The weather was perfect for racing and the pits yet again filled with racers as Commercial Bank presented under lights the Parts Plus USCS Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars, Rislone Pro Modifieds, Faster Pastor Charity Challenge (a special charitable event), SportMods, Cruisers and Mini Stocks at Drew County Speedway Saturday night, April 11, 2009.
The evening also marked the much-anticipated grand opening of Signs, Shirts & Decals KidZone Klub, in memory of Faith Reed. KidZone Klub Director Mellissa Rodgers and volunteers planned a fun-filled evening for the younger crowd at the track, complete with an Easter egg hunt and the first round of the World Championship Econo-Box drag races.
Faith Reed’s mother, Elizabeth, was present for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as primary sponsors Kerry and Becky Rice of Monticello, owners of Signs, Shirts & Decals. “We are very happy to be able to sponsor the new playground here at Drew County Speedway,” Kerry Rice said as children scurried by him through the entrance to gather for the Easter egg hunt. “The night we lost little Faith was so tragic and shocking. I stood and watched everyone here coming together for Faith, and I felt so helpless. My wife and I are very excited to be able to provide a good, safe place for the children to play in Faith‘s memory…to get them out of the pits and stands and give them something fun to do while their parents enjoy the show,” the former flagman and track tech said. “God has blessed us, and we are so proud to be able to pay it forward to benefit the children and this track. It really means a lot to us.”
“We really appreciate the Rice family and everyone who helped make this playground possible for the children,” Reed said. “The people at Drew County Speedway have been so kind, and it touches our hearts to know that Faith is remembered and loved by so many, and that children will have a place to play each week at the track. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a special night for our family.”
The Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour winged sprint cars blew into the speedway for a fast-paced, action-packed show, followed by the Rislone Pro Modifieds, who thundered around the 3/8-mile oval track for an intense run in front of a packed crowd.
A 25-year veteran of racing and sprint racer since 1990, 2008 Mid-South Champion Tim Crawley dominated the 25-lap feature in his return visit to DCS, having raced in Modified divisions at the track in previous seasons. He brought Memphis car owner Mike Ward’s winged sprint car to the checkered and gave local fans a show like none they’d ever witnessed at the fast-growing speedway.
“We’re happy with the surface; they’ve done a good job getting it ready for us,” Crawley said before the race. “It’s a nice dry, slick track, and that’s fine with me. I like ’em dry,” he said, thanking team sponsors Boater Sports, AMC Plumbing, Southern Renovations, Simply Countertops and Senter Farms. Recapping the night after his win, Crawley said, “Basically, we missed a little early on in the heat race and dash. Being the first time here in winged sprints, we weren’t sure on some things, but we worked hard and got the car dialed in. Everything was good for the feature, and we went on for the win.” 2008 Mid-South Championship runner-up Marshall Skinner (#26) secured a second place win, followed by third place Bryce Vowan (#2M).
Another favorite in the series, Bartlett, Tenn., driver Terry Gray (#10 Rislone) also seemed pleased with the track development and expected a strong run. “It seems like a nice place; we’ve never run sprints here before, so everyone’s on even ground. I’m looking forward to getting out there and giving it a shot,” he said pre-race. The seven-time USCS Champion and 2008 National Champion won the six-lap dash over other series headliners, but his evening turned sour when the car’s drive shaft broke and put Gray out of contention for the feature, finishing in 10th spot. “That’s just something that doesn’t happen very often,” Gray said.
Hunter Rasdon, the 22-year-old USCS Rislone Pro Modified driver, was ultra-fast in qualifying and went on to win his fifth feature win of the year (third for USCS) in his quest to secure the 2009 championship. “I’ve been racing since I was four years old, but I’ve only been running modifieds for about three years,” Rasdon said.
Running on a limited schedule in 2008, Rasdon secured a third place finish in the championship last year, proving his #5R car is the one to watch this season. Rasdon is no stranger to winning, securing in his career eight track championships and numerous big feature wins, making him one of the hottest open-wheeled modified racers in the nation. “We had a great time here at DCS,” Rasdon said, adding he looks forward to the upcoming races on the schedule this year when they will once again invade the speedway. “I travel all over the place, and this track has nice facilities on it; the pits were nice and big (we weren’t crowded like a lot of places), the lighting is real good, and the track surface was nice to race on. It had multi-grooves and we could run just about anywhere we wanted. They did a good job of getting the show moving and running smoothly for us. We’re definitely looking forward to coming back.” Behind Rasdon, 2006 USCS Champion Ben Reed powered his #07 car to a second place finish in the 25-lap feature, followed by third place #73, driven by 2008 USCS Champion Ashley Newman.
USCS representative Pete Walton said the series would return to DCS May 29. “It’s going to be a really big show,” he said. “We’ll be bringing about 30 modifieds, so it’ll be an exciting night for sure.”
In the sport modified class, Heath Wilson (#A1) of Farmerville, La., started on the inside pole and held off Cody Harger (#6VOLT) to lead the entire race to the checkered. Harger started the race in fifth position and worked his way to second place. The top two cars pulled away from the field and held a strong lead throughout the race, followed by Monticello drivers #8 Robert Moore and #1R Bennie Ryburn, with #5T Guy Teeter rounding out the top five. Ronnie Adcock (#0), who started in 12th position earned a ninth place finish, and #27h Roger Hayden finished out the top ten.
After many racers donated their cars to be used in the charitable Faster Pastor Challenge earlier in the evening, the mini-stocks took the track, and #11x Eric Moss, this year’s repeat winner, fell back to seventh place as Nick Frost of Monticello (#11) returned to the track the for the first time this season in his 1996 Honda Civic and took the checkered. Frost was a four-time feature winner in the 2008 season.
A fender-banging fan favorite, the Cruiser class was once again packed, with 20 cars making the feature. Tonya Chadwick of El Dorado (#27tc) became the first female to be named winner of the class, who ran a strong race with second place finisher Brandon Lloyd (#15). “We’re always happy just to be able to run a clean race and pull our car onto the trailer at the end of the night with no major damage; although, we sure do like it when we have a trophy in our hand, too,” said Lloyd, also last week’s second place finisher.
For Chadwick, racing at Drew County Speedway has become a full-family affair, with her sister Lisa Owens (#44) racing alongside her in the Cruiser division and her son, Cody Chadwick, operating the #14cc limited modified (who finished in 11th place in his class). “Our main focus is Cody, of course,” Chadwick said, “but my dad convinced me last year that I could do it, too. I didn’t believe him at first, but here I am in first place, so I guess women CAN race, too! I’m so happy that my dad believed in me and that racing is a way for our family to spend time, work and have fun together,” she said. “We’ve raced a lot of other places, and won at a few of them, but DCS is by far the best place we’ve ever been. If it weren’t for our great experiences here, we never would have invested the time and money into two cruiser cars and two modifieds for Cody. This is our home track. We love this place, and we’ll never race anywhere else again.”
Official race results may be found at www.speednetdirect.com/results.php .
Parts Plus United Sprint Car series sprint car results at DCS, April 11, 2009:
1. 88 Tim Crawley of Benton, Ark.
2. 26 Marshall Skinner of West Memphis, Ark.
3. 2M Bryce Vowan of Forrest City, Ark.
4. 24 Justin Carver of Drummonds, Tenn.
5. 16 Anthony Nicholson of Bartlett, Tenn.
6. 26S John Stinson of Memphis, Tenn.
7. 01 Jeremy Newkirk of Little Rock, Ark.
8. 31 Michael Craddock of Olive Branch, Miss.
9. 25 Ray Bugg of Iuka, Miss.
10. 10 Terry Gray of Bartlett, Tenn.
11. 1A Lee Moore of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
12. 58 Wade Oliver of Southaven, Miss.
K&N Filters Pole Award: Marshall Skinner
Parts Plus Power Dash: Winner #10 Terry Gray
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Winner #26 Marshall Skinner
Butlerbuilt Second Heat: Winner #10 Terry Gray
JE Pistons Top Guns: #16 Anthony Nicholson, fifth place
Lunati Crank It Up Award: #24 Justin Carver
Rislone USCS Modified Series feature results at DCS April 11, 2009
1. R5 Hunter Rasdon
2. 07 Ben Reed
3. 73 Ashley Newman
4. 19 Jeremy Kester
5. 8 Mike Palasini, Jr.
