Monday Miscellany: Back to School and Blogging Edition

Last night my eight-year-old son confessed that he was feeling a wee bit antsy about the start of school. This was a big improvement from last year when I found him quietly but tragically crying in his bed because he couldn't find his stuffed elephant. His elephant was his preferred stuffed comfort. It was usually the only thing he packed to spend the night at grandma and poppa's. We hadn't seen him for a while. As I helped him search his room, I had painful flashback: it was the great group ralph of '08 at the Chintzibob vomitorium; feverish, I had been holding a stuffed elephant, soaked to the plush grey ears with thrown-up something. There were chunks. The flashback was over. What had I done with my boy's floppy-eared friend? My only guess is that he was thrown in the rubbish bin. He has not returned, and the boy has not brought him up again.


This morning the boy awoke with full-scale chicken pox. So much for the first week of school.


The twin boys soon turn three. M is conscientious, helpful, and a budding Dr. Doolittle. Our little home has been plagued by ants for years. We have slowly become used to them. I realized that it has, perhaps, gone a bit too far when M started catching them, keeping them, and feeding them raisins. He has named the spider outside his window "John."


One night, after I had put the twins to bed, I heard M crying for me. We have reversed the locks so that we can lock them in when necessary. He likes to counter this strategy by putting his lips under the door and shouting at the top of his lungs to get our attention. He was doing this. I went upstairs to see what the problem was. I heard him as I rounded the corner, "Daddy, door not locked, I can get out!" The little guy was concerned that he was going to be tempted beyond what he could bear. There is a spiritual lesson there somewhere.


Our summer was a quiet and restful one. I took a lot of photo hikes. I took the kids to the Tellus museum (4.5 of 5 stars), the park several times, and Amicalola Falls. The daddy long legs were spawning at Amicalola and at times the forest floor seemed to be no more than a carpet of fast-moving feet. The eldest and I went with Poppa to a Rome Braves game (also 4.5 of 5 stars). The Braves lost. There were other things. It is all a blur now. I took a group of students on a retreat. We rafted down the Ocoee. I didn't die.


I have one the easiest teaching schedules this year that I have ever had. For the first semester I will be teaching only four classes and will only have two preps. Granted, planning Homecoming is like another class. We are leaning towards a Sixties theme.


I was working on some assignments for my AP US history class while subconsciously pondering current events. I try to keep politics from this blog so if you don't want any politics, skip what comes next and look at the cut picture at the bottom. Really, I don't want to offend you so stop now. So Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer wrote an editorial in which they claim that the recent boisterousness at Congressional town hall meetings, "are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views--but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American." While I am quite aware that the House prides itself on being the arbiter on all things un-American (see HUAC), I am afraid that the two esteemed house members are ill-informed about the roots of American protest. They cite, "GASP", that someone has even made an effigy of a Congressman! One doesn't have to be much of student of the American Revolution to know that shouting, yelling, vigorous yodeling, effigies, bonfires, involuntary rail-riding, burning of stamps, soaking of tea, tarring, feathering, tarring and feathering, name-calling, lettering writing, wig-wearing, and wig-throwing were all part of the patriot protest toolbox put together by the founding fathers. The founding fathers of the United States of America! If anything, the old, well-heeled codgers yelling at the Congressmen are unAmerican in their boisterous civility. If they want to protest in a more truly American way, then they are going to have to begin scrounging the egg case and produce aisle for a few choice items past their time and begin kindling some controlled releases of carbon. UPDATE: I used the term "founding fathers with a rather broad definition. With the exception of Sam Adams, most of the be-wigged and capitalized class of Founding Fathers were a bit suspicious of the rabble/mob and tended to disparage their more boisterous demonstrations (like the Boston Tea Party), but I doubt many of them would have called a good effigy burning, "Un-American" nor "un-English."

In a New York court in 1733, Andrew Hamilton successfully defended John Peter Zenger from the charges of seditious libel. The case is credited with establishing a freedom of the press in colonies that was not enjoyed in the home countries. Here is the quote I wanted to share with you: "Men who injure and oppress the people under their administration provoke them to cry out and complain, and then make that very complaint the foundation for new oppressions and prosecutions" (quoted in Diane Ravitch The American Reader). I suppose it wouldn't bother me so much if I thought that real debate is desired, but it is clear that the current government wants us all to shut up and take our government issued medicine. They promise that it is good for us.

