TPN :: Ugly Girls Club

Hey!  If you have gotten to the blog, then chances are that you are taking a look at us.  And, WE want to take a look at you.  Leave a comment, tell us what you think.  We totally want to talk about anything that interests you.  And… until our next podcast, here’s a post of how The Ugly Girls Met :

Today I want to write about the importance of friends. And, this blog entry is dedicated to my best friend Betsy.

A couple of years ago when I thought I was dying (enduring the rigors of chemotherapy for breast cancer), I really began to think about what was important in life. I had spent the majority of my adult life in hot pursuit of career advancement and had made it to the top of the heap (as far as education goes) as a school superintendent… only to find it was a terrible job for which I was ill suited. I like being with teachers and kids; but the superintendency wasn’t about what I thought it was… at all.

So, there I was with my fancy doctorate from Vanderbilt, all prepared to be a superintendent… just to discover that I hated the job. Shortly thereafter, I was felled by what I call a “bout” with cancer (hope it’s gone and never returns).And, I began to contemplate what life was all about during my bout.

And, I came to a startling conclusion. It was all about your relationships. It’s not about who gets to the finish line first and best; it’s about the relationships you develop as you race along; it’s not about the race… it’s about what you make of the race. If you fall down in the race, it’s about getting back up. And, it’s about helping everyone else around you in the race. And, it’s about a million other things than what you think it’s about… and it’s not about the race.And, that’s where today’s blog entry is taking us. It’s about relationships.

And, today, I want to write about my friendship with Betsy. I first met Betsy when I hired her to be a teacher. It was my first year there as principal (as I was fast tracking it up the educational ladder of success). The school was a mess; the principal before me had taken it up from the abyss, but she was promoted to high school… and I got the beginning of my dream school (which always starts with a big ole challenge). We were projected to go on the state at-risk list that year, and the school was covered with graffiti… in fact, the bathrooms were painted black so that graffiti couldn’t be read there. Anyway, I had a larger enrollment than expected that year and was given an additional teacher allocation after the first weeks of school.

Now, Betsy can tell you the exact date because she was just hankering to get a teaching job and remembers those kinds of things. Just like she knows where you were reared and who your people are; but I don’t remember those kinds of things. There’s few dates that I remember, but I remember meeting Betsy. There she was, a newly-wed, all fresh and preppie looking and just aching to teach. She had just gotten married and moved to Oklahoma City from Bolivar, Missouri and had cried the first day of school when she had yet to locate a teaching job.I had a big job on my hands, and I don’t remember what I said to Betsy.

But, she, too, is a motivational speaker; and I have heard her talk about the situation. Apparently, I told her I was giving her the biggest problem children in the school for a self-contained class. She (who had been a second grade teacher) was supposed to whip them into shape, not give me any cause for concern in the discipline area, and was to teach them to read, write and do algebra. Oh, and I didn’t have a classroom for her; so she was going to have to conduct the class in the teacher’s lunch room.

Well, she did it. Her kids progressed more academically than anyone else in the school. They learned algebra AND to read and to write. And, Betsy learned algebra, too. And, they did amazing things; like raise money, so they could go to Dallas and investigate the JFK assassination and meet with the big wig who wrote about the book. She even got Zig Ziggler to donate his shoes to her (and a bunch of other big wigs like Troy Achman) to prove to her students that they could walk in the shoes of people who were successful… and they could be, too.

So, my friendship began with Betsy based on my deep admiration of her practice. And, just about everywhere I went after I left that school, I found a way to get Betsy there with me because she was successful in every endeavor she put her mind to.

And, she always lifts me up when I am enduring some trauma on my job (which, since I have a problem with authority figures, is pretty often); and she always believes in me.

And when I was having that poison chemo dripped into my body, she sat beside me, holding my hand and telling me it would be over someday; and we would laugh about it.

And, she just kept after me about going to elementary school and coming to “her” school, where she was the instructional facilitator. And, I did go there. And, then after one year, she  left to go be the principal of her own school. And, we are still as close as ever.

