I am CuTRis

I would like to take this moment to send kudos to President George W. Bush. After only five years in office, he has said something that made sense. People should drive less, in order to save gas. Who’d a thought it? It reminds me of President Jimmy Carter, who asked us all to conserve energy back in the 1970’s. Perhaps we should have listened. What happened to change that? Oh yeah… now I remember. It was Reagonomics. That makes sense, because last time the USA financed everything, Ronald Reagan was President. Still, George W. Bush is beating Reagan at this by far. I reckon the deficit will wreck things in this country for a while. I don’t think you can give tax breaks to the wealthy, finance a war and cleanup after a hurricane without breaking the bank. Still, that thing about using less gas is good isn’t it?

It was a beautiful day for a fire drill, and we had one at the Jr. High where I work. The bell rang, we filed out and I held the door as the students “escaped.” Then, all too quickly we were called back inside. I walked out to the fringes and called out for the kids to head inside. That was when I saw it. A small kid, probably a 7th grader, threw a pebble… or whatever it was and I heard the “ping,” as it hit a car in the parking lot. He was busted! I told the kid he was coming to the office with me. He was bummed. Just before we got to the door, I asked him why he was throwing rocks at cars. He mumbled something. Then I asked him, “how about if you get to class and don’t ever do that again? Without a word, he hurried in and up the stairs. I think that those few moments that he thought he was in trouble were befitting of his “crime.” I’m sure that the car has been hit by pebbles following trucks too. KJC

So, while working in detention at the school, sometimes I have to put discipline information on the kids' records. It reminded me of talking to my friend Mark about our “permanent records.” Back in school (I went to Richfield), the teachers used to tell us that something we did (wrong) was going to go on our “permanent record!” How ominous this sounded! Mark and I were wondering where our permanent records are… now… today… We would joke about things like seeing each other’s permanent record being moved by a forklift, or perhaps being pulled by the Budweiser Clydesdales on a wagon. It got pretty funny actually! The truth of the matter, however, is somewhat different. It seems that when I g ot my new job with the school district, my permanent record (from when I was in school), was trucked down to the school district where I am now working. They had to warehouse it in the bus garage, where it accidentally tipped over and crushed three school busses. Mark’s permanent record has to be ...

So I am now working as a detention monitor at a Jr. High School. I told the people who hired me about my experience working with drug addicts and convicts when I was with the county. Now, it seems that the students are talking about the “prison guard” that watches detention. I never told anyone that I was a prison guard…

Beyond the obvious problems with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are a few things that I find really bothersome. First, if you want to fix the flooding problem, it isn’t enough to create levees and dikes. The wetlands need to be reestablished. As a volunteer ranger in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, I spend lots of time hiking the wetlands and river bottoms. I know that the only reason this wonderful wilderness area isn’t being developed, is because it floods. By allowing that area to continue to exist, the cities aren’t flooded and the byproduct is that habitat is available for the wildlife. Humans arrogantly think that they are so important, that they can destroy the habitat of other animals. What should be remembered is that what injures one often injures all. The destruction of wetlands increases the likelihood of floods. On the topic of arrogant humans, I find it upsetting that people weren’t allowed to take their pets when they evacuated the disaster zone...

I don’t do yoga, but I like how the different poses/exercises are named after animals. I have decided to create a new pose, named in honor of the bird that messed up the kitchen window. It is called, DOWNWARD POOPING GOOSE

After being bombarded by horrific images of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I have only a few things to say. First, the fact that after four days, help is so late in arriving makes me think that too many of our resources and personnel are in other countries fighting what has now become, another country’s civil war. Second, I remember as a child when I found out that New Orleans was both near the ocean and below sea level, that this was probably not a good place for a city. See “Atlantis.” Third, after working in a poor, depressed part of town, I know from experience that we can’t expect many of the people to behave in a civilized way, especially in light of the current conditions. Martial law will need to be established. Fourth, had we stayed the course started by President Jimmy Carter, we would not be this dependent on fossil fuels. With gas now at over $3 per gallon, I want to “thank” Ronald Reagan for reversing that course. I can’t believe some people want his face on money! Fi...

September 1, 2005 Sky Drop By Kevin J. Curtis It was early morning, predawn. The engines were already going as Fritz boarded the airplane. He had just emptied his guts on the tarmac not more than two minutes ago. This was his first jump into a battle zone. He had jumped several times before, but never into combat. He sat in the airplane, still feeling nauseous. His stomach was tied into knots as he tried to imagine what was in store for him. He was one of the best of the best. He was army airborne. He had trained for this day, and now, just three days from his nineteenth birthday, he was about to jump into hostile territory on his first mission. There were others like him… first timers. They were all in various states of nervousness, some more than Fritz and some less. The combat veterans were quiet and portrayed a calm that was foreign to the first timers. Inside, each man was dealing with his own mortality as the plane lurched forward and lifted off into the sky. As they rose higher,...