Geogaching Nana!

Geocaching is a great way to have family time outside, discovering new things, and not having to spend a heck of a lot of money. There is a yearly membership fee that it is well worth it! You can find these almost anywhere in the world as well

If you like hiking or canoeing, it’s a great activity for you as well because sometimes you have to do that to get to one. Sometimes you have to swim to get one. Not all of them are like that, but there are some.

Some of them involve having gadgets or puzzles to solve, which is even more fun for the family!

Some of these caches are also very creative! someone even made one that looks like the tardis off of Doctor Who, which requires solving a puzzle to get inside. However, once you are inside, there is all kinds of memorabilia in there, and items referred to as “swag”. Swag stands for “stuff we all get”. You can trade items out and then sign a log to show you were there.

I get to see some great historical places, but I also get to see some breathtaking scenery like the one I’m going to share here in the photo below. It is very easy to turn a simple road trip into an adventure with this particular activity! And it’s a lot more fun than car bingo!

To learn more about this wonderful activity simply go to http://www.geocaching.com because that is a very good place to start…

This was taken at Possum Kingdom State Park in Texas.

A Glimpse Into A Pre-Awakened Life…

The leaves were turning various colors as Kit began her daily walk to school.  She recounted the events of the evening prior as the dark circles under her tired eyes didn’t reveal the more traumatic events of that point in time.  She had just walked in from school and went into the kitchen.  She was about to get a glass of water when a torrent of shit came out of what seemed to be nowhere to hit the fan.  This was one episode of rage from step-bitch #3 that Kit was not prepared to deal with.

“You little bitch! Why were you late?!,” her stepmother Karen screamed as she picked her up and threw her against the cabinet,”I told you to be here by 3:30!”

“We don’t get out of school until 3:30 and you know how long it takes to walk home!” Kit, for whatever reason snapped as she rose to her feet.  It was different this time.  She was becoming defiant in the face of the witch that constantly bullied her.  She had enough of it all.

“Don’t you threaten me!” Karen snapped as she pulled her by her hair and threw her into a wall across the room this time.

Kit stood back up and ran for the back door but Karen caught her…With that she dragged 13-year-old Kit back toward the counter and pulled a large wooden spoon out of the drawer.  She tried to hit Kit but missed and it broke on the counter so she slapped her hard across the back of her shoulders and knocked her to the floor.  Then she grabbed her and threw her again.  She didn’t know her own strength, but Kit was small for her age and she landed against the wall again.  She then picked Kit up by the front of her shirt and got into her face and yelled, “You will never talk back to me again!”  Then she slapped her but Kit refused to cry.  She slapped her again.  Same response.

“Get in your room and stay there you little–”

Before she could finish the phone rang.  It was the school.  They needed Kit to come back up there because she left her change purse with her money in it in the gym and it got turned in.

“Oh she’ll get it as soon as she comes back. I’ll be sure to tell her.” Karen told them in a sweeter tone of voice than she would ever use in a normal setting.

Karen didn’t tell her but the principal called her into the office and gave it to her.  He then saw a mark on her face at her jaw line.

“What happened Kit?” he asked.

“Dodgeball at P.E.” she lied.

“You sure about that?  Kit nobody has the right to–”

“That’s what happens when you have all grades in a P.E. class together.  It’s one of those things.” she shrugged.

She then went on to class, but the principal knew she was lying.  However  back in the 1970’s, unless it was talked about, nothing could be done.  Kit went inside the house quietly and slipped into her room.  She hated everything about that room.  The dark green window shades were like bars to her.  If Karen ever caught her with any of those shades up, there was hell to pay.  The walls were white and the carpet tan–but it was the shades that made it seem more like a prison for Kit.  Until Karen and the onset of puberty, Kit could look out her window at the birds and flowers just outside her window.  Then Karen put the shades up while she was at school one day and told her, “If you open these shades, your ass will get beat!”   It had been like this since she was 12.  The first year wasn’t as bad, but this particular year, Karen always went off of the deep end over anything and took it out on Kit. 