6. 18A Richard Anders
7. 51 John Polasini
8. 401K Travis Broach
9. 26 Patrick Linn
10. 99R Justin Roberts
11. 20 Shannon Farr
12. 88S Seth Reed
13. 48 Alan Brown
14. 22 Richard Kinney
15. 22M Casey Minton
16. 51F Cory Dumas
17. 74 Matt Stacey
18. 8 Jodey Reep
19. 89 Joseph Leister
20. 26 Kevin Ferrell
21. 27F Lynnsee Povence
22. 17F Casey Findley
23. F2R Keith Craft
24. 60B Mike Bowers
25. 15 Grant Box DNS
K&N Filters Fast Time: Hunter Rasdon 17.86 seconds
Rislone Power Dash Winner: 51 John Polasini
Aero Race Wheels Semi-Feature #1 Winner: 51 John Polasini
R.H.S. Racing Head Service Semi-Feature #2 Winner: 17F Casey Findley
Comp Cams Hard Charger: 99R Justin Roberts (started in 24th position and finished 10th)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Seeking Justice for Sharron Prior
A lady added me to Facebook several months ago, and just a few days ago she messaged me these links...this is her sister, Sharron. This touched my heart, and I wanted to share Sharron Prior's story with you and the work they do for her and victims everywhere.
www.sharronprior.com This is Sharron's Story. Please visit and sign their guestbook.
www.sharronprior.blogspot.com This Sharron's family website, focusing on a variety of cases.
There is nothing more frightening....
I had perhaps the biggest scare of my life yesterday. I'm writing this so that one day my baby girl can read it, understand why I was so upset, and know how much her mommy loves her.
Since August, I have talked to scores of family members who are searching for their missing loved ones, mainly children who either vanished, into mid-air it seems, or or murdered. Missing children have always been close to my heart and I pay closer attention to missing children cases in the media than most, probably, and my daily prayers always include families that are enduring the horrific nightmare as well as children who have been abducted.
I don't talk about it much these days, but during the third week of August 2008, my friend Jamie had been talking to me about the Caylee Anthony case. It was on the news daily, and my friend told me I should blog about the bizarre circumstances surrounding the case. "Nancy Grace is on right now, and they are talking about it," she said, so I flipped the channel and watched a few minutes of the coverage.
Something they said about people trying to extort and scam victims' families reminded me of bastards who had lied about having my baby cousin 20 years ago in order to collect ransom. The FBI set up a sting, and the people, nothing more than a bunch of greedy, lying, losers, were arrested, but they didn't have my cousin. They just wanted money. I remembered the heartache felt by the family caused by false hope, and it still angers me to this day.
In 1989, when I was 12, my five-year-old cousin was abducted from a Christmas party in Virginia. As they were leaving the party, M asked her mom if she could take some potato chips home with her. As the story goes, M's mom watched her walk across the room, scoop up a handful of potato chips into her pudgy, tiny hands and head back towards her mother to go home. Her mom looked away for a split second to tell a friend good night, and when she turned back, my baby cousin had vanished.
After an exhausting, and one of the FBI's most famous, investigations, a groundskeeper for the complex where they lived, who had attended the Christmas party that night, was arrested and charged with abduction with intent to defile.
The forensic evidence in M's case was historical and ground-breaking, forcing huge developments in the FBI's technology and development of extensive testing in major crime cases. Media attention and the nationwide search for M could be compared to the wide-spread international focus of such cases as Polly Klaas & Adam Walsh. But M was never found, and her abducter has spent the last 20 years in prison, refusing to utter a single word. There are still episodes aired at least three times a month about my baby cousin, for which I'm grateful and a bit awed, knowing that is MY baby cousin they still wonder about two decades later. I loved her then, and I still do.
I assumed all this time, like most people, that he murdered her, but there was NO evidence of that, so in the back of my mind, I held onto my childhood hope that one day she would be found. Unlikely, I know, but how could I continue to pray for her safety if I didn't believe, at least a little, that she was alive somewhere?
The media coverage of the Anthony case reminded me of M for a few days. Perhaps because we were children and it was more traumatic on the younger members of the family, distant as we were, than what everyone realized, M's cousins have never forgotten her and have always felt helpless. After all, we were just kids....while the adults consoled each other and searched, the children in the family couldn't do anything to show our love for her. In these past few months, I've spoken to several of her childhood and church friends, as well as other cousins, and realized that children all over who knew her also feel a special bond to her and search for her case from time to time, so I've realized I'm not as weird as I had initially thought.
Add to the fact that our mom, always diligent over watching us and warning us of predators BEFORE M's abduction, became more worried that it could happen to anyone, to us, the way it did M and instilled a constant reminder that this is not a safe world for children and to always be careful, with our safety as we grew, and our babies after we were adults.
I'm such a public Nazi when it comes to B, and have told her from early on that NOWHERE is safe, and if she is outside or in public she HAS to stay as close to me or whoever she's with...as close as possible, to stay safe. She's always had a few more rules about playing with friends than her peers, and I have felt guilty about that from time to time, thinking that she's missing out on fun her friends are having, but I just can't bring myself to relax. There's plenty of things to relax about and ignore, being a mom, and I choose for that issue not to be one of them.
Back to August, I googled M's name because I decided to blog about her and tell my friend Jamie, since she is interested in missing children cases, also. That moment sent my life into a tailspin. Perhaps one day I can share the...rest of the story...but not today. I just ask for everyone's continued prayers for M, her family, and a girl I found after googling M's name that day who needed help and a Christian influence, also.
Since that time, though, I have met so many people who have felt the heartache M's parents felt. Two days ago, one of those new friends sent me a link to her family's blog, and I shall share it next, but it's just an example of the types of stories I've heard these past several months, making me more diligent than ever before about my own little girl's safety.
Yesterday at 4:52 p.m., I was talking to my sis on the phone and hanging up a load of laundry when B came to the bedroom. "Mommy, can I go walking with P and her mom?" "Her mom's going?," I asked, without even realizing it because it's become second nature to me...B knows the rules of the household well by now, and she would have known not to even ASK such a thing unless an adult was going along with them.
B has three friends...N lives across the street, and sisters, P and A (who is older), on the other side of us, that she plays with daily. The two families are kin and are some of the best neighbors we've ever had. The moms are responsible and watch their children as closely as I do B, which is a blessing.
"Yea, her mom's taking us," B said, sighing, as though she KNEW I was going to ask that. "Are they out there now?" "Yea, her mom is putting her walking shoes on," she said, impatient to be on her way. "Ok, just be careful and watch for traffic...stay close to her mom," I rattled off as she headed down the hallway to meet them.
About ten minutes later, Chris came in from work and said "Where's B?" I was checking my email and said, with quite a bit of unattention, "She went walking with P." It couldn't have been more than five seconds, and I heard a knock at the door...suddenly, Chris yelled, "JAYME! WHERE'S B????", running down the hall towards me. "She went walking with P," I said, still not paying much attention, but noticing the panic in his voice, I started to pay attention...quickly, and climbed off the bed, nearly crashing into him as he rushed into the bedroom. "No, she's not! N and P are at the door looking for her!"
I ran down the hall, past the kids out the door and said, "B is with ya'll, walking! Where'd she go? Have you seen her? Where's your mom?', scanning our yard and up and down the streets. P and N just stood, looking stunned at me. I was already panicking but trying not to show it....they just weren't answering my questions fast enough! Where's your mom, P? Where's your sister (A, the older of the girls)? Did B come to your house? She said she was walking with you! N, did you see her, did she go to YOUR house? Where's your mom?...I don't know how many more questions I asked, but none of their answers told me where my baby was. OMG OMG Jesus, where is she? I thought, trying not to panic. Chris circled the house, ran to the other neighbors' yards, but no sign of her.
Where's your sister, P? Where's your sister??? Is B with her???
