Teachers Taking Guns to School

Why is a school district in Texas allowing its teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms on campus? See below:

Texas district will let teachers carry guns

A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.

"The naysayers think [a shooting] won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.

It isn't clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.




The school district, not a single school but the district, only has 110 students and 50 teachers. Can they not afford a school resource officer? How is allowing teachers to carry weapons going to help keep the school safe? Maybe I'm wrong. Someone enlighten me please.

Questions about depression

Why is it that we are conditioned to believe that when we're depressed, we should drink, smoke, have irresponsible sex, or over/under eat? What would happen if we were convinced to workout, to complete an act of community service, or to read a book when we're depressed? How would the world be different? How would people's lives be different? Just something to think about.

Just a lil disappointed . . .

. . . in myself. Normally I use the summer time to write multiple posts, but uh rah, this time I wasn't so productive. I have one weekday left before I have to be back at school and I just don't see myself having a marathon blog moment. I guess this means I will try to write more during the school year. We'll see.

Dig a Hole, Bury Yourself!

Interesting PSA by E. Taylor:

In the wake of the May 6, North Carolina Democratic State Primary, I figured I would do my due diligence to persuade voters to vote for whom I consider the most viable candidate to preside over our country. This is especially targeted to the African American community. To preface this story, I must first describe my political background or lack thereof.

Growing up in the rural south, I never knew much about politics at all. I will lay my ignorance at the hand of my surroundings and my family. The extent of my political knowledge was of the two political parties, Democrats and Republicans, and the roles I assumed they played in the country. Hearing my family converse, I always assumed the Republicans were evil and racist, and the Democrats were good and pro-black. While this may not be far off from the truth, this generalization is a one of ignorance at best. I can remember my mother explained the reason she did not vote was that she did not want jury duty or she believed her vote did not count. This sentiment, I feel, is shared among many African Americans in the south, keeping them away from the polls. A sentiment which is unacceptable and should be frowned upon.

Recently I have done my best to get more involved in politics and become more aware of how the country I live in is being governed. When I heard Senator Barack Obama was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, I instantly became interested in the race. I honestly had little prior knowledge about the senator, but the possiblity of having an African American run the country was a great feeling. Barack instantly had my vote on the basis of being a black man. Was basing my vote solely on the race of a candidate valid? Probably not, but upon further investigation by way of reading ariticles, listening to debates, and watching tv shows that analyze the politcial candidates and their idealogies, I realized my vote was well placed.

Recently in an interview with rapper The Game, he made the comment and I quote,
“If you Black and you don’t vote for Obama you just need to find a revolver spin that bitch and pop ‘til your noodles’ on the fukkin side of the bed man. That’s just a no brainer man.” I hate to admit it, but I will have to side with a rapper for once in my life. The statement could have been said much more intelligently; however, whether you take this argument figuratively or literally, I feel that it does have some validity.
Black leaders in the United States, from the days of slavery, until the Civil Rights era, have fought for African Americans and other minorities to be on an even playing ground with the rest of America. Within those battles, every citizen earned the right to vote for whomever they so choose. I do not want to condemn anyone or make them feel they can not freely choose who they want to run for president, but merely show you the opportunity you have to make history and put the first black male in the white house. I believe if we do not embark on this wonderful opportunity in front of us, we will not have another black person that will be able to contend for the position of Commander in Chief for another 50 years. Do not let this black leader, one who stands for CHANGE and making a better America, pass us by. If you do, maybe you should dig a hole, bury yourself!

Timbaland and One Republic Were Wrong . . .

. . . It's never too late to Apologize.

Today I'm just lounging around the house and I decided to check my school email. In my inbox I have a new message with the subject "Renae Brown" (changed the name). I'm thinking, "What in the world?" Renae used to be one of my friends in high school. We used to ride to school together and hang out with my older sister on the weekends. She came to my house I went to hers. We played sports together our whole life. Then, my junior year, her senior year, she started calling my boyfriend trying to holla at him. And she would talk junk to him about me, my sister, and brother. She even talked about my parents, who were going through a divorce. Real grimy right? So when I found out, I got real mad. I told my mom I was gonna tell her off at school. Ma told me that I betta not get into a fight at school over something stupid. Well first of all, I was not about to fight nobody (I only hit people who are related to me). Second of all, I know better.

