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Yesterday, my daughter’s friend’s school went into lockdown. This happened because the fire alarm had gone off. I’d been aware of this through a FB group that I am a part of; people were sending messages about it. One parent was upset because she could not contact her child attending the school, get into the school or talk to school staff during the lockdown. She was frantic and unaware of what was going on. Fortunately, thanks to that group, more information about what happened came through and it turned out it was nothing major and no one was hurt.
Today it was another school’s turn to go into lockdown: My son’s elementary school. When I picked Jesse up from school today, he was upset. I asked him what was wrong and he explained that his school had gone into lockdown. I decided to talk more about it with him after we got home. By that time, however, his school principal sent out an email to all the parents about the lockdown. The same message was sent out over the phone. I was surprised to learn that the lockdown had happened hours earlier. I had not been aware of it at all. I was also a little upset because what if something had happened? I would have LIKED to know something was up at the school so I could be aware of any messages or emails to watch for on my phone. I was also concerned about other parents being worried when being told by their children at the time they were picking them up that the school had gone into lockdown. With so many bad things happening at schools these days – shootings and such – of course we’ll be a little worried when being told the school has gone into lockdown, but it would have been nice to know when it actually happened and not hours later when the situation had ended.
Well, obviously, nothing did happen. There was a police incident in the area and the police had requested the school go into lockdown. That is all that I know and all that I was told. Unfortunately, there was nothing about this police incident on the news this afternoon. So the details are sketchy.
I explained all of this to Jesse and assured him that everything was okay. He was upset that a lockdown had even happened at his school. I explained to him that his school went into lockdown for his safety. They did it so that the bad guys could not get into the school or be anywhere near the students playing outside. I pretty much told him it was so the school could keep the bad guys out. He was still troubled about it. I assured him that the school did it to keep everybody safe and that the staff know what to do if anything goes wrong. They are trained to act in emergency situations. I reminded him about learning about school lockdown before. It seemed to make him feel better.
Also today, I came across a funny historical fact in a World War II book I am currently reading. Before Eisenhower became President, he was in the military. He and some other fellow officers had their picture in a newspaper. Unfortunately, whoever captioned the photo incorrectly identified Ike as “Lt. Col. D. D. Ersenbeing.” Um….Ersenbeing?? LOL I had a good laugh over that. I even verified that on the Internet and it really happened. Eisenhower even admits to this in his memoir.
Wow, and I thought MY maiden name was often misspelled.
But my first name is often misspelled, too. I have had it spelled “Don” or even “Donn” so many times, sometimes I wonder if I am two different people! Yes. My masculine alter ego is indeed named Don Kolkausser. Let this be known! He is not to be confused with Daniel Colclasure!
Geez.
This reminds me of silly and confusing voicemail messages I have received on my phone. I am not talking about people calling a wrong number, either. I am talking about recorded messages from my kids’ schools. I have a feature on my phone that transcribes voicemail messages into text and, well, it looks like it ain’t exactly perfect.
These are some of the messages I have received:
“Hey Simmons, I has got a picky guy. Nathaniel.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians, students of (some school my daughter doesn’t go to).”
“Hey Simmons, I had set up with you Dennis.” Then: “Dear parents or guardians. Please your calendars for our families star night on…”
“Hey Simmons, I had set up with you Dennis Daniel.” Then: “Dear parents and guardians. Please set…”
“Hey, Samantha has a picky guy. Nathaniel.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians and students…”
“Hey Simmons, I had set up at the dentist by noon.” Then: “Dear parents, guardians and students…”
My kids have also been misidentified, with names ranging from Justin, Donald and Jonathan. (Interestingly, they have uncles named Justin and Donald.)
Sure, I have a good laugh over these incorrect names, but even more of a laugh when the wrong words are used. It’s all good, though. I am usually able to figure out most of what the messages are trying to say!
Today marks a sad day in history. It was 26 years ago – on January 28, 1986 – that America witnessed the Challenger explosion. This was supposed to be a day of great joy and pride. For the very first time, a school teacher was being sent into outer space. Sadly, she was the first and only teacher sent off into space in a space shuttle, because as many people know, the space shuttle, Challenger, exploded shortly after liftoff. There were no survivors.