Kit was sore from bruises Karen left on her this particular day.  She stayed in the room and pretended to be asleep when Karen looked in to see if she was indeed there.  Kit was so sore that she could barely move, but her father had to work late that day.  Karen then went into the kitchen and drank her usual–sloe gin mixed with 7-up.  She then took a handful of various pain killers and such.  Kit saw this happen daily and it would always be the day after that all hell broke loose. 

Kit stayed perfectly still and waited for quite some time.  She then crept quietly out of her room and across the hall into Karen’s room.  She had reached her breaking point. Although every movement was painful, she was very stealth in her movement.  She opened the top left hand dresser drawer in that room.  All the windows were open and the curtains as well.  This did NOT make a good impression on Kit either. 

She reached into the drawer and pulled out a silver .22 caliber pistol.  She knew it was loaded because Karen made sure it was every time she threatened Kit with it.  One time she hit her with the handle of it because she was reaching for anything she could grab in her maniacal rage. 

Kit was shaking now.  She had tears forming in her eyes, but it wasn’t because of the beatings as much as it was the rape earlier in the year–when Karen wouldn’t hear any negative talk of her cousin Michael.  In fact, Karen believed anything a boy told her as gospel.  It was always girls that bore the brunt of the bullshit. Karen said they were going back to visit that aunt the next week and that is when Kit snapped.  “I will never go back there.” she thought as she took the safety off of the pistol, while remembering every detail of the two times Michael had forced himself on her and raped her. It happened once when she was 10 and once again just the past summer when she was 12.  NOW Karen wanted to visit Aunt Tess again–and in Kit’s mind, she was filled with dread while experiencing flashbacks to the memories of both incidents–not wanting to get out of the shower after either time.

Trembling, Kit took the safety off of the pistol.  Still wearing her Bay City Rollers T-shirt that her brother Jack purchased for her, she raised the pistol and pointed it right at Karen’s left temple and was about to pull the trigger.  She trembled with fear and then, suddenly, she stepped back and lowered the pistol.   It was as if she heard or felt a presence in the room telling her that she couldn’t do this.  She felt that presence also tell her that things would not be the way they were for very long.  She quietly crept back to the dresser and stuck the pistol into the drawer. 

She then crept back into her cell and cried herself to sleep.  Years later she would understand her thought train much better than the 13-year-old mind she possessed at the time ever could have:  “If I had shot her, then I would become her. I am not going to be like her.”  

She also was throwing up the night before and ended up staying with her grandmother.  She learned how to make herself very ill when it came to going to Tess’s house.  Sometimes she threw up at the mention of Michael’s name directed at her–like when Karen came back the first time after Kit faked being ill and said, “Tess misses you and Michael would love to see you again.”  As much as Kit hated Karen for not listening to her, she hated her more because the comments to her were like rubbing salt on an already wounded and slashed soul.  On some days, Kit would rather endure Karen’s physical abuse than hear the mere mention of Michael’s name.

Within less than a year, Karen would kill herself with the very gun she tortured Kit with again and again.  More beatings and such were endured, but Kit knew she would make it.  Ironically, Kit feared guns and had never handled one prior to that evening.  She was one of two in her entire family that didn’t have interest in firearms, until Karen came into their lives.

Bullying–Then and Now Part II

If you read my previous blog on bullying, then what I am about to say may be of some surprise to you. Yes, I do feel that forgiving others enables us to move forward, but what about those that are broken and can take no more? I have my own ideas on this.

We have different types of bullying–but in all cases I feel that there are common threads in all.  Some bullies go after anyone they perceive to be different and/or lesser than themselves. I feel that they gain a false sense of empowerment at someone else’s expense because either they themselves have been bullied and now this is an outlet, or they simply feel that they are above anyone else. I also feel that all bullying can stem from resentment or hate.

