Polly's Perch

This is a response to a comment by Baylink:

he wrote... for me the issue is "do I wish to relinquish to the government the imposition of those vales upon my (notional) children, or do I want to do it myself?"

there are a lot of parents out there who don't care about values or teaching them to their children.

he wrote...I wouldn't object to the schools teaching the kids the *results* of the religion: be good to yourself and other people, don't steal, etc... just not in the context of *religion*.

hmm, sounds like the 10 commandments. maybe if we said the commandments where not ordained by God, but are just common sense?

it would be wonderful if all parents would raise their children to live right, take their education seriously, and always do the right thing. life might be a little easier for all, don't you think?

Pledge of Allegiance

well, as i type the title i question the spelling...so forgive me if you see anything misspelled.

a lawyer who used to be a physician has approached the superior court regarding the pledge of allegiance including "under God". he claims that it is wrong for God to be mentioned. that not everyone believes in God. that children are subjected to these ideas by the religious factors when children shouldn't be made to believe in God.

i've had several lengthy debates on flutterby.com. it has been interesting...there have been a few tangents introduced that branched away from the main issue...a couple of times it even got a little intense.

so now i say, if we don't want children to believe in God or acknowledge God, then what are they to believe in? who is going to be the higher authority? our government? i sure don't want to be accountable to a government that has had leaders such as clinton, or rep. heath of georgia who is passing legislature regarding a woman's right to pierce parts of her body because he thinks it's wrong...and that is for only women.

discipline in school is restricted, children have rights-this is a gray area and requires a whole topic to itself, prayer has been taken out, now the pledge of allegiance is being challenged. how many changes can our society support before we are no longer a unified working society? i support change, but when & where do we say stop?

It Used To Be Against The Law

"begging for money without a permit in Chattanooga has been against the law"....according to channel 9 news. but now, it appears that the local government has decided that it was a silly law in the first place and has made it LEGAL to beg.

i know there is a group of panhandlers that make a killing at the 4 way intersections. you see them on all the major intersections around town, usually around hamilton mall and along south terrace and moore road.

a few years ago there was a guy who had a pack of 5 dogs on a leash that just MILKED the passing motorists of pity. he would make the dogs walk close to him, he did have good control, but it was in the dead of summer, the dogs were walking on asphalt and the only water i saw, the guy was drinking. don't know what happened to him & the dogs. i hope the local humane society checked those dogs feet.

every once in awhile, you will see someone sitting with an old dog at their feet begging. i always wondered where they got the dog.

Yep, I'm Sick

yesterday I couldn't talk due to the sore throat. so during the night, everytime i woke up, i ate a hall's cough drop. i was able to talk today, but couldn't swallow. i was barely able to eat lunch, i just wasn't feelin' it. then, this afternoon i looked at my throat in the mirror, and yep..it was time to go see the doc.

thankfully, i don't have strep...but i do have a bad throat and congestion, so it's drug time. the up side? i'm going to get better quick. the down side? i can't go to the tanning bed because one of the meds makes your skin sun sensitive. talk about withdrawal!!! i want my tanning bed :( i'm going to bed!

I Should Have Known Better

i went motorcycle riding with a friend this past saturday. the sun was shining, it was warm, just too nice of a day to stay inside. so i called my friend and asked if he would take me on the bike.

we had a great time riding around in georgia. i didn't have a jacket on and was wearing a new halter top with a sports bra. i didn't get cold until the sun went behind some clouds. we stopped so i could put a heavy shirt on. BUT, the damage was done.

i went to bed that night with a sore throat. sunday wasn't too bad and i thought it was going away. monday, well, i blame on the kids. i had to yell at some boys during lunch duty. that was all it took. i went to bed with a sore scratchy throat and woke up sounding like a toad. my daughter said i sounded like someone who was dying. my throat feels like IT has died.

all day i whispered or tried to talk. my 7th and 8th graders were kind to me and behaved enough that i could whisper instructions. BUT the 6th GRADERS! little stinkers...i had to raise my voice several times, well, i raised it the best i could. now, i'm in pain with a headache on top of that.

where's the orange juice and cold medicine? hope i can talk tomorrow.

