Power of the Spoken Word

As a parent, if you learn anything in life, you learn that teenagers are full of truth.
‘Course it can come at the most unexpected times and in the most unusual ways.
“People can use their words for good, of course, but they can also use them for destruction,” said my current favorite teenager on the way to middle school one morning.
Really? Did he really just open up that conversation, I thought, as I grappled with the idea that we were fixing to have a serious discussion before I finished my first cup of caffeine.
His point was simple.
He had been observing at school that while kids were frequently just awful with the stuff they said to each other – no news there – that, well, a kind word could give vision to a kid who didn’t have many positive thoughts directed his way.
It reminded me that God’s word is a two-edged sword, but in a different kind of way.
Both “sword edges” of God’s word are for good because He is Himself good.
Whether His word convicts our hearts or confirms our wholesome convictions, His message serves us in good ways. Always, His thoughts and His ideas are for the benefit of those who love Him.
At the same time, His message is also always for the benefit of those who reject Him. Even as people run from God and reject Him, He still seeks them out in love.
In other words, because God is wholly good, His message is good at every level and in every way for anyone, even those who hate Him. He is just that good.
On the other hand, people are not 100% good. Basically, our words are a two- edged sword that reflects the duality of our nature – the desire to be selfish and the desire to be unselfish.
Is there any place where that is more obvious than middle school?
“I just told him he is intelligent, Mom,” said my son, “I don’t think many people tell him that.”
Using truth to create hope.
What a truth-full teenager!
Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Bond woes and other questions

With the state budget shortfall promising to ravage ISD budgets as soon as next fall, now is a great time to take a hard look at how bond proposals can fail, especially during a recession.

A case in point is the TISD bond proposal that failed most recently.

As early as 1976, the TISD lost what proved to be a string of bond proposals that the taxpayers refused to endorse. Until the passage of the elementary school packages in recent years, it could be argued that Smith County had some pretty tight-fisted citizens.

So, why didn’t Smith County taxpayers continue supporting desperately needed middle schools?

Is it just the recession, as some have suggested?

I don’t think so.

There are at least two race-related questions that were never addressed in the Vote Yes campaign.

First, by building the initial middle school on the south side are we in denial about the lingering affects of racism that haunt the north side of town?

It could be argued that building where there is already an over-population of students simply makes sense. Granted, Tyler’s long-range plans are a step in the right direction for seeing economic growth on the north side of town.

However, I think the public wants to be assured that civic leaders, including TISD officials, are committed to an undivided city. Officials owe it to the taxpayers to explain how building the first middle school in south Tyler will benefit the city in the long run, not just immediately.

Second, is bussing really a cost effective way to manage our student demographics in a culture that is – thankfully - more racially integrated than it once was?

Did you know that bussing is an expense left over from the days when African American parents consolidated their church-based schools in order to offer opportunities similar to those afforded in white schools? Bussing was not actually a solution to the problem of segregation; it was one of the symptoms. Just ask any African American old enough to remember being bussed past white schools in the 40s and 50s. School districts of the 50s would provide a bus to black high schools in order to avoid letting black and white children attend together.

The budget issues facing the TISD are complex. With the state budget shortfall, now is a great time to rethink our traditional ways of paying for education.

I remember 1976 because I was a junior at Robert E. Lee High School and part of a group that campaigned in favor of the bond issue.

If Tyler desperately needed new school buildings 30 years ago, there can be no doubt that we need them more than ever now.

I hope the right issues get addressed next time around.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Public Education and Hypocrisy

The public schools are educating kids for about the same price tag as the private schools in East Texas, based on the Texas Comptroller’s Financial Allocation Study for Texas or FAST report.

I think that’s pretty big news, especially when you consider the public schools can’t just bounce out the kids who misbehave and cause chaos in the classroom.

The classroom is not the place for social services, along with naughty to violent behavior.

And yet, most public school teachers spend a good chunk of their teaching time dealing with issues that are related to bad behavior and disrespectfulness.

There also is a laundry list of social services available, mandated by legislative and judicial bodies and administered through the public school system, mostly by overworked teachers.

Most of it has nothing to do with education. Some of the bureaucracy is simply related to keeping control in the classroom.

