Gender Inequality and Shopping

I came home from school and immediately came down with a cold. Candi came home yesterday after visiting her mother with a full-blown cold. She slept most of the afternoon and then slept most of the evening in her chair in front of the television. Then she slept all through the night, something that rarely happens. Today she looks better and I think she feels better than I do. Not fair. Females are definitely the stronger gender. If you don’t believe that, just ask one.

This is super Saturday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. I did not leave the house and will not leave it until we go to the airport on Monday. I plan all Christmas gifts in October. I buy most of them online with free shipping. If anyone wants their presents wrapped, they can wrap them. I do not like crowds. I do not like trying to find what I want in a store where the aisles are so crowded you cannot get from one end to the other. Do you enjoy walking a half-mile from your parking spot to the store? I do not. This year may be an exception after Christmas. I also avoid stores the days after Christmas, the time for returns. This year we are going to see our grandsons for Christmas (and their parents too.) One is a teenager and one is almost there. Their major gift is to go shopping, by themselves, with Grandma and Grandpa to buy the one thing that they really wanted but did not get. I know they will like this. I know I should and hope I do. This is the last blog until we return after Christmas. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

A little help from your friends

After the work to replace the disposal yesterday, I planned to take the day off and just do some editing. A friend needed assistance replacing an over the stove microwave that was also a light and vent hood. When I got there, he had everything well underway. The mounting bracket was on the wall and it looked like it was just put the microwave on the wall. Just about but not quite. We still needed to make sure the holes to screw the microwave to the cabinet were in the correct place. One side was correct and we could reuse the existing hole. The other side took a little measuring and the drilling, but we got it right the first time. Measure three times, drill once. With that we were able to put the microwave on the wall bracket and then put the bolt in that attached it to the cabinet. A little bit of work on the exhaust ducting and we were done. So much better than the day before. It really helps to have more than two hands on the job. Like most of life, everything goes smoother with a little help from your friends.

Home Repair

First, the dishwasher stopped working. We hope it is because the door springs don’t hold the door up anymore. I went online and ordered parts. They came and were the wrong parts. I called the supplier, and it turns out they don’t stock the correct parts, but that did not stop them from selling me the wrong parts. They went back for a refund. I went online to the dishwasher manufacturer and ordered the correct parts. Surprisingly, the parts from the manufacturer were cheaper than the parts house. The parts should be here this week.

After the dishwasher failed, the garbage disposal failed. I decided I could replace it. I had replaced a disposal before. Off to the big box home center. I found the same model as the old one and got it. Replacement with the same model should make the job easier! With my wife out of town, it was the perfect time to replace the disposal. I even read the directions. Since it was a replacement in kind, I got to skip 10 steps of the instructions. The first instruction was to turn off the power. No big deal, the breaker was marked and the switch was off. The second instruction was to remove the existing drain piping off of the disposal discharge. OK. Not so clear. On my piping, everything was interconnected. I had to remove all of the piping under the double sink to remove the one piece of piping connected to the disposal. Now all of this required getting down on my old and sore knees and working under the sink.

The next instruction was to rotate a ring on the disposal and support the disposal because it would fall when it came loose. The only way to accomplish this step was to lay on my back with my head in the cabinet, use the wrench as instructed, and turn the ring. They don’t tell you what to do it the ring doesn’t turn. So I got up and reread the directions. All the instructions showed the ring turning easily, no help. I thought maybe a hammer would free up the ring. What fun, laying on your back with your head in the cabinet under the sink and trying to hit the ring and nothing else. After 15 minutes of this, I tried turning the ring again. I would not budge. So I get up off the floor and think it is time for a break. But first, I started thinking. What do we normally do when something is stuck? Possibly heat or better yet WD-40. So I got the WD-40 and also picked up a torch. I figured less could go wrong with WD-40 than using a torch in the house under the sink. I sprayed the ring and then took a break. WD-40 needed time to sink and work, and I needed a break. After a break, I realized the little wrench that came with the disposal did not give much leverage. A big screwdriver with a wrench gave more leverage. This time the ring turned quickly. Too quickly for me to catch the disposal, and that is why there is a bandage on my finger. Next step, connect the wiring to the disposal. Not too bad, maybe electrician is more my thing than a plumber.