I waited till volleyball practice to tell her off. Our team had talked about how we should talk and not hold things in because they would affect the team. So I made everybody sit in circle. I reminded them of how we said we should talk about things to help the team out. Well, I went into this tyriad about how Renae had been talking about me and my family, trying to steal my boyfriend, about how I never asked her or anybody else to be my friend, and blah blah blah. I told them that for the sake of the team, I will be cooperative on the court, but once games and practice were over, I didn't want nothing to do with her.

Ok so it was a little more dramatic than this 5 minute effort to transribe the conversation. The team was shocked and she was too. She didn't say one word. Then I was like, "Iight. Let's practice." I was the main setter and she was our main hitter. I don't think we won a game after that.

So all of this is running through my mind when I see the subject. I've seen her at least twice since she graduated but I haven't spoken to her in about 10 years. I opened the email, and read the message. She was apologizing for what had happened in high school. It was very sincere. She said that she wasn't sick or dying, but that she was growing closer to Jesus Christ, and as a worshiper, she knew that she needed to right her wrongs in order to better serve Him and in order to receive what He had instore for her.

Wow!! That was my first reaction. It takes a lot of courage/faith to do that. I had never forgotten about that incident, but I didn't hold a grudge against her either. I was glad to hear that God was working through her. Its always a blessing to know that people are trying to live better.

I made a nice reply thanking her for the apology. I hope the best for her and her family.

As Easy as Making a Baby!?!

It's been a while since I've written. Please bear with the long post.

A couple of months ago I watched this special on MTV (I think it was MTV) about people trying to find one of their parents. It was about 5 adults, who were 18 and over, trying to find a parent who abandoned them. MTV helped this process by using research, clues, eye witnesses, etc to help them track their parents. It was a very emotional roller coaster ride for these people who were searching for a parent that they had never met or who they partially knew. I found myself on the brink of tears, empathizing with their stories. And I thought, creating a child can be one of the most thoughtless acts ever. I find it so disappointing, but not unrealistic, for a person to have a child and feel absolutely nothing for the offspring.

While viewing the show, I started thinking about the requirements for having a child. And basically it can be as simple as random sperm entering a random uterus. No names, no strings attached. Nothing. Get up and go in different directions. When you think about it, isn't it sad that thats all it takes to create LIFE? Life is amazing. Its beautiful. Its complex, complicated. Mysterious. Unfortunate yet magnificent. It's so emotional, yet emotions are not even necessary for its birth.

After pondering over these thoughts for a while, I grew upset with God and told him so. How could He allow the reproduction of something so vital to be so simple? I know humans abuse sex's original purpose, but still. Creating a human is just too easy.

I started to think of ways to have a more intricate baby making process. People should have a switch that needs to be turned on in order to be able to produce a child. Unlike puberty, this switch would be manual. The only way to get the switch turned on is to pass a test at the doctor's office. The test would contain questions such as:

1.) How well do you know your potential baby momma/daddy?
2.) Do you like/love your potential baby momma/daddy?
3.) Do you have a job?
4.) How much money do you make?
5.) How much do you think it costs to support a newborn child?
6.) What is your philosophy on child rearing?
7.) In your opinion, at what point do you think you are no longer financially responsible for your child?
8.) What role should education play in a child's life?
9.) If you and the maker of this baby decide to no longer be together, how will you support this child emotionally? Financially?
10.) On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to spend time with your child? Explain.

I think you get my point. Baby making should be a thoughtful process rather than a thoughtless process.

After conversing more with God, He convinced me that it wasn't His fault that producing a child had become so senseless. We as humans have abused the sexual experience as merely a pleasure seeking entity without fully acknowledging its procreation aspects. We did this to ourselves. From this lens, we have devalued life. We are the highest beings and we're supposed to know better and do better.

How would the world, or parenting more specifically, be different if people valued life over self seeking pleasure?

I ain't . . .

. . . been up here in so long I bout forgot how to log in.

