It has been a while since I have posted anything on this site, but, hey, things happen. I have gotten involved in a fiction writers critique group that takes up a lot of my time. That, plus my golf, yard work, photography and family — whew, I am tired just thinking about it.
Of course, there are no good excuses for not doing the things that one loves and you know that I do love to write.
This won’t be a long article. I just wanted to post a few lines so I would have a forum to tell you about my sons Rob and Joe, who performed recently at Dick’s Wings on San Jose Boulevard in Jacksonville FL. Joe is the singer-guitar player (as well as songwriter) and Rob added a new dimension by playing the bongos. It was quite well received by the almost-packed house, especially this dueling brothers thing they did toward the end. Here is a clip of that, plus there are some photos on a website. Send me your email and I will send you a link if you want to see the photos.
Here is the video. Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you do.

In response to the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, two Clay County, Fla., residents teamed up with

Brian Graham helps unload supplies in Haiti.

The Relief Foundation and the Red Cross to rebuild a demolished orphanage that has left many children homeless in that country.

Brian Graham, the state chairman of the Florida young Republicans, and Clay County School board member Charlie Van Zant spent several days in Haiti last month rebuilding the orphanage. They arrived Feb. 19 and returned Feb. 22. They were joined by many political leaders, including the mayors of Miami and Coral Gables, as well as members of the state Legislature.

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If you were watching the Hope for Haiti Now telethon (and if you were watching television Friday night, you didn’t have much choice) you had to be impressed with the professionalism, the classiness and the passion with which the fund raiser was carried off.

The stated goal was the raise $1 billion. I’ll be surprised if they don’t achieve that milestone. The stars assembled alone would be capable of donating that much without so much as causing a ripple in their collective bank account statements. From multigazillionaire organizer George Clooney, to Leonardo DiCaprio, Julie Roberts, Mel Gibson, Robin Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Beyonce, John Legend, Madonna and on and on, the list of performers and celebrity telephone operators read like a who’s who list of mega stars and moneyed personas.

I hesitated over the idea of watching it because I wasn’t in the mood for some maudlin tear-fest with the goal of tearing your heart out and taking the money out of your pocket. But it wasn’t like that. It was subdued, straight forward, exceedingly well done and heart-rending. We have seen a lot of the images already on television and the simple faith and dignity that most of the Haitian people have shown in this latest of tragedies to befall the tragedy-ridden country is enough to make you wonder, why God? But ours is not to wonder why, but to to say why not now in our effort to salvage some of the decency of those who are on the brink of death and total destruction.
Sure, there has been looting and people crying into the television that they need help now, but you really couldn’t expect anything else, could you? I mean after hurricanes in the United States knocks out power and disrupts essential services, we become outraged when our questions remain unanswered within a few days.

BY LAMAR THAMES

Les and his wife, Susan Dick, live in a comfortable home near Orange Park, Fla., a far cry from the modest accommodations they experienced during a lengthy service as missionaries to Haiti.

“We had no telephone and unscheduled mail service most of the time we were there,” said Susan Dick, “and never any air conditioning.”

The Dicks and their seven children lived off and on in Haiti as missionaries from 1954 to 1984, returning to the United States for a year every four or five years. Three of the their children were born in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Jonathan Dick, center, looks at some of his parents' photos taken in Haiti. At left is son-in-law Mason Miekley, son Forrest, daughter Shauna Miekley and wife Susan. (Photo by Lamar Thames)

“For mom and dad, coming back to the United States was coming home,” their son Jonathan Dick, 56, said during a four-day visit to see his folks and help celebrate Les’ 90^th birthday. “For me, coming back to the U.S. was leaving my home. I had never known anything else.”

Jonathan, who lives with his wife Susan, in Lake Forest, Ill., was a year old when the Dicks moved to Haiti, along with three older siblings.

“We were called by the Lord to come do his work in Haiti,” said his mother, Susan Dick, who like her husband holds deep religious convictions. The Dicks’ other children are Joann Lintini of Brunswick, Ga,; Phyllis Vancas of Orange Park; Peggy Harder of Laramie, Wy.; Kathy Epp of York, Neb.; Peter Dick of Orange Park and Curtis Dick of Jacksonville. The latter three were all born in Haiti.

