That’s the question! Should I make my blog “public” or should I make it “private?” The choice is yours, but there are a few things to know. If your blog is “private”…

- Only logged in users may view your blog. The only problem with this is that the users have to have a login just like you do. That means that your family and friends will not be able to view your site and write comments on it.
- Since your blog is “private,” I don’t believe I can add it to my blog, because then anyone can just click on it.

If you do not see your name under the 2008-2009 Students category, then your parents chose a “private” blog for you. Should your parents want to change that, they can let me know (in writing).

I don’t usually watch news podcasts, but I clicked on the baby panda and mom cuddling and somehow wound up finding a clip about an individual being pulled over for driving in excess of 100 mph in order to get his choking, dying dog to the vet. Now let me make myself clear. First of all, I am a pet lover, but I wouldn’t drive 100 mph to get my dog to the vet. I also respect law enforcement, and I understand that officers don’t know what to expect when they pull over a speeding car. However, the officer in this video doesn’t really attempt to give the guy a chance to explain, and then once the dog dies, the officer appears (by his comments) to be appalled that the man would go to such lengths for a dog! What bothers me is that the officer asked the man if he were willing to rear-end a family of 4 and kill them because of his reckless driving, all for a dog. The man does say, “No sir.” Fast forward to the end of the video where the officer is telling the man that he’ll be lenient this time since he understands the man thought it was an “emergency.” Then the officer proceeds to tell the man that the next time he drives like that he better have a dying child in his car. Wait…does that mean he could drive in excess of 100 mph, rear-end a family of 4, and kill them…as long as he himself had a dying child in the car?

I don’t know how to add the video link to this post; however, you can search for: “dog dies in ” on either google or youtube and see the video for yourself.

There she was, the cutest black ball of fluff I had ever seen. She almost looked like a puffed up blowfish with just her legs and tail sticking out in all directions! but she was cute, and she was mine. My husband and I had gone to the local kennel looking for an addition to our new family. This addition was going to be our “first” baby, and I had my heart set on a Yorkshire Terrier…that was until I saw “her.” My heart melted, and that was the end of that.

Now, the name. Hmm? What do we name her? Princess? No…too prissy! Fluffy? No…too common. Lady? Isn’t that what all cute girl puppies are named. I had an idea, she looked just like a little Gremlin (the movie Gremlins was a big hit the year we bought her), and the cutest Gremlin was named Gizmo. That’s it, I would name her Gizmo. Well, maybe not…Gizmo was a boy, and then everyone would think she was a boy and not the cute little girl she really was. Finally, Tim and I agreed on Nicki. I don’t why. I don’t even know where the idea came from. Neither of us knew any Nicki’s, but she was a “Nicki,” and that became her name.

Have you ever wondered where your name came from? Why it’s the name your mom and dad gave you the day you were born? Why it wasn’t the cool name you would have picked for yourself? With all these questions bouncing around in my head like electrons in an atom A4atom.jpg, I began to think about my name. Thinking about my name made me think about the person I was named after.

To begin with, I know I am named after my great-grandmother, Virginia, which really makes me feel special since she was such an extraordinary woman. To me, she was “Omsi,” but to those who knew her as Virginia, she was an educated, strong-willed woman who lived life to the fullest. Born in Romania to a duke and duchess, she chose to give up her birthright and marry her true love, a commoner. She taught herself seven languages, because she thought is was important for an individual to be able to communicate with others. She was a lady…I found an old etiquette book in her old attic, and she had written in the margins all the proper etiquette one needed when entertaining Americans: how to greet them, how to set a formal table, and how to sit like a lady!

No, Virginia probably is not the name I would have chosen for myself. However, it is the name my parents chose for me, and they chose it in honor of a woman whom they both love and respect. I too, love and respect her and only hope that I live up to my namesake (I don’t know about the seven languages)!

