Last night I attended Arlington High School’s musical production of Legally Blonde. As I looked around the audience, I was amazed at how many friends and acquaintances I recognized in the nearly sold out performance.
When a CEO boards a Korean Air flight from Seattle to Incheon, there is a good chance she will be sitting in a cabin outfitted by workers at a Bellingham company called Heath Tecna. When a pilot in Africa flies too close to another plane, he hears a warning alert thanks to a safety system developed by aerospace engineers in Everett and tested in the skies above us. And when President Obama travels the world carrying American ideals and securing our interests, he does it in a plane built right here by the women and men at Boeing.
In the Arlington School District, teachers work in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). These PLCs are made up of grade level teachers (such as teachers in a school who all teach third grade) or teachers who teach the same subject (such as teachers in the high school who teach Algebra 1).
Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, there have been a number of legislators who have introduced legislation in the Washington House of Representatives as a response. There are those who want to see stricter gun control laws. And on the other side, we’re seeing bills that would fight to protect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
A report leaked from the Heritage Foundation indicates internal strife within the GOP’s shadowy Department of Unforeseen Results (DUR). The rift, centering on congressional stonewalling, pits GOP centrists against leadership. Nerdly Pimple, spokesman for the agency which was formed to neutralize unforeseen fallout from conservative policies, dared to suggest the F-word to Speaker Boehner when the fiscal cliff seems a certainty. DUR’s directors, who unanimously oppose Flexibility, were not amused.
Christmas came and went. Somehow, I wasn’t able to get geared up for it this time around. That might have had something to do with no little ones around since so much of the joy is reflected from children. We seniors sometimes have to work at cranking up the enthusiasm to join in the general mood of the season.
