2010 CENSUS

2010 Census to Begin

Good info to know!

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including:

name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door,

they will have a badge,

a handheld device,

a Census Bureau canvas bag,

and a confidentiality notice.

Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home. Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give:

your Social Security number,

credit card or banking information to anyone,

even if they claim they need it

for the U.S. Census.

REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK,

YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM

HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range,

YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL

ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.

The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.

AND REMEMBER,

THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH

ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION.

No Acorn worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau. Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau. Also, if they ask you if you have a gun in the house,

do not answer.

It's none of their business

and could possibly lead to danger.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit

http://www..bbb.org/

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

March 26th

On March 26, 1987, my dad and I were waiting in the Indianapolis airport for my Spring Break flight to Tampa to see my sister and nephew; when he collapsed from what I thought was a heart attack, a wonderful couple started CPR. Two days later, after 48 pints of blood, he died from an aortic aneurysm. I never had a chance to thank the couple or to repay all 48 pints of blood. Every time we have a blood drive at school, I ask my kids to help me repay the blood. Wish I could have thanked the couple, too. I've always felt like the couple never knew the outcome OR how grateful our entire family was for their efforts. I still tell the classes learning CPR what a difference it can make.

Sharon pointed out that our mom used to say that we didn't marry because we could never find someone as wonderful as our dad - and she was right. All three of us were daddy's girls. I think Bryan knows that feeling with his girls. It's a special bond.

MY TWO FAVORITE SONGS

"For Good"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzrGFQysfYU&feature=related

"Nothing"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUTafCLoDcE&feature=related

Lyrics for "For Good":

ELPHABA: I'm limited just look at me

I'm limited and just look at you

you can do all I couldn't do, Glinda,

so now its up to you for both of us

now it's up to you

GLINDA: I've heard it said

that people come into our lives

for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

and we are lead to those

who help us most to grow

if we let them and we help them in return

Well I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit

as it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

halfway through the wood.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better

but, because I knew you

I have been changed for good.

ELPHABA: It well may be

that we will never meet again

in this lifetime

so let me say before we part

so much of me is made

from what I learned from you

You'll be with me

like a hand print on my heart

Now whatever way our stories end

I know you have rewritten mine

by being my friend

Like a ship blown from it's mooring

by a wind off the sea

like a seed dropped by a sky bird

in a distant wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

GLINDA: because I knew you

BOTH: I have been changed for good

ELPHABA: And just to clear the air

I ask forgiveness

for the things I've done

you blame me for

GLINDA: But then I guess we know

there's blame to share

BOTH: And none of it seems to matter any more

GLINDA & ELPHBA: Like a comet pulled from orbit

(like a ship blown from its mooring)

As it passes a sun

(By a wind off the sea)

Like a stream that meets a boulder

(Like a seed dropped by a bird)

Halfway through the wood

(in a wood)

BOTH: Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

I do believe I have been changed

for the better

GLINDA: And because I knew you

ELPHABA: because I knew you

BOTH: because I knew you,

I have been changed

...for

... good.

Lyrics for "Nothing":

[DIANA] I'm so excited because

I'm gonna go to the High School of Performing Arts!

I mean, I was dying to be a serious actress.

Anyway, it's the first day acting class

--and we're in the auditorium--

and the teacher, Mr. Karp... Oh, Mr. Karp...

Anyway, he puts us up on the stage with our legs around each other,

one in back of the other and he says:

"Okay... we're going to do improvisations.

Now, you're on a bobsled.

It's snowing out.

And it's cold...Okay...GO!"

Ev'ry day for a week we would try to

Feel the motion,

feel the motion

Down the hill.

Ev'ry day for a week we would try to

Hear the wind rush,

hear the wind rush,

Feel the chill.

And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul

To see what I had inside.

Yes, I dug right down to the bottom of my soul

And I tried, I tried.

[Spoken]And everybody's goin'

"Whooooosh, whooooosh

...I feel the snow

... I feel the cold

... I feel the air."

And Mr. Karp turns to me and he says,

"Okay, Morales. What did you feel?"

[sings]And I said...

"Nothing, I'm feeling nothing,"

And he says "Nothing Could get a girl transferred."

