Let The Fun Begin!

It’s been quite the exciting past few days for Jadon!

On Wednesday, he got to go to Carousel Park and have a blast with his friends from church. Carterville Christian Church rented the place out and had a great turnout – all for free to those who came! What a fantastic idea and a great time!

Jadon loved the Ferris Wheel – I think Daphne was more scared being stuck at the top than he was. Love this picture – what a great job by Jadon’s mommy/personal photographer.

He also got to play some mini-golf. I may have to try out that grip sometime – maybe it can fix what’s wrong with my game.

Jadon and Daphne also went to Wildcat Glades on Thursday and had a blast playing in the water. I think that boy must be half fish because he loves being in the water!

Friday may be the most exciting day of the week for these two because it means…the last day of school! They are both pumped for summer and Jadon is already getting excited to start kindergarten next year. Hard to believe that this is his last day of preschool and that he’ll be starting “real” school in the fall.

It’s been an exciting week and hopefully this summer will be more of the same!

Aggressive Auto-Flush Toilets

Auto-Flush Toilet

Does anyone else find it a bit unsettling when the automatic flush toilets flush as soon as you are done, even though you haven’t moved? Is it possible that toilets are becoming too smart? I guess we have to give credit to the toilet designers, though – the fact that people are questioning how advanced is too advanced for a toilet shows just how far they have come over the years. It’s also frightening to think about the future of toilet evolution.

Like Sleeping On A Cloud

Cloud Bed

Why do people compare a comfortable mattress to sleeping on a cloud? Maybe I’m strange, but I just don’t see the appeal in laying on something you will fall right through, eventually slamming into the earth at maximum velocity, shattering your bones and smashing your organs upon impact. No thank you – I’ll just stick to sleeping on a mattress.

Any Pizza? Any Toppings?

Pizza Hut Any Pizza, Any Toppings

Pizza Hut advertises “Any Pizza, Any Toppings” for $10, but the small print at the bottom of the screen during the commercial says there is an additional charge for stuffed crust and extra cheese. Is “Any Pizza, Any Toppings” really an accurate description? Wouldn’t that be like advertising “Any Drink, Any Size” for a certain price and then charging for extra ice or an extra large drink?

A Bit Of Nostalgia – Volume 5

The final installment of nostalgia – some journal entries from late 1991 to early 1992…

9-4-91
Last night I played football with my friends. I intercepted 3 passes and ran 2 back for touchdowns. We won both games. The first score was 14-0 and the second one was 7-0.

9-6-91
Yesterday when I was quarterback I threw 5 touchdown passes. I intercepted a lot of passes last night. I hope we play something neat in P.E. today.

9-9-91
Last weekend I played a lot. I played football and Nintendo the most. I won a lot of games of Nintendo.

9-17-91
Yesterday after school I read. Then I watched football and played football. I also beat my little brother in paper football 103-21!

9-20-91
Last night I played interception. I ran right into a wooden bench! I also played home run derby and won 3-0 and lost 2-0.

9-23-91
The day before last I stayed out at my grandma and grandpas house all day with my sister. My grandpa and sister and I made some apple cider. Then we drank some of it.

9-25-91
Yesterday I played football. It was fun but we got tackled hard. I am mad because I lost my turbo football.

9-30-91
Yesterday I played one on one football with a seventh or eigth grader. One time when I tried to dive he had my feet then flipped me. I flipped about three feet high then landed on my head and my right shoulder.

10-4-91
Yesterday after school I played football with some of my friends. First we played interception. Then I played football then went inside to read.

10-24-91
Yesterday after school I had to go up to my room. I threw a ball around until supper. Then after supper we went to church, and one boy even ran out of the church!

11-7-91
Today on the bus and in the bus room I played paper football with one of my friends. I beat him 189-87. On the bus home we are going to play again.

11-19-91
Yesterday after school I played baseball. It was me and one of my friends against three of my other friends and an older kid. Guess who won. Me and one of my friends!

11-26-91
Yesterday after school I played football with some of my friends. On one play our quarterback threw an interception and I went and stripped the ball from him and ran for a touchdown! But first I broke two tackles.

12-13-91
I want to play volleyball in P.E. today. In basketball at recess yesterday combined I scored 11 points. I’m going to try for more than that today.

12-20-91
One day this week I scored 12 points. I also scored a T.D. I’m getting baptized Sunday night.

