Isn't She Cute??

I took these pictures of Maddy with my phone yesterday. I have to say that Aaron and Holly did a pretty good job making a very cute baby! She is just the sweetest thing...and looking more like her mom every day (plus the wild hair from Dad!). I must say that I'm glad that the Fletchers are close by because it's fun to get to go see Maddy, but I know it's hard for all the other family members out there who don't have the luxury of being just 30 minutes away. But it seems that the Fletchers are being taken care of by their church, DBU, and hosptial families with the utmost care, so that is something to be thankful for!

T.A. and the Test

It's a big weekend for my friend T.A. Tomorrow at 2:00pm, he will be taking the teacher certification exam for EC-12 Physical Education. If you could just see the amount of studying and preparation he has put into getting ready for this test, you would understand what importance tomorrow holds for him.

I have known T.A. for about four years and he has become probably one of my best friends here. We have helped each other through a lot of ups and downs over the past few years, some of which have been career-related, especially for T.A. He originally came to Dallas pursuing a football career, but injuries prevented that from becoming a reality. He went to college in North Carolina and his degree was in social work, but that's a degree that doesn't present very many opportunities, especially jobs that pay a decent salary, without at least a Master's. However, if you know T.A., you know that one thing he is truly passionate about is working with kids. And he is REALLY good at it. REALLY good. He has a way of connecting with kids and being able to give them positive messages in ways that really "click." Kids love him to death, but they also really respect him and what he has to say. He really has a unique gift. At the same time, T.A. is the type of person who really feels obligated to his family and feels responsible for supporting them financially as much as he can. This has created a dilemma over the years as he searched for a job that his social work degree qualified him for, that would allow him to use his passion for working with kids, and that would provide a decent salary to enable him to help his family as much as possible. He wanted to try to get his teaching certification, but when we looked into it, he didn't qualify because he didn't have the required amount of hours in a content area (due to his major being social work). That was a major disappointment. He worked awhile for CPS, but you can only imagine what that experience was like. Then, about a year ago, he started working for a nonprofit organization called "Communities in Schools." This organization basically works within area schools to provide support, counseling, etc to students. He is on something called the mobile team where he goes to schools all over the DFW area and does presentations on anything from gangs to bullying to hygiene to self-esteem to success, or whatever that school feels is a need. He works with small groups at these various schools on a weekly basis, and let me tell you, he has been a hit. Principals and teachers have called CIS to tell them what a huge impact he is having on the kids and how much difference he has made at their schools. I will have to post a letter one kid wrote to him on here one day...but I digress. Some principals have really encouraged him to try to pursue his certification again and pretty much offered him a job if he were to do so.

Well, a few months ago, after a few conversations with principals, T.A. decided that he would do whatever he had to do to go after the teaching certification, even if it meant going back to school to take whatever classes or hours were necessary. He was going to have to take about 16 additional hours and so we began the application and registration process. However, it was around this time that I discovered that Texas had changed the requirement so that all he would have to do to be accepted into an alternative certification program is pass the content area test. Now, I know I ranted about this change a few posts ago, but at the same time, it's the current law and T.A. currently wants to become a teacher, so this is what he has to do. (It simplify things in his case, that's for sure!) We found that one of the test dates was in April, which if he passed, would be perfect timing for entry into an ACP and potential hiring for the upcoming school year.

So, let the studying begin!! T.A. decided that because of his athletic background he would take the Physical Education exam. This has been a somewhat difficult test to study for because it is so broad. It is all levels (EC-12) and covers things from cognitive development to kinesiology to educational theories to in-depth knowledge of a huge variety of sports, etc. I must say that T.A. has been extremely dedicated. He has studied intensely for weeks. He has made major changes to his schedule and his lifestyle to accomodate this time for studying. In the past, test taking has not been his strong point, but he has determined to do whatever it takes to try to pass this test that will move him to the next level in his life, both purpose-wise and pocketbook-wise.

