Getting Angry & Taking a Stand Pays Off

First Post of the Day

It worked! I'd  thought it would, I'd hoped it would, but I was prepared to do battle if it didn't.

Remember my anger at a principal who was allowing food trucks to block handicapped parking spaces? And there were no other handicapped spaces except those that were blocked?

I'd spoken with him when I'd arrived for a football game and had discovered there were no handicapped parking spots available to those who needed them, and, more importantly, WHY there were no handicapped parking spaces.

 He'd said he'd "consider" my request to not block the handicapped spaces in the future. I decided to give him a chance to do the right thing and didn't go to the Superintendent then. 

But, the following week, there they were again. Parked in the handicapped spaces and blocking them.

And that's when I really got angry. It was wrong - legally and ethically. And a bad message to send to his students and their parents. 

After that second check where nothing had changed, I composed a letter to Scott Hanback, the Superintendent of Schools.  I did not expect an immediate answer - I knew he would want to talk to the principal and get his side of the story. That's only fair.

He responded more quickly than I'd anticipated. As busy as he is, it must've been an important issue to him, too.

Thank you for calling this to TSC's attention. I spoke with Principal Roop and in the future the school will use regular parking spots, or elsewhere, instead of the designated handicap spots.

Sincerely,

Scott Hanback

Kathy had been following the issue, too, and knew that I had written to Dr. Hanback. She worked far more closely with him than I ever did (the last years of her career, she administered a mentoring program for the new teachers hired by TSC).

 She said when she heard the outcome, "I thought Scott would do that. He is a good man."

And she's right. He is a good man and a good superintendent. So much so that he is Indiana's 2026 Superintendent of the Year.

Thank you, Dr. Hanback. You took action when there was a problem. I appreciate the support in correcting the issue.  And congratulations on your recent award. Well deserved!

A September Mish Mosh

Fall has begun in Indiana.

Despite the fact that False Fall turned back into Second Summer and my air conditioner is running, it's here.  And I'm good with that - Fall is my favorite season of the year.

The horse hunt continues for my friend Belle. The Standardbred mare was sold to someone else, and then another horse she and Tim looked at was not a good fit.

She is still looking, but in the meantime, she and I continue to zing memes back and forth and talk horses, horses, horses. 

And, later today we are going to some tack stores and buying grooming tools and anything else she might need when she gets her horse!

I was pleased to hear that someone I worked with has just received a huge honor.

In my opinion, this is a well deserved honor for him. He cared about the kids and he cared about the staff and was approachable and present.

He surprised me on my very last day of teaching by showing up unannounced and thanking me for my years of service in the classroom.

When you consider that my school was a half hour drive from his office coupled with all of his end of year duties, that is quite impressive!

In other mishy-moshy happenings, my bestie who moved to Indy last year was in town Sunday and speaking at a conference at our church. She had meetings beforehand, but texted me early Sunday morning and asked if I could meet her and chat during a gap in her schedule.

I sure could! We caught up as quickly as we could. It was short but very sweet, plus I was in the audience and got to hear her speak. We meet for lunch every three months or so, and we are going to get that scheduled soon.

Friday Night Lights continues every week. Sadly, after that initial scrimmage in Danville, I have been unable to attend. The bleachers for the away teams are always on the far side of the playing field which means you have to hike a long distance not only from the parking lot, but then around the field to get to them.

And, I am learning that accessibility can vary from place to place. It just takes one construction project to make it so that I can't get where I need to go.

Speaking of accessibility, I just had to renew my temporary handicapped parking pass. Only, it's no longer temporary.

Not gonna lie, when my doctor sent me these papers to take to the BMV, my heart sank - he'd made the determination that I was now permanently disabled.

Talk about a mind shift for me. While part of me was grateful, I don't see myself as disabled and I was a little shocked. I even sat at my desk and cried a little. 

It is what it is, I guess, and so I will keep going to physical therapy and my other appointments and hope I get back to some semblance of normalcy.

Speaking of the joys and woes of getting older, a very dear friend of ours just celebrated her 100th birthday. She's sassy, she's saucy, and she still lives independently!

Craig and I met Mary when we moved to Illinois in 1979, and she never fails to make us laugh. We still drive over and take her out to lunch for her birthday every year.

Finally...

The September Give Away will happen soon. Here's a hint as to what I'm giving away: Highland Cow. 

Stay 'tooned!