You Can Quote Me

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

― Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

If you are a regular reader of my blog  -- and there are literally TENS of you -- you already know that I love a good quote.  I'd like to say that I am an avid scholar of Paine and history and have always known this one, but of course I heard it on Top Chef Masters last season.  The winner Doug Keane said it in the last episode and I looked that sucker up lickety-split.

NOTE:  To all of you who are judging me right now -- I agree with you.

It seemed fitting for a Thanksgiving post.  

I'm thankful for those who founded this country.  For those who still keep it safe. 

I'm also thankful for those who keep children safe.  And for those who do a kind thing for those who keep children safe...

Yesterday one of our donors at Community Partners of Dallas called Joanna with a surprise for one of our hard-working Dallas County CPS caseworkers.  You see, the donor and husband were not going to be able to use their 2 great seats to see the Dallas Cowboys for the big Thanksgiving game, so they decided to pass them along to us.  We sent out an email and within 1 hour had 87 people who wanted the tickets.  When Joanna called the lottery drawing winner, the caseworker almost started crying.  She is a huge fan of the Cowboys and had never been to a game. 

Do I have a great job or what?

Now, you may think it's funny that I started this post about obtaining something cheap and am ending it with someone winning a free prize, but believe me, that caseworker works hard everyday protecting children.  And I bet she'll never forget the game.

Controlling the MAVS

I want the Mavs to win.  I really, really want them to win.  So, I am not watching the games on TV.

Is this strange?  Not if you know me.  When I watch games on TV, my teams tend to lose.  I can’t tell you how many times the Cowboys have lost because I was watching.  I have named this the “Paige Effect”.

During Pre-Season and even for most of the Regular Season, I don’t worry about the Paige Effect on my teams.  They win sometimes and lose sometimes, but it isn’t for the big Kahuna, so I don’t worry about it much.  But, for the conference playoffs and finals, I make this sacrifice. 

BTW, what is a Kahuna and why do we want a big one?  Is it a fish?  I don't really think that I want a big fish.  A normal sized one is big enough, thank you very much.

Even my co-workers fear the Paige Effect.  Along with me, Joanna and Ann are the biggest Mavs fans in the office.  They don’t want me to watch either.  My friend Dave (a big Lakers fan) totally tried to get me to watch last week.  I didn’t.  Do you need further proof?  I think not.

Now, please know that the Paige Effect does not apply if I am watching the game while in the arena, so if you have a ticket to spare, just call me at 214-624-7557.

I do know that this all sounds crazy and of course the Paige Effect is just superstition.  But I believe it and it is working, so I am not going to start watching now.  I will say that the Paige Effect is really just me attempting to control something over which I really have no control. 

Having no control over something that really matters to us is frustrating.  As a human being – or especially as an American – I want to feel like I can make things happen and make things not happen at will. 

Mostly, I want to make something not happen:  Child Abuse.

Believe me, if I could stop Child Abuse by never watching TV again, I would.  I think that we all would.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy to stop abuse, so my Dish Network bill will keep getting paid.  But there is something that we can all do to stop Child Abuse and it has nothing to do with TV.  We have to report it. 

If you suspect Child Abuse in Texas, call 1-800-252-5400, or visit the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website at www.dfps.state.tx.us  If you are in another state, please call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-888-4-A-CHILD.

We can take control back from the abusers.

P.S.  If you want to see a great video featuring adult and teen survivors of childhood abuse and neglect, as well as about your duty to report suspected abuse, please visit www.tyla.org/thelittlevoice.

P.P.S.  GO MAVS!