They all felt something,

But I felt nothing

Except the feeling That this bulls**t was absurd!

[Spoken]But I said to myself,

"Hey, it's only the first week.

Maybe it's genetic.

They don't have bobsleds in San Juan!"

[sings]Second week,

more advanced,

and we had to

Be a table,

be a sports car

...Ice-cream cone.

Mister Karp, he would say,

"Very good, except Morales.

Try, Morales, All alone."

And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul

To see how an ice cream felt.

Yes, I dug right down to the bottom of my soul

And I tried to melt.

The kids yelled,

"Nothing!"

They called me "Nothing"

And Karp allowed it,

Which really makes me burn.

The were so helpful.

They called me "Hopeless,"

Until I really didn't know

Where else to turn.

[Spoken]And Karp kept saying,

"Morales, I think you should transfer to Girl's High,

You'll never be an actress,

Never!"

Jesus Christ!

Went to church, praying,

"Santa Maria,

Send me guidance, send me guidance,"

On my knees.

Went to church, praying,

"Santa Maria,

Help me feel it, help me feel it.

Pretty please!"

And a voice from down

at the bottom of my soul

Came up to the top of my head.

And the voice from down

at the bottom of my soul,

Here is what it said:

"This man is nothing!This course is nothing!

If you want something,

Go find another class.

And when you find one

You'll be an actress."

And I assure you that's what

Fin'lly came to pass.

Six months later I heard

that Karp had died.

And I dug right down

to the bottom of my soul...

And cried.

'Cause I felt...

nothing.

RUMORS

A couple of teachers are telling who they think will be taking the early retirement incentive - I will be turning in the letter on Friday - not really ready, but probably necessary. I've had a good run for the 38 years I've been proud to teach at Hobart High School. Administration is making a decent offer that I can't afford to pass up. Has to be 12 of us or it's a no-go. I cry every time some one asks me, so I have to get under control. It's been 18 years since they've made any retirement offer; the $$$ crunch is going to be awful; we've been pretty much "guilt-ed" into turning in the letters (so no one gets R.I.F. letters); no one is indispensable, but I hate leaving my "babies."

I knew I wanted to teach since fifth grade - WHAT I wanted to teach changed often! I loved biology - especially genetics - and REALLY wanted to teach it. In 1967, technology was not what it is today; handicaps dictated WHAT you COULD do. (My eyesight was legally blind and my eyes don't "line up" - when I looked in a microscope, what I could barely see wasn't ever one picture - biology teacher was out of the question.) I began my college career in special education; changed to elementary education; switched to secondary English; changed to speech; ended up with speech, theatre, and English.

After getting my bachelor's and master's degrees, I started job hunting and interviewing. The summer of 1972, I interviewed all over the state of Indiana - Lawrenceburg one day and Hobart the next. I WAS GOING TO TEACH SOMEWHERE!

The first year I started at Hobart, I sat at meetings complaining how hot and stupid I was for wearing a blue, long-sleeved, polyester dress! (I now complain how cold it is in my air-conditioned room!) The second Saturday, at the laundromat, I met a lovely lady who noticed I was new. In speaking with her, we discovered that her son and I both starting teaching at Hobart - Steve Balash was at the junior high school, and I was at the high school. That Sunday, Cynthia Lach asked her mom if she could bring a new teacher to lunch; I never left Cyndi's mom's table! I remember thinking I'll only be here a few years and then move on. Thirty-eight years later, I'm sad to be finally "graduating."

That first year, I struggled to add grades by hand; a friend (math teacher) actually came and helped me! My parents gave me a re-conditioned calculator for Christmas that first year - it could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. It cost a fortune even though re-conditioned. Today, I could buy a solar powered one for a buck! Now, I act like the world will end if the computer goes down! Heavens forbid if I make an error in STI!

I have actually resided in only four different rooms in the past 38 years. I started in the old building in Room 104 (which eventually became the cardio lab); moved to Room 124 when the auditorium was built (there for 25 years); was moved to Room 101 between Leto and Swanke; and landed in Room 1303 in the new building. Every room was my "home" - probably spent more time at school than at home at times! I wanted my kids to be comfortable and also feel at "home."

