Oh, those poor Ingalls girls...

[The Mom]

I respect the decision to require swimming though. It is a lesson that should not be missed, especially for anyone that lives anywhere near water.

When I went to Auburn, PE was a requirement in EVERY discipline... one of the requirements of PE101 was to have the ability to swim. If you failed the swim test, you were automatically enrolled into a remedial swimming class.

In other words you would not graduate from Auburn without knowing how to swim.

It was a requirement for graduation. An exception was sometimes made for a student who tried, but failed the class. I had a classmate who spent 3 years of swim classes getting into the pool and sinking to the bottom. Of course, the coaches never got into the pool; that might have made a difference. Instead they instructed from the side of the pool.

Those of us who could swim were given Red Cross lifeguard training. When we had passed, we then spent the class time swimming laps/jumping/diving off the board. Or just keeping below the radar and goofing off.

The pool area was always too cold if you were wet, and too hot if you were dry.

I was always late for one class (algebra, I think) because the pool so far away, and they kept us until the dismissal bell - enough time to get from one class to another, but not if you have to get dressed first. The coaches took the attitude that "we are allowed 45 minutes, and we're not going to cut our class short."

 

[NYwdwfan]

It was a requirement for graduation. An exception was sometimes made for a student who tried, but failed the class. I had a classmate who spent 3 years of swim classes getting into the pool and sinking to the bottom. Of course, the coaches never got into the pool; that might have made a difference. Instead they instructed from the side of the pool.

Those of us who could swim were given Red Cross lifeguard training. When we had passed, we then spent the class time swimming laps/jumping/diving off the board. Or just keeping below the radar and goofing off.

The pool area was always too cold if you were wet, and too hot if you were dry.

I was always late for one class (algebra, I think) because the pool so far away, and they kept us until the dismissal bell - enough time to get from one class to another, but not if you have to get dressed first. The coaches took the attitude that "we are allowed 45 minutes, and we're not going to cut our class short."

This must be the norm in pool areas. Mine was too!

 

[Nemo14]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ne-man’s-journey-into-tripreportville.858279/

 

[NYwdwfan]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/fun-food-and-fenway-one-man’s-journey-into-tripreportville.858279/

Thanks for posting! That was a fun read.

Happy Monday! I'm hoping to see the sun at some point this week.

 

[NYwdwfan]

So over the weekend I found out a girl I used to do plays with in junior high and high school had a stint as Flora in the Hoop dee Doo!! I don't think she was there when we were there, but I still think it's pretty cool!

 

[Nemo14]

That's awesome! Do you know when she was there - I have pictures from a couple of years ago.

 

[Nemo14]

BTW, the weather forecast for Saturday's pool party? High temp = 37......

On the bright side - it's in the high 50's today.

 

[The Mom]

BTW, the weather forecast for Saturday's pool party? High temp = 37......

On the bright side - it's in the high 50's today.

I just spent an hour or so weeding in my garden. Sunny & 77 degrees.

 

[Nemo14]

I just spent an hour or so weeding in my garden. Sunny & 77 degrees.

*sure hope it stays that way for the next 6 weeks!*

 

[NYwdwfan]

That's awesome! Do you know when she was there - I have pictures from a couple of years ago.

I found a video on youtube from 2003 with her in it - my daughter was born in 2003 and we didn't bring the kids for the first time until 2007. I need to go back to the pictures from 2007 - I remember what the girl looked like and I am fairly certain it was not her. But I would imagine they have a few of each character and rorate performances - I mean the same cast can't perform 3 shows 7 days a week!

 

[NYwdwfan]

I found the video - there is a clear view of her face around 7:12.

 

[Nemo14]

This was one I took in 2006. Is this her?

 

[Nemo14]

Looking at the video, I'd say it's definitely not her. Sorry.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Looking at the video, I'd say it's definitely not her. Sorry.

I was having trouble with the weird singing expression but I don't think so. Thanks for checking!!

 

[NYwdwfan]

Just found this - it's definitely her. The photo said it was from 2010 so I really need to go back to look at my photos!

