OT - NO POLITICS 2021- Summer on the horizon edition

[rfournier103]

The Lounge is essentially HF’s septic tank.

Unfortunately, I believe you.

 

[rfournier103]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

I will bet you every penny I have that that young man will remember you fondly for the rest of his life.

 

[Gee Wally]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

Regardless of anything else now or in the future , you’ve made an impact and difference in someone’s life.

Something that is impossible to put a value to.

Well done!

 

[Alicat]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

Well done.

Schools need more incredible teachers/coaches like you.

I loved your note to him and how you used Tom Glavine as an example.

 

[sooshii]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

Dude. You could be a Bruin.

 

[Deleted]

So you're just missing the Indy 500? I have a long-held ambition to get to that race one day, if the world ever returns to some sort of normality.

I'll meet you there some day Aussie, definitely on my list too.
Looking forward to the race this weekend.

 

[Troublesome 85]

My oldest started her first day working at dunkin donuts today.

Proud

 

[rfournier103]

I’ve been having serious eye trouble at work all day and it’s been driving me crazy.


I just can’t see myself coming in tomorrow.


It should be cleared up by Tuesday morning.

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

I’ve been having serious eye trouble at work all day and it’s been driving me crazy.


I just can’t see myself coming in tomorrow.


It should be cleared up by Tuesday morning.

You could play for the Lightning.

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Glad you tooted your own horn. This is remarkable. You've made an amazing impact on this student's life.

 

[TD Charlie]

I’ve been having serious eye trouble at work all day and it’s been driving me crazy.


I just can’t see myself coming in tomorrow.


It should be cleared up by Tuesday morning.

The ol' anal glaucoma, can't see my ass coming in today

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Keep your head up and keep posting, you're a must read. Wishing you many blessings my friend.

Thanks Lou, shall do!

 

[Fenway]

LA has car chases - Boston has scooter chases

 

[Aussie Bruin]

I'll meet you there some day Aussie, definitely on my list too.
Looking forward to the race this weekend.

I'd like that. An Irishman and an Aussie running amuck in Indianapolis - what could possibly go wrong

 

[Fenway]

Heading to Indianapolis next week.
Never been before.

Gonna see our daughter for first time in over a year.
Plus The Bride and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary while we are there.

Anyone have any suggestions for good place for dinner or things to do?
I know one day we will go to the zoo. We all love animals.

@crimsonace is our resident Indy expert

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

You sound like you're doing a great job. I note that, at least according to the mother, you place a premium on expecting the kids to maintain high standards and good grades. Unfortunately in my country the education system is very much in the grip of the belief that assessing students against a common standard is wrong and that ranking them by merit or expecting all to meet certain behavioural or academic expectations is harmful. I understand where some of the reasoning behind these views comes from, and don't disagree with all of it, but overall I think the reluctance to encourage high achieving and be willing to push children to be better, even if that may mean giving them some constructive criticism and benchmarks by which to measure themselves against their peers, does more harm than good for their long-term development.

In spite of this, I should point out that we still have many fantastic teachers - it's the policy decisions at departmental level that are largely the problem. But anyway, it's just nice to read about someone who's pushing and encouraging his students to be their best.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

I’ve been having serious eye trouble at work all day and it’s been driving me crazy.


I just can’t see myself coming in tomorrow.


It should be cleared up by Tuesday morning.

lucky.
pull that at my job and they take away the paid holiday. lol.

 

[JOKER 192]

I’ve been having serious eye trouble at work all day and it’s been driving me crazy.


I just can’t see myself coming in tomorrow.


It should be cleared up by Tuesday morning.

GTFOH

 

[JOKER 192]

Not looking to "toot my own horn", but I thought I'd share this.

So much is made about "kids today", and how society has softened.
There's still hope for a better future so long as we have people who care.

This was an email sent to my principal about me.
Names are redacted.

Dear PRINCIPAL

I hope you are all enjoying the weather and the winding down of the school year. I just wanted to write a letter of appreciation regarding Mr. Gaumont at SCHOOL and to make you aware of the amazing things he has done for my son this year as both coach and teacher.

First of all, having worked in this district for almost 20 years now and having children of my own in the district for the last ten years, I have not once come across a teacher and coach of his caliber, one with his natural ability to relate, to inspire, to engage, and to motivate. He has been my son's coach for both basketball and for baseball, as well as his S.S. teacher. Coach Gaumont has "moved mountains" with my son. My son JOHNNY struggles greatly with organization, attention, language in general and has never cared too much about his school work or wanting to improve. This year alone Coach Gaumont has placed high standards on my son. He has required him to be held accountable for his actions and for his academics. Coach requires weekly grade checks for his players. This forced my son to always be aware of his standings in each class, and it was less likely for him to fall behind because of these checks. If a grade check wasn't completed on time, which did happen once for JOHNNY, the player had to sit out of the following game. JOHNNY never forgot again after that! This accountability was both consistent and regularly enforced.

