Craig Daily Press / Christina M. Currie: DVD player handy on the road

Archive for Friday, July 11, 2008

Christina M. Currie's Touch of Spice column appears Fridays in the Craig Daily Press. E-mail her at <a href="mailto:director@craig-chamber.com"> director@craig-chamber.com</a>

By Christina M. Currie

July 11, 2008

Christina M. Currie

Christina M. Currie's Touch of Spice column appears Fridays in the Craig Daily Press. E-mail her at director@craig-chamber.com

Craig — Even with these gas prices, when you're planning an 800-mile car trip, your biggest concern is how to keep a 6- and a 7-year-old fully occupied.

Things like Dramamine and Nyquil cross your mind, but in the end you opt for the two things no small travelers should be without - a pillow and a DVD player.

Really, anything to get me out of 800 miles of "I spy."

I do have to say that my girls are amazing travelers. They can get out of bed before sunrise and travel for six hours before they even think about going to the bathroom (I have an aunt who just wants to throttle me when I say that).

Still, I wanted to cover my bases, so I did throw down $180 for two portable DVD players.

They were in use for two movies in 1,700 miles - hardly much of a return on my investment.

The pillows were a was better use of my money.

And, we arrived at Lake Powell well-rested and energetic. The girls didn't even complain during what I explained to them was the "administrative" process - time when we adults are trying to figure out inconsequential things like where we're going to sleep and how we're going to get there.

My girls were first introduced to the administrative process in Florida, when each foray into DisneyWorld had to be discussed, arranged and planned.

Kids hate that part.

All they want to do is get started doing what they came to do.

Still.

They want to eat don't they?

"No."

You want to change clothes, right?

"No."

Seven-year-old Katie isn't really a fan of camping. She's much too refined.

"Is that one of those bathrooms that you have to hold your breath in?" she asks whenever she sees an outhouse.

She wouldn't know. She didn't use those facilities the entire time we were at the lake. I shudder to think what we were swimming in. Actually, I don't think about it.

At all.

As we headed back home, we decided to stop and stay one night in a campground around Moab. After two days in a tent (one of which in my tent because she thought the waves were going to wash her away), Katie was not excited about that idea.

"I like hotels better than camping. You don't have to worry about squirrels eating your food. Hotels have real beds and places you can put your clothes," she said.

What, they have floors? Because that's mostly where Katie's clothes end up.

But, the minute we pulled into the beautiful wooded campsite and Katie saw deer comfortable enough to approach within 20 feet, she re-evaluated.

She can't handle bugs, but was charmed by the small green caterpillar she caught. The bathrooms were so well constructed that she could breathe naturally and her tent was big enough to stand up in and had a window that overlooked the fire.

She decided camping wasn't so bad.

Of course, we were prepared for camping in the desert, not in the mountains, so I did have to cover them up in the seven beach-sized towels we'd brought because blankets were in short supply, but they managed it a lot better than I did.

I, despite the fun I heard outside, was committed to staying in bed until the sun hit the tent.

Would've been a long wait.

There's nothing better than a long weekend and an even longer car trip to learn about and connect with your children.

But I'd still recommend a DVD player.

11 July 2008 at 11:53 a.m.

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misterkindbuds (Anonymous) says…

Please, please, please shoot me before I have to read about that kid again.
What ever happened to wild beasts attacking people in the desert?

Here's an idea for your next camping trip:
The Denver Zoo

11 July 2008 at 11:56 a.m.

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misterkindbuds (Anonymous) says…

Also, didn't they get rid of this broad because of errors like this:

The pillows were a was better use of my money.

Craigdailypresto!!!!!!!!

11 July 2008 at 12:28 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

Nobody forces you to read it. I don't.

11 July 2008 at 12:49 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

if you think this kills you go read a 19 year olds personal diary. You will have blood shooting out your eyes.

11 July 2008 at 1:17 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

OMG…you guys are all tooooo funny.

11 July 2008 at 4:36 p.m.

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dawnnewday (Anonymous) says…

Whatever happened to civility? Her stories are charming and well told. And since I have made my own fair share of typographical/grammatical errors, I can overlook the occasional misstep in the paper.

