Positive Principal

Yes, the title is spelled right.  A positive principal as in school principal.  I just wanted to share a little about an enthusiastic man by the name of Mat Lyons.  As I arrived to the school at about 5:30 in the evening I met Mat in the parking lot.  As we approached the front door two boys on bicycles rode up and asked if they could use the restroom.  Without any hesitation he said, "of course you can."  Then he proceeded to give each of them a McDonalds coupon and told them he appreciated them wearing their helmets as a good example to others.  They were not students of his school and I was just in awe of his grace and presence of mind to put the best spin on the situation.  The reason I was there was to witness his program of giving help and information to parents of kids not yet in school.  He also provided a "gift box" of materials to all the preschools and daycares that "feed" his building in order to give them the best start possible.  Above and beyond is apparently his motto and we need to appreciate people such as him.  It is all about the kids after all, Dwight

Enthusiasm

Found myself twice today sharing the definition of enthusiasm.  As I learned it "God with-in us".  There are many other definitions where God is replaced by Spirit or inspiration and more but all lead to our energy or excitement.  Sometimes this energy is not so obvious.  We tend to reel in ourselves sometimes so as not to be judged by others.  This may be appropriate at times and not so appropriate at others.  If you have God in you ----------- let it show!  God is good, you are good, live your life abundantly as intended.  Blessings, Dwight

Ask the proper question

Today while filling out a questionnaire I became frustrated because all the questions had multiple choice answers and some were not how I would have wanted to answer.  Asking the right question is important.  The tire salesman asked, "What kind of tires do you want?"  Of course my answer, which I did not verbalize, was "the best of course".  The better question was which tires did I need.  The car is local use only, I don't put Winter tires on, low mileage use, and the car has over 100,000 miles on it.  The correct answer therefore was "the cheapest all-season and sipe them please", which saved me at least $300 dollars.  Are we asking the right questions about our education system?  What are our goals and are they what is best for the children?  Blessings, Dwight

Facebook Gives Hope
My wife found a post on her Facebook page this morning with a picture of a teacher at his kitchen table grading papers and the text paid testimony as to how hard our good teachers work.  She shared it to our store page and it received more views than any other post she (or I) had ever done.  Gives me hope that people may really care.  Last night on the Seattle news was an article how schools gave teachers more time off in lieu of pay cuts.  The article pointed out that is was an easy move by districts to keep from making hard choices like cutting district staff (my opinion) or other cuts.  Bottom line is that the kids suffer when they get an extra 15 plus half days.  As one parent quoted her child, "we don't do much on half days".  Why can't the first question always be "how does this affect the kids"?   Bless the kids and those who are to be helping them,  Dwight

What if?
Today I had a colonoscopy!  And I feel great!  Yesterday, not so much.  The preparation is much worse that the actual procedure.  Started yesterday with knowing I was to eat nothing and could only have "clear" liquids which included the 4 liter jug of "drain cleaner" which was to be consumed 8 ounces at a time every 10 minutes till gone starting at 4 pm.  Well, went to church after my breakfast of coffee and my 2 pills.  During service I cheated and took communion which included a 3/8 inch square of bread.  Had a cup of coffee after service, ran to work to do payroll, then to the new Pybus market to watch a abacus demonstration and home.  Had a slight headache from not eating but managed to read and do a few things before starting my drinking quest.  Once I started on the jug I was doing ok despite the syrupy taste of the drink.  About half through the jug the dam broke.  I spent the rest of my evening dashing to the bathroom, pouring it in one end and out the other, but feeling bloated anyway.  But, this morning was a breeze, so much so I don't even remember them shooting the drug into my pre-installed I V.  Came home before noon, had breakfast, and slept till after 3.  Enough of that detail, now the what ifs that flew threw through my mind.  What if they find something?  What if I die on the table?  What if cancer is cured, how much would our life expectancy jump?  Wow, did I have plenty to think about, but more importantly I have plenty to be thankful for.  Love your family, you don't know how long you have together.  Blessings to you and them, Dwight

Imagine That?
Just received my copy of the results of several months of work of the education forums that happened across the state.  Only had time to look at the #1 point of consensus.  Bring back vocational education to the high schools. Duh!  Sort of supports my point made awhile back that we can't all be doctors, lawyers, and programmers.  Some one has to fix the leaking pipe, the sputtering car engine, and the telephone pole the drunk driver just knocked over.  Too late and too tired to read any more, which hopefully will be a little more insightful.  Sleep tight, and as always blessings to you, Dwight

