the House and twelve years for Senators.

I then began to think why did the House get reelected every two years and the Senate terms were six years with a third being elected every two years. What was the reasoning for our forefathers doing this? Their main concern was that the government had continuity. They did not want to see the House to get too powerful thus they gave the terms only two years hoping that this would allow anyone to be able to afford serving the government. The Senate on the other hand was to be the true seat of power and the term of six years was established as they knew it would take a few years for Senators to establish themselves. It also allowed the Senate to develop a culture, a tradition which members would be able to pass down to new members. It is this tradition that allowed Webster, Byrd, and Kennedy to become so effective members of the Senate.

Would term limits end this tradition? Would term limits reduce the power of Congress? I think it would. I also think it will be very difficult to convince the people who represent us to agree to changing the way we are represented. then of course if you did what would be the terms/ Eight and twelve like the email said? Why not two five year terms for everybody including the President? Why is two and six years so special and four years for the president? Did it have something to do with our forefathers wanting to see government being able to function in the long term and wanting continuity? Maybe.
 

I knew when I heard about the wingnut that flew into Detroit that it wouldn't take long for the conservatives to blame you know who!

Well today I got an email from my "independent conservative" cousin blaming Obama for the lack of security. What he and many others don't realize is that it hasn't been a question of if another 'attack" will be on the US mainland but when! Blaming Obama is like blaming FDR for Pearl Harbor or Truman for the Korean Invasion.

It was also made clear that people don't know what the difference is between a No Fly list and a Watch List. The No fly list has about 50,000 names on it and the Watch list has over 500,000 people on it. The Amsterdam airport does not have the non-metallic scanning equipment needed to catch the device this guy was carrying. The terrorists knew this. If the airport were to do a complete pat down on each passenger it would have taken 4.8 hours to do a two minute pat down with two people working on the assignment. Can you see the outcry if we told people they had to be at the airport 6 hours before flight time?

Personally I think we need to get out of Afghanistan ASAP. We need to provide military and economic support to the warlords that oppose the Taliban, buy the Opium produced to cut off the funding and a main source of illegal drugs in the US.

The terrorists have moved to Africa. We need to put in special forces into the harbors of Somalia and make it very uncomfortable for the pirates as this has become the major funding sources for the terrorists. We need to support the Yemen government or replace it. We need to resolve the problem in Sudan and Kenya. For those that have a problem with the US getting fully involved with "domestic" issues of foreign countries I remind you of the Bush doctrine regarding Iraq!

Too often the US sticks its head into the sand saying the problems of W, Y, and Z countries are not our problem. Then WWI and WWII happen. The problems of the middle east were someone else's problem. Then 9/11 happen, but still we do not get involved in the problems of Africa as if it is none of our business. Yet Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Kenya, and other African countries have become rich grounds for the terrorists.

Tom Clancy wrote a book a number of years ago, I believe it was called "Sum of All Our Fears". It deals with a terrorist attack on Baltimore with a nuclear device. It is that type of incident which is the ultimate fear of all the national security forces. The more we focus on one aspect of terrorism the more likely we will get hit by another aspect. What was it that Ali said "while you watching my right hand I'll knock you out with my left".

If that should happen, unfortunately instead of rallying around the president, to many so called Americans will blame him for the deed.
 

One of the traditions that Canada has that is missing in the US is "Boxing Day". This is the day after Christmas and is recognized as a stat holiday. I believe it is a British tradition as it is celebrated in most Commonwealth countries. Stores are open and have big sales but the workers get holiday pay and the sales are unbelievable. Most malls see their parking lots full and more shoppers than ever. Anyone trying to return Aunt Molly's sweater which was too big or small can forget it as most stores will not deal with returns until tomorrow or even later in the week.

If you want an example of how the economy has taken over the spirit of Christmas you couldn't find a better example as the day has become a total retailer's dream. Originally the day was an extension of Christmas where families could have another day of rest and togetherness. Today my grandson is having a lovely day snowboarding at our local ski slope while his Mom and Grandma are at the malls taking advantage of the sales.

I like the idea of Boxing Day as an American I found the day unique and when I taught it was a neat day where we usually visited my wife's relatives. It allowed us to have Christmas for just us and our children and Boxing Day was for our extended family. Now that our family has grown and live many miles from us the day seems to have become much more commercial. The last few years my wife use to take advantage of this time of the year as she would work the holidays and in one weeks period of time she would take home a paycheck equal to working two full weeks. It sure helped pay for all the gifts!

It seems to me that the "Christmas" season is no longer a season to remember the birth of the founder of Christianity, but has become a celebration of the end of the retail year. It is the last chance for the economy to make a profit or balance its budget. It is little wonder that many religious purist find this time of year a bite disgusting.

Why is it that during this time of year we highlight stories about grinches and good deeds as if they don't happen at other times of the year? There are a lot of good people don't good things all year long and there are, unfortunately, a lot of "bad" people doing bad things all year long.

I sometimes think that Boxing Day is the truest holiday we have. It is a day set aside to encourage us to take advantage of sales. It is a purely commercial day and makes little bones about it! Nothing like a little honesty!

 

This is the time of the year where family traditions seem to be everywhere.

Our family traditions bring back a number of memories for me and now I seem to have become the reservoir of knowledge about our family traditions.

