Remembering Papa

I was sitting outside tonight as a thunderstorm starting rolling through, and it reminded me of how my Papa used to sit outside on his back porch and watch the rain fall. He loved to watch the thunder and lightning. I should have written this post yesterday, the 10th anniversary of his death, but I couldn't do it for some reason.

It's hard to believe Papa has been gone for 10 years. He didn't live to see my or my brother's college graduations or weddings. In my opinion, he died too young. I would give anything to have my grandparents in my life right now. Thankfully, David's grandma on his mom's side is still in great health, but she is the only grandparent we still have with us along with Jean-Paul's parents in Luxembourg who are well into their 90s.

Papa is the one who taught me my multiplication tables, even though he didn't make it past the 8th grade. He served in the military and was told he had to teach trigonometry, so he learned how to do trigonometry. He made the best homemade biscuits in the world along with fried catfish and hamburgers. He invested in the stock market and would be amazed to know the Dow is now more than 10,000. A lifelong Democrat, I'm sure he'd have an opinion about a possible Obama/Hilllary ticket. I can remember him showing me a postcard he received in the mail from Michael Dukakis when he was running for president in the 1980s.

I miss him and my grandma (known as Ghee. When my parents told me, "This is grandma and grandpa," I replied, "No, this is Ghee and Papa.") dearly, but I like to think of them up there in heaven, having breakfast, lunch or an early supper with my dad's parents and my Grandpa Mabra, who I never had the honor of meeting. I hope they are proud of us because I'm certainly proud to be their granddaughter.

Also, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Miss Edna Harrell, who is 95 today! She's a member of the family and was one of Ghee's good friends. During our phone conversation today, I asked her the secret to living to be 95 years, and her response was, "a lot of hard work and a strong belief in Jesus." Happy Birthday Miss Edna!

You Can't Say That on Television!

Comedian George Carlin died Sunday of heart failure at age 71. He is most famously known for a monologue in 1972 about the seven dirty words that can't be said on television. The next year, he did a similar routine, but that version was broadcast uncensored on a New York radio station, which eventually lead to a U.S. Supreme Court case that defined acceptable free speech limits on U.S. broadcast television and radio.

Ironically, I had just talked to my class about him and the seven dirty words last week when we talked about what you can and can't say on television and how to handle interview subjects who like to drop a four-letter word in every sentence. There are more than 400,000 words in the English language, but these seven still remain off limits on broadcast television and radio. Cable is a different ball game, but that could be changing.

Regardless of how you feel about these "dirty words," Carlin was an entertaining comedian who joked about many topics other than these words, including children of yuppies, all the "stuff" we collect and don't really need, the uselessness of bottled water and writing his own obituary. If you're interested in watching his original monologue where he says the seven dirty words and variations of them, it's below. Warning: This video might not be suitable for children or those highly offended by profanity to hear.

Helicopter Parents

I don't know where this week has gone. Teaching every day means grading every day, and I also gave my students a midterm exam since we're halfway through our five-week summer session. Needless to say, I'll be grading all weekend, but I love teaching.

This week has also been trying since I had a student show up the first week of class and then miss all last week only to show up again this week with a series of excuses. I'll spare you the details, but it's amazing how so many college students today depend on their parents. We like to call them helicopter parents since they hover over their children, who are legal adults, and want to make their lives are as perfect as possible.

I have wonderful and supportive parents, but my parents never would have called a college professor to complain about a grade I earned. For those of us teaching now, we're facing a privileged generation that has been taught they are all winners and they are all special. In the eyes of parents, their children are special, but that doesn't mean they are the best at everything they do.

College is a time for young women and men, who are now adults, to find out about the world and how to live in it on their own for the most part. The family support network should still exist, but it can't help them from falling and failing each and every time they make a mistake. As one of my colleagues recently said, "The world isn't interested in your excuses, only your results."

Life Moves On...

I know it's been a week since I posted something, but teaching every day and keeping up with grading is quite time consuming. I can't believe how fast the summer session is flying by.

I did make some time this week to go to see Sex and the City with some friends. I thought it was well-written with many funny, sad, happy and emotional moments. Because of how many summer movies appear, I was surprised that it was only it's second full week in the theaters, but it was only showing on one screen several times a day.

