Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post. Then leave a link to your Friday Fragments post with Mr.Linky and link back to me in your post (please).

Memory Lane...We had the ugliest gym uniforms when I was in middle school; hideous, stretchy, zip-up numbers with burgundy on the bottom and tiny, burgundy-and-white stripes on the top. It was a public school, too; I wonder why he had gym uniforms when we didn't have to wear uniforms otherwise. Sure am glad I don't have to see those ugly things on anyone else these days.

Food Favorite....My favorite items on the hot lunch menu in grade school was the pizza burgers and the red velvet cake.

Recommendation... Maria, my favorite "edgy" blogger has written three terrific posts this week related to blogging: Blogging 101, Commenting 101, and Basic Etiquette 101. If cuss-words offend you a great deal, put earplugs in when you read, but don't miss these posts; they're great. And here's another fresh idea...Instead of asking Maria a question, let her ask you one; knowing Maria (in a blog-stalker kind of way), this scares me a little (What will she ask me? Will I be exposed in some way? Will she force me to reveal some deep, dark secret without even realizing it?), but I'm looking forward to it!

Rant....If you sent your kid to school without school supplies, shame on you. Seriously; having had to hand out "extra" notebooks, binders, pencils all week, I find myself sickened by the "entitled" attitude of parents who send their kids to school empty-handed and empty-stomached, just assuming that the school will take care of their kids. And don't give me that, "we can't afford it" crap. Notebooks are ten freaking cents the entire month of August in any discount store, and I'm sure you're finding money for whatever else is important to you (cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, etc.) I'm sick and tired of it; there is no reason under the sun in 2008 that your child needs to go without proper food, clothing, or school supplies when social services/churches/etc. are handing it out for free all the time and all you have to do is get in line and put your hand out. Grrrrrr.

Disclaimer...Just so you know, I grew up receiving financial assistance (food stamps, etc.) at various (many) times in our lives. I'm not saying that being poor is anything to be ashamed of. I'm just asking certain people (who probably don't even read this blog) to step up and stop dumping their parenting job on other people.

Joys...Can I get a "Hooray!" for special education classroom Aides?! These people (women, in my school) are worth their weights in gold. They have difficult jobs; putting up with sometimes incredibly annoying, challenging, and sometimes abusive kids, all the while remembering to laugh, smile (and cry, if they need to). I love these ladies, and they deserve our prayers today.

Have a wonderful, love-filled, rejuvenating weekend...
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If you have a FRIDAY FRAGMENTS post to link to, be my guest! (Friday Fragment posts only, please.) And, of course, don't forget to comment :) Thanks!