Month: September 2007

  • MIKE ACCEPTS A SCHOLARSHIP!

    Our grandson Mike plays two sports, lacrosse and football.  He is a pretty decent high school football  running back and kicker. On average, he punts about forty yards and his longest this year was seventy six yards. 

    As good as he is in football, he's better at lacrosse. I posted earlier that he was named to the Illinois all state lacrosse team as a junior and has attracted some looks from division 1 college teams in the east, where the best lacrosse is played.  Lacrosse is a relatively new sport in Illinois, so not many scholarships go to our local boys.

    Mike played lacrosse this summer on a local traveling team.  They competed in several tournaments in the midwest and he really got noticed. As a result, he was asked to visit several colleges and was offered a few scholarships.

    To make a long story shorter, Mike has verbally accepted an offer to play lacrosse for West Point next year.  He will take a physical sometime soon and if he passes, he'll be wearing an Army cadet uniform as a college freshman.

    The downside as far as his grandparents are concerned is that he'll be committed to a five year enlistment after he graduates.  On the positive side, his education will be completely paid, it's a highly regarded degree, and he won't have to look for a job after graduation.

    Our children have been outstanding parents and, as a result, have reared outstanding kids.  We are proud of all ten of our grandchildren and love every one equally.  We want them all to be successful and rewarded in their choices.  Mike just validates our pride in them and further justifies our swaggering, bragging and gloating.

  • FAMILY REUNION

    My wife's brother, Joe, has been battling cancer for some time now, and is unable to travel far. Because he lives in Des Moines, Iowa and the rest of her family lives in Illinois near us, all the siblings have booked rooms in a bed & breakfast near Des Moines for the weekend later in September.  Hopefully, we can enjoy a restful family reunion together and talk about the things brothers and sisters talk about when together.

    Joe, for instance, had a fascination with the toilet when he was a toddler and seemed to get a thrill out of watching household items being flushed, swirl around and disappear (or maybe just swirl around depending on what got flushed).  Joe didn't care what items he used to appease his amusement appetite.  Anything he could pick up, carry and would fit seemed to do the job: tools, clothing, jewelry, etc.

    As you might imagine, this caused considerable angst then, but now it's one of those stories that is treasured by everyone and obviously grows larger and more humorous each time it's repeated.

    I have been scanning family pictures lately and we've decided to print some old memories to pass around and enjoy together during our special weekend.

    Here are a few of the many we will share:



          Joe, Bill, Pat, Carol-Des Moines ~1962


         Bill, Pat, Maureen, Joe - Aurora ~1977


      Carol Lawler Hooper,  1942 - 1968

  • ADVICE FROM BILL GATES

    Bill Gates
    recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and
    will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically
    correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality
    and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.


    Rule
    1     :
    Life is not fair - get used to it!

    Rule
    2    :
    The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to
    accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.


    Rule
    3
    :
    You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a
    vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.


    Rule
    4
    : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.


    Rule
    5
    :
    Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a
    different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.


    Rule
    6
    : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your
    mistakes, learn from them.

    Rule
    7    :
    Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They
    got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening
    to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the
    rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing
    the closet in your own room.

    Rule
    8
    : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS
    NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give
    you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear
    the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

    Rule
    9
    : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very
    few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your
    own time.

    Rule
    10    :
    Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave
    the coffee shop and go to jobs.

    Rule
    11
    : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

    If
    you agree, pass it on.
    If you can read this - Thank a teacher!

    If you are reading it in English -Thank a
    soldier