11 July 2008 at 8:40 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Doesn't the paper have spell checker?? When I have to type a memo or something that somebody else is going to have to read; I proof read it. I would be pretty embarrassed to have a whole town of people reading my typo's. She must have went to school here….

11 July 2008 at 10:21 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

aw-come on redneckgirl-I went to school here too. I not only know how to sound out my words, I have spell-check too. Never did learn how to diagram a sentence though. Does it show?

11 July 2008 at 10:26 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

try hooked on phonics. If i screw it up say it real slow and usually thats what I was trying to spell.

11 July 2008 at 10:39 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

yoursentencesaregreatgranny!!!

11 July 2008 at 10:42 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

ps…i was trying to be smart a$$, not rude…don't take that big ole word wrong! I could understand a typo but to screw up the whole sentence in a paper is ridic. I'm trying really, really hard to proof read all this as i've had two too many beers

11 July 2008 at 10:46 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

Relax. Have another one, then go to bed.

13 July 2008 at 2:02 p.m.

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bigrred1576 (Anonymous) says…

I resent comments about Craig's schools. My father went here, I went here, and my kids have gone here. My grandfather was a teacher in the rural schools, here. I think we all turned out to be fairly decent adults. Spelling errors happen. I havent read the article refered to here, but I also like the stories from both of the mentioned writers. It's part of what makes small towns, small towns. If you dont like to read them , don't. Go read some boring wall streat journal

13 July 2008 at 3:03 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

I also went to school here, every single year since kindergarten. I am entitled to my opinion just the same as everyone else here. My kids go to school here as well, if I could financially change my residence just so that my kids were in a better school, I would. There are several children that I personally know that go to different school districts; in completely different towns. Several of them are the same ages as my children and their level of education is much higher than my kids'. It's not the grades my kids get that I'm comparing-it's the material. My out of town niece is at least two grade levels above what she would here. Last year one of my son's classes was weaving::.weaving!! i'm sure weaving will help him get a scholarship to a fine college:.please! And no, this wasn't an elementary school art project; it was a whole trimester of weaving.

13 July 2008 at 3:29 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

Isn't a trimester a part of being pregnant?
Yes if you can get your kids out of the schools here then get them out. These are not the same ol schools bigred I went to school here as well and I know for a fact that the schools used to teach a proper set of requirements. They need to now, instead they offer everything but.

13 July 2008 at 3:37 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

I had one kid that had semesters still and one kid with trimesters. Nice to see you're still alive after your hunting trip 50.

13 July 2008 at 3:41 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

just barley made it out alive

13 July 2008 at 3:52 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

What class was weaving in? Was it an elective class? My mother, I, and my kids all went to school here. It sure has changed, and not for the better. I shudder to think what my youngest grandchildren will be learning.

13 July 2008 at 3:58 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

you know weaving could be very important in our futures.
When global warming kills off most of the populaton and the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves we could use a good weaver for clothes, baskets and roof tops. that way we wouldn't be running around naked in the rain with nothing to hold the water in.

13 July 2008 at 4 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

50-I had a good comeback, but I better not.. lmao

13 July 2008 at 4:04 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

Oh? go ahead its only the forums. I don't mind.

13 July 2008 at 4:08 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Granny—he had either that as an elective or some digital photography class in which the students had to bring their own digital camera. ( Not school provided) Since I am the big bad mom and wouldn't let my kid take my $1000 camera to school, he had to take weaving. AND…to you 50, I have a very vivid imagination, thanks…lol.

13 July 2008 at 4:25 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I like your imagination

13 July 2008 at 4:47 p.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

50—Was going to tell you what ran through my mind, but I got to laughing so hard I fell out of my chair, hit my head on the wall, and now I think I have a concussion, and my memory is fuzzy.

13 July 2008 at 5:13 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Boy we sure have a way of totally changing the topic don't we?? From DVD players in cars to naked rain running..at least we all know what we're talking about right!

13 July 2008 at 6:07 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I will leave it to your imagination… I hope its working.