I Heart My Students

I truly Heart my students. I know I talk a lot about the problems of teaching, of education, and of my school; however, at the end of the day, I keep going back to teach. I love what I do. It makes me happy to have a positive impact on the lives of so many young people. I see so much potential when I look into their eyes. As Lauryn Hill once said, "[They] inspire me to be a higher me." Everyday I try to be a better teacher so that they can become better people/students.

The above picture was drawn by one of my former students. She's a brilliant student and an amazing artist. She's only a sophomore and she plans to attend UNC Chapel Hill. The picture is actually a sign and it hangs on the wall outside of my room, above my door. The other two pictures embody how I feel about my job. If you look close enough, you can see that the different squares (some rectangles) surrounding the Malcolm X poster are actually Me Squared. The students were supposed to put a picture of themselves in the middle and put words, images, and symbols that are significant to them around the outside of their picture. I placed their squares around Malcolm X's poster which features his famous quote: "We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." I believe that by any means necessary, I will educate my students to believe in themselves, their futures, and their worth. And they are the means, my weapons if you will, which I will use to fight a society which systematically tries to denigrate African Americans in our country.

Again, I Heart My Students:0)

Did Teachers Take Noose Lesson Too Far?

Kindergarten teachers at Alma J. Brown Elementary, a Gramling State University run school, decided to use the Jena Six case as a teachable moment. The lesson involved nooses and link chains. Take a look at the video and decide whether or not the teachers took things too far.

Stop Making Hip-Hop the Scape Goat!!!

In light of the recent attention being paid to hip-hop, stemming from the Don Imus situation way back when, I decided to let people know how I really feel. Honestly, I do have a problem with the misogynistic lyrics and the minstrelsy of hip-hop, but I won't jump on the bandwagon of blaming hip-hop for the problems of the Black community (as if it is the only one).

I believe that today's educational system is more of an acidic force in our community than our music. Our youth are not receiving the education that they need and deserve. I really wish our so called Black leaders would channel some of their energy towards getting qualified teachers in low performing schools, getting supplies to students who can't afford them, getting computers in poor districts, upgrading school buildings that need to be condemned, closing the achievement gap, etc. I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that Jahmal, a 15-year-old gang banger, is committing crime because he heard Yung Joc say "if ya messin' with my money, ya messin' with ya life" or he heard some other violent lyric that I can't think of right now. Jahmal is probably robbing his neighbor because he reads at a third grade level and is bored out his mind in class because he doesn't want his classmates to know he can't understand what the heck is going on in The Odyssey. Our youth are becoming disconnected with school and are filling that void with things such as hip-hop music and crime, and the root of the problem is an educational system which isn't meeting the needs of our students. To take this argument in a different direction, some people may say that parents are the real root of the problems of our youth, which is also true, but I stopped blaming parents when I realized that some people are just bad parents, and we can't control that, but we can work to change our educational system. But I digress.

Hip-hop is a genre and the artists have a right to talk about what they feel and how they feel. They really aren't doing anything any different from any other genre. I think the problem is hip-hop has a stronghold on America, like no other, and it possesses more power than some of us would like for it to have. Also the problem is that we are trying to make these people into suitable role models/leaders. Everybody ain't cut out to be a leader. Being famous should not be equated with role model, and I don't believe that you have to be educated to be a leader (Fannie Lou Hamer is my favorite leader). Besides, its not the musician, its the listeners that we need to be concerned with. Artists produce what the people want to hear. Educate the people, change the artists. Don't try to change the artist to educate the people.

Students Get Pepper Sprayed

At the end of school today, a group of female students started fighting each other. I didn't see the fight because I was in my room and the fight took place outside near the buses (they almost made it home). As I was sitting in my room, I heard this commotion in the hallway. A female was yelling, "My EYES!!!! My EYES!! Somebody HELP ME!!!" I thought it was a fight and I ran outside my room because it sounded as if someone was seriously injured. When I got outside, I saw about 3 female students screaming about their eyes hurting and not being able to see. One student was on the floor wailing. I saw the school officers standing around and figured they had the situation under control.The scene reminded me of Oedipus Rex when he had gouged his eyes out. For some reason, I felt more sympathy for Oedipus than I did for the females screaming as if someone was pulling their eyes out of their sockets. It turns out the police officers had to pepper spray them to break-up the fight.

