Goodfellows52: Applauding the “Never Again” movement, another ina...

Goodfellows52: Applauding the “Never Again” movement, another ina...: “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”                                             ...

Applauding the “Never Again” movement, another inane decision from a chaotic Whie House and our cat comes in from the cold cellar

“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” 
                                                                                                                                                            ― Howard Zinn
                                                                                                                                  

AUBURN, Maine — You just witnessed this nation’s teenagers take charge of their lives when they came out in droves across America to protest incessant gun violence in schools.

They delivered rousing speeches and vowed to make an indifferent congress and apathetic president accountable — and if they continue to drag their heels — thousands of young people have made a solemn promise to vote them out of office in the midterms.

These courageous and admirable teens gave us all a civics lesson and re-enforced what Harry Truman said: "Decisions are made by people who show up." And we haven't seen much of that from our leaders.

I stand with them as a part-time teacher and as a responsible adult who was proud of their courage and determination when they spoke before thousands of supporters in Washington D.C., Boston, New York as well as cities in Ireland and France.

This was a worldwide event and these teens were loud and clear with their message: Never again.

I guess the children of this country shall lead us because most of our leaders continue to bow to the NRA or they are too busy sparring with a chaotic Oval Office where indecision and indifference rules. Many of our leaders just don’t get it that these wonderful kids are frightened and weary of the senseless slaughter of their peers.

But they delivered on their promise and a word of caution on a sunny Saturday to our nation’s leaders — “we are not going away and we will vote to make a change.”

I will join these brave teens at the polls when the midterms roll around this year and will gladly show any insouciant politician the door.

Speaking of the White House

Let me get this straight! 

Transgender people won’t be allowed to serve in this nation’s military thanks another absurd decision by the Oval Office.

Why? 

They are American citizens who are willing to stand between us and harm’s way. Another words, they are putting their lives on the line for all of us — including the people in the Oval Office.

In the end, does it really matter that these brave souls are transgender when they pick up a rifle to protect us.

During World War II, the military insisted blacks weren’t capable of flying war planes. Obviously, racism was the backbone of that backward way of thinking of people who just happen to be black.

Well, thanks to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and wife, Eleanor, black men were given that chance and proved they were equally capable of flying P-51 Mustangs and knocking the enemy out of the skies.

They are now known as the Tuskegee airmen, who were honored for service to their nation.

Transgender people deserve the same chance to serve their country.

But it is just another derisive and uninformed decision from the current and befuddled administration.

And Cindy Lou finally came out

Our new cat, Cindy Lou Who, has been hiding all over the house for five weeks.

The hairy critter is like the lead character Keyser Soze in the movie, “The Usual Suspects.”

And like that, poof, Cindy Lou is gone.

From time to time, we had at several sightings of our aloof cat before it dashed off into the darkness of our damp cellar where she hid out like a wanted convict. She would leave dead mice in her wake. We would hear creeping around at night, but when we went to take a peek, she was out of sight.

But this week was break through with relations with our stealthy cat. The thaw came swiftly.

Thanks to my wife’s love and devotion to animals, Cindy Lou decided to give our upstairs accommodations a try.

She is still here and she let’s us know it when she is around. This cat likes to talk and craves attention and still disappears for hours in the cellar.

He now sits on the chair with his own blanket or is in the kitchen getting high on catnip.

I am just glad we are finally friends with the elusive hairball.

Cindy Lou finally feeling right at home.

Goodfellows52: Our new cat is out of the bag and AWOL

Goodfellows52: Our new cat is out of the bag and AWOL: "In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this."                                  ...

Our new cat is out of the bag and AWOL

Editor's note: We just discovered our Cindy-Lou Who just knocked of a mouse in my basement. Cindy maybe terrified of us —even though we are kind and gentle — but she has no problem taking a rat out for a walk. He is a mouser with no remorse and our Luco Brazzi. Don Corleone would be proud of his solider.

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this."

                                                                                                                                     — Terry Pratchett

AUBURN, Maine — No cat will ever replace Tabby — a one-of-a-kind fur ball that was fearless, sometimes ruthless but always demonstrated its kindness — except to other cats.

I miss his antics and odd sense of humor. His untimely death still smarts. Tabby owned my wife’s heart and it eventually stole mine. But Terri also knew that another feline would be the only way to fill that void of emptiness in house that was suddenly quiet.

So we went shopping for a new cat at the local animal shelter. Our second pick went to a five-year-old cat who appeared to enjoy our company.

So we thought!

We headed for home with a cat that was terrified and meowed in sadness.

As soon as we opened the door to the cat carrier in the house, it bolted toward my son’s bedroom where it stationed itself against the wall under his bed. We peered at it and tried to coax the little bugger out from its hideout.

The cat was stubborn and gave a look like: "Back off, you knuckleheads."

Cindy-Lou Who, its new name, wouldn’t budge. Not even enticing, yummy treats could extricate the terrified cat from self-imprisonment under my son's bed.

But cats know how to pull a disappearing act and will use any orifice in an old home to hide from the ones who love them most.

Over the next few days, it found the open door to the dreaded downstairs and disappeared into the damp, cellar darkness like a fugitive hiding in plain sight from the long arm of the law.

We thought we would never see Cindy-Lou Who again.

