PSoTD

This is Joe Michell Elementary School in Livermore, California. I don't have much memory of it. I only attended for four months - we moved from Indiana to California in February of 1971, and this was my first stop in CA. Our classroom was a one room portable building with a ramp to the door, I remember that. And that's about it.

Another elementary school I attended was Crook Creek Elementary, in Indianapolis, Indiana. I went there in first grade, and until high school, was the only place where I had a crush on my teacher. (Of course, it was nothing like the crush I had on Miss Wolfe in high school...) The only memories I have of first grade are a book reading contest, taking the bus for the only year of my public education, and the nicest teacher in the world, Mrs. Walker.

Yeah, I have to build one. My pain is now yours - here's a little info about them:

Drywells have a limited life as they fill with soil that gets in them so it is important to make them as big as possible. The perimeter of the hole should be lined with concrete blocks set on edge, so the holes in them are horizontal and will let water reach, and be absorbed by, the soil of the walls. The blocks should be stacked to the level of the bottom of a new pad, which needs to be built on a form resting on the blocks and reinforced with steel re-rods. A drain should be set in the middle of the pad, and the concrete must slope from the perimeter to the drain for it to function properly.

I can't buy them, or else I end up eating the whole box. They are addicting.

And although I don't agree with the premise, here's your chance to sign the Petition to Kellogg/Sunshine, the company that manufactures Cheez-Its, to request that they create a new "Slightly Burnt" variety of their original Cheez-Its. Good luck!

I went to a lot of public schools when growing up - when we lived in Indiana we moved around, and when we moved to California I was just in time to go to three different schools for the end of elementary, junior high and high school. All told, I went to 7 different public schools.

So, I figure I have seven weeks to highlight each of them on a Monday, if I can find a photo of one. I wish that below I could show a photo of Wilbur E. Sutton Elementary in Muncie, Indiana, where I went from third grade through half of sixth grade - my longest stint by far in any elementary school. It was a pretty darn good school, even though it was a mile or more walk from our house, and in those days no school bus option. In 5th and 6th grade I served as a crossing guard for the route as well, complete with the belt and the badge and the bamboo flag stop sign.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a Sutton Elementary photo online that showed the school. Kind of a shame.

I said "later" to my briefcase yesterday.

I have used it sparingly - maybe twice a year - for over a decade. I've had it maybe 15 years, and at one time it was a daily companion as I took it with me at work to meetings. But the past 10 years, with my home office, I have felt less and less need to use it for the occasional meeting, and finally, yesterday, I was cleaning out the closet in my office, and there it was.

Sitting on the floor. Taking up space. And hiding pens from their proper use at my desk.

I emptied the case of some old notes and ancient business cards, and took it down to the basement with some other items. We have a neighborhood garage sale in a few months, and I'm planning to sell it then, for a quarter or fifty cents. It's a decent, although not fancy, briefcase, and maybe somebody will want it. If not, then it's off to Goodwill, because I don't really think I'll be needing it again.

If you have one, this is the season, with rain and snow melt, to realize that...

Most homeowner policies do not cover the backup of sewer and drains as well as the failure of a sump pump. Heavy rains can trigger a backup and a bad storm can cause power outages leading to sump pump failure, so it’s important to make sure you have this added coverage.

You can get a battery-activated sump pump as a backup in case of power loss or failure by your primary sump pump, and over time this is probably more cost efficient than to add the coverage if you don't currently have it. And it is definitely wiser if you have items in your basement that can't be adequately replaced regardless of cost.