USMB Coffee Shop III

[Mertex]

Going to go see the move "Heaven Is Real".....heard a lot of good things about it...my friends at Bunco were all giving it the - has anybody seen it?

yes, and i really liked it. the kid is an amazing little actor.

Good to hear....everything I've heard about it has been positive so far.

 

[Foxfyre]

Oh and good morning everybody. Hope everyone is having as good a Friday as possible. A special ((hug)) for BBD as he goes through the long goodbye with his dear friend. It is always something of an emotional dichotomy between the grief of knowing you will no longer have a special important relationship with somebody and knowing they are in a better place.

And I also feel very real anger thinking of a child who is being mercilessly bullied and there is nobody who will step up to the plate and stop it. And hoping GW's daughter and husband will find a speedy satisfactory solution. Has it always been that way? Or is this sort of thing a sign of our times?

When our son was five years old or so, he was being bullied by the little boy, about a year older, next door. I watched it happen, noted the two boys were roughly the same size, and brought my son in for a quick boxing lesson and told him to never start a fight, but he was going to have to stand up to Steve or be tormented forever. So with great trepidation I sent him out to face his fears. (And out of sight watched.) Sure enough it wasn't any time at all that Steve said something smart aleck and shoved my son. And for the first time, my son stood his ground and shoved back. Steve hit him on the shoulder. My son hit him back. End of fight. The two were inseparable best friends after that.

I doubt it works that way any more though.

 

[gallantwarrior]

My daughter called me with a major dilemma today. My oldest granddaughter has become the target of the school bus bullies. And their brand of harassment has a very distinct sexual aspect.
So, the child came home in tears. After intense interrogation, the girl was able to tell my daughter some of what transpired, but not all because it is so...nasty, she does not feel comfortable repeating it.
The little girl (middle school aged) told my daughter that some other children were administering "hand jobs" to others. When asked whether she wanted to participate, she told them they were disgusting. She was then accused of masturbating. She doesn't even know what that means. As the bus was passing a dead skunk, my granddaughter was told to close her legs. There's more, but my daughter has been unable to coax the child into describing it all. These are 11-14 year old kids. My daughter has contacted school authorities but isn't very hopeful that much will be done. She says it is all she can do to resist marching down the street and asking the parents of the boy involved what their son's problem is. She's ready to pull both girls out of public school and home-school them. (The younger girl has also been having problems.)
Any suggestions?

No way I would subject my child to that. And shame on the school for refusing to deal with it. And I am really big on homeschooling but it does require a great deal of dedication and discipline from the parent to do it. But if that is an option and your daughter is up to it. . . .or if there isn't a good parochial or private school as another option. . . .

I home schooled my oldest for a few years. Put him back in school for highschool thinking I wasn't good enough at teaching those subjects. He now says he wished I'd taught him though high school.

It doesn't take as much to home school as you think. You can even join co-ops and take turns teaching kids your strongest subjects.

That's what I told her. She says that most of the kids on her block are either home-schooled or are in private school. That might suggest that the school administration may not be very responsive when cases like this occur.

 

[SFC Ollie]

mamma and 2 babies today ( She lost one yesterday)

 

[Dajjal]

Hmm! I have received a letter purporting to be from the People's postcode lottery telling me I have won £825,000. But I have never purchased a ticket for the people's postcode lottery, so how could I have won. It screams scam.

 

[SFC Ollie]

Scam warning.

Over the past month i became a victim of a scam while shopping at the grocery store.
Here's how it works.
Two seriously good looking 20 to 25 year olds girls come to your car as you are packing your groceries into your trunk.
They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and windex, almost falling out of their skimpy tee-shirts.
It is next to impossible not to look. When they are done you thank them and offer a tip. They say no but ask for a ride to another shopping center.
You agree and they get in the back seat, but on the way they start flirting. One of them eventually climbs over the seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other steals your wallet.
I've had my wallet stolen March 4th, 7th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th and 29th, and we won't even mention April.
So be careful and be aware.

BTW Walmart has wallets on sale for $2.99.