1-16-92
Yesterday I almost conquered Mario 1. I came so close I couldn’t believe it. Next time I will conquer it.

1-21-92
Yesterday at recess I scored 8 points added up. I hope I score more today. I can’t wait until P.E. and recess.

1-23-92
Today I dressed as Urkel. I look real weird. Levi looks weird to.

3-19-92
Today is Thursday. Yesterday I didn’t come to school. I got the National award in the fitness test.

There you have it – deep thoughts from my 5th grade journal.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s peek into the past as much as I’ve enjoyed bringing it to you!

A Bit Of Nostalgia – Volume 4

My entire bibliography of childhood novels…

#1: The Wreckless And Careless Driver
 Once upon a time there were 4 friends. Their names were Tim, Ben, Anthony, and Jody. Well one Halloween they decided that they were going to go into an old house people called “the haunted house.”
  But when they got to the 13th stair it broke and they fell into the bed of a truck that had a mattress in it. They were lucky it had a mattress in it. They could have been hurt worse if it did not have a mattress in it.
When the driver stopped they all did somersaults backward and they all hit heads and said together, “Ouch!” And then coming straight at them was a train with a bunch of explosives and the train was out of control! Then they both turned the same way and hit so hard that the train went flying and hit an aluminum wall and exploded and the pieces went flying and started a fire so big that it went all the way across town and onto the highway.
The fire was easy to put out though so everyone just went on with what they were doing. So next the truck the kids were in started speeding but two things were going wrong. One a cop was after them. Two there was a fallen bridge just ahead. Then there was a sign but the driver looked back and missed it.
The sign said, “Fallen bridge ahead” but the driver didn’t see it and drove right off of the cliff and the truck fell right into the Mississippi River and floated all the way from Carthage Mo. to St. Louis Missouri and drove up and down the Gateway Arch twenty times. The driver got sick and threw up but the kids boy did they have fun going down the Arch like a slide but had a hard time getting up it.
As for the driver he was put in jail for one year for wreckless, and careless driving.

#2: Scotty Runs Away
Tim has a dog. His dog’s name is Scotty. He is a cute and lovable dog. Tim received Scotty 1 year ago during the summer. Scotty is Tim’s favorite dog. Scotty is a Miniature Schnauzzer. Tim loves playing frisbee and ball with Scotty. Tim also does not mind feeding Scotty.
One day while Tim was at school Scotty got out of the yard. When Tim got home he checked on Scotty but he was not there. He checked the gate and it was open. Had someone stolen Scotty? He thought someone might have because the gate was open. Could Scotty have opened the gate himself? “I hope Scotty is okay,” thought Tim.
Tim was on the phone with his mom when he looked out the window. His mom was at work every day when he got home from school so every day he called her when he got home. He was telling her about Scotty getting out when he looked across the street. “There he is!” yelled Tim. “Well, go get him then!” replied his mom.
As soon as Tim grabbed Scotty, he didn’t put Scotty down for over 30 minutes. Before Tim put Scotty down he found a stick that would keep the gate closed. Tim would be very sad if anything were to ever to happen to Scotty. Tim and Scotty lived happily ever after.

#3: Halloween Story
One Halloween there were two boys going trick-or-treating together. When they got to one eerie house the owner asked them to some in, and they said “Okay.” But when they got inside they got realy scared. They both turned pale. Then a trap door opened and they fell into a dangerous pit. When they hit the bottom they heard a bunch of moans, groans. There was a puddle of murky green water in the middle of the room. Then they saw a staircase and a tunnel. It was all very mysteryous. One of them took the staircase and then other took the tunnel. The staircase was creaky and the tunnel was very slimy. The staircase was creaking all the way.
Then at both ends they met in a search room. The sight that met their eyes was very frightening. There were ghostly ghosts and ghastly goblins.
They were both frantic to get out of the room so they went out the way they came in. When they met at the other they both asked, “Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” what’s on your side? I don’t know they both said, I ran to fast and didn’t see anything. It was very puzzling going through that tunnel though because I thought I saw another tunnel plus some hands grabbing at me. So they went inside the first tunnel and sure enough there was another tunnel.
But this one was larger than the other one. Just then they heard some spirits howl and then they ran out of there in no time flat. When they got back to where they had been before they noticed the staircase and tunnel they both started to yell but then thought it wouldn’t do any good. They both tried to find either a secret door or a window they could go through but couldn’t find any for a while so they sat down and rested.
Just when they started to get up a lot of lights came on. Then they wondered why all of a sudden lights came on. Then they saw another staircase that led up to the living room and they climbed up it. When they got up no one was in the house so they called the police and told them what had happened. The police said they’d be over in about five minutes and to stay where they were.
So the boys said okay and hung up. When the police got there the owner was there beside the boys.
The man was a wanted criminal and the reward was five-hundred dollars so the police gave them each five-hundred dollars. So they said thank you to the police and took the money and showed their parents.
And their parents said that that was good but after they told their parents what had happened their parents were glad that they had made it but then they said not to do it again and grounded them for a couple of days and said when they were ungrounded they would have to do extra chores around the house and they wouldn’t be able to go outside and play until all the chores were done.
THE END

