Columns

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had just about enough ‘reality’ TV. What kind of voyeuristic society have we become?

They say it all started with “Survivor.” We Grant Countians loved watching our own rugged Rodger Bingham, aka Kentucky Joe, maneuver the Australian Outback. After that episode, the shows have become increasingly provocative.

Boom, boom, boom!

The sky was full of fireworks this weekend.
If I sat in my front yard, I could see them. If I moved to my back deck, I could see them. As I drove along U.S. 25, they were everywhere.

It was a red, white and boom holiday.

At church on Sunday, people were wearing their colors. The choir even sang a couple of patriotic tunes.

OK, I’m not afraid to admit it, I tear up when I hear patriotic music. I’ve been known to get a little choked up when I pledge allegiance to the flag.

When I was a kid, one of my brothers caught a little lizard in the tobacco field.  Being about 5, I did not have to work in the hot sun.

Instead, I stayed under a wagon, playing with that little lizard in his mayonnaise jar with holes in the lid and grass for a bed and hidey hole.  I played with him all day, pestering it ad infinitum.  When my brother first caught him, he had a long tail.  By the end of the day—he barely had a stub left.  He had eaten his own tail.

Many people have asked me what I do now that I have retired. They just corner me in the cat food aisle at the store and demand an answer.

So, for all you retiring teachers—this is for you.

First, I had to graduate from elementary school. I majored in reading, writing and talking to teachers in the halls. This took more than 25 years.