Cheryl Beckham

I know that my daughter isn’t all that happy with the fact that I never attended college and have been working behind a bar most of my adult life, but I keep telling her that there isn’t much that I can do about that right now. I also try and encourage her to not make the same mistakes that I have made and to make sure that she does good in school so that she can go to a college of her choice when the time comes.

What I didn’t know is that she has been doing some research online about the well known Walden University’s online degree programs that she has found at WaldenU.edu. I didn’t know that she felt that strongly about it enough to take the time, effort and the initiative to go on the Internet and learn about Walden for herself. I’m so proud of her and worked up about it that I have promised her that I will take a look at it myself and see if there is something that I can do about the situation. I guess sometimes we need a good kick in the pants and I thank her for that and I hope to make her proud one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Monday is the beginning of another school year for my 12 year old daughter, I am finding it hard to believe that she is now a 7th grader and is in middle school, and what ever happened to calling it Junior High School anyway.

She is such a shy one and she is very nervous about the whole thing, I wish I could go with her and make sure everyone is nice to her, I’m sure their are millions of mothers (and fathers) who feel the same way. Kids can be so incredibly cruel and I just hate thinking of anyone being mean and/or nasty towards her in any way. This is one wonderful little girl and is full of such goodness and humanity, she has the soul of an old Native American woman and deserves nothing but the best!

It’s not that I don’t like what I am doing right now, but I don’t think I can see myself still behind this bar when I’m in my 50′s ya know? I’m hearing more and more people that are going back to school, and not the traditional school setting mind you but using their computers and on their own time and scheduling, which is pretty cool. I’ve heard  that WaldenU.edu is a great place to attend via the Internet. So I think that I will take a look at the Walden University’s online degree programs and see what all they may have to offer me at this point of my life.

The thing is, I’m not sure what I’d be good at or smart enough to do, don’t get me wrong, I’m no dummy, but it has been so long since I had to really learn anything, except how to mix drinks that come about every now and then depending on what new “fad” drink is being consumed out there. Oh well, like I said I’ll take some time over the next few weeks and do what I can to just learn about Walden and see if I can find something that I think I can handle getting into as well as afford.

It seems that most people I know are trying to find ways to bring in more money. The number of people going back to school is growing and growing in record numbers, but that isn’t always an option for various reasons, so the need to be creative and find something to help deal with this horrible financial issue that our lovely government has place upon us these past couple of years, is growing as well.

One of the gals that I work with at the bar is tossing around the idea of starting her own “Personal Chef” business which sounds like something that she would be good at but I am concerned that people are not going to be willing to part with any of their hard earned money for something like this in our town. Our town has been hit hard by this Depression, much like most of the other cities and towns all across the country. Bars and restaurants have really felt the crunch, but she is determined and I really hope that it works for her and I’m willing to help in any way that I can.

I have a good amount of restaurant supplies that I am willing to turn her onto. I have offered to give her what she wants and needs in exchange for some of her services when she gets the business up and running. I love the batering system and I really think that this would be a win-win situation for the both of us if it all works out the way she is planning.

She has been talking it up at work and getting a lot of good reactions from folks about it, so that is a plus. She has even found a few people that used to be in the catering business that are willing to help her with numerous tips and free advice as well as some catering supplies that aren’t being used and need a home that she is willing to take off of her hands. Hey every penny counts these days, right? No reason she can’t start out with used equipment until she gets things off of the ground and starts showing a profit that will allow her to enjoy a shopping spree at a place like Tiger Chef, which is well known for all of their wonderful restaurant and bar supplies, as we are all aware of since we work at a bar/restaurant and we know all about Tiger Chef’s reputation and quality products at discounted prices, it’s all good.

One of the things that were being discussed at today’s bar b que was the issue of house plaques, or the lack of them. These days it is so important to have your address numbers placed in a place that they can be easily seen and read. It seems that one of the neighbors in the neighborhood of the bar b que had recently called 911 for a medical emergency in the house and it took the emergency ambulance a longer time than usual and they almost didn’t make it in time to help this particular elderly lady in medical distress stay on this earth.

This emergency happened during the evening and the address plaques that were placed on many of these houses in this particular area of the neighborhood were very hard for the EMTs to locate and read, which could have ended in a major catastrophe for this woman. So the talk of the neighborhood these days is all about finding the perfect address plaques to replace the old faded worn out ones that have seen better days in an effort to keep all of the residents safe in any type of emergency situation.

This is something that we all need to think about. An important issue that I think needs more attention drawn to. So I’m doing my part by posting this story and passing on how important it is to have what it takes to allow the police, the fire department and/or the ambulances to locate your property and home with ease, because in case of an emergency, as we all know, every minute, every second can make a big difference and possibly save a life.