Now the big day is almost here, and I'm probably more nervous than he is. I feel sort of responsible because he trusted me to guide him in selecting the study materials and study guides and I just hope that what we used was appropriate to the test. I'm nervous that we just spent 3 months studying stuff that is not even on the test. I can't express how much T.A. REALLY wants this and how much I REALLY want it for him!! I just ask all of you reading this to please pray for him tomorrow at 2:00! Pray that he doesn't get test anxiety like he has in the past, pray that he can recall all the information he learned, and pray that what he studied is applicable to the test. Basically, just pray that he passes! Schools need people with his passion, enthusiasm, and concern for kids. Kids need him!! And T.A. needs to be in place where he feels he can use his gifts and abilities to the fullest. So pray that this one test is not a road block to that goal becoming a reality.

Thanks for your prayers!! They will help more than any amount of studying! :-)

Birthdays!!

I have had the privilege of celebrating two very special birthdays in the past week! Khris turned 14 on March 25th so we went out to eat, courtesy of my parents, this weekend. We went to Chili's, where Khris gorged on a shrimp dinner and I had some sub-par chicken tacos.







Then of course Monday was the big day the whole family has been waiting for!! Miss Madeline aka Maddy made her appearance! She is such a sweetheart!! We love her to death already! I was able to make it up to Plano Monday and Tuesday to see the Fletchers and they are doing well...especially Holly who seems almost back to normal to me after a completely natural delivery on Monday. I don't think she quite agrees with me on that though! :-) Aaron and Holly said Maddy had quite a busy day on Tuesday with all kinds of tests and xrays and MRI's, but she is a little trooper! Hopefully she will get the hang of this eating thing soon and we pray that the doctors can give Holly and Aaron some more concrete answers and direction on where they are headed from here with her diagnosis. One thing is for sure...Maddy is blessed to have some pretty awesome parents and a wonderful extended family (if I do say so myself!) and she sure has been showered with love and prayers already!










There was also one more family birthday last week, but she is too far away for us to celebrate it with her. It would be nice to be able to post pictures of Cindy's birthday but I will have to leave that up to her! :-)

The Dallas Police Department at Our Service

I am not known for being the model driver. Unlike my parents, grandparents and brother who are all very conscientious vehicle operators, I have been pulled over more times than I can count for various infractions, usually speeding. However, throughout my history with the law, I have grown to have a deeply rooted dislike for the police in general. Their arrogance and condescending swagger really gets under my skin. Their eagerness to flaunt their authority and take full advantage of it at every opportunity does not earn respect with me. Probably 95% of my encounters with police have been completely negative and leave me feeling angered. Even though I know I'm in the wrong and consequences are due, I still don't think it gives the police the right to talk to me just any kind of way. I feel I have been treated very disrespectfully at times, and I am a white female. I know that my distrust cannot even compare to my neighbors and friends of color who have been at times victims of very unjust actions by law enforcement representatives. However, a story I read in the Dallas Morning News just really takes the cake. I feel this story is a prime example of the overall attitude of the Dallas Police Department and how they treat our citizens.

Here's the story:

NFL player pulled over outside hospital while rushing to be with dying relative

06:39 AM CDT on Thursday, March 26, 2009
By STEVE THOMPSON and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News


As he rushed his family to the hospital, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats rolled through a red light. A Dallas police officer pulled their SUV over outside the emergency room.

Moats and his wife explained that her mother was dying inside the hospital.

"You really want to go through this right now?" Moats pleaded. "My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!"

The officer, 25-year-old Robert Powell, was unmoved. He spent long minutes writing Moats a ticket and threatened him with arrest.

"I can screw you over," the officer told Moats. "I'd rather not do that."

The scene last week, captured by a dashboard video camera, prompted apologies and the promise of an investigation from Dallas police officials Wednesday.

"There were some things that were said that were disturbing, to say the least," said Lt. Andy Harvey, a police spokesman.

Moats' mother-in-law, Jonetta Collinsworth, was struggling at 45 with breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. Family members rushed to her bedside from as far away as California.

On March 17, the night of their incident with Powell, the Moatses had gone to their Frisco home to get some rest. Around midnight, they received word that they needed to hurry back to the hospital if they wanted to see Collinsworth before she died.

The couple, along with Collinsworth's father and an aunt, jumped into the SUV and headed back toward Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. They exited the Dallas North Tollway at Preston Road, just down the street from the hospital.

Moats turned on his hazard lights. He stopped at a red light, where, he said, the only nearby motorist signaled for him to go ahead. He went through.

