Geraldine

This is my last required post for English 226 and I would like to dedicate it to Geraldine--my grandmother. Because of stubbornness in my family, I did not know Geraldine. Now it's too late. Geraldine passed away Wednesday November 10, 2010. I've been told that she visited me after I was born, but of course I would not have known this. Three years ago, my sister and I convinced our dad to take us to meet Geraldine. She was in the hospital and looked very ill. We promised to write and call, but we never did. Now she is gone.

Geraldine--Grandmother--I hope you can forgive my dad and grandfather for preventing Courtney and I from knowing you. But most of all, please forgive me for not calling or writing you, once we had met. Rest in peace and know that I will miss you. Love, Tiphanie Rimsky, your granddaughter.

Remember the Ticket?

A few weeks ago I expressed my distaste for a ticket I got in a 'phantom' school zone. I did some research, which began with trying to find out what law I had broken. One thing I learned from my Criminal Justice class, is that there is no crime without Law, and no punishment without crime. So I asked the Lewisville Police Department what Law I had broken. There was a four digit number on my ticket, but it did not relate to any Law. The clerk's office told me that the four digit number was an internal code, and the actual Law would be in the State Statutes. I found it odd that the clerk could not find the Law.

Next, I searched the State Statutes for school zone laws and what I found was ironic. Each county or municipality shall hold a meeting, each year, to request a reduction in the state-set speed limit--35 mph--for any road they deem necessary, for the safety of others. There was another requirement I found interesting. The reduced speed limit must be within 500 feet of the school property.

To date, I have not been able to find any records that Lewisville Texas has held such a meeting as described above. However, I did measure the distance from the school, to the bridge--over interstate 35--where I was stopped by the officer. It was 1632 feet, thus proving the ticket was bogus.

The next time you get a ticket, do some research. You may not be guilty!

When is Halloween?

Everyone knows Halloween is October 31, but the day to trick-or-treat has caused some confusion in Dallas. Blogs are blowing up with comments about a news story this week, concerning the day to take the children around the neighborhoods. Some parents think we should celebrate Halloween today, Saturday October 30. Comments include things like, "Don't come by my house Saturday. I will be watching the Texas Rangers play in the World Series," and "Halloween is not on Saturday, it's Sunday. Why should we change the date because parents don't want take their kids on Sunday night?"

I personally don't care. I am too old to trick-or-treat, and I don't have children. I have, though, been surprised by the conflict this have caused in our area. The mayor of Dallas finally announced that the day of celebration would be decided by each town. So basically, children can go to Grapevine on Saturday and on Sunday, cross the street to Flower Mound and score some more candy.

Now that I have blogged what's on my mind, I would like to send you to slate for another article related to Halloween; http://www.slate.com/id/2272751/. This is an adult article, so please sensor. Happy Halloween.

Cinderella

I just left the Texas Ballet Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas. Cinderella was performed. I know that I have dished this art appreciation class in the past, but none of the prior performances come to close to this ballet. The ugly step-sisters were played by male performances, and they were hilarious. Cinderella and the prince danced a pas de deux in the final act. It was absolutely beautiful. I am actually looking forward to the Nutcracker ballet in November. Maybe some sophistication will rub off on me after all.

School Zone? Really?

I'm driving home from work, minding my own business, when I see police lights behind me. Sound familiar? I still think it's the pink LSU emblem on the back of my Jeep. The officer walks up to my car, asks for my license, and says, "Do you know you're speeding?" I was driving 32 mph in a 35 mph zone. I was not speeding. The officer proceeded to tell me that I was in a school zone and the speed limit was 20 mph. Excuse me! I was traveling on Interstate 35 when I exited onto Corporate. I was on the off ramp, which is a loop around that circles and then goes up a bridge and over the interstate. My first question was, "Where is the school?" Suspended in air? Seriously. I'm on the exit ramp from the interstate! I doubt that anyone built a school here. The officer's response to my questioning was, "What can I say? I'm just one of those cops that writes tickets." I'm furious. I circled back around to see of there was a school zone sign, or even a school. There was, but not where anyone coming off the interstate could see. The sign was on Corporate, on the other side of the bridge. I drove past the officer and saw him giving another person a ticket. Unbelievable!

Dance Appreciation

I love to dance and I love to cheer, so why do I hate my Dance Appreciation class at UNT? I need a three credit course to satisfy the art credit for my degree. Unfortunately, LSUS doesn't have a three credit course in dance--or cheerleading for that matter--and I do not want to take an art class. For these reasons, I thought I would take advantage of my Fall semester at UNT, and take a three credit dance course. I should have known it would not be that simple. Signing up for the class, and getting approving my Dean at LSUS wasn't a problem, but the class is. I also should have known that a class named Appreciation of Dance as an Art Form would not be a blow-off class. So far, I have attended a ballet, a musical, and I don't even know what to call the performance I just left. We are assigned seven performances this semester and attendance is mandatory. Then we must write a four-page review of the performance. How can you describe costumes, dance moves, and set in enough words to fill up four-pages? I should be appreciative that I get to attend such performances in Dallas, but I just can't get into it. I hope The Nutcracker performance in November will spark my interest. Otherwise, I am stuck writing creative non-fiction for more than one class this semester.

Crying at a Wedding

I just left my cousin's wedding. It was beautiful, but simple. There was laughter and humor, even from the preacher, but my mom and my aunt were crying--during the ceremony. Okay, I understand when a mother cries because her baby girl is getting married, or, even a son, but, neither the bride nor the groom belong to my aunt or mom. So my question is--Is it okay to cry at a wedding? A wedding is supposed to be happy, joyous, jolly...not weepy! I realize that my cousin lost his dad three years ago, and, maybe it's okay to mention this loss during the ceremony and the reception toast, but crying at a wedding just seems...wrong. My mom says I will understand when I get older. Whatever! On the upside--there was a cash bar, so I doubt that tomorrow, anyone will remember the blubbering little women.