“School Days, School Days Dear Old Golden Rule Days”,
Reading and writing’ and rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick.

And then the hickory stick was used to keep you in line or you may feel the sting of it. For those of you who can remember those days I know you will agree that there may have been some benefit to that teaching style. It is hard to remember all the changes that have come and gone which brought us to the teaching styles being suggested today. I am so proud of all the good traits America brings to the class room today. The patriotism, pride, honor and joy which is instilled in our children. The activities inside and outside the class room have developed some tremendous, intellect, athleticism, creativity and artistic talent. This pandemic we are currently entrenched in, has and will continue to cripple teaching styles and class room settings going forward. The good news for me is that it has provided an opportunity to bring all our greatest minds together on a global scale and compete for how best to move into the future. There is plenty of room to debate the use of the hickory stick for discipline or not but, in all cases it appears that reason and logic verses punishment and pain is much preferred. Safety has always been at the top of the priorities list and that should not change in our schools. However, in this instance, I believe that individual or student support outside the school yard is going to be need improvement. Safety is relative based on many factors and then comes the affordability of what that entails. The cost to the country as well as our population may become insurmountable. To that point it will be essential that priorities be established by the majority of the population as to what is truly important. Is human life worth saving at all costs? This is not a platform for debating the death penalty, abortion or animal cruelty but instead is an opportunity to think through the need to prioritize survival of our species. What this pandemic has done, in part, is to bring attention to our vulnerability as Americans. It started out attacking our weakest links. The elderly who were already slipping into eternity were impacted but, then its expanded and attacked even some of our strongest individuals. When it reached our children the concern & alarm reached its pinnacle. In many cases the elderly where ready to go and had no fear. But, to go alone without family close was heart wrenching. (Isolation) This happened. Next came folks with serious illnesses at all ages that were vulnerable and I can go on. Whether it was your tax bracket, status in the community, people in power or national leaders etc. The question becomes who do we protect, who gets the greatest support? The free market would suggest those who can pay their own way and afford the price tag gets the support. OK. Can we stop there? Should we stop there? Our gratefulness for being born in American and having all that we have suggest we can share. It suggests that those who cannot afford to pay to stay alive have help. It comes from social programs, non-profit institutions, generous corporations and generous fellow humans. The most gratifying is to give directly to local organizations that can show you exactly where your money is going and the generous volunteers who embellish your gifts and leverage your gifts to repair, replace and reconstruct damaged property for just the cost of materials. Yes, materials donated, bought at discount or even at cost. But no matter how it works out, there is always a need for money. Habitaciones Para Latinos will be closing out its 5th year in the second QTR of 2021. In that time thousands of hours and thousands of dollars have been donated to help low income home owners stay in their homes. We have lost some due to illness and old age. Some due to inadequate support. However, many are still with us and we continue to follow their progress today. The good news is some have become self sufficient and are giving back.

This week HPLA was able to help two new clients. Vietnam Veterans with the need of some minor repairs. Doors not closing and toilets wasting precious water which has become very extensive lately. One of our dear earlier clients had not had her air conditioner serviced for years and will be getting a good cleaning and filter change etc. this week. It is our volunteers labor and your tax deductible dollars that make this happen. A quick aside and gratitude to D&R Services, Inc. who has continued to provide a vehicle and tools to be able do what we do. New rear brakes were installed to insure safety last week. God Bless You!

Please continue to pray for us and for our country. Next month we will be starting a fundraiser as the account gets low and needs increase going into winter. You can help us now by finding our donate button or use our contact tab to get mailing information for sending monetary donations by mail. Please know you are making the difference in peoples lives. There is no compensation paid out for salaries or expenses to our staff so our clients receive the biggest benefit. Go do something good in your neighborhood and help us do the same. (Supporting Wyandotte County Ks and surrounding areas).