Bullies are EVERYWHERE. They are in school and in the workplace. If you don’t believe me, look at all the lawsuits. Bullies all use different tactics. Some use physical violence (especially in schools) and others use either cyber bullying and/or they use a position of authority they have in the workplace to exert their will over those they perceive to be beneath their station. I also feel that bullies look at their victims as a step below the species of mankind on the evolutionary chain.

The abused tend to become abusers–but not always. Now substitute the words “the bullied” and “bullies” in that sentence. Bullying is a learned behavior–not an instinct or a mental disease. If you want to stop this in our society, then it has to be stopped at the schoolhouse first! To stop it in the schoolhouse, there are many ways–mediation, sensitivity training, etc…I think the best way is for school districts to hit the parents where it counts–their wallets, especially when it is a severe case and/or a repeat case. I am also willing to bet that  if a study were done, those conducting it would find out that the children who are bullies also had parents who were bullies when they were in school. Parents who were like that tend to dismiss their own children’s actions as “kids being kids”. Today this is simply false. As I have  stated  previously, “kids being kids” will get people harmed physically and psychologically nowadays–if not killed.  It is important to hold parents accountable even if it entails parenting classes and/or going to school handcuffed to their darling boy or girl  for a few days. 

If districts could impose fines (like $25 per offense) on parents whose children are out of control, the money could be used to do many things–fund classroom supplies so teachers won’t have to pay for it–etc…Face it–parents often don’t buy the kids what they need, so use the fines for “bullying” to provide things like pencils, paper, crayons, map colors, etc…Also parents love their pocketbooks enough that they will eventually control their children when they get tired of paying fines for their ridiculous behavior.

Kids who are bullies and get caught should also be suspended from extracurricular activities and sports for at least three weeks after each incident. For severe cases of physical bullying, charge the kids with assault because that is exactly what they are doing on school grounds! Some districts and state laws already allow for this, others do not.

It should also be mandatory for victims of severe and/or repeat bullying incidents to see a crisis counselor as soon as possible  after the incident is made known to school officials in order to try to ensure that there are no suicidal thoughts (or thoughts of harming others) developing. Also, in less severe cases, transfer the bullies–NOT the victims. In fact, find out if the bullies are running in a clique and split them all up into different schools. When the cliques see that their buddies can’t go to school with them anymore, then they will back off of everyone else nowadays. If there is one thing a group hates it is having their social lives monkeyed with for someone’s actions.

It just seems to me that unless the case is extreme, transferring the victim should be a last resort–with the PARENTS, not the administration making that judgment call. Why should the bullied child be punished? It would be more of a punishment to the bullies to separate their groups into different schools. It would also send a strong message to other students that there would be no tolerance for THEIR behavior. To me, transferring the victim is virtually equivalent to punishing the victim. However, in the case of severe physical assault, and/or sexual assault of any kind, then I say move the victim to a new district to lessen psychological trauma and lock up the assailants in a juvenile facility.  I do not think many will object to this for the simple fact that removal of the worst types of bullies from the learning environment in a regular public school would only ensure a more positive and cooperative learning atmosphere in the classrooms, and thus the entire school.  

Being bullied does not justify the victims taking the situation into their own hands and they need to be taught this. That is why it is important to get the victims to a counselor. When a person cannot take any more, they can become irrational and they can do things the normal person would not normally do–like harm others and/or themselves. I believe that we have to be proactive and not reactive when it comes to this subject. There are lives at stake and the last thing I want to hear about is another school shooting or bombing by some kid(or kids) who were victims of bullies (and/or abuse) who were themselves out of control.

 The handling of bullying cases should be treated with no difference as to the reason behind the bullying. A bully is a bully and whether the victim is gay, straight, pretty, not pretty, athletic or whatever (insert your own word here)  is not important. All are created equal and should be treated no differently–whatever the reasoning behind it. This is true for the victim and the perpetrator. All bullying is equally horrifying and I do not want to see it continue. I worked for 4.5 years as a corrections officer and spent over a year of it as a sergeant. Anyone can draw a parallel between the bullies who beat up kids for stepping into “their corner” of the playground and the offenders who will beat up other offenders for sitting at “their” tables or simply playing handball on “their part” of a recreation yard.

