Greenways: Buckeye Trail

I'm struggling writing about this trail today, and I don't know why. It was certainly hot, which definitely makes it harder to think. But it's been hot all summer, so I don't think that's it. The trail was beautiful (2.5 miles -- 5 round trip -- over boardwalks, across marshes, along paved paths meandering beside Crabtree Creek; tall, shady trees; birds chirping; dragon flys buzzing about), so that wasn't it either. I guess I've been a little distracted by the top news from the last few days, and I'm finding it hard to concentrate. I'm sure you've seen the story about the flight attendant who's become a "modern day folk hero" (?!?!?!), all because he got mad at work and walked off the job. Really? This is top news? Here's a news flash -- people walk off jobs ALL THE TIME. Just the other day we

were walking into Kohl's and there was a guy in the parking lot screaming, "I'm not going back in there!" He then sat down on the curb, took off his shoes, and threw them at the store. OK, it's not quite as dramatic as someone telling off a customer, stealing beer from his employer, activating the emergency exit and sliding off into the sunset, but it's still pretty much the same story. Except the "guy" we saw? He was about 3 1/2. And that story ended with his mother picking him up under her arm like a football, and carrying him to the car; not with his mother appearing on TV in a show of support for her son, justifying his bad behavior. ("Who can blame him for not wanting to go back into the store. And throwing his shoes? Those shoes probably deserved it. If I didn't want to into a store I would have probably thrown a lot more than my shoes. . . .")


To be fair, I've been out of the work force for about 4 months now, so maybe things have changed. But back in the day, when someone walked off a job, they weren't called a modern day folk hero -- they were called a quitter. Also back in the day? News Reporters didn't quote comments to other stories (made on the Internet by people who don't even use their real names) as part their own story and call it NEWS (thank you, MSNBC.com). I mean, really, when did someone's opinion of a story become relevant to the actual event itself? I just don't get it.

And the other thing I just don't get? I can't figure out who is the villain, and who we're supposed to be rooting for. Should we root for the flight attendant? Because he stood up to some rude person and publicly told her off, like we've all wanted to do but never did? Sure, we could root for him. Except he stole from his employer. And how many tax dollars are going to be wasted on pursuing this case? And what about all the people on that flight and other flights who were delayed or inconvenienced because of his selfishness? And what about all the f-bombs he dropped over the speaker (in front of kids) before he made his great escape? Is this really someone who's legal fund we want to contribute to?


OK -- so maybe we root for the passenger who was angry about having to check her bag at the last minute and so told off the flight attendant in anger. Hey, we've all got a air-travel horror story, right? Packed in like cattle, delays, lost bags, high ticket prices, bag fees . . . . That lady probably only said what all of us have thought at one time or another, so what's wrong with that? Except, none of those things are really the flight attendant's fault. And why should some lady's (and I use the term "lady" loosely) lack of self control be a cause for celebration?


Maybe this is JetBlue's fault, because big business is always a fun target, right? Worker satisfaction is at an all time low, and with all the cutbacks, lack of raises, layoffs, etc. everyone is just waiting for the day when the economy turns around so they can tell their boss to "take this job and shove it", and move on to greener pastures. Except, in this case, there hasn't been anything reported about JetBlue being a poor employer. But all the bloggers are active now, calling for JetBlue to hire the guy back, with the suggestion that this is JetBlue's opportunity to make it right. Riiight . . .


Can you see why I'm a little distracted? It's just not clear to me. Who are we supposed to vilify? Who gets to be the hero? All these conflicting opinions . . . . And why are we letting other people's opinions answer these questions for us? I know, I know . . . . it's easier to do that as opposed to reviewing actual facts, using critical thinking, and drawing our own conclusions. I get it. I guess I'm just sick of hearing people blame other people for their own poor choices. Frankly, the fact that this bad behavior has now been legitimized and embraced by the web community makes me want to sit down on the curb and throw my shoes! But I guess this is just the world we live in. And so, in the spirit of "everyones opinion is as valuable and relevant as everyone else's opinion", here's my opinion. If we're going to look to Internet comments and web opinions to shape our ideas about what are acceptable ways to behave, I would humbly suggest this recent Facebook status update: Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle. If we could just follow this sage advice, perhaps we would find ourselves all getting along a little better, and there would be no reason to cuss people out, steal beer, and commit felony criminal mischief. I don't know, it's just a thought.


Mom's Note: Wow! I feel a little better having written that! Do you feel better for having read it? Today's journal assignment to the boys came with some extra instructions. Specifically, I asked them to include in their writing a combination of exclamatory, interrogative, and declarative sentences, with the goal to try to write more compound sentences than simple sentences. How did they do?





Noah: We went on a greenway. We saw a guy on a little motor bike and he scared me to death! We went on the boardwalk. There were two baby turtles and they were cute! When the turtles saw us they swam away. We also saw six frogs. It was really hot. After we left we got donuts. I had fun walking on the greenway.






Nathan: Today we went on a greenway and I got sweaty. It felt as though it was 500 miles. I wonder why it felt that long? While we were there we saw frogs! I was so happy about that and we saw beaver huts and herons! This trail was similar to the others but the lake was different. You knew there were beavers because of all the cut down tree stumps in the water. The only reason you knew the beavers did it was because of how the trees looked in the water. There were also turtles. Big turtles, small turtles, swimming turtles, and sitting turtles! We saw one turtle no bigger than a scotch tape dispenser, and one no bigger than a three-ring binder! During this greenway we had to cross the road! I got to press the button that lets you cross the road. On this greenway it was HOT! I sweated more than Godzilla next to the sun. I had a sweat ring down to my butt. When we were almost back I said, "I wish I had roller blades right now." After that we went to Kripsy Kreme.

Frogs! Herons!

Beaver Lodge!

I wonder why the mushroom grows in the tree? How did this leaf get in the spider web?