So Far Away...

What made you do it?  The guy definitely looked creepy on T.V.  But to shoot him?  At least you didn't kill him.  God you must be hurting!

I remember when your sister was killed.  How they found her baby still alive, clinging to her lifeless body.  How devastating it was for you and your family.  How numb you all looked.  So many memories coming flooding back, like it was only a couple of years since, not over a quarter century.

It was heartbreaking to see you handcuffed on the news.  Your athletic grace has not left you.  I still have a few slides from our time out in the islands.  The ex threw away your letters long ago.

So much has come flooding back tonight.  The music, your apartment, watching you pitch, the sunsets at Redondo, how you looked in that dress when I talked you into dressing up and going out.  The frustration, confusion, and the feelings of helplessness have all returned, as well.

How much pain have you been carrying?  They said you have been even worse off lately.  I so wished I could have helped you then.   I sadly wish someone could have helped you now. 

I also wish I could say I have become a huge success, but here I am writing to someone I haven't seen in over 25 years who will never read it.  Yes, I'm still working with kids, 25 years into the teaching career I began back then.  With that part of life I have no regrets, it's even more rewarding now than then.  Now, 25 years later, watching you on T.V., I feel just as alone as I did in those days driving back to Ellensburg.

I wish you well, Chief.  I have thought of you now and then over the years.  You will be in my prayers once again.  I hope they don't punish you too harshly.  I hope you can get the help you need and some much-deserved relief from your agonizing pain.

Love,
Boss

Mitt's Lament

"How dare those minorities want health care! Don't they know their place? If there were only more rich white guys like me in this country. I can hardly wait until my 42 grandchildren can all vote."

"Why were those 47 percenters so sensitive? Don't all of those men and women in the service, police officers, firefighters, teachers, air traffic controllers, forest service workers, and government pension planners know what a drain they are on this country's economy? Why don't they all go out and get real jobs?"

"Can't believe I lost that darned election! Ann, go get me a Pepsi!"

Back in the Desert

Year number twenty-eight.
Couldn't ask for better friends.
Can't wait for number twenty-nine.

How Politicians Manage Education

The politicians manage our educational system as well as they manage the budget.

Let's say you cut pay and benefits of all of your managers in your business. Then you cut all of your manager's operating budgets by over 80% in four years. Next, you told your managers they would never be allowed to fire under-performing employees, even if the employee did no work, swore at you, and harassed their fellow workers on a daily basis. Finally, you told your managers that your own pay was guaranteed to never be cut, you also get full medical benefits for your entire family, and you can travel any time you want, all on the company's budget, which you haven't balanced in years.

How many top talented managers do you think this business would recruit, let alone retain?

Welcome to Washington State education.

Keep blaming it on the teachers.

Fun on the River

Today we took six of the kids from our advanced flyfishing class to the Nooksack River. Half of our kids were girls, by the way. No fish were caught, but a great time was had by all.

I was talking with some of the parents later in the day, and we were impressed with the fact that even though the spot we were at had cell service, the only activity the kids had with their phones was to take pictures of each other. It was so nice to see kids having fun old school, without electronic entertainment.

The morning was spent learning to wade and learning flyfishing techniques such as skating, upstream dry fly fishing, swinging, streamer stripping, and nymphing. At noon we headed back to the cars to eat lunch and warm up. While crossing the bridge, Abby and Kalia spotted a school of fish (whitefish) under the bridge. Lunches were scarfed and kids were hurriedly sliding down the bank to try and catch whitefish.

After no luck with the whitefish, the river Olympics were on. Rock skipping, river dancing, and other events were creatively invented by the kids. What's that? Kids being kids? It was refreshing. No fish caught, no need for artificial entertainment, and much laughter and many smiles were the order of the day. Not bad for a bunch of 12-14 year-olds who are "at that age."