Author Archives: adrianapridemore

Poem: Will Power

Posted on by under Writing

A small poem about Will Power

 

What can I say?

My voice has been silenced.

                            You’re strong.

My soul has been injured.

                           You’re resilient.

My strength has failed.

                          You’ll get over it.

Doesn’t work that way.

Even mountains fall down.

 

 

10 Great Dumb Ideas to Fix Our Country.

Posted on by under Family

I know that there is a lot of concern about the direction our country is going, and rightly so.  Nothing seems to be going well. Healthcare is falling apart, everyone is arguing, and no one is fixing it. So I thought I’d put my two cents worth in.  Here are some great dumb ways to fix things.

  1. Elected officials get paid minimum wage. That way they aren’t in it for the money and we get to keep them grounded in the ways of the people.
  2. When congress is in session, the our elected officials can live in dormitories and they only get paid when they show up to do their jobs. Clock in and clock out like the rest of us.
  3. National service. After High School every kids should serve at least a year in a public service or military entity. I don’t mean go to war I mean learn discipline and responsibility.
  4. School should be year around. Having the summers off only helps a few, mostly it just makes it hard for parents to find child care and kids lose a lot of ground.
  5. Insurance companies need to be regulated and simplified. Insurance shouldn’t be so conditional. Either it is there to help people afford times of health crisis or it needs to go.
  6. If you are going to legalize pot, use the money to fund public programs especially things like medicaid and medicare. Then you won’t have to cut them and put a lot of people in desperate straights.
  7. Recycling centers. This needs to happen. Packaging is getting crazy and there is way too much waste. Put some of that retail tax toward fixing the problem.
  8. Prison work programs. Staff the recycling centers with prisoners. A nasty job gets done and prisoners get to contribute to society instead of just consuming resources. Maybe it will help them choose a better life and maybe it will deter others from choosing crime.
  9. Mass transit. We need more railways. Other countries a lot smaller than us have bullet trains. We could cut down on a lot of pollution and create a lot of jobs if we just sorted out our transportation.
  10. Apprenticeships and internships. There are a lot of people who are not that interested in becoming cubicle zombies. Some people want to work with their hands. We need more on the job training options that will be more than just a college course with no experience. Internships and apprenticeships allow people training and experience so they are ready to enter the work force at full speed.

I know that most of these come with lots of problems about how to fund them and who will be in charge etc, etc, but honestly something must be done to get this country on track again and yelling at each other about who is right or wrong is getting us nowhere.

So there you go. Kitchen style politics simplified by someone who knows nothing. But maybe, just maybe someone will get inspired and run with this. Good luck.

Sorry I’ve been MIA

Posted on by under Family

I apologize that I have not been posting much. Life has gotten completely away from me. Normally I look forward to school starting and life getting back to normal, but this year it hasn’t yet.

The school here has gone to personalized learning and they were not properly prepared so all is in chaos. Children, parents, teachers and staff are all stressed and unhappy. Crisis after crisis seems to be the day to day norm now.

Also they have not yet been able to find a permanent aide for my son. It’s in his IEP that he needs an aide. Constant changes of substitutes will only last so long until there is a blow up. He has never responded well to change or transitions so this is very stressful. I wait each day for a call that something has gone wrong.  I’m terrified of possible violent outbursts.

Depression and anxiety is getting to the dangerous point for me. I’ve started going to a counselor, but there isn’t much that can be done to change a lot of my situations so I’m just spinning my wheels in the sand trap of false hope.  Slowly, very slowly I’m trying to claw my way to the surface where I hope to get a breath so I can continue on.

I hope you will all be patient with me in getting back on track.

Thanks for still being around.