To the Waitress and the Manager at the Recovery Sports Grill

Dear Wonderful Waitress and Manager at the Recovery Sports Grill,

Today my dad and I were cruising around and we dropped in.  He had a gin and tonic.  I had a large cup of your most excellent coffee.  We split an order of soft pretzel sticks with cheese.  We had a wonderful time.

Dad got lost on the way to the mens' room.  You both were right there to help him find his way.  You were courteous to him and answered his questions carefully.  You gave him several business cards when he asked for more than one.  (I know they are expensive to print up).  You treated him like a regular customer.  You took the time to be present to him.  Neither of you hurried him.

In a day and age where people rush around, don't have time for anyone who is slow or pokey or different, avoid the elderly and infirm, and generally have forgotten how to be human, your actions touched me.  For a little while, Dad lost his labels.  And for that, I am grateful.

Signed,
sapphoq n friends

p.s.  I took the picture myself with my cheap digital camera and added the border.  While at the Recovery Sports Grill, I was watching the big trucks on teevee zoom over piles of dirt.

http://recoverysportsgrill.com/

Open Letter to Bridget Aranza /Bridget Aznaran regarding the actions of Evelyn Tirano

Dear Bridget,

     I do not know which spelling of your last name is correct.  It was reported both ways, so I included both ways in the title of this post.

     First of all, I want to say to you that I am sooooooo sorry that you had to go through this attack by your teacher Evelyn Tirado.  What she did is not correct, not right, and not okay.  As was reported, you were not doing anything wrong in wanting to retrieve your language arts notebook nor in going to a doctor's appointment.  It is also very disturbing to me that the teacher assaulted you in front of your mother.  That she did this in front of your mother tells me that your teacher was out of control totally. 

      I want to apologize to you for the actions of this teacher. I am really sorry that you were assaulted.  I do not know what the court will decide or what her punishment will be.  I want you to know that no matter what happens in court, you did not deserve to be hit or sat on.  You did not deserve to have your notebook ripped.  And you do not deserve to live in fear.

     Adults do not always do what they should do.  They do not always treat kids with at least the basic respect that we all deserve as human beings.  What this teacher did to you was very very wrong.  You are fortunate that you have the support of your parents, that some kids ran for help, that you have some friends who will stick by you.  It is okay for you to be afraid and to hurt.  It is okay for you to cry, to lean on your family, and to ask for help.  It takes strength to show people that you are sad.  I believe in you.

     I hope that you will be able to hold your head high and say, "I am Bridget and I can rock the world."  You are the hope of the future.  As you get older, I know you will remember what happened to you.  The memory may always hurt a bit.  But I also know that you will remember to treat kids better than the way this teacher treated you. 

     I have my own memory.  Although what happened to me at the hands of my school principal wasn't nearly as big, I do not like to think about it even now.  I had been excused from gym class one day.  I was walking down the hallway coming from my locker on my way to the gym class to sit and watch-- which is what I was supposed to be doing.  I was in eleventh grade.  The principal came up to me and asked me something.  Maybe it was why I wasn't in my gym suit, I really don't remember.  I told her I was excused from gym class that day and she said to me, "Oh... [something I don't remember now]...I should hit you."  And she went to slap my face.  She was an older woman, in her sixties.  And I was almost as tall as she was.  As she went to slap my face, I took a step back and then whirled around in a circle.  She missed.  This seemed to make her even more angry.  I shouted, "I'm going to tell my mother on you!" and then I ran down the hall to get away from her.  A day later, the Biology teacher made fun of me for telling the principal that I was going to tell my mother. 

     In closing, I want to thank your parents for supporting you and the other students who ran and got help.  And I thank you for being you. 

                            sapphoq n friends

I took this picture with my cheap digital camera and then altered it on my computer.  If reusing, please provide a link back to this blog post, or credit to sapphoq.  Thanks.

    



http://bronx.ny1.com/content/top_stories/156349/bronx-student-claims-teacher-attacked-her-during-classroom-argument

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/bronx-teacher-evelyn-tirado-arrested-assaulting-student-article-1.1026547

Ode to Jeanne



My friend Jeanne died in October.  I had known her for many years.  Jeanne was the first person to inform me that when I got high my personality changed.  She did this as a youngster in sixth grade.  She was a very bright child.  I was there when she found out that she had cancer rather than the scoliosis that she had been told that she had.  In spite of her health, Jeanne graduated from high school and then went on for a Bachelor's degree and a Master's.  Together we had gone on various road trips and when I moved away, she came to visit.  There was one summer that she and I both worked at the same agency.  She would drive up and stay with me for four days, and then drive back home for three days.  Now she is dead.

Jeanne had von Recklinghaus disease which from my layperson's understanding is a cancer of the nerve cell endings.  She told me once that the tumors will get closer and closer to the brain and the spinal cord as time goes by.  She died of respiratory failure and was removed from life support the day after a re-admit to the hospital.  Dammit.

In our last e-mail correspondance, we talked about my dad and his dementia.  She remembers him when he was younger and healthy.  I was feeling alone with it back in September and Jeanne was there for me.  I didn't have to fake happiness.  Although we both had our own despair, we bonded in strength and in laughter.  This was true right up through the last e-mails.

I know her family and her community and the folks she knew at DefCon will miss her.  I will miss her also.

It's CATurday

Happy CATurday from sapphoq n friends. 

     I was first introduced to CATurday on Live Journal.  I loved the concept right from the getgo.  By time the books came out, I was hooked.  Enjoy.

To the copyright police: This is my photo that I took myself and then altered it.  It is copyleft but not for you.  So go away.

Caterday arrives a bit early.

To the copyright police.  I took the picture.  I added the caption to it.  So there.  Up yours.  
     Signed,
     sapphoq is not your friend.


Friend's kitty is very photogenic and allowed me to take numerous photographs of him.  Enjoy.  Redistribute if you want to.  Just don't hotlink.  Right-click/save image as.  Thanks, sapphoq n friends