P said, A's at home, in the house, B isn't there. "Go, run, check! Find A, tell her I can't find B! Make sure she isn't in your house! She said she was with YA'LL! SHE SAID YA'LL WERE WAITING FOR HER OUTSIDE!!!' The other two moms circled their houses...no B in the yard...they stuck their heads in the house and yelled her name. No answer....By this time I was standing at the end of our street, my head spinning....my sis was on the phone and I just kept saying, "I can't find her, Amy! I can't find her!' Chris, check her room! "I just did when I got home...she's not here! Her bike isn't here, Jayme! Where is she? Where is she?'
I saw the fear in his eyes that I felt in my heart. "I lost his baby, I lost his baby" began churning in my head. I started thinking of all the undesirables who lived nearby us, trying to calculate exactly how many minutes she'd been gone...they could be in Monticello...half way to Pine Bluff by now....WHERE WAS MY BABY???? SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS WITH P'S MOM! P'S MOM IS STANDING IN HER YARD, with her walking shoes on...STARING AT ME! "Call you back" I said to my sis, my voice shaking, my eyes still searching the neighborhood for ANY sign of her. I thought about my cousin, her mom, all the people who I had talked to, even the day BEFORE, all those babies who had disappeared. OMG, OMG, DID THEY TAKE HER, PLEASE GOD, WHERE IS SHE? Those few minutes seemed like the longest hours of my life.
My sister's call disconnected, I dialed 911, and with my finger on the green call button, watched for P to come back outside and tell me whether her older sister, A, had seen B...just to make sure before I called the police. My knees began getting weak as I thought of the horrible things that could be happening...of all the places in the world she could be....of all the hundreds of cars that drive by our house each day...she could be anywhere, with anyone. I never imagined the world as huge and frightening as I did in those moments.
What was only a minute later but seemed like an eternity, I saw P emerge from her house, shaking her head no with her hands in the air....her sister wasn't behind her. Their mom appeared from behind their house where she was scanning again, stopped P in route to me, and told her something...P ran towards me and said, "Mommy said they may have gone on ahead or walked to the dollar store," she said. Fear turned into pure rage....she BETTER HOPE I don't find her little butt in town without an adult!
Anger....while I immediately felt guilty for being mad when she could possibly be in danger, I guess it's the only way my mind could process the information enough to be able to function...to be able to make it back to my car to go find her....As I whipped out of the driveway, the neighbors and Chris stood in the yard staring at my spinning tires as I peeled out onto the main road...I must've been going 60 before I made it the short distance to the stop sign, where I would turn left and head toward the dollar store. WTF is she doing going to the store???, I asked myself as my phone rang and I turned the corner...it was my sister..."I'm headed to the dollar store...A isn't home so hopefully they are together...she is going to be in so much trouble amy! she BETTER be at the store! she better NOT be at the store, I said in the same breath, but oh, how I wanted to find her safely there. If not there, where? wtf? the STORE? She didn't say anything about the STORE!!! She KNOWS not to go anywhere without an adult, whether an older kid is with her or not! I just wanted my baby back....OMG I should have watched her when she left...but she said they were waiting on her....this is my fault, all my fault. Where is she? She HAS to be at the store....
My sis was in my ear on the phone, but I couldn't comprehend what she was saying...could barely hear her...my ears were ringing, chest pounding, the knots in my stomach that appeared the moment Chris told me the girls were at the door looking for Becca was growing by the second. I whipped into the store parking lot, and saw a girl that resembled A walking down one of the aisles..."I think I found them, Amy, I think I found them," I rushed into the store, but no sign of them..."I thought you saw A?" Amy was saying in my ear, with me saying "She's not here, Amy, she's not here" rushing up and down the main aisles, whipping my head left, right, then left again, paying extra attention to the toy aisles. "It wasn't her, it was someone else," I said, turning to head back out of the store. I noticed a girl in her early 20s staring at me with a snotty look....if I weren't in such a hurry to find my baby, I was in the right mood to smear that look right off her face...'eff her, my baby's missing,' I thought as I slammed back out the door and headed to my car, looking all through the parking lots nearby for the girls.
"She has to be with A. She has to be ok, Amy. She is in SO much effing trouble when I find her! What was she thinking???? She KNOWS better, Amy!" I shouted as I made my way back towards the house, looking inside Subway, behind the insurance office, up and down the streets I passed. As I approached our street, I saw the moms and children standing in the middle of the street, watching for me....A was with them...I looked in my yard and there was B, safe, confused, sitting on her bike. As I slid onto our street and slammed my brakes, B was waving, "Hey, Mommy! Where'd you go? I'm fixing to go walking, ok?" Where in HELL were you, B????," I screamed out the window, finally allowed to be angry now that my baby was safe at home, thanking God over and over that she was safe. I felt tears welling in my eyes as I parked the car....B headed towards the car and said, "We thought her mom had already left, so we went down that way to catch up with her, her little fingers pointing the opposite direction of the store...."but she was still at home, so we came back," she said, innocently, her big blue eyes staring up at her nutted up mom. "INSIDE! NOW! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT!! INSIDE! I THOUGHT SOMEONE TOOK YOU! GET INSIDE!"
"But I want to go walking, Mommy!" she cried in protest..."INSIDE!!!!!" I said, slamming my car door and pointing towards the house, my face flushed, trying to calm myself.
B burst into tears, threw her bike to the side and stormed into the house, me stomping right behind her and slamming the door....
I sat on the couch, my ears still ringing. I could see her explaining to her dad where she had been, and him, looking very concerned, answering her and nodding his head, then hugging her as tightly as possible, thankful she was safe, thankful I had not lost his baby, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. My ears wouldn't work, my hands wouldn't stop shaking, and I felt vomit forming in my mouth.
Chris finished hugging her, kissed her forehead, her cheek, her forehead again. My hearing was coming back....we were just scared, B, so glad you're ok. You scared us.' She looked at me, obviosuly seeing my fear and headed straight to me, "I'm okay, Mommy," she said. "Look, I'm right here," as I held my arms open and she climbed in to my lap. "Don't be mad, Mommy. We thought A's mom had already left. We didnt' see her outside, so we went to catch up with her. I'm ok, Mommy."
The next five minutes or so was me kissing her, squeezing her, so thankful she was back in my arms, so thankful I wasn't one of those moms my heart had broken so many times for, so thankful my baby was safe. We had the 'kidnapped' talk again...what to do if anyone ever seemed odd, scary, approached her...how she should fight like hell, and if they DID get away with her, to PRAY, PRAY PRAY....we reminded her that even if she can't SEE Jesus, even if she can't HEAR him, even if someone is hurting her, to just PRAY, and that Jesus would be right there with her....that noone could hurt her heart, her soul, no matter what because she is a child of God. She seems to know that even more than I do, I guess. "I'm not angry, B, just scared, Baby." "I know, Mommy, you don't want me to disappear like M. But Jesus took care of her, too, Mommy. He'll take care of me." Tears poured down my cheeks....my baby is smarter than most adults. She has peace in her heart, and for that I'm so thankful....
"Can I go play now, Mommy?" I looked at Chris, wild-eyed...I didn't want her to ever leave my sight again....outside seemed so frightening...I knew I wouldn't be able to say Yes because all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms, but I knew that I would have to let her go and be a kid. Chris seemed to know just what was in my heart. He winked at me, said, "She'll be ok, Jayme..." and smiled at me. "Yea, Baby, let me watch you go over to N's. The girls are waiting on you."
As they headed out the door, I rushed to the bathroom and lost what I had been trying to hold back for 20 minutes, praying, taking deep breaths, brushing my teeth, and wiping my tears. I called my sister and told her all is well again, that my baby was safe. "But how are YOU?" She asked..."Oh, I'm ok, now," I said.
I know how all those moms felt now, and I wish I could bring their babies back to them. I was only afraid a few minutes. Some of these parents have been terrifed for years....have never been able to hold and hug their babies, thankful they are back at home safe.
Since August, I have talked to scores of family members who are searching for their missing loved ones, mainly children who either vanished, into mid-air it seems, or or murdered. Missing children have always been close to my heart and I pay closer attention to missing children cases in the media than most, probably, and my daily prayers always include families that are enduring the horrific nightmare as well as children who have been abducted.