OK, back to the instructions. Just hold the disposal up to the sink and turn the ring. Let’s see hold the disposal up to the underside of the sink, laying on your back, head in the cabinet, the edge of cabinet killing your back, and engage three tabs on the ring with the part left connected to the sink. That sounds so easy. Not! Try, try, try, try and I cannot hold the disposal up anymore. Get up off the floor, not as easy as it sounds, and give the arm time to recover. Get back on my back, head in the cabinet. On about the fourth or fifth try, all of the tabs cooperated and engaged as they were designed to. Yea! Tighten the disposal, and put all of the piping under the sink back on, after remembering where it went and making sure all of the joints were tight and did not leak. It was about then I remembered that the last time I replaced a garbage disposal was about 30+ years ago. What was the song? May not be good as I once was, but I'm as good once, as I ever was. I think this could be considered a humble brag?

Editing Written Papers

I am back to feeling human again. I am back to editing. I am a comprehensive editor. There are three basic levels of editing, 1. Copyediting, 2. Proofreading, and 3. Comprehensive editing. Copyediting is your basic spell and grammar check on the written copy. The copy editor may also do a rewrite, if necessary, to fix problems this transitions, word use, and style. They may make a revision of the document. A proof reader reads the document after it is ready for publications. They look for minor errors in text and format. In order of difficulty, most people consider proofreading as the simplest task. Copy editing takes much more skill. Comprehensive editing (also known as substantive or structural or content editing) ensures that the structure of the document, content, language use, and presentation are appropriate for the intended purpose, publication route, and readership. A comprehensive editor incorporates the skills of the copy editor and proofreader. The comprehensive editor makes sure that the paper tells a clear and comprehensive story, that the paper flows, and it is easy to follow. Sounds easy enough, but you try it.

I review submitted papers for several information systems journals. If a paper is not well written (not copy edited), I reject it out. Don’t waste anyone’s time reading a paper that is full of errors. I suspect there are a number of people out there that hate me for the rejection. Resubmit after you get a proper copyediting of this work. As you might suspect, writers that do not have English as a first language have the largest problem, and should always have their work edited before submitting it.

I do comprehensive editing for my colleagues that are working to get tenure and need to publish in high level journals. As a professor of practice, I do not need to publish much research. My contribution to the research interests of my department is to get the junior faculty (without tenure) published so they can get tenure. In the last two years, three papers I edited were accepted at A+ level journals. Two others are under review. I just completed another paper this morning and am expecting one this afternoon. No, I do not charge faculty in my department for editing. I consider it a service. Outside our department is another story. And at $100 per hour, I still have requests for my service. Life is good.

I cannot leave this without thanking Dr. Angela Eaton, the best teacher of editing the English language.

Having a Cold Sucks

Having a cold sucks on a variety of levels. If you say, I don’t feel well. And follow that with, I have a cold, you get no sympathy. Here take this or that cold medicine. Suck it up. It’s not fatal. Or in some cases, a sarcastic “poor baby.” Yes, you don’t sleep well. I slept on a recliner in the family room last night, so my better half could get a decent night’s sleep, undisturbed by my uncontrolled coughing and sneezing. It made me feel like a better person (I started to put hero here, but that is probably an overstatement.) My reward was the best biscuits and sausage gravy in the world, made by my dear wife. Who else puts a full pound of sausage in the gravy and just for the two of us!

I did manage to accomplish a few little things today in spite of my severe illness. I bought a new garbage disposal after wandering through Lowe’s forever. Who knew they were in the plumbing department? I didn’t, and like any self-respecting male did not ask. If Candi had not asked, I would probably still be at Lowe’s wandering around looking for them. We did stop and get more cold remedies, some real and some homeopathic. She believes in the latter.