More to come tomorrow…

A Bit Of Nostalgia – Volume 3

A few more selections for your amusement…

#1: Compacted Poetry
Good shows and sports games,
Two of my favorite things.
Junk food in front of my favorite place,
The square rainbow is the T.V. set.

#2: The Cats That I’ve Had
I have had two or three cats at my dad’s house. I’ve named them all Blacky since they’ve all been black. Sometimes they run away when I’m not there. One of them my dad gave away because it was getting lonely without me. I wish he wouldn’t have done that, and that cats wouldn’t run away.

#3: My Encounter With An Opossum
One day when I was at my dad’s house my grandma, grandpa came over. My dad was pitching me some balls and then here came an opossum! Then we all got in the back of my dad’s pickup. He told me to give him the bat so I did. The opossum was right beside the pickup! Then my dad started hitting the opossum. Then he gave the bat to my grandpa and he hit it to. But what was neat was that when it died its tail spun around in the air and then dropped.

#4: Some Changes I’ve Made
Some changes I have made this year are – I make better grades in Math. I make better grades in English. I do a lot better in Art. I am doing sit-ups a whole lot better in P.E. this year. I am doing a whole lot better in actually everything this year. The change I am most excited about is that I’m doing better in everything.

A couple short books and some journal entries still to come…

A Bit Of Nostalgia – Volume 2

Here is the second installment of classic writing from my childhood…

#1: Tim’s English (A Poem)
Under a small, cold winter moon, fields and hills gleam bald and white as eggs.

#2: What School Means To Me
School means a lot to me. It means work but so what. I don’t care if I have to work. I want to have a good education. I like school because the food is good and I also like recess. I don’t know where I want to go to college yet. I also like my principal. I have had every teacher I wanted and they have been very nice to me. I have also learned a lot from them. I cannot wait to see who I get next year. I also hope my friends are in my class next year. I hope my teacher is nice next year. I hope I get good grades next year and this year and every year. I don’t want to flunk so I study hard. I like getting one-hundreds like everyone else. I means a lot to me because one-hundreds are my favorite grade. And that’s why I like school. If you don’t like school I don’t know why! I’m not a mind reader. So go to school, get good grades, like it. Please go to school and like it.

#3: The Evil Looking Monster
Once upon a time there was an old rundown mansion that everybody believed was haunted. In that house lived a scary looking monster that people thought was evil. But people didn’t know the monster personally.
One night on halloween 2 boys were walking by the old mansion when they heard a scream. “Let’s go check it out,” said one of the boys. So they went in and found the monster yelling for help.
They they had tea and crumpets together and he got to know the monster personally. After a few days he told everyone that the monster was not cruel and he had a heart like everyone else. He was just a mutant.

#4: Humorous Essay
One day something funny happened to me. I was at school and had the only house key. Well, I had to get into my house that afternoon so I put the key in my desk where I thought it would be safe.
Later on I was looking in my desk, in the gym, and even in the halls for the key. I thought for sure I had lost it. Boy, I sure would have been in trouble. Then I looked in my desk one more time and whoomp there it was! I found the key.

Stay tuned for more wisdom and classic literature from my elementary school days…

A Bit Of Nostalgia – Volume 1

If you have ever wondered what I wrote about as a child, you are in luck. I recently went through a tub of my old papers that my mom saved and found some fairly entertaining compositions. If you have never wondered what I wrote about as a child, you are in the majority, but I’m about to share it with you anyhow.

These classic writings were done when I was between 8 and 12 years old, so prepare to have your mind blown by totally awesome awesomeness.

#1: Why Animals Are Endangered
Some animals are endangered because people shoot them. A few of them are the bald eagle, Saddam Hussein, bobcats, and the buffalo. There are lots more that I could name but it would take too long.

