What advice would you give your younger self if you could?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back into the past and give your younger self a message?

How far back would you go and what would you say? Would you prevent a marriage or divorce? Perhaps you’d alter a career path? There’s no giving lottery results, sports scores, stock market advice or any other tips that would make you wealthy in this scenario. It has to be something deeply personal and meaningful. Maybe you could say something that would save a life or make the world a better place.

I occasionally play these mind games. Sometimes I go back to elementary school and make myself stand up to bullies. Sometimes I instill confidence in myself to be a better student. Quite often, however, I think about going back to my college days and stopping myself from getting into my first marriage, although the thought of never having my daughter in my life is usually the end game for that one. She’s worth far more to me than every ounce of pain I suffered in the divorce.

Most often I think about preventing Younger Me from getting into journalism. If I had known 35 years ago when I was heading off to college that there would be such a thing as the Internet and the devastating impact it would have on print media, I could have diverted to a much more lucrative career such as teaching.

I had a lot of friends at Adams State College who tried to convince me to become a teacher. I didn’t want to. I was always led to believe that teaching was a low-paying profession and I couldn’t see myself being confined to a classroom all day with a bunch of kids who didn’t want to be there either.

In hindsight, I can see that I would have been much better off financially had I become an educator rather than a journalist. When I started my professional newspaper career, entry-level salaries mirrored that of first-year teachers. As I earned raises and promotions, I saw my income continue to match that of new, inexperienced teachers. It stayed that way for the first several years of my career.

Then the Interweb thingy came along. Newspapers started struggling financially. Raises became fewer and smaller. It wasn’t long before entry-level teachers were making more than me – a lot more. Today it’s laughable. You will never, ever hear me champion the cause of higher salaries for teachers. It’s not that they don’t deserve it; it’s just an unreal expectation from my perspective. For me, giving a teacher a raise means I have to pay more taxes and in the process widen the income gap between me and the ones so often pitied for being in a low-paying profession.

On top of that, I don’t get the benefit of tenure or the ability to take summer breaks, Christmas breaks, and breaks for every major and minor holidays. I work year-round about 50-plus hours a week and often work weekends and holidays to cover events the teachers and their families are enjoying.

I know it sounds like I’m bitter and griping about teachers, and maybe I am. I still don’t want to do their job. I’m related to and friends with many teachers and I see a lot of what they must contend with every day that has nothing to do with teaching. I don’t envy them. I don’t doubt that there are a lot of teachers my age out there who, if they could go back in time, would divert their younger selves into other professions.

That’s sad to think of because we need to be attracting better and brighter talent into our classrooms. To do that, however, we need to fix a broken system. The way education is funded in Texas needs to change. So do the expectations that legislators force on public schools. We need to get the Legislature out of the classrooms and infuse our school districts with adequate funding. Our teachers need to be free to educate our children, not direct them down a path of passing certain tests.

Honestly, some of the best quality education my children receive comes in those few, brief weeks between STAAR testing and the end of school. That’s when they go on field trips and do a lot of the hands-on stuff that they get excited about. Just imagine what it would be like if that level of creative excitement and energy were poured into classrooms all year.

On the other hand, several teachers often slip into baby-sitting mode during that time and my kids idle the class period away watching movies and playing games. If anyone in any other profession had a drop in productivity like that, they’d be looking for another job. I’d be curious to see how much teacher performance would improve if they had the ability to earn merit raises and no longer have the protection of tenure to hide behind.

But what do I know? I’m just an over-paid, ivory tower editor on the downhill slide of an ill-chosen career path. Or am I?

I can’t begin to tell you how often friends (teachers included) say they live vicariously through my exploits on Facebook. As a journalist I get to go places, do things, and meet people that many of my friends will never get to experience. That’s been the best part of being a newspaperman all these years. I live a very surreal life. It’s all those life experiences that keep me going, not the money. Despite what is happening to the print industry, this is a very exciting time to be in journalism. Communication has never been more instant and competition tougher.

Although I have the advantages and drawbacks of being at a weekly publication, the Internet and social media have pretty much leveled the playing field. I can now get information out as quickly as daily newspapers and television stations. It just means I have to be better and faster.So considering how much journalism has enriched my life, I don’t think I could justify going back 35 years and stopping Younger Me from earning my journalism degree. I think perhaps the best advice I could give Younger Me would be to keep exercising and to eat fewer hamburgers, pizzas, and donuts. That would definitely have a huge, positive impact on Current Me. Being in better shape and having more energy would undoubtedly make my life much better than a bigger paycheck. Of course, I wouldn’t complain about a bigger paycheck, but I’m not about to go into teaching to get one.

