I Love You Cathy Williams, VP of Marketing

The dreams of our youth are awful but elusive beasts. They stalk our days and lead us to the aspirations of heroes and the actions of fools. Many of the dreams are cast aside in the maturity of reality. Some dreams take a long time to come true. Some never do. Some come true even though we do not realize it at the time. Some come true with such a sudden unexpectedness as to leave us mute with joy. Two weeks ago today, one of my childhood dreams came true.

The seniors had just completed a long, rainy day at Disney capped off with a sub-par meal at the Rainforest Cafe. Our leader informed us that we would be heading off to Epcot to see the end of day show and then we would bus over to Downtown Disney. I inwardly groaned at the thought of going to Downtown Disney as it sounded like Disney World without the rides and shows (which leaves nothing but themed stores and themed food).

It took two standing-room only buses and over an hour to get from Epcot to Downtown Disney. After a full day of perusing Disney merchandise, I was feeling the lowest I had felt during the week in Florida. I was downright sullen and ready for bed. Then I overheard someone say, "Lego Store." My interest perked up a bit but I had been to a Lego outlet store and it was nothing to blog about.

I wearily pushed my body in the general direction of the Lego store, past the Disney Art Gallery, past the Disney Plush store, past the Disney pin kiosk, past the Disney sports store, and past the Disney princess beauty shop. Across the water I saw the large white letters on a red field. Light was spilling out of the store like the light at the end of a cold, dark Disney cave. A massive Lego sea creature rose from the bay, and I stumbled into the store, blinking and stunned in the bright, plastic light.

Various displays of building brilliance were scattered about the entrance. Including this airport. As you can see there has been an accident and emergency crews have responded.





The details of each display were whimsical and creative. In another part of the airport, Yoda is having his bags searched by airport security. Look closer and you can see the tragic cause of the accident.



Behind the counter is a massive wall of mini-figs.



A large Lego monkey transverses the wall with a magnifying glass to provide a close up view. In another part of the store you can make your own mini-fig (three for $9.99). You get to chose a pair of pants, a shirt, a head, a hat, and an implement for each.



But none of this was the culmination of my childhood dream. The back corner of the store held that delight. It was this that almost made me late for the bus back to the resort:



What is the big deal, you ask?

When I was a child, Lego was my favorite toy. A list of Lego sets was on every birthday and Christmas list from the time I got my first set when I was about seven until I was, well let's just say, a much older individual. My best friend and I constructed a massive Lego city in his basement and treated each Lego brick as a precious stone. We created our own Lego nomenclature and mini-economy.

Both of us thought that it would make building much easier if bricks were available by the piece and, perhaps, available through the mail. So we took turns writing the company about our concerns. No, our dreams. Cathy Williams, the VP of Marketing of the Lego Group, was always kind enough to write us back, thanking us for our interest and informing us that, sadly, Lego bricks were not available by the piece or through the mail, but here is a new catalog that I am sure you will enjoy looking at.

I think I carried a torch for Cathy for a few years. I hoped to marry her and work in the product development division and meet her in the company dining hall for a long lunch over which I would talk her into selling Lego by the piece. I know that I frequently had vivid and wonderful dreams of entering a toy store and seeing bins of Lego bricks sorted by size and color and available for five or ten cents each.

And there they were:



Dozens of bins filled with plastic wonder. Available by the piece. The only difference was that you could buy as many pieces as you could fit into a plastic canister for only $12.95. Cathy had heard our voices. My dream was fulfilled. Thank you, Cathy.


Peace

btw: I left the store having spent less than thirty dollars, and my son was thrilled to add to his collection. Also, I have heard that there is a Lego Store at the Mall of Georgia. That is probably much too close to me.

Update: I looked it up. There is a Lego outlet at Discover Mills in Lawrenceville, GA, and it has a pick-a-brick area!

