Saturday, May 27, 2006

A Pack Of Dumb

At the end of last week, a middle school girl from a local district was suspended for three days for sharing her gum. I'm not kidding. It wasn't just any gum, though. It was Jolt gum. With caffeine in it.

Caffeine? So what?

Well, the Burrell School District has a problem with it. They have a zero tolerance drug policy, and "products acting as a stimulant are prohibited," according to Superintendent Amy Palermo.

Apparently they also have a zero tolerance policy in regards to common sense.

Jolt gum is "a stimulant that has no other redeeming quality," Palermo stated. Uhh...what? If it also whitened your teeth while you chewed it, would the girl have only gotten a one day suspension? And who gets to decide on what exactly a redeeming quality might be?

Plus, the girl was sharing. I thought that was a good thing. Sesame Street has been going on and on about how important it is to share for as long as I can remember.

Am I to believe that caffeinated coffee and tea and soft drinks are also prohibited in the school district? And what about chocolate? I think that a lunch monitor could walk around the cafeteria passing out suspensions at will. Especially around Halloween and Easter.

"So your Mom packed you a Mountain Dew and a Hershey's bar? Sorry, but you're out of here. We'll see you in a week. We have a zero tolerance policy, you know."

I bet that this girl will, at the very least, get a few free cases of Jolt gum. I mean, had you even heard of it until this incident? Now this news story is everywhere.

I wonder how many pieces of gum a middle school kid can chew in three days. And without having to share any of it...

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The End Is The Beginning

It's been a while...

I know.

The past few months have been full of downs and ups.

My Grandfather passed away at the end of January. I come from a very close family and it has been tough.

A month and a half later my daughter was born.

Sometimes an end is a beginning.

I have been keeping up with the baby's blog, but posting an update on the sinkerbeam blog moved down on my list of priorities - to right before dusting the family room, actually.

Coming soon on this site, however, you'll find everything you used to expect from the sinkerbeam blog. It may be in smaller pieces and at intermittent times, or as just a reaction to something that has happened, but it will be there. All of the sarcasm. The ridiculous commentaries. The complete randomness.

Since my last post I watched the Steelers win the Super Bowl. That was blogworthy. But there is no point in going back. I've decided to start here and move forward.

This will be a new beginning.

Stay tuned.

Right now, however, I've got a family room to clean...