Disclaimer: I’m a fan of media. When I finish writing this, I’m heading to watch a couple episodes of Buffy. I own an impressive collection of dvd’s and cd’s–although not as good as my daughter’s. I raised her right, I think. I have oodles and oodles of music on my Amazon cloud, which has some but not all of the
Read moreThe story By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benet shows a civilization that has been decimated by “eating knowledge too fast,” as John the Son of a Priest says as he explores the ruins of modern day New York City. John observes that there must be a balance between wisdom and knowledge or a civilization isn’t safe. I
Read moreWhen I was pregnant for my first child, my family and friends were somewhat…well,….concerned. I showed no knack for nuturing. In fact, to be blunt, death seemed to follow in my wake. Put me in charge of nuturing, and—wilting leaves, yellowing stems, brown petals. Plants committed suicide while left in my care. Seriously–I talked to them, played Mozart, watered them (or
Read moreYears ago, when I was a much younger teacher, I had a conversation with my Grandma Flo that I still mull over sometimes as I do lesson plans. Grandma knew I was an English teacher, but she was curious exactly what I did. She assumed meant I taught grammar and punctuation, “things that would help kids get a good job,”
Read moreI miss Sparkle and Twinkle. Years ago–well, not really that long ago, seeing that time is relative–I told my daughter stories about Sparkle and Twinkle, twin elves who lived in Santa’s house at the North Pole. It sounds so simple when I say it that way, but we had a mythos equal to Tolkien’s Middle Earth before Sparkle and Twinkle
Read moreWhen I was little, I wore shorts and sleeveless tops and played outside a good share of the day, screen door slamming behind me as I hustled out the back door. No worry about sunscreen, no discussion about how hot and sweaty I might get–it’s summer. If I got hot, it was expected–it was summer, after all. And I could
Read moreWhy do I write? Or, more precisely, why do I careen my thoughts across cyberspace (albeit, irregularly)? I’ve been pondering that lately, although I should admit that mulling over meaningless quasi-philosophic questions is one of my most effective ways to procrastinate from grading. A while back, I decided my blogging and other forms of inflicting my ramblings on people was
Read moreI don’t like country music. I’ve said that till it sounds like the refrain of a classic. There’s something about it that just……I cringe. However, I looked at my iTunes downloads today and realized that my last 10 purchases have been country: LeeAnn Womack’s “Last Call,” Trace Adkins’ something about memory, three John Corbett songs, a Kenny Chesney–I don’t even
Read moreTopic du jour: Playing. I don’t remember which conversations triggered this, but I realized a couple days ago that I don’t play well. Not that I don’t play well with others, although that could be a totally different topic worth considering. Just that I’m not good at playing in the “being playful” sense of the word. I haven’t researched this
Read moreI feel honored to be chosen as the representative from the MI staff to get the privilege of addressing the students, parents, and guests here tonight. I’ve written about five totally different speeches for this, mainly because as I’d begin writing, I’d realize that there was something even more important I wanted to share. It would be appropriate to pat
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The Wave Returns 