I also am a certified teacher. The same behavior exhibited by bullies in the school yards is also exhibited in the prison systems. IF you don’t believe me, then do a study. I’ll bet my last $10 that if a study is done comparing this behavior in the school with the behavior of the offenders who do this in the prisons, they will find so many similarities that it will shock them–especially when they find out how many of the schoolyard bullies are in families where one or more of its members are behind bars for violent crimes.

 Our public schools should be a safe haven in America for these children, but to me it seems that they are growing in similarity to correctional facilities. At some schools, there are armed guards, fences, gates, etc…Is it any wonder that such a comparison can be made? What has happened in our culture that has made this so? I won’t go deeply into this subject here, but part of the problem lies in the devaluation of Education in America. We now have a culture that doesn’t view education as being necessary and important. Until power is given back to parents and educators to stop this ongoing problem, schools will continue to evolve into something reminiscent of correctional institutions. After all, it is teachers who try to instill social values into these children and they when grow up and get to the prison system–it’s up to the officers to do that. Am I right or wrong? I really want somebody to prove me wrong on this. I challenge anyone to do a study on it.  The children who visit family members in prisons can easily make comparisons to their own schools–right down to the high fences and such. 

I have seen grown offenders where I used to  work who felt “fated”, and young people who now feel “fated” to end up in a correctional facility because it appears to be somewhat akin to a family tradition.  A whole lot of offenders will tell you openly that their dads, grandfathers, moms, grandmothers, etc…had all been in prison and saw it as their being headed down the same path early on.  Trying to inspire young people to take a different path is challenging for any teacher, but it can be done, and it HAS been done.  The teachers who influence children in such a positive manner deserve medals.

America really needs to start thinking and re-thinking. The clock is ticking and our childrens’ futures are at stake because of what society has done to them. The school system has to be changed. I think we should seriously take a look at overseas educational systems and find out what makes theirs different. What makes them work? Something is working well for them because you don’t see nearly the problems there that you see in our country right now–especially school shootings and such. What are they doing right and what are we missing as a nation?

Bullying Then and Now–Part 1

I often get asked how I deal with my past issues. I don’t often discuss these things with others, but people in my hometown know me well. They could not understand for the life of them how I managed to keep my marbles in tact…Seriously! I had a crazy childhood! I know many that had a hell of a lot worse, but mine was unique in that I lived in Bedlam, TX! Anyway, that’s what I called my house.

 The only thing the past can do is throw up pictures into your memory. Those things cannot hurt you. I had to let go of mine. I can tell you all personally that the hardest thing to do is the very first step I had to take, and that was to forgive people one by one.  I will say this, trying to NOT become a creature like some of the people I had to be around was one hell of a challenge in itself.  I will discuss more of that issue at another time.  For now  I will discuss what took place in what should have been a safe-haven for me.  I am referring to the bullying I endured in middle school and in high school.  I will also discuss how some of us handled our own issues due to the fact that the adults failed to address these issues EVEN then!

In my opinion, there was a big difference in being bullied then, as opposed to being bullied nowdays…When I was a kid, I got even. If they bullied me to do their term papers–I did them alright! I made sure they got nothing but “F’s” too. I took a few beatings for it, but it was worth it to me. It was also like I didn’t know what it was like anyway. They didn’t have me to another one because I told them I would do exactly the same thing. I was dismissed as being “crazy” by that bunch. I fought with brains more than anything else.

 There was a boy in particular who was on the track team who used to make crude sexual remarks to several of us–one at a time of course. Sometimes he would push us down. Other times if we were wearing a skirt, he tried to lift it or pull it down in the hallway. We started talking one day. NONE of us knew the others were bullied by this idiot. Our solution: We decided to make sure he got a dose of what he dished out–together!

