Sounds easy peasy! I have to have an MRI tomorrow which will determine if it can be done laproscopically. I don't have the typical gall stone problem, the docs see a growth or mass on the wall of my gall bladder right up near the liver so they want to get a good look at it beforehand to know what they will be dealing with. It is probably just "sludge" but since it was not moving around when they had me toss and turn during the sonogram they need to see it better before I go under the knife. Oh joy, hope I get a grill cheese and some jello after I wake up from the anesthesia! Probably shouldn't watch the movie Awake until after it's all done. Then again, I am no Jessica Alba /wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

You'll be fine Milo….just let us know when you'll be having surgery..okay?

Good luck with your MRI tomorrow, Milomilford. Please keep us up to date, okay?

Im working on something, im trying to be the last poster on every thread in the off topic forum lol

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My surgery will be on March 2nd. The MRI results were good so they can do the much easier laproscopic version of the operation. Looking forward to getting this over and done.

Great news about the MRI results. I have a memory like a sieve these days and some others on this site may, too, so please remind us before the 2nd so even we forgetful folks can send positive energy, prayers, etc. your way, okay?

Surgery is scary stuff, and it's good to have as many people as possible in your corner. /smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

I found this study today: It turns out public school teachers are twice as likely to send their kids to private school as other parents. In some cities, it's as high as 44%.

"Public school teachers told the Fordham Institute’s surveyors that private and religious schools impose greater discipline, achieve higher academic achievement and offer overall a better atmosphere."

Even the Obamas send their kids to a private Catholic school. Makes you feel great about the public school system, doesn't it?

Here's the link to the full article: http://www.washingtontimes.com…..ews/2004/s…2-122847-5968r/

That makes sense, I guess. It just seems depressing that we pay all these taxes to pay for an educational system that is so bad that many of the very teachers we pay to teach our children choose to send their kids to private schools instead. I'm not even going to get into how teachers (who are constantly complaining about how underpaid they are) can afford to send their kids to private school.

I can't help but wonder why, if things are that bad in public schools, do good teachers continue to support the unions that enforce the status quo and protect bad teachers? Here in NJ, a teacher who actually called a child in his class the "n" word was not fireable because of his union contract. Can you believe that??? The most they can do is demote him and even doing that will take more than a year, assuming it actually happens. Can you imagine getting by with that in any other job?

It seems to me that if we could fire the bad teachers and got rid of the ones who are hanging around long after they should have retired just to bump up their pension, etc, we could hire some fresh, new teachers. As it is, we spend more and more every year and we produce almost the worst graduates in the developed world. Only South Africa and one other country are worse. What's wrong here? Maybe a little smacking around is in order – for us taxpayers who don't protest the situation more.

Sorry, these things just get me down sometimes, especially since all of my nieces and nephews are in public schools. Sigh.

I always thought that the Secret Service got a BIG SAY in what schools the "First Children" go to as the security is always a primary issue. Catholic schools have changed since I attended them back in the day. Since there are so few nuns anymore it's harder to attract teachers to teach in the Catholic schools. There's no bite left behind the greater discipline in a Catholic school as our society has become so much more litigious. Expulsion is the only weapon they have against kids. The education level MIGHT be better, but the resources at the school's disposal are not as great as the public schools…although that may change w/all the budget cuts going on in education.

My parents used to get REALLY mad that they not only paid tuition for all of us for Catholic grammar and high school (as many as 4 at a time), but their taxes had to go towards a faulty educational system. For the longest time NJ politicians used to dangle the carrot of tax credits for people in my parents position, but it NEVER came to pass. And just so you know this was the 50s through the 80s. My mother didn't work and my father was on the police force way back when they made considerably less $$$ then they do now (i think my Mom said that one year in the early 50s my dad was making around $3,000 a year…). In fact he'd had health issues and had to leave the force and worked in a gas station/towing station to make ends meet. They sacrificed EVERYTHING so we'd get a better education then they had. We didn't have color TV or cable while I was growing up. I didn't have a TV set in my room until I was about 15 and even then couldn't have it on past 9pm AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR. No central air just a few wall units spread around and we'd usually crash out overnight where ever in the house that might be. We didn't ever have the nicest clothes, none of us got cars we had to get jobs to pay for OUR OWN insurance, gas and cars etc. I guess by today's standards it would seem spartan and cruel, but it was the way it was, complaining and whining didn't solve anything or help. We were clean, fed and sheltered. All of us got decent educations and most of us managed to get good enough grades to get accepted into decent colleges and went onto be gainfully employed. I think it was our parent's sacrifices AND the education we got that made the difference. But there was discipline in the house too…you know in the day you didn't want to get in trouble and have the nuns "learn ya" because you're parents would get "the call" and you'd get it at home too. Not a good day by any stretch.

I grew up the same way, and my Dad's salary would have been similar. But, the prices/costs of living were more relative to peoples wages. My parents bought a three bedroom two bath split level (new) in the late 50's for 8,000.

I went to Catholic school, and it lead to many disfunctions for me, during the 60's while attending, and afterwards.

Being hit with a pointer, ( many times) and being forced to write with my right hand, I'm left handed, was mentally and physically exhausting.

I was also a questioner, and this was not the place for it. I detested Catholic school, and ran away when I was 16. Just got up one day, had enough abuse and left. My mother finally got it, and put me in public school.

My girls went to Unionville Chadds Ford School District Pa. It always ranked 4-7 out of the 500 school districts in Pa.

You get what you pay for, my school taxes are 21,000 a year, yup they are a killer. But they had a wonderful education, and were honors students straight thru graduation. There are good school districts to be found.

A real good private school, say "Friends" it's a quaker school is about 25, 000 a year. If I had the money they would of gone, total college prep.

