JCO BLOG

Now that the newspaper headlines are over... now that there's been a couple BigWig visits to campus... now that a few kids have been transferred to Mart, a few meetings called, and numerous other staff have up and quit -- NOW WHAT?  What does the future hold?



Too early to tell, most likely.  From what I've been led to understand, not much has really changed on campus... nothing that really COUNTS, anyhow.  Sure, there's been a push to get polo shirt uniforms for staff, but I'll betcha if they ...

Gotta admit it, things have been tough for TJJD lately -- what with making headlines in the Austin American Statesman newspaper THREE days in a row, and now, the kids escaping from Turman House... what's next?



If anything, it seems likely there will be MORE dirty laundry hanging out to dry -- the politicians are about ready to blow a gasket and will do whatever necessary to divert attention from their own culpability in what's been happening at GSS... of course.  But they've known what the sco...

It's looking like it MIGHT be the Beginning of the End for TJJD as we know it.  MAYBE.  Time will tell.



There's some rumblings going on... people are speaking up... the truth is coming out, and the reality of the situation is NOT looking good.  What IS good is that whatever the end result may be, it almost HAS to be better for the kids AND those who currently work at GSS.  HOW could things be WORSE?



Well... I know... they COULD be worse, but think about it -- is a half a loaf better than none, ...

Now that I'm self-employed, making do with what we have around the house is even more important than ever.  When the back wheels of my lawmower gave out, I had to come up with some replacements... so took the front wheels off Grandma's old wheelchair and slapped them on the mower.  Even though the rear wheels are no longer adjustable for height, the lawmower is back in operation and all is well. 



R.I.P. GRANDMA -- WE MISS YA.  It wasn't until she had passed on that we were able to go fulltime...

May be what you ASKED FOR, but all you got was




Put that data through a GSS computer (or, an employee's mind) and you could end up with



Which leads to



AND



YOU-KNOW-WHAT.

I SAY it's time to get GSS geared up to the Real World...not only in regards to their computers but also with the way information is dealt with between staff/staff, facilty to the media, line workers to supervisors and everyone to the youth.

Left unchecked, the antique computer system on campus will eventually go



and when it does, t...

Say a kid is scheduled to get released at noon in the middle of the month.  That morning, in the med line, chances are he may be given a number of psychoactively mind-and-mood altering medications... Ritalin, Seroquel, etc etc.  He'll be watched closely by a staff, made to show the pill(s) on the tongue, swallow them, get another drink of water, gargle, do a finger wave, and cough before he can proceed to breakfast... right?



He goes back to the dorm, maybe zonks out for a few hours, then leave...

I have to admit: being labeled a TYC "troublemaker" by an ex-co-worker on another website gave me a real WARM feeling.  Sure, I understand -- well, I THINK I understand -- what the person meant, but let's take a closer look at what that (perhaps) disdainful moniker may imply.



First off -- let's define what a "troublemaker" actually is, namely,  "A person who habitually causes difficulty or problems, esp. by inciting others to defy those in authority."

OK, I'll accept that... pretty much.  For t...

Life is good. 

Instead of making a living spending my time 5 days a week (or more) sitting in a dark doorway from 10PM-6AM (or longer) and listening to kids fart and snore, I now sit next to a tattoo-equipment-covered picnic table from 10AM-5PM on weekends and watch people walk by at flea markets in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.  Some stop and look at what's offered for sale, others just want to talk and show off their ink.  Some buy full kits, needles, ink, or some other type of esoteric...