of new balls, dead celebrities, classrooms and nutcases…

So, I’ve been having a few down weeks on the lanes lately, and I’ve been noticing where my 30-some-odd year old Paramounts aren’t really doing what I want them to do anymore. Granted, I stink…we all know that; but with my current average I should be whacking ‘em around a lot better. Yeah, we all go through dry spells, but this one is a pretty arid one if you ask me. And while I’ve been missing the pins, I’ve also been coveting a new set of balls—so I decided to splurge (responsibly, of course).

As you can see, I was able to do my splurging (no jokes, dirty minds) on a nice set of brown/black Scorpions. The clearance rack at Paramount is a beautiful thing—I saved a ton of money today! It’s a great looking set of equipment, and weighs in at maximum weight—so hopefully, it’ll provide me with the crash on the pins I’ve been looking for. I’ve been throwing 2-6s for a long while now—I’m eager to try the 2-7s.

Moving on…Michael Jackson. Wow—can you believe this? And as I hear things about this poor guy, I can’t help but pity him. And before you start getting all upset…I know about the accusations. I’m well versed in his sins. But in a court of law, he was declared “not guilty.” In my opinion, this man was a victim of his own youth—youth taken away. The road MJ traveled began when he was very young and ended with his death. Along the way, he entertained us and became, “The King of Pop.” I can still see him moonwalking across the stage in ‘83. I can still see all the dance moves in “Thriller.” That move in the Smooth Criminal video that necessitated the patented “anti-gravity shoes”. All really, really cool stuff.

Sadly, we’re finding out some terrible things about this man’s life.

• It’s becoming more apparent that he was being truthful about his affliction of vitiligo. It’s being said, by credible sources, that the white glove was necessitated by the first signs of the disease.
  
• It’s also coming to light that MJ was an insomniac who was using diprivan and and demerol. Reports also claimed that he took close to 10,000 pills in the last 6 months of his life.


• Sadly, his resting place has either not been decided yet or is being kept a hugely guarded secret.


• He was badly in debt.


• He was allegedly horribly stressed about failing at the comeback “This Is It” concert series in London.

I’m saddened by all of this—not to mention his sudden death. Losing MJ is like losing the soundtrack from my high school days. From what I’ve read, he’s really a tragic, broken figure. I can’t believe all of the things I’m hearing…and I’m really hoping some positive news comes out soon. I think his legacy could use it.

And then we find out some of the things that "stars” are saying. And by stars, I mean nutcases. This interesting little blog piece, from Roseanne Barr. After reading it, I’m speechless. And if this is going through her head, what’s going on in the minds of others as they process this? Wow…just, wow.

And as I go along my merry way, I drop into my special education classes each day. Let me tell you, they’re an experience! I could get into specifics, but I’m not exactly sure how many of them read this blog—and I wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings. Let’s just say I’ve never really seen so many people as the same question in so many different ways. I’d really appreciate it if we could move it along a bit! Then again, I’m a results based learner—give me a task and let me accomplish it and allow me to synthesize it in my mind. To me, that’s learning.