 

[Foxfyre]

My daughter called me with a major dilemma today. My oldest granddaughter has become the target of the school bus bullies. And their brand of harassment has a very distinct sexual aspect.
So, the child came home in tears. After intense interrogation, the girl was able to tell my daughter some of what transpired, but not all because it is so...nasty, she does not feel comfortable repeating it.
The little girl (middle school aged) told my daughter that some other children were administering "hand jobs" to others. When asked whether she wanted to participate, she told them they were disgusting. She was then accused of masturbating. She doesn't even know what that means. As the bus was passing a dead skunk, my granddaughter was told to close her legs. There's more, but my daughter has been unable to coax the child into describing it all. These are 11-14 year old kids. My daughter has contacted school authorities but isn't very hopeful that much will be done. She says it is all she can do to resist marching down the street and asking the parents of the boy involved what their son's problem is. She's ready to pull both girls out of public school and home-school them. (The younger girl has also been having problems.)
Any suggestions?

No way I would subject my child to that. And shame on the school for refusing to deal with it. And I am really big on homeschooling but it does require a great deal of dedication and discipline from the parent to do it. But if that is an option and your daughter is up to it. . . .or if there isn't a good parochial or private school as another option. . . .

I home schooled my oldest for a few years. Put him back in school for highschool thinking I wasn't good enough at teaching those subjects. He now says he wished I'd taught him though high school.

It doesn't take as much to home school as you think. You can even join co-ops and take turns teaching kids your strongest subjects.

My nephew and his wife did the same. They homeschooled their youngest of three boys from first through ninth grade--they each only have a highschool education themselves--and then enrolled him in public school for highschool. Within two weeks he was begging to come home complaining that they were covering stuff he had two or three years earlier and they wasted so much time and the environment just wasn't a good learning environment. So his mom taught him through highschool too, with the assistance of some tutors when they hit something she didn't feel competent to teach. He scored in upper 90 percentiles on his SATs and sailed through college graduating magna cum laude. And he is one of he most friendly, outgoing, happy individuals anybody could hope to meet and has more than 1000 friends on his Facebook page.

That plus my up close and personal experience with the some 400 AWANA kids, mostly homeschooled, who use our church facilities, has made me a staunch fan of home schooling.

 

[Dajjal]

Hmm! I have received a letter purporting to be from the People's postcode lottery telling me I have won £825,000. But I have never purchased a ticket for the people's postcode lottery, so how could I have won. It screams scam.

I looked up the people's postcode lottery on the Internet and it is a different address and phone number, so I emailed the name and address and phone number on the letter to them. I expect they will want to take action about it.

 

[Mertex]

Hmm! I have received a letter purporting to be from the People's postcode lottery telling me I have won £825,000. But I have never purchased a ticket for the people's postcode lottery, so how could I have won. It screams scam.

Next you'll get a letter telling you that you have to send in $$$$ in order for the money to be sent to you.....if it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck...it is a duck....

 

[R.D.]

No way I would subject my child to that. And shame on the school for refusing to deal with it. And I am really big on homeschooling but it does require a great deal of dedication and discipline from the parent to do it. But if that is an option and your daughter is up to it. . . .or if there isn't a good parochial or private school as another option. . . .

I home schooled my oldest for a few years. Put him back in school for highschool thinking I wasn't good enough at teaching those subjects. He now says he wished I'd taught him though high school.

It doesn't take as much to home school as you think. You can even join co-ops and take turns teaching kids your strongest subjects.

That's what I told her. She says that most of the kids on her block are either home-schooled or are in private school. That might suggest that the school administration may not be very responsive when cases like this occur.

Parents of children who bully seldom see it or will do anything about it if brought to their attention. Zero tolerance bs in schools does not address bad behavior, it simply puts all involved in the same boat which only creates a bigger problem.

 

[Ava]

No way I would subject my child to that. And shame on the school for refusing to deal with it. And I am really big on homeschooling but it does require a great deal of dedication and discipline from the parent to do it. But if that is an option and your daughter is up to it. . . .or if there isn't a good parochial or private school as another option. . . .