I don't talk about it much these days, but during the third week of August 2008, my friend Jamie had been talking to me about the Caylee Anthony case. It was on the news daily, and my friend told me I should blog about the bizarre circumstances surrounding the case. "Nancy Grace is on right now, and they are talking about it," she said, so I flipped the channel and watched a few minutes of the coverage.
Something they said about people trying to extort and scam victims' families reminded me of bastards who had lied about having my baby cousin 20 years ago in order to collect ransom. The FBI set up a sting, and the people, nothing more than a bunch of greedy, lying, losers, were arrested, but they didn't have my cousin. They just wanted money. I remembered the heartache felt by the family caused by false hope, and it still angers me to this day.
In 1989, when I was 12, my five-year-old cousin was abducted from a Christmas party in Virginia. As they were leaving the party, M asked her mom if she could take some potato chips home with her. As the story goes, M's mom watched her walk across the room, scoop up a handful of potato chips into her pudgy, tiny hands and head back towards her mother to go home. Her mom looked away for a split second to tell a friend good night, and when she turned back, my baby cousin had vanished.
After an exhausting, and one of the FBI's most famous, investigations, a groundskeeper for the complex where they lived, who had attended the Christmas party that night, was arrested and charged with abduction with intent to defile.
The forensic evidence in M's case was historical and ground-breaking, forcing huge developments in the FBI's technology and development of extensive testing in major crime cases. Media attention and the nationwide search for M could be compared to the wide-spread international focus of such cases as Polly Klaas & Adam Walsh. But M was never found, and her abducter has spent the last 20 years in prison, refusing to utter a single word. There are still episodes aired at least three times a month about my baby cousin, for which I'm grateful and a bit awed, knowing that is MY baby cousin they still wonder about two decades later. I loved her then, and I still do.
I assumed all this time, like most people, that he murdered her, but there was NO evidence of that, so in the back of my mind, I held onto my childhood hope that one day she would be found. Unlikely, I know, but how could I continue to pray for her safety if I didn't believe, at least a little, that she was alive somewhere?
The media coverage of the Anthony case reminded me of M for a few days. Perhaps because we were children and it was more traumatic on the younger members of the family, distant as we were, than what everyone realized, M's cousins have never forgotten her and have always felt helpless. After all, we were just kids....while the adults consoled each other and searched, the children in the family couldn't do anything to show our love for her. In these past few months, I've spoken to several of her childhood and church friends, as well as other cousins, and realized that children all over who knew her also feel a special bond to her and search for her case from time to time, so I've realized I'm not as weird as I had initially thought.
Add to the fact that our mom, always diligent over watching us and warning us of predators BEFORE M's abduction, became more worried that it could happen to anyone, to us, the way it did M and instilled a constant reminder that this is not a safe world for children and to always be careful, with our safety as we grew, and our babies after we were adults.
I'm such a public Nazi when it comes to B, and have told her from early on that NOWHERE is safe, and if she is outside or in public she HAS to stay as close to me or whoever she's with...as close as possible, to stay safe. She's always had a few more rules about playing with friends than her peers, and I have felt guilty about that from time to time, thinking that she's missing out on fun her friends are having, but I just can't bring myself to relax. There's plenty of things to relax about and ignore, being a mom, and I choose for that issue not to be one of them.
Back to August, I googled M's name because I decided to blog about her and tell my friend Jamie, since she is interested in missing children cases, also. That moment sent my life into a tailspin. Perhaps one day I can share the...rest of the story...but not today. I just ask for everyone's continued prayers for M, her family, and a girl I found after googling M's name that day who needed help and a Christian influence, also.
Since that time, though, I have met so many people who have felt the heartache M's parents felt. Two days ago, one of those new friends sent me a link to her family's blog, and I shall share it next, but it's just an example of the types of stories I've heard these past several months, making me more diligent than ever before about my own little girl's safety.
Yesterday at 4:52 p.m., I was talking to my sis on the phone and hanging up a load of laundry when B came to the bedroom. "Mommy, can I go walking with P and her mom?" "Her mom's going?," I asked, without even realizing it because it's become second nature to me...B knows the rules of the household well by now, and she would have known not to even ASK such a thing unless an adult was going along with them.
B has three friends...N lives across the street, and sisters, P and A (who is older), on the other side of us, that she plays with daily. The two families are kin and are some of the best neighbors we've ever had. The moms are responsible and watch their children as closely as I do B, which is a blessing.
"Yea, her mom's taking us," B said, sighing, as though she KNEW I was going to ask that. "Are they out there now?" "Yea, her mom is putting her walking shoes on," she said, impatient to be on her way. "Ok, just be careful and watch for traffic...stay close to her mom," I rattled off as she headed down the hallway to meet them.
About ten minutes later, Chris came in from work and said "Where's B?" I was checking my email and said, with quite a bit of unattention, "She went walking with P." It couldn't have been more than five seconds, and I heard a knock at the door...suddenly, Chris yelled, "JAYME! WHERE'S B????", running down the hall towards me. "She went walking with P," I said, still not paying much attention, but noticing the panic in his voice, I started to pay attention...quickly, and climbed off the bed, nearly crashing into him as he rushed into the bedroom. "No, she's not! N and P are at the door looking for her!"
I ran down the hall, past the kids out the door and said, "B is with ya'll, walking! Where'd she go? Have you seen her? Where's your mom?', scanning our yard and up and down the streets. P and N just stood, looking stunned at me. I was already panicking but trying not to show it....they just weren't answering my questions fast enough! Where's your mom, P? Where's your sister (A, the older of the girls)? Did B come to your house? She said she was walking with you! N, did you see her, did she go to YOUR house? Where's your mom?...I don't know how many more questions I asked, but none of their answers told me where my baby was. OMG OMG Jesus, where is she? I thought, trying not to panic. Chris circled the house, ran to the other neighbors' yards, but no sign of her.
Where's your sister, P? Where's your sister??? Is B with her???
P said, A's at home, in the house, B isn't there. "Go, run, check! Find A, tell her I can't find B! Make sure she isn't in your house! She said she was with YA'LL! SHE SAID YA'LL WERE WAITING FOR HER OUTSIDE!!!' The other two moms circled their houses...no B in the yard...they stuck their heads in the house and yelled her name. No answer....By this time I was standing at the end of our street, my head spinning....my sis was on the phone and I just kept saying, "I can't find her, Amy! I can't find her!' Chris, check her room! "I just did when I got home...she's not here! Her bike isn't here, Jayme! Where is she? Where is she?'
I saw the fear in his eyes that I felt in my heart. "I lost his baby, I lost his baby" began churning in my head. I started thinking of all the undesirables who lived nearby us, trying to calculate exactly how many minutes she'd been gone...they could be in Monticello...half way to Pine Bluff by now....WHERE WAS MY BABY???? SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS WITH P'S MOM! P'S MOM IS STANDING IN HER YARD, with her walking shoes on...STARING AT ME! "Call you back" I said to my sis, my voice shaking, my eyes still searching the neighborhood for ANY sign of her. I thought about my cousin, her mom, all the people who I had talked to, even the day BEFORE, all those babies who had disappeared. OMG, OMG, DID THEY TAKE HER, PLEASE GOD, WHERE IS SHE? Those few minutes seemed like the longest hours of my life.
My sister's call disconnected, I dialed 911, and with my finger on the green call button, watched for P to come back outside and tell me whether her older sister, A, had seen B...just to make sure before I called the police. My knees began getting weak as I thought of the horrible things that could be happening...of all the places in the world she could be....of all the hundreds of cars that drive by our house each day...she could be anywhere, with anyone. I never imagined the world as huge and frightening as I did in those moments.
What was only a minute later but seemed like an eternity, I saw P emerge from her house, shaking her head no with her hands in the air....her sister wasn't behind her. Their mom appeared from behind their house where she was scanning again, stopped P in route to me, and told her something...P ran towards me and said, "Mommy said they may have gone on ahead or walked to the dollar store," she said. Fear turned into pure rage....she BETTER HOPE I don't find her little butt in town without an adult!