When I was very young my parents use to wait until Christmas before we could open our presents. Then one day my godparents came and spent their last Christmas on the east coast, before moving to San Diego. They and my folks went to midnight Mass that Christmas Eve and when they came home they let their children open their gifts. I was suppose to have been asleep, but what my parents never knew was that I was a very light sleeper. It was that night I knew there was no Santa Claus I held that secret for a few more years, but even after my folks knew I knew Santa lived in the house all year round I would still get a gift from the big guy. Today that tradition still lives as both my wife and I still get a gift or two from Old St. Nick. As the years went by we made our children stay in bed until the early morning hours of Christmas Day, but as the years went along and our children grew up we began the tradition of opening up one present on Christmas Eve, just like my godparents did so many years ago. Today my grandson has reached the same age and we have renewed the tradition of opening a gift on Christmas Eve.

One year my Dad and I went out and cut down our own tree. I was maybe ten or eleven years old, but that day was a great day and it stayed with me to this very day. When we began our family, I would get a permit to cut a tree, my wife would make hot chocolate, and away we would go to find the perfect tree! We did this all during the time our children were growing up and only stopped when they left home. After the children left home we returned to buying our tree and then my daughter had her son. As a single Mom Grandpa became the man in her son's life and once again I found myself walking in the woods with a little boy looking for the perfect tree! I can still remember the day he found a tree for his Mom. He was maybe two feet tall and the tree was about two and a half feet tall! He had seen me cut down a bigger tree and since our permit allowed us to cut three trees he knew that this perfect tree was for his Mom. After showing him how to use the saw he carefully took it and began to cut the tree. After a few minutes he stopped and looked up to me and said that this was "hard work!" I offered to help but he refused saying he wanted to do it by himself for Mom. Never been prouder and he did finish cutting it all by himself. He then grabbed the tree by the base and began to drag it towards the car.

Today we no longer go out and cut our own tree and we are getting to an age that a live tree may no longer be in our future. It very well maybe that this year's tree will be the last live tree we every have.

A number of years ago my wife made a "yule log" It was a desert made with chocolate and a white creamy filling. She had seen a recipe and thought it would be neat to try. Well it was and for the past ten years she has made one. This year our grandson asked where is the log? Well today my wife is out looking for some semi-sweet chocolate to finish the log!

As I write this another family tradition is playing on the radio it's Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas". I believe that just as the music of the great musicians of the 17th Century is still being played and the Christmas songs like "Silent Night" are still being heard, that people of the 21st and 22nd Century will still be listening to Bing's "White Christmas". It is nice to know that Bing's "White Christmas" and Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" were part of my childhood.

It is really amazing that the action of an individual's birth that occurred over two thousand years ago has developed into the marvelous traditions that we re-enact each year. The traditions that have followed that event have grown and changed over time. Unfortunately as we add to the traditions all to often we lose sight of the original reason for the tradition in the first place.

History has shown us time after time that though it is very difficult for us as individuals to change the course of history it is always changed by an individual no matter what the event. Sometimes we get to know the individual who is responsible for the change, but many times that individual remains nameless. Who developed the wheel, learned to control fire, made the first bow, who began to see figures in the sky, who put up the first sail, who first thought that there was a spirit world?

All questions for another time. I would like in the tradition way, to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!
 

It's beginning to look like Christmas! Santa will not have much of a problem getting around this year as most of North America is covered with snow... no global warming here. Seems like everyone decided this year to wait to do their Christmas shopping at the last minute and as a result the stores have already started their sales.

Apparently the Senate is going to go into the Christmas break with a health bill passed. The next trick will be when the House and Senate sit down and hash out their differences. The State of the Union address could be very interesting. Once the health care issue is behind the government the Democrats will have to hope that the economy improves until the fall elections. It will be a race to see if the increase in interest rates have a negative affect on the economy before or after the Nov elections. But, that's next year's worries.

Right now I'm enjoying the fact my family is preparing for Christmas, I enjoy the fact that my grandson is now sharing the snow shoveling and my daughter is helping me buy Christmas presents for my wife. The tree is up and the presents are wrapped. Christmas Carols fill the air and Christmas specials fill the TV. It is a wonderful life and there are Miracles all over 84th Street and the rest of the world.

A Dad gets his son from Brazil and the Florida boy burned by his "friends" gets out of the hospital. Yes it is beginning to look like Christmas.


 

It seems that the Republicans have forgotten that the primary job of a congressman and a senator's is to represent the people that sent them to Washington. Their job is to ensure their district or state gets it's fare share of the benefits from any particular bill or to get the government to support an issue or project that was important to their electors.

This is how the Republic has been since day one! A representative from Massachusetts would agreed to support a bill for the representative from Georgia if the Georgia rep supported his bill. The system worked pretty well until 1860. It has continued to work pretty well until the 1950's at that time lobbyists representing special interests began to develop influence on another important aspect of a representative's life and that was to get re-elected. The lobbyist would arrange for or withdraw funding to the representative's re-election campaign. This has resulted in the development of the term called "pork-barrel".

I personally think this is one of the strongest arguments for term limits on the people we send to Congress. We did it for the President so why should we not do it for Congress. Ever noticed that the heads of all the important committees are chaired by individuals that may not know the most but have been there the longest? Congress is the best example, that I know, of the Peter Principle!

Getting back to the Republican's outcry about the Democrats moves in getting an agreement on health care. I say good for the Senators who were able to get another hospital built, medical clinics added, who got Medicaid for their states. They were doing their job and doing it very well!