Tomorrow is the deadline for getting Fall semester grades into the system. My grades were in for all classes last Thursday, and today is Tuesday. Hopefully, it is the end of requests for extra credit to get someone from 88% to 90%. I answered several of those today with the reply, “The semester is over. Take what you learned and apply it to future classes. The time to be concerned about your grade is at the beginning of the semester and not when it is over.” Will they? Some will and many won’t. Sad but true.

Away and Ill

Finally, away from campus and home. The first thing that happens is I have a cold. None illness the entire semester, even though it seemed like we had epidemics on campus. It makes it difficult to get excited about the projects that seem to have piled up. These are projects like replacing the door springs on the dishwasher. I ordered parts and they sent me the wrong parts. When I called to inquire, I found that they don’t even stock the correct part. Now the parts have to go back and new parts ordered. I can’t get enthused because the dishwasher now won’t reset. So it may need more parts or replacement. I hate to think about replacement because it is only six years old and it is a Bosch. Then later today the garbage disposer decided to die. It is over six years old and only had a two-year warranty. So it is not an unexpected replacement. Tomorrow we will get a new disposer at one of the two home repair stores in Brenham. Maybe we can get that all done and still have time to see a movie in the afternoon. It is dark, cold, and windy outside. Days are still getting shorter. We still have five days until the shortest day of the year. Stay warm!

Higher Education Cost Breakdown

If you are concerned about the cost of higher education, the first thing you focus on is tuition. Tuition is the cost of education or what you have to pay for classes. Yet it is the smallest part of the cost you will pay to send someone to college. The university has what they call block tuition, which is the cost for 14 to 18 hours per semester. It is based on 15 hours per semester and includes both fees and what you pay for classes. This year's block tuition is $4509 per semester. The mandatory fees are $122.50 per credit hour or $1830.75 for 15 credit hours. Subtracting the mandatory fees from the block tuition gives the cost of classes for 15 credit hours of $2678.25. On top of the block tuition, you will pay Academic Service fees. For the business school, these fees are $105 per credit hour or $1575 for 15 credit hours.

Also, you will pay housing or dorm costs of approximately $3500 per semester and a meal plan of $1550 to $2275 per semester. The total cost for one semester is broken down as follows:

Tuition	$2678.25
Mandatory Fees	$1830.75
Academic Service Fees (mandatory)	$1575.00
Housing	$3500.00
Meal Plan Average	$1912.50
Total Cost for 1 semester	$11,496.50

So the annual cost for one year is $22,993. Where can the costs be lowered? Fees are a place to start. Over $3400 per semester in Fees to support the bloated administration seems exorbitant. Housing and meals can be reduced off-campus. I know of several parents that bought a three-bedroom, two-bath house and paid the monthly mortgage payments from the two roommates. I also know of a student that got room and board free by working as a resident associate/mentor. She got scholarships to cover all fees and tuition. This does not just happen. She worked at it, got to know her professors, got great recommendation letters, and created a great resume. I am one of her professors and very proud of her. Next, she is going for a master’s degree in film making.

Why does higher education cost so much?

I teach at a land grant university. These were universities created originally under the 1862 Morrill Act. The Act gave the states land to create colleges that taught agriculture and mechanical arts. If you are interested in the history of land grant colleges, it can be found here: https://www.nap.edu/read/4980/chapter/2.

I started thinking about this because United States universities have lost their way. They have become very expensive. When students graduate with over $100,000 in student debt, there is something wrong. What is wrong is very apparent when you look at the organization of the university. 50 years ago, the primary purpose of the university was education. Yes, I can speak authoritatively about this because I graduated with an engineering degree 50 years ago next month. Students were expected to do homework and were given work that would require two to three hours of effort for every hour in class. But the biggest difference is the number of administrative employees of the university. 50 years ago, the ratio of administrative and staff employees to teaching faculty was 1:1 or less. We had more faculty than staff and many administrators taught classes. The college deans taught classes. I took a class that was taught by the head of the math department.

