Ruh Roh Part 2

Here is an update on the red car in our cul-de-sac Saturday night.

From today's Houston Chronicle

From Harris County Sheriff, homicide blotter

And then Harris County Sheriff's traffic blotter

Seems the other suspect ditched the car on our street, and hoofed it away from here. It was apparently spotted by one of our constables while on patrol. Our best guess is that they are local, since they ditched the car and walked away.

Another item of note not related to the other incident, but scary none the less: Shooting at Local McDonald's

I would bet dimes to dollars that a couple or three of my former students are involved in one or both of these incidents. :-(

Ruh Roh!!!

No resolution to this yet, but an interesting thing happened last night.

Chris and I went out to a comedy club, and came home about 10:15. Turning down our normally quiet little cul-de-sac we were greeted by several squad cars parked down our street in various spots AND crime scene tape going across the street before our house. Talk about an unsettled feeling!!! An officer stops me and asks what I need here. I reply that I need to get home, indicating our house about 3 houses down. He tells me I can not go past the crime scene tape with the car. I can leave my car in front of the neighbor's and walk to the house. I ask what happened, he said they were recovering evidence from a car and that everything in our house was OK. Gary was home, so I was rather relieved. Sort of.

We walk in the front door, which is very unlocked, and Gary is upstairs totally involved in Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, entirely unaware of the drama in our little cul-de-sac. In fact he did not even hear us come in the house!

Anyway - there is a red 4 door car at the end of the cul-de-sac, boxed in by 3 squad cars, doors open and lights from the squad cars illuminating the red car, police/sheriffs poking around in the car. There are at least 4 other squad cars parked in various locations on our street, and the crime scene tape. I walked back out to ask when I might be able to pull my car in the driveway, and the sheriff tells me they will knock on my door when they are done, if we have not gone to sleep already. I look quizzically at him, he states they will be a while.

I watch periodically from an upstairs window, and a few other cars come and go, not neighbors, but police, sheriff or some sort of law enforcement people. Later, about 11:30 a crime scene lab type of truck is there, and they are obviously testing stuff and now they are taking pictures of the car and in the car. Still no permission to move my car.

A little after midnight, I decide to leave my car where it is, and go to bed. There are now at least a dozen people out there around this red car, and something on the ground by the driver's side of the car, looks like black trash bags with something in them. This morning, except that my car is parked in front of the neighbor's two doors down, nothing else looks odd this morning. Like nothing happened. But (nosy me) I want to know!!! No clue - right now. But I am sure the grapevine will bear fruit soon, it always does! Stay tuned.

But until then, I will say that I do not want to experience that feeling again, ever - of pulling down your street and seeing squad cars and crime scene tape. Not a good feeling at all. And Gary has promised to keep doors locked when he is home!!! ;-)

What I Would Not Give To Be Here!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This must look spectacular!

Midway Through Spring Break

Have not done a whole lot, but have had fun with Chris and caught up on sleep. Always a good thing. Looked at a retirement community yesterday and looking at another one today. They are nice - nothing like I remember from eons ago when we visited retirement homes when I was in Girl Scouts. This is like a cross between the best of dorm living, apartment living and hotel living! Sign me up!

Housecleaning is getting done slowly. Whatever does not get done can wait. My philosophy. I want to get the den cleaned and rearranged though. It is becoming a parking lot and it annoys me.

Will probably watch more Harry Potter today too.

I Don't Even Want to Know

Friday, I was picking up stuff in my room, and a kid waved a card at me telling me it was in one of the science books. I took the card. It had a cartoon drawing of a rather buxom blond wearing a black & white striped tube top and very short black & white striped shorts. She was bending half over in a very suductive pose, with a smile on her face. In large pink letters above her it said "Misbehavin'?" and underneath it said "Call me!"

It was a business card for Flo's Bail Bonds in Paige, Texas.

I don't even want to know how, or why one of my 8th graders had that! I am glad spring break is here. Even if it is 44 degrees and raining.

Finally!!!

Last day before spring break! The natives have been restless, and the chiefs are tired! Not going anywhere for the break, but maybe a couple little trips like to San Anonio for the day or maybe the museum's Ghengis Khan exhibit. Then there is always the "to do" list - which this time includes checking out a couple retirement communities and cleaning out either the den or the garage. Sigh. I also plan to watch all five Harry Potter movies again!

Sad, but...

...nothing I could have done. But I keep thinking "What if I could have said just one more thing to encourage a better choice?"

Several of our students will be assigned to a couple alternative campuses because of one really bad choice, taking or supplying a prescription drug. It started with one of my 5th period students who came to class 1) late and 2) "altered". She was acting more strangely than usual, enough to make me hang by her table and do a sniff test. Not smelling anything tell-tale, I called the AP to come up and talk to her, see what was up. The student left with her and did not return.

As we go through the rest of the day, other teachers are commenting about kids acting weird, and having to get someone to take them out. Then two other students are escorted out of class by our constable, but they were not acting "weird". Uh oh. In all it was 11 or 12 students. Plus one busted for pot again. A few of them are my students, not bad kids really, not the ones who give me problems in class. I just can not fathom taking a substance that you have NOT ONE CLUE what it will do to you. At least alcohol and pot are knowns. (Not that I condone it, but the effects are known).

Another student, not mine (don't even know who he is) was caught with my keys, Friday. I had been missing them since Wednesday afternoon, but figured I set them somewhere different in my room and that they would eventually turn up - it's happened before. Said student must have come into my room and taken them after school Wednesday afternoon when I ran down to the bathroom or copy room. He was caught trying to steal drinks from the locker room in the gym.

So now I keep a more vigilant eye out for kids acting weirder than usual, and I must remember to take my keys and lock my room EVERY time I leave. I hate that! It takes negative energy to not trust, and I do now!

One nice little plus though. At dinner with a couple friends of mine (one is an elem principal) he was talking about 2 of our elementaries who blew the cover off the 5th grade science TAKS test last year. I mentioned it to my principal, and he is setting up a meeting with theose principals (him, our director of instruction, and me and my co-dept chair!) to see what exactly they did. It is nice to finally see that we might have a definite direction to head next school year!

TAKS reading is Tuesday for our 8th graders. That means walking around watching kids take a test A L L D A Y L O N G . The kids complain that they are bored - at least they can put their heads down and nap. We have to walk around and monitor! At least I will get lots of miles in walking that day!