April Week 3
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April Week 3
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"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot." Monday April 16, 2001 First day of Spring Break... Oh Joy, Oh Bliss... Oh Well ... Mike and his buddy Scott worked on their BMX track most all day... working with shovels... they have actually accomplished a lot... Mike is spending the night at Scott's. Autumn is feeling a little punky... must have been all the Easter candy she ate... she spent most of the day watching videos. Calie, Cindy, Mokie and I played horseshoes...
Christian was on the internet off and on all day looking for cheats for his video game. Christy drove out to Lake Los Angeles to get a book she needs for teaching.
Tuesday April 17, 2001
I had planned to take everyone to the Poppy Preserve in Lancaster... the poppies are starting to come up around here... just a few here and there that usually means that the fields are full of them at the Preserve. Well, Christian got invited over to Shon's, Mike went to Scott's, Monica didn't want to go because she is allergic to them, Cindy was a basket case and Christy needed to prepare for a class she is teaching tonight... Soooo... Irene, Shon's mom, called and said Christian wasn't feeling well... I have all the kids Autumn is asleep and I can't pack them all into the car and go get him... I told her that Christy will be able to pick him up in about a half an hour when she returns from teaching in Canyon Country... Bout that time Mike called and said it was time for me to pick him up... he was ready to come home... I said "Sorry Mike... I have already been down there twice looking for you and I can't come down to get you now... Mom is teaching and Autumn is asleep... you'll have to walk up" (Bout a mile from Scotty's) He had not called last night to say he was staying (That was the deal) and presuming I would stop what I was doing to come get him was, in my mind, a bit unreasonable. What a heavy oar the pen is, and what a strong current ideas are to row in! Gustave Flaubert novelist (1821-1880)
Wednesday April 18, 2001 Christy is teaching... I am just back from taking Autumn to Therapy...with Christian, Monica, Cindy and Calie... they actually were very well behaved... Autumn wanted to stay with us so she balked at going with Janie and went down on her knees... Jeanie's response was to tell Autumn; "Autumn, It's time to go with me now, you have to get up now, you can't fight me Autumn, Autumn... do we have to do a time out before we even get started?." It is fascinating to me how some folks first reaction to any situation that isn't going the way they want it to is to get confrontational, escalate, threaten and re-enforce the very behavior they are trying to stop... Autumn needs to be able to deal with people who approach the world as though it is a threat to their personal identity... Janie was "Being firm" that's all... it is an accepted technique for teachers, Policemen and IRS Agents... Now-a-days parents are instructed that they should be creative and encouraging not rigid and demanding... neither way actually works when a kid is determined to be belligerent. From my personal experience, the Creative Encouraging philosophy is a little easier on the parent's psyche though... If you are ineffectual as a tyrant there is no place else to go, if you are ineffectual as a supportive nurturing parent then the kid has to heft some of the culpability... besides you can always resort to tyrant if the situation gets desperate. I hope to be able to take the kids to Placerita Park today... the house needs to be picked up first... I told them that they can pick it up or I will, the plan is that we will leave as soon as Mom gets home if the house is clean... if it isn't picked up then I will start cleaning it when Mom gets home... we will leave when I am done... (all they really have to do is make an honest attempt to pick up a little and we'll go)... So far the only ones not cooperating are Mike and Cindy... Mike is being sort of a strange... he is really into bicycles now... he has been building jumps and pedaling around for days now... that's a long time for Mike to stay focused... he was out with a shovel at 0745 this morning. Well the house didn't get cleaned till 1600, (I work slow) it was too late to take them to the park...so... I took the kids that helped clean to see "Spy Kids"... if you have kids, or Grand-kids, do yourself a favor and take them to see this movie... it is really sort of neat when you can sit and laugh together at the same things... (sometimes for different reasons but still)... the story is about two kids who have to rescue their parents from a sort of demented Willy Wonka character and his evil sidekick... it is just silly fun but with good actors who play it straight... I got back and Mike was gone, Christy went looking for him at about 2000... he called at about 2100, he had been at Scotty's I was really upset and Christy was even angrier at him... he told me that he had called twice with no answer... I checked when we got home.. he did leave messages...twice. After he called he went to church with Scotty and one of the neighbors... he called again when he got back... I had imagined worse things were going on so I was a bit mollified, but Christy was still upset... I talked Chris into letting him go back down to Scotty's... probably not the best tactic child psychology-wise... but still Thursday April 19, 2001 Autumn to therapy again... on Wednesday it is Janie then Myra and on Thursday it is Myra first then Janie... Autumn seems to not have much of a problem with Myra... she was a little stubborn with her though..., not as bad as yesterday... I managed to take off for Placerita Canyon with five kids... Mike stayed with Christy... Christy's feet are still bothering her quite a bit and the Dr.
