MaeLyn's Musings

A common sight in the skies here in the Denver area is a small plane trailing a long banner advertising Geico Insurance. On Monday afternoon, that plane went down. According to newspaper reports, the pilot took off from an airport north of here and was headed south in the direction of downtown and Coors Field, where the Colorado Rockies were playing. At some point he realized he was losing power and needed to make an emergency landing. In an effort to lighten the plane, he jettisoned the Geico banner, but it wasn't enough. He didn't make it to the open space he was aiming for but instead crash landed into the rear of a house, only about 2 miles from where I live. Coincidentally, the house happened to be one that he had owned ten years previously, although he didn't realize the fact until later. Somehow the pilot, who as a fireman but worked part time for Drag'n'Fly Banners, survived the crash. He escaped from the wreckage, called 911, searched the house for occu...

There was a shooting at Arapahoe High School today. From what I gather from the news sites, a student at the school, dressed in army fatigues, entered the school with a shotgun, searching for a specific teacher. He shot two other students - one of which is in critical condition, another was injured, and then the gunman shot himself and died. The targeted teacher left the school as soon as he knew what was going on. Law enforcement was on the site within minutes of the event, but didn't fire a shot; the gunman was already dead. Other students at that high school and others nearby were placed on lock down. Security was increased at the schools in my children's schools as well. What is it about schools that draws these kind of events? Is it frustration? Is it a plea to be noticed? to be recognized as a person of importance? Are schools places where people feel suppressed, so people go there to vent their frustrations? I don't understand. I hope the student who did this f...

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning that made me laugh - not a full out "ha" kind of laugh, but more like a wry smile and a "hmm" kind of laugh. What was the headline? "Pentagon Toils to Build a Bomber on a Budget" (You can watch a video based on the article here.) Anyway, the article talked about the kind of budget cuts the Pentagon is being forced to make these days since their allowance was cut back. Forced to watch their budget, and wary of "a publicity nightmare in the making", a kitchenette with a fold out bed, nice refrigerator and microwave that was proposed for a new long-range strike bomber was nixed (cost: $300,000 - about 3x what my entire home is worth, but only 0.00055% of the budget for  the entire bomber project).  Col. Stevenson is one of a small group of men assigned with the task of guarding against "improvidence and any untested technologies that could lead the grand project... down the path......

I have a lot to say today, and I'm not sure how to say it. I guess I'll start by saying thank you. Thank you to all those who have helped to make this Christmas a better time for our family. Thank you to the brother in our ward who is letting Steven hang out in his garage, lending his tools and expertise to help Steven make special gifts for the children for Christmas. Thank you to a young family in our ward - the husband brought us a bag of gifts on Sunday and said his wife wanted to get the kids something for Christmas. Thank you to the members of our HOA who a few weeks ago gave us a Christmas card filled with cash, which has funded the few gifts Steven and I will be able to give our children this year. Thank you to the anonymous person who left four bags of gifts on our doorstep sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning. Thank you to the boyscout in our ward who's eagle project involved collecting hats for children at a local hospital - and giving u...

A little over a week ago, on Oct 5th, a girl named Jessica Ridgeway disappeared on her way to school. Five days later, her body was found, dismembered in such a way that it took two days for authorities to say decisively that the body was hers. She lived only 7 1/2 miles from us. As of now, police appear to have no suspects. At my own boys' K-8 school last week a 14 year old boy sexually assaulted a six year old. The incident was immediately reported, the 14 year old was removed from school, and letters have been sent home to assure us that increased security measures have been put in place to keep it from happening again. Hannah usually walks with friends to her bus stop. She learned last night that one of those friends wouldn't be walking to school with her until Jessica Ridgeway's killer is apprehended. This morning, I made sure that the boys were ready earlier so we could all walk together to Hannah's bus stop, and from there to the boys' school. I refuse...