Today, Deans attempt to raise money from alumni and don’t teach. The ratio of administrative personnel to faculty is more than 3:1. The administrative structure is very hierarchical, meaning that oftentimes, an administrator has only two or three direct reports. Thirty years ago, industrial organizations started working toward a flat organization. The result was each administrator/manager had 8 to 12 direct reports. The flatter organization gained by giving the people doing the work the authority to do the work with minimal oversite. There were significant cost savings. More tomorrow on the cost of higher education.

Dentist office

Last Friday evening, I had a crown come off. I pushed it back on, and it stayed, but I thought that I really needed to get it cemented or glued back on. Monday, I called a local dentist's office to get an appointment. She was in-network. I was told that it would be two weeks before they had an opening. I told them that if they could not get me in Tuesday or Thursday to forget it. The office called back later that day and had two openings. I took the one on Thursday, which was yesterday. They asked me to come 15 minutes early to complete their paperwork. I did and they called me in only 10 minutes after my appointment time. I was thinking that for a dentist they were sort of on time. The hygienist then did an around the head x-ray. We went into one of the treatment areas where she did two additional x-rays, one with the crown on and one with it off. The hygienist left and no one came back for an hour. Someone would occasionally pop their head in and apologize for the wait. The dentist finally showed up and commented that I was patient. It took about a minute to glue the crown back on, and then I bit down for three minutes. I guess that was for the glue to set. The dentist then scraped the excess glue off and left. The hygienist took another x-ray. She said it was to see if the crown was properly glued on. That made no sense. The low level x-rays the dentist’s office uses cannot see through the gold crown. After the hygienist left, no one came back. While I was there the room next to me had two people come and leave, before I was seen. After more than 10 minutes with no one returning, I took the bib off and gathered my book and walked out to the front desk. The people working at the desk, there were three of them, looked at me funny. I guess they are not used to people coming out unescorted. I told them that I had been abandoned. I thought I must be done and needed to pay them. One of the people asked over her microphone if anyone could tell her anything about me. The hygienist came out and said that there was more excess glue to scrape off. I told her I was done. When the hygienist tried to get me to come back, One of the other women there looked at her and said, “didn’t you hear him. He is done.” At least someone listened to me. It was strange that no one asked if I wanted to make an appointment to get my teeth cleaned since I was a new patient. I don't know how I would have replied to that question. I know that the office was busy, had a person out sick, and I heard that there was an emergency. However, these people really need to work on their communication skills. At least I found time to meditate yesterday.

Out of Dodge

It is time to get out of Dodge. What does that mean? From the online Urban Dictionary,

"Get the hell out of Dodge" is a reference to Dodge City, Kansas, which was a favorite location for westerns in the early to mid 20th century. Most memorably, the phrase was made famous by the TV show "Gunsmoke," in which villains were often commanded to "get the hell out of Dodge." The phrase took on its current meaning in the 1960s and 70s when teenagers began to use it in its current form.

Awesome. We're done here, so let's get the hell out of dodge!

In my case, it means that it is time to go back to Texas and see my better half.

I apologize in advance because I have been watching the Judiciary hearings. Yes, I know that I swore off the cr*p coming out of Washington, but I am weak. I keep going back to the constitution. I reread it this week. I recommend it as mandatory reading at this time in our nation’s history. (https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/constitution/?utm_source=GOOGLE&utm_medium=SEARCH&utm_campaign=EVERGREEN&utm_term=CONSTITUTION&utm_content=TEXT1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5tzA9pix5gIVU5JbCh1lpQsjEAAYASAAEgJJKfD_BwE) I keep coming back to the oath that all in Congress swore: “to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.” The Republicans are going to have to decide, “are they Republicans or Americans?” I do not understand why Republicans are so afraid of Trump and his base. So afraid that they continue to defend his lies and falsehoods and defamation of character tweets.

I hope to be through with political comments, but I thought that earlier. Maybe it will be so, this time. Or, maybe not?

