First road trip of the summer '08

The "Next Chapter of my Life Contest" entry

The “post 50” phase of my life will be life-changing, career molding, and even more interesting than the first 50. While I enjoy things like fishing, kayaking, painting, and photography, I feel I am doing the most important thing I can be doing; teaching the next generation by passing on the values that were planted in me. Principles, that my parents, if they were here, be proud of me for. I am a 5th teacher.

I am what you may call, a “late bloomer.” In part of my working career, I’ve been a logger, commercial fisherman, and developed my own sign business. My wife and I were the first ones in our respective families of a combined 14 children to receive our B.A. degrees, during which we lived apart as a family to fulfill these goals. We have since raised our two sons that have also completed their college educations. I started to teach when I was 42 years old and haven’t regretted a minute of it. I do not need to go on a Vision Quest. My vision is clear and I’m fulfilling my quest, even though I am still paying off my student loans.

Teaching can be an all-consuming and rewarding job at the same time. It is important to recharge one’s batteries and energy. Thus, I believe that it is important to visit the places that I must teach about. This is the reason I’ve taken the opportunity to travel to the East Coast and visit some of America’s historical sites. For my 50th birthday my grown sons gave me their present by accompanying me on my life-long dream of hiking the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska. Fulfilling life’s goals with those that you love is a very satisfying experience.

So, the next chapter of my life will be simple; keeping myself healthy for those I love, and aspire to be the best teacher my students will ever have. Being a teacher really does allow me to affect and inspire the future. My best reward? The future that they create and the positive impact they make.

Carpe diem

Fuel cost cut by 1/2!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/zakaria.oilprices/index.html

This guy is right-on!!!!
Jim

Rick's retirement.

Rick said he didn’t want to have a formal roast, so we’ll just have a slight baste.

Before I get into this I’m going to give him one last chance to redeem himself. Since Rick first brought up this crazy idea of retiring I’ve endeavored to make him see the error of his ways. I’ve offered myself in place of him. I know it’s a great sacrifice, but I figure that it would be it would be in everyone’s best interest.

I’ve offered to trade my years of service for Rick’s years of service. That way the District will go on reaping his years of experience and I can do foolish things like fishing, kayaking, painting, photography, fishing, and maybe even get serious about surfing. Did I include fishing?

I know, I know, foolish things, but that’s what I’d do. That way it’s a win-win for everyone. Rick gets to keep working, and I get to, well, get to play. He really shouldn’t rush into this retirement thing with having thought it out first.

He’d probably do something foolish like go to Alaska to visit friends and go fishing, and not come back until December. I can see it now, you’re watching that show on TV, ‘Deadliest Catch,’ and you catch a glimpse of Rick baiting King Crab pots aboard one of those fishing boats. It’s either that or possibly on the show, ‘Dancing with the Stars.’

With this crazy retirement thing I’m really concerned that Rick will go on some kind of Vision Quest and realize too late that he doesn’t have a map. A GPS wouldn’t help because it’s too close to a computer, and we all know about Rick and computers. Let there be no question, Rick, unlike Al Gore, did not invent the Internet. Rick’s idea of new technology is to buy a brand new chisel and a new stone tablet. This means he’s finally going to have to learn to use his TV remote, but he’ll have to find it first.

Don’t try to call him on his cell phone, he only turns in on long enough to charge it up.

You may not know it but he really is a conscious kind of guy, he admits to coming to work late at times, but he makes up for it by leaving early.

In case you didn’t know it, Rick’s been retired about 6 months already. His kids know everything there is to know about surfing and Tsunamis.

Actually he’s pretty smart in dealing with other principals, he knows when to keep his mouth shut.

Yes, Rick is entering those ‘Golden Years’ where he won’t have anything planned, anywhere to go, and not in a hurry to get it done each day, but he’ll feel successful and vindicated at the end of the day because he will have accomplished all of it, and his clothes will be folded.

The good news is, he’ll probably be able to give you updates on 'Oprah’ or ‘Sex in the City’ reruns if you want.

By the way, I understand he’ll be available for babysitting jobs, and the best thing, he works cheap, if you don’t mind your child smelling like fish when he leaves.

In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy, you know you’re getting close to retirement when you to in turn in a request for days off and Angie sends it back with the note, ‘Sorry, champ, you’re out of sick days.’

Actually, Rick is planning this retirement thing out pretty well, he’s doing it before Tony suggests it.

I know he’ll feel true guilt this September when he starts to drive downtown and get coffee and his truck makes a involuntary turn into the Joe Hamilton parking lot.

So, as he steps on the threshold of retirement I hope he doesn’t trip up and make any rash choices.

I’d like to give him this sign and painting. It was either this or a lifetime supply of bingo cards.

Where are those pickled herring?

I just read a story of this Dutch woman who was the oldest person in the world. She just died at the ripe old age of 115. She was "sharp right up to the end, joking that pickled herring was the secret to her longevity." Scientists say that Henrikje van Andel-Schipper's mind was probably as good as it seemed: a post-mortem analysis of her brain revealed few signs of Alzheimer's or other diseases commonly associated with a decline in mental ability in old age."

I read that at the age of 82 she called a uninversity to inform them she wanted to donate her body to science. When she was 111 she made her second call worried she might no longer be of interest.

I thought it was really nice of the elder home she was staying in, when asked what she really died of, "the director of the elderly home where she was living declined to give a cause of death, pointing to her extremely advanced years." Pretty safe answer.

"She died from stomach cancer, and you and I can also die from stomach cancer, her case demonstrates that very old people die of diseases, not simply old age.

I guess the secret is in the pickled herring, and her last piece of advice.

Asked what advice she would give to people who want to live a long time, she once quipped: "Keep breathing."

Jim