In retrospect, my lack of empathy for the young ladies bothers me. My initial feelings were, "They should not have been fighting at school anyways;" "That's what they get;" "Hopefully it will teach these kids to think twice before they get into a fight." Am I wrong for feeling this way? Should students be pepper sprayed? One teacher said, "The officers are too rough with the students." I didn't think they were too rough.

I have seen some serious take-downs by administrators and officers. It's kinda like a "by any means necessary" situation. Most students will not stop with a simple, "Hey there. Let go of that students hair;" or "Could you please stop stomping the mess out of this young man's face." In some situations, the students are injured (a female was slammed to the ground last year and scraped her head against the pavement--she had punched an assistant principal in the face, breaking his glasses while giving him a black eye) and in others, the adults are injured. What are we, as educators/school officials supposed to do? At some point, adults also have to think about their own safety.

What do you think?

"You could have a heart attack . . ."

". . . and if your heart starts beating fast, you should call 9-1-1." That is exactly what my doctor told me at my annual check-up. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Definitely an eye-opener.
Dr. Bowen was referring to the issues with my thyroid. She was trying, not to scare me, but to help me realize the severity of my neglect to attend my doctor's appointment and take my medication.

See what had happened was, at the physical one has to get before entering college. I was told I have a hyperactive thyroid. My thyroid was monitored for about a year, and at that time, everything was ok and I didn't have any further appointments. Fast forward six years to my physical taken last year where they checked my blood. This time, my thyroid had gotten worse, the doctors found a goiter on my neck, prescribed a medication, and set up an appointment with a specialist.

Well, I started taking my meds, but then I read the side effects and decided not to take them anymore. I mean, I couldn't tell that my thyroid was bothering me, so why would I want to take this medicine and feel horrible? Then I canceled my appointment because I didn't want to get off work early. It was too much trouble (I am not a good patient). Plus my doctor at the time didn't make it out to be a big deal.

So 2007 rolls around and its time for my annual exam. I have a new doctor, Dr. Bowen. On my "List any concerns that you may have" section of the paper I had to fill out, I put that I had been experiencing extreme fatigue (Normally I would pass it off and blame my tiredness on teaching; however, I haven't been in a classroom since early June, and I have been so exhausted lately. I knew something must be wrong with me. Plus I'm always thirsty. I thought I had diabetes. It runs on both sides of my family). She looked at my records and said that it was probably related to my thyroid.

Then I confessed my lack of follow through with my last physical a year ago. Dr. Bowen had a look of concern on her face. She asked, "Did [your previous] doctor tell you how serious this is?" Meanwhile I'm thinking, "It's never that serious!" But I replied with, "No." Thats when she went into the "I'm not trying to scare you but . . ." She told me all these things that could happen to me, including sudden death, if I didn't take care of my thyroid. She added that thyroid issues go hand in hand with diabetes, and that if I wasn't careful, I would soon have that too. She also said that my thyroid would have to be even more carefully monitored if I ever got pregnant.

Needless to say, I start a new prescription next week. I go see the specialist in November. I am thankful for this visit. I appreciate Dr. Bowen's honesty because she made me realize the importance of this health matter, because before, I was rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

All in all, I am thankful for what I do have and also thankful for what I don't have. I sure am glad that I know Jesus, because if I didn't, I might would be a lil hysterical right now. I'm ok though. I was definitely taken aback by the news and I can't stop thinking about it. But I'm ok. Please keep me in your prayers.

One last thing, I advise that you go see a doctor on a regular basis. I know some people, especially black people, are apprehensive about doctor visits (I am guilty), but we all need a check-up at least once a year. Early detection can be a life saver. Just because you feel fine doesn't mean that you are fine. Please see a doctor when you can.

The Jena Six

If you haven't heard, you should read this article about another unfortunate incident involving black youth. Also, sign the petition for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to have the case thoroughly investigated.


Excerpt: Six black students at Jena High School in Central Louisiana were arrested last December
after a school fight in which a white student was beaten and suffered a concussion and multiple bruises. The six black students were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy. They face up to 100 years in prison without parole. The fight took place amid mounting racial tension after a black student sat under a tree in the schoolyard where only white students sat. The next day three nooses were hanging from the tree.