My daughter and I were dog-sitting for my sister this evening…yes, dog-sitting. Anyway, she (my sister) has a new member in her little family. She adopted a dog from Animal Control (that’s a story in itself), and he’s the cutest little thing! He’s a Chihuahua or part Chihuahua, and he’s so shy. He was sidling up to Tina (my daughter), sniffing her stockinged feet and softly wagging his tail. Tina was scratching him behind his ear, when all of sudden, she said, “How is it that something this small, this tiny, actually descended from the wolf? How is that all dogs are descended from the wolf?”
   The only answer I could come up with was, “Many years of breeding.” But, then I began to think, how does a tiny, little bit nothing truly come from a wolf?” Where in the world did the selective process start? What makes a Chihuahua a Chihuahua; a Pekingese a Pekingese; a Border Collie a Border Collie? I mean if they ultimately share the same ancestors, where did the difference begin? Where did the “odd wolf out” come from to start the process of the different breeds? Today, it’s easy to understand how breeders use different breeds to create new ones, but in days gone by, where did those different breeds come from?

“Back on the Road Again…” or rather, “Back on my Blog Again!” It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything, and I keep telling myself that it’s time to start writing again. The dilemma…what to write about And so, I thought to myself, “I will write about my trip to New York, actually more about being able to see my kids again.”

Smile

I can’t believe how much I actually miss having Tina around. As I was riding around Saratoga Springs with her, I thought, “Wow, she is so grown up. When was it that she turned into a young woman? She was just starting Kindergarten ” Nonetheless, here I am 20 years later visiting her in New York. She has settled in with Ricky (her brother) quite well, and although I miss having him at home too, he’s been gone for awhile, and it’s not quite so fresh. They have set up their apartment snug and inviting…of course the TV and Ricky’s computer are the center of the family/livingroom. All the little things I had to remind them of at home: take out the trash, scoop the cat litter, put the dishes away, do your laundry…were all being taken of. It must come with being in control of your own place! (I did have to go out and buy a coffee pot as neither one of them drinks coffee and I drink enough for the whole family.) Ricky’s solution was to just stop at Starbucks, but at 5-6 cups a day I thought that was a bit too pricey!

Saratoga Springs is a quaint little town (city) depending on how you look at it. It’s beautiful…trees, flowers, water…and everything was in bloom. It’s actually a tourist town where the main attraction is horse racing, much like Ruidoso. After a bit of research, we were able to find out that the Saratoga racetrack is the oldest in the nation. However, the racing season hadn’t gotten under way yet. Cart racing was starting in the next couple of weeks, but I’m not much into horse racing anyway.

Congress Park

There is a beautiful park with tall trees, lots of green grass, running water, a small wooden bridge, statues, and of all things, an enclosed carousel (for kids to ride). Tina mentioned that one of the great things about living in a tourist town was that everything is kept clean, colorful and planted (shops were planting flowers around their places as were walking around). We spent the afternoon walking through the park, taking pictures with Tim’s mom, sisters and niece.

We also enjoyed a scrumptious lunch at “Little India,” one of Tina’s favorite places to eat. (Here in El Paso, she loves the “India Palace.”) Mmm, Chicken Tikka Masala…tasty in both restaurants.

Downtown Saratoga Springs was again like walking through downtown Ruidoso. Small shops flanked both sides of the street and traffic during peak times could come to a standstill. We liked to just park and walk up one side and down the other, stopping for a cool treat from Cold Stone Creamery or the Italian Gelato deli; a tasty bite of fudge or a warm cup of coffee. During one of our little walks, I saw a squirrel and said, “Oh look, a little gray squirrel!” Ricky’s comment was, “Tourists!” And it’s not even like I’ve never seen a squirrel before. They were all over the place in Germany!

We took a one-day trip to Syracuse to visit with Tim’s brother, Andy, his wife, Lorien and our niece and nephew, Elli and Trace. After a wonderful barbecue, we spent the afternoon on the Nintendo Wii. Wow, those little ones (they’re 7 and 9) were hard to keep up with. I felt out of shape and exhausted after some of the games. Time to retire to the chairs on the deck and just visit and catch up on life!