End of semester

Today is my last final exam for the semester. Three of the four classes have been graded, and the grades posted. There should have been no surprises, but there are always students that just woke up and realized they had not looked at their grades the entire semester. Oh, we were supposed to do the quizzes in the book? I never purchased the book. You also did not read the syllabus. Why should we read the syllabus? I saw that there was a quiz over the syllabus, but I did not do it. Can I do some extra credit? There was extra credit available, but the deadline for doing it was last week. I forgot to turn in some assignments. Can I turn them in now? No, there is no late, as stated in the syllabus that you did not read. I did not see that the file I turned in was corrupted and could not be opened. Can I send it to you and get a grade? That assignment was due four months ago, and the syllabus says that you have seven days after a grade is posted to appeal it. No, do not send me any assignments. The semester is over and your grade is posted. I will not change it. I know it sounds like I am harsh and a martinet. Please understand that I have 800 students across four sections. Many are first-semester freshmen. My class is the first core business class that the students take. My department chair calls it “the welcome to college class.” I love teaching, but it is time for a break and a renewal.

Another Day

I am thankful for another day. It is not like I have anything wrong with me, just the normal aches and pains that tell us we are still alive. An occasional cramp in my hand, especially after hours on the computer with too much mouse use. A sore ankle for which I have no idea how I might have hurt it. When that happens, I tend to worry about Alzheimer’s, but then realize that if I can worry about it, I probably don’t have it. I suppose I could go to a doctor and get checked out, and maybe I should, but it has been almost 15 years since I have seen a doctor. I take no drugs unless you count adult beverages. (I am really looking forward to visiting many Irish pubs this coming Summer.) I figure that if I go to a doctor, they will want to prescribe several types of medications for real or imaginary ailments/diseases. When I read the fine print in all of the ads for drugs on TV or online or in print, the side effects of the medications are worse than what they are trying to cure. So as long as I can sleep well, even if I wake at four am because my mind has started working, I will stay far far away from the medical community. I always figured that when my time on this turn in life is over, it will be over. For now, I will start to think about the next thing and try to keep from watching the news coming out of Washington. I think the next thing is some meditation and trying to keep awake.

Boss

Have you ever stopped to think about the people you have worked for, your boss? I have learned a lot from the really good bosses I have had. My current boss is outstanding; so outstanding that when he decides to retire, about half of my department will likely retire. Rick is our department chair. He said the other day that he was going to retire in eight years. Dave immediately said it was 6 for him. That would give him 20 years in the air force and 20 in academia. I am retired and teaching because I enjoy it. When it stops being fun, I am out of here.

I think I learned the most from the bosses I had that were not good. I had one that was retired in place and sent any problems to me. I complained to his boss and that went nowhere. I left shortly after. My next boss delegated everything. So he stayed out of my way, and I was able to accomplish a lot. My next boss was unethical and embezzled from the company. When it was reported, he got promoted. I learned a lot about what not to do as a leader from the poor bosses. It made me stop and think about the people working for me and how we can accomplish things cooperatively. I learned that people should have no more than four to five goals per year, and three is probably better. Any more than that and nothing will get accomplished. When I was a plant manager, every department had the same goals. We all succeed or fail together.

End of the semester

Next week is the final exam for each class/section. This weekend was spent reviewing all grades and grading extra credit. And answering emails and more emails and more emails. I have to manually transfer the end of chapter quizzes from the ebook to our learning management system, Canvas. After I did that, the deluge of emails started. Most were along the lines of “I didn’t know they were required.” The only reason for not knowing that was that they did not read the syllabus. And yes, I give them a quiz over the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, which many do not take or fail. We write detailed syllabi for just this reason. Go ahead and protest the grade. If it is explicitly stated in the syllabi, it is gospel. However, this does not mean that we do not receive detailed explanations of why we need to make an exception. This time of the year makes me wonder about my choice of teaching. However, the complainers and those who don’t read the syllabus raise my stress levels are more than overcome by those who thank us for a great class and feel they have learned a lot. Those students are the reason I keep doing this.

