He really needs this degree to get the job that he wants. He has tried everything possible to get the grade changed to an “Incomplete” and get the assignment turned in, but the college won’t allow it. He has gone all the way to the top administrator, and even though they admit that they “could” change the “D” to an “I” and then let him turn in the assignment and get that “C” that they simply don’t want to do it. During the last meeting they went so far as to encourage him to stop pursuing his degree, claiming that he doesn’t need that degree to get the job that he wants. I find this to be an outrageous claim because he tried to get “that job” and was told repeatedly during his job seeking interview that he DOES need that degree. When he signed up for the courses at the college, they also told him that he “needs” this degree. And now that he is only ONE assignment away from getting that hard earned degree, they are refusing to let him turn in the assignment and telling him (after thousands of dollars spent and many hours spent pursuing the degree that he has been repeatedly told he needs and telling him he doesn’t really “need” that degree and he should just go get a job!

What a tremendous disappointment, and what a huge ripoff! And yes, he will end up taking that course over again, but NOT with that same professor. It would be a huge disservice to himself and our parents to stop one class short of his hard earned degree. From this point on, however, if and when anyone asks me about my opinion of that college, they will get an earful!

My personal feelings have always been that it is nature, not nurture that determines sexual orientation. I wish that people would just “get over it” and treat gay people with the same respect that they treat straight people. I know that some of the larger objections have simply been that they take offense at those who go above board with public displays of affection, but to be fair, that offense is committed by a lot of straight people, too. I can hardly walk down the aisles of the local Wal-Mart without finding myself walking behind a straight couple where the man reaches behind the woman and pinches her butt. I find that very offensive!

Well, my aunt went to the school counselor and the school counselor said there was nothing they could do; he was the only functions math teacher they had. She was advised to stay in the class. She had a step-brother taking the same class and they did their homework together. They turned in their homework (with the same answers) and her brother got “As” and she got “Fs.” The teacher DID give her “Fs” on all of her tests, even though she had the same answers as the ones who got As. Going back to the counselor, again she was told there was nothing she could do but drop the class!

Can you imagine? To this day my aunt is bitter about this; that jerk ruined her GPA which ruined her chances to be the class valedictorian and a fully paid scholarship to the college that she wanted to go to. She will never get over how that jerk ruined her chances to pursue the career of her dreams. I don’t blame her, I’d be bitter too! People say not to let these things “ruin” your life, how CAN you NOT let them ruin your life? How CAN you let go of this kind of resentment that someone ruined your chances to have the ONE career you wanted to have? I don’t know the answer to that, do you?

Anyway, back to memories! I can remember our mother, before the divorce, chasing us around the house with a can of whipped cream in her hand. When she caught one of us, she would “rassle” us to the floor and tickled us until we opened our mouths to laugh. When we DID open our mouth, she squirted it full of whipped cream!

That was a happy memory. I’ll be trying to come with more childhood happy memories to post. It’s good to try to remember the happy times, and try not to dwell on the unhappy times!