Anger....while I immediately felt guilty for being mad when she could possibly be in danger, I guess it's the only way my mind could process the information enough to be able to function...to be able to make it back to my car to go find her....As I whipped out of the driveway, the neighbors and Chris stood in the yard staring at my spinning tires as I peeled out onto the main road...I must've been going 60 before I made it the short distance to the stop sign, where I would turn left and head toward the dollar store. WTF is she doing going to the store???, I asked myself as my phone rang and I turned the corner...it was my sister..."I'm headed to the dollar store...A isn't home so hopefully they are together...she is going to be in so much trouble amy! she BETTER be at the store! she better NOT be at the store, I said in the same breath, but oh, how I wanted to find her safely there. If not there, where? wtf? the STORE? She didn't say anything about the STORE!!! She KNOWS not to go anywhere without an adult, whether an older kid is with her or not! I just wanted my baby back....OMG I should have watched her when she left...but she said they were waiting on her....this is my fault, all my fault. Where is she? She HAS to be at the store....
My sis was in my ear on the phone, but I couldn't comprehend what she was saying...could barely hear her...my ears were ringing, chest pounding, the knots in my stomach that appeared the moment Chris told me the girls were at the door looking for Becca was growing by the second. I whipped into the store parking lot, and saw a girl that resembled A walking down one of the aisles..."I think I found them, Amy, I think I found them," I rushed into the store, but no sign of them..."I thought you saw A?" Amy was saying in my ear, with me saying "She's not here, Amy, she's not here" rushing up and down the main aisles, whipping my head left, right, then left again, paying extra attention to the toy aisles. "It wasn't her, it was someone else," I said, turning to head back out of the store. I noticed a girl in her early 20s staring at me with a snotty look....if I weren't in such a hurry to find my baby, I was in the right mood to smear that look right off her face...'eff her, my baby's missing,' I thought as I slammed back out the door and headed to my car, looking all through the parking lots nearby for the girls.
"She has to be with A. She has to be ok, Amy. She is in SO much effing trouble when I find her! What was she thinking???? She KNOWS better, Amy!" I shouted as I made my way back towards the house, looking inside Subway, behind the insurance office, up and down the streets I passed. As I approached our street, I saw the moms and children standing in the middle of the street, watching for me....A was with them...I looked in my yard and there was B, safe, confused, sitting on her bike. As I slid onto our street and slammed my brakes, B was waving, "Hey, Mommy! Where'd you go? I'm fixing to go walking, ok?" Where in HELL were you, B????," I screamed out the window, finally allowed to be angry now that my baby was safe at home, thanking God over and over that she was safe. I felt tears welling in my eyes as I parked the car....B headed towards the car and said, "We thought her mom had already left, so we went down that way to catch up with her, her little fingers pointing the opposite direction of the store...."but she was still at home, so we came back," she said, innocently, her big blue eyes staring up at her nutted up mom. "INSIDE! NOW! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT!! INSIDE! I THOUGHT SOMEONE TOOK YOU! GET INSIDE!"
"But I want to go walking, Mommy!" she cried in protest..."INSIDE!!!!!" I said, slamming my car door and pointing towards the house, my face flushed, trying to calm myself.
B burst into tears, threw her bike to the side and stormed into the house, me stomping right behind her and slamming the door....
I sat on the couch, my ears still ringing. I could see her explaining to her dad where she had been, and him, looking very concerned, answering her and nodding his head, then hugging her as tightly as possible, thankful she was safe, thankful I had not lost his baby, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. My ears wouldn't work, my hands wouldn't stop shaking, and I felt vomit forming in my mouth.
Chris finished hugging her, kissed her forehead, her cheek, her forehead again. My hearing was coming back....we were just scared, B, so glad you're ok. You scared us.' She looked at me, obviosuly seeing my fear and headed straight to me, "I'm okay, Mommy," she said. "Look, I'm right here," as I held my arms open and she climbed in to my lap. "Don't be mad, Mommy. We thought A's mom had already left. We didnt' see her outside, so we went to catch up with her. I'm ok, Mommy."
The next five minutes or so was me kissing her, squeezing her, so thankful she was back in my arms, so thankful I wasn't one of those moms my heart had broken so many times for, so thankful my baby was safe. We had the 'kidnapped' talk again...what to do if anyone ever seemed odd, scary, approached her...how she should fight like hell, and if they DID get away with her, to PRAY, PRAY PRAY....we reminded her that even if she can't SEE Jesus, even if she can't HEAR him, even if someone is hurting her, to just PRAY, and that Jesus would be right there with her....that noone could hurt her heart, her soul, no matter what because she is a child of God. She seems to know that even more than I do, I guess. "I'm not angry, B, just scared, Baby." "I know, Mommy, you don't want me to disappear like M. But Jesus took care of her, too, Mommy. He'll take care of me." Tears poured down my cheeks....my baby is smarter than most adults. She has peace in her heart, and for that I'm so thankful....
"Can I go play now, Mommy?" I looked at Chris, wild-eyed...I didn't want her to ever leave my sight again....outside seemed so frightening...I knew I wouldn't be able to say Yes because all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms, but I knew that I would have to let her go and be a kid. Chris seemed to know just what was in my heart. He winked at me, said, "She'll be ok, Jayme..." and smiled at me. "Yea, Baby, let me watch you go over to N's. The girls are waiting on you."
As they headed out the door, I rushed to the bathroom and lost what I had been trying to hold back for 20 minutes, praying, taking deep breaths, brushing my teeth, and wiping my tears. I called my sister and told her all is well again, that my baby was safe. "But how are YOU?" She asked..."Oh, I'm ok, now," I said.
I know how all those moms felt now, and I wish I could bring their babies back to them. I was only afraid a few minutes. Some of these parents have been terrifed for years....have never been able to hold and hug their babies, thankful they are back at home safe.
One bassett safe at home, another looking for his owners....
Hey, guys....
Holly found HER puppy, but in the process, someone trying to help her on the Drew County Speedway forum (great folk, those racers....) sent me this link, AND IT'S ANOTHER BASSETT who has lost his way!
This breed of dogs are just about the sweetest pets you'll ever find, but they have extremely strong hunting instincts which causes them to wander ever so often....
This is a male bassett, so if you know of anyone who is looking for their pet, send them to this link and photo please! Thanks!
http://searkdogadoption.weebly.com/new-at-the-pound.html
Monday, April 13, 2009
Please help find my friend's bassett hound!
My friend Holly R. is searching for her 10-month-old tri-colored Bassett Hound named KC, so if anyone in the Drew County area sees a female bassett anywhere near the Hwy. 425 South area, please contact me, or if you hear of anyone with a bassett as a new pet.....She was last seen in between the Drew County Speedway and Hwy. 425 mud track.
This is a more recent AND younger picture of the puppy, so remember that it'll be a good bit larger by now than the puppy pic! Her children really want their pet back!
:(
Friday, April 10, 2009
Just waking up.
YAY! No tornado and the house didn't fall on my head (I'm still having to contend with a dog that's a bit annoying today, though....and have lil munchkins running all around, too).
I just heard a vicious rumor (actually, I read it on Tasha's myspace status) that there's a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday??? I certainly hope not, Tasha!
We have Easter egging all day tommorrow, and perhaps a sunrise service Sunday morning, so here I go back to weather.com again....
So today, I'm going to try and finish my laundry! Yayay! I've found a few things for the La'Keisha Shepherd family, and got a phone call last night, finding a few more things, so that's what I'm going to be doing today. Dirt-trackies, don't forget to bring items for the cash & clothes drive, and thanks for helping!
Okay, off to town I go to get cigs & coffee. Not a very healthy start to the day, is it?
I just heard a vicious rumor (actually, I read it on Tasha's myspace status) that there's a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday??? I certainly hope not, Tasha!
We have Easter egging all day tommorrow, and perhaps a sunrise service Sunday morning, so here I go back to weather.com again....
So today, I'm going to try and finish my laundry! Yayay! I've found a few things for the La'Keisha Shepherd family, and got a phone call last night, finding a few more things, so that's what I'm going to be doing today. Dirt-trackies, don't forget to bring items for the cash & clothes drive, and thanks for helping!
