"Imagine: Children just walking into the cafeteria and getting fed. No accounts that parents have to keep up, no time spent assessing families’ incomes or processing payments or running down parents who haven’t paid — no 'lunch shaming' — none of that."
https://t.co/fx4gzSxDz9
@BWay124@EdKrassen I drowned in a backyard pool as a child at a summer party. Was the last kid out & exhausted, floated under & towards the deep end- my dad happened to glance out the kitchen window, got to me in time. Happened very, very fast. Count heads, know CPR, sign ‘em up for swim lessons.
To get this shot I had to park illegally, run out in the pouring rain, walk almost a mile only to realize I forgot my memory card, buy a memory card, go back to this spot, back to wallgreens because the friggen memory card was bad, then back here to fight with an incredibly fogged up lens for anoth half hour. I was absolutely drenched.
#NightPhotography #landscape #city
"I wanted to take a few minutes to share something incredible that happened today. This afternoon I picked up Andrew from school and we got on the metro headed home. We ride the metro everyday to and from school, so Andrew is used to it. It is usually about 45min to an hour depending on delays and what not, but as long I keep him occupied with his iPad or my phone he will sit patiently in our seat.
For those of you that don’t know, when you have a child with autism, your child will have some good days and then they will have some bad ones. Today was one of those bad days. Andrews biggest behavior problem (that he has been working on by learning calming strategies) is that sometimes when he gets upset, it will go two steps too far, and escalate into a full on meltdown/breakdown.
Today, Andrew was persistent on wanting to get out of the seat to stand in the middle of train while moving and running back and forth through it (which of course if he did he would fall). I kept trying everything to get him to sit, but he just wouldn’t (this fight went on for 20 min), that is when he his regular toddler tantrum turned into a meltdown, or what I call, the point of no return for him.
He started rolling on the floor, screaming, his shoe fell off and he flung it across the train, all while I’m on the floor trying to calm him down. Then he starts the kicking, hitting, pulling my hair while everyone in rush hour stares on the train, most thinking I was a bad parent who had an out of control child, even though really he can’t help it.
We got off at Gallery Place, one stop up from Metro Center where we change lines, still he doesn’t let up and it gets worse. Now we’re rolling around on the dirty station floor. He is covered in black dirt. I try picking him up but he continues to kick which now gets dirt on me. This goes on for about 15 minutes. Trust me this isn’t my first rodeo as a single parent, but sometimes it just gets the best of me. At this point I am crying out of pure frustration and feeling so sad that Andrew is being judged right now.
I panic as I see someone walking towards us, but it turns out to be a Metro Police Officer. As soon as he comes over Andrew freezes and stares while holding my hands, body mid air, feet stretched out on me, while I was standing. The officer asks me if I needed any help or if he could help by walking us out of station (since he saw how Andrew stopped when he came over) I explained the situation to him and how this wasn’t even our stop. He asked where I was going and I told him Ballston station (a solid 30 minutes from where we were). Without hesitation he said, “Okay I’ll come on the train”.
At this point I’m thinking he means like down the escalator to the train. He starts talking with Andrew and showing him all his gadgets. He then takes off his Velcro police badge from his vest and asks Andrew, “Can you be a police man with me and help me do police work on the train?” Of course Andrew says yes.
The officer ends up riding the metro THE ENTIRE train home with us!!! Whenever he got off he would hold Andrews hand and walk with him. He sat next to Andrew as he requested on the train, acted interested as he showed him silly videos, and he even made funny faces in the Instagram face filters when Andrew asked.
This officer COMPLETELY went out of his way to help Andrew. He honestly restored my faith that there are good people still left in the world.
To that officer, I truly can not say thank you enough for your inmesurable amount of kindness and for making Andrews day (probably his whole year). Throughout the whole ordeal I didn’t get his name, I think his vest said Officer D. Case. Washington Metropolitan Police Dept. please find him and give him a raise! He deserves to be recognized for his incredible kind gesture, and especially for letting Andrew keep the police badge. Thank you thank you!!👮🏼♂️💙🧩
Credit: Taylor Pomilla
We can’t go to the bank.
Can’t go to work, to the grocery store, to the airport, to our places of worship, to a farmer’s market, a concert, a nightclub, a dance hall, a movie or a doctor’s office.
Our kids can’t go to a parade, to the mall or to school.
You can’t ring the wrong doorbell, pull down the wrong driveway or accidentally hop in the wrong car, without fear of being shot.
Shot and killed.
In a nation with more guns than people, this has become our reality.
But it is not normal.
And it sure as shit is not ok.
@RachelNotley What's going on with the Alberta rate cap? Our Epcor bills show what we owe at 13.5 cents per kwh, nothing to indicate that actual rate is double that and will be added to our bills in the coming months. Sleazy tactics by Epcor to force us onto fixed rate plans
@EncorbyEPCOR What IS predictable is that Epcor will make out like a bandit locking consumers into their fixed rate plans. Power rates will continue to rise, and Alberta has no plans to expand the grid to accommodate electric vehicles etc.
Alberta has about 800k kids under 14.
The UCP bought 5,000,0000 bottles of overpriced, under-strength medication.
The medication has a 2 year shelf life.
Who buys 7 bottles of medication per child in such a span?
Kathleen Ganley: How to attract investment and create jobs in Alberta | Edmonton Journal
“The UCP is too busy pandering to their extremist fringe to focus on attracting investment and creating jobs.”
#alberta#andp https://t.co/Po91CLNU7R
1/2 "The problem with [Russia's] imperial appetite is that it can only grow. It's like a drug – you always have to up the dosage. [Putin's] Munich speech, war in Georgia, dispersal of Bolotnaya, invasion of Ukraine, war in Syria, meddling with elections all over the world... ⤵️