Heads or Tails #9 and Ten on Tuesday #8

Hosted by Skittles at Heads or Tails

This week's theme/prompt is:
HEADS - Royal

Skittles encouraged us to 'think outside the box' for this one ... but with TENNIS on my mind, in light of today's matches, I'm feeling blue.

Monday the Bryan brothers (#1 'doubles' seeds who were expected to win) and Robby Ginepri (the 1st American since Andre Agassi to reach the round of 16 at the French Open) both lost their matches ... so there are no Americans left in the competition.

I thought I was BLUE when the Williams sisters each lost their matches in the 3rd round ... but today I'm ROYALLY blue!!!

Click for others participating in Heads or Tails this week.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As for Tennis

Federer defeated the
Frenchman Benneteau and he
will play Gonzalez We'nesday.

On Tuesday Nadal will play
against Almagro of Spain ...
Hopefully it will not rain!
Djokovic and Gulbis will
likewise play their match with skill!
Gael Monfils of France takes on
David Ferrer ... could be long!

In the women's Quarters we
know Safina will play the
Russian Dementieva
and Suarez Navarro
against Jankovic will go.

Patty Schnyder who is Swiss
plays Ivanovic for this
coming match ... but waiting still
for the last two gals who will
finish up the eight in the
Quarter Finals ... we shall see.

~ ~ ~

The prompt this week is
10 Ways the World has Changed since
I've been in School

There are many ways to define 'being in school' ... at least from MY perspective as a 63 year old happily retired teacher. I'm currently in school taking a class on Photoshop Elements (so that would be hardly any change at all). I retired from teaching 7 years ago ... earned my Masters Degree 22 years ago ... my Teaching Credential 41 years ago ... my Bachelor of Arts Degree 42 years ago ... my High School Diploma 46 years ago. Methinks I'll choose the last as a referent for today's post and write whatever comes to mind in no particular order.

1. In 1962 (the year I graduated from High School) 'West Side Story' won the Academy Award for Best Picture ... 'Moon River' by Henry Mancini won 'record of the year' ... and The Beverly Hillbillies' premiered on TV ... so I'd say films, music, & television have changed significantly when compared with what's popular today.

2. I recall that 1962 was the year of the 'Cuban Missile Crisis' and the guidelines we were given to keep the children I was supervising on the playground safe in the event of a missile attack because this crisis brought us perilously close to war on American soil. Given the series of wars since that time, we've certainly not created a peaceful society yet.

3. 2008 is the 80th year of the French Open. In 1962 Rod Laver defeated Roy Emerson in the 32nd French Men's Tennis Tournament and the players wore long slacks to play their matches. The pace of the game has changed with the advent of new & improved materials from which racquets are made and with which they're strung ... surfaces have changed ... and players are stronger and more physically 'fit' than ever.

4. Minimum wage was $1.15 an hour and the average cost of a gallon of gas was 30 cents. Compare that to today's wages and gas costs!

5. Walter Cronkite took over as anchorman of the CBS Evening News, Johnny Carson replaced Jack Paar as host of the 'Tonight Show' and Sean Connery starred in the first James Bond film ... 'Dr. No' ... and although the Bond movies and Tonight Show continue ... the anchormen (and women), hosts and leads have changed over time. The language & subject matter (not to mention what passes for 'news' these days) is much different than in 1962.

6. John Glenn Jr. circled the earth three times as we all held our collective breath hoping he'd return safely. Today we've got a manned Space Station, Neil Armstrong (and other astronauts) have walked on the moon, and we've explored the surface of Mars with the use of technology.

7. I recall giving a speech in school about James Meredith becoming the first black student to enroll in the University of Mississippi. Affirmative action and integration have altered America so much that we have a black man and a woman vying for the Democratic Presidential nomination!

8. Perhaps the biggest changes have come with technology and miniaturization. Computers were so large they filled entire rooms and now they're small enough to be portable ... not only as laptops, but PDAs are as commonplace as cell phones ... (remember Star Trek and the electronic gadgets they used? Who knew we'd all own them in our lifetime?) When I was in HS we shared what was known as a 'party line' with 3 other families so we had to listen be sure no one was using it before we dialed the rotary phone. Today everything is digital and just about everyone carries a cell phone wherever they go ... talking and texting even as they drive cars. It seems a bit crazy to me that we (seemingly) have to keep in touch every instant without really being (meaningfully) in touch at all.

9. Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring was released and gave rise to the modern environmentalist movement ... eventually leading to Al Gore's book and film, An Inconvenient Truth. Lots of us are more aware ... reuse & recycle regularly ... buy & eat organic foods ... etc.

10. Single parent families were rare in 1962 ... especially when compared with today. Most women did not work outside the home to earn a 2nd income and extended family usually lived nearby ... providing a support system. We knew everyone in the neighborhood by name ... and if kids did anything 'wrong' ... adults corrected them and let their parents know what had happened ... punishment (discipline) was applied consistently so that kids learned to behave responsibly without making excuses and/or blaming others for their actions.

(Click for others participating in Ten on Tuesday)

Thought for Today
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." Victor Frankl