During a drive back to the apartment one afternoon, Tina looked out the car window and literally started “freaking out.”
     “Oh my gosh! Stop the car! It’s R2-D2! There’s a Stormtrooper! Stop the car! I have to go see it!” Of course, we couldn’t just stop the car. We were right in the middle of downtown traffic. Sure enough though, she had seen right…R2-D2 and a Stormtrooper were standing outside the convention hall. We had to turn around, park and go check it out.

In the evenings, we watched TV as a family (Ricky played his computer games in the background) or we played cards…things we had stopped doing here in El Paso…

Spades and Wraithe

Wraithe…

…how could today be the day?
…why was today the day?
…I didn’t even get to give you your cookie today! Daddy did, because I left early.

I know you haven’t been feeling well and that you had an upset tummy. But I also thought you were playing your little games since you would eat “canned” food and cookies and deli turkey and pieces of my muffin! You silly boy. How was I supposed to know? Guess what? I caved in to your, “I don’t want to eat this!” I was on the way to Petsmart to buy you the “special” food, the “canned” stuff. I wanted to spoil you. Then Daddy called me at work, and when I answered the phone, it was silent on the other end. “Hello?” I said - again.

“Wraithe is dead…” Daddy whispered.

“What,” I answered, “what do you mean, Wraithe is dead?”

“He’s dead! He looks like he’s asleep on his bed, but he’s cold. His eyes are open, his mouth is open. He’s dead, Hon. So, just come home. Don’t even go to Petsmart.”

“Are you serious?” I whispered into the headset. “He can’t be dead! Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. He’s dead.”

*********************************

One week later…

I was thinking about a book I read to my students, Tenth Good Thing About Barney, by Judith Viorst. A child writes about ten goods things about her cat Barney that just died, and I decided to write ten good things about you.

the new baby

1. You were a 3-month old scruffy, scraggly, road-rashed, skinny desert rescue when you came into our lives
2. You fit right into our family of 3 cats and 3 dogs (now)
3. You were great at stealing toys from Spades, you little turkey  

It's mine!

4. You slept right next to Tina…she was your life
5. You fought hard to live when you were diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, and you pulled through a week of torment while the doctor stabilized you
6. You had this quirky little thing of sticking your bottom in the air while turning over halfway in order to   be patted
7. You loved walking in the park
8. You ate anything, but that’s NOT  really a good thing since rocks, plastic, string, towel bits, etc were on that list
9. Your Chewbacca sounds could make anyone laugh

and

10. You loved us and gave us a great almost 5 years.

I miss you, Wraith-y!

last photo - May 14, 2008

I can understand why one of my students just had to finish reading the book. Once I started reading the assigned chapters last night, I couldn’t stop! I had to know if Opal made friends with the Dewberry’s; why Otis was in jail; how the party at Gloria’s turned out…and most of all, was Opal ever going to see her mother again. I am not a spoiler, and will not give away the ending…

What I do wonder is…would I want to eat a piece of candy that tasted like sorrow? Would you want to eat a piece of candy that made you feel sad?

In the past few days, I have had to delete comments to student websites as opposed to being able to post them. I feel excitement when I check my e-mail at home and find that one or more of my students have comments waiting for approval to be posted to their blogs. Imagine my dismay, when I read the comments (prior to approval), and statements like, “you misspelled words and the pronoun I is supposed to be capitalized,” “sucky,” or “you are kinda a good writer,” stare back at me from my computer screen.

Where in these three comments is the positive note, the kind word to let the author know their story moved the reader, the encouragement you should show your fellow writer? How would these students feel to receive such a comment on a blog they had put a lot of effort into? The spirit of the blogs is to write a comment on what you liked about the story and maybe add a bit of “constructive criticism” on what the writer could do to improve the story from your (the reader’s) point of view. The spirit is NOT to trash someone else’s work. To the three of you who wrote those comments…they were not approved. You know who you are, and I encourage you to think twice before submitting such a comment in the future. Be supportive of your peers and encourage their efforts. If you cannot say anything nice, then do as Thumper’s mommy told him in “Bambi.” DO NOT say (or write) anything at all!