Powell, watching traffic from a hidden spot, flipped on his lights and sirens. In less than a minute, he caught up to the SUV and followed for about 20 more seconds as Moats found a parking spot outside the emergency room.

Moats' wife, 27-year-old Tamishia, was the first out. Powell yelled at her to get back in.

"Get in there!" he yelled. "Let me see your hands!"

"My mom is dying," she explained.

Powell was undeterred.

"I saw in his eyes that he really did not care," Tamishia Moats said Wednesday.

Tamishia Moats and her great-aunt ignored the officer and headed into the hospital. Ryan Moats stayed behind with the father of the dying woman.

"I waited until no traffic was coming," Moats told Powell, explaining his passage through the red light. "I got seconds before she's gone, man."

Powell demanded his license and proof of insurance. Moats produced his license but said he didn't know where the insurance paperwork was.

"Just give me a ticket or whatever," he said, beginning to sound exasperated and a little argumentative.

"Shut your mouth," Powell told him. "You can cooperate and settle down, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

There was more back and forth.

"If you're going to give me a ticket, give me a ticket."

"Your attitude says that you need one."

"All I'm asking you is just to hurry up."

Powell began a lecture.

"If you want to keep this going, I'll just put you in handcuffs," the officer said, "and I'll take you to jail for running a red light."

Powell made several more points, including that the SUV was illegally parked. Moats replied "Yes sir" to each.

"Understand what I can do," Powell concluded. "I can tow your truck. I can charge you with fleeing. I can make your night very difficult."

"I understand," Moats responded. "I hope you'll be a great person and not do that."

Hospital security guards arrived and told Powell that the Moatses' relative really was upstairs dying.

Powell spent several minutes inside his squad car, in part to check Moats for outstanding warrants. He found none.

Another hospital staffer came out and spoke with a Plano police officer who had arrived.

"Hey, that's the nurse," the Plano officer told Powell. "She said that the mom's dying right now, and she's wanting to know if they can get him up there before she dies."

"All right," Powell replied. "I'm almost done."

As Moats signed the ticket, Powell continued his lecture.

"Attitude's everything," he said. "All you had to do is stop, tell me what was going on. More than likely, I would have let you go."

It had been about 13 minutes.

Moats and Collinsworth's father went into the hospital, where they found Collinsworth had died, with her daughter at her side.

The Moatses, who are black, said Wednesday that they can't help but think that race might have played a part in how Powell, who is white, treated them.

"I think he should lose his job," said Ryan Moats, a Dallas native who attended Bishop Lynch High School and now plays for the Houston Texans.

Powell, hired in January 2006, did not return a call for comment. Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson said Powell told police officials that he believed that he was doing his job. He has been re-assigned to dispatch pending an investigation.

"When people are in distress, we should come to the rescue," said Simpson. "We shouldn't further their distress."

Collinsworth was buried Saturday in Louisiana.

All I can do is shake my head at this. Yes, I understand that police have a duty to uphold the law and that a law was broken. Yes, I understand that NFL players are not above the law. However, common sense tells us that there are extenuating circumstances that call for service of a different kind from police. You would think that once the officer heard the explanation of what was going on that he would have offered to escort them speedily to the hospital or tried to accomodate their concern in some way. Instead, this officer picked one of the most tragic times in this family's life to go on a power trip. I am disgusted.

I understand police have a difficult job and that many of them grow hardened. They may feel no one respects them or the authority of the law. I've felt this as a teacher... I've felt the frustration at the constant disrespect directed toward us as adults and educators. I understand the frusrtation leads you to want to demand respect and at times you find yourself in a power struggle, despite the fact that your intelligence may recognize it's not worth it. Yet this story is exactly why even ordinary people no longer trust or respect police. Law-abiding citizens' lives are just accessories and pawns in boosting already over-inflated egos. But just as police demand respect, they must give it. Their badge is not a license to run wild with the authority that has been granted them. There is still a time and place for compassion and for having regard for the citizens they are supposed to "serve and protect." Many black men are resigned to the fact that they will always be subject to suspicion, to being pulled over with no real reason other than the color of their skin, to searches and questioning that go beyond the norm at routine traffic stops. They are resigned to the fact that they must always be extra cautious in all they do and say and in the places they choose to visit because of how quickly their "offenses" can be escalated and even embellished by the police. This is a fact of life in Dallas, just as it is in many other cities. But I can't imagine the frustration of Mr. Moats, who probably could have resigned himself to dealing with the police scrutiny on any other night, but being asked to deal with it when trying to say good-bye to a dying relative...it's too much. It's just really too much.

