...but over a quarter of a century teaching in the windowless monstrosity that is CJSHS took a unrelenting toll, turning long-time employees into mole people. This was kicked up a notch with our own version of black mold and the swifter impact of the gassing that was inflicted upon us in 1999.

To this day, my eyes are super-sensitive to glare, even using the sun visor in the car on cloudy days.

Add to that...

...my 8+ hour days spent staring at the computer screen...

...wandering the Internet highways and alleyways looking for CAT Tracks material, publishing the results, often with catty commentary. (It is no exaggeration when I say that it is common for me to spend an hour or two typing and honing one of my rants and raves.)

Add to this the thousands of games of Freecell that I have played over the past decade or so to take my mind off of various trials and tribulations...

...equally wrought by life and the hell on earth known as Cairo School District Number One.

I digress...

During the past few months, I have been battling a severe case of eye strain, hoping it was a passing nuisance that would eventually pass.

Despite setting my computer screen to "High Contrast"...

...to reduce glare (reverses the screen to black and the print to white)...

...and using eye drops every day...

...the eyes still burn.

So...

It is time for me to stop playing around with the symptoms and attack the root of the problem, waaay too much screen time.

This will not an easy adjustment...

...definitely a major lifestyle change.

As I neared the golden age of retirement, people would ask: "What are you going to do with all of your free time?" My response: "Not a damn thing!"

Not encouraged by that answer, some would persist...

...asking about my hobbies (of which there were none.) I would usually try to avert further inquiry by responding: "Reading." (And, hey, it wasn't a lie. I've have read a helluva lotta books over the past five years...

...not to mention the gazillions of DVDs that I have purchased and watched! (Think I exaggerate? On an outing yesterday, I bought $125 worth, only to arrive home and find Seasons 2 & 3 of The Mentalist sitting in my mailbox.)

One thing for sure...

Not for a second, not for a split second, not for a nanosecond have I become so bored that I yearned for return to the classroom.

However, I will readily admit that there is one "hobby" that I overlooked, that has proven a sanity saver (along with more than a little help from my friends.)

If I had not "lost track of time" whiling away the hours blogging CAT Tracks and creating the website tribute to my wife (along with literally 25,000 games of Freecell), I would have truly lost my mind. (Although, looking at that Freecell number again, methinks I protesteth too much about not losing my mind!)

:-)

Please: "Somebody stop me!"

Just looked at the clock, it's 4 a.m. If I needed further proof of over-doing it...

...I started typing at 2:30 a.m. and I ain't done yet!

So...

I've gotta cut back!

I thought about going "cold turkey", but, knowing me, that's not going to happen.

After this posting, I am going to try to bite my tongue, which, again, is the part where I totally lose track of time, until my eyes (figuratively) bleed. The simple (unadorned) posting of links is not too labor intensive.

So expect more of that...

...well, actually, even less of that!

My immediate plan is to limit my search for CAT Tracks fodder. I get two daily education e-mails - eSchool News & Education World. In addition, I will continue to check out Channels 3 & 12, along with the Southern Illinoisan for local news (such as the closing of the old Cairo to Missouri bridge during daylight hours for a week beginning on March 21st.) However, wider searches are hereby terminated.

If you are a fan of Valerie Strauss and Diane Ravitch, you will find dedicated links to their websites on the CAT Home Page.

So in conclusion...

For the foreseeable future, expect to see less kitty litter in your e-mail box!

I hear some of you wondering:

"What are you going to do for those 8+ hours a day now?"

I've been thinking of taking up painting, something that has been on my "to-do list" since 2004!

Below is my first effort:

I call it Cata Lisa!

For my next painting project...

...in "honor" of my years spent as an employee of Cairo School District Number One, I am leaning toward a felinization of Dante's Inferno.

I have already found a more-than-willing nude model:

Cattitude!

Yes, I jest...

...my painting project is my downstairs bathroom that has called my name since we remodeled our house back in 2004. It's part yellow and part beige (and not neatly or intentionally so.)

My other project is the ceilings in two rooms due to leakage during a delay in the replacing of my roof.

And...

...by the time the painting is done, Spring will have sprung and the grass will groweth.

Lawnmower Man!

So...

...when I get bored with all of my new free time and start thinking about making a trip to the CSD #1 Central Office to apply for the math opening for next year...

...I shall assume the position and take a catnap until I regain my senses!!!

But, then, when my hands start to shake from computer withdrawal, instead of giving into my addiction, I shall gather up the painting supplies or crank up the lawnmower.

Speaking of Cairo School District Number One...

My saving grace may be that the evil that regularly runs rampant seems to be in remission.

If that were not the case, I wouldn't even contemplate a reduction in CATty Commentary and/or Ron's Rants & Raves.

So this is not good-bye...

...I shall simply be visiting less often and saying a lot less.

In conclusion...

...again.

No song for the occasion popped into my mind, but the old history teacher in me did remind me of a purported quote from American Revolutionary hero Nathan Hale (which I freely paraphrase to suit my tale):

"I only regret that I have but two eyes to give for my union."

Oops...

Just looked at the clock again!

It's 5:30 a.m.