Pre K Ponderings: So Happy at School

SCHOOLS

Would you like to see your school mentioned here? Email us at: editor@druidcitymedia.com

PreK Pals Ponderings: “I Am So Happy Here”

BY ALICIA JENNE’

Bill - First Day of Pre-K

Bill and PreK Mates

In June, he was still three – and maybe even still rocked a bit by his mommy and daddy before bedtime. He turned four years old in July, and his parents started talking to him about going to “Big School” soon. A backpack and a lunch box were ordered; a nap mat labeled with his name.

In late August, he walked into the PreK classroom at Rock Quarry for the very first time, wearing new shoes, shorts, and a tiny button-down shirt. He had his picture made by the balloon arch at the front door. In the classroom, he met his teachers and had his picture made by the “First Day of PreK” sign.

His blue eyes were big and round, taking it all in. There was so much to look at, so much to see and to do. He moved from one thing to the next, laughing and gasping at each new toy and each new fun thing around the next corner. He got to meet a few friends, but not very many all at once because of social distancing. That didn’t matter too much, though, because everything else was so amazing. Books, puzzles, and blocks! A fun kitchen set and a table that lights up and changes colors! Cars, Legos, and dinosaurs! He stood in the middle of it all and turned around and around …

The teacher asked, “What do you think, Bill?” A huge smile filled his little face and his eyes lit up. “I am so happy here,” he replied as he ran off to check out the child sized binoculars perched in the windowsill overlooking the playground. All the grownups in the room laughed, happy for just a moment, to be able to view the world through the eyes of a PreKPal.

We are so happy to be able to be back in school with our PreKPals. Everyone wears a mask all day, every day, and we only leave our classroom for recess and dismissal. We have rotations at recess, so that we just play with the children in our class. We wave at our other friends as we change areas outdoors. For now, this is what we need to do to stay safe. The teachers clean a lot, but honestly, in PreK, we are always cleaning, so that really isn’t any different. We have to listen a little closer, because little baby voices are muffled by masks that are sometimes chewed on.

Some things have changed, but the teaching, learning, and love that happens in our classroom is still the same. And do you know what? Just like Bill, we are ALL so happy here.

Alicia and Bill Photos: Alicia Jenne’ Alicia Jenne’ is a Tuscaloosa mom and a veteran teacher of little people. She is the PreK Pals Lead Teacher for PreK#1 at Rock Quarry Elementary School.

Medical Technologist: Vintage Health Resources, Inc.;

Tuscaloosa, AL; Responsible for providing information for diagnosis, treatment, & prevention of disease by conducting medical laboratory tests, procedures, experiments, & analysis. Requires a Bachelor’s in Medical Technology and Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) or the American Medical Technologists (AMT) Certification & 2 yrs’ prior Med Tech exp. Email Resumes: lkelly@vintagehealth.net

9 OPINION The Land of Oz: Happy Socially Distanced Drone Turkey Day 2020

BY DEREK OSBORN

I don’t recall having said this ever before in my life, but I’m ready for this year to be over. Like, now. Between COVID and masks and social issues and the election and (fill in your own reason 2020 sucks here), this world needs to run a hard reset.

Now, you are probably being told that Thanksgiving gatherings, one of the staples of this country, are “not advisable.” But I’m going to tell you how to maneuver it safely (these statements have not been approved by the CDC, just FYI, and IDC).

First, everyone sits in a different room. When you need something, you yell from your respective room (which is no different than any other day at my house).

The turkey will be delivered by drone. Don’t worry… there is a niece or a nephew that knows how to fly one.

The green bean casserole will arrive via hoverboard. Just make sure you reattach the lid securely after each serving.

The sweet potatoes will ride in on the robot vacuum. It just might take it a while to get there.

The cranberry sauce… no, don’t eat cranberry sauce. And finally, Uncle Fred, who thinks the durn virus “ain’t nothing but a hoax,” will come around to get your dirty plates. You gotta love Uncle Fred.