In my opinion, the police really need to adjust their attitudes before they completely destroy people's trust and respect for the law altogether. It's thousands of incidents like this that are slowly chipping away at the public's trust for the law. To whom much is given, much is required. If one is given much authority, they must handle it with wisdom, fairness, and even compassion when necessary.

What is your reaction to this story?

Spring Break

Well, it has been an interesting and not exactly relaxing spring break so far. My original plan was to help Janet and a group of volunteers organize the new reading room/library at Roseland on Monday and then leave that afternoon for Farwell until Thursday, because I have some appointments and other things to take care of later in the week. However, on Monday afternoon, shortly before I was ready to leave, I started feeling extremely nauseous and sick to my stomach. But since I rarely ever get sick and can count on one hand the times I've had any kind of stomach illness in my life, I didn't think too much of it and decided to go ahead and depart, assuming it would pass in a few minutes. Wrong assumption. The further I drove, the worse I felt. I made it to about Weatherford and that's where it got ugly. Real ugly. I will spare you the gruesome details, but needless to say, I wasn't sure at that point if I could even make it back to Dallas much less Farwell. I turned around and finally made it back home after two or three pit stops between Ft. Worth and Arlington. It was what I would call "violently ill." The next morning (Tuesday) I felt better but not sure I was up to the road trip and also the fact that I needed to return Thursday made it almost pointless to drive 6 hours for just a day. So I started trying to make alternate plans to visit another time, but I just felt bad because I had only been here a day at Christmas and been promising everyone I would be here at Spring Break. On top of that, one of my best friends and I have been having some conversations lately about family and just how we take them for granted and assume they will always be here, but that we shouldn't put off any opprotunities we have to spend time with them while we can. The fact that Dawson had a kind of scary accident last week really hit this home to me, so I coudln't stop feeling guilty about not going. So about 3pm I just stopped the him-hawing and jumped in the car and here I am for my one and a half-day visit in Farwell!

Spring Break is really a misnomer (I don't know how to spell that, surprisingly ;-) ) because it is usually anything but a break!!

Pray for the Claytons Today!

This morning I got a text from Natalie Clayton, one of my great friends from college. Natalie and Daniel are expecting their first baby boy, but it looks like he is going to be here much earlier than expected. Natalie is only 29 weeks, but it looks like she is going to have to deliver today due to blood pressure problems (preeclampsia). The good news is that Natalie said that Kason is a good size and healthy, but I know it's still a scary time.

Natalie and Daniel are two of the most awesome people you will ever meet and I just love them to death. I have been so excited about them becoming parents and meeting Mr. Kason Maddox Clayton, but of course it's a concern anytime a little one has to make their appearance this early. I know the Clayton and Maddox families would appreciate your prayers for the health of both Natalie and Kason today, so thanks for keeping them lifted up in your thoughts!

We love you, Natalie, Daniel, and Kason!!!

Go Mavs!

Last night Janet so generously invited me and a couple other of her co-workers to a Mavs game. I always like getting invited by Janet because a friend of hers has season tickets and some REALLY great seats! I will never be able to sit in nosebleed again after experiencing a professional basketball game three rows from the floor, behind the players bench! Wow! Those people you see on TV are real people! Amazing! I had a hard time concentrating on the game because I was too busy focusing on all the little details that you're usually too far away to notice...like the people who hold the warm up suits and fold them and hand them to the players every time they come to the bench, or reading the players tattoos, or trying to see the coach's whiteboard when he was drawing up a play, or noticing what the players drink during the game. You know, fascinating stuff like that! :-) The Mavs did win the game, but I was disappointed that Taco Bueno is no longer giving a free taco coupon like they used to win the Mavs scored at least 100 pts.

Overall, a great time and great company! Thanks Janet!!!! :-)