Christy made a big dinner, steak and mashed potatoes, strawberry shortcake... very nice... Autumn had a seizure in the middle of the meal... only in her left leg this time ... lasted about 4 minutes... it was a series of strong contractions, her leg is very weak now, she can't walk on it yet... I am verrrr r r r r y t i r e d. Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers. Mignon McLaughlin, author Friday April 20, 2001 Christy had a presentation to give at The Antelope Valley Foster Parent Association... it's the Association that Christy started 8 years ago, she finally resigned... She had a class to attend at noon. I took all the kids with me (except Mike) to go pick up my bicycle (I bought it for Jeff about 13 years ago... he left it here)... from the owner of the shop that went bust... He is a nice young fella...the bike is in fine shape, needs some attention to some cosmetic imperfections (rust mainly) I will work on it next week... I am determined to get some use out of the damn thing... I took the kids to the park but we didn't stay long... it was very cold and windy... I stopped and got them hotdogs to pacify them for the short stay at the park... Autumn seems to be doing OK today... there is no apparent residual effect from the seizure last night... I wonder if sitting in the "Baby Jogger" all that time had something to do with it... Saturday April 21, 2001 I woke up listening to “NPR” which is “National Public Radio” it relatively free of bias and, to my mind, the only news and entertainment on the radio worth listening to… NPR has a bank of recorders connected to their phone lines to record the comments of their “listening audience”. They replayed a remark by a vicious anti-Semite… anti-liberal… anti-intellectual… anti… lord-knows-what-all. It was really a frightening thing to listen to… it was bile from the mind of an obviously intelligent (read educated) man. The aspect that upset me the most was his total lack of compassion… a mind totally uncluttered with the vagaries of doubt, empathy, compassion and any sense of humanity… it is frightening to confront. Bigotry consumes reason… if someone completely denies all the data, facts, opposing arguments and other information
that contradicts his preconceptions you must agree with him or back away nodding and smiling… or fight him. Reason is lost on him because all contradiction, no matter how persuasive, is all just a conspiracy propagated by Liberals and intellectuals to undermine his view of the world. or it’s all intellectual doublespeak, or it just threatens his personal sense of identity and well-being. I am not immune to narrow-mindedness, no one is… I have to surmount my assumptions and preconceptions every day, I make snap decisions about people all the time… It would be nice to be able to truly understand everyone you meet but also impossible, life is too short to get emotionally involved with every person you encounter during the day…especially in Los Angeles. Ø Why do they dress that way, Ø Why did they react that way, Ø Why did they say that, Ø Where did they get that opinion, Ø Why did they make that choice, Ø Why can’t they see the world through my eyes. Homeless, jobless, alcoholic, drug addicted, ignorant… it is hard for me to see these as unavoidable aberrations of the human condition but in many instances they are. Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of strangers… some people can embrace their fears and get stronger, others insulate themselves behind them. I see folks who refuse to accept responsibility for their condition every day, they whine and complain incessantly… accepting responsibility for their failures would be admitting they can surmount them… it is just easier to wallow in self pity and point fingers at the government, the blacks, the illegal aliens, big business, their parents, the police, the teachers, religions other than their own… damn… I took Mike Monica Autumn and Christian shopping... I managed to get most of what I went after, Mike went along to ensure that I picked up come gasket material to fix the carburetor. I put the carb. back together for my little tractor. It's Ford 9/2/8N? I think it is a 9 N but the numbers on the chassis don't match anything I can find on the Net. I bought some gas and started it up... had to put the draft back on the carb... tweaked the needle jet and the air screw a bit and it started right up... I am pretty pleased with myself at the moment. I got a pretty good start on filling the ruts in the driveway and pulled out the old swing set and hauled it around to the dumpster... I spent a little while teaching Mike to drive the tractor... he is a little scary... I am not worried about him so much as I am about everything in his path... I am afraid he will try driving it when the kids are around, I warned him but I don't think he really understands... I will stress it firmly tomorrow. The Chinese Spy Plane incident still rankles me… I am glad we got our people back and I am even a bit relieved that we are treating this like we are trying to find the person most at fault in a traffic accident. It doesn’t mitigate the fact were spying on a foreign country… calling the mission reconnaissance, or surveillance or even “Necessary to the strategic safety of America and it’s sworn allies.” is insulting… to me the issue is that we were caught spying, we have been doing it for decades and we have deemed it to be our divine right. We sent those folks up there with no protection and arrogantly assumed that the Chinese would just let it happen... America wouldn't let that sort of thing go on, what self-important, arrogance… it is though we sent up a plane full of teenagers to 'moon' them. The Chinese have been sending up planes to harass