In the meantime, teachers are burdened with all kinds of accountability disguised as testing. Unfortunately, we are holding the wrong people accountable.

Modern language has twisted the meaning of the word hypocrisy.

Jesus made his most scathing remarks to people He labeled as hypocrites, so it is kinda crucial to know who is a hypocrite.

Basically, if I tell my kids to do as I say, not as I do – which, by the way, is something I tell them regularly - I am not being a hypocrite in the biblical sense of the word.

On the other hand, if I act super-spiritual, burdening people with foolishness, especially if I take on a leadership role, then, bingo, I am a hypocrite of biblical proportions.

So, what has the biblical definition of hypocrisy got to do with public education and the bureaucracy of taxpayer funded schools?

Basically, as a culture, we are guilty of a major kind of hypocrisy.

As taxpayers, we are claiming to fund education when what we are actually funding is juvenile detention for a large percentage of “students.”

Unfortunately, because we are putting a gentle “education face” on a serious cultural “juvenile delinquency problem”, the kids who go to school to learn are getting short-changed.

Pretending to educate when we are really committed to using public schools to keep delinquents off the streets is a serious kind of hypocrisy.

It should go without saying that the classroom is for educating those who want an education. For everyone else, we need juvenile detention.

And we need leaders who will tell the truth about it.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Red Shoe Philosophy

Valentine’s Day is not really about love at all. It is all about philosophy.

For this reason, I think it is important to note philosophical issues, especially the ones related to Valentine’s Day.

For instance, the Red Shoe Philosophy is one noteworthy theory that seems particularly relevant as Valentine’s Day approaches.

The Red Shoe Philosophy is simple: If you wear red shoes you will have a good day.

This semi-scientifically tested theory seems to hold true regardless of bad hair days, by the way. Or extra weigh gained over the holidays.

There is something so invigorating about a high-healed pair of red pumps.

I especially liked the picture I saw recently of a pair of red tennis shoes under a prom dress.

Or red cowboy boots; yeehaw!

Not only does a gal in red shoes walk with a little extra spring, she puts a smile on the face of anybody who happens to catch a glimpse of her lipstick-colored footwear.

The reason I think the Red Shoe Philosophy is relevant for Valentine’s Day is because a lot of single gals detest this holiday.

There’s something so disappointing for single gals about the heartbreaking combination of a holiday that emphasizes chocolate and having no one to give you any.

Having the right philosophy is self-empowering.

The great news is, you get to choose your own podiatral adornments. And shoes don’t add calories to your diet.

Like a gal in a zippy red sports car, you can leave all those single guys idling in the wake of your glimmering, flashes of self-confidence.

Or for the guy who is the lucky lover of a gal who buys into the whole Red Shoe Philosophy, here’s another philosophical pearl that is sure to come in handy when you rush out at the last minute in a Valentine’s Day buying panic.

Gals love shoes. Especially red ones. Hint, hint.

So, for the guy desperately trying to please his sweetheart, some pertinent philosophical perspectives seem especially relevant this time of year.

Just buy jewelry.

Or check in her closet for her shoe size.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Famous Quotes by Non-Famous People

“All perspectives are valid, but not all perspectives are (pause) mature,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, addressing her audience of mommies and daddies for the first time as they sat in the miniature chairs their kiddoes would be squirming in soon.

Loretta Van Cleave, kindergarten teacher of both my girls, was definitely in the position to witness the maturity of small people and people who should have known better.

I’m sure she would say that her life was fulfilling, but it wasn’t long enough to suit those of us who loved her. Still, she left behind an inheritance of succinct, practical wisdom, demonstrated with a heart attitude that made everybody want to play nicely.

I’ve been collecting quotes for years. Me, the girl who can’t remember her own phone number and who deletes all names necessary for introductions at the exact moment of any handshake.

For some reason, I store non-famous peoples’ quotes away instantaneously and recall them without any effort at all. Unlike names and other crucial information, like where I put my car keys.

I heard a couple of doozies lately.