Santa Fe shooting deepens feelings in gun control debate

Here we go again, only this time it’s much closer to home.

Another distraught child brought his daddy’s guns and some homemade explosive devices to school and killed classmates and teachers. On Friday, a 17-year-old Santa Fe High School student killed 10 people and wounded 10 more. This is just as the gun control debates from the Parkland, Fla., shootings that took 17 lives in February were showing signs of simmering down.

This latest shooting shook me a little more than past school shootings. Not just because it was close to home, but because we drove past the high school just days earlier on a visit to Galveston. On top of that, a friend at church sent out a special prayer request for the shooter’s family. He is friends with the father and said the father is totally devastated.

Despite this tragedy being so close and so painful, it only deepens my feelings on the perspective I wrote about just a few weeks ago. I’m reiterating it here with minor tweaks. Simply put, banning guns is not the answer.

Without trying to sound like a bad Facebook meme, you cannot secure your freedom by giving up your rights. If you think abolishing the Second Amendment will work, try looking at our history as it relates to the 18th and 21st Amendments (aka prohibition).

The reality of collecting all the guns in this country is laughable. There are too many, and in a global economy, too many ways to replenish them. Guns and the Second Amendment are here to stay. That is reality. To follow through on the old saying “If guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns,” I have to ask, how safe would that make you feel knowing only outlaws have guns? They will always have them; trust me on that.

Blaming the National Rifle Association for mass shootings is akin to blaming cops for crime or doctors for disease. The NRA teaches gun safety and responsibility. The organization exists to make us safer with firearms, not more dangerous. Instead of trying to attack the NRA, you should try turning to it for help. I think that if instead of vilifying the NRA, asking it for assistance in making schools safer against gun violence would yield surprisingly positive results.

To find the answer to the problem of gun violence in schools, look at the facts. Nearly all of the school shooters are peers of the victims. Schools are incredibly well protected from adult strangers. The real danger is within. It’s the marginalized kid from a broken home who poses the greatest threat.

Shooters are typically the ones who have been bullied, neglected, put down, and made to feel worthless. They’re the ones who get called fat, stupid, ugly, and many other hurtful words. They’re the ones that the other kids don’t play with at recess. They’re the ones nobody wants to sit with at lunch. They’re the ones that are made fun of because they don’t have natural athletic talent or have some disability.

Studies show that many shooters come from broken homes. Their parents are often divorced. They may have an abusive or alcoholic parent(s). They spend a lot of time watching violent videos and playing violent video games. They typically act out in negative ways to draw attention to themselves. They wind up in trouble, get bad grades, or telegraph their intent on social media.

There is a lot of talk about mental illness and the role it plays. It is a huge role and needs much more attention and resources. Mental illness, however, is a small part compared to the social forces that stress these kids. It’s the abuse and neglect that push these shooters over the edge mentally and emotionally.

If we want to get serious about school safety, we must first work on improving social behaviors and skills. If we pride ourselves on our diversity, we must also pride ourselves on inclusion. It’s more than racial or ethnic inclusion. We need to create an atmosphere where every student feels welcome and wanted, not just by the adults, but by their peers. We need to restore civility, not just in the schools, but in society in general.

What I have to say next might seem a little ridiculous or far-fetched, but hear me out. One of the most dangerous elements in society today is the Internet meme. For those who don’t know, a meme (pronounced meem) is typically a picture with a caption on it used to convey a quick, usually humorous, message. The earliest memes were print advertisements and, some would say, political cartoons. Today, memes convey all kinds of messages. Quite often, many are hurtful and derogatory. They spread rumors, lies, half-truths, and innuendo, which is happening again after the Santa Fe shooting. They are a form of bullying.

Memes were allegedly a weapon of choice deployed by the Russians during the last presidential election to influence the outcome. It’s likely being used to facilitate anti-gun demonstrations as well. How better for a foreign government to invade our country than to convince our populace to surrender its arms? Not only do people seem willing to surrender guns, but to take away our right to own guns as well. This is a message being spread like wildfire on social media via memes. I’d dare call it a form of mind control.

If people today want to get serious about school safety, they would be wise to stop worrying about gun control and focus more on relationships. If you want to make a difference in the world, first make a difference with your neighbor. Show love and kindness to all and it will be shown back to you. Be the change you want to make. Don’t demand it of others. 

