South Korea.... Where the heck is South Korea?

Hello Troops,
I drift in and out of unconsciousness most evenings while watching TV. Last night I blanked out during an awesome episode of 'A Touch of Frost' (a BBC import from England found on Netflix). I know it was good because I drifted off once during the show. If its 'so so' I'll mentally disappear four or five times during the 90 minutes. Each time I wake up I rewind the DVD to the last memory point and rewatch. Last night the phone woke me during my first bout of unconsciousness.
"Hello,"
"Bracken wanted me to call," I recognized the voice. I wondered why Megan Warner was calling. A moment later, once sufficient blood reached my brain to force me into situational awareness, I put two and two together. Megan works for me at the Space Center. She was calling at night. She was running a mission in the Phoenix. The clues led me to the conclusion that something was wrong at the Space Center.

A couple extra drops of oxygenated blood brought another memory to mind. Megan was going to open her mission call after her mission. I told her to call and tell me the news. It became clear.
"OK, where are you going?" I asked while sitting upright in my Lazy Boy recliner.
"Something, South Korea," she answered. I wrote 'something' because I can't remember the exact name of the mission. It sounded like she said Dijon, which is a fancy french mustard.
"South Korea! You're a stone's throw from your brother in Japan."

We spoke for a few more minutes and I let her go.

Today, I have the pleasure of announcing to our Space Education Center family that Megan Warner, the Set Director of the Phoenix Simulator and long long time employee and friend to all received her LDS mission call to Something, South Korea. I dont' know exactly when she's entering the MTC because I forgot to ask, which might be something I should know as her employer.

Some of you are scratching your head wondering where in the heck is South Korea. That wouldn't surprise me considering the sorry state of geographical education in this nation. Let me help.

OK, We are in the United States.
If you go west toward California you will eventually walk into the Pacific Ocean. If you get into a sail boat and sail sort of north west you'll eventually pump into either
Russia, China or Japan. South Korea is west of Japan and borders China. There, you got it?

Congratulations Megan on your mission call from all your friends at the Space Education Center.

Mr. Williamson

Facing A Difficult Challenge

Hello Troops,
Another milestone reached today. As of noon I officially finished booking all the elementary schools in the Alpine District. Once again the Space Education Center will meet its obligations.

Now I face one of the most difficult tasks required of me each year. What do I do with all the non-Alpine District schools? There are too many of them and not enough open dates. It is a problem I’ve dealt with for the last seven or so years but its getting worse. Every year the Alpine District opens more schools. The District is exploding in the Lehi / Eagle Mountain areas. The thousands of new students enrolling every year must be accommodated. Every new school I book takes one non Alpine school off the calendar.

Here is a typical phone call from a non Alpine teacher....

“Space Center”
“Hello. Is this Mr. Williamson?”
“Yes it is.”
“This is ........ from ........... school. I’m wondering if we can book our yearly field trip.”
“Well, I’m currently booking the Alpine District schools. I should be done with them this week. Next week I’ll start working on schools out of the district.”
“So I’m calling too early?”
“Just by a few days. I’ve taken your name and number and will get in touch with you next week.”
“Will there be anything left over for us?”
“Well, its getting tight. Our district is growing larger and larger every year. Every new school means a loss to an out of district school. I can’t make any promises. I wish I could.”
“So do we Mr. Williamson. So do we.”
“Well, I’ll call you next week.”
“Please do what ever you can for us. Mr. Williamson. We’ve been coming to the Space Center for nearly 15 years. Our students are so excited to finally reach the 6th grade because they know they’ll get to go to the Space Center like their older brothers and sisters. Its all they ask about the first day of school. You’ve become an institution in this school. It is a tradition that must continue. It means so much to the kids. I just wanted you to know that. Please do what you can for us.”

I hang up and sit back in my chair. I know what the calendar looks like. I know I only have a few days open and several schools on the wait list. A wait list that grows daily. Last year I took the cowards way out. I wrote a letter explaining my situation to the schools I couldn’t accommodate. This year I’ll do the same.

Some schools will not let their Space Center field trip disappear. They are willing to book after school field trips. These fantastic teachers will bring their students on their own time, after school to ensure they get the experience. My hat is off to them. They truly go the extra mile for their students.

Last year we accommodated every school that wanted an after school trip. Yes, it meant we worked four missions a day instead of our normal two but if that teacher was willing to give up their time I felt obliged to do the same. We will offer the after school experience again this year. I hope more teachers will take advantage of it.

Well Troops, here we are again. We prepare for another year. We clean the ship and prep the computers. We prepare our uniforms and costumes. We brush off our scripts and ready new ones. We update the web site and then, on or around September 14th we open our doors wide and welcome Utah to the Second Happiest Place on Earth!

Mr. Williamson

More on The World is Too Much With Us.

Hello Troops,
A few months ago I was nearly rear ended by a teen driver. I saw him coming up quickly behind me at a stop.
He was texting on his phone. Luckily his buddy saw my car, yelled and they skidded to a stop.

In a post a few days ago called "The World is Too Much With Us" I talked about a need many have to remain connected to the matrix 24/7. I know at least one of you out in the matrix disagreed according to your comment.
I'm all for an open discussion but don't just write 'Bogus'. Give me reasons why my comments were 'Bogus'.

So...... I claim once again that there are many times a cell phone should be turned OFF. Disengage from the matrix. Reengage with the immediate world around you. If you're in a move, watch the movie. If you're in school, listen to the lesson and do your work. If you're at work, work. If you're at church, worship. And if you're driving, DRIVE.

I offer this video on the dangers of texting while driving. You may have seen it. It is making its rounds on the net. It is graphic. That is a warning. I present it as a warning not to be distracted when you drive. Not only do you endanger yourself and your passengers but you endanger the lives of others on the road - and I'm one of those others.

Common sense. You've got it. So use it.