Jailhouse Thriller

Is this for real? I don't know what to think.

Fallen Angels

I recently finished reading Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. It was one of the options for my students to read as part of our literature circles. I hadn't read the book and thought that I should. It's about a young African American male, Richie Perry, who decided to join the Vietnam War upon high school graduation since his single mother didn't have enough money to send him to college. Rather than waste away on the streets of Harlem like so many of his predecessors, he decided to join the army.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It opened up my eyes to experiences to which our soldiers are currently having. While the book is fictional, I'm sure some of the events that take place are not too far from the truth. For example, in the book, the young soldiers are scared to death and operate in a self preservation mode, often making them a little over zealous when it comes to firing their weapons. On one occasion, a soldier started firing because he heard something and then the other soldiers, naturally, followed suit. Come to find out, they were firing on other U.S. soldiers, killing several of their own men.

On another occasion, a captain set off a flare that lit up the night air, revealing the position of the troops. Unfortunately, Charlie (a Vietnam soldier) shot and killed one of the soldiers. The captain felt extremely guilty and decided to write a letter to the deceased soldier's family, explaining how he was responsible for their loved one's death. A general read the letter, tore it up, and instructed Richie (the main character) to rewrite the letter, telling the family how the soldier had died as a hero, saving other's lives. Sound familiar?

Remember the NFL football player who left the league to defend his country? Pat Tillman, a former safety for the Arizona Cardinals, died while fighting in Afghanistan. His family, along with the rest of the country, was led to believe that Tillman's killing was "the result of a heroic firefight with enemy fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan;" however, his brother Kevin revealed that Pat had actually been killed by a fellow soldier. He chastised the army for the cover-up and challenged to the country to seek-out the individuals responsible for the lies.

And let us not forget Jessica Lynch who revealed that she was far from the hero she was portrayed to be. Who knows what other lies we are being fed? We only know what we're being told.

Again, Fallen Angels is a good read and I can definitely see parallels between the Vietnam War and the War on Terror. I have a new appreciation for our troops and I plan to have my students write letters in the fall

HBCU vs PWU . . . Can't We All Just Get an Education?

Recently I was having a conversation with my cousin Brandi about the state of today's educational system. Somehow the conversation switched to comparing and contrasting an HBCU vs a Predominately White University (PWU). Brandi attended NC A&T State University and I attended UNC-Chapel Hill. We were going back and forth about the black experience at both institutions and which one was better. Actually, I think I was mostly defending my experience at UNC as a valid one. However, at the end of the conversation she said that she would not trade her experience at A&T for anything and I certainly would not trade mine. We both received a good education; we both grew as women; we understand ourselves and the world better. Bottom line, why can't Black people agree that regardless of whether or not you decide to attend an HBCU or a PWU, you can still receive a good education and a quality Black experience. I am so tired of battling which is better. Can't we just be happy that more and more Black people are attending college and call it a day?

Who deserves to die?

DeCarlo Polk, a class of 2007 graduate from Hillside High School, collapsed and died suddenly Wednesday, June 27th while playing basketball at his uncle's house in Tennessee. Resuscitation efforts by his uncle and the EMS failed to bring him back. Carlos, as we called him, was a role model student at HHS. He was an IB Student and was a member of the football team and Student Government Association (SGA). He was Homecoming King and he also received a football scholarship to play at St. Augustine in the fall. Carlos was a great kid who will be deeply missed.


My husband learned of his death from another teacher at HHS. Both KB and I knew Carlos, but he and KB were pretty close. KB was an SGA advisor and he taught Carlos in a leadership class. Carlos had already made plans to come spend time with us next fall since we live so close to St. Aug.

When KB told me what happened, we were both in disbelief. We hoped it was just a terrible rumor and maybe someone got their facts mixed up. I just didn't want to believe that this child had died suddenly. He was such a good person and he didn't deserve to die.

I kept thinking that he didn't deserve to die. In thinking about him and life and death, I questioned, "If he didn't deserve to die, who deserves to die?" Often when people die, you hear friends and family of the deceased give accolade after accolade of the person. And normally, people will add, "They didn't deserve to die."