For the next week or two or three, Terri would stalk Cindy-Lou like a bounty hunter. All she wanted was to do was give the cat a loving hug and lure it from the dark side.

This cat went AWOL and had the stealth of a B-1 bomber. It didn’t want to be found. If you believe in reincarnation, then this cat was like the great magician Houdini.

But our cat discovered the closets around the top floor of the house to conceal itself. It even once started griping about the lack of treats in its bowl in the middle of the night.

It is getting braver and perhaps it is “working its way back to us, babe,” just like the song by The Four Seasons — except without Frank Valli and his trademark pompadour cut.

It has been three weeks since its disappearing act, but you can hear the scoundrel sneaking around the night like a bobcat. 

One evening, the “In Search Of” team, and that would be us, went downstairs to pay our new cat a visit. 

“I just don’t where he is,” a frustrated Terri said. 

I looked down and then up and there was our deserter sitting on a beam and laughing his ass off at his masters.

“Terri, please look up,” I said to my befuddle wife.

“Why,” she said. “Oh my god, she is above our heads.”

We pleaded with our runaway to have heart and join the family. The cat just meowed away and began looking for an escape route.

It has been nearly a month, but Cindy-Lou Who refuses to watch TV with us or cuddle up on the coach.

But we are still working on her and time is on our side to win over the elusive Cindy-Lou, who is somewhere hiding in Whoville.

Goodfellows52: This part-time teacher will carry a tune but not a...

Goodfellows52: This part-time teacher will carry a tune but not a...: “When you have a high-volume magazine or an assault weapon, you're not hunting deer or protecting your home; you're out to hunt ...

This part-time teacher will carry a tune but not a pistol to school

“When you have a high-volume magazine or an assault weapon, you're not hunting deer or protecting your home; you're out to hunt people.” 

                                                                            — U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley

“We have to fulfill what the real meaning of the Second Amendment is: reasonable access to guns for self-protection and for hunting. And there's no room in America for these semiautomatic, automatic and other kinds of weapons that are simply designed to cause mass havoc. 

                                                                       — Alan Dershowitz, attorney

AUBURN — As a part-time teacher, I refuse to step into a classroom with a concealed weapon strapped to my ankle or hidden under my sports coat.

I am not a Clint Eastwood wannabe playing a rogue cop in the 1976 movie, “The Enforcer.” Schools don’t need teachers playing Dirty Harry with a Glock capable wiping out the population of Rhode Island.

It shouldn’t be a choice, either. It is not a viable option for a number of reasons.

It’s law enforcement’s job to confront and corral criminals. Police know how to handle a handgun and undergo extensive training to deal with dangerous suspects.

This rabid violence against this nation’s young is also societal problem and it is up to this nation’s citizens and leaders to arrive at a sensible solution.

A pistol is no match against an assault rifle.

It is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. 

And I don’t buy the argument that an assault rifle is just another gun. 

Baloney! 

This gun was designed for military combat. It has no business being in anybody’s gun locker.

I understand there are thousands of Americans who own and respect guns. Many of them are hunters and look at a rifle as necessary tool to put food on the table.

But I feel students might be intimidated with teachers carrying a piece. My responsibilities include teaching history or English, being a role model and steering students in the right direction. I would find it awkward and uncomfortable to inspire a classroom while I am carrying cumbersome handgun with a 10-shot clip.

Teachers are not armed prison guards strutting around the yard and staring down inmates. Breaking up a school fight could become complicated for a teacher carrying a weapon. A scuffle might turn dangerous and end in tragedy when a teacher’s pistol suddenly becomes the epicenter of a hallway confrontation between students.

What if a teacher, who draws his gun during a shooting incident, is mistakenly killed by police. Who wants that kind of collateral damage!

Arming teachers is an absurd notion for any politician who suggests weapons in schools will deter or put an end to school shootings.

The shooting in Florida where 17 wonderful, promising lives were lost when an unhinged student entered a school with an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle and opened fire.

I am proud of those Florida students who stepped up and challenged our nation’s waffling leaders to move on gun control. Those survivors were courageous during the shooting and their tenacity to push the gun control debate to the forefront is commendable.

In a perfect world, our leaders would layoff using Twitter and actually govern and listen to the outcry of their constituency and the teen-agers who are under assault.

There are many vacuous decisions emanating from a chaotic and pugnacious White House — and arming teachers tops the Oval Office’s list of absurd priorities.

Weapons training for teachers is not an antidote to school shootings. No teacher can also fulfill the role of an armed school resources officer. I don’t want to moonlight as Wyatt Earp with a six-shooter.

There are a handful of valid reasons why such violence erupts in schools — which should be safe, secure, nurturing and fun.

Besides banning assault weapons and conducting stringent background checks, there is a failing mental health system, poor parenting, and missed red flags. Until these issues are addressed and resolved, the death toll in our schools will rise. 

One of the most memorable lines in “The Godfather” is when a Mafia hood says, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”

I have no problem taking a cannoli to school, but I will leave a firearm at home.

I am not making light of this epidemic of school shootings. I’ve been in a lockdown and it was a terrifying experience for students for 20 long minutes. My concern would always be the students first, not reaching for a gun.

Leave the war on crime to the men in blue and out of dedicated teachers’ job descriptions — or put two capable, heavily-armed SROs in every school. Israel’s schools are fortresses thanks to heavy security.

We are educators not gun-totting bodyguards.