i had the day off from work so i could help out at a camp in a neighboring state, but less than 30 miles away. a big part of what i did as a volunteer was chase down basketballs that had bounced away. there seemed to be constant flow of kids to the courts, so i stayed busy. one of the balls popped, but it looked well-worn. i did like listening to the stories the kids had, one of them spoke of being a.d.h.d. and autistic. i said i noticed how autism has been spoken of more since 'rain man' was a best-picture winning movie. i even had one kid come to me needing help as his hand was cut, so i took him inside to the infirmary to get cleaned up. it may have been due to scratching an itch, after some of his fingers were bandaged i said he should try not to scratch it. the volunteer coordinator introduced me to a few more campers who needed help, it sounded like they wanted me to see that they avoided wandering off. one spoke of seeing war planes in the air, they were planes but not military. another kid sat down next to him was trying to correct him, but i said 'take it easy, boys' twice but they kept it up. i was given a shirt, and a light lunch, with the other volunteers and staff members, just some salad and breadsticks. it did feel like a rewarding day to me, and i don't get that feeling every time. i had wondered before how i could help others, which led to me entering my company's mentoring program, but i don't get as many emails from my student as i had hoped. eventually i was asked to help with packing up equipment as it was the last day, and it meant stacking chairs in one room among other things. i tried to get all of the shelving units back in the given boxes but was unable to do so, one was left out. and i helped with loading boxes on the truck, though most of them were run up the small hill with a cart by another volunteer. i liked knowing how much i was needed there, the volunteer coordinator kept thanking me for being there.
i tried watching 'millionaire' and 'jeopardy' when i got home but i was tired and kept falling asleep. i did watch 'the simpsons', an episode i had seen recently, where principal skinner was running around on top of a shipping container. earlier, i had jogged my memory a little and reminded myself of a 'simpsons' episode about camps, it was when bart took over camp krusty in a coup. good thing i didn't mention it while at the camp, might have given the kids too many ideas. i did speak of going to church camp when i was younger, i had never seen a y.m.c.a. camp before. this one had just celebrated its centennial last year, a reminder of how the legacy of conservationists like emerson hough is very much alive. there was a 'y' in my hometown, but no camp there that i knew of, though i did youth basketball there and i think they organized the little leagues as well.
watching a video on a late night local show, 'impossible' by shontelle. i like how there's plenty of raw emotion in it, and it was one that resonated with me when i first heard it on the radio. especially the line 'all my scars are open'. so i've proven that i can write about musicians besides lady gaga. earlier i liked seeing eminem and jay-z perform on the rooftop on 'letterman'. both did a song by themselves, em did 'i'm not afraid' and jay did one about bringing back the money please. the one together was good, including lines like grin and bear it, if the shoe fits wear it. and just a kid from the gutter. i think it's called 'renegade'. i may not be a kid from the gutter, but some genres of music ring true with me, those that capture the struggle of life well like alternative and rap. when i'm around my comedian friends i try to stay modest and sometimes say
'aw shucks, i'm just a shy working-class kid from central iowa'. a description of sen. charles grassley once started with those words, 'aw shucks', which i thought was kind of funny.
i wanted to attend a local festival in a nearby town but the thunderstorms led to the parade being canceled. i still got a schedule and a button from a dairy queen when i ordered a blizzard, so i know when the car show is and the pancake breakfast. also ate at a new gyro shop, so new they had kids lounging around in a back room, only some saloon-type doors separated it from where i was and the oven. no refrigerator, just a cooler full of canned soft drinks. i got soaked after leaving the shop to get back to my car, my umbrella was bending in the wind.
it may have been just as well about the change in plans, since i found the time to watch a d.v.d. on loan from the library, 'babes in toyland'. i knew it was later the name of a music group, and was based on an operetta, since it was on a historical marker i saw in pittsburgh. love visiting the keystone state, pennsylvania, so much history there! the movie did remind me of 'wizard of oz', and i noticed the villain was played by ray bolger, the scarecrow in 'oz'. it was nice to see them get plenty of fairy tales in it, though i'm still partial to 'shrek', since it is a satire of fairy tales. a ray gun in it reminded me of 'honey i shrunk the kids'.
