Bill McMasters for Granite City School Board

Beautiful morning to be outside with Bob watching him chase his ball

"I'm never the leading man. I never get the girl. And I never get to take my shirt off. I started by playing fathers to guys who were 25 years older than I was."
Prior to a career in acting, Wilford Brimley dropped out of high school at age 14 and worked as a cowboy in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. He joined the Marines during the Korean War and served in the Aleutian Islands for three years. He also worked as a bodyguard for businessman Howard Hughes, as well as a ranch hand, wrangler, and blacksmith. He then began shoeing horses for film and television. At the behest of his close friend and fellow actor Robert Duvall, he began acting in the 1960s as a riding extra and stunt man in Westerns. In 1979, he told the Los Angeles Times that the most he ever earned in a year as an actor was $20,000. He had no formal training as an actor, and his first experience in acting in front of a live audience was at the Los Angeles Actors' Theater.
His first credited feature film performance was in "The China Syndrome" (1979) as Ted Spindler, a friend and coworker of plant shift supervisor Jack Godell (portrayed by Jack Lemmon). Later, Brimley made a brief, but pivotal, appearance in "Absence of Malice" (1981) as the curmudgeonly, outspoken Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Wells. In the movie "The Thing" (1982) he played the role of Blair, the biologist of a group of men at an American research station in Antarctica who encounter a dangerous alien that can perfectly imitate other organisms.
Duvall was instrumental in securing for Brimley the role of Harry in "Tender Mercies" (1983). Duvall, who had not been getting along with director Bruce Beresford, wanted "somebody down here that's on my side, somebody that I can relate to." Beresford felt Brimley was too old for the part, but eventually agreed to the casting. Brimley, like Duvall, clashed with the director; during one instance when Beresford tried to advise Brimley on how Harry would behave, Duvall recalled Brimley responding, "Now look, let me tell you something, I'm Harry. Harry's not over there, Harry's not over here. Until you fire me or get another actor, I'm Harry, and whatever I do is fine 'cause I'm Harry."
Brimley then appeared as Pop Fisher, world-weary manager of a slumping baseball team, in "The Natural" (1984). Shortly thereafter, Brimley secured his first leading role in Ron Howard's "Cocoon" (1985), portraying Ben Luckett, leader of a group of geriatrics who encounter a magically reinvigorating swimming pool by their retirement home. Brimley was only 49 when he was cast in the role, and turned 50 during filming; he was at least 20 years younger than any of the actors playing the other retirement home residents. In order to look the part, Brimley bleached his hair and moustache to turn them gray, and had wrinkles and liver spots drawn on his face.
"I can't talk about acting. I don't know anything about it. I was just lucky enough to get hired." (IMDb)

“we’re all bastards but God loves us anyway,” there was grace even enough for me!................Will Campbell -- preacher, writer, lecturer, farmer, raconteur, soulful iconoclast and equal-opportunity prophet... Rev. Will D. Campbell, Maverick Minister in Civil Rights Era....................LOVE HIS WRITINGS

The day between the cross and the empty
tomb focuses on human rejection of love—
and on the depth and breadth of that love.

I don't mind friends knocking a little louder......hearing not totally what it was...BUT.....for heavens sakes not like it's the Police

BIG WEEK COMING UP .. GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL..GRADUATION!!! WELL DONE..WE'RE PROUD OF YOU ALL...stuff you learn in life and ponder on a lazy Friday morning.......
FOR A WHOLE NEW GROUP OF GRADUATES CONGRATULATIONS!!!! GO GET YOUR DREAM!!!
-luck plays a big part in life, and there is no better way to increase your luck than by knowing as many people as possible
-when you meet someone new, treat that person as a friend. Assume he or she is a winner and will become a positive force in your life
-read all the time. have a point of view before you start a book or article and see if what you thing is confirmed or refuted by the author
-get enough sleep. 7 hours until you're 60, finding 8 better now and probably 9 after age 70, which will probably be 8 hrs sleep with a 1 hour nap
-travel, travel, travel. try to get everywhere before you wear out. meet local interesting people where you travel and keep in contact with them throughout your life
-on giving.more directed to relieve pain rather than spread joy
-the hard way is usually the right way. don't bother with too many shortcuts they usually really reflect sloppiness and are a career killer
-probably a waste of time trying to be better than competition, try to be different. there is always going to be someone smarter than you, but there may not be someone with more imagination
-when looking for a career as you come out of school or making a job change, always take the job that looks like it will be more enjoyable. if it pays the most, you're lucky. if it doesn't, take it anyway
-never retire. you need the challenge or rust settles in......absolutely enjoying new challenges on my part............BEST OF LUCK

WILL YOUR CHILD READ THEIR 3000 WORDS TODAY?? YOUR CALL PARENTS.........
GOOD MORNING GRANITE CITY!! MAKE YORSELF A WONDERFUL DAY. STARTING MINE WITH FRENCH ROAST AND TURNING THE HEAT ON..GRRRRR......want to share some numbers with parents this morning.....A SURE FIRE WAY THAT YOUR CHILD AND ALL THE DREAMS THAT YOU HAVE FOR THEM.....CAN AND WILL SUCCEED!!!!!
READ.......READ............READ......that will take courage parents to sometimes turn cell, games and tvS.....OFF!! your call.......but your CHILD CAN SUCCEED!!!!!!!!!
If a child reads as much as one million words per year, they will be in top 2% of all children
on standardized reading tests. If a child reads as little as 8000 words per year, they will
be in bottom 2% of all children on standardized reading tests. Therefore, if you read 3,000
words every day you will be in the top 2%. If you read 20 words every day, you will be in
the bottom 2%.
"Reading a lot" is one of the most powerful methods of increasing fluency, vocabulary,
[and] comprehension. (Scholastic: Classroom Libraries Work!)
Children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year as a result of book reading.
(Scholastic: Classroom Libraries Work!)
Independent reading is a major source of reading fluency.
(Scholastic: Classroom Libraries Work!)
Research has found a relation between the amount of time that children read for fun on their
own and reading achievement.
(Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts).

"T"uesday..."T" is for "T"eaching and not for "T"V........
if our "T" days........"T"uesday and "T"hursday......parents might consider that for an hour or hour and a half the "T"V is off and kids read with their parent the dividends will be amazing......helping make our kids lifetime readers will help build the future parents all dream for their kids........it's a big investment in your time but soon you will so much look forward to "T"uesdays and "T"hursdays......just saying

STUDENTS!!! WISH YOU AN AMAZING YEAR!!!
Who is IN?
EVERYBODY!
Who is left OUT?
NOBODY!
Who is INCLUDED?
ALL!
Who is EXCLUDED?
NONE!
How many are there?
ONE!
Who are we LIKE?
EACH OTHER!
Where ARE we?
EVERYWHERE!
WHAT are we?
LOVE!
What do we DO?
LIVE LIFE, OUT LOUD!