I grew up in Texas. The driving force in my family was my grandmother, Granny. When I was 10 years old, I had to attend ‘Charm School’. My Granny always impressed upon me that it wasn’t “Lady-like” to swear and whenever I felt the need to do so, I should spit it out of my mouth. So, when I get upset about something that warrants a good swear word, I simply say “Oh spit”. I never say the bad word and I have a clean conscience. I know that I’m honoring my grandmother by keeping to her word. I feel better for it as well.

- Lisa C.

A story of a young boy’s misfortune as he is falsely accused of stealing a pair of valuable shoes, sent to a desert correctional facility and through a funny twisted course of events, finds redemption. There he meets the psycho Warden Walker (Sigourney Weaver) and her bizarre sidekick/enforcer ”Mr. Sir” (John Voight). The twists and turns of the story teach lessons of life from the view of a teenager with an unexpected surprise ending. Great movie for young adults on up. Rated PG (violence, mild language and thematic intensity)

It was a busy clinic day and with high school football in full swing I had a steady stream of mostly minor injuries from the previous week’s contests. I’ve done sports medicine for nearly 20 years and I’ve seen the highs and lows of athletes at all levels. This one experience, though seemingly small, stands out as a prime example as to why there is hope for the future.

This particular kid, an 18-year-old starting senior linebacker with likely a future at the next level, came in accompanied by his mother with a knee injury. He had all the markings of the pretty rough kid. Though no tattoos he wore a tight black shirt that displayed bulging muscles. His hair was short but it seemed to go in numerous directions giving a bit of a wild look. I did notice that he was polite to his mother, courteous to me and was not at all intimidated by the doctor’s office setting. After a short visit I asked him get up on the exam table so I could check his knee. While getting up on the table I noticed he was uncomfortable as he sat because of the bulge of a worn book planted in his rear pocket. He reached in, pulled it out, and gently threw it across the room to the chair next to his mother. I couldn’t help but notice the book was a hymnal from his church. I was a little surprised that a kid I had pegged to be a pretty rough character would be carrying a hymn book in his back pocket. When I questioned him about that he just grinned and replied “sometimes you just gotta sing”. He further explained that any time he is tempted to use foul language or think bad thoughts he reaches to his back pocket. He doesn’t realize this but the lesson he taught me that day will forever be with me and I thank him for that.