 

[Nemo14]

That's cool!

 

[NYwdwfan]

So I went back to look and saw her in our 2011 photos - then I found the video and it was so weird - it's clearly her and I had NO IDEA when we were there. And my husband knows her and didn't recognize her. And my mom costumed her for 6 years and she didn't recognize her either!! I wouldn't expect her to have seen us - with all the faces that pass through I'm sure they are not focusing on if they know anyone. Besides - it HAS been 20 years!!!!!

 

[Nemo14]

Too bad you didn't know back then - where's that Way-back machine when you need it?

 

[NYwdwfan]

Too bad you didn't know back then - where's that Way-back machine when you need it?

I know!! Funny thing is - we had the same Flora the previous 2 times (at least) that we went, so when I saw her initially, I was disappointed it was a different person. She won me over immediately - but I think it's odd that I even NOTICED it was a different person but didn't recognize her!

So last night I had a dream I took the kids to Universal for the first time and there was a mini-Harry Potter land and a real racoon was sitting on the roof of Hogwarts and I was disappointed he was ruining the effect.

 

[NYwdwfan]

So there's really no other place to post this little tidbit from the news. *shudder*

18 heads found at airport were sent for cremation

By JASON KEYSER | Associated Press – 13 hrs ago

CHICAGO (AP) — It sounded ghoulish enough: a shipment of 18 frozen human heads discovered and seized by customs officials during routine X-ray screening of cargo arriving at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Turns out the heads were used for medical research in Italy and were being returned for cremation in Illinois. The holdup was due to a paperwork problem.

It just so happens such shipments are commonplace, and heads — quite a few of them — crisscross the globe via airplane and delivery truck.
"Just last week, we transported eight heads, unembalmed, to Rush University Medical Center for an ophthalmology program," said Paul Dudek, vice president of the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois, which supplies cadavers and body parts to medical schools in the state for training students.
His association sends about 450 whole cadavers to medical schools each year and also ships individual body parts, including about a dozen shipments of heads annually.

The heads are used for training in fields such as dentistry, ophthalmology and neurology, where they are used for Alzheimer's research. They are also used to train plastic surgeons and by students learning to perform facial reconstructions on accident and trauma victims, Dudek said.
Most cadavers are obtained through voluntary donation by people who designate a willingness to have their bodies benefit science upon their death, Dudek said. A much smaller proportion are the bodies of people whose families could not afford their burial and so agree to allow the state to release them for research.

The shipment to O'Hare was properly preserved, wrapped and labeled "human specimens," said Mary Paleologos, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which took hold of the shipment on Monday for storage in its morgue cooler while authorities continued to investigate the paperwork.

With little information initially, news of the shipment's discovery fueled headlines and raised questions about where the shipment came from, where it was headed and why.

In the end, it turned out the shipment of three containers, which arrived in mid-December, was held up because of a mix-up with the paperwork and there was nothing suspicious about it or its destination.
The heads were originally sent from Illinois to a medical research facility in Rome and were returned to the Chicago area for disposal as part of the agreement for the order, Paleologos said.

On Tuesday, a cremation service arrived at the Medical Examiner's Office with paperwork for the specimens. Once federal authorities confirm the paperwork, the specimens will be turned over to the cremation service, she said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection could not discuss the specific case because of privacy laws, but it said shipments of human remains into the U.S. "are not without precedent," are lawful with the right documentation and fall within the agency's "low-risk" category.
Dudek said such shipments require thorough documentation, in part because the scarcity of bodies donated to science means there is a black market for them.

"It does go on," he said of the illegal trade.

Besides medical schools, many corporations making medical instruments and appliances use cadavers for their training and research programs.
"We receive about 600 whole-body donations a year. I could easily place 750, 800," he said, explaining the short supply.
Some shipments go by air, but others end up in delivery trucks just like any other package.

"In fact, we sent out a shipment of brains to the University of Texas at Austin last week via UPS," Dudek said.