I home schooled my oldest for a few years. Put him back in school for highschool thinking I wasn't good enough at teaching those subjects. He now says he wished I'd taught him though high school.

It doesn't take as much to home school as you think. You can even join co-ops and take turns teaching kids your strongest subjects.

My nephew and his wife did the same. They homeschooled their youngest of three boys from first through ninth grade--they each only have a highschool education themselves--and then enrolled him in public school for highschool. Within two weeks he was begging to come home complaining that they were covering stuff he had two or three years earlier and they wasted so much time and the environment just wasn't a good learning environment. So his mom taught him through highschool too, with the assistance of some tutors when they hit something she didn't feel competent to teach. He scored in upper 90 percentiles on his SATs and sailed through college graduating magna cum laude. And he is one of he most friendly, outgoing, happy individuals anybody could hope to meet and has more than 1000 friends on his Facebook page.

That plus my up close and personal experience with the some 400 AWANA kids, mostly homeschooled, who use our church facilities, has made me a staunch fan of home schooling.

What a great post, Foxfyre. I am glad to see others have witnessed the same results, as I have, since meeting many others who have been home-schooled. I have much admiration for the parent/s who made the decision and followed through with it. The kids I have met from this environment have impressed me in more ways than one. The parents also see to it and saw to it that the kids were educated in other activities that involved other children.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Scam warning.

Over the past month i became a victim of a scam while shopping at the grocery store.
Here's how it works.
Two seriously good looking 20 to 25 year olds girls come to your car as you are packing your groceries into your trunk.
They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and windex, almost falling out of their skimpy tee-shirts.
It is next to impossible not to look. When they are done you thank them and offer a tip. They say no but ask for a ride to another shopping center.
You agree and they get in the back seat, but on the way they start flirting. One of them eventually climbs over the seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other steals your wallet.
I've had my wallet stolen March 4th, 7th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th and 29th, and we won't even mention April.
So be careful and be aware.

BTW Walmart has wallets on sale for $2.99.

Same thing happened to me. Now Mrs. BBD won't let me go to Walmart by myself.

 

[Ringel05]

I was out back of the house yesterday and discovered a large patch of wild onions (or wild garlic, they all look alike to me....... ). That with the large crop of dandelions aught to make for some good eating.
BTW lunch was sliced zucchini and sweet peppers with an onion dip.

 

[Sarah G]

"Send big men, tall men with bad attitudes so that they may be heard."

Or moms, lots of moms ...

Lots of moms can get pretty damn scary when they're on a mission, that's for sure!

We may not be big but our mouths get pretty big when it comes to our babies.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Scam warning.

Over the past month i became a victim of a scam while shopping at the grocery store.
Here's how it works.
Two seriously good looking 20 to 25 year olds girls come to your car as you are packing your groceries into your trunk.
They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and windex, almost falling out of their skimpy tee-shirts.
It is next to impossible not to look. When they are done you thank them and offer a tip. They say no but ask for a ride to another shopping center.
You agree and they get in the back seat, but on the way they start flirting. One of them eventually climbs over the seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other steals your wallet.
I've had my wallet stolen March 4th, 7th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th and 29th, and we won't even mention April.
So be careful and be aware.

BTW Walmart has wallets on sale for $2.99.

Thanks for helping me to stay abreast of this.

 

[Sarah G]

Went for my ekg today, results will be in next week sometime. I had my bone density scan a few days ago, results are in, good bone density.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Hmm! I have received a letter purporting to be from the People's postcode lottery telling me I have won £825,000. But I have never purchased a ticket for the people's postcode lottery, so how could I have won. It screams scam.

Next you'll get a letter telling you that you have to send in $$$$ in order for the money to be sent to you.....if it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck...it is a duck....

Scams like that just run off my back like a duck's water!

 

[Gracie]

If I had school age children in todays world..I would home school them.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Went for my ekg today, results will be in next week sometime. I had my bone density scan a few days ago, results are in, good bone density.

Gotta love your Palindrome rep 14041!

Saw my doctor this morning on the way back from working out. He wasn't happy about my LDL but since it is moving in the right direction he didn't increase the meds. The goal is to get off them entirely.