Memorial Day

Over the past several years, Georgia's school calendars have shifted so that students go to school in early to mid-August and get out for the summer before Memorial day. Sadly, this has taken one of the most important national holidays, Memorial Day, and left it unremembered in a school setting. All across Georgia students are blessed with St. Patrick's Day or Valentine's Day parties, bulletin boards, and special lesson plans. Those who have fallen are left forgotten.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on a five-year effort by the Bush administration to restore the "Memorial" to Memorial Day. The plan is to get everybody in the country to put down their beer, stop their shopping, and step away from the grill for a thirty-second moment of silence at 3:00pm. The plan to create a national moment of remembrance has not gone well. The presidential commission working on it can be found at www.remember.gov.

For a beautiful tribute to a fallen soldier, I would refer you to a very real Ernie Pyle column, "The Death of Captain Waskow." It can be found here. A brief excerpt:

AT THE FRONT LINES IN ITALY, January 10, 1944 - In this war I have known a lot of officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Capt. Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas.

Capt. Waskow was a company commander in the 36th Division. He had led his company since long before it left the States. He was very young, only in his middle twenties, but he carried in him a sincerity and gentleness that made people want to be guided by him.

"After my own father, he came next," a sergeant told me.

"He always looked after us," a soldier said. "He'd go to bat for us every time."

"I've never knowed him to do anything unfair," another one said.

I was at the foot of the mule trail the night they brought Capt. Waskow's body down. The moon was nearly full at the time, and you could see far up the trail, and even part way across the valley below. Soldiers made shadows in the moonlight as they walked.

Dead men had been coming down the mountain all evening, lashed onto the backs of mules. They came lying belly-down across the wooden pack-saddles, their heads hanging down on the left side of the mule, their stiffened legs sticking out awkwardly from the other side, bobbing up and down as the mule walked.

I encourage you to read the rest.

I leave you with my "most viewed" picture at my Flickr account. I took it this past Spring while I was visiting family in south Georgia. The picture is of my son kneeling in front of a memorial at Georgia Veterans State Park. The stone above the water is inscribed, "In honor of those who have served." While the picture is unposed, my son was not in fact overcome with patriotic zeal; he just wanted to look at the water. That being said, I think the picture communicates the idea of Memorial Day.




Peace

Disney Daze

My Disney Experience

Monday afternoon/evening:
MGM
Rode Tower of Terror (did not like), Rocking Roller Coaster (an entire ride devoted to Aerosmith?!), Star Wars (fun little simulation). Best end of day show of the three I saw (an entire lake on fire!).

Tuesday morning/afternoon:
Animal Kingdom
Rode Everest (beware the Yeti), went on safari twice (like a zoo but during rush hour), rode something with dinosaurs (a bruising ride). The day was rainy and Everest kept breaking down.

Dinner at Rain Forest Cafe (interesting ambience if you don't mind howler monkeys howling at you every few minutes)

Tuesday evening:
Epcot
Rode Test Drive
Saw end of day show (least favorite of them all)
Downtown Disney
Saw my first ever Lego store (more later)

Wednesday morning/afternoon
Magic Kingdom
Rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain

Wednesday afternoon
Epcot
Rode Misson Space (the ride that two people died after riding on), Test Drive, Maelstrom (a Viking adventure) and Soarin' (way, way too short for such a great simulation)

Wednesday evening
Magic Kingdom
Rode Thunder Mountain
Watched end of day show (Tinkerbell zip lining down from the top of the castle is pretty cool) Has anyone noticed that Tinkerbell has become quite popular as a fashion accessory and that she is beginning to vamp it up a bit?

An exhausting and fun experience. By the end of the three days I was ready to see a genuine rock and a naturally running stream. I am proud to say that only two rides had to be stopped because of the behavior of our students. This was only my third trip to Disney (MGM and Animal Kingdom have opened since the last time I was there) and I look forward to taking my family there one day (even if the entire place is a massive store...really there is a store at the end of every ride/attraction and everywhere in between...and I may have to mortgage the house).