Above all this, Coach Gaumont has also made efforts numerous times outside of school hours to contact JOHNNY and myself to provide words of praise for his effort and performance. This gave my son a purpose- he wanted so badly to make his coach and team proud, and he felt that his efforts were noticed for the first time by a coach and teacher. JOHNNY then put in more effort than ever to improve his skills in his sport, spending hours at the batting cages and outside pitching into a milk crate. I have added the most recent email he sent to JOHNNY below so you can see exactly what I am referring to. Coach Gaumont is EXACTLY what my son needed. He will be "that" coach and teacher that is forever remembered by my son. The quote "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel" comes to mind when I think of what he has done for my son. Litchfield is incredibly lucky to have an educator and role-model like Michael Gaumont. I am saddened that my son has only had one year to be under his influence, but know that he will make a difference in many other children's lives in the years to come.
Fondly,

MOM

Emailed last night:

JOHNNY,

Awesome job pitching today. You really saved the day in that second game. I always know that I can depend on you to hustle and give your very best effort.

You don’t have to throw 80mph to be an effective pitcher. I think about a guy like Tom Glavine who never threw super hard, but had excellent command and could hit his spots. He had a heck of a career.
It’s been awesome coaching you and teaching you this school year. Keep working on the swing like we talked about.

Coach

If more teachers would realize how important they could be. Good on you man.

 

[rfournier103]

lucky.
pull that at my job and they take away the paid holiday. lol.

The holiday isn’t paid for me - a perk we DON’T get. I asked my foreman to put me in for a sick day tomorrow so I won’t lose two days pay instead of one.

 

[crimsonace]

Heading to Indianapolis next week.
Never been before.

Gonna see our daughter for first time in over a year.
Plus The Bride and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary while we are there.

Anyone have any suggestions for good place for dinner or things to do?
I know one day we will go to the zoo. We all love animals.

First off, happy anniversary.

As far as food, a few options depending on budget.

If you've got the time & money, St. Elmo's is the iconic local steakhouse. It's downtown (also has a couple of locations known as Harry & Izzy's - same restaurant, same menu, but one is downtown and one is in the north suburb of Carmel).

I'm a big fan of Italian food. Iaria's - located just east of downtown - is the best Italian place in the city.

Charlie Brown's in Speedway is a treasured local place. Also around the corner from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the Mug 'n Bun. They're known for double-decker cheeseburgers and root beer, but it's a fabulous little drive-in with carhop service.

For breakfast, you can't go wrong with Cafe Patachou. There's a location downtown, one on the north side in Broad Ripple and another in the north burbs in Carmel.

(Also for breakfast: Long's Donuts. They're legendary here locally).

==
Things to do:
I highly recommend the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to any visitors. Even if you're not into racing, you'll appreciate the large collection of classic cars and racecars and the history of the track. Make sure to take the track tour - it's one lap around the IMS oval on a bus. You'll gain a real appreciation for the history and sheer size of the track. Price is very reasonable, too.

If you're going to the zoo (which is a favorite - it's fairly compact and right downtown), both the Indiana State Museum (largely a state history museum) and the Eiteljorg Museum (which is a Native American art museum) are fairly close. The NCAA headquarters and its Hall of Champions museum (which is OK. It didn't really overwhelm me the first time I visited) are also fairly close. A stroll along the adjacent canal or a paddleboat ride is also a favorite activity for me & the wife (and our kids).

The ECHL's Indy Fuel also have a pair of home games next week - one on Memorial Day and one June 2 (the regular season wraps up next week), although I think the Bruins will be playing both nights. I'm the play-by-play announcer, so if you come, feel free to stop by the booth and say hi before warmups or after our postgame show is done. The Triple-A baseball team (Pirates affiliate) has a home series next week. Their ballpark has a great view of the downtown skyline and has consistently been rated one of the top minor league parks in America since it opened 25 years ago. I believe both are playing to 50% capacity right now.

 

[Alicat]

Time to turn the heat back on :/

 

[rfournier103]

Time to turn the heat back on :/

Ah, Spring in New England.

 

[jgatie]

Ah, Spring in New England.

One of the biggest changes to my new place when I moved in was to get a thermostat which allows both heat and A/C to be on at the same time. And yes, I've had days where I needed heat in the morning and A/C in the afternoon. Isn't New England grand?

 

[Troublesome 85]

Went to sleep with 3 kids in my house. Woke up with 5. Guess since my fiance is ms fun lets take care of everyones kids and ours I am too.

I dont mind tho. One my daughters friends mom is on drugs again and she has no place to stay so she can stay with us for awhile.