I've railed against EVERYTHING government here for quite some time....you all know that.

I was ranting last night with my sister, who is a CRAZY LIBERAL, and she reminded me of something that makes me WHO I AM professionally....

Yea, it was a government program.........I will explain.

When I was in high school, I was a really, REALLY hard to deal with. I mean a problem child. Failed classes, didn't apply myself, etc, etc. The summer before my junior year, that all changed. I was accepted into a program called Upward Bound. That program was for kids who were smart (PSAT and SAT scores off the charts smart), but hated school. That was right up my alley.

For 2 summers, I attended Ball State University, stayed in the dorms, took prep classes and some college classes, and basically LEARNED to LIKE school.

This was all paid for by the taxpayers.

Not only that, but I also got PAID to go in the summers. I received 300 bucks each summer. In the fall, at least 2 Saturdays and 1 day every week I also attended these prep classes. I was required to make 1 weekly and at least 2 monthly Saturdays. If I made these classes, I was PAID 50 bucks.....so I MADE the CLASSES.

That first summer and first fall turned my educational life around. I went from a C/D/F student to a 4.0 student, and nearly graduated with honors from high school. It was also during this Upward Bound program that I started to learn REAL programming. I learned DCL (digital control language), REXX, and Fortran 77. THIS was the stuff that turned me into a learning sponge....I wanted to learn it ALL.

I received a music performance scholly to Indiana University, and the rest is history. I didn't pursue music, but the opportunities those two summers made the difference in my life.

I'm probably NOT going to change the way I think too much about stuff, but I might a little .

I'm glad my sister hammered me on this, because NOT all programs are a waste of money.

Later,

Geo