Okay, off to town I go to get cigs & coffee. Not a very healthy start to the day, is it?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Oh, goodness....
I just THOUGHT I was freaked out by the movie I'm watching (The Happening).
Then the storm showed up! I'm looking up the weather warnings now, but it's sounding dreadful out there.
Apple and egg-sized hail???? I've never heard of such!
Guys, be careful if you're in the line of the storms, and pray for those that may be danger if you're not.
I was never much afraid of tornadoes until I moved to Warren, but they are serious threats here, much more than Monticello (only 20 miles away) because it's higher land over here. Since I've lived here, I've SEEN tornadoes move over, and storms take on a whole new meaning for me. We're getting reports of massive damage in communities all over Arkanasas, and I hope everyone is safe.
I'm worried about Becca. She's staying the night across the street with her bestie. We talked about going to get her, but their house is brick and in the middle of the street, where mine is in an open area on the corner and NOT a brick house, and not as large either, so we've decided she's probably safer over there for now.
I hope everyone's okay!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Please help the La'Keisha Shepherd & her family!
This Saturday night at the Drew County Speedway, track owner Rodney Box will host a “Cash & Clothes” drive for La’Keisha Shepherd who lost her house and vehicle after a devastating house fire (see attached photos). At the time, she was out of town with her three children and fiancée.
Early Sunday morning on March 29 La’Keisha, who was visiting friends in Dallas , received the news that her house was in flames. Unfortunately, the fire department was unable to save the structure, its contents, or the family car.
This family could really use our help. So this Saturday night at Drew County Speedway, we are going to do what we can to get the family back on their feet.
We’ll have a donation site near the main entrance for dropping off clothing donations (see sizes below). The racers have also offered to pass their helmets thru the grandstands, tailgate area, and pits during intermission in an effort to raise cash for the family. Please support this important cause if you can. Thanks!
Draylan (boy) age 5
Pants-6 regular
Shirts-6/7
Shoe-12
Keonia (girl) age 8
Pants-10 regular
Shirts-8/10
Shoe-2
Chauncey (boy) age 9
Pants-12 (slim)
Shirts-10/12
Shoe-4
LaKeisha (mom)
Pants-16
Shirts-16 (1x)
Jerelle (fiancée)
Pants-46 x32
Shirts-3xl Tall
~ My Facebook people can contact me if you'd like to help! ~
I'm so totally against this crap.
How stupid. Aren't there enough unwanted babies in the world to adopt? If you want to be a WOMAN who has BABIES, then don't go have a penis attached. Pick one or the other, please.
http://www.malepregnancy.com/
http://www.malepregnancy.com/
The Easter Bunny vs. the Bassett Hound
Okay, if this dog doesn't shut up barking, I'ma lose my mind.
Have you ever heard a bassett hound howl? It rattles the windows.
He's gotten spoiled to coming inside when he barks nonstop, bc he knows, I suspect, that I'll get tired of saying 'hush!' and clapping my hands real loud at him, give in, and bring him inside....but it's not even 'inside' that he wants....what he WANTS is to roam the neighborhood, and I can't let him do that.
But I can't even bring him inside to shut him up today! I went out and played with him, fed him TWICE as much as I usually do, pampered and loved on him, but he's STILL being stubborn. Why can't I give in and bring him inside? Because my daughter is the proud owner of a baby Easter bunny and a pink baby Easter chick. And every Easter animal she's EVER had has either gotten sick and died, committed suicide in the toilet, or been eaten by the cat.
A hounddog would LOVE to snack upon a bunny, and the cat wouldn't mind chowing right past the pink feathers on the baby chick, so they are OFF LIMITS, and the dog's not taking it very well. I bet he smells rabbit...
I'm SO ready for Easter, by the way! I LOVE THAT DAY!!!! I usually make my rounds at the parents, then end the day at our besties' house, Mandy and Roger, with the kids dying eggs and hiding them while we join Mandy's family for lots of food and laughs.
They are close to my heart, and I often spend most weekends during dirt track season and as much time with them on holidays as I do my family. They love us like we're their own, and Easter is one of our fav holidays with them.
Last year, Becca had a homemade dress that was GORGEOUS that my sis had made her, and I had a regular Easter dress for her to wear after church in case she got dirty playing outside. It's a good thing I changed her outfit at the Haydens', because I was dying eggs with the kids, Mandy's lil one Mason got tickled, slammed his hand down on the table, and the ENTIRE cup of pink dye covered Becca. LOL She was a pink as the Easter chick I'm trying to protect from the housecat.
Happy Easter, everyone! Love ya'll!!!! And thanks, God, for sending Your Son to redeem us. Easter really IS the most important day of the year.
Have you ever heard a bassett hound howl? It rattles the windows.
He's gotten spoiled to coming inside when he barks nonstop, bc he knows, I suspect, that I'll get tired of saying 'hush!' and clapping my hands real loud at him, give in, and bring him inside....but it's not even 'inside' that he wants....what he WANTS is to roam the neighborhood, and I can't let him do that.
But I can't even bring him inside to shut him up today! I went out and played with him, fed him TWICE as much as I usually do, pampered and loved on him, but he's STILL being stubborn. Why can't I give in and bring him inside? Because my daughter is the proud owner of a baby Easter bunny and a pink baby Easter chick. And every Easter animal she's EVER had has either gotten sick and died, committed suicide in the toilet, or been eaten by the cat.
A hounddog would LOVE to snack upon a bunny, and the cat wouldn't mind chowing right past the pink feathers on the baby chick, so they are OFF LIMITS, and the dog's not taking it very well. I bet he smells rabbit...
I'm SO ready for Easter, by the way! I LOVE THAT DAY!!!! I usually make my rounds at the parents, then end the day at our besties' house, Mandy and Roger, with the kids dying eggs and hiding them while we join Mandy's family for lots of food and laughs.
They are close to my heart, and I often spend most weekends during dirt track season and as much time with them on holidays as I do my family. They love us like we're their own, and Easter is one of our fav holidays with them.
Last year, Becca had a homemade dress that was GORGEOUS that my sis had made her, and I had a regular Easter dress for her to wear after church in case she got dirty playing outside. It's a good thing I changed her outfit at the Haydens', because I was dying eggs with the kids, Mandy's lil one Mason got tickled, slammed his hand down on the table, and the ENTIRE cup of pink dye covered Becca. LOL She was a pink as the Easter chick I'm trying to protect from the housecat.
Happy Easter, everyone! Love ya'll!!!! And thanks, God, for sending Your Son to redeem us. Easter really IS the most important day of the year.
STRESS!!!!
It's been so crazy around here. Chris just passed his one year anniversary of being service manager at a logging equipment dealership. He's worked so hard and turned the department COMPLETELY around since taking the position, and I've never been prouder of him in my life.
And it's been TOUGH these past six months....huge corporate changes stemming from the economy has left them all stressed and worried about their jobs, but at the same time working harder than ever to overhaul the entire company. About the time they got it squared away and felt a safety net, they were informed the company was being sold.
His new boss has taken over this week, and we are most excited because it's a well-known local business man who is their new boss, and we feel certain the company is going to soar. But the stress is still there, mainly from the financial crunch Chris and I, and a few other of the families in management, are feeling because of shifted pay schedules, delayed checks, extremely long months....so, if you see me on my hands and knees in the front yard begging the light man not to disconnect, you'll know why...but we've had harder times than this before, so I'm confident that the sun will start shining again soon and we'll be just fine.
I'm so tired of being anxious, though. It feels as though just about the time we think we are going to see the checkered, the flag man throws in another 10 laps. Which brings me to my next topic....dirt track racing.
I have taken on a new task, and it's kept me quite busy....being the track reporter for our local dirttrack. I've been doing it about a month now, and while a few people didn't like a few things I said, everything has been correct and gone quite smoothly. Busy, but error-free. Those of you who know me know how much I trip over errors in my writing, and this dirt-track reporting leaves SO many openings for mistakes....similar cars, numbers, different views, poor view of the other side of the track no matter WHERE I sit...who did what, or was it what was did to them by who?