13 July 2008 at 6:17 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

its working very well, sure wish i had a beer.

13 July 2008 at 6:20 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

german?

13 July 2008 at 6:22 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

yeah..that kind.

13 July 2008 at 6:24 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I was thinking about drinking one tomorrow. be back at work and I will really need one.

13 July 2008 at 6:29 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

yeah? I bet you need one after that long vacation you had.

13 July 2008 at 6:33 p.m.

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AltitudeAdjustment (Anonymous) says…

Ahhh our education system…… First thing, I firmly believe you get out of it what you put in to it. Our schools use the same text books as any other school, public or private, and our teachers were educated in major universities across the country, just like at other schools. So, if your child comes home and plops there chunky butt in front of the Xbox or Play Station, or watches TV all night, chances are they are only going to get a very minimal education from MCS and it isn't the teacher's or the school's fault. Interestingly enough, we have students that graduate with 4.0 point GPAs and go off to places as exotic as Stanford, CU, and even an Ivy League school or two. They took the same classes in elementary and middle school, but somehow have been able to put in just a little extra time doing homework, reading, and preparing for the next stage of their life. How do they do this? With parents that don't let them skate by on the bare minimum needed to get a diploma. Many of these kids are active in extra-curricular activities and hold down jobs while getting As and Bs. A lazy kid with lazy parents wouldn't get any better of an education if they had a private tutor from Harvard who spoon fed them out of silver dishes of knowledge.

Sooooo…….why would any parent let their child take photography or weaving in high school? Make them take another English class, Trig, or biology. What good is a photography class going to do for them? Chum classes exhist in every school (advanced PE, weaving, pottery), as a parent it is your responsibility to say “NO.” If your kid is really interested in something like weaving they should take a class offered to the community at CNCC during the summer. In the end, no one should blame the schools or blame the teachers, you should blame the students and their parents — you can't force a kid to learn or excel or a parent to care. The teachers' job is to teach the course material, not raise your children. Remember, not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up – we need fry cooks too!

Finally, in this day and age all differnt writing styles are not only tollerated they are accepted. Sure this article wasn't written in the Queen's English, but it is representative of the way people write these days. Don't blame the writer if the editor, reviewers, type setters, and technology let her down and didn't pick out every little error. And …….. in the end, take it for what it is, a nice human interest piece in your local paper, and be happy the CDP is here and you don't have to have the Pilot as your local paper.

13 July 2008 at 6:33 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

two or three would be better

13 July 2008 at 6:48 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

I am not lazy, my kids are not lazy. They don't come home and plop in front the xbox that i refuse to let them have. They do their homework and they get good grades. Yeah some teachers are good..others could learn to keep their cleavage inside their shirt when they have 14 year old boys in their class, along with their whale tale in their pants (thong) OR their tramp stamp hanging out the back. And for the record, I could not say NO to weaving-I tried to get him in study hall or something productive.–-I was told no, by the school or he could have a failing grade. I just couldn't possibly let my kid fail weaving class that would scar him for life!!! You have your opinions, I have mine. Maybe if my kid had a better “Craig appropriate last name”, he could have had study hall instead of study the loom.

13 July 2008 at 6:53 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

more like 12 please

13 July 2008 at 7:03 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

And by the way Altitude; I always think your opinions & comments are great, I agree with some but disagree with others so although I get mouthy-don't take it personal.

13 July 2008 at 7:08 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

if all kids in the united states worked as hard altitudes we could have the best education system in the world. instead when we were the best in the world we taught the four R's now everyone else does and our standing in the world continues to fail. We usesd to have local control over the school systems and now the federal government sticks its nose in every aspect of the classroom. Plus the fact that unions will not let a school board or administrator wield the power to put under acheving teachers out on their butts. the unions have fought every attempt to help the kids for the benifit of their own power.

13 July 2008 at 7:10 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I can't do 12 would a case work?

13 July 2008 at 7:15 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

yeah, you can half and i'll take half….lol

13 July 2008 at 7:16 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

a case of good german beer it is.

13 July 2008 at 7:24 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Works for me! What happened to the music/youtube thing?

