Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Friday, May 14, 2010

Nightly News At 6 PM

14 comments:

Bruce Hunter said...

My heart goes out to you Joe. I consider you a good friend of mine and I can,t stand to see you suffer the way you are. call me .

Anonymous said...

Joe , I know the pain you are feeling. We lost a very close friend 9 months ago to cocaine and alcohol abuse he was only 48 years young. He struggled for years and years. I too feel he is at peace now , his soul was so tormented. Hug your family tonight because you never know what the next minute will bring.

Donna said...

We were just talking about a hammock you sly dog. :) Hang in there Joe.

doug wilkerson said...

Moments of grace are forever trapped in time, and in your memory. All you have to do is close your eyes. Some things are part of you. That will never change.

Anonymous said...

joe thankyou for what you do.my dad died from alcohol.iam 37 an miss him alot.keep up the good work u do my friend.god bless

Anonymous said...

Joe, I don't know exactly what you're going through but I am afraid I will soon. My best friend is caught up in heroin. Cutest, sweetest, most "normal" looking girl. It's hard to imagine. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

That was beautiful my friend!

Anonymous said...

...and life goes on but you have all those special memories, the bad memories will fade but the good will live forever with you.

Hug Gavin, spend all the time with him that you can, and than some. Leave him with a lot of precious memories. It is a given that addiction can be an addition also in the next generation. Lead him gently down the other path, do not force him. Angry words to him about his parents ways are not the way to teach.

Silver Lining

J.Albero said...

Silver Lining,

Angry words are never spoken in front of him. We have nothing but great things to share with him whenever they're brought up.

Anonymous said...

So sorry Joe. Sending you a big ol' hug...cj

Ron Brawl said...

sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

J.Albero 9:25. I was only giving
(unasked for) a comment. Please don't take it that I was speaking only to you. You see I grew up hearing...you are just as worthless as those idiots who had you, you will never be anything, etc, etc, etc. I fooled them all.

When I was 12, I read an article about looking for a silver lining in every situation and to say aloud what the silver lining was. Since age 12 that is exactly what I have done. I have even found silver linings in the ones who raised me. Perhaps my childhood was not the greatest but my adult life is a happy one. My children were raised to look for the silver linings and now their chilren are looking too. I am blessed and but for the grace of God I could have so easily gone down a different path.

I am glad to hear that Gavin hears the good about his parents - that is as it should be for a child. You and your wife deserve a lot of credit for the commitment of raising Gavin and that earns you both the silver lining award.

Sounds silly, but the silver lining has done so much for me.

Signed: Silver Lining

Nikki said...

Joe,
So sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing that story with us.

I also want to say I love how you have been showing us different places in your life lately with the news broadcasts. Your yard is beautiful and so peaceful - and I loved your cat being in the picture too

Have a great weekend, thanks for all you do

Anonymous said...

In reply to the loss of your friend,yes, it is a relief to know they are in a better place. We are relieved because their self abuse stops, loved ones no longer painfully suffer and society no longer has to pay for their actions. I lost a close loved one to suicide by alcoholism; watching him waste away, in the end, on life support. The pain still cuts me and it has been 7 years .He would not stop drinking. It is a life time of pain for all the family. I hope this next story touches someone out there to help teach a child self responsibility.
On Friday, I worked in a local classroom, as a substitute teacher. My estimate was probably 75% of these students come from a background of addictions. Their behavior in class was way beyond disrespectful. I reminded the students, “Make good choices”. My thought is we as educators do have an opportunity in our hands to shape students thinking and inculcate self monitoring skills. School leaders must to use that opportunity. If parents are unable to, we must help. Can we help prevent a generation of thugs, teenage pregnancy and revolving incarcerations by a few simple messages? Earlier that day I was told, “I cannot pick and choose the students that come to this school”. I myself wondered later on…. How often are these kids reminded to make good choices? I saw a continuous pattern of negative messages, no critical reasoning to make good positive choices.
Discipline can come in form of instruction. I attribute some of my life disasters hinging on this one simple fact. Self absorbed parents who were not mature enough to parent, to remind me to make good choices. How do we get this message across? I use this as an example when trying to make my students think about their disturbing actions in class. It is their choice no matter what background they come from. The lesson….. In such a simple child’s poem.
• Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
• Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
• All the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men,
• Couldn’t….. Put Humpty together again.
One unwise choice can damage your life forever, how might things turned out for Humpty if he chose to not sit on the wall?
Mabybe you will post this?