In Support of Courteous Discourse OR Watch Your Tone, Buddy

There's just something about the anonymity of the internet that brings out the worst in some people.

For instance I like to read a certain blog; published by a former news writer/producer and focusing only on what's happening in our small county, to the exclusion of the larger metro area we are a part of, it has a lot of information I might otherwise miss. As much as I appreciate the inside tidings, though, I try never to read the comments on any of the stories, because I'm usually discouraged (and sometimes shocked) by the negative, vitriolic tone adopted by so many people who post.

As an example, there was a story published today about the departure of one of the assistant superintendents for our school system. The brief piece was accompanied by a photograph and stated simply that he was leaving and gave an overview of his accomplishments while he was on the job. Here's a sample of the comments:

That is an immensely creepy picture.

yep, creeeeeepy!

From the picture he looks awfully young to “retire.” Are taxpayers now going to have to pay gold-plated pension benefits for the next 30 years for him?

Ever hear of “early retirement,” Or “Just for Men” hair dye?

That’s like one of those real estate agent pictures — way old. He’s put on at least 50 pounds since that picture was shot.

That explains the size of the picture, then–it was taken in the 1960s

He looks like Jack Black.

Umm, why are so many high level school district leaders leaving?

rats fleeing a sinking ship? or the pay is crap

Such comments are an issue I struggle with as a teacher who administers a blog and discussion board for my students. I want them to express their thoughts and ideas in writing, and I want them to do so freely, but I also want the discourse to be respectful and relevant, so what happens is, I often take students aside to discuss their intentions when they have posted remarks that don't fit my idea of courtesy. I don't censor them, but usually they edit themselves.

Seems like those guys on that blog need a little talking to.

Are You Really Going to Go Down in History Looking Like That?

We visited Madame Tussaud's wax museum today and there were some interesting facts to be gleaned, most of them having to do with the hall of presidents. Coming eye to eye, so to speak, with so many of our chief executives, it didn't take me long to notice that most of them were... yes, they were white men, but they were also blue-eyed white men. I was curious enough to do a little research, and it turns out that only six, six! of our presidents have had brown eyes. Can you guess who? The answer will appear at the bottom of this post.

Another fascinating detail was that our shortest president, James Madison, was officially 5'4", but seriously? That measurement HAD to be in either on his toes or in his clunky shoes, because that guy was super short. Our final bit of presidential trivia had to do with facial hair. The founding fathers were clean shaven with the following chief executives transitioning to some serious mutton chops. After that, beards and mustaches were quite common until the early 20th century. Think about it, dear reader, what serious candidate for that office has had facial hair in your memory? If you can remember Thomas Dewey, then that's who, but the last president with any kinda anything on his face was Taft.

Of all the 43, my personal favorite was Andrew Jackson; there was something very old hickory about the guy, but that's hardly surprising, right?

Brown-eyed Presidents: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Barack Obama. (For the record, three of the six were not elected president, but only took office after their predecessor was assassinated.)

Situational

We ran into a friend from work at Target today. It was a bit of a challenge to shop and catch up, but the three of us veteran multitaskers managed nicely, even separating and then reuniting in the checkout line for the last little chat.

Of course the conversation turned to summer activities, and for us that report always includes Josh. "I just don't get it," our friend said. "How can his mom let him go?"

We get that a lot. Our history with Josh is sort of complicated, but really? Lots of parents part with their kids for extended lengths of time for many reasons: boarding school, camp, etc. Such separation always has its pros and cons, and I'm not a parent, but why judge?

Tonight I asked Josh if he missed home and he said, "Not really, it hasn't been THAT long. Besides, I needed a break. They were really starting to bug me."

I was curious. "What were they doing to bother you?" I asked.

"Well, my brother and sister are probably the most annoying people on the planet."

"They're little," I said. "What can you do?" Then I added, "When you were that little, people put up with you."

"I know," he conceded.

"Wait, I take that back," I said. "When you were little, we passed you around like a hot potato, and I guess we still do," I laughed.

"Yup," he answered, but he definitely smiled.

Fun FILLED

This morning we woke Josh up around 9:30 and then Heidi drove us out to Historic Downtown Herndon where we hopped on the W&OD bike trail for the 21 mile ride home. It was hot and sunny, but still fun, and one of the highlights was the young indigo bunting that hopped-flew along the trail with us for a a few seconds, long enough to get a good look at that usually shy bird. We made a pit-stop at the Whole Foods in Vienna and fueled up for the rest of the ride. Once home, we quickly showered and then went to get Victor and Treat for another hamburger tasting. This one was at Carlyle, technically not a burger joint at all, but, before all the tasting, it was home to my favorite burger in town, so I wanted to see how it held up. Beautifully, as it turns out, and their pommes frites style fries are simply unbeatable. Another reason we chose that place for lunch is because we wanted to catch the new documentary on the hip-hop band A Tribe Called Quest. Directed by Michael Rappaport, I thought it was a pretty good movie. Next, it was off to the pool, and now, here we are, tired but satisfied, another summer day drawing to dark.

Summer Boy

The other day, we went to the pool with a neighbor and her kids. She's met Josh before, and she kind of knows the story of how he is our summer child, but I don't think she really gets it.

"How's it going?" she asked me.

"Oh, y'know, it's always kind of an adjustment at first," I said.

"Why?" she wondered. "Is it typical teenaged defiance?"

I think I actually snorted at the very notion of that. "No!" I told her. "It's just that we're not used to adjusting our plans for a kid!"

A Harry-Shaped Hole

Well, we did it. We managed to watch all the Harry Potter movies including the latest and last one, within the space of five days. Like any ambitious endeavor, this one became a bit consuming-- it filled nearly 25% of our waking time, not to mention our conversations and dreams.

"Sad but satisfying," seems to be the prevailing review of HPDH2, and I will echo that. As we stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house I had two things on my mind, the genius of JK Rowling and how to fill the infinite Harry-less hours ahead.

My July Almanac

Average length of daylight: 14 hours, 38 minutes
Family Birthdays: 8
Miles from our house to Mount Vernon by bike: 16.52
Number of different state license plates in the parking lot: 36
Pool water temperature: 88
Number of green tomatoes in the garden: 200+
Minutes of Harry Potter movies combined: 1179 (19 hours, 36 minutes)
Average burger consumption: 6 per person
Smoothie flavor: Peach
Full Moon: July 15, nicknamed "The Full Buck Moon"