There are very few beach days in northwestern PA, but when they are available they become great times for breakfast at the beach, reclining in the sun, reading books and chatting with friends.

Why do I write about this summer day.  There are several reasons.  Since I have retired from teaching in public education to become a college professor, I have taken time to think about things more closely.  Teachers rarely have enough time to enjoy moments.  We are so busy planning and grading and teaching and advising that we rarely have enough time to stop to smell the roses, so to speak.  Life as a public educator is a never-ending career of thinking to the future things we need to do to make students more successful.  Many times this means spending the whole summer in graduate school, or telling your son you cannot go to a soccer match because you have to write test for tomorrow’s class or telling your daughter you cannot help her do her science project because you have to run a musical rehearsal. You know she will be asleep when you get home.

Thus, my brain thought back to the fact that teaching is a hectic, never-ending, selfless career that requires 60-70 hours of attention each week.  No, you do not get paid by the hour and yes, you must go back to school throughout your career, just like doctors and lawyers, to remain current in your profession and maintain certifications. Unfortunately, folks think you make too much because you only work nine months in a year.  If teachers were paid for the extra 20 – 25 hours per week that they put in to do school work outside of school, the public would not be able to pay for PUBLIC EDUCATION.  As a teacher in a public school, I had to pay for my own professional development and graduate classes.  However, I learned, when I did my principal certification program that the taxpayer pays for administrators to stay current in their field.  Since principals work an average of $40,000 more than a teacher per year, this is hard to process.

Many folks are not aware that teachers spend anywhere from $500 to $1,000 of their own paychecks each year to buy school supplies for their students.  Sad to say it is getting harder for teachers to do in the current economy.  When your child goes to school in the fall, remember that it takes a village to educate children.  There are many ways you can help out at your child’s school.  Drop off a box of colored chalk to your child’s teacher so that the children can practice art during recess.  YOu need to do this because some schools are actually dropping art programs so students can PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE to pass federally mandated exams that tell the public what teachers know about each child already.  Stop by to practice math facts with a small child who doesn’t get math yet.  Make a costume for a musical.  Bring in a basket of apples for the teacher’s room.

There are some special parents who helped me in my career as a journalism adviser and language arts teacher.  For them, I am always grateful.  They are the ones who brought dinner to the whole yearbook staff on a long work night.  These parents are also the ones who came to open house or offered to help chaperon an all night dance to raise money for a drama trip to New York City.  These were my angels.

As I think about those great 34 years, I know I did not get the big bucks that my college friends who are now CEOs or attorneys or doctors make.  That is okay, because I know that by teaching I may not have made a fortune, but, now that I think about it, I DID MAKE A DIFFERENCE, and ‘that has made all the difference .” (with deference to one of my favorite poets, Robert Frost.)

This is the most amazing town.  Days before the Firemen’s Cherry Festival parade, thousands of plastic and folding chairs line Main and Lake Streets. The first time I saw this, I was astonished that people didn’t steal other folks’ chairs, but they don’t.  It is almost a code of honor.

Actually, the Cherry Festival is that great even that marks the middle of summer and warns all school aged children that there are six weeks left of summer vacation.  It also helps the local economy as people flood into town to ride the carnival rides, eat cotton candy, the BEST OX ROAST sandwiches ever and fresh curly fries that cannot be beat anywhere.

The parade is the best – two hours of nonstop noise fun and summer sun. Rain has never stopped the parade and there have been very few parades that have felt the rain, so the firemen KNOW the right days to hold the festival.

One of the hard things to do during the Cherry Fest is to drive through town because there are people, babies in strollers, kids on bikes and families everywhere.  So park your car and walk because that is the fastest way to get to the carnival.  Yes, very little off street parking and usually youth groups sponsor a parking space for a small fee.

The festival also boasts the best pies made by the great folks at First Presbyterian Church.  Worth every cent!

So, pull up a chair and ENJOY the festival.

Have you ever noticed numerous pieces of chewing gum on sidewalks in the summer.   Five days ago, I was strolling the beautiful downtown streets when I realized that there is a truckload of gum on the sidewalk.  In hot weather, this is usually a gooey mess that walkers must negotiate as they go for a little exercise.

Throwing gum on the sidewalk to dispose of it is a clear indication of lack of parenting in our society.  Why, you ask?  My parents would be totally appalled at the fact someone would  throw away a piece of gum without wrapping it and placing it in a garbage can.  Let’s have some manners and throw our gum in the garbage instead of littering the beautiful streets in our town.  Thanks to local welder, Roy Peters, there are nearly a dozen new and decorative trash cans along Main Street, so there is no excuse for throwing gum on the sidewalk.

Parents, you need to SHOW you children how to wrap a piece of used gum in its wrapper and dispose of it in a waste receptacle. It is a lesson in public manners that will last a lifetime.

Getting a dog was the last thing I ever thought I would do, but here he is – bouncy and rambunctious and 69 days old. Thank you Valinda, Chaz, Chase and Carlin for the best pet ever! What a wonderful gift you have given us.   Life is BETTER with pets!