Good morning, Our kids grew up in Los Angeles. I consider it a special gift to grow up in one of the world’s great cities—with music, the arts, sports, diverse communities, museums, great food, and energy all around. Growing up in suburban Anaheim, California was a different sort of gift. It was an idyllic, safe, and forgiving environment. Decades later, it all seems to have been almost magical. While memories may not be completely accurate, I’m quite certain that all the girls in my high school class were beautiful, smart, and charming—from the most popular cheerleaders to the quietest bookish students. I’m equally convinced the boys were by-and-large athletic, good looking, and larger than life—both the stars on the gridiron, whose exploits I cheered, but also those in the audio-visual club.
One year in high school a homebound student was assigned to me for her honors geometry class. She had lupus, and was reportedly quite weak. I was to be the teacher of record, while an actual homebound teacher was assigned to her for home visits, instruction, proctor tests etc. For reasons unknown to me, maybe because another geometry teacher actually knew her, I was switched out in place of him. But I heard that her diagnosis of lupus had not been caught early, the disease had progressed, and she spent a good portion of her high school career, maybe 3 years, at home, missing out on the rewards that high school had to offer.
Recently I did one of the hikes at Manassas, a 7 miler on the Manassas II portion of the site. Keeping to the path, I happened to look down to see a deep red tick about 2 inches below my knee. I picked it off (having not yet buried it's head under my skin for lunch), and flung it away. I suppose they can lurk on the end of the tall grass, and hop on as people pass by. From then on my friend and I kept checking each other, finding another couple on our legs as we progressed. I do not believe I had been bitten. The color was just the tick's natural color. But I learned from a ranger to always have a little zip lock bag with you so the tick can be placed in it for analysis if necessary.
So the day ended at home, a good shower and dinner. Waking up the next day I felt a little stir on my collar bone. You guessed it, a tick. In my bed!! I picked it off and placed it in a zip lock bag. That gave me the shivers - where could it have hidden? In my hair? I had showered and shampooed. Two months later no illness, and the tick is still in the bag. Don't forget the zip lock back for ticks. And maybe long hiking pants is a good option.
One year in high school a homebound student was assigned to me for her honors geometry class. She had lupus, and was reportedly quite weak. I was to be the teacher of record, while an actual homebound teacher was assigned to her for home visits, instruction, proctor tests etc. For reasons unknown to me, maybe because another geometry teacher actually knew her, I was switched out in place of him. But I heard that her diagnosis of lupus had not been caught early, the disease had progressed, and she spent a good portion of her high school career, maybe 3 years, at home, missing out on the rewards that high school had to offer.
Recently I did one of the hikes at Manassas, a 7 miler on the Manassas II portion of the site. Keeping to the path, I happened to look down to see a deep red tick about 2 inches below my knee. I picked it off (having not yet buried it's head under my skin for lunch), and flung it away. I suppose they can lurk on the end of the tall grass, and hop on as people pass by. From then on my friend and I kept checking each other, finding another couple on our legs as we progressed. I do not believe I had been bitten. The color was just the tick's natural color. But I learned from a ranger to always have a little zip lock bag with you so the tick can be placed in it for analysis if necessary.
So the day ended at home, a good shower and dinner. Waking up the next day I felt a little stir on my collar bone. You guessed it, a tick. In my bed!! I picked it off and placed it in a zip lock bag. That gave me the shivers - where could it have hidden? In my hair? I had showered and shampooed. Two months later no illness, and the tick is still in the bag. Don't forget the zip lock back for ticks. And maybe long hiking pants is a good option.