All tagged mike parker
Saturday, October 18, will be an event-packed day. When Mother Earth Brewing established the Ironclad Races Half-Marathon in 2015, representatives of Mother Earth Brewing and the CSS Neuse Foundation decided to collaborate to make the day special. The Neuse Foundation would host “Breakfast on the Boat” while runners were beginning the 13.1-mile half-marathon run.
Tomorrow, October 7, my mom, Irene Parker, will celebrate her 97th birthday and draw another year closer to the century mark. Today’s world is much different than when she was born in 1928, a decade or so after World War I and a year and change before the Great Depression.
Although the American Revolution was still in its fledgling stages in 1775, several important events took place. A number of skirmishes and battles demonstrated the resolve of the colonies to resist what they saw as British oppression.
I have written before about not having the opportunity to meet Sandra’s father – Floyd Dawson. The closest I have come is through several photos of him – one that stands constant guard in our living room. In that photo, Floyd Dawson stands on the right of an ambulance, while an unidentified soldier stands on the left.
While we usually think of the American Revolutionary War in terms of 1776, several significant military actions took place during 1775. Just a few of these include Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts) in April, the first battle of Fort Ticonderoga (New York) in May, and the Battle of Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill (Massachusetts) in June.
The second Friday in September has become the standard date for “Wings Over the Neuse,” the single largest fund-raiser for the CSS Neuse Foundation, the caretaker of the full-size replica of the CSS Neuse. This year marks the 17th time “Wings” has taken flight.
You may recognize this information from the beginning of last school year. For the past several years, I have shared tips for succeeding in school I learned from 37-plus years as a classroom teacher. I am going to share my “Bees” of success.
The typical school bus is around 40-feet long and weighs in the neighborhood of 30,000 pounds – without passengers. Buses are huge and can be unwieldy. The last thing any school bus driver needs is distractions of any kind.
I received a text from a friend on Wednesday that posed a disturbing question: “Hi Mike, can this be true? Almost half of all homeless are foster kids who aged out of the system?”
As I was looking through some of my old columns, I found one from 24 years ago on the subject of – drum roll – artificial intelligence. The column addressed one critic’s response to the film: “A.I. – Artificial Intelligence.” Bart Kosko, then a world-renowned expert in the field of artificial intelligence, attacked the film not for its plodding plot or bleak vision of the cruelty of human against defenseless robotic creatures. Instead, Kosko makes several assertions based on what seemed fuzzy logic at best.
Too often when we think about the American Revolution 250 years ago, we do not stop to ponder just how long the colonies struggled against the efforts of the British Crown and Parliament to control, even suppress, the colonials. History has a way of becoming compacted in our minds.
What do Chuck Grassley, Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, Chuck Shumer, Hal Rogers, Chris Smith, Steny Hoyer, Dick Durbin, Marcy Kaptur, and Mitch McConnell all have in common? They are the 10 longest serving members of Congress – and each one has served 40 years or more in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate.
Several years ago, I served on the board of directors of “Friends of North Carolina Public Libraries.” Known by the acronym FONCPL, this statewide organization promotes the interests of 384 public libraries and tens of thousands of library friends.
Although I never met Floyd Dawson of La Grange, my wife Sandra's father, we have a photo of him and a fellow soldier standing in front of an ambulance. Sandra’s father was part of a team that went to the front lines of World War II to pick up the wounded and take them to the nearest field hospital.
When the first “Wings Over the Neuse” fundraiser occurred, I was not part of the CSS Neuse Foundation Board. In 2009, board members decided to do something special to raise funds to place a monument for Alton “Doc” Stapleford to recognize and honor all the work and supervision he provided during the construction of the CSS Neuse II.
Last Thursday, many observed the latest federal holiday – “Juneteenth.” The term “Juneteenth” is the compression of “June Nineteenth” – the day in 1865 that Union Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. Roughly 250,000 enslaved people received their freedom that day.
Yesterday – Sunday, June 15 – marks the 250th anniversary of George Washington’s appointment from the Second Continental Congress to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
I had a break from high school graduations after my oldest four grandchildren earned diplomas. Courtney was first, followed by Haley, Taylor, and Jaxen. Jaxen’s graduation coincided with COVID, so he had no real commencement ceremony until he finished his degree at Johnston Community College. As you may recall, I call my first four grandchildren “The Old Guard.”
Just Thursday I received three threatening text messages regarding my non-payment of tolls. All came from different email addresses, but instead of coming as emails, the messages were delivered as text messages to my phone.
On Wednesday evening, I had the joy and privilege of attending the 2025 Annual Education Celebration sponsored by the Lenoir Soil and Water Conversation District.