13 July 2008 at 7:29 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

should we go there and torment someone else?

13 July 2008 at 7:31 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

um… you, me & Granny were the only ones that ever posted on it.

13 July 2008 at 7:34 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I know no one else has any humor left. they must teach that in the schools here.

13 July 2008 at 7:36 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

exactly…..so..go find something funny & put it on there then.

13 July 2008 at 8:20 p.m.

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AltitudeAdjustment (Anonymous) says…

No mean to attend Red — I didn't mean to imploy your kids are Mr. Nintendos. The way classes are structured these days you are often forced to take a class just to get the credit. I had to take feminist studies of east aftrican tribal culture in college so I could get my business degree, so I know what you are talking about to some extent. I completely understand the politics of our small town too and they really escalate when you get sports involved. What does irritates me is the fact that we spend large amounts of our school budget on the bottom 10% but very little on the top 10%.

50 - I am in complete agreement that we have too much fluff in our school. Stress Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic and our kids would be doing a lot better. On that note what is the fourth R?

My kids aren't that smart either. I have always believed they have a 50/50 chance of either ending up really rich and famous or in jail and I kinda like those odds. But they enjoy school and love to learn so I do my best to promote it above other things. In the end though I can't give them the drive, they have to have it for them self.

13 July 2008 at 8:44 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

rules, they should have rules like when we were kids and then you didn't get lippy with the staff cause you knew what would happen.

13 July 2008 at 8:58 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

man….I wish i had your even temper altitude. I guess I wouln't get to be called firebox if i had it though right?

13 July 2008 at 9:01 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

i thought, nope I'm not going to do it.

13 July 2008 at 9:03 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Don't you dare…

13 July 2008 at 9:08 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

yes dear

13 July 2008 at 9:11 p.m.

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redneckgirl (Anonymous) says…

Nice rebound…lol

13 July 2008 at 9:16 p.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

man can be taught…. you know i wouldn't

14 July 2008 at 5:40 a.m.

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nimrod (Anonymous) says…

Hey this is a FORUM not a chat room!

14 July 2008 at 6:32 a.m.

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grannyrett (Anonymous) says…

nimrod-This is what we want it to be. If you want to chat about the subject at hand, go right ahead and do it. We can do it, or we can lighten up a bit and have fun. Sometimes things get way to serious on here, and we go in whatever direction we want to. You got a problem with it?

14 July 2008 at 10:33 a.m.

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lonelyone (Anonymous) says…

While I was on vacation, my parent were telling me about the new high school they were getting in my home town. Everything is the state of the art and is pretty nice, but they are going to teach taxidirmy for heavens sake! Now I know lots of people around here might like that class, but why should that be a class you can take in high school?
My granddaughter was able to pick different things she might like for P.E. instead of the same old boring stuff that has been taught for centuries and she picked ballroom dancing and loved it. She said there is even a Ballroom Dancing team at her school that she could try out for and travel to compete, but would rather do some kind of chior thing instead.
Now both of those things are kind of neat to be offered, but how do they help you get into collage or even get a proper education?? I think to many kids are just not being taught like they should be and we should get back to the basics and stop making our schools into day camps!!

14 July 2008 at 10:50 a.m.

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lonelyone (Anonymous) says…

And nimrod, I sure don't see this as a chat room. A chat room, you'd not have to use the back button like you do here and I sure wish there was some way to get past that little button!
As for the original topic. We've complained about spelling errors for years from the CDP and I don't think it's gonna change altho it's not as bad as it use to be.
As for Chris' stories, they aren't much different from a guy who use to be the editor here. He wrote about his girlfriend alot and he'd always say “you remember Martha don't you”? even tho non of us in Craig had ever met her. They were kind of cute stories tho, but I'm sure many people in town thought ” what the heck is this guy talking about”! So read or don't read her stuff it's no big deal.

14 July 2008 at 11:01 a.m.

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50cal (Anonymous) says…

I agree lonley, what do any of these electives have to do with real life. an elective should be consumer math or home ec. a specialized study of history or sci. these things would help with the future of young adults. oops sorry nimrod that wasn't much of a chat room topic.