My parents are what some people would call old fashioned or strict parents. Some people would call them run of the mill, ordinary parents. But I know quite a few people who would call them kind, caring, wonderful people.
My parents work as chaplains at our local meat packing plant. They also are life boat captains at our church (which is just another way to say they lead our small group on Wednesdays), and my dad also works at the youth center (A.K.A juvie). As you can tell they are pretty busy people. Both of them are also going back to college to get a degree in psychology so they can become licensed counselors. They work hard to earn the money that we need to support a family of five.
Their job as chaplains involves listening to people when they need to talk, helping people find community resources to help them with things like food, money, or clothes. They make hospital visits and go to weddings and funerals. Sometimes my dad writes columns to put on the bulletin boards for people to read. My mom also takes people to doctors appointments and things like that if they do not have transportation. It is a very versatile job.
My dad's job at the youth center is to just be there and watch the kids. I am not really sure what all he does because he only recently started it.
As small group leaders they study the Bible with a group of friends that come over once a week. Everyone eats and they talk. Really this isn't a job, it's more of just being a friend.
Whatever they do they work hard at. I appreciate them working for us and for making sure that we have the things we need.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
What I Think Should Be Done About DWI
DWI stands for driving while intoxicated or impaired. It means that you are drunk while driving a car. On average in America someone is killed every 40 minutes by a drunk driver. Drunk driving is extremely dangerous for the health of the person driving and for the other people on the road. Accidents involving drunk drivers kill around 13,000 people a year. It is a very costly traffic offence, for the people in the accident and for taxpayers.
"Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes."*
Most of the public think that drinking while driving is a serious concern. A lot of people are in support of requiring drivers who have been convicted of drunk driving to use preventive measures like an ignition interlock device, which makes you blow into a tube to see how much alcohol is in your breathe. If it is too high it will not let you start the car.147
I think another good thing to do would be if someone is drinking at a bar and the bartender knows that that customer has had too much to drink, that he (the bartender) is required to call a cab for the person. The person should not be allowed to drive. The bartender could take the person's keys and make sure that he did not drive away. Then when the cab gets there he could make sure that the person got in the cab and give him his keys back. If the bartender could not do that then maybe the bars should hire someone to do that. It would save a lot of people heartache and loss. The bar may complain about having to hire someone else but in the long run it would pay off for the city.
Another thing that I think should be done is stiffer sentences for people who have been arrested for drunk driving. They got off too easy sometimes. I think for your first offence you should have to spend at least a 9 months in prison and pay a $2,000 fine. And it should get steeper from there. I think that if you have been convicted for drunk driving 3 times then you need to be in jail for at least 6 years. It may seem kind of harsh but it only takes driving drunk one time to endanger the life of someone else.
*(All statics by found on http://www.madd.org/Drunk-Driving/Drunk-Driving/Statistics.aspx. The website of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving.)
"Alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes."*
Most of the public think that drinking while driving is a serious concern. A lot of people are in support of requiring drivers who have been convicted of drunk driving to use preventive measures like an ignition interlock device, which makes you blow into a tube to see how much alcohol is in your breathe. If it is too high it will not let you start the car.147
I think another good thing to do would be if someone is drinking at a bar and the bartender knows that that customer has had too much to drink, that he (the bartender) is required to call a cab for the person. The person should not be allowed to drive. The bartender could take the person's keys and make sure that he did not drive away. Then when the cab gets there he could make sure that the person got in the cab and give him his keys back. If the bartender could not do that then maybe the bars should hire someone to do that. It would save a lot of people heartache and loss. The bar may complain about having to hire someone else but in the long run it would pay off for the city.
Another thing that I think should be done is stiffer sentences for people who have been arrested for drunk driving. They got off too easy sometimes. I think for your first offence you should have to spend at least a 9 months in prison and pay a $2,000 fine. And it should get steeper from there. I think that if you have been convicted for drunk driving 3 times then you need to be in jail for at least 6 years. It may seem kind of harsh but it only takes driving drunk one time to endanger the life of someone else.
*(All statics by found on http://www.madd.org/Drunk-Driving/Drunk-Driving/Statistics.aspx. The website of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving.)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
If All the Streets were Rivers
If all the streets were rivers, then there would be many more boats than cars. Cars would become obsolete. We would not have cars anymore. The car engineers would be boat engineers and they would design the boats like they do cars now. I imagine we would have luxury boats with every thing imaginable and we would also have old junker boats that parents got their kids. Instead of getting your drivers license you would get your boating license. You would hope for a new boat for your sixteenth birthday instead of a car. I think boats would be somewhat smaller than they are now because of the narrowness of the rivers. We would have compact boats and I guess we would have boats that are kind of like SUV's. We would still have the huge shipping boats because there would still be an ocean.
Parking lots would become docks and harbors. I am not sure if we would still have traffic lights or if we would have to invent something else. We would not be able to create as many new rivers because that would be a lot harder than just building a new street, but then again we would not have to spend so much time repairing rivers as we do streets. It would be very interesting if we had rivers instead of streets.
Parking lots would become docks and harbors. I am not sure if we would still have traffic lights or if we would have to invent something else. We would not be able to create as many new rivers because that would be a lot harder than just building a new street, but then again we would not have to spend so much time repairing rivers as we do streets. It would be very interesting if we had rivers instead of streets.
Monday, February 2, 2009
What I am Optimistic about
I am optimistic about the future, my life in years to come. I am looking forward to when I can graduate and go to college (although that is also a little scary). When I graduate college and start a job, is something I am also optimistic about. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for my life. I hope he uses me to touch people in a way that will lead them to him. I am still not exactly sure what he wants me to do. I could be a photographer, a book editor, a children's pastor, a youth pastor, a missionary to Mexico, a basketball coach, the possibilities are endless! Which is also kind of frustrating because I have no clue what I want to do or what I am supposed to do.
Something else I am optimistic about is going to Heaven. I think it will be great to see all my family members that have already gone, like my Grandma Haney,Great Grandma Scammon, Grandma Myrna, Grandpa, and my baby brother. I think it will be awesome to see Jesus, face to face.That will be the most awesome and amazing moment in my life.
Something else I am optimistic about is going to Heaven. I think it will be great to see all my family members that have already gone, like my Grandma Haney,Great Grandma Scammon, Grandma Myrna, Grandpa, and my baby brother. I think it will be awesome to see Jesus, face to face.That will be the most awesome and amazing moment in my life.
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