Finally, on Friday night, we went to the Downtown Grill and Brewery in Knoxville to celebrate a colleague's birthday and bid a fond farewell to another colleague, Jim Miller, who successfully defended his dissertation earlier this week. He and his family are moving back to Arkansas where he teaches at Harding University. Jim is a great person and teacher, and his departure made me realize how fast graduate school progresses. Later this summer, several other colleagues will be moving, and next year this time as I'm hopefully finishing the program, I'll be saying good-bye to friends I didn't know several years ago. I know we'll stay in touch and see each other at conferences, but it is still hard to say good-bye.

It's HOT!!!

So it's been rather warm, OK, hot, up here in East Tennessee during the past week. In fact, it's a lot hotter this June than last year, and it's painfully reminding us of Florida's hot and humid weather. We hope it cools off soon. It was in the lower 90s today with a heat index in the shade of 100 degrees, and in the sun it felt like 105-110 degrees. Not fun!

The lack of rain in many southern states has made it difficult for farmers, including my dad. There isn't any grass for cattle and other livestock to eat, and hay bales and other food items have skyrocketed in cost due to supply and demand, higher gas prices, other reasons, etc. One of the local radio staions in Knoxville, WIVK, is holding a benefit concert for farmers in East Tennesse in late July. They're hoping to raise $100,000 to buy hay for area farmers. Let's hope they raise that and a lot more!

On a lighter note about the heat, I'll always remember a saying posted on a familiar business where I grew up in Gainesville, FL. During the summer it read, "Spring has sprung, Fall has fell, Summer weather is hotter than Hell!." I used to love repeating it as we drove by in the car since I wasn't supposed to say the word "hell." Do you remember that Mom and Dad?

The Living Room Candidate

The historic 2008 presidential election is less than five months away, and we all know what that means...endless commercials for and against John McCain and Barack Obama. For a look back at entertaining, funny, inspirational and very different commericals from election year's past, The Living Room Candidate is a great Web site. The commercials date back to 1952 when Dwight Eisenhower ran against Adlai Stevenson and won.

Young Hillary Clinton

As most of the world knows, Hillary Clinton has finally decided to quit the good fight and endorse Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama Saturday. Last week, David found this entertaining video about a "Young Hillary Clinton." How many of you think Obama will choose Hillary as his vice presidential running mate?

Sammie isn't Siamese afterall

Many of you probably know we have two cats, a grey Mackerel Tabby named Dolly and Sammie, who until yesterday we thought was a true Siamese. David was perusing through a book store and found a cat book that described another related breed called Tonkinese. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, the Tonkinese breed is a cross between the Siamese and Burmese cat breeds. Based on the entry, it appears Sammie is indeed a Tonkinese based on her facial features, size and personality. These cats are commonly referred to as tonks.

According to the Web site: "Tonk is two types of cat in one body. One mode is active, but not hyper, with a muscular body. They play fetch, climb cat trees and fly through the house at warp speed. The second mode is cuddly and loving. They are not an aloof, independent cat; they are best for someone who wants a lap cat. They are dog-like in that they require and demand attention."

This describes Sammie to a tee. She loves running around the house at times and has even jumped on top of the refrigerator since we don't have trees growing in our house. She also loves attention, and if there is a spare lap in the house, she demands to sit on it. We've often said she acts like a dog. She was named Sammie since the woman we know who found her thought she was a Siamese. I think it's too late though to rename her Tammie.

A Fresh Start

I've had a blog since November 2006 when I created one as part of teaching an introduction to news writing class at the University of Tennessee, however I haven't been a regular blogger. I intend to change that since I'm a writer by profession, and it's a great way to let family and friends know what I'm up to on a regular basis. One way to be a better writer is to write and write and write.

Speaking of writing, I'm teaching a five-week summer class about writing for the mass media. We meet five days a week for an hour and a half. It's intense, but I really get to know my students. I started teaching Monday, after returning from Florida for the second time in two weeks. The first Florida trip was for my brother's wedding. I can't believe he is married. The second was to celebrate my parent's 40th wedding anniversary celebration. Both were wonderful occasions despite the long trips down there and back. We wouldn't have missed them for anything.