Jonathan's blog

From an October 23 article in The Sunday Times online:

More than 1,400 people have been murdered in Jamaica so far this year, making the One Love nation statistically more dangerous than Iraqi hot spots Mosul and Basra.

Check out this hilarious video of "Two Chinese Students" lip-syncing to "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys.  The Moore family has enjoyed watching it several times and were inspired to do some lip-syncing of our own.

...at Saginaw High School.  They used metal detectors on Friday after a sophomore was shot in the chest during lunch hour on Thursday.

From Friday's article in The Detroit News:

A month ago, a drive-by shooter opened fire as hundreds of students were leaving the school's homecoming dance. A freshman and an eighth-grader were injured. Just weeks earlier, two teens attacked a police officer in the parking lot after a basketball game.  In August, security guards apprehended a freshman at the school who had a loaded .32-caliber handgun in his pants.  Last school year was similar.  Shots were fired in the parking lot during lunch hour in December. In May, a 17-year-old attempted to slash another student's throat with a utility knife in the halls. Across town at Arthur Hill High School, someone took aim with a shotgun as classes let out, blowing out the back window of a parked car.  Manley, a 33-year veteran of the school district, said disputes that begin in the community, on the streets, are carrying over into the schools.

As we mentioned already, the boys had some time on our own this weekend.  Lisa came back from her moms conference late on Saturday night.  Saturday morning the boys played some games (like Go Fish and the Star Wars Escape from Death Star).  Jonathan, He-man that he is, single-handedly moved the old, heavy couch out of the basement in several pieces and out to the curb for big trash day.  After lunch we went to the Northwood football game.  They were ranked 9th in nation in NCAA Division II and were hosting #1 Grand Valley State University.  Madan and Sid met us at the game.  Northwood kept it close in the first half by forcing several turnovers, but they weren't able to consistently move the ball nor keep GVSU from doing so in the 2nd half and lost 30-14.  The Lakers remained unbeaten and Northwood fell to 7 and 2.

Lisa left mid-afternoon Friday to attend some sort of moms conference.  Friday night, the boys went to the Friends of the Library used book sale and bought a big stack of Berenstain Bears books.  The boys wore some animal masks into the library.  Finn wasn't keeping up with his, so I picked it up and put it in my pocket.  Then I forgot I did so.  Later, Finn asked Elliot where his mask was.  Elliot didn't know and told Finn to ask the other people who were around if they had seen it.  So, Finn was walking up to complete strangers and asking them if they had seen his mask.  It was pretty cute.  After the book salke, we went to Nature at Night at the Chippewa Nature Center...visiting stations throughout the Visitor Center on night topics such as nocturnal animals and the night sky.  We also stopped by the wigwam to listen to a story around the fire.  That's where we saw the Bartons.