Happy Thanksgiving 2020 everyone. And stay out of the kitchen. The Osborn Family Photo: Derek Osborn

Derek Osborn is a non-profit and addictions and prevention speaker and consultant. He lives in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Lynn, and their daughters, Savannah and Anica. Follow him on Twitter @ozborn34.

We’re here to help.

As we face unique challenges, we continue to work with our customers to provide tailored, customized payment solutions to meet their needs. Alabama Power is offering a new, easy-to-use service for customers affected by COVID-19 to set up payment plans for energy bills. Customers can visit AlabamaPower.com/PaymentPlan or call 1-800-245-2244 to check eligibility and set up a plan in a few simple steps.

Tales of Tuscaloosa DRUID CITY? QUEEN CITY? TUSCALOOSA’S NICKNAMES (OCTOBER 21, 1844)

By Jim Ezell

Big Apple, Bean Town, and Windy City are some easily recognizable nicknames for American cities, but what about Tuscaloosa’s most common monikers, “Druid City” and “Queen City”? What connects ancient European pagans with a town in Alabama? Why does Tuscaloosa share Queen City with Cincinnati, Ohio, and Meridian, Mississippi?

The Druids were early Celtic people of Britain, Ireland, and Gaul (France). Nearly 2000 years ago, Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted their reverence for oak groves as sacred places. Particularly large, old oak trees thus became known to many as Druid oaks.

On October 21, 1844, the City of Tuscaloosa mandated that property owners along Main Street plant “Swamp or Willow Oaks.” The trees grew quickly, and by the late 19th century, they were described by one writer as “embowering our daily walk with an evergreen parasol.” Oaks were planted along other streets as well and became appreciated for their beauty and summer shade. Thus, the name Druid City probably came into use.

As the decades went by, Druid City became popular. Businesses, civic groups, neighborhoods, and even the local hospital adopted Druid as part of their names.

Cincinnati became known as the Queen City after the poet Longfellow called it the “Queen of the West” in an 1854 poem. In the late 19th century, a group of British investors consolidated several railroads including the Alabama Great Southern (AGS) to create the Queen and Crescent Route, since it connected Cincinnati and New Orleans, the Crescent City.

Winter view of a particularly large oak on 13th Street in Tuscaloosa. Photo: Jim Ezell

Mayor W. C. Jemison was a strong promoter of Tuscaloosa’s position on one of the nation’s main rail corridors. Two principal streets, East Margin and South Margin, were renamed Queen City Avenue and Crescent City Avenue as shown on an 1887 map. Later, Crescent City Avenue became 15th Street when the street numbering system came into use. Queen City Avenue, which terminated at the AGS Station, retained its name. As a result, people began referring to Tuscaloosa as the Queen City. Further down the Queen and Crescent Route, Meridian, Mississippi, developed as a major rail center, since the line forked and extended south to New Orleans and west to the Pacific Coast from there. Thus, Meridian also became known as the Queen City.

Tuscaloosa has some less common nicknames. “Oak

City” has been used occasionally as far back as the mid19th century, “T-Town” became popular with younger residents, and after Alabama’s football team won national championships in 2009, 2011 and 2012, the City of Champions was offered on signage as a new nickname.

Left Photo: Tuscaloosa’s oak tree ordinance was printed in the Independent Monitor, December 1844. Right Photo: Timetable heading from the Tuscaloosa Times, January 26, 1887.

Jim Ezell is a retired engineer, historian, and author. His novel, Debris Cloud, is an adventure/crime novel set in Tuscaloosa. It is available on Amazon.

45th Annual REVERSE West Alabama Christmas Parade

December 7 Bowers Park Drive through 6-8 pm

Be a part of the first in reverse! Grand Marshal Nominations: Due Nov 2 Parade Entries: Due Nov 15 Holiday Scenes: Due by Nov 15 Tree Lighting: Details to follow tcpara.org

12 COMMUNITY

Give Life to Your Story: Too Many Choices (Don’t Waste Time on the Trivial)

BY CHASE HANSEN

Recently, I was talking with some of the high schoolers involved in our organization, and one of them remarked how much things have changed over the past several months. He expressed how uncertain he feels going into the world with everything changing week-to-week. It wasn’t that he was scared to leave the house – just his observations of the chaos going on around us.

