here we go

I live in Pittsburgh. In case you are not from Pittsburgh or have just been living under a rock lately, the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XL (Roman numerals for 40, not an abbreviation for extra large) is in Detroit. Detroit, coincidentally, is the hometown of Pittsburgh’s beloved Jerome Bettis. Jerome is very likely playing the final season of his illustrious career and is hoping to finally capture a ring in his hometown.

I’m a pretty big fan of the Steelers. I have to be...it’s practically a requirement to being born in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I’m not as big a fan as say, John Kelly. Mr. Kelly teaches an honors course on ethnic relations in the Big Beaver Falls Area Senior High School in Beaver, PA. Last Friday, a student in his class named Joshua Vannoy came to school wearing a Denver Broncos jersey. Last Sunday, the Steelers played the Broncos in the AFC Championship game (and won in an overwhelming fashion).

Mr. Kelly’s class was taking their midterm last Friday. Allegedly, Mr. Kelly told Josh to get out of the chair he was sitting in and instructed him to sit on the floor to take his exam. He also (allegedly) instructed the other students to move their desks into a circle around where josh had been asked to sit. Mr. Kelly then allegedly passed out paper to the students and encouraged them to toss wadded up paper balls at Josh.

WOW. Talk about taking your team pride seriously. It seems that some of the students insist this was all a joke. Some students have even said that Josh was laughing through most of this. However, Josh has stated that he went to the Principal about the matter and that he told his parents who have (surprise!) hired a lawyer.

Mr. Kelly doesn’t seem to think this is a serious matter. He was quoted as having said on Monday, “We won the game [Sunday] night, didn't we?" That's all I was worried about.” The Principal and Superintendent do think it is a serious matter, however.

That all aside, I have a question. Did the young Mr. Vannoy really think it was a good idea to wear the Broncos jersey in Steelers Country the Friday before the biggest game (to that point of the season anyway)? On a day that most in Southwest PA had officially declared as Black-and-Gold Day? If his skin isn’t thick enough to deal with the taunting that would obviously come to such actions, maybe he should have kept the Broncos jersey in his closet.

That said I am not condoning Mr. Kelly’s actions, if they are true. No teacher should ever take entertainment (and yes, the NFL IS entertainment) more seriously than his or her students.

My guess is that come next Friday, Josh won’t be wearing a Seahawks jersey to school. I doubt there’s a store in the tri-state area that would sell him one anyway.

post update I

I have a friend who does this and I like the idea, so I am shamelessly stealing it.

monkey see, monkey do

I still haven’t totally cleaned up my mouth, but I am watching what I say. Thankfully, Natasha isn’t walking around the house swearing although “sit” really sounds a lot like “shit” sometimes, but we know it’s just “sit”.

food fight

Natasha now tries just about anything. She loves cherry tomatoes, black olives, and most any fruit. She doesn’t usually like chicken, except the nuggets from Chick-fil-A. Meatballs are a favorite, but not hamburger or meatloaf. Pancakes, hot cereal (instant oatmeal), and sausage are her favorite breakfast foods. She still doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, but Eat-N-Park Smiley Cookies are a favorite.

highway robbery

The car *DID* need new brakes. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that out until it needed new rotors too. And new tires. I still hate mechanics and cars.

what’s your name, little girl, what’s your name?

Katrina Rita is still our girl name. We have no boy name (although James will definitely be the middle name if we have a boy). Beth likes Gavin (I don’t) and I like Ethan (Beth doesn’t). We went through this with Natasha, so it’s our thinking that this child will be a boy. We don’t know for sure; it’s just a hunch

changing spaces

We’ve done zero work getting rooms ready for baby number two. In fact, we actually started destroying other parts of the house instead. We stripped wallpaper in the hall leading to our bedroom and Beth’s uncle took out a bulkhead. The bulkhead tied in above our front door and he didn’t want to have to cut a notch into the oak door trim because of the bulkhead. The bulkhead is gone and we now have an overhead light in our entryway. April 11 is coming fast.

snack attack

I got ripped off again by the snack machine last week. I really wanted some BBQ potato chips. I paid for them, but the bag got stuck in the mechanism. I then paid again thinking the second bag (and last one in the machine) would push the first bag out and I’d have a bag for later. Instead, the first bag blocked the second. The second bag then exploded. Later on, someone else somehow managed to get my first bag to drop. They got a freebie.

Also, they replaced the machines on our floor today. There are two brand new machines: a snack machine and a bottle pop machine. No can pop machine. I don’t like bottles of pop. 20 oz. is more than I usually want. It’s also 50¢ more than a 12 oz. can. Also, the cans always seem colder. I hope a can machine is on the way, but I doubt it.