Now the Dicks shake their heads in dismay over destruction wrought by the recent earthquake to a country they grew to love.

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BY LAMAR THAMES

What to do about Hait? The real question is what CAN we do about Haiti?

Of course, immediate aid in the form of food, water, medicine and shelter is the primary concern. The United States and the rest of the  nations of the world are already seeing to that. The Red Cross and Salvation Army, among others, are gearing up phone banks, emails, Twitter accounts and what have you to ensure a continuous flow of cash to help with the recovery as soon as immediate needs are satisfied.

Churches, too — Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh notwithstanding — already have or will soon gear up their massive humanitarian efforts to assist the starving and needy. Missionaries will continue their treks to the destitute nation in hopes of making a difference in some small way.

Of course, major obstacles stand in the way of some of the more immediate needs of water, food and medicine. The Jan. 12 7.0 earthquake that hit 10 miles southwest of

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By LAMAR THAMES

Uh, oh!

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one step closer to to a disastrous season with their 31-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in front of  a sparse crowd.

But let’s look on the bright side of the ledger. They are also one step closer to winning the Tim Tebow Sweeptakes in next year’s NFL draft.

Some analysts portray the loss as one of the most embarrassing losses of all time by the Jaguars. While I am not a half-empty, half-full type of person, I would tend to agree. The Jaguars simply couldn’t block, tackle or play a simple game of catch against Arizona.

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Lamar Thames

I frequently get asked how I am enjoying retirement.

I’m usually taken aback by the question because I don’t consider myself retired.  It is true that I don’t have a job, that I am 65, that I receive a Social Security check every month and that I have not gotten a job interview since I was laid off by the Florida Times-Union in November 2008. Still for the life of me, I can’t come to grips with the idea that I am retired. Let’s just say I’m between jobs.

Of course, I really don’t expect anyone to hire me at this stage of my life, especially considering the state of the economy these days. A lot of people who are younger and more educated than I am are in the same situation in that they can’t find jobs either. That makes my chances of returning to the workforce even more unlikely. Still, I persevere.

I currently have applications in for two positions I feel I would like and am qualified to handle. And there are a couple Read the rest of this entry »

My wife, Barbara, just returned from a week in Reno, Nev., along with two students from Clay County, Fla., and a coworker, Brenda Weeks. They attended the International Science and Engineering Fair.
This was her first trip to the International and that may account for the exuberance she displayed about the trip. Especially when she called me from Reno one morning to exclaim: “They won, Lamar, they won.” Then she broke down in tears.
The “they” in question are Mitchell Stecker and Alex Gandzyura, juniors at Ridgeview High School, who finished third and fourth in their respective divisions at the fair. Note that this is the INTERNATIONAL fair, meaning that they beat out students from all over the world, more than 1,500 I’m told. Quite an accomplishment by two exemplary young men from one small, rural county, and especially from one high school.
I won’t begin to try to explain what their projects were about but if you are interested, you can find out more by clicking here.

Barbara put it best when she said, “Lo0king at these kids, I know that we don’t have to worry about the future of the world.” Read the rest of this entry »

When 2nd Lt James Cathey’s body arrived at the Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. 
 
During the arrival of another Marine’s casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: ‘See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what’s going through their minds, knowing that they’re on the plane that brought him home,’ he said. ‘They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They’re going to remember bringing that Marine home.. And they should.’ 

The night before the burial of her husband’s body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of ‘Cat,’ and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. ‘I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,’ she said. ‘I think that’s what he would have wanted.’ 

 By Stephen Sawchuck, Education Week

The nation’s oft-criticized systems for evaluating the quality of its educator workforce are poised to receive increased scrutiny, thanks to an Obama administration plan to require school districts to disclose how many teachers perform well or poorly.

Although nearly every state requires districts to evaluate teachers, the instruments are typically designed locally. And as both policy experts and some union leaders attest, they are frequently of poor quality, not based on standards of good teaching, and incapable of rendering fine-grained, fair judgments about teacher performance.

Policy experts widely view the U.S. Department of Education initiative, which is part of the implementation of the federal economic-stimulus package’s aid to education, as an attempt to collect baseline data on teacher evaluations and to promote an overhaul of those systems.

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