Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Etiquette

Today, I believe I have something important to say, so feel free to direct others here... repost... whatever.
I'd like to remind people about an old fashioned idea called etiquette.
Etiquette, according to an online dictionary, is:  a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group.
In today's society, we have almost instant access to information. When we have news that we feel others ought to know, we can tell dozens, hundreds, multitudes of people at a time. Technology that allows us near instant access to information, and equally fast disbursement of information seems almost exempt from any form or rules of etiquette.
Many people don't fact check before passing along information. If the source we got our information from is reliable, we assume that their news is reliable. Sometimes it is, other times the news just seemed so important to share, facts were not verified.
Take a moment to verify your news before you pass it on.
I'd like to address more than just fact verification.
Yes, you have the facts. Straight from the source.
"Oh, I just heard Susie Que is having a baby! Isn't that exciting? Congratulations, Susie!"
That seems harmless enough, doesn't it?
Susie Que told you, her best friend, before she told her mother. And you told the world on your favorite social network. Your own mom sees your post, and calls Susie's Mom to congratulate her.
This leaves Susie in a bad spot with her family. The news wasn't yours to share.

There are some things that need to be shared with many people in a short amount of time. Social media is a great way to accomplish this. Yet there are still few rules you should observe.
Immediate family should be notified of deaths, and funeral arrangements before it is posted in a public forum. I know first hand the pain of learning funeral arrangements of a close family member from a public media forum rather than from the family.
Yes, it is easier to let everyone know at one time. However, it is poor etiquette not to prepare close family members for the onslaught of phone calls they will receive once the news is announced.

Instant social media can start a wildfire of misinformation and pain when seemingly 'verified facts'  are posted. A friend of mine has been in a coma in the hospital. I got a telephone call that she had passed away. I checked her social media site, and saw that one of her family members had posted of her loss. There were dozens of condolences posted. Her daughter's site also was swamped in condolences. Tears flowed for hours as my family grieved.
Then we get news... our friend is alive!
We rejoiced in the miracle... only to learn that our grief was founded on an unsubstantiated rumor.

Please, before you post congratulations, condolences, the missing child report... check your facts. Don't post news that isn't yours to share. Don't assume all you read on your social media source is true. Be kind, be thoughtful, be caring as well as careful.
Be blessed. And please be prayerful, always.










Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Learn something new....

I really don't understand some of the rules that govern Arkansas. Yesterday, Daniel and Sam went to take their driver's test. Despite passing the test... the newly minted driver must STILL have an adult over 21 in the front seat with him... until he has hit the six month mark of  passing his written exam.
WHY let them take the test before the six months is up, if they cannot drive solo?
I understand that the reasoning of getting six months supervised driving is quite desirable. However, I don't understand allowing the new driver to take (Pass or fail) the test before the six months is up... if they cannot, in fact, drive solo upon passing the physical driving test.

So, After the test yesterday, we went to the Revenue office. This is a separate place from where one takes the driving test. They had a sign on the door... No photo ID's or Driver's licenses will be done today. ARGH. Home we went. We went to a different Revenue Office today (as our town errands took us in the opposite direction of the Revenue office we were at yesterday.) We learned in our almost two hour ordeal... the Revenue Office changed computer systems yesterday. The folks there are on a learning curve. The lady who did Daniel's license handed him a receipt.. which I read.  He was listed as Daniel Joseph. Which was wrong. It took the lady and her supervisor almost 45 minutes to figure out how to correct his name.

Library time ran late today.
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In other news, I got a new picture of Grandson Gavin! Taken on his sixth birthday. I can hardly believe how much he has grown. Many thanks to his Mommy for sending it.

The whole driver's license ordeal has put a crinkle in our plans for Ohio in October. Looks like Becky and the kids will be going with Mr C. I will be staying in Arkansas, to ride with the boys to and from work. They don't even want to ask for time off, as they had taken a week off in July, and another in August.
I'm sure Mr C will enjoy having daddy/ Daughter as well as Umpaw time.
Here is a vidoe Becky made with the kids. COOKIES 
Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

September...

Today is September 11. What a day in history...
For our family, September 11 has two birthdays. My brother Robbie is 49 today. And my grandson Gavin is SIX! Happy Birthday to you both!
I haven't seen Gavin since he was two years old. And his Mom hasn't sent me pictures, nor posted any online that I am allowed to see, in over a year. I sent him a birthday gift, regardless, to the last address I had for them.
So I am down by two grandchildren... Gavin, and Nickole.
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Yesterday was six months Bill has been gone. It was hard for me. I really am TRYING to 'move on' and not cry every day. Right now, I don't know when the tears will stop. It isn't like I spend every moment wracked with sobs, as I did the first week. I just can't seem to get through a day without the tears breaking out at some point. I'm adjusting. But it is taking awhile. I am up to twelve days of not crying... still shooting for the two in a row.
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The boys have really been working a lot recently. Between working with the neighbor on his projects, and working at the Wooden Spoon, they have things to do almost every day. Sam got called in to work at the Wooden Spoon this morning. Dan went ahead and came to the library with me. He will work at Anthony's (The neighbor) this afternoon, and Sam will join him once he gets off. Tomorrow Dan starts his latest position at The Wooden spoon. He is promoted to Salad Chef. The Wooden Spoon has a LOT of salads, so this is a big deal. Fully one side of the menu is salads.
They are still squeezing in school work as well... actually asking if perhaps we can do Library on Mondays rather than Tuesdays, so that they can have Tuesdays as an uninterrupted school day.
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There are pictures of TREK up at MooCrew3.
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Batty

The night before the boys and I headed back to Arkansas, we went to Mason, Texas, to see the bats. The bat cave is a Nature Conservancy operation. The Bat Cave has millions and millions of bats.
Becky and Stephen and the kids went, as well as Tommy, Daniel, Sam, and I. When they learned that we were a group of home schoolers... they refunded our entry fee! We told them we were not there officially as a home school group, but the docent insisted! Cool!

The cave is down seven+ miles of dirt/caliche/ stone road. The road crosses several cattle guards, and a couple of (dry while we were there) creek beds, and finally, the James River. You have to drive across the river. In the water. As in... there is not a bridge. We couldn't judge the depth of the water, and I was afraid my little Toyota would flood out or wash away. So I parked on the side of the road, and rode over in Becky and Stephen's truck.
As it turned out, the water is not deep, and there is a solid rock bed where the road crosses. A smaller car than my own made it across without problems.
We saw the bats exiting the cave like a constant stream of smoke, swirling up, up, and up. They just kept coming. A red fox put in an appearance, as well as a hawk. Tommy got a great picture of the hawk, which we are hoping may win a contest for photography. He was using Becky's nice camera.

The next morning, the twins and I headed back to Arkansas as Ben and Paula and Tommy headed off to their jobs. I was going to show pictures of the trip to my Mom... but I couldn't find my camera.
After me fretting all week, Tommy found my camera yesterday! It was in the front floorboard of Becky's truck, where it had apparently fallen from my purse when I left my car by the riverside.
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The past week has been fairly quiet. Daniel and Sam are working a LOT between their job at the Wooden Spoon and our neighbor Anthony preparing his tractors for the Tired Iron of the Ozarks Tractor show coming this weekend.
Thanks for reading!