Using books to reach out to "at risk" boys

From an article in today's paper: Dwayne Betts was arrested at age 16 for a carjacking, was tried as an adult, and was sentenced to prison. He was released in March 2005, and has since founded the YoungMenRead book club in suburban Maryland. His goal is to encourage teenage black boys to read and to be a mentor. He want them to avoid the mistakes he's made in his life. Hopefully he will succeed.

[from The Washington Post]

First impressions of Acapulco

( The first day of our week in Acapulco )

The Ritz Acapulco Hotel del Playa

The view from the lobby of our hotel
Originally uploaded by ResQgeek.

The lobby at the Ritz was an open air foyer, and this was the view looking out toward the beach and the bay. The pool was very warm, almost bath temperature, but the coconut palms provided pleasant shade near the pool area. The hotel had a private stretch of beach, with security to keep the vendors from harassing the hotel guests. To the right, just out of the frame is the pool bar, and to the left is the buffet restaurant, snack bar, disco and disco bar, all of which were included in our package.