The Backstory

Hey everyone!
I would like to use the span of my first official blog to introduce myself and the reason I decided to start a blog.
I am an elementary level special education teacher. I am married. I am also the father of a very active (currently) 11 month old boy. As many of you parents know, this can provide MANY interesting stories. I am also very opinionated and (as one of my heroes Henry Rollins would say) "plugged in." Since becoming a parent I have become very world weary. The more I watch the news and read up on current events, the more I realize that my generation and the generations before mine are doing some permanent damage. I don't mean to bring anyone down, but unfortunately that is the reality of the situation. I am an optimist though. I don't think that we are too far gone...
So, the reason I am starting this blog (regardless of whether anyone actually subscribes or even reads this) is to empty my head every so often of the sometimes seemingly random thoughts, observations, and nonsense that pollutes my head because my wife wants no part of it.
I honestly hope that you enjoy (again, if you are actually reading) my blog. I have been told by many of my colleagues that I am a very amusing writer. I used to be (in addition to my teaching duties) the substitute coordinator for my school. This was oftentimes a very daunting task. Teachers would call me first thing in the morning to ask for a substitute teacher for the day and I had to call numbers out of a county wide directory to find one. Sounds easy, but it wasn't. I was competing with sub coordinators from about 20 other schools in the county, so it became a race to call as many people as possible as quickly as possible. These were not simple phone calls though. I would wake people (who didn't have regular jobs either because they didn't HAVE to work or they were retired) at 6:00 AM who didn't have to be up at that hour. Some of them were more than happy to receive the call. Some of them were already busy that day and because of the grogginess associated with being suddenly woken up at an early hour, felt the need to share the details of their doctors visits (yes, sometimes in graphic detail... use your imagination), appointments with clientèle, and whatever other reasons they had for not being able to sub that day. So I had to find the subs and get the word to the rest of the staff via email. My emails would not only include a list of the subs for the day, but also a funny story. These stories covered a wide array of topics. Here is a sample:

Ok... further proof that the "Freaks Come Out at Night" (a hit for the rap group Whodini in 1984... want the lyrics? Copy and paste this link into your address bar http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?id=79038 and sing along if you remember it) in Spotsylvania. I ventured out on Saturday night after dark around 7:00pm. My task was simple. All I had to do was go to Scafa's Italian Restaurant (excellent, if you happen to be in the area) and pick up a couple of calzones for my wife and I for dinner. I managed to get there safely, but my trip home was a little different. I made it down Courthouse Road unscathed (surprisingly), and turned into Plantation Forrest (my subdivision). About 100 feet up the road I was greeted by a car (I did not get the make) on my side of the road doing about 70 miles per hour. Now, I do not always abide by the 25 mile per hour speed limit in my subdivision because I think it is too slow and there are never any cops on my road... but this car was flying! I swerved over to the shoulder, nearly took out a mailbox, but I survived. But that wasn't the strangest thing. About a quarter of a mile further up the road I almost ran over a person (teenager size) on the side with a ski mask (maybe something left over from Halloween?) on, running and screaming very loudly. I'm going to be watching for explosions, smoke, and strange smells every time I drive through that area now because I think someone is making methamphetamines. Anyway, it's 8:30, which means it's my bedtime. You better believe I am going to make sure that all my doors and windows are locked first.
Hope to see you tomorrow!

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