#2: A Letter To Mom
Dear Mom,

Who could ask for anything more than a sweet Toyota mom! Just a little joke I made up.

Dear Mom,
I love you because you let me play outside when it’s sunny, you also let me stay up late sometimes, and when you do I like to play baseball with Tyler. When Tyler hits it the ball goes up to outer space that’s how good he hits the ball sometimes. When he does I say good hit Tyler and he runs around.

Your son,

Tim

#3: Tim And Jamie’s English
George was a bodacious, awesome, radical, and dudical rich dude. He was also always a glad, proud, important, unique, nice, gentle, creative, smart, kind, sweet, honorable, friendly, scientific, caring, adventurous, curious, loveable, neat, also a wonderful dude.

He was also a teacher. Now he is dead. He was also interesting. He was also black.

#4: Spring by Tim Payne
Spring is for playing baseball, soccer, and maybe even a game or two of basketball. Spring is also for rain. When it rains there is usually something else to do like play games with your family. On rainy days I usually read, read, read, read, read. So open a good book today and read.

There you have it – a glimpse into the mind of me as a child. For those of you craving more (Mom), have no fear – there is more to come…including a couple short books that I can’t believe never rocketed to the top of the New York Times Bestsellers.

Is Cynicism A Virtue?

When did cynicism become a virtue?

How did we get to a place where being cynical, jaded, distrustful, and pessimistic is so widely accepted and often embraced as a sign of intelligence and maturity?

Why is a person who trusts others, takes people at their word, and is willing to extend grace seen as naïve, simple, and a pushover?

When did it become so rare to find a person who looks for the good in everyone and truly believes that everyone has something good to offer? Why is it that when we come across a person like Mr. Rogers, Tim Tebow, Joel Osteen, or Tim Sanders, we try so hard to find something negative about them? Why can’t we just accept that although they aren’t perfect, maybe they actually are as nice and positive as they seem?

Why are we so quick to accept as fact the statement “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”? Why are we so slow to accept that maybe some really good things actually do happen? Can’t there be some things that are just really, truly good? Why do we assume that there is always going to be a negative aspect or a let down every time something good happens?

Why do we often have an attitude of “I’ll trust you once you give me a reason to” rather than “I’ll trust you until you give me a reason not to”? Why do we choose to believe the negative until convinced otherwise instead of believing the good until convinced otherwise? When considering a situation or person, shouldn’t it take us more convincing to believe the bad than to believe the good?

It’s easy to justify our cynicism by saying we are just being “realistic” or “discerning”, but I think there is more to it than that. There is a difference between examining situations to find the truth, and being convinced that there is always a negative side to every good situation.

When we get to the point where we assume that the negative side of things is true and have to be convinced beyond a doubt about the positive, we have become cynical. Not only do we become miserable, but we become miserable to be around; I can’t think of many people who are more draining and depressing to be around than someone who is cynical and pessimistic.

By being cynical we are basically choosing to be miserable. It’s like telling ourselves that there has to be something bad in every situation, and I’m going to do whatever I can to find it. There is always something to complain about if you look hard enough, but if you look hard enough, there is always something to be happy about as well. It may be harder to find the good than the bad in some situations, but the feeling you get when you discover something good in a bad situation feels much better than uncovering the bad in a seemingly good situation.

It’s like we get some sort of twisted pleasure when something negative finally comes to light because it justifies our feelings and cynicism. Instead of anticipating someone’s failure, maybe we should try encouraging and supporting them instead. Instead of assuming that everyone will eventually fail, we ought to do what we can to encourage others and help them succeed. It seems like a fairly simple concept, but for some reason we have trouble grasping it.

Maybe sometimes we are just looking for a reason to be miserable because if we are miserable it means that things have to get better eventually, but if we are happy we feel like it’s just a matter of time until something bad happens. Do you want to know why other people seem so happy? It’s because they choose to be happy. Happiness is something you make happen, not something that happens to you.

Let your happiness be determined by what is rather than by what isn’t. Assume the best instead of fearing the worst. Celebrate others’ success instead of rooting for their failure. Believe that people have good intentions instead of assuming there is an ulterior motive. Look for the good in others and do whatever you can to help them develop and utilize what they have to offer. Be positive, not negative. The math is simple – a positive attitude adds happiness, but a negative attitude takes it away.