I've done great so far, but yesterday, I made my first mistake....and didn't catch it until it had been sent out in a mass-mailing to subscribers and media outlets!!!! I was MORTIFIED! I said that Ronnie Adcock plowed into two other cars, and it WASN'T RONNIE ADCOCK!!!! I changed it where I could, but couldn't do anything about the subscribed emails that had been sent out. I called Ronnie and began apologizing PROFUSELY, but thankfully track people are so nice (generally). He laughed about it and told me several times he wasn't bothered at all about it and that it's okay. But it's not okay to me, and I feel horrible about it.
One mistake out of about 20 races is pretty darn good, especially since I'm crash-coursing in all of this as I go and learning ALOT of information in a short period of time, but I still regret my mistake SO MUCH, almost to the point that I don't even want to try it any further.
But I got alot of emails from great people who have been racing for YEARS, and writing about racing, and they say I'm doing a great job, and that's made me feel ALOT better.
I'm still going to be over at Ronnie Adcock's car Saturday offering to clean the mud off of it or SOMETHING to make up for my mistake.
So, to my dirt trackies...thanks for being patient and forgiving with me whilst I learn this new genre. Good luck racing!
And it's been TOUGH these past six months....huge corporate changes stemming from the economy has left them all stressed and worried about their jobs, but at the same time working harder than ever to overhaul the entire company. About the time they got it squared away and felt a safety net, they were informed the company was being sold.
His new boss has taken over this week, and we are most excited because it's a well-known local business man who is their new boss, and we feel certain the company is going to soar. But the stress is still there, mainly from the financial crunch Chris and I, and a few other of the families in management, are feeling because of shifted pay schedules, delayed checks, extremely long months....so, if you see me on my hands and knees in the front yard begging the light man not to disconnect, you'll know why...but we've had harder times than this before, so I'm confident that the sun will start shining again soon and we'll be just fine.
I'm so tired of being anxious, though. It feels as though just about the time we think we are going to see the checkered, the flag man throws in another 10 laps. Which brings me to my next topic....dirt track racing.
I have taken on a new task, and it's kept me quite busy....being the track reporter for our local dirttrack. I've been doing it about a month now, and while a few people didn't like a few things I said, everything has been correct and gone quite smoothly. Busy, but error-free. Those of you who know me know how much I trip over errors in my writing, and this dirt-track reporting leaves SO many openings for mistakes....similar cars, numbers, different views, poor view of the other side of the track no matter WHERE I sit...who did what, or was it what was did to them by who?
I've done great so far, but yesterday, I made my first mistake....and didn't catch it until it had been sent out in a mass-mailing to subscribers and media outlets!!!! I was MORTIFIED! I said that Ronnie Adcock plowed into two other cars, and it WASN'T RONNIE ADCOCK!!!! I changed it where I could, but couldn't do anything about the subscribed emails that had been sent out. I called Ronnie and began apologizing PROFUSELY, but thankfully track people are so nice (generally). He laughed about it and told me several times he wasn't bothered at all about it and that it's okay. But it's not okay to me, and I feel horrible about it.
One mistake out of about 20 races is pretty darn good, especially since I'm crash-coursing in all of this as I go and learning ALOT of information in a short period of time, but I still regret my mistake SO MUCH, almost to the point that I don't even want to try it any further.
But I got alot of emails from great people who have been racing for YEARS, and writing about racing, and they say I'm doing a great job, and that's made me feel ALOT better.
I'm still going to be over at Ronnie Adcock's car Saturday offering to clean the mud off of it or SOMETHING to make up for my mistake.
So, to my dirt trackies...thanks for being patient and forgiving with me whilst I learn this new genre. Good luck racing!
More third grade....
I went off on a little tangent there, yesterday, didn't I? That came from way out in left field.
I would like to add, though, one other thing Becca is tripping over....she keeps asking, "Do you think I can get a 60 percent, Mommy? I HAVE to have a 60 percent for I'll flunk the third grade!"
What they DON'T tell the kids is that a 60 percent is a D AVERAGE! Rather than saying, "Most of you will get a 60 percent even if you SLEEP through part of the test, so it's okay, don't be scared" they instead TERRIFY them with it because to an 8-year-old, 60 percent sounds HUGE. Most of them think that means they have to perform A-average, or they will fail the ENTIRE third grade. Which is crap, too, by the way. If they had BEEN TEACHING ALL YEAR RATHER THAN REVEIWING FOR A STANDARDIZED TEST, THE CHILDREN WOULD PROBABLY KNOW BY KNOW WHAT 60 PERCENT MEANS!
How can a child work hard, study, and do good...EVEN THE HONOR ROLL....all year long, then flip out on test day, fail the test, and FLUNK, throwing ALL YEAR'S WORK OUT THE WINDOW???? And how dare they tell these kids that in an effort to make them try harder on the test! If that's not cruel, what is?
I'm glad that Becca has a pretty good teacher and I can forgive her for the Benchmark stuff, because if she had wound up with a crappy one on TOP of Benchmarks, I would most likely have been dragged from the school by men in either blue or white by now.
SO READY FOR SUMMER BREAK!!!!
I would like to add, though, one other thing Becca is tripping over....she keeps asking, "Do you think I can get a 60 percent, Mommy? I HAVE to have a 60 percent for I'll flunk the third grade!"
What they DON'T tell the kids is that a 60 percent is a D AVERAGE! Rather than saying, "Most of you will get a 60 percent even if you SLEEP through part of the test, so it's okay, don't be scared" they instead TERRIFY them with it because to an 8-year-old, 60 percent sounds HUGE. Most of them think that means they have to perform A-average, or they will fail the ENTIRE third grade. Which is crap, too, by the way. If they had BEEN TEACHING ALL YEAR RATHER THAN REVEIWING FOR A STANDARDIZED TEST, THE CHILDREN WOULD PROBABLY KNOW BY KNOW WHAT 60 PERCENT MEANS!
How can a child work hard, study, and do good...EVEN THE HONOR ROLL....all year long, then flip out on test day, fail the test, and FLUNK, throwing ALL YEAR'S WORK OUT THE WINDOW???? And how dare they tell these kids that in an effort to make them try harder on the test! If that's not cruel, what is?
I'm glad that Becca has a pretty good teacher and I can forgive her for the Benchmark stuff, because if she had wound up with a crappy one on TOP of Benchmarks, I would most likely have been dragged from the school by men in either blue or white by now.
SO READY FOR SUMMER BREAK!!!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
I hate third grade.
It’s been said that one learns something new every day. Lately, I’ve been learning something new every hour, it seems.
A friend of mine said a few days ago ‘If stress is supposed to make you thinner, I’d be invisible.’ ‘Amen,’ I thought, glancing down at my not-so-skinny self. Many of you know the recent events with my baby cousin’s case, and it has taken a huge toll on me. I can finally TRY to function again, but it still eats at my heart daily. We can’t do anything but hurry up and wait, and I ask for everyone’s prayers to continue on so many different levels.
Becca is tired of the third grade, and I am, too. The Benchmark crap infuriates me. It stemmed from one of Bush’s mistakes, so why is my baby still having to stay until dinner-time two nights a week (she is honor roll so it’s not like she needs extra help…..they pressure ALL third-graders to go on Mondays and Tuesdays after school ) for Benchmark prep, in addition to the HOURS a day they make them hunker over the same boring practice tests, redundant classwork with sample problems, rather than her actively LEARNING. I’m so tired of the kids being DRILLED CONSTANTLY BY THE ENTIRE SCHOOL STAFF. Benchmarks are a CONSTANT DAILY REMINDER to these kids. They are ready to vomit by the time it comes around (next week).
The deal with Benchmarks above other standardized tests is that the schools, ESCPECIALLY the ones who have sucked in the past, HAVE to have good marks to prove they are doing their job, or else they start losing authority of their schools, and possibly funding (if I remember correctly). So it ALL comes down to people trying to keep their jobs and the bottom dollar on the yearly budget.
