Late Summer In The Steger Garden (2009)

From Flowers

RISD shields students from the President

Next week, the President plans to broadcast a short speech aimed at students nationwide, challenging them "to work hard, set goals and take responsibility for their learning." Ho-hum, right? Wrong.

According to the The Dallas Morning News, the Richardson Independent School District (RISD) received about a hundred calls from parents objecting to their children listening to the President. Perhaps as a result, the RISD plans to require written parental permission before students are allowed to listen to the President of the United States extol the value of an education.

Normally, the RISD can be counted on to make level-headed decisions in the best interest of education. This decision might have involved the former superintendent and now, once again, acting superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bukhair. If so, and this was her call, I'll be charitable and assume she's just rusty after coming out of retirement. Because I hate to think that the RISD is a victim of an illness making a comeback in this country, an epidemic that's not swine flu.

"Station Fire" Moves Away From Pasadena

Scott provides the following account of the fires burning in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles ... and very near Pasadena! The fire has already burned nearly 242 square miles, making it one of the largest wildfires in southern California history.

"Bush Derangement Syndrome" Redux

"The more things change, the more they remain the same."
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

For some reason, recently I've been thinking about "Bush Derangement Syndrome" more than I ever did while George W. Bush was President. According to Wikipedia, Bush Derangement Syndrome is

"a pejorative political neologism coined by the American conservative political columnist, and psychiatrist, Charles Krauthammer in a 2003 column. ... Krauthammer defined Bush Derangement Syndrome as 'the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush.' While Krauthammer's column was somewhat tongue-in-cheek ... the term indicates a belief that some extreme criticisms of President Bush are of emotional origins rather than based on facts or logic."

Charles Krauthammer's 2003 observation was just a single example of a more general phenomenon.

Berkner 49, South Grand Prairie 19

Opening kickoff returned for a touchdown!

From 2009 Football

The 100 degree temperatures have moderated to the low nineties in north Texas. That can mean only one thing -- football season! Berkner High School opened its season with a dominating win over South Grand Prairie High School at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. The team looked sharp on both offense and defense, scoring on the opening kickoff and pushing their lead to 42-0 score after three quarters. The experts were impressed, voting Berkner into the D/FW area rankings in 18th place.

"Johnny Macau"

Our very own "Johnny Macau" traveled to Macau, China, to compete in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Season 3 Main Event at the Grand Lisboa Casino. The following account combines the event's own news reports with John's personal account.

Window to Bulgaria

From Brian's blog:

"For the next two years I will be serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria, where my primary assignment will be teaching English as a foreign language. I hope to meet the first of the Peace Corps’ three goals by proving to be a competent English teacher and getting involved in secondary projects such as environmental education. I hope to meet the second goal through my teaching and by integrating into the community and making new friends. What about the third goal? Well, that’s where this blog comes in. This is primarily for friends back home who have never been fortunate enough to visit Bulgaria. Maybe it will inspire you to visit. Maybe you will be content to live vicariously through me. Either way, the hope is that, if you follow along, you will gain a better understanding and appreciation of Bulgaria and its people."

Read more of Brian's blog at WindowToBulgaria.blogspot.com.

Pete Sessions Townhall Meeting

Report from a stranger in a strange land

Pete Sessions held a town hall meeting in Richardson Wednesday evening. Grand Hall of the Civic Center. Inside, a festive atmosphere. An overflowing crowd. Every chair taken. People lined up two and three deep along the walls to the back and sides. Microphone connected to speakers in the room next door for people who didn't fit inside the Grand Hall.

Road Trip

Our family is used to summer road trips, usually to Wisconsin and Indiana to visit family. This summer has led us in an entirely different direction. Ellen and I drove from Dallas to southern California to visit Scott in Pasadena, where he's a grad student at Caltech. And, different from our usual long hauls on the Interstate Highways, we took our time getting there.

Roots

I've always known that my ancestors emigrated to America from Europe in the 1800s. The Gambskys from Poland and the Millers from Denmark. The Jacobs from somewhere in Germany and the Stegers from Bavaria. Only the Stegers came here recently enough for me to have personal contact with any of the immigrants. My grandfather Frank Xavier Steger, Jr., was a toddler when his parents left Germany for America. All I ever knew was that they were from a village near Nuremberg and sailed to America in the early 1890s.