it likely will be a busy but fun day on saturday, besides the festival there would be an activist event, 'hands across the sand', at a local lake, aiming to change america's energy policy in the wake of the oil spill in the gulf. the saints baseball game was rained out tonight, and they plan on making it up as part of a doubleheader. i like their nightly themes, for saturday it's a celebration of a century of scouting. so there would be two events where i'm honoring the legacy of emerson hough, and his friend theodore roosevelt. it would be a good idea to have a homemade sign saying who i'm there for.
i tried watching 'millionaire' and 'jeopardy' when i got home but i was tired and kept falling asleep. i did watch 'the simpsons', an episode i had seen recently, where principal skinner was running around on top of a shipping container. earlier, i had jogged my memory a little and reminded myself of a 'simpsons' episode about camps, it was when bart took over camp krusty in a coup. good thing i didn't mention it while at the camp, might have given the kids too many ideas. i did speak of going to church camp when i was younger, i had never seen a y.m.c.a. camp before. this one had just celebrated its centennial last year, a reminder of how the legacy of conservationists like emerson hough is very much alive. there was a 'y' in my hometown, but no camp there that i knew of, though i did youth basketball there and i think they organized the little leagues as well.
watching a video on a late night local show, 'impossible' by shontelle. i like how there's plenty of raw emotion in it, and it was one that resonated with me when i first heard it on the radio. especially the line 'all my scars are open'. so i've proven that i can write about musicians besides lady gaga. earlier i liked seeing eminem and jay-z perform on the rooftop on 'letterman'. both did a song by themselves, em did 'i'm not afraid' and jay did one about bringing back the money please. the one together was good, including lines like grin and bear it, if the shoe fits wear it. and just a kid from the gutter. i think it's called 'renegade'. i may not be a kid from the gutter, but some genres of music ring true with me, those that capture the struggle of life well like alternative and rap. when i'm around my comedian friends i try to stay modest and sometimes say
'aw shucks, i'm just a shy working-class kid from central iowa'. a description of sen. charles grassley once started with those words, 'aw shucks', which i thought was kind of funny.
i wanted to attend a local festival in a nearby town but the thunderstorms led to the parade being canceled. i still got a schedule and a button from a dairy queen when i ordered a blizzard, so i know when the car show is and the pancake breakfast. also ate at a new gyro shop, so new they had kids lounging around in a back room, only some saloon-type doors separated it from where i was and the oven. no refrigerator, just a cooler full of canned soft drinks. i got soaked after leaving the shop to get back to my car, my umbrella was bending in the wind.
it may have been just as well about the change in plans, since i found the time to watch a d.v.d. on loan from the library, 'babes in toyland'. i knew it was later the name of a music group, and was based on an operetta, since it was on a historical marker i saw in pittsburgh. love visiting the keystone state, pennsylvania, so much history there! the movie did remind me of 'wizard of oz', and i noticed the villain was played by ray bolger, the scarecrow in 'oz'. it was nice to see them get plenty of fairy tales in it, though i'm still partial to 'shrek', since it is a satire of fairy tales. a ray gun in it reminded me of 'honey i shrunk the kids'.
it likely will be a busy but fun day on saturday, besides the festival there would be an activist event, 'hands across the sand', at a local lake, aiming to change america's energy policy in the wake of the oil spill in the gulf. the saints baseball game was rained out tonight, and they plan on making it up as part of a doubleheader. i like their nightly themes, for saturday it's a celebration of a century of scouting. so there would be two events where i'm honoring the legacy of emerson hough, and his friend theodore roosevelt. it would be a good idea to have a homemade sign saying who i'm there for.
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