Maiden Voyage

Well here goes. My truly first maiden voyage in Blogging. Nothing to brag about really and its about time I got started.

Let me explain about chiggers for the uninformed. Being a native Tulsan and having to seasonally deal with these little buggers for my entire life, I really had no idea that they were a southern phenomenon. Chiggers are also called red bugs and are a larvae that literally gets under your skin, causing red bumps that itch like crazy! You only have to deal with them during the warmer parts of the year, so everyone gets a break during the wintertime. Let me tell you a true story.....

I had a roommate in college from Columbus, Ohio. He went to a local lake one weekend and by Monday he was crawling with chiggers, red bumps all over and itching like crazy. He had no idea what was wrong with himelf and really thought he had some bad type of contagious disease. I laughed so hard! There aren't any chiggers in Columbus apparently. Even when I told him it was chiggers, he still thought that was a type of terminal illness. Anyway, he seemed somewhat relieved when I explained it to him, and then I used the tried and true remedy of painting clear fingernail polish over the bumps. This generally takes care of the problem in a day or two. I've always wondered where they go afterwards. My guess is that they are simply absorbed into your skin eventually.

Well, chiggers seems to be a good fit for some of the issues that seemingly arise in the Tulsa community all too often. One that I would like to comment on from time to time is the state of public education in Tulsa. It is something I can speak to with some authority. I helped establish a charter school in Tulsa that is wildly successful. It was through that experience that I learned so much about Tulsa's educational establichment. The only way I can see to improve it is to raise the level of awareness of others and through a grass roots effort, take a stand and roll up our sleeves to turn the tide.