Teacher who jumped on car should be lauded a hero

Dulles Elementary School
PE teacher Aaron Young Morgan,
known as Coach Young

I’m sure many of you have seen or at least heard of the viral video last week of a Dulles Elementary School teacher who jumped on the hood of a car that was cutting through the drop-off line in order to get to Dulles High School next door.

The driver of the car, Rita Trimmer-Ray, was late taking her daughter to Dulles High on the same day they were doing the STAAR testing. She drove around two cone barriers and ignored teachers who tried to wave her off until PE teacher Aaron Young Morgan, known as Coach Young, did a belly-flop onto the hood of Trimmer-Ray’s car while her daughter took video of the incident. Trimmer-Ray continued to drive while Coach Young tried to talk to her.

In the video, Trimmer-Ray can be heard saying, “You don’t know who you’re playing with.”

An outraged Trimmer-Ray posted the video on social media and then went before the TV news cameras in Houston to play the part of incensed victim of this outrageous act by the schoolteacher. Naturally, the TV stations ate it up, feeding the public her perspective of the story.

Anyone with half a brain, however, can clearly draw the conclusion that Trimmer-Ray was in the wrong and that Coach Young is a true hero. Yet Coach Young is the one who is potentially facing disciplinary action by the Fort Bend ISD.

“While it is important for all of our parents and visitors to follow proper traffic flow patterns to ensure the safety of all students, we do not condone employees using any physical means to stop a vehicle. There were several witnesses to the incident, and district administrators are reviewing the circumstances and will take appropriate action,” the district said in a statement.

The appropriate action in this case should be a small reprimand for jumping onto the hood of a moving vehicle, followed by a medal for heroism in the line of danger. Coach Young took immediate and decisive action to try and protect the lives of children who were endangered by Trimmer-Ray’s actions.

Once the school district gathers and assesses all of its evidence, it should share it with the Fort Bend ISD Police Department, the Sugar Land Police Department, and the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office. Trimmer-Ray at the very least should be brought up on a host of traffic violations, as well as charges of child endangerment, attempted vehicular assault for failing to stop when Coach Young jumped on her hood, and possibly contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Let’s examine the evidence, shall we. First of all, by her own admission, Trimmer-Ray was running late. That’s no crime; we all do that from time to time. That she was running late on a STAAR resting day is somewhat inexcusable. Parents are given ample warning and instruction about STAAR test dates and the importance of having your child rested and ready to go on time. Of all the days to not be late, this one was it.

Secondly, Trimmer-Ray cops an attitude of entitlement and a belief that the rules don’t apply to her and tries to illegally cut through the elementary school drop-off line in order to get her daughter to the high school in time. This is not only a traffic violation, but child endangerment by placing the elementary school children at risk, as well as the parents dropping them off and the teachers on duty to make sure the children are safely escorted from vehicles to the school.

This is where I feel charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor should come in. Her daughter, if not already a licensed driver, is at or near the age of becoming a driver and is being taught dangerous and possibly criminal activity by her mother. This is continued when she continues to drive while Coach Young is on the hood of her vehicle. At this point she is teaching her daughter that it’s OK to endanger the lives of others, even if they are in the wrong. She should have immediately stopped. Not only has she endangered the lives of children, but also endangered Coach Young’s life.

Her continuing to drive shows a blatant disregard for the life and safety of Coach Young. Chewing him out while doing it demonstrates a pre-meditated and deliberate act on her part.

As for Coach Young, he should have known better than to jump on the hood of a moving vehicle. That being said, I think he responded as anyone in his position would have after witnessing the reckless behavior of a driver who openly drove around traffic cones and had already ignored one warning by another teacher to stop. Trimmer-Ray presented a clear and present danger to the children Coach Young was in charge of and he acted the best way he could under the circumstances. There was little time to think, only time to act. Thank God he chose to act.

Here is the kicker in all of this that hasn’t been reported yet. I did a Google search online for Trimmer-Ray and came across her LinkedIn page. She was a teacher in the Houston ISD for 10 years from 1994 to 2004 and has a master’s degree in education from Prairie View A&M University in 2003. If anyone should understand the importance of child safety in an elementary school drop-off line, it should be her.

No, Trimmer-Ray is not the victim here, she is the perpetrator. Coach Young is the hero and is deserving of recognition for risking his own life to potentially save that of others.

Thank you, Coach Young! It’s nice to know there are genuine, caring people like you out there looking out for the welfare and safety of our students.