the spy planes for at least a year… what military genius decided that it would end there… we weren’t getting the message, or were we taunting them into some sort of "incident". I don’t buy the 24 mile international boundry crap either… The original international boundaries extended out 9 miles, because 9 miles was how far a cannon could shoot. The Chinese claim 200 miles… so do we…all countries claim 200 miles but also all countries deem all the other countries to have a boundary of 24 miles. Our NORAD will intercept any foreign military plane that closes within 200 miles… so will Russia. Any country with the capability of enforcing a 200 mile boundary does it. First, 200 miles is nothing to electronic espionage in this age of satellites and other sophisticated devices… Second; 200 miles is nothing to the armament we have at our disposal. Anyone in their right mind would be far more afraid of terrorists and home grown loonies than anything a huge bureaucracy would come up with. Rioting at the Summit of the Americas is such a mockery of reason… I can’t fathom it at all… The protesters argue; “the leaders' goal of free trade across the Americas will hurt the poor and damage the environment”. They have nothing whatsoever to base their allegations on beyond their own paranoia… they are the Ludites of the new Millennium. The truth is that promoting trade and democracy throughout the hemisphere would do exactly the opposite… It is happening now with AFTA a lot of companies moved to Mexico taking with them many jobs but many are returning and also several companies in Mexico are spreading North… Supermarket chains, clothing and furniture manufacturers. The average daily wage is rising in Mexico and Central America… Sunday April 22, 2001 Mike and I worked with the tractor again, got the back yard smoothed out and finished up the driveways... Mike can drive the tractor but doing anything beyond dragging the "Ganon" in a relatively straight line is a bit over his head. Mokie found a rattlesnake by the small shed, it was about two and a half feet long, 5 rattles... I tried to catch it but it holed up under a board holding up the shed, I ended up shooting it... I hate killing them... but I can't have one living in the back yard... Mike skinned it, Mike actually wanted someone else to skin it for him but nobody wanted to involved. America assisted in another military coup yesterday... our crack intelligence aircraft lit up a plane full of Baptist Missionaries for the Peruvian Air Force to shoot down, killed a mother and her baby... apparently the Peruvians were not content with shooting it down and continued to strafe it while it was in the water... I wonder how many other innocent people have been accidentally killed but we never heard about it because they weren't American Baptist Missionaries... the "War on Drugs" is getting a little costly... I can't imagine how the new administration is going to spin this so that it turns out to be all the Baptist's fault... I feel so sorry for the Dad... and the son... I would be a very angry fella...
I got very angry at Mike tonight... I worked all day making him a BMX track... he helped me until the neighbor kid came over with his Motorcycle... he wants one real bad but I can't afford to buy him one... I kept on working while he played and finally got tired and quit... He decided I didn't do it right and wanted to use the tractor... I said fine... after a bit of "attitude" on my part... He tried hard to make a pile of dirt but he couldn't make much headway... I got back on the tractor and worked another half hour... I quit and went in to eat... about that time his buddies came over with their two-strokes... loud little buggers... after a bit I asked them to quit... too noisy. He said he wanted to build more jumps... I said not now, it's too late (19:30) we'll do it after school tomorrow... he had a tantrum... I guess I had one too... it's just never enough... no matter what I do for him he always wants more... it is just the nature of his disability I think. When it comes to his sense of "Place" in this world he is about three years old... the world revolves for his entertainment... pretty hard to deal with for all the people who aren't Mike.
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