Vacation and Waiting for Superman

We returned today from a really nice vacation, which is good because it did not end as well as we would have liked. Dale woke this morning with his second case of vertigo this summer/fall. I was the designated driver today and we made it back from KC in good time. The vertigo, well he believes he can sleep it off so has gone to bed.

Getting back to the fun part, the handsome fellow you see above was in the process of sticking his head into the front passenger window for as it turns out, a handout. Seems they label these guys the "begging burros". Of course I did not know that going in. I read about them later. In any case there are sign everywhere not to feed the animals, to include everyone we saw. Mountain sheep, prong horn antelope, buffalo, prairie dogs, mountain goats, turkeys, beavers,well I think you get the idea.

We did everything we could on the whole trip. Saw the Corn Palace. the Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug store, ( Only ask if you really want to know. I have pictures!) a pony express station and fort. and devil's tower in Wyoming. We were excited to stay in Sundance the night before only to suddenly realize that it was not resort like because it wasn't Robert Redford's Sundance! Bummer! In any case I am excited to say that I walked all the way around the tower by myself. So beautiful and so spiritual.

Sounds like a wonderful vacation doesn't it. it was, really but there was this book. I had finished everything else and had been putting off Waiting For Superman. I really did want to read this but as bibliophile who reads fiction and escape style fiction most of the time, I was somewhat reluctant to begin. However the time was upon me and I began. I am so hooked on this book. It is about education in America and about the people who want to be part of the solution as well as the young people and their families who are living it. I was so excited that I wanted to share so began reading elements out loud to Dale. Did I mention we were usually in the car. While we share the same core beliefs about education, it turns out that we don't share a common approach. This resulted in some spirited discussion. Okay! we argued, sometimes loudly. Danny, in the back seat was not impressed. He tried to mediate what was essentially a loud discussion by siding with me, ( he does love me best) In any case we ultimately agreed to disagree on some things and come together on most. I suppose the moral if there is one is that this book sparked a solid dialogue between us about a crucial subject. By the way, not all of the book's contributors agreed on every level. What they do agree on is that something has to happen. We cannot throw away the next generation.I hope you read the book and plan to see the movie, maybe something will resonate for you too.