May is a month for nerds to totally geek out

May is a month for nerdiness and this year I’m geeking out in a huge way.

There are many reasons for the science fiction and fantasy fanatics among us to get really excited this month. For one thing, unless you’ve been living on another planet, you’re probably aware that “Avengers: Infinity War” opened April 27 and not only did it have the biggest opening in history for a movie, it broke the speed record to $1 billion in global box office receipts by hitting the mark in a week. (More about the Avengers in a bit.)

Coming up next is the newest Star Wars movie, “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The story from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away comes out May 25, or for those of us with advance screening tickets, May 24. (Yes, I know I skipped “Deadpool 2” on May 18, but that was on purpose.)

Later this month, Comicpalooza returns to Houston May 25-17 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Although announcements are still being made, the headliners so far are huge. Topping the list are Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), and Michael Chiklis (Fantastic Four). From Battlestar Galactica we have Tricia Helfer and Edward James Olmos, and from Star Trek we will see Levar Burton, Jeri Ryan, and Brent Spiner. Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in “Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace” will be there.

Throwback stars of yesteryear will be on hand, including “CHiPs” stars Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada, along with Jimmie Walker (“Good Times”) and David Faustino (“Married…With Children”).

The only disappointment so far (and this could change as announcements are made) is the dearth of stars from the plethora of Marvel and DC movies out there along with all of the new Star Wars movies. Even the Harry Potter franchise is growing with the sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” coming out this fall, yet there is no representation.

Still, there are many more movie and TV stars, comic book writers and artists, voice actors and more coming to the 10th annual Comicpalooza. For a complete list, visit www.comicpalooza.com.

Of course last weekend was big for nerds. Friday was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you) and Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. 

Not to be outdone, the Sugar Land Skeeters celebrated Star Wars with themed nights on Friday and Saturday with related giveaways and players wearing Stormtrooper styled jerseys and helmets. This was a lot of fun and big crowds turned out to get their Light Swords (they were not allowed by Lucasfilm to call them lightsabers) on Friday night and the Jedi Swatson bobblehead on Saturday. There were Star Wars costumers there on Saturday, making the evening a lot of fun.

Getting back to the movies, “Avengers: Infinity War” was everything and more that it was touted to be. (Warning: Mild spoilers ahead!) I was curious to see if how Marvel would pull so many characters into a single movie and give them enough to do to make it worthwhile and interesting. For the most part, they were highly successful. Although a very significant number of heroes died by the end of the movie, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them. I say this with confidence because most of the deceased have sequel movies in the works. That, and you don’t derail your gravy train at the height of its popularity. This just builds suspense for the next set of movies.

(As for the “Deadpool” sequel, I stand firm in my belief that comics are for kids and an R-rated comic movie is an abomination, no matter how good it is.)

I’m really getting excited for “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” This project has been hounded with bad publicity throughout production (namely the firing of the directors), but I think bringing in Ron Howard to finish the film is a stroke of genius and the final product will surprise a lot of people. I for one want to see how Han meets Chewbacca, how the smug smuggler wins the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian, and the contest where Han races the Falcon through the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.

When it comes to movies worth geeking about, the rest of this year offers a bonanza. Looking ahead we get “Incredibles 2” on June 15, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” on June 22, “Ant-Man and The Wasp” on July 6, “Venom” on Oct. 5, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” on Nov. 16, “Robin Hood” on Nov. 21, the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” on Dec. 14, and then DC’s lone live-action offering this year with “Aquaman” on Dec. 21.

Honestly, for those of us who are science fiction and fantasy fans, this is truly the prime time to celebrate our fandom. With Marvel and DC battling it out for comic book movie supremacy, Star Wars producing about a movie a year, Star Trek ramping up with two new movies in the works, and many other similar projects of various franchises coming down the pike, there is a large quantity of high quality viewing ahead. With events like Comicpalooza, it really brings things close to home with the stars coming to our back door for an up-close and personal experience.

So I leave you now with my Vulcan hand sign held high and say, “May the force be ever in your favor. So say we all.”

Hand, foot and mouth disease spreading in older children, adults

It started when my youngest son came down with a fever.

Then came the sore throat, followed by the ache in his hands and feet. A short time later the sores formed on his hands and feet and around his mouth. He had all the symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease, which is not uncommon in infants and small children. My son is 15 and in high school.

I took him to see his doctor and confirmed that he does indeed have hand, foot and mouth disease. It’s highly uncommon but not unheard of in teenagers. About a week after his symptoms started, his older brother got the fever and sore throat. At the time of this writing, his hands, feet and mouth are breaking out. Now their oldest brother, who is 23, is in bed with a sore throat and blisters starting to form.

