Month: June 2015

Father’s Day was this past weekend.  I kind of like the idea of my family asking and caring about what I wanted to do.  So, this post is dedicated to the top 5 sports thoughts I’ve had that readers have asked and care about,  maybe?

Number 5-  The NBA crowned the Golden State Warriors as their new champion.  The last time the Warriors won the title was 1975.  That next year Paul Westphal, Alvan Adams, Walter Davis, the “shot Heard ’round the world” Suns lost to the Celtics in the finals.   Here is hoping following the Warriors into the finals continues and the 2015-16 Suns win that elusive title.  For the Cleveland sports fan- which this Cleveland native counts himself-  another one got away.  The last champion in Cleveland was the pre-super bowl 1964 NFL Browns.  The last time the Indians won the World Series was 1948.  (Sadly, my birthday party came to a screeching halt when the 1997 Indians lost game 7 to the Marlins in extra innings. I think the presents are still wrapped up sitting in a closet somewhere.)

Number 4- The NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.  Awesome for Chicago.  So, how about our Arizona Coyotes? After overcoming all kinds of difficulties and battling hard to develop a loyal fan base in the Valley of the Sun, the City of Glendale cancels the lease agreement at Gila River Arena.  How does the city council’s vote help local business development,  the local labor force, the growth of tax revenue, not to mention the success of our hockey team?  Kudos to the Blackhawks.   Will Lord Stanley’s Cup ever make it to the Valley of the Sun?  Time to stand up and howl!

Number 3- The US Open is America’s golf championship.  Hard to imagine that 21 year old Jordan Spieth would hold on to win as he watched the last player with any hope of bettering his score three-putt from twelve feet.  Great things were destined for Jordan as his first career win came as a teenager at the 2013 John Deere Classic.  (By the way, the classic is my favorite tournament played on my favorite course, TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL- a little Father’s Day side note.)

Number 2- Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah (really, that is how they spell it) is the horse race lovers have been waiting for since 1979.  Winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes seemed to have become an impossible task.  However exceptional a thoroughbred American Pharoah is, Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown Winner is still the greatest.

Number 1- Okay, the Women’s World Cup isn’t over yet.  But, here are a couple of thoughts.   The two teams  that didn’t get out of the group stage I hoped would were Mexico and Costa Rica.  (Both teams had three great efforts and goalkeepers that were spot on, and I am partial to goalkeepers.)  The game that I thought was the most fun to watch in the group stage was The Netherlands v. Canada.  (So it ends in draw, but to see The Netherlands battle back in front of the hostile Canadian crowd was impressive, and you know Canadians can be quite hostile!)    Lets all stand up and howl for the USA women.  I don’t think their lease will be terminated anytime soon.

 

As the sun set on Day 2, we rolled into the outskirts of Kansas City, KS.  What would be better after a nice meal than enjoying the company of friends we hadn’t seen in quite some time?  Club soccer was what originally brought our families together.  It turned out we would form a car pool, sit and cheer for our girls at games,  hang at tournament hotels, and even attend elementary and middle school activities that had nothing to do with soccer.  They were a good family to connect with.  After graduating in 2012 from sister high schools, relocating to Kansas was in our friend’s near future.

For many, dreams are born in college.  This was true for Quincy, our daughter’s club teammate that attended MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, KS.  Quincy took advantage of an opportunity to participate in a mission trip supporting a rural Haitian community in need of economic and medical aid.  While there, her eyes and heart were opened to the dream of establishing a soccer facility in the community she was serving.  Sadly, Quincy was unable to pursue her passion as she passed from this world unexpectedly over the winter break.  Her family, in honor of Quincy and as a product of their unwavering faith, is working hard to make her dream come to fruition.  Check out www.LQVE.org.  When completed the soccer field will be a true blessing for the boys and girls in Haiti.

Day 3 started with the sun rising in the east, a cup of Starbucks, and a slice of cinnamon coffee cake.  Our goal? Give our daughter a hug by early afternoon.  Leaving Kansas on I-35, we make our way through northwest Missouri…

…and then pushed onward through Iowa.

With a big right turn in Des Moines we are only a couple hours away from Rock Island, Illinois.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Road trip over!  We do some shopping and help our daughter and her roomies move into the house she will live in the next twelve months. After a couple of days, we leave the car, a full tank of gas, and food in the pantry for our girl.   The road trip was nice, but we are flying home!