Speaking of working out I did my new regimen today and I am feeling it. Always takes a while for the unused muscles to wake up and get moving again. Primarily my shoulders and back but not back pain, just soreness from being used.

Yesterday I found myself trying to run up the stairs. That is always a good sign for me because it means that I feeling fit. Not too shabby for someone pushing 62 to be running up the stairs.

/throws out shoulder trying to pat myself on the back

Right now I am just happy that it is Friday and past 5 pm so I am going to pour myself a nice 1800 on the rocks. If I start slurring my posts that will be the reason.

 

[Jughead]

My daughter called me with a major dilemma today. My oldest granddaughter has become the target of the school bus bullies. And their brand of harassment has a very distinct sexual aspect.
So, the child came home in tears. After intense interrogation, the girl was able to tell my daughter some of what transpired, but not all because it is so...nasty, she does not feel comfortable repeating it.
The little girl (middle school aged) told my daughter that some other children were administering "hand jobs" to others. When asked whether she wanted to participate, she told them they were disgusting. She was then accused of masturbating. She doesn't even know what that means. As the bus was passing a dead skunk, my granddaughter was told to close her legs. There's more, but my daughter has been unable to coax the child into describing it all. These are 11-14 year old kids. My daughter has contacted school authorities but isn't very hopeful that much will be done. She says it is all she can do to resist marching down the street and asking the parents of the boy involved what their son's problem is. She's ready to pull both girls out of public school and home-school them. (The younger girl has also been having problems.)
Any suggestions?

Yes, first and foremost your daughter needs to set an example for your granddaughter that bullying will not be tolerated. She does that by making an appointment to see the principal and no one but the principal. Once there she explains the entire situation and asks what steps the principal intends to take to remedy the problem and by when it will be done.

Whatever the principal says your daughter relays this to your granddaughter. That way she will know what to expect. Your daughter needs to hold the principal accountable. If the principal is going to take action then she needs to check in with your grand daughter and determine if the behavior has stopped.

If the principal won't take any action then it is time to escalate. As a taxpayer your daughter has certain rights and she can exercise them publicly which is the next step in the process. (Why should a bully deprive your granddaughter of the public education that your daughter is paying for?) I have no doubt whatsoever that there are other concerned parents who are equally opposed to bullying at that school. Have your daughter contact the local media and that will bring out the other anti-bullying supporters. (Not unlike you see happening right here. )

The important thing here is that your granddaughter learns that she is not alone and that bullying is antisocial behavior that is not allowed. A bullying incident occurred on my daughter's school bus when was in the 2nd grade. She wasn't the target since it was 3rd graders picking in 1st graders. I went right to the principal the following day and the matter was taken care of immediately so there was no need to escalate.

But setting that example worked because when my daughter was a junior she saw a senior bullying a freshman and so she stepped between them and stared down the bully. He backed off even though he was a foot taller and on the football team.

Best of luck to your daughter and granddaughter and positive vibes for a good outcome.

Good points. Bulling is no joking matter, as it affects a child's confidence and well being, and without proper intervention could very well end in tragedy.

Going to the principal is definitely a first step to combat bulling. I am sure that the principal will attempt to resolve the matter to the best of his/her abilities. However, success relies on cooperation of the kid doing the bullying. If the kid does not cooperate, and the bullying continues, I would go step 2.

Step 2 involves meeting with the parents of the kid who is bullying your child. I am sure that they must know by now that their child's a bully, as the principal must have contacted them. Ask them to have a chat with their child, they may have better luck than the principal did. If this doesn't work, next is step 3.

Step 3 involves going to the school superintendent or the school board. Explain what is going on and see if they can transfer the kid doing the bullying to another school. If not, then you would need to consider transferring your child to another school.

Something else that might also help is to have your child enrolled in a combat classes like wrestling or boxing. This greatly helps build self confidence, and may in fact help the child overcome any bullying issues. Of course you should only enroll your child if he/she expresses interest. I personally would not get the media involved in this. Would not want my child in the spotlight in this situation.