Most people argue that bad people deserve to die, for example ones who have killed others or molested children. I don't think this is a good argument because bad people is very subjective. Who determines whether a person is good or bad? Plus if only bad people died, then there would be no room for repentance and forgiveness (I think I've talked about this on Rell's blog); therefore, Jesus' death would have been in vain and there would be no hope for changing one's life.

So who deserves to die? I guess no one deserves to die, but we should all be aware of the fact that death comes to both the good and the bad, to the young and to the old, to the saved and to the unsaved.

Cherish life because it is short and death can come to anyone unexpectedly.

R.I.P. Carlos

"Not Another Marcus Dixon!?!" Update

A while back I wrote on post on Genarlow Wilson. A superior court judge recently ruled that his felony conviction should be dropped to a misdemeanor, allowing him to be released from jail. However, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker has appealed the ruling and Wilson will remain in jail until the appeal is reviewed in court. The appeal date is set for July 5th.

Old Enough. . .

This week I had a parent conference for a female student. The student, let’s calls her Jaime, is missing several assignments due to absences and currently has a low ‘D’ average. When I arrived at the conference, I saw Jaime, her mother, and her mentor.

I stuck my hand out to her mother to greet her, “Hi, I’m Mrs. Bullock.” Jaime’s mother, with a bewildered facial expression, looked to the left, to the right, then up and then down, in a quick motion.

She said, “Who are you?”

I replied, “Mrs. Bullock, Jaime’s teacher?”

“Teacher of what?” she questioned with sarcasm as she looked at me from head to toe. That day I was very dressed up. I was wearing a 3 quarter length black shirt with a dressy, colorful skirt I had bought from Lerner (actually New York & Company, but I remember when it was called Lerner), along with a pair of black shoes that had a nice heel to them. I looked very professional.

“I have Jaime for English.”

“How old are you?” she inquired.

I knew this question was coming. I could tell by the look in her eyes. I have been waiting for the next parent to ask me my age. See, I have a pretty young looking face and at first glance, many people think that I am a student (even though I feel that my dress sets me apart). Last year, I had several parents ask me my age and I told them. It always made me feel uncomfortable and young, especially if they asked me in the presence of my student. So I concocted a short quick phrase to which I would use as a reply the next time a parent asked me my age.

“Old enough to teach Jaime English,” I said with a smile. She shook my hand, and I sat down to talk business.

Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion. Part II

I did it. I traded in my truck. If you have been following my blog, you should recall that a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post titled, Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion (see below). Well, I did a little more research and decided to trade my truck in for a 2007 Honda Civic. Now, like most of my friends, you are probably thinking, "Well that is not a donkey!" However, compared to the loaded SUV I was driving, it is—kinda.

First let me explain why I didn’t get a used Honda. For those that don’t know, Hondas really hold their value. So while I was looking for one that was maybe 2 or 3 three years old (I didn’t want one that was too old with too many miles for maintenance reasons), I noticed that most were within a couple of thousand dollars of a new car. Why buy a used car when you can get a new one for almost the same price?

Also, when it comes to trading in a car, you have to figure your negative equity into the total buying price. When trying to purchase a used car, while trading-in a car that has negative equity, the dealer is not as willing to negotiate prices. So, take the price of the used car, add in your negative equity, and you basically have the price of a new car. On the other hand, a dealer is more willing to negotiate prices, giving more for your trade-in and taking more off the sticker price when purchasing a new car. Thus, this is the reason why I went with a new car rather than a used one.

I am very happy with my trade. I waved good bye to my truck, and I currently hold no regrets. My new car gets 30 miles to the gallon in the city and 40 on the hwy. My truck maybe averaged 12-14 in the city and 20 on the hwy. It cost about $60 to fill up my truck and about $30 to fill up my car. My monthly car payment is lower. Insurance is lower. And I traded in my truck right before my payment and property taxes were due (YES!!!).

While my car doesn’t look like a donkey, it is more practical, not as excessive, and it will definitely help me to continue to serve my purpose in life.

Less is more.

God Bless!!!