Day two started by quickly putting Tucumcari in the rearview mirror as we head northeast, destination Kansas City, Kansas.   We left the interstate and by lunch have crossed three state lines following US -54, having bypassed the drive thru Amarillo. (Maybe we will talk about our last visit to Amarillo sometime.)  As we drove through the Texas panhandle there was lots to see, like clouds and a couple of antelope off in the distance…
  … and cattle at a roadside feed lot.Then it was on thru Oklahoma, which looked a lot like what we saw in Texas, just no antelope.

 We then found ourselves in Kansas, which surprisingly, still looked like we never left Texas.  It is no wonder some folks crossing the plains by wagon wondered why they ever left home.But not us!  We aren’t wondering why we left, only where we were going to find lunch.

Why does the road trip capture our imagination? What is it about heading somewhere, anywhere, even if it is someplace random, that seems such a part of our  nature?  There is just something romantic about traveling the highways and backroads and seeing how Americans live.  It is so ingrained in us, I’ll bet you can name three songs off the top of your head that you love that have something to do with being on the road!   Anyway, by the end of the day we make it to Kansas City.  Why Kansas City and what does that have to do with dreams?  More on that next time as we make our way to Rock Island.

My three?  Lobo’s Me and You and a Dog Named Boo,  John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Roads, and Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans.  

Friday morning, off to work to drop off my keys.  Saying good-bye again the morning after the commencement exercise is difficult. Graduating is so bittersweet.  Fact is, nearly everyone I have worked with and nearly everyone who graduated with me- I will not see again. That is the thing about teaching twelfth graders.  The young adults grow so much, but then they are expected to move on.  That is it.  What is different this year?  In the past, there was always the hope that accompanied the next class of students. I’m going to miss that.

What won’t I miss?  Education becoming a numbers game, a data driven laboratory. The school business is a people industry.  I believe the relationships are the key to success. Sure, implementing good lessons with sound objectives based on the results of a wide variety of assessments over time is a prerequisite for a solid educational experience. But, the key involves classroom management and the development of strong, healthy, positive relationships between teachers and students. Teaching is “relational.”  That teacher-student relationship is the fuel that drives the piston that makes instruction work.

And now, it is time to hit the ignition.  Trip is on!   First stop? The neighborhood Circle K to pick up bottles of water, Chex Mix and Red Vines.  Driving north on I-17 takes us past Camp Verde and the weather cools off as we reach Flagstaff. Look snow in May!

Now we are eastbound on I-40 with the pedal to the metal. Past old lumber, ranching, and railroad towns like Winslow and Holbrook.  As we approach New Mexico we cruise past Ft. Courage- the “trading post” modeled after the fort on the old tv show F-Troop.  (Too bad time has past it by, too.  It has closed.)  Soon after we hit the Land of Enchantment.

The end of the first day’s travel takes us to Tucumcari, NM.  Wish I had a really good picture of the KFC that stood next to our motel. Its classic.  Oh, well. Expect to be up early in the morning; looking forward to more adventures.   Hope you put your seat belt on and join us as we head to Kansas City!

Let me introduce myself.  The name is Chew and I have spent 32 years teaching history and economics and coaching swimming and soccer.   I have finally graduated with the Class of 2015.  Here’s the proof–

This blog is intended to share random thoughts that may be entertaining,  a little humorous, deeply insightful, and always in good taste (you know- appropriate for general audiences).  After teaching for so long, I must have learned something of value to finally share with an audience.  Hope you enjoy this… and so we begin…

Fellow graduates, where do we go from here?  Here is an idea. Let’s go do something to become productive.  Our communities need well educated, highly trained, tech savvy individuals to keep our economy growing.  Don’t think about it anymore- it is time for action.  Finish up the college admissions, sign on with a branch of the armed services, head to tech school, or get the job of your dreams.  Learn a trade.  Whatever you decide to do, get the education you need in order to produce the goods and services I want.  And, hey, don’t discount a strong liberal arts background.  Learn to think.  Learn to write and communicate effectively.   Just like I’m doing right now…

Me?  Now that I’m out, I am going to take a road trip. More on that next time.   Please feel free to invite all your friends to join in.  This trip is going to be lots of fun.