I have taught Speech 1 and Advanced Speech all 38 years! Although the class is not required, probably 95% of the student body takes the beginning class (there aren't many one-semester classes, so it frequently becomes an alternative.) I was privileged to be theatre director for over 20 years. I have actually taught every English class at one time or another - in regular school, homebound instruction, summer school, or Challenge School.

(I have even taught English classes that no longer exist! These include Mass Media, Business English, ISTEP+ remediation, and FLIP.)
As I complete grade 56 (K-12 + 5 years ISU + 38 years HHS = 56) it seems fitting that I started Kindergarten during the 1955-1956 school year.

It has been an honor to have lived in Hobart and gone to school at HHS for 38 years. I have never "gone to work" - I "go to school" - and am glad that I'm leaving before it becomes WORK - at least that's how I will choose to look at it.

BE THERE!

MAKE THEIR DAY!

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE!

PLAY!

ONCE A BRICKIE, ALWAYS A BRICKIE!

DECISIONS

January 2010

Sometimes I just HATE being an adult

and having to make decisions.

January has been rough --

Sharon in the hospital and I can't stay all the time;

new grading scale with end of semester;

new classes;

old class with new ideas;

these were really

MINOR decisions

compared to the one that

I have to contemplate.

I've always planned to have both knees replaced

using up most of my more-than-220 sick leave days

before I retired.

I could do this any time,

but once I start my classes,

I tend to "fall in love" with them and

don't want to leave!

Now, I might not get the chance to use them at all.

SCOH is offering a "deal" to get rid of some of us

"older" teachers.

Last time an offer was made was 18 years ago.

This may be the only time I have a chance

to take advantage of some insurance help.

Catch is:

there needs to be at least 12 of us to take the

"buy-out"

and not more than 14.

Letters have to be in February 5th;

we won't know until the cut-off date of February 19th.

If there are more than 14,

the first 14 will get it;

less than 12, no buy out.

(I'd sure hate to be #15!)

If you want to hear God laugh,

just tell Him you

"have a plan!"

Think I'll leave it in His hands!

DECEMBER

When I was 10-11 years old, I was a VORACIOUS reader. I read To Kill a Mockingbird the year it was first published (which TOTALLY let my kids know how old I was when I taught the book to freshmen!) It was my favorite book UNTIL I read an excerpt in "Readers' Digest" of Patrick Dennis' Auntie Mame. I HAD to get to the library and get the book. Suddenly, I KNEW what kind of aunt I would want to be some day!
As a child, Bryan never really called me "Auntie Shirley"; Cyndi's kids all did. When Bryan (and Sharon) moved to Hobart, he started to introduce me as "my aunt, Shirley," which worked for me!
I never really got to be the "Auntie Mame" for Bryan (just too close to his mom), but there were a couple of times.
The one I remember the most was when he and his mom were "discussing" his wanting to get his ear pierced. Sharon was ADAMANT that she would NOT take him. (She knew that he'd be a little freaked by the process.) The two of them were going back and forth about it and I felt it necessary to spout out, "If you get it pierced, I'll get the diamond for it." THAT sealed the deal for him!!! (My Bryan likes "bling" almost as much as I do! Yes, I "followed through" with the offer!)
Jackie was always the "conservative" sister. HER girls did get "Auntie Shirley's" gene for "flash and trash" - BOTH have liked pink, purple, and glitz! My jewelry box is their favorite "toy" in Hobart!
So, how have times changed? When I was THINKING about getting a tattoo a couple of years ago, Jackie wanted to go with me (still does.) Bryan and Amy have become the "sensible" ones (thank goodness!) and ALL of them have made me so proud as parents!

EAT ICE CREAM

Received this in email -- its message hit me!
MOST OF US CAN SEE OURSELVES IN A COUPLE OF THESE SITUATIONS! YOU ALL MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!
"Real Integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming, or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched "Jeopardy" on television? I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. Because People cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college. Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit." When anyone calls my "seize the moment" friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy. Now go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to do -- not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow," and in your haste, not see her sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift -- thrown away. Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here. we might as well dance!