Shark Tank
Watching the TV program Shark Tank as a company named Kazam is to make their pitch to the sharks.  Kazam makes balance bikes for toddlers and small kids.  We have had some requests for balance bikes and from my viewpoint they make a fantastic point of learning balance by yourself, no adult running along adding to the stress.  Well, she made a deal with the Sharks, so that will influence my decision as to which bike I buy, if I decide to carry them because I know the two involved would not let themselves be associated with an inferior product.  The old saying of "what goes around comes around" sort of fits here.  Your reputation, your concern, your real self will eventually determine your significance.  Got to go do some vendor contacting, be safe, blessings, Dwight

Good Idea?
Had an appointment today with a nurse and then my Doctor that is part of my Medicare Plan that is to give me the tools to stay healthy which in turn is to keep me from using the insurance.  Actually a good idea and hard to imagine that it was the government's idea.  I was greeted by the interview nurse and was, I hate to admit, instantly saying to myself, "this is a joke".  The nurse whose goal is to convince me of the things I may need to change was quite a bit overweight.  I remember telling a friend one time that he should not get investment advice from his father because his father had not done any successful investing.  I'm to follow advice from someone that appears to be unable to follow their own advice?  Even though I thought the nurse was extremely knowledgeable and had a great personality I was not going to take her  seriously even though I knew most of what she said was accurate.  Talking with the doctor I told him I did not want the shots that the nurse recommended and he said fine, I know you don't get flu shots, and you have not had it since I've known you.  But "you will get the colonoscopy".  I may be doing Monday's blog under the influence.  Moral: If you want to get help, look for those that have had success in that endeavor.   Blessings, Dwight

Do you Kendama?

Do you Kendama?

Last May we received our first order of Kendamas.  Shortly thereafter we had a visit from members of the Wenatchee Kendama Team, a group we had just recently heard about, a they shared with us a little bit.  We were impressed with their tricks they shared and the devotion they showed for the game.  I asked how they got to be so accomplished and instantly and in unison they responded, "We don't do video games".  A few weeks later we invited the team to do a demonstration in the store.  What a day, they took charge, taught tricks, performed fancy maneuvers, and just totally impressed us and the visitors we had.  A few weeks later we invited them back as the fever was increasing in the area as was the team's reputation.  About 100 kids and parents showed and again the team did their thing, keeping organized, running contests, teaching and sharing, and making sure everyone was having a good time.  After pushing the crowd out at closing we invited the boys to stay and have some pizza.  I was anxious to learn from them about their background.  One impressive thing I noted was how they were just as excited to teach a young child their first trick as they were to teach an accomplished player some moves that I couldn't even begin to explain.  Also they lack of inhibition of hugging one another as congratulations on a new accomplishment.  What I learned was "kendama is what we do" is their mantra.  One explained that he could pull out his kendama anywhere in the world and instantly make friends.  Following them on Facebook I had learned that they have and do make friends everywhere they go as a team or as individuals.  As a team I salute them as they have renewed my faith in our future.  If you would like to learn more about the team or kendama, search Wenatchee Kendama Team on Facebook and watch some of their videos.  Keep playing and blessings, Dwight

Is today Monday?
I tell you, I don't believe in Mondays but today, as I understand them, was a Monday.
On my way to work I was to unload the truck of the trash I have been neglectful to rid both mine and the store's yards of for a long while.  Not thinking about the rest of the weekend warriors, I found the line to be extremely long, so went on to the bank and then back to the line that was now only 4 vehicles long.  At work I waited for the mail which was late, the customers that never showed.  Watched the wife trip and fall over the toy shopping cart, and similar things all day.  Sprayed some weeds after closing, exercised and coming upstairs was thinking I would blog and get to bed.  Not so, before turning off the TV I scanned the menu and saw "TED Talks Education".  Could not resist which leads me to say, "Postpone the positive kid talk till next time".  Tonight is about the kids.  I could not even pretend to share with you that hour that seemed to fly by very quickly.  The show on PBS was hosted by John Legend and hopefully is now on TED.com for you to see.  I highly recommend you do so.  It is inspirational even if you aren't concerned about our educational system.  The final talk was by Ken Robinson and was an excellent summation and eye opener.  Again, watch it and let us discuss!  Blessings, Dwight

Trying to make a long story short.  We had a group from Seattle come do a forum on education with the goal of finding a common consensus point to recommend as a starting point to reform our system.  Not knowing exactly what to expect I tried to prepare by asking teachers, parents, and some older students to give me a couple of pros and cons on things as they are now.  The responses I received are on the web at our store site www.academictoolbox.com under local links.  What those comments do not share are the 3 teachers that starting crying before their response, or the many who became teary eyed while answering, or red faced as they responded.  Which by the way, I interpreted as anger.  I actually was not surprised by most answers as I had heard them before in conversations.  I was surprised though by the students that said they were not challenged and that there is a lot of "down" time when education is not happening.  Please read the comments on the web site and let me know what you think?  On a positive closing note I have met some fantastic teenagers the last few months and will share about those later.  Blessings!