 The coach wasn’t watching one day and we dragged him down into the theatrical prop room. In our school, costumes, make-up and every thing was kept in that location. Four of us held him down while the other three stripped him down to his boxers, put a dress and petticoat on him and colored his lips with red lip stick–the kind that is hard to wash off. I don’t know HOW the hell we got away with this, but we took his clothes and scattered them all over the front lawn of the school! He had to go out there all dressed up in his frock to get them too! 

I did see the look in his eyes.  There was pure fear in them.  I saw the look in the other girls’ eyes.  They were looks of pure determination.  He thought we were going to kill him or something, and due to the noise above us all in the gym, nobody could hear him.  We didn’t even gag him or anything. We knew that when Coach Carson had the multi-grade level PE class playing dodgeball, there were only two audible types of noise anyone could hear.  One cold hear the screams of the 7th and 8th graders getting slammed by the high school students.  The other noise was that of the juniors and seniors yelling as if they had just won the prize on Dialing for Dollars or some crap.

 He never revealed who did it, and he never bothered any of us again either. We know his fellow team mates on the track team laughed at him for DAYS!  We now live in an age where  a bully is liable to get killed or severely injured if his or her behavior is not quickly addressed. I don’t think anyone would dispute that even in our day we would wonder what life would be like if those bullies “died or disappeared”. The difference is, we knew it was wrong to actually kill someone and feared the consequences back then. 

 Now I fear that young people have no such fear and some have no conscience either judging by what is filling up our juvenile justice centers. I am not joking when I say I feel that most of our generation merely fantasized about killing the bullies or making them disappear…When did it become okay in our culture to allow these kids to cross that line between right and wrong? Even if one is a bully, kids should be taught at an early age that MURDER is wrong. Period! I get really tired of some type of “disorder” getting credit for everything wrong imaginable in society anymore.

 Now were the actions the group I was with took “wrong”? Yes, they were. Were they abusive? Yes because of the humiliation he felt. Granted, at the time, we felt vindicated for how he made us feel, but we still felt an emptiness there…I think that emptiness came from the fact that getting “even” changes nothing about what has already happened. On top of that, we proved we were no better than he was–but my cousins would have literally beat him to a pulp if we’d told them about it and we would have felt even worse. Does that make it okay? No it does not. And people will say, “Awww you guys were just kids being kids.” Really? OH REALLY? Hmmm…Nowdays “Kids being kids” can lead to abuse, murders and suicides. If you don’t believe me watch the news and the talk shows that deal with the subject of bullying! It is out of control, people!

  Having the ideals of right and wrong on THIS subject instilled in me in the seventh grade made it easier to forgive others. If one cannot forgive others, they cannot move forward because anything from the past for which we harbor a grudge will poison our present every time–we just don’t realize it until later. As I said earlier, forgiveness is that hardest first step that we have to take, but it can be done. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to let things go–especially if we are the ones who were abused, taken advantage of or whatever the case might be.

 It can be done though–one day at a time–one issue at a time.

Teens and Chatrooms…What MY son did…*It’s funny NOW, but it bothered me THEN*!

Teens and Chatrooms…What MY son did…*It’s funny NOW, but it bothered me THEN*!.

Hello everyone!

I am new here. I love to write.  I write from the heart. I can be perfectly capable saint, sinner, leader, teacher, fighter, or  a pain in your backsides depending on what gets thrown on my plate.  I am always open to constructive criticism since I am new at this whole thing called a “blog”. I’ve got a link to one I started, but if brutal honesty isn’t one’s cup of tea, they might want to skip my bullying blog. 

I do play around and joke around from time to time.  I will be the first to tell you that there is only one entity that can make 70,000 people stand up and yell “JESUS CHRIST!” in a football stadium as of late, and that would be the Dallas Cowboys. For some reason every time they lose, those two words eminate from the mouths of millions of TV viewers too! For the record, it does not matter if they win or lose–people will still yell at them!

I was always taught not to swear too, but I have changed that practice. I now swear by the State of Texas that I will NOT wake up before the crack of noon after putting this particular passage up!  It is nice to meet you. I look forward to reading your blogs!