I’ve had these same conversations with my adult friends over the past few months. I asked a friend with kids across the age spectrum whether he and his wife talk to them about the craziness of what’s happened over the course of the year, and he said no. Growing up, my parents wouldn’t have either. We have a tendency to avoid hard or complicated topics with kids and teenagers. Maybe we think bringing up the realities of the world will be more than kids they can handle. As I realized with the high schoolers I’ve been talking to though, they already know the world is crazy.

Teens notice what conversations they are being left out of. Whether coronavirus measures, the protest movements in the news, family financial struggles, or just the general uncertainty of the world around us, young people are more observant than we give them credit for.

We have the opportunity to have honest conversations, admit where we feel the same uncertainty, and walk alongside the young people in our lives rather than leaving them to figure it out on their own.

Chase Hansen is the Campus Life Area Director for South Tuscaloosa. To learn more about Campus Life, check out @ttowncampuslife on Instagram, or email chase@tuscaloosayfc.com. Photo:Chase Hansen

Family Counseling Service: Finding Contentment in Each Circumstance

BY LARRY DEAVERS With all the unique challenges we’ve all faced during 2020, a natural response to the stress and uncertainty is to think, “I can’t stand this – I just want this to be over.” That’s understandable, but the very nature of life is that we’re continually facing situations where we’re tempted to just hold our breath and get past them. This approach can be detrimental when it becomes a regular method of coping with challenges.

There will always be something you can point to and say, “I’ll be so much happier when this is behind me.” If we believe we can only be happy once our current situation is over, whether it’s COVID, stress at work, or family difficulties, we miss the joys in the moment we’re living.

What is life but a series of moments? If you spend most of them wishing they’d go away, or just gritting your teeth to survive them, before you know it, much of your life has slipped away. While keeping our eyes on the next thing is important to help us reach our goals, life itself is mostly made Larry Deavers is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Executive Director of Family Counseling Service of up of the journey. Every step, though fraught with challenges, has some reward and pleasure to offer, if we just look for it. West Alabama.

If you find yourself habitually waiting for the “someday” when circumstances are exactly right for you to be happy, you’ll never achieve your ideal picture of happiness. Try to find some element of contentment and satisfaction in each circumstance, even the unpleasant ones. Only then will you really be able to enjoy life and take control over what determines your fulfillment.

instructions: email a .pdf or .jpg of your Full color business card sized ad to freeadtuscaloosa@gmail.com

ad is run at the discretion of druid city media/druidcityliving. based on availability. a limited number will run. include design and administration contact information in the email. this ad does not denote an agreement. material must be in proper format to run. no contract necessary.

Lake Living: Living Your Life Like a Verb

BY ALLISON ADAMS Fall. Leaves. Change. Breathe.

How long have we been holding our breath?

I have been reading Life is a Verb by Patti Digh, and it’s fantastic. It’s helped me remember to breathe.

Before COVID, I was consumed with going, with doing, with pleasing all the people around me who needed my help, sharing my guidance as homebuyers make the largest purchase of their life.

I’VE LEARNED TO TAKE A BREATH AND LIVE INTENTIONALLY. AND I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE.

People are redirecting their “home wish lists” to include space to breathe, a bit of distance from the neighbors, a patio or garden spot to retreat to from this altered world we’ve found ourselves still living in.

As I write, I can hear the roar of the football watching crowd (okay, mostly from nearby backyards, but they sound mighty enthusiastic). As the torched summer leaves begin to make their descent, we’re all united – all colors, races, genders – as we pull for our favorite teams. Hopefully, we can all see victorious things coming about in the fourth quarter.

Until then, I may have to still hold my breath a little, but I suspect there’s someone bigger than us all who’s “got this” – no matter the outcome.

As we breathe, let’s say a prayer in the best way we know how for this world that needs us all together on the same team.

Live life like it’s a verb – with authenticity. No one’s going to live it for you.

Allison

Discounts up to $400 off a pair of hearing aids.