We stayed in the All Star Movies resort, a genuine Disney resort. We were in Mighty Ducks. My guess is that it is the cheapest of the Disney resorts. Despite that, it is well-maintained, has a nice pool, and is conveniently located next to a Disney store.

What is your favorite ride/attraction/part of Disney? Feel free to comment below.

The Mysterious Ways of Hamilton County, FL

Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying the senior class on their senior trip. We went to Disney and Cocoa Beach. There is so much to tell that I shall probably fail to tell much of it. I will start the story in reverse.

The plan was to return to Atlanta from Cocoa Beach on Saturday morning, as Baccalaureate was to be early Sunday afternoon. We left, promptly and exhausted, at 8 am from the resort with high hopes of being home by late afternoon. We stopped for yet another fast food lunch in Gainesville. I wistfully shared my hope with my tablemates for some home cooking. We left lunch and told ourselves that maybe we could make it back without another stop.

Sometime after lunch I noticed the driver get on his phone as the bus began to lose speed. Suddenly, he pulled over and stopped the bus. It was overheating. We unloaded the bus into a small clearing at the bottom of the embankment and began to try to figure out what to do.

We were stranded there for a while. Some students threw a football, some played cards, and the rest stood around and tried not to complain. Eventually, our bus driver informed us that he had called 911. The 911 dispatcher had put him into contact with the county sheriff. The county sheriff happened to be at a community emancipation day celebration at a local school facility. The county commission and the county school administration hosted the celebration. The county promptly promised to take care of us and sent out a bus.

After a bit of driving around and plan changes, the bus took us to the community celebration. We met all of the county leadership. A team of sheriffs went out to our dead bus to retrieve the rest of our luggage. The school cafeteria, which was trying to figure out what to do with all of the leftover food, fed us a wonderful second lunch of excellent barbecue chicken, some kind of southern rice dish (it was white rice with heavy doses of pepper and hard-boiled egg yolk), collard greens, and shortcake. I got my home cooking. Our boys and girls (all white) played some pick-up games of basketball with the local kids (all black). We hung out in a small courtyard shaded by a large oak draped with Spanish moss. When our new bus proved to be several hours a way, we sent a group to the store to get a few snacks and drinks. The county picked up the tab for us.

If nothing else had an impact on our students on this trip, I hope our brief sojourn (six to seven hours) in Hamilton County will be remembered by them. Our group of affluent, white kids who had been spoiled on a six day vacation, was taken in and shown love and true southern hospitality by a small, poor community that most of our group would probably never willingly spend time in. I felt more welcome and taken care of by the people of Hamilton County than I had by anyone at Disney or the resort. They did it all for free and with no thought of reward for themselves. The entire episode still seems slightly unreal. This is the second time in a short period that I have been the recipient of an unexpected kindness. It is good to see such people still at work in the world.

When we first arrived at the celebration, one of the county commissioners greeted us with a big grin, a hearty handshake, and the comment, "the Lord works in mysterious ways." Indeed.




Peace

Home

I have returned. Our bus broke down in Hamilton County, Florida so I didn't get in until after 1 am (we had left Cocoa beach at 8am). It was a great trip. I will post more later. Four Disney parks in three days and two days at the beach has left me spent. It was a good trip.

Here we are being rescued by the good people of Hamilton County, Florida.












Peace

Cocoa Beach

Splitcat is on his way to Cocoa Beach this morning. He called right before they were leaving. I was getting a little worried since I had not heard from him since Monday night. But he still sounds like he is having a great time. He's been to Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom in the past two days. This is one of those times I wish we had a cell phone. We've been doing okay around here. I came down with a cold yesterday. And had an unpleasant episode of morning sickness on Tues. P. got to spend the night with his grandparents and his Poppa took him to the "Newquarium." His favorite thing was the whale sharks. And the ice cream. E. got to spend the night with her cousin. It's pretty funny when three yr olds concoct a slumber party totally on their own. They got to have their nails painted and other girlie fun. I didn't blame her for not wanting to come back home. I spent the night with my parents that night and was able to just relax. But now I have to try to get somethings done around here. The laundry is starting to back up again. And my children have way too many toys. P.'s graduation is tonight. It should be fun. I can't believe how big he has gotten. I am very proud of him for all his accomplishments this year. I am glad I made the right decision to send him to school. It has helped him tremendously.

