Coffee

One nice benefit of visiting children in Portland is the nearby coffee "shop." It is right on the way to the Max station, serving GrindHouse Coffee, the original sexy coffee. They also serve breakfast sandwiches (very good) and SCONES! Traveling to Portland? Pull your car up to the little stand at 1934 c n. Rosa Parks Way, Portland, OR. (503) 459.4148. Superb coffee, food and friendly people. It would be difficult to have to walk past this spot each morning which motivates our son to ride the bike.....hard to drink coffee while riding a bike in morning traffic even if it is bike-friendly Portland.

Home

Which of these would you prefer? High ceilings, mobility or thick walls, sense of security? I thought these images from South Dakota really demonstrate the contrasting philosophies of the Native American with the "sod-buster." Conflict was probably unavoidable due to the totally different mindsets about "home." Where is home?

Vacation Food Memories

While on vacation we spent a couple of days in Great Falls, MT exploring the Lewis and Clark sites. You never know what you'll find. Daisy's Deli was a delight. Made from scratch food with pies that were totally amazing. If ever in Great Falls and wanting to grab breakfast, lunch or dessert.....Daisy's Deli. Located at 508 1st Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401. Phone is (406) 452-0361. They are open M-F from 9 to 4. Closed on the weekends. No, I was not paid for this ad.

Lake Shetek, Minnesota

First night of vacation was spent camping at Lake Shetek. Bugs were above average as was the lake. Much of the camping was closed so only a few of the sites were in use. We ended up camping next to a family from Morton, IL. Amazing, drive for hours and you end up next to other believers. This is the Koch cabin. Reconstruction of their cabin actually but well done. The husband was killed by Native Americans (not Blackfoot or I would have used American India per their preference).

Food

One of the nice things about travel is eating at local establishments. My wife and I make a commitment to avoid chains when possible during our journey's. One very specific joy in doing this is when you run across a place like The Main Street Bistro in Lewistown, Montana. Located at 122 West Main, Chef David Pallett has put together a wonderful menu. Setting is cozy and quiet. Service was good and the food amazing. We allowed Chef Pallett to pick for us and this worked out very well. If you are traveling in this part of Montana we highly recommend you stop.

Insurance

Anyone living in Illinois and reading about issues other than our former governor must be aware of the current insurance mess for State of Illinois employees. My wife has had to resubmit her request twice and probably should have a third time but she decided that if her current provider loses their court case she would have to reapply a fourth time and ......they wear you down. All because, I suspect, some group made a large campaign contribution to get their friends companies added to the list while dropping long time insurance companies from the list. Now it's in court.

I'm reading a book of editorials written by a country doctor from Cuba, Illinois and they are very interesting. His editorial from 1994 about the Canadian health care system is particularly eye-opening since this is the comparison held up by all who think our government should be involved in the health care business. I quote:

"We agreed that the present medical system (1994) needs drastic reform but that we shouldn't burn down the house to fix the front door.
He (Dr. Edward Kendall, Mayo Clinic) spoke of the numbers of Canadians coming to Mayo Clinic for the medical care they can't get in Canada. What will happen, we wondered if the vote-hungry politicians saddle us with the miserable Canadian scheme of socialized medicine? Where will the Canadians go then? Where will Americans go? I thought of Senator Paul Tsongas, that best of all Democratic presidential candidates, who opposes the Canadian socialist scheme and says he would have died in it when he was so ill."

Interesting thoughts from 1994 (Hillary Clinton was advocating national health insurance at the time). As we look around the world at one debt riddled country after another we need to focus our efforts on reform. The "haves" will always receive their medical care because they can pay, the "have nots" will suffer. I have watched the people in Altamira, Brasil line up a day early so they can see the nationalized doctor or dentist when they come to town. They miss work to be sure they are toward the front of the line and what happens, they don't show up. Now the people have have to miss work another day and stand in line for the cheap, nationalized care. In four trips to Altamira I have never seen middle class or upper class people standing in line, only the poor.

Old Dog.....New Tricks

I have been reading, highlighting, rereading, underlining and tabbing the book, Readicide. It is amazing how the author is able to clearly explain why students don't want to read anything. We, as teachers, have taken all the joy of reading away. My focus over the summer is finding engaging readings for U.S. History and allow students to read them without a twenty question study guide. I will provide a "big picture" question for discussion that will hopefully encourage the student to connect the past and present.

Do I have the will to pull it off?