Moving in a new year

My wife and I have moved to St. Louis, Missouri.  Now Sty. Louis is my hometown.  My wife’s hometown is Montreal, Quebec.  Many discussions should we moved to St. Louis or Montréal.  I have lived in St. Louis the majority of my life.  We have visited Montreal and loved it there. 

Montreal, for those who do not know, is very metropolitan.  People from every walk of life are there.  As French is the spoken language as the language is music to me.  I do not speak French myself but I will need to learn. 

What I found is that the people are friendly.  I think it is that the personal space we, or I have found as a US citizen, is not present for those living in Montreal.  I went around the town spending time in cafes, reading the English speaking newspapers (and that is hard to find at times) or looking at the street and the people go by.  If people are talking about a topic I know of or I want to know if I can join the discussion freely.  Last summer I had people come up to me to ask a question that caused the discussion to last over an hour.  I do not and I am sure this will not happen in the United States. 

A major difference is the care I received was the concern when I had a seizure and fell in a café.  I fell backwards and loss conscience for a time.  When I came to I saw my wife and five or six customers making sure I was okay, comforting me, and my wife.  One person was on her cell phone calling the ambulance, a waitress came with a glass of water, and I was assisted back into a chair with assistance and people staying with me talking to me. 

If you do not know I call myself Ian optimist.  Being one when I have a medical problem I find humor when talking to people.  Some may say it is black humor.   It does not do anything if I fret; I have had seizures since I have been ten years old. 

I describe this as I recently had a seizure here in the states.  What is described here above did not occur here.  People looked at me and walked by.  When I needed help to sit in a chair no one helped me.  The staff at the store told my wife and me that they could not help me because of their rules of the store.  It took my wife and me to decide to call 911. 

Unfortunately, the citizens here in the US, and it is my observation and experience, that people keep an invisible personal space around their self’s and not to enter the space of others. 

Personally, I would have loved to move to Montreal.  Yes I know that a major snowstorm as hit Montréal but I really was ready for that.  

It is good to write again!

It is Monday morning, from this laptop, and a beautiful blue sky.  I finally began my grant proposal to receive monies for people with strokes and caretakers to provide further communication with others using G+ and its Hangout ability. 

I haven’t written a grant or anything dealing with a need for a social service need in a very long while.  As a social worker it is something I always liked to due but due to my stroke and unable work, I hung up my social work gloves up. 

I had my stroke/Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and my wife stroke occurred one year ago I found it imperative to locate a stroke support group where we live, which we did.  The Stroke group is held once a month. 

As we live in a rural area, I saw that many of the members must drive from many different cities to attend the meeting.  I thought that if the members of group could communicate with each other, they could receive further support from each other. 

It feels good to be good that I am writing again.

School time

I heard this morning school has started here in town. No I am from the era when I walked to school, ten miles , in the snow, uphill, etc………………….

I never remembered that school started this early. The only time I went to school this early was for football practice. That was important!

School started in Joplin, Missouri today. After the tornado they are meeting at a nearby shopping mall. I hope everything goes well for them. Schools here in town, a small rural town, are happening quietly and easily. I am waiting to hear a large yell soon from the parents as they say goodbye to their children as they leave out the door. A news story about Columbia, Missouri, the home of the Missouri University and the home of the Tigers (yeah!) is now using trailers for classrooms to accommodate the number of students they have this year.

The worst story I have heard so far is that the Detroit school district do not have enough teachers for the amount of students they have. What is the reason for that? The type of education presented? There are no teachers in the Detroit? The tax base of Detroit that is set aside for public education?

When we were kids we saw teachers as someone who was went to school to work, they were not doing it for free. Now that we have grown up we, or I, have a different view of teachers. For the job that they are doing is not in the same pay scale in the public education arena. Nor or teachers respected and do not have the same respect as degreed occupations such as doctors, lawyers, or those occupations where one has respect the job that they are doing.

At this time in our life’s, and our children, it is time to give teachers the respect they have earned. How to give a teacher the level of respect they should be given? Perhaps a six year education program so teachers receive a master degree. Perhaps teacher should become licensed by the state they teach in. Who know if teachers are licensed they may be able to open their own practice to teach children and allow children to have more one to one interaction with a child.

Something has to be done. What suggestions do you have?

New Place

It is Thursday and I am at Starbucks in Columbia, MO. Why? I live in Centralia which in the rural area in Boone County. Now Fellow Centralians, I am not downing our fair city, just the opposite. I like it here. However, Centralia is a small city and I am from the Big City, St. Louis; I guess I am spoiled.

I need to get find other things to do. As you can see I am on my laptop. Yes I lugged it to Starbucks. I use the laptop at home but it gets boring. Most of the time the walls close in. So I go. I also lugged my Nook to read a book.

I am trying to get use to the change with the use of WordPress. How do I keep the people who visit as friends, like in spaces? I am trying to surf around here to see friends from Spaces and create/find new friends. Any help out there? I have been able to find widgets to begin to have my page fill up. (I am patting my back now).

Any help/assistance sent my way will be greatly appreciated.