Basically, if the kids do bad, the teachers look like they aren’t doing their job. THEREFORE, to prove they did better than the year previous, they NEGLECT MY CHILD’S EDUCATION TO STUFF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS DOWN HER THROAT, PAGES AT A TIME. I wish I had saved the social studies work Becca has been given this year. And don‘t be mistaken that it‘s a lot. They spend about 30 minutes one afternoon and give them a test the next day, or something to that effect.
It’s horrendous and some of the crap has NOTHING to do with civics. It‘s questions like, “If a friend asked you to do something bad or break the law, would you?” wtcrap? Isn‘t that what they should be learning in Sunday School? I suspect it’s more benchmark crap they squeezed into a social studies lesson by throwing the word ‘law’ into it. And then the next question would be ‘Who’s the first President?’ (which my daughter has known for at LEAST three years), then ‘Who built the first car?’ ?????????????? Actually, I’ve just this moment had a revelation….the reason they stick random crap like that together is because they are combining lessons in that subject so they can SAY they covered the material, but actually use the extra time for….what? More Benchmark crap, I’m sure.
I’m highly offended by this because I have gone to college to study American history. My child has learned more about America from The History Channel and Johnny Horton songs than she’s EVER learned in her years of school COMBINED. Why? Because the school administration is apparently TERRIFIED of looking bad so they are obsessed with getting good scores. “It’s not their fault,” one may say. I said that, too, until this year, when I’ve watched my little girl collapse and sleep as soon as she gets in from school.
When I’ve seen things my daughter SHOULD be learning and she’s not because they are ‘practicing for Benchmark.’ Okay, guys, you know Varsity Blues and how freaking obsessed they were over football? That’s the way they are over Benchmarks. I’m angry because if the teachers REALLY gave half a damn, instead of using all this energy having special pep assemblies (am I fooling you? NO. They actually have damned pep assemblies for the freaking test) and figuring out sneaky ways to steal from my daughter‘s VALUABLE (in her ONLY SHOT AT AN EDUCATION) time to shove more Benchmark at her to make THEMSELVES look good, they would INSTEAD use that time to go to CONGRESS and REFUSE TO DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN, then that would be a lot easier and quicker, and better for our KIDS.
It’s laziness. All of the time all the teachers in the nation spend on all the kids in the nation to answer all the right questions in the nation….think of the time and energy WASTED. THAT’S why I said it would be easier for all of them as a whole to go to Congress rather than continue like ZOMBIES, and in the process making our kids HATE school. Kids who used to LOVE learning….Paperwork is easier to many teachers than actually interacting all day every day, so many of them have gotten lazy. As long as they get good scores, who cares. They don’t get paid enough anyways. If they ARE great teachers and the kids do bad on the test, they could lose their jobs, so screw it. They hand out the papers.
My daughter this week is told to PRACTICE GOING TO BED 30 MINUTES EARLY, waking up 15 minutes early, PRACTICE WEARING COMFORTABLE SHOES….a WEEK before the test, mind you, being told what kind of breakfasts and snacks to eat, advised not to wear jewelry. She is so freaking stressed about this test. She mentions it at least a few times a day. And they’ll probably kick it into high gear the rest of the week b/c there’s only a few days left. Is it because they care about her performance this year and how much she’s ACTUALLY learned and gained from her experience, or are they just tripping because they want THEMSELVES to look good? Hmmm, I think we all know the answer to that.
Okay, this turned into I hate third grade, and I was really going to talk about dirt track racing. Perhaps next time….
A friend of mine said a few days ago ‘If stress is supposed to make you thinner, I’d be invisible.’ ‘Amen,’ I thought, glancing down at my not-so-skinny self. Many of you know the recent events with my baby cousin’s case, and it has taken a huge toll on me. I can finally TRY to function again, but it still eats at my heart daily. We can’t do anything but hurry up and wait, and I ask for everyone’s prayers to continue on so many different levels.
Becca is tired of the third grade, and I am, too. The Benchmark crap infuriates me. It stemmed from one of Bush’s mistakes, so why is my baby still having to stay until dinner-time two nights a week (she is honor roll so it’s not like she needs extra help…..they pressure ALL third-graders to go on Mondays and Tuesdays after school ) for Benchmark prep, in addition to the HOURS a day they make them hunker over the same boring practice tests, redundant classwork with sample problems, rather than her actively LEARNING. I’m so tired of the kids being DRILLED CONSTANTLY BY THE ENTIRE SCHOOL STAFF. Benchmarks are a CONSTANT DAILY REMINDER to these kids. They are ready to vomit by the time it comes around (next week).
The deal with Benchmarks above other standardized tests is that the schools, ESCPECIALLY the ones who have sucked in the past, HAVE to have good marks to prove they are doing their job, or else they start losing authority of their schools, and possibly funding (if I remember correctly). So it ALL comes down to people trying to keep their jobs and the bottom dollar on the yearly budget.
Basically, if the kids do bad, the teachers look like they aren’t doing their job. THEREFORE, to prove they did better than the year previous, they NEGLECT MY CHILD’S EDUCATION TO STUFF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS DOWN HER THROAT, PAGES AT A TIME. I wish I had saved the social studies work Becca has been given this year. And don‘t be mistaken that it‘s a lot. They spend about 30 minutes one afternoon and give them a test the next day, or something to that effect.
It’s horrendous and some of the crap has NOTHING to do with civics. It‘s questions like, “If a friend asked you to do something bad or break the law, would you?” wtcrap? Isn‘t that what they should be learning in Sunday School? I suspect it’s more benchmark crap they squeezed into a social studies lesson by throwing the word ‘law’ into it. And then the next question would be ‘Who’s the first President?’ (which my daughter has known for at LEAST three years), then ‘Who built the first car?’ ?????????????? Actually, I’ve just this moment had a revelation….the reason they stick random crap like that together is because they are combining lessons in that subject so they can SAY they covered the material, but actually use the extra time for….what? More Benchmark crap, I’m sure.
I’m highly offended by this because I have gone to college to study American history. My child has learned more about America from The History Channel and Johnny Horton songs than she’s EVER learned in her years of school COMBINED. Why? Because the school administration is apparently TERRIFIED of looking bad so they are obsessed with getting good scores. “It’s not their fault,” one may say. I said that, too, until this year, when I’ve watched my little girl collapse and sleep as soon as she gets in from school.
When I’ve seen things my daughter SHOULD be learning and she’s not because they are ‘practicing for Benchmark.’ Okay, guys, you know Varsity Blues and how freaking obsessed they were over football? That’s the way they are over Benchmarks. I’m angry because if the teachers REALLY gave half a damn, instead of using all this energy having special pep assemblies (am I fooling you? NO. They actually have damned pep assemblies for the freaking test) and figuring out sneaky ways to steal from my daughter‘s VALUABLE (in her ONLY SHOT AT AN EDUCATION) time to shove more Benchmark at her to make THEMSELVES look good, they would INSTEAD use that time to go to CONGRESS and REFUSE TO DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN, then that would be a lot easier and quicker, and better for our KIDS.
It’s laziness. All of the time all the teachers in the nation spend on all the kids in the nation to answer all the right questions in the nation….think of the time and energy WASTED. THAT’S why I said it would be easier for all of them as a whole to go to Congress rather than continue like ZOMBIES, and in the process making our kids HATE school. Kids who used to LOVE learning….Paperwork is easier to many teachers than actually interacting all day every day, so many of them have gotten lazy. As long as they get good scores, who cares. They don’t get paid enough anyways. If they ARE great teachers and the kids do bad on the test, they could lose their jobs, so screw it. They hand out the papers.
My daughter this week is told to PRACTICE GOING TO BED 30 MINUTES EARLY, waking up 15 minutes early, PRACTICE WEARING COMFORTABLE SHOES….a WEEK before the test, mind you, being told what kind of breakfasts and snacks to eat, advised not to wear jewelry. She is so freaking stressed about this test. She mentions it at least a few times a day. And they’ll probably kick it into high gear the rest of the week b/c there’s only a few days left. Is it because they care about her performance this year and how much she’s ACTUALLY learned and gained from her experience, or are they just tripping because they want THEMSELVES to look good? Hmmm, I think we all know the answer to that.
Okay, this turned into I hate third grade, and I was really going to talk about dirt track racing. Perhaps next time….
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