Politically correct and community.

Last evening was the annual department “Winter Appreciation Dinner.” It is called that since we got politically correct, long before I got here. It used to be called the Christmas Party. We are discouraged from withing anyone Merry Christmas in the attempt to be politically correct. I kind of avoid it by wishing everyone “Mele Kalikimaka.” Hawaiian for Merry Christmas, but no one in Oklahoma knows what it means. What is wrong with saying “I wish the best for you and your family at this time of year.” And why do we have to reserve these thoughts for the month of December? Aren’t they appropriate for any time of year?

We had a scare this morning, or perhaps I should say that my wife did. I only heard about it when she called. A neighbor came by to ask if she had our next-door neighbor’s phone number. Our next-door neighbor is a widow in her 80’s. The yard maintenance people had come and were not able to contact her. The police were contacted; a friend with a key was found and came to open the house. She had fallen and was not able to reach a phone. Everything worked out, and she is ok. It shows the importance of the community. We are going to make sure we have contact information for all of our neighbors and they have our next of kin’s contact numbers. If it had not been for the yard maintenance people, who knows what the outcome might have been.

Scooters and other methods of transportation

Last year electric scooters showed up on canpus. They were everywhere. People would just leave them wherever it was convenient for them. There were many accidents. I had a student suffer a broken leg when another student on a scooter ran into him while he was riding his bicycle. The university banned scooters as dangerous and forbid them from being on university property.

This fall, the electric scooters are back with university approval, approved parking spots, and a new vendor. It is likely that the university is getting a fee from the new vendor; a fee is a polite way of saying “kickback.” The electric scooters are still dangerous. No safety equipment such as helmets is required to ride them. The university police report does not specifically break out accidents involving scooters. Anecdotal evidence says that the scooters are still dangerous, but the university looks the other way, since it is now a source of income. Look both ways twice before walking anywhere on campus. Just walking is more dangerous today than it was a year ago.

Walk, text, and chew gum.

Most people have trouble doing two things at once, like walking and talking or walking and chewing gum. Now everyone can walk and text. Do you really believe that? I saw two students walk head-on into each other while walking and texting. I saw a professor fall off of a curb while walking and texting, yes flat on his face and no he was not a young person. Last week I saw a student walk into a light pole while walking and looking at his phone. Hello, we are not made to do more than one thing at a time. Multi-tasking does not exist. It is serial tasking, and we are not good at it. Before class, I see an entire row of students all on their phones, and I wonder if are they texting each other. One day I asked a couple of guys that were busy on their phones if they noticed the drop-dead gorgeous young lady sitting between them. OMG! They had not even looked at her. I don’t understand. Smartphones and texting seem to be destroying the art of conversation and personal interconnections. What is next? Meeting in virtual reality with an avatar? I wonder where all this is leading? Of course, we have a president whose primary method of communication is tweeting. Not every student is consumed with electronic media. I received a very nice, handwritten thank you note from a student this week, thanking me for being her professor. It is things like this that make a professor’s year.

Live or die

This time of year makes me think of death and dying. I am not sure why. It could be the days are getting shorter, the trees have lost all their leaves, and all of the grasses are dormant and brown. The people I have lost come to mind, both friends and relatives. My friend Jeff that died all too early at only 48 years old. My mother and grandfather who both died at age 86. My mother-in-law is recovering from cancer surgery, and my wife is there to keep her focused on living and not giving up. I wonder how much time I have left. I remember  Dylan Thomas,

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

All of the news channels have specials on who we lost this year. We, my wife’s famiIy, lost Walter and Marie this year. Walter was 101 and Marie was 97. They had a long, happy life. I think we (I) need to stop thinking about the end of life and concentrate on living life every day. I am working on this, but it is a work in progress. Please join me for the journey.

