It looks like the school board in Winchester, MA has decided to hold school on Good Friday, even though 80 of the 200 teachers won't be there. Hiring enough subs to hold school will create a huge financial burden on the school. But the board feels bad about recognizing a Christian holiday--it's unfair to other religions.
What I find interesting is that the legal counsel for the school board basically told them it makes no difference at all. They have full authority to choose the best 180 days to run the school--regardless of which days they choose.
I guess it just seems foolish to ignore 1) the reality that many of your teachers are Christian and will not be there, and 2) we live in a country that has traditionally observed Christian holidays. If we lived in a traditionally Muslim secularized state like Turkey, I'm sure we'd have certain Muslim holidays off as well. It's not even a question of secular vs. religious really...just common sense :).
Wednesday, May 30
Life in Winchester, MA
Tuesday, May 29
Free Birthday Meals
Well, tomorrow is my birthday, and in honor of that special day, I'm hoping to eat some free meals. Did you know that you can get lots of good free stuff on your birthday? I've been searching the web for some of the best deals, and unfortunately there is a whole lot of "junk" information out there--promises for free meals that simply aren't true. So...I've tried to weed through some of the "mis"-information and get to the real stuff (with some help from the Osterinks). Here is what I've found!
There are basically two ways to get free food on your birthday from restaurants. One way is to sign up for their email promotions; the other is to show up on your actual birthday. The email promotions tend to be more flexible, usually giving you a two-week window of opportunity for use. Here are some of the best email birthday offers!
Noodles & Company: Get a free bowl of noodles coupon (Sign up here).
Red Robin: Get a free gourmet burger with bottomless fries and a sundae (Sign up here).
Qdoba: Buy-one-get-one free burrito coupon (Sign up here).Bennigans: Buy-one-get-one free entree coupon (Sign up here).
Dairy Queen: Buy-one-get-one free Blizzard coupon (Sign up here).
Cold Stone Creamery: Free Cold Stone Creation on your birthday (Sign up here).
Famous Dave's BBQ: Coupon for either free dessert or free meal [lottery when you arrive] (Sign up here).
Also, if you live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, there are some pretty good deals locally on the actual day (if you go out to eat).
Grand Rapids Brewing Company: Free dessert, mug, and a $10 gift card good for your next meal. We were able to call and get approval to go the day BEFORE my birthday, so it's worth a shot calling ahead if you can't go on the actual day.
Pietro's: Choose from a birthday meal menu of 6 meals that are buy-one-get-one-free, or $10 off your bill. Note that they only offer this on DINNERS, which means you need to go AFTER 4PM.
Chop House: This restaurant is a bit pricey usually, so if you are going to go--do it on your birthday! They have a sweet offer that gives you a percentage off on your total bill based on the number of people in your party. For 2 people, 50%, 3 people, 33%, etc. Basically, the birthday person eats free. Check it out here!
Thursday, May 10
Crazy Squirrels
A first grade classroom was attacked yesterday in San Jose, California.
A squirrel entered the school and ran up a parents leg. Before leaving, the animal bit two parents and jumped on a 3rd grader.
"The whereabouts of the squirrel are unknown..."
Watch out for those crazy squirrels...
Tuesday, May 8
Ray Comfort Debating Atheists
This might be worth checking out tomorrow night. ABC Nightline is hosting a debate between Ray Comfort and his buddy Kirk Cameron (yes, the guy from Growing Pains) and a group of atheists known as the Rational Response Squad. They are famous for their "Blasphemy Challenge" where people go on YouTube and post videos of themselves denying the existence of the Holy Spirit.
Should be interesting.
You can read more about the debate in this article.