Disney World

Splitcat asked me to update his blog. He called from Disney/MGM. He sounded quite giddy. He rode the Tower of Terror and something else I can't remember. Apparently it was something to be proud of. He sounded like he was having a good time.--fiorinda

Windfall Windstar

It is finally beginning to sink in. My students bought me a van. I have been in a state of shock since Thursday morning. It is truly humbling to receive of gift of such caliber. Surely, one thinks, I don't deserve such a boon. There are so many other fine teachers who are just as worthy if not more so. Yet there it is. In my driveway.



Here is how it went down:

Sometimes, when I begin to think that I am more perceptive than I really am, something happens to reveal how truly blind I can be. On Wednesday night my wife told me that her mother had called and asked her if she wanted to have an adventure on Thursday morning. I replied, "What, is someone going to give you a minivan?" We both laughed at the joke as we both thought the same thing, "No. Well maybe." The fact that it was the first thing that I thought of reveals how much our need for family transportation was weighing on me.

My mother-in-law's instructions to my wife were cryptic. My wife was to dress nicely, eat breakfast, and meet her at a store near my school. The "adventure" would only last an hour. My wife was excited about it, and I warned her against having unrealistic hopes. I told her to call me when she was done.

The next day was a special chapel at my school. My school's SGA gives out teacher character awards. A student recognizes each teacherwith a short speech explaining how a particular teacher exemplifies a character trait. The chapel is held in the gym and is usually an interesting exercise in hoping that one is not recognized with "orderliness" or "responsibility" while other teachers are awarded with "love", "wisdom", or "courage".

I came a little late to the gym, having completely forgotten that my wife was supposed to have met her mother only a block minutes earlier. I was befuddled to see them with my wife's sister standing at the back of the gym. One of the SGA officers rushed over to me to explain that they thought it would be nice if they could be there today. I don't remember my reply, but I was so confused that I might have said, "Okay."

We sat together as the ceremony proceeded. None of the other teachers had family members present. What was going on? I started running down possibilities. Maybe someone put me up for the Legacy award, our school's highest award. Maybe they were going to give a big basket of goodies for the babies. Teacher after teacher was awarded with something. I got a very nice little speech and "respect". It was very nice but no reason to bring out family. I began mentally ticking down all of our teachers. If something special was coming, it was probably coming at the end.

At last the end came. A couple of senior SGA officers went to the front and called all of the seniors down to the front. They were going to present their senior gift. The senior gift is traditionally a gift given by the senior to the school community. Past senior classes have given things like picnic tables, a flagpole, a sword in a presentation case for the lobby, and DVD players for every department. They called me and my wife to the stage. My wife noticed that a burgundy Windstar was now parked on the sidewalk directly outside the gym doors. I did not. The SGA officers said something about me, I don't remember what. They handed me an envelope. It was strangely bulky. I opened it. It was a set of keys. They said the keys were for a minivan for me. I gave a short speech. It consisted primarily of me repeating, "Wow, thanks, I don't know what to say" in various combinations and orders. I think someone cried.

We went out to the van. The van was filled with 1674 diapers, 1133 wipes, baby clothes, and gift cards provided by the underclassmen. The seniors were also thoughtful enough to provide $500.00 in gas cards. Over two hundred people that I see everyday knew and never let on a hint.

I still don't really know what to say. I didn't see it coming. The need for a minivan had been weighing so heavily on me that I was having real trouble anticipating the twin's arrival with joy. Now I cannot wait for them to arrive. It is a beautiful gift. I shall never forget it. It is a real Dead Poets' Society/Mr. Holland's Opus kind of moment for me. One I surely do not deserve.