The no child left behind is mostly the problem, if the school doesn't produce tested results they are not going to get funding period.

The school district my girls went to always produced in test scores, and funding was theirs. But, the teachers taught and the students tested with results.

So, even with high school taxes in place, we still got more state and federal funding.

There are cuts this year in our school district, but the no child left behind is still in effect, it's a reward system for producing.

We are having another snow storm. /dry.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> I've really had enough.

But there was discipline in the house too…you know in the day you didn't want to get in trouble and have the nuns "learn ya" because you're parents would get "the call" and you'd get it at home too. Not a good day by any stretch.

It was the same at my house – if you got in trouble at school you were REALLY going to get in trouble at home. Whew, it makes me sweat just to think about it. My mother had "that look" that told us we were in BIG trouble when we got home. Do you know what I'm talking about? Wow, she was a great mother but she was really scary when she got that look.

My brothers and I were taught to respect and obey our teachers, all authority figures really. Our neighbors were fully authorized and expected to correct us if they caught us in bad behavior. Again, no matter what they did, it would be a lot worse once we got home. (God bless the neighbors who busted our butts but didn't narc on us to our parents).

We were taught to stand up if we were sitting and to come to a screeching halt if we were moving when the flag was presented and/or the national anthem was sung. We were taught to respect our nation's soldiers and veterans, too.

The saddest news story I've read in days was the news yesterday about the kids at Columbia jeering an Iraqi vet. He had miraculously survived a firefight in which he had been shot ELEVEN times and had come to the campus to speak on behalf of ROTC. You would think that his story, if not his uniform, would entitle him to some respect, but apparently not with that group. I thought to myself when I read that story how heartsick and ashamed I would be if any of the kids in that crowd were in any way related to me. Let me tell you, if I were paying that kid's tuition they'd be in dire need of a ROTC scholarship for next semester's tuition. /angry.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

(I'm way up on my soapbox today, aren't I? I obviously need more coffee.)

I had to roll my eyes at a sign held by a very serious-looking young woman that said "The military recruits in poor communities" or something like that and I thought to myself if that's true, isn't that reason enough to allow ROTC on campus? Kids from poor communities would have the opportunity to attend Columbia on a ROTC scholarship that do not have the opportunity now. Does she understand that keeping the military off campus doesn't hurt the military, rather it harms the kids who would otherwise get scholarships? Does she truly believe that it's better to not attend Columbia at all than to attend on a ROTC scholarship and if so, does she understand how arrogant it is to make that decision for another person?

Does she not want poor kids coming to Columbia at all? You KNOW that if that sign was held by a Tea Party member there would have been national headlines shouting "RACIST TEA PARTY MEMBER DOESN'T WANT POOR MINORITY STUDENTS TO ATTEND COLUMBIA!" with a picture of that sign. Just saying.

They may teach a lot of great things at Columbia, but apparently they don't teach logic, free choice, or respect.

Okay, rant over. I'm off to fetch more coffee.

I'm not going to get on my soap box or anything else here but will say that it doesn't suprise me…it is COLUMBIA!! I live very close to Bezerkley and the insanity constantly belching forth from that cess pool is beyond belief. The problem seems to be that no matter how much fact these forward thinkers are shown they're convinced they're right and will increase their rhetorics' volume to drown out everyone and anyone w/an opposing opinion or evidence. I think another problem facing our society is this attitude of entitlement that seems to be permeating all levels of the American culture. When Suzy Creamcheese over there in Columbia is protesting about the ROTC she's failing to see the point that you're making, that not everyone's parents can afford to send their kids to an Ivy League institution. For some of the poorer kids, that is the only way, just having the smarts isn't always a guarantee to admittance. This same person would beat the drum for Civil Rights and everything else, but I wonder how excited she'd be if some lower income family moved into a section 8 housing in her neighborhood. Oh that's right, they don't have section 8 housing where she lives and if they do you can believe it's NO WHERE NEAR her home…believe me America has become a hotbed of hypocrisy across the board. I live in a community where I AM THE MINORITY and have been doing so for the last decade. It's complete insanity. The same people who complain the loudest about illegal immigration are the same people who help perpetuate it. EVERYONE thinks they deserve to be a board member on a fortune 500 company but refuse to do the work to EARN IT! Everyone claims that there are no jobs, there are jobs but you'd be stunned at how it's "beneath" their dignity to do some of this work. What did Ted Knight say in Caddyshack? "The world needs ditch diggers too". Higher education IS NOT A RIGHT IT'S A PRIVILEDGE THAT IS EARNED. And guess what, even w/hard work and grades, you STILL don't always get your wish. A microcosm of the problem can be shown on something as simple as American Idol, which is a singing competition first and foremost. These delusioned folks think that because they are poor or have problems that they should be allowed to advance, because they are good people or THINK they deserve a chance…guess what LIFE IS HARD AND COLD wear warm, comfortable clothes. My father was a vetern of WW2 saw LOTS of combat, was a volunteer fireman and police officer for over 20 years, when he had health issues HE WAS FIRED and the union didn't do anything to help him, no benefits, no retirement all held from him and our family because he didn't play politics. He didn't sit around waiting for a government hand out, he went out in his extremely poor health and found another job and continued working doing whatever he could to make money and my eldest brother (who was about 17 at the time) went out worked 3 part time jobs to help pay expenses etc that's what responsible people with a modicum of common sense DO. The older I get the more ashamed I am of being an American and you have NO IDEA how much that hurts me to say.

Have a great day!

ps: My dad eventually got the benefits he was due but almost too late and to add insult to injury my mom went through a similar situation to get the survivor benefits she was owed as well when he passed. America…land of the almost free and home of the what have you done for me lately mentality.