Too much news

I tried to swear off watching news, especially political news. I failed. I watched too many of the hearings and too many talking heads. They are on the television constantly and almost impossible to avoid. Yes, I could have turned off the television and notifications on my smartphone and Ipad. I failed at that also. The other night I had a dream or was it a nightmare? After weeks of hearing the President rail against the hearings as fake, as improper, as ignoring his perfect call with the Ukraine President, I went to bed. I dreamed that the President was criticizing everyone who was out to get him, so he declared himself the King of the USA. When he did that, the Senate voted unanimously to impeach him. When they went to swear in the Vice-President, he resigned, saying he did not sign up for that job. Then they swore in the Speaker of the House as the President. The former President, now the self-proclaimed King, refused to leave the White House and surrounded himself with white supremacists to protect the king and what he now called the White Castle. They were serving everyone little square hamburgers. Thank goodness, I woke up. The first thing I did was to go online and check the news and see if it really was a dream. I am still trying to ignore what is going on in USA politics, just still not very successfully. If you can do that successfully, please let me know your secret.

Last week of school

Today was the start of dead week. Based on class attendance, today may be an extension of the Thanksgiving weekend. Based on my email inbox, it is also the first time many of the students looked at their grades. Regardless of how many times I tell them that the time to be concerned about grades is the first day of class and not the last week of class for the semester, they don’t listen. I received over 50 emails just today, and over 150 over the weekend. Yes, there is extra credit and it is posted online, exactly where it was the first day of the semester. Yes, the quizzes in the book count toward your quiz grade. No, late or missed assignments cannot be turned in for credit. Read the syllabus; there is no late. I have learned that you cannot get everyone to do the work so that they pass the course. Many are outstanding students and understand that to get a good grade all that is required is to show up and do the work. Since I have many freshmen, I can see that many are not ready to be taking university classes. It makes me wonder if we had universal military service like Germany, Israel, Turkey, and Korea, to name a few, would that extra time and discipline make more students ready for college. I don’t expect we will ever find out. I can tell you that the ones that did military service before college are outstanding students.

Long Day

Yesterday was a long day. I spent way too long driving from Brenham to Stillwater. Having to deal with the Thanksgiving traffic, I chose to drive on Saturday instead of Sunday with the belief that the traffic would be less on Saturday. My wife reminded me to go slow and with the flow. I promised to try. Reminds me of Yoda, “There is no try, just do.” The drive was normal until I got to Waco (pronounced wacko). There I got into I-35 traffic and there was a lot of traffic. As is often the case, the right-hand lane out of three was the fastest. I am not sure I understand that, but I have found that to be the case in many states, not just Texas. Traffic was heavy going into Fort Worth, but it was not bad. The express laves through Fort Worth are worth the toll. Then I got to Dennison, where I-35 East and West join back into one. That intersection was a mess, and for all the way to the Red River, it was go fast, then go slow for no apparent reason. You definitely needed to be aware and concentrate on driving. Unfortunately, many were not paying needed attention to driving and more to their smartphones. I was forced onto the shoulder twice by people changing lanes into the side of me. Honking results in a startled expression, “Oh, where did you come from.” Oklahoma was not much different. Waze directed me around a construction zone. I sat through three miles of stop and go traffic due to an accident. The accident was on the other side of the highway. My side was a gaper’s block. I finally got to OKC and through it without incident. From OKC to Guthrie, the traffic speed varied from 30 to 60 mph. There was no apparent reason for the variation or slow speed. When I finally left the Interstate highway, Traffic was just like a normal day, until I reached Stillwater. The OSU – Okstate game (known locally as Bedlam) had already started, and I had anticipated that traffic would be light. I had neglected to consider all of those that did not have tickets to the game but were there just to tailgate and had run out of beer. The traffic between the campus and the beer store was the worst. I was very happy to make it back to Stillwater for the last two weeks of the semester and in one piece. I do not want to know how bad the traffic was today (Sunday). This is my excuse for not posting yesterday, and I’m sticking with it. And on top of everything else, I did not call Candi when I got to Oklahoma, so now I am in that dog house. Hopefully, the Leonidas chocolates I ordered will get me a reprieve.