On Monday I get to go to Disney World and Coco Beach as a chaperone for the senior trip. They are getting away with whatever they want.

Peace

Whaaat?

My seniors just gave me a minivan. The underclassmen filled it with baby things.

Wow.

More later...I can't see to type.


Peace

Update:
Wow.

Update:
Wow.

Monday Miscellany

On Friday I gave my students a survey to give me their input about the class. One of the questions was, "What is the most important thing that you have learned in this class?" One student responded with: "I have learned to wright better." Another answered, "How to shoot roll up pieces of paper in a trashcan." You see we have a review game called trashketball...oh never mind.

Last night I was working on the computer when my five year old boy approaches with ideas for Lego models to make at Christmas. I said that they were all great ideas, but why did he have to wait to Christmas; why not make them now? He replied, "Remember, Christmas is when we celebrate Lego." I suppose this is the price of yearly Lego set 4924:

Next week I get to go with the seniors for a six day trip to Disney so I really only have this week of class to teach.
Peace

Plagiarism: Guilty as Charged

There have been a lot of stories lately concerning the plagiaristic misconduct of authors and journalists. Plagiarism is so easy now that very few students will make it through sixteen years of schooling without committing the one deadly sin of academics. Schools have still to catch up with the revolutionary technological changes that make stealing a paper infinitely easier than writing one.

Since beginning my blog, I have often found myself wondering, "Did I just make that up, or have I heard it somewhere?" There is a part of me that is firmly of the belief that anything clever or funny that passes through my head must be something that I have heard before. Maybe. For example, I have become 99.9% positive that a joke I posted a couple of months ago about saying, "We're in" whenever I log onto my computer must have come from another source. I am sure that my reference to finding hay in a needlestack in my last post has been made somewhere else. Maybe? Probably?

In one of my posts about United 93, I connected Shanksville with Gettsyburg. I am fairly certain I am not the first one to make that connection.

I just read too many things to know if I am being clever or merely stealing some else's cleverness. What if, after I publish the sixth book of my seven part series in my Mary Blotter series of How-to-be a Witch and Influence People tomes (jk) and Universal has just purchased the film rights for seven figures, someone goes back and discovers I have an unattributed "Beans, beans, good for your heart" joke? I could be brought down in an instant.

To save myself from that eventuality, I make this universal disclaimer: None of the work posted in the The Ohoopee Letter News or the Ohoopee Online, nor anything I have ever written, said, or thought, are my own words, thoughts, or ideas. They are someone else's.

There. That takes care of that. I feel as free as a bird, now.

Hasta la vista, baby.

Peace

Some United 93 Links

In case you are interested, here are some more links concerning United 93. I am trying to figure out how I can use this next year in my classes. I sense a project coming.


Salon: Stephanie Zacharek: United 93
NRO: Peter Suderman: Here's Why
NRO: Alston B. Ramsay: An Extraordinary Flight
NRO: Rich Lowry: 9/11 Unvarnished
NRO: Louis Wittig: United 93 Lands in New York
Metacritic: provides list of links to reviews
MSNBC: A Dark Day Revisted
Slate: Ron Rosenbaum: Hijacking the Hijacking
Slate: Dana Stevens: United We Fall
New York Press: Matt Zoller Seitz Welcome to the 9/11 Show
New York Times: Manohla Dargis: Defiance Under Fire
CNN: Todd Leopold: The Mysteries of United 93
CNN: Lisa Schwarzbaum: Brilliant, Tough, United 93
WSJ: Opinion Journal: Hollywood goes to War

There are many, many more. I found a number of these links through the Suderman piece on NRO. Let me know if any of you come across any other good treatments of the subject.

My own struggle with the question of whether it is too soon for such a movie were put conclusively to rest yesterday when I discussed the movie with some of my classes. I will tell you why in the next exciting edition of TOLN.

Peace