Las Vegas Strip

No Classroom Desks

No Classroom Desks

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 permission of the school superintendent, the principal
and the building supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the
classroom.

The kids came into first period, they walked in, there were no
desks. They obviously looked around and said, "Ms. Cothren, where's
our desk?" And she said, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn them." They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."
"No," she said."Maybe it's our behavior." And she told them, "No, it's not even
not your behavior."

And so they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the
classroom. Second period, same thing, third period. By earlyafternoon television news crews had gathered in Ms. Cothren's class to find out about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of the classroom. Thelast period of the day, Martha Cothren gathered her class. They were at this time sitting on the floor around the sides of the room. And she says, "Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the desks that sit in this classroom ordinarily." She said, "Now I'm going to tell you."

Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it,
and as she did 27 U.S. veterans, wearing their uniforms, walked into
that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows, and then they stood along the wall. And by the time they had finished placing those desks, those kids for the first time I think perhaps in their lives understood how they earned those desks.

Martha said, "You don't have to earn those desks. These guys did it
for you. They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to sit
here responsibly to learn, to be good students and good citizens,
because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don't ever
forget it."

excerpted from a speech given by former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee. 3/2/2007

My friend, I think sometimes we forget that the freedoms that we
have are freedoms not because of celebrities. The freedoms are because
of ordinary people who did extraordinary things, who loved this
country more than life itself, and who not only earned a school desk
for a kid at the Robinson High School in Little Rock, but who earned a seat for you and me to enjoy this great land we call home, this
wonderful nation that we better love enough to protect and preserve
with the kind of conservative, solid values and principles that made
us a great nation.

"We live in the Land of the Free because of the brave" Remember
our Troops

Semper Fidelis

I heard this story the other day when I was driving down the road.
God Bless those who protect our freedom.

A Rainy Day

It rained so hard the swimming pool over flowed.
This picture was taken after the rain stopped and some of the water started to recede.

I was going to go to the grocery store

All the water in the parking lot made me change my mind.

I thought you all might get a kick out of our last day of travels through Texas. Anyone who has travel through the state of Texas to get to Arizona and back knows it is big and bare. Once you get on the other side of El Peso there isn't much out there. We stopped in Fort Stockton for the night at the Holiday Inn Express. We checked in and fell on the beds. I sat straight up pulling myself up out of the middle of the bed where I had sank. I told Mom we can't stay here, these beds are awful. We checked out and tried went to another hotel on Motel Road. Not a room available as there was a car race there that weekend. We headed down the expressway realizing we would have to drive for another hour before coming to the next town. The further down the road we went the slower the miles seemed to pass by. I had to PEE!! I stepped on the gas and saw the policeman on the other side of the road. I was going 87 mph. I let up on the gas peddle and slowed down. The policeman had turned around and was fast approaching my vehicle. I looked at Mom and said we are busted! Sure enough he pulled me over. He said step out of the car and walk to the rear of the vehicle. Now I really had to pee!!. He said you know I pulled you over because you were speeding. I said yes sir I was. He asked why I was speeding. I told him I had to pee. He said you had to go that bad? I said yes sir. So bad it hurts to stand here. He looked at me funny and said I am going to give you a warning ticket. Next time instead of speeding, pull over and go in the bushes. Pee in the bushes what if I get poison sumac?? That happened to my sister when she peed in the woods.; He looked at me like he was dealing with a crazy woman!
I said "yes sir thank you". He got in his car and I walked to my car. I opened the back door grabbed a paper towel and "Damn-it Mom I have to go pee in the bushes now!! He gave me a warning ticket.
A few minutes later we were back on the road. This time I was going the speed limit. What did we see two miles up the road? The police officer who pulled me over. I am so glad I was going the speed limit!!
The moral of this Bevvie Tale.....don't speed it's better to pull over and pee in the bushes.

How's New Orleans Doing?

I get asked this question all the time. How are things going in New Orleans? Are things back to normal? My answer is no. Things are not back to normal. I am one of the lucky ones. All I have to worry about is whether the groceries I need will be on the shelve when I do my shopping. My heart hurts for all the people of New Orleans who are unable to come back home. I still mourn for a city that was the Great New Orleans. 19 months after Hurricane Katrina I went on what my friend calls the destruction tour in the lower Ninth Ward. As we drove down one street with homes still in need of repair I looked up to see a pair of Tennis shoes hanging from the power lines crossing the street. I was told this was a sign that drugs were available in this neighborhood. I wanted to take a picture but we dared not linger. It was not safe.



We passed by Fat Domino's house. There was a group of young people planting trees. They had a sign that said they were from Oregon. As we drove by we said "thanks for helping New Orleans". We headed towards the Lakefront but had to turn around. The smell of mold filled my lungs and took my breath away. My husband wanted to know why I went for a ride in a place that would bring me so much sadness. My answer. I don't want to forget. No one should forget. New Orleans needs help.












Wonder where the mail goes? This post office has been closed since the storm
The fire department in this area is run from a fema trailer and has defective equipment to use.
It was on the Nightly news a couple of months ago. If we move any faster to replace and repair homes and equipment the next hurricane season will be knocking at our door.