 And, every Saturday morning, we put our cell phones beside our respective beds, and as soon as one of us wakes up (has to be after 5:01 a.m… even if only by seconds), we call the other. Then, we throw on our clothes (with no makeup or shower) and we meet for breakfast; and we laugh and support each other in our endeavors. And, we call ourselves the Ugly Girls Club because I guarantee that we are really ugly when we meet (middle aged women should never go out in public without makeup).

And, my relationship with Betsy is very important to me. And, I have clung to one of the lessons I learned during the chemo wars. The most important thing in your life is your relationships. As you are running along in your race of life, make sure you find your Betsys… because they make all the difference.

Welcome to the Ugly Girls’ Club hosted by Dr. Jan and Betsy! This is episode #002, How the Girls Met

In this podcast, tune in to hear Betsy and Dr. Jan discussing…

1) Contact the girls at TheUglyGirlsClub@aol.com. We want to hear from you! In future episodes, we will learn how to arrange our blog, so you can record your comments. But, hold on, we will get to that when we get to that. Oreo.com will soon be helping us!

2) Earth’s temperature. The National Academy of Sciences were commissioned by the Chairman of the House Science Committee to address naysayers to the concerns over global warming. Tune in to get the skinny on the Hockey Stick Graphic.

3) Sunscreen. Betsy details the new Banana Boat sunscreen that sprays on like hairspray.

4) Connie Chung. Betsy has viewed the Connie Chung goodbye parody. Impression: Ick.

5) Super foods. What 9 super foods will protect your brain?

6) MSNBC.COM. Matt Lauer interviews Chester who was attacked on a school bus. See what elementary principals, Dr. Jan and Betsy, have to say about it.

7) Joke of the day. Dr. Jan tells a George Bush joke and Betsy relates a family story of Caitlyn’s mysterious diet that netted a ten pound loss by eating corn flakes.

8) Dinnertime! Betsy invites the Bush’s to dinner while Dr. Jan invites her beloved Clintons to dinner at her house. Stay tuned to reactions.

9) How the UGC met. Betsy describes her employment interview with Dr. Jan. And you said they are friends??

Welcome to the Ugly Girls’ Club hosted by Dr. Jan and Betsy!

In this podcast, tune in to hear Betsy and Dr. Jan discussing…

1) Dustbury, Oklahoma. The girls live and work in the beautious city of Dustbury, Oklahoma whose main claim to fame is Chaz Hill the author of dustbury.com blog. Chaz lives in their neighborhood at the Surlywood Manor. Dr. Jan and Betsy are elementary principals in the Dustbury Public Schools.

2) Vivian. Dr. Jan’s new green car (a Toyota Prius) is fouled when her terrible teens leave an undiscovered quart of milk in her backseat after a visit to the local Sam’s Club. Betsy reminds Dr. Jan of an earlier incident in her previous car with shrimp scampy. Vivian has a feminine voice for a navigation system and the girls experiment with other voices… ELVIS!

3) Teens. Dr. Jan explains her philosophy of God’s plan for teens. Don’t miss this one!

4) Politics! Betsy reveals that she is a died in the wool Repuplican while Dr. Jan is a moderate Democrat… watch their rivalry with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush ensue.

5) Connie Chung. The girls talk about the embarrassing (go here to see the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLY3dz97jyM) parody that Connie Chung records for the final episode of her cable show.

6) The Effing Charm. Betsy tells the story of the Charming f**ing Charming gold charm that she gifted Dr. Jan with… Bob Hope knew how to charm his employees.

7) Disparage. Say it, spell it, know it.

8) Eminem. Dr. Jan discusses her deep love for the tortured poet, Eminem. Betsy counters her love with NRA and Blue Collar Comedy.

9) The Ugly Girls’ Club. The girls tell the story of how they became the Ugly Girls’ Club.

10) Bathroom Cell Phoning. Did you know that 7 out of 10 women admit to cell phoning while in the bathroom?

11) Cameron’s Ringtone. Want to know what the owner of TPN uses for his ringtone on his cell phone? Cameron is it working for you?

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