The two younger boys attend Terry High School in Rosenberg and they tell me that this appears to be going around the school. Julia Worley, the school nurse, said otherwise.

“As far as I am aware of, your boys are the only ones that I know that has this at Terry High School. I know Meyer Elementary had a few cases over a two-week time period,” she said.

At church on Sunday I was told that hand, foot and mouth disease has broken out at camps at drilling rigs here in Texas. Men as old as 40 are apparently coming down with this childhood disease. I do not have any confirmation of this, but Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations with the Texas Department of State Health Services, informed me that this is quite probable.

“Hand, foot and mouth is a very common viral illness (it can be caused by a few different viruses) that often circulates among young children but can affect older children and adults, too. It can be spread by coughing and sneezing, sharing food and drinks, and the fecal-oral route, so it stands to reason it spreads easily when people are in close proximity and eating together as in schools or oil and gas camps,” he said. “It’s usually a mild illness, especially for older children and adults, in fact, many people who get infected may not experience any symptoms. It usually starts with fairly general symptoms (fever, sore throat, feeling bad), then a rash or blisters can develop in the mouth and on the hands and feet (hence the name). There’s no particular treatment for the virus, so it’s just treating the symptoms.”

I don’t know much else about the disease except, according to my son’s doctor, in a few months we can expect their fingernails and toenails to start falling out. It’s nothing to worry about, as they should grow back.

There is nothing anyone can do about the disease other than practice good hygiene, wash frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, etc. If you or any of your children come down with any of the symptoms, please stay home. Don’t go to work, don’t send kids to school or daycare, and don’t go to public events until your fever breaks and any sores are no longer open.

Baseball is back

Oh how sweet it is! The Sugar Land Skeeters are back in action. As of Sunday night, the boys in blue are 3-0, having beaten the New Britain Bees in all three games to start the series. It’s an awesome way to start the Pete Incaviglia era at Constellation Field.

This is the seventh season for the Skeeters and the first with Incaviglia as skipper. It seems strange not having Gary Gaetti running the team, but this brand of Skeeters baseball is fun and quite aggressive. I love Gary to death and wish him well in whatever he is doing. He is a great manager and the Skeeters were lucky to have his services for the first six years. The Incaviglia era, however, is off to a great start and it’s been a ton of fun to watch so far.

There are only four or five former Skeeters on the roster this year, meaning it’s a whole new ball club. It’s going to take some time before the names and faces become familiar, but I think those of us who have been to games already will agree, we like what we see and we’ll get to know these players quite well in the weeks and months to come. Among the newcomers who are off to a great start are Courtney Hawkins, who not only got the first hit of the season, but knocked an inside the park home run. Matt Chavez is on a blistering pace with eight hits off 11 at-bats. Other newcomers to watch are Barrett Barnes, Welington Dotel, Alvaro Rondon, and Derek Norris.

Returning Skeeters Albert Cordero and Anthony Giansanti are showing strong leadership and great performances so far.  On the mound, returning Skeeters Brett Marshall, Mitch Talbot and Felipe Paulino are on fire, as are newbies Logan Bawcom, Konner Wade, Kyle Winkler, and Hunter Cervanka.

It’s going to be great watching this team gel and restore championship glory to this franchise. So far I find Incaviglia to be very personable and resolute in his determination to win and get the best possible out of his players. I hope he’s in for a long run in Sugar Land. I know three games is hardly enough to judge him on, but as a player and coach he has a long history of providing fun and aggressive entertainment on the diamond.

This year the Skeeters are using the theme More Than Baseball. That’s a nod to the many things the team is doing to enhance the ballpark experience. The 50-50 raffle is proving to be a huge success for the team, raising fun and funds for the Sugar Land Skeeters Foundation. The Skeeters are doing a lot more to engage fans during the games, including roving team store salespeople, roving raffle ticket sellers, improved menus at the concession stands, and more activities. Gone is the carousel behind left field, but it was balky and problematic for a while.
Another thing fans will notice this year is that the Skeeters and all of their opponents are wearing round, black patches on their sleeves with the letters JK on them. During the 2018 season, every team throughout the Atlantic League will wear the patches to honor the memory and many contributions to the Atlantic League by Joe Klein. He was the Atlantic League’s executive director and passed away last August. He was instrumental in the founding and growth of the league for 20 years.