“God does not honor complaining. He honors thankfulness,” said Johnnie Herndon as she pinned the hem of my trousers to prepare them for alteration. Johnnie and I are friends because she works at Alterations by Sylvia’s. I’m in there a lot because slacks are always too long for short, fluffy girls; not that I’m complaining. Actually, I was complaining to Johnnie about how people always complain. She was sympathetic and oh-so-gentle.

“Everything a man does to get a wife, he needs to do to keep her,” said Byron Henderson in front of my son and my husband as we were saying goodnight to our guests. Byron, an air conditioning specialist and also an associate pastor of Galilee Baptist Church, had just finished a discussion with a group of my son’s friends about being a Godly man. I wasn’t invited to the discussion, but was simply reappearing to shake his hand and say thank you.

I’m pretty sure Byron’s quote is one I will never forget.

I might even have occasion to use it.

My son’s future wife will thank me someday, I bet.

But I guess that could be a matter of perspective.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Meals on Wheels: Recipe for Service

Fruit salads are one of my favorite treats next to turkey or ham around the holidays.

Another treat is eating at Meals on Wheels.

I bet you didn’t know that Meals on Wheels occasionally hosts club luncheon meetings for organizations interested in knowing more about their efforts.

“Meals on Wheels Ministry, Inc. serves a daily meal to nearly 3,500 frail, homebound senior citizens and disabled persons every weekday in East Texas.

These meals are prepared fresh at the central kitchen located at 3001 Robertson Road, Tyler, TX, “ according to www.mealsonwheelseasttexas.org. “The meals are then home-delivered by compassionate volunteers to eligible persons who cannot provide meals for themselves. Often this is the only meal they will have that day.”

When Mike Powell and his staff served up this fabulous Waldorf salad along with lunch for a recent meeting of the Bethesda Alliance luncheon, I asked for the recipe to share with readers. It’s the best Waldorf I ever put in my mouth.

Monarch Mayonnaise’s Waldorf Salad

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. sour cream

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. sugar

4 Granny Smith apples, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 1/3 cup thinly sliced celery

1 1/3 cup red grapes, halved

¼ cup candied pecans, for garnish

Mix all ingredients, except the pecans, together in a mixing bowl, until uniform. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Serve on a bed of fresh bib lettuce. Sprinkle the candied pecans on top for garnish.

While I was munching on lunch, I learned another interesting fact about Meals on Wheals. Did you know that you don’t have to be impoverished to enjoy having a meal delivered to your home? If you have a loved one who could benefit from the service and can afford to pay for the meals, Meals on Wheals will deliver your lunch at a prorated fee.

They even have grateful customers and families who subsidize other, less fortunate customers’ lunches with a regular donation.

Making Meals on Wheels a perfect example of the motto: “Serve people and success will follow.”

In Bullard, the plan is to collaborate with the Bullard library to put in a kitchen that can act as a southern staging point for Meals on Wheels delivery.

If you ask me, this is one more reason to support efforts to build the new library building in Bullard.

To volunteer for Meals on Wheels or for more information, contact Executive Director Mike Powell at 903.593.7385 or go to their website at www.mealsonwheelseasttexas.org.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Night Before Hunter’s Christmas

I am not much of a poet, as you will see if you read further.

My apologies.

Hunting season and the holidays collide this time every year and all Texas women know what that means.

In case you are giving your husband a utensil useful for hunting, like say a gun, this Christmas, this little ditty can serve as an incentive to send your husband on a scavenger hunt that is sure to entertain your children and other loved ones.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

The children were tucked in and trembling with fear because a cowboy was loose and protecting their gear.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with glee and there was amo beribboned and under the tree.

Other folks get golf clubs, fishing rods, and the occasional book.

Not at this house; no, take another look.

The gun safe is locked with its dangerous load.

Nothing new there, so don’t bother with the code.

With another weapon, we’ll all feel more secure.

You’ll be the envy of all alpha males, that’s for sure.

Burglars, be warned: Best stay out of sight!

This Christmas is protected and locked up tight!

Santa is jolly and his message is blunt:

Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe hunt!

I’m sure my husband is hoping the hunt for a new gun will become an annual Christmas morning tradition.

Personally, I think a good novel and a box of chocolates are more in keeping with the peaceful sentiments of the season.

Bambi agrees with me.

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at http://checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.