I was almost 12 years old at the time. I remember how I was in school that day, and how I noticed some of the teachers were acting really sad. We did not watch the launch on TV as so many other schools did for their classes, but we all had heard about it. What we didn’t know was that the shuttle had exploded. I finally asked one teacher why she was so sad and she told me that a teacher died on her way to outer space. She said the space shuttle had blown up and that it was really sad. She was wiping tears from her eyes as she turned away.
Later, I asked my mom about what had happened. She gave me more information about what was going on. Later, I would hear her and my dad mentioning something or other about it. And I was reminded of that sad day when my favorite TV show at that time, Punky Brewster, ran an episode where Punky’s class watched the launch and how she came home crying because of what happened.
Last year, I did some research on the Challenger tragedy. Some of the articles I read brought back those painful memories and I almost cried when I saw a picture pf the teacher, Christa McAuliffe, with her two young children. Like her, I have young children. I could never imagine leaving them and it breaks my heart that her children lost their mother at such a young age.
When I was a kid, I dreamed about being an astronaut. I took pride in the fact that they were sending women into outer space, and I idolized female astronauts such as Sally Ride. I read everything I could about outer space and being an astronaut, and I dutifully completed astronomy programs on the computer just so I could learn more about what lies in “the final frontier.” I was and still am a huge Star Trek fan, and dreamed of exploring space one day just as members of Starfleet did. Later, my interests turned more toward joining the Air Force (which I never got to do because of my deafness), but I still dream, even today, of being an astronaut. That dream lives on in my heart, despite the Challenger tragedy.
We have not attempted to send a teacher into outer space ever since that one attempt ended in tragedy. Will we ever try again? I know the space program is changing, but one wonders if there are any teachers out there who still dream of being the first teacher in space. Just so we can honor the dream of the one teacher we lost. The one teacher who came so close to making that dream a reality.
May the astronauts we lost on that sad day forever rest in peace and be remembered in our hearts.
Astronauts aboard the Challenger on January 28, 1986:
Michael J. Smith
Dick Scobee
Ronald McNair
Ellison Onizuka
Christa McAuliffe
Gregory Jarvis
Judith Resnik
I try to learn at least ONE new thing every day. Part of the reason why I read like crazy!
So today I learned something very interesting indeed. George Washington's last name was not ORIGINALLY "Washington."
In fact, it was "De Wessington."
Later, it became "de Washington" then just "Washington."
This, according to a news article.
I feel so betrayed.
But! Speaking of last names....I do believe I may have a "hobby" of sorts.
I used to be into my family's genealogy. Then I lost interest. Not only that, I lost all....and I mean ALL information I had on the last name "Colclasure."
Then I did some checking around on the 'Net. Checked out a bunch of genealogy sites where the last name was being discussed.
And now I'm interested again. Because it seems like there is a very rich history associated with this last name. And....about 30 different spellings of it! I do know that when my ancestors came to the U.S., the "K" version of my last name was Americanized and the new name started with a "C." I have been trying to find out what the original version of the name was, but all I've come up with is "Kalkloeser."
As to origin, we don't really know. We definitely know it's European. Could be German, Irish, maybe French. I also have ancestors from England, Hungary and Israel.
What's interesting is that my married name is also tied to my maiden name. When I told my husband, he joked, "I hope we're not cousins." Oh, my God! I think I would die if that happened!! (But, it reminded me of how Fate works. Even when we don't want it to work that way!) Somehow or another, the two names used to be connected.
So I guess that, when I'm not busy writing, this is something for me to get back into. It'll take time before I get the straight facts on the "Colclasure" history, though.
Fortunately, I have an aunt who has been doing this genealogy stuff for years. And I can try to reconnect with her to see if I can learn any information. And one of my sisters has a bit of an interest in it, too. So at least I have somewhere to start.
They better not trust me with anymore paper records to hold onto, though.
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