It's A Fact!

i'm going to florida for spring break. a whole week of swinging in a hammock, riding horses, helping christi set up her pottery studio, and hopefully getting to make some pottery on the wheel. i'll leave whatever i make with christi to fire, then when i go back in july i'll glaze it. that will be so cool!

i hope the weather is nice enough to go to the beach for a day of total vegetating, listening to the ocean and the seagulls. what a life!

Life in Chattanooga

we have the parks, the river, hiking/camping, rocks/mountains, boating of every kind, in other words, lots of cool outdoor stuff. THEN, there are the clubs. i remember my favorite watering hole was in the late 70's, clancy o'tooles...that was the disco of all discos, it was such a neat place. i was a regular friday, saturday, and wednesday. the bartender had my drink, turkey & water, ready when i walked up to the bar. you could dance all nite and never dance with the same person more than once. sherman was our bouncer, big, muscular black man and boy, could he dance.

i remember one nite i was sooo plastered. i was with 3 girlfriends, from school & work, and we were partying hard. no reason, just the thing to do that nite. i had been dancing my butt off and my feet felt like i had danced with every guy in the bar. it was getting close to "last call for alcohol" when this blonde, tall viking, in a white fisherman's sweater asked me to dance with him. it was a slow song and we just melted into each other's arms. i don't remember the song, but the combination of his arms around me with my head laying on his chest along with that slow moving song, struck a chord in my soul. i knew he was feeling it because his arms tightened around me so wonderfully at the same time i was "feelin' it". we moved slowly to the music and i was in heaven. i never did look closely at his face, i just remember the texture of his sweater and his long blonde hair. when the dance ended, he walked me back to my table. i was so dumbstruck that all i could do was start babbling excitedly to my friends about what i had felt and when i turned to include this wonderful person in the conversation.....he was gone. i was devastated and so distraught. i ran looking for him, to ask him his name, to see his face, and i couldn't find him anywhere. i've remembered that dance a long time.

of course, clancy's isn't there anymore, it's part of the strip in downtown chattanooga, it used to be part of CARTA's terminal and before that it was the offices of one of the cable companies.

now, there is alan gold's, never been there, michael's, never been there, and the drink, never been there either. i know a lot of people who have been there, i just never went....guess i need to check it out. i hear alan gold's is a blast and the drag queens beauty show is great. my secretary likes to go to the drink, so we made plans to go dancing. there are a couple of co-workers who are interested in going...no telling where we will end up, lol.

Tenured Teacher

well, after 9 years of school and teaching i am FINALLY a tenured teacher. i have paid my dues and now it is TIME FOR ME TO PLAY!!! hopefully, i'm heading to florida for spring break to hang out with girlfriend christi from college, then it's black mountain, nc, for the lake eden arts festival in may, june will find me at belmont university in murfreesboro for a workshop with the tennessee arts academy, july will be spent working in florida with christi. that will be a blast! THEN, THE HOLY GRAIL.....going to burning man in nevada labor day weekend. this is going to be one hard to wait for LOL wooohooo!

Now what?

I've waited all day knowing that mike would be coming over tonite and help me create a weblog and i couldn't wait for the day to be over with. now, i'm sitting here and can't think of a thing to say.

we did have a good time, mike talked about his trip to london, i made a WONDERFUL homemade black bean soup, mexican cornbread, and a lovely flan. the black bean soup had dry white wine and sherry in it. i sent the majority of it home with mike. he had seconds on everything. sometimes, i amaze myself when i get to creating. i just need a guinea pig to feed the stuff to...mike makes a wonderful sacrifice, lol. i don't always eat what i cook, i SEE what goes in those recipes! mike is a good friend.

i guess i will call it a day...the alarm goes off early and it's going to be a BIG day, getting tenure, going to the symphony at the tivoli theatre, going to wear the "little black number". this will be great!

need to figure out how people can respond to what i write LOL

Tomorrow I become a "tenured" teacher. I've paid my dues for the past 3 years of teaching and accomplished a BS & a BFA after 6 years of college. Now, I can look at putting SPICE into my life after all that hard work and no play!
My girls are grown with families of their own...now, I just need a man to add that special something in my life....

Hi, I am Polly. This is a new adventure for me that has become part of the list of many new things that I've jumped into for the 2004 year.