Saturday, January 19, 2008

Got MLK?



I love holidays. There are few things better than a day off from work/school where you can do whatever you want. So way to go Dr. King! We are a few weeks into school now, so both Alixa and Jarom have gotten into a routine. Alixa is enjoying her new students, even the class that is mostly boys. She decided that she was going to be more authoritative this term, and started by taking away some kid's iPod in class. Jarom's classes are also going well, and he is so happy that he will soon be done with BYU forever, or at least until he makes billions of dollars and they ask him to donate it back to them.

Jarom started his last quest for an intramural champion t-shirt today. He is playing basketball with some friends. They won their first game by about 10. Jarom played pretty well, or so he thought. He scored 10 or 12 points, but only got one foul. This did not please Alixa, although she did cheer quite loudly when he committed the foul. In the next game he has vowed to try and foul out. It is still snowing pretty regularly, which isn't that great for Jarom's motorcycle or his lacrosse practices. He is optimistic about the season though, and really thinks that he will have a lot of fun working with the kids.

There have been some recent letters to the editor in BYU's Daily Universe that I have found interesting. Apparently a pedestrian got hit and died at a crosswalk somewhere on or near campus. This is sad, but it brings to mind an issue that has always been hot-button here in Provo. Students will walk across a street in a cross walk without so much as pausing or looking to see if cars are coming or not. Sure, the law says that the cars should stop, but I have never understood why people are so careless with their lives just because the law protects them. Nobody goes into downtown Detroit and starts yelling racial slurs simply because the law will protect them. But people will carelessly step in front of a 2 ton moving object for the same reason. The letter writers are all up in arms about this issue and have proposed roughly a thousand solutions to the problem. Few of the solutions make any sense, and all would be extremely costly and probably still require some attention being paid by the person crossing the street, which is really the answer to the problem. But I do enjoy the comically flawed logic and usually contradictory nature of most of the letters. For a very funny and surprisingly accurate depiction of a typical letter to the editor, read this and this. How funny.

I had Jarom film my feeding today. If you are interested and not a rat lover, you can see the action here. It was Jarom's first foray into film, so cut him some slack.

2 comments:

marioclem said...

Wow. Nice blog entry! You buys are cool

Lixie, please keep us posted on your new sterner approach to teaching. Jarom, good luck with the basketball. I'd love to hear a little more about the fouling out comment. I remember when I coached Lixie, I used to tell her that if she didn't get a couple of fouls she wasn't hustling enough. Is that the impetus for the comment?

Lixie, when you called, I was at the stake dance chaperoning. Mom loves to go to the youth dances. Keeps her young, I guess. Anyway, didn't hear the phone ring and when we got the message we thought you'd be out with those friends you mentioned.

We're playing in a tennis tournament this weekend, when I get back from Switzerland. I'm enroute there now. I've got a layover here in Amsterdam.

I'm trying to figure out why you two enjoy Mitch's feedings so much. I guess I shouldn't read too much into it since it's just nature's dane played out, but don't you think you should have given Steve more of a fighting chance? Even in Gladiator, the gladiator's, though they were supposed to die are given weapons and a fighting chance. I'm sure that's not quite an apropos analogy, but still . . . What do you think your love of a snake and particularly his feedings says about you two?

Anyway, I love you guys! I look forward to when we will be together again. Alix, are you still coming out for spring break?

Love, Dad.

Four Winns said...

Hey, I didn't see anything being eaten. I only saw something being constricted. What a rip off, Mitch.