Miscellaneous Missives

Wow!  It seems I haven't posted anything in February even though I did a decent job in January.  Typically, February seems to go on forever, but this year it's actually cruised by.  1) The Rams lost the Superbowl in February... enough said. 2) I had to get three stitches in February after doing skullcrushers .  It wasn't the exercise but my not thinking at 5am.  The kettlebell I was using was too light, so I attempted to add a dumbbell to the mix... enough said. 3)   Marlon James spoke with Kerri Miller at the Fitzgerald theater, and we were literally front row and center.  He is intelligent and funny.  It was a great night, and I didn't even get kicked out for not being able to sit still in the front row.  4) I received the above Valentine from a student.  It was actually quite sweet.  All week she told me she was writing me a note.  This month I'm reading Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke i...

"Ass biting cold" The white text is difficult to see. I'm not sure if this is about learning and/or rediscovering.  Today is the third day at home due to the cold temperatures.  It's actually warmer today than it was yesterday.  Although I may be alone, I'm glad we had school on Monday.  Tuesday was OK.  I worked out, refigured my school lessons, and read a good book .  Life was good being at home.  I felt accomplished.  Yesterday, I went out and had my taxes done and started reading another good book .  Then, as evening came, I became bored and fidgety.  I called a good friend and talked to people on messenger.  I learned/rediscovered that I don't do well when there's nothing to do.  It was too cold to do anything.  Today I started with working out, changing plans (again), and reading, but I'm learning that it will be brutal spending one more day locked up inside.  Yesterday I learned that I was super bored....

Sometimes it's difficult to find hope.  Lately, I've been doing my best to ignore the news.  The winter brings darkness although it is staying light later.  Students have so many issues that keep them and others from learning, and it's often challenging to find hope.  I have realized, however, that hope is everywhere even in small things like a dark sky if I look close enough to see the clouds reflection.  Earlier this week, I physically held a girl back from going after another student (many thought I should have let her go).  We breathed together, and then, we walked the halls together until she was calm enough to go to the dean's office.  As we walked, we talked about alternatives to fighting and escalating behavior.  She was respectful and calm as we kept walking.  Later in the day, she sent me this email.  Although the writing shows her lack of skill, it was sweet and gave me hope.  I'm sorry what happened to hope you can ...

I've been a Rams fan since their first Superbowl.  I was a young, rebellious youth rooting against my mom's team.  For some crazy reason, I've been a Rams fan ever since.  I still have stuff from when the Rams played in LA before moving to St. Louis as I still have St. Louis stuff.  Yesterday, I wore my new LA Rams socks, drank from my old LA Rams mug, and wore my St. Louis Rams sweatshirt.  It was obviously a successful combination.  The Rams are now playing in the Superbowl. Unfortunately, I did no grading yesterday, so I need to be successful getting grading done today. Plus, I also successfully finished the January Blog Challenge although I'll still try to continue to post. #gorams . #success

One of my Favorite Mary Oliver Lines I've shared Mary Oliver's poems frequently in this space.  Her poems really speak to me.  She writes about nature, interactions, observations, life, love (all the things poems should be about) without it being complicated.  She passed away this past week.  This is a loss for the writing community.  I first learned of Mary Oliver in my church space of the art gallery.  Her poems were often shared before we blessed the space.  They were shared as a way to focus and add peace.  Recently, I read her anthology of poems.  I truly wish there were more to come.  For dog lovers, she even wrote an entire book of dog poems.  Maybe more of her poems will be unearthed as we continue this passage through this crazy world.  RIP Mary Oliver Everything by Mary Oliver I want to make poems that say right out, plainly, what I mean, that don't go looking for the laces of elaboration, puffed sleeve...

I have this young man in my advisory first thing in the morning.  He has grabbed my heart this year even though he frequently misses advisory and, for that matter, also misses a lot of school in general.  His grades falter because of missing school, but he really does care.  Each time I give him extra time, he is thankful although I'll be the first to admit the work doesn't always come in.  Recently, it came up in his writing (journal maybe) that he has family in the Hiawatha Homeless Encampment .  When we discussed interviewing someone for our upcoming culture project, he was at a loss.  I suggested that he talk to a family member in the encampment about their culture.  In this case, I wasn't merely talking about the American Indian Culture of pow wows but a deeper culture caused by decades of being a marginalized people.  Although I didn't use these words with him, this young man is intelligent, and I think he understood.  The encampment...

Not the eagle but an eagle... the Lake of the Isles eagle looked the same. I decided to skip church today to go to Brian's spin class.  It's his first Sunday morning spin class in about a year.  He does Wednesday evenings, and I love his class.  He challenges me, and of course, it always brings joy to me.  Joy, however, is something that needs to be shared.  On my way to spin class, I was driving around the southern tip of Lake of the Isles when I saw a bald eagle in a tree.  I slowed down (making sure no one was behind me) to gawk at the bird.  Two walkers were coming toward me on the path.  I kept waving at them from my car and motioning to the tree.  At first, I think they thought I was crazy until they saw the joy I was trying to share.  Both stopped on the trail and waved back in appreciation.  Joy shared.  As I kept driving on to spin class, I was disappointed that I hadn't stopped to get out of my car and take a ...