So the mood lately has been a little sober around here... SO something a little lighter tonight.... "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is quite possibly one of the most amusing pieces of literature I have had the joy of reading in a long long time. If you need something to make you laugh hysterically or at least chuckle... Totally check out this book.

On another note. Today was national TRIO day. Which means... Conference time... Which means... A bunch a highschool students that are NUTS and a handful of college students crammed onto a college campus attending workshops and speakers. Usually what I take away from this is the usual. Info on 4 year colleges, study tips, career ideas. This year, I attended a work shop called "the money bowl"... It was a lesson in "ethical dilemmas". The presenter placed 8 "dollars on the table in front of each team. He counted down and you had to snatch money. Whatever you got you kept and could use in the auction. However. At the end of every 30 second interval he would double what ever was left on the table. Well we ran a game plan as a team... Leave all the money till the last round and then snatch it, each man for themselves! Well 10 seconds into the game, the 13 year old smart ass grabbed it all... Then as the rest of the rounds went on... He babbled about how he was gonna win... And I tried to explain to him the concept of scarce resources, and cooperation, trust. Blah blah blah. Except he actually listened to me. And then told me I am smart. He was asking all sorts of questions about what its like to be in college, what I wanna be "when I grow up". It was in this moment that I realized that one of the gifts of the TRIO program was being put in the position to be a role model... Whether its to the talent search or upward bound kids or to other college student just entering the student support services.

These programs are so valuable to today's schools, the offer disabled, low income and first generation college students a chance to succeed in a environment that is both intellectually and financially challenging. Yet they are currently being threatened with extinction. God Bless George W.