Julie Barrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Plano, TX.

Musings From the (semi)Sickbed

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Thursday, April 8, 2010


Today is officially a Bad Air Day. I can blame myself for part of the problem. I had the audacity to think that I could go outdoors, water the plants, and sweep off the patio. As I was sweeping, I managed to raise a huge green cloud of pollen, which drifted right into my face.

So I'm not only allergic to housework, but am also allergic to yard work.

Welcome to April in North Texas.

I did manage 500 words on a short story this morning, so the day wasn't a total loss.

I've been following the latest tale of bullying via the local paper web site. Apparently some cheerleader peed in a cup of soda and the stuff was given to some other girls on the squad. The article doesn't say whether the girls who drank it knew what was in it or whether they were forced to do so. The upshot is that a couple of girls got in-school suspension and some lesser punishments. They're all off the squad until the end of the year. But wait: aren't cheer sports over for the year? Some punishment. I'll be interested in seeing more details on this story. Really, even if everyone knew what they were drinking, this is a stupid, stupid thing to do. Hepatitis C, anyone?

Of course, some anonymous commenters blame the issue on the parents of the victims. They're jealous because their child didn't get a prime spot on the squad! Grow up. This is no harmless prank.

And in other school news, the principal and a couple of administrators of a school here in Plano were pulled from the school and placed on administrative leave with pay through the end of the year. The district has yet to respond to open records requests. Eventually a statement from the principal was released. The upshot that is that he's leaving to pursue his dreams. Uh, can I do that and still get paid for two or three months?

Naturally, the comment threads are filled with prime examples of the well-prepared scholars our school districts are turning out. I've never seen so many misplaced apostrophes, so much mangled spelling, and sentences that make absolutely no sense in my entire life. We all have typos and the like that pass through even though we try to proof our posts, but to repeat the same mistakes over and over shows a lack of basic education. Or, a lack of caring. It's probably the latter. I don't expect everyone to have perfect grammar and spelling, but is it asking too much to write sentences that don't need to be run through a jargon translator? (Of course, I'm one to complain, sitting here in the dark, typing away...)

Coffee is here. Caffeine will be good for the lungs. I'm off to rest.

Filed under: Life            

 

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