Monday Rambling


Do I look older?
Watch it now how you answer. My birthday was yesterday. No, I don’t remember how old I am.  Don’t ask. Yes, I celebrated it with my family. My mom always makes an awesome meal and cake for me. That part I like very much and spending time with my family. Getter older—not so much.

Writing

·         It’s not a good thing when you know a market takes 3-4 months to read your submission and they send it back in one month.  I lost my mind and sent a manuscript with 200 words more than the magazine wants.  I’d like to believe I’m a detail person, so I don’t know what happened.  But, I was invited to fix it and send it again.  I did. I don’t know why it went out with the wrong number of words. But then…

·         I stood and watched an empty toaster—waiting for the toast to pop up. After a couple of minutes, I realized I hadn’t inserted a slice of bread.  

·         I’m still working on a short for a children’s magazine for my Write 1 Sub 1 monthly challenge.

·         I still need to write five more posts for the A-Z April Challenge. And I need to edit the others. Bloggers are still signing up for the challenge. When I wrote this there were 1083 bloggers signed up.

Work
Recently, we had a PD day on what to do in case of an intruder.  We’ve had many directives on what to do, but I don’t remember an actual training. It was awesome and tense. We had to be a part of three intrusions, after the training.

Let’s just say, I was shot two times, but never killed. Let’s just say that the third time, I took action with the men and one female teacher (in my group) and kept the intruder out.
We were tense and stressed which made it a good simulation.

Some things I learned:

·         Fight back when necessary.  It’s better to fight back and risk being shot than not

·         Most people do not die from gunshot wounds.

·         Only God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. An armed intruder is not. (My summation.)

·         Cowering under a desk makes you a target.

·         If escape isn’t safe or there’s a breech in your hiding place, fight back.

·         Intruders don’t go into a school to get sympathy they go to kill and be killed. They have nothing to lose.

·         Even though it seems we hear a lot about school killings, they are actually rare when compared to our population.

·         Don’t be a victim. Fight.

Have a great week. Be productive. Be kind.

Comments

Joanne said…
Thanks for sharing what you learned in your PD day. It's advice that seems applicable in any situation and good to know.

And a very Happy Birthday to you! Raising my coffee cup in a Birthday Toast ... Cheers :)
PR said…
Happy Birthday! I always think that if I was in a similar situation I would jump on the lil fecker to give everyone time to get out, but you never really know how you will react until it happens. Lets hope it never does.
Hope you had a Happy Birthday, Teresa! And, actually, I think the fact the market asked you to fix the submission sounds like good news!
My last year at the Middle School there were two actual separate intruder incidents. One had a rifle and had a malachite.

We had a 'real' bug out and moved the whole school to a nearby church when we got a 'tip' trouble was headed our way. It was a carload of gun totin' folks who where drugged up and upset.

That year seven guns were confiscated from students. Somethin' that is never talked about.

These are the things that never make the news.

It's sad we have to be ready and prepare our students for such horrific activities but sadly, it's the world we live in.

Stay on your toes my friend!

God bless and have a fantastic week!

(Oh, yeah...as ya know this is the time of year for the 'bomb threats' too. They always come on a perfectly warm spring day!!!) Heeehehehe!!!
Anonymous said…
Great post. And when it comes down to it, we just have to trust God in these situations. I agree, take action! And funny line about the toaster.
Gail said…
I am glad you pointed out the small number of school shootings. Because it is news, It looms larger than it is.

The fact that "they" have taken the rules so far about what defines weapons is a little on the silly side.

Happy Birthday.
Never thought about teachers having to train for a shooting, but it happens now.
Happy belated birthday!
And funny story about the toast.
cleemckenzie said…
After reading your PD information I may have to stay clear of schools for a while. I always thought cowering would be an effective strategy. I had that one down.

Happy birthday and bless your mom for the one candle. Mine tends to be want accuracy and it's becoming embarrassing.
Hi Teresa .. Happy Birthday - and am so pleased you enjoyed your mother's food and some time with your family!

Counting and attention to detail - I think I'm like you - good at it - yet now it gets a bit higglepiggly ... and that's not right either!!

Gosh - I suppose doing these training sessions are essential and you've made some excellent points - we perhaps forget in times of strife. Sincerely hope it doesn't happen ..

As Alex says .. waiting for the toast - done that occasionally too .. though I'd never admit it!! Cheers and have a great week .. Hilary
Misha Gerrick said…
Happy birthday! You actually reminded that I still need to start my A-Z posts. Actually entered two blogs this year.

Thinking now that I might be the insane one. :-D
Unknown said…
Just a sec, you were not really shot right? Just a simulation?

Well, those are good points you learnt.
Jaime said…
I love your toast story. Sometimes I walk from my office to where the shared printer is and just stand there because I have no idea what I'm doing.

I participated in an active shooter training at a university I used to work for. It was very eye-opening to learn what I'd do to stay alive.

Hope you had a great birthday. My husband loves getting older. As he says, there's only one alternative and it isn't very appealing.
Jemi Fraser said…
Wow! That's intense. I've never been through a training simulation like that - amazing.

And don't feel bad on the toast, I've done that too! :)
Mary Aalgaard said…
I once tried to make coffee without the water. I called it dry coffee.

That sounds like a good training session. I hope it empowered you.

Play off the Page
Carol Kilgore said…
Happy Birthday!

And congrats on the request to resubmit. That's always a good thing :)

Thanks for sharing what you learned about intruders. I may write crime fiction, but faced with such a situation I imagine I'd panic and be shot. Training and knowing what to do are valuable tools.

My toaster says to tell your toaster hi.
Arlee Bird said…
A belated Happy Birthday, but it seems I'm behind on everything of late. I can relate to what you're saying. I don't know how many times I've caught myself putting the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the refrigerator.
I'm still working on A to Z posts as well, but what did you mean by "edit"? You edit? Maybe I should try that sometimes.

Lee
The Dog Lived (and So Did I)
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
Unknown said…
I still say if we would tighten gun laws and bring back prayer in school, it would make a difference.

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