Life is Good

Life in Lufkin is good. This weekend was the Lufkin High School prom. P. Went for his last prom and had a great time. We had negotiated a latter curfew,(3:00 AM) with the understanding that was the absolute latest he could be out. Part of the deal was that he would wake his mother when he got home,(as if she would be asleep,) and tell her how it was. P woke us up at 2:45. I am very proud of him and thankful that he understood the terms and was mature enough to know that he really needed to be home a little earlier. Since I had been the deal broker, this really helped me out.
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Immigration has made big news in Lufkin, like it has in many places. With the bills in congress now dealing with this subject, the Hispanic community has started to use protest as a tool to get peoples attention. There has already been several demonstrations and marches in Lufkin, and it appears there will be more. The schools are cracking down on students that leave class to protest. They are threatening to issue truancy tickets and fines for people who leave the campus without permission. Many believe that the students don’t even know what or why they are protesting, and this is just an excuse to "skip" school.
This may be correct. The schools have a great opportunity to educate here, and we are missing the boat. Obviously, there is some interest in the issues, so lets use this interest to teach. Not just the Hispanic Americans, but all of our kids could learn here. We could teach what the issues are, look for solutions and get real public feedback. We could also teach about the civil rights marches of the 50's and 60's. We could teach how civil dis-obedience in America works, and how it doesn’t. We do not get this opportunity every day, so let’s make the best of it when it comes.