Happy Friday, All!
And I mustn’t forget, and, if you will indulge me … T.G.I.F.! I mean, we’ve had our own little “Hell Week” if you will, looking at sink holes appearing in Chicago; the fertilizer plant explosion just outside of Waco, TX; and the week started off with the apparent “terrorist” attack at the historical Boston Marathon. For some, like Mrs. Gifford and the parents of the kids of the Sandy Hook incident, the icing on the cake was ultimately losing Congressional support for extending background checks to buyers at gun shows and those sales done more or less privately. Now, I have never lost a child to gun violence though my older brother did take his own life … with a gun. It must leave like a void or something inexplicable to lose a child since it was quite an ordeal for me to fathom my own brother taking his own life … RIP Henry Charles Cook.
I am sure that some people may not have felt anything with these events taking place all around us. For me, it is like a human travesty, as the violence of human against human continues … and … perhaps, gets closer to each one of us. I get feelings of frustration, not so much fear, but also a kind of disorientation from my hopes and dreams. So I push myself with certain activities, feeling the discomfort and despair, but still seeking to be the best that I can be.
Again, I remind those of you who may feel that you’ve outgrown the e-mails I send out, or whatever, that you may feel confident, free and secure to ask me to remove you from this “family” which serves as the audience for Educational Excellence and me. As I continue to grow this entity, I will be looking for support and encouragement, as I also attempt to garner in these communications and writings. I thank those of you who continue to read and “pass me on” as well as those of you who contacted me last week when I was trying a new “group” approach to these e-mails, and inadvertently omitted you. I don’t expect everybody to want to receive these so, please let me know by simply replying “STOP”, and I will remove your name from these e-mailings.
In the meantime, as I continue to look for the good stuff, I will also try to make the best of it, as so many before me have, and they charge us to continue in their footsteps until we can’t anymore! This weekend is the “Air and Sea Show” here in Fort Lauderdale both Saturday and Sunday. I plan to attend as we’ve not seen it here in several years. In closing, I would like to wish a good friend, Anja Malis, and another newer good friend, Joel Valencia, Happy Birthday! “Let’s get this party started!”
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 