Thirteen Things about WHERE SCONE LIVES
- The climate here is sunny and dry. Very, very dry. Bleeding skin dry. But it keeps me from getting attacks of seasonal depression. Usually.
- People elsewhere usually think we're constantly buried under snow and ice. If that were true, I'd have gone screaming out of my mind long ago.
- We do have plenty of wildlife--skunks in particular. I think one has made a burrow under our deck.
- Houses around here are fascinating. Some are tiny little gingerbread houses, some are massive and ostentatious. Some (of all sizes) have bronze statues on their front lawns.
- I hear that we're now part of an "X-YZ metro area" (think Dallas-Ft. Worth). Our part of the area (X) is undergoing rapid expansion-- new houses going up everywhere.
- The YZ part of the metro area is now full of empty storefronts. It's spooky.
- I blame the New Mall.
- We have about 10,000 banks here. Of the new construction, about 1 in 5 lots is going to have a bank on it.
- We are getting no new gas stations, though, despite the fact that they are at least 5 miles apart in our area. Well, at least we only have one place to sink our money.
- We are also getting a new hospital, although our town (X) has one already, and so does YZ. There are less than 200,000 people in the area. Guess the banks were bored.
- YZ contains the best school in the state and several other excellent charter schools. X has things that pass for schools, but only barely.
- People here are trying to shut down that best school and preferably the other good ones, 'cause it's not fair that some kids get to go to good schools while others don't. Huh?? Tell me in what world that makes sense.
- In the medians along the interstate in this area, they've put up barriers made of several steel cables strung along deeply buried steel poles. They can take the top right off any car that bumps into them (I have seen it). But then there are these signs every so often: STAY OFF MEDIAN. Again: huh??
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Momma M
2. Nancy
3. Surrender Dorothy
4. LifeCruiser
5. Yellow Rose
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8 comments:
Oooh... I've lived in cold, dry climates, too. Good thing you DON'T have so much snow and ice, eh? ;)
My T13 is up, too.
I wish we had snow this year. It was just cold. SOunds like too much building where you are.
Great list. I'm playing.
Welcome to the TT microcosm. Glad to have you.
My list is up now too.
HW: You are correct, sir. We were blessed.
Great list, always interesting to read what others come up with :-)
My T13 is kind of "hard-boiled" ;-)
Reading where you are from and being one who lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I can kinda visualize it....kinda, except it was extremely hot and humid in Texas. LOL
Happy Thursday! My 13 is up!
That is really weird about the schools. And the medians, too! But, we have plenty of weirdness here, too, doesn't everyone?
That's cool that you are able to avoid SAD by living there. I'm not against medicine, I loves me my pharmaceuticals, but I also love it when I can take care of something without needing medication.
Ah, I see. It seems to me in this case as though the objectors believe this elitism is going on, despite the facts. That is, yes, it is a publicly funded charter school-- which receives less money than the other schools in the area and pays its teachers significantly less than the average, too. Admission is by lottery, not merit or money or other elitism-- but to remain in the school, students have to conform to a strict behavior code that some people may view as unfair. For example, they must turn in homework on time, must not cause unnecessary disturbances in class, etc. Repeated violations, not failure to measure up academically, may be cause for expulsion. In fact, the academic model is so incredibly good, I wish other schools would adopt it, but they won't because of the pressure for social promotion or worse, holding back the bright kids until the slow kids "get it". #1 Son was one of the more advanced kids in his class previously; when he switched schools, we discovered that he was working at an "average 4th-grade" level instead of advanced 5th grade.
One reason I think that the people who oppose this school are not doing it with the most rational of motives is that although, yes, there are a limited number of seats for new students each year, the school is expanding as fast as it can and taking on as many new students as it can (currently the average class size is around 33)-- but these same people are opposing the expansion of the school. So OK. What do they really want?
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