At the park:


Peace
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Monday Miscellany

I am sure I am not the first parent to experience this but...while I was driving my six-year-old daughter to dance last week, I took a moment to lecture her on the importance of behaving properly while in public. She listened intently and affirmed, "That is right. We should behave that way in Publix or Kroger or Target or any store."

When my wife told me that one of the twins fell asleep standing up, I thought she was exaggerating and could not visualize the possibility. I skeptically shuffled up the stairs with my camera and stood agog and took the following pictures:

The boys are getting closer and closer to each other. The curly-headed hobbit boy fell asleep in my lap on Easter. His first words on waking up were, "Where's Lala [his word for his brother]?" I said, "Outside." He replied without hesitation, "Outside, too" and jumped off of my lap. I like how this photo suggests that they fell asleep while looking at each other.

The blond-headed Nordic boy did, in fact, say, "Knees hurt" as soon as he woke up. You can see why.

Peace

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Cheese!

The eldest twin loves the new camera almost as much as I do. As soon as he sees it in someone's hands, he makes a rush for the shiny lens while squealing, "Cheese!" This has made for more than a few fun shots. Here he is saying "Cheese!"



Typically I am careful to put the camera down out of the reach of little hands, but I had just taken a few shots when my eldest son needed some homework help so I put the camera on the coffee table, confident that I would be right back to it. Minutes later I heard the eldest twin's sweet little voice calling out, "Cheese!" I was sure that I would turn around to the sight of my camera dragging along the floor with high priced pieces trailing behind it. Instead, my boy was busy composing a still life using my camera and his most priced possession, his cup. If he had known how to take off the lens cap, turn on the camera, and push the button, this is the shot he would have taken:


I took the shot for him and showed him the results. He was immensely proud of himself.



Here is a free shot of the twins. The writing on the wall is the product of the eldest twin; whenever he finds a pencil or crayon, he can be counted upon to sneak off and color something. The younger twin (the big one on the right) always brings me crayons and pencils when he finds them so that I can put them away.




Peace
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Mid-Week Miscellany: I Couldn't Give That

I teach at a school that attracts a predominantly white, upper-middle class student body. The school has, however, become a bit of a magnet for new Korean immigrants. I teach several of our Korean students, and their efforts to learn American English while trying to fit into a homogeneous and harsh social order has been alternately heart-breaking and humorous to observe. I try to help when I can and one of them in particular comes to me often with questions about the meaning of words and phrases. I have assured him that his eagerness to learn and willingness to ask questions will take him far. The other day he came up to me while I stood in a small crowd of students and asked, "Mr. Chintzibobs, sir, what does it mean to say 'I couldn't give a sh*t'?" It was, as they say, a teachable moment. It turns out he overheard it while listening to a group of teenage girls talking about some guy. I gave him a quick lesson on impolite words and advised him to avoid the gossip of teenage girls if he hoped to learn proper English and if he valued his sanity.


I also have a German foreign exchange student in my US history class. Should I be worried that it might be awkward to teach World War II with her in the room? Maybe I should just leave my Dr. Strangelove impression at home this year.


I don't think I ever updated my many readers concerning homecoming. The students selected as their theme:
A Night at the Oasis: Spend an exotic evening under the stars at a Bedouin campsite; warm yourself by the fire, relax in a Bedouin tent, or whirl like a dervish on the dance floor.

We spent countless hours and $4,800 on what turned out to be the best Bedouin themed homecoming ever! Here are some pictures. You can see many more over at my Flickr page.

We built four 10' x 10' tents out of 2x4's painted a lovely shade named, "cranberry zing."



The roofs were covered with gossamer purchased from Stumps.com.



Because we only expected about 200 guests, we created a small, cozy rectangle in the middle of the gym to create a more intimate space. The rectangle was created with black polyvinyl (again from Stumps.com) stapled to wooden uprights anchored in five gallon buckets filled with concrete. We then placed one tent in each corner.



A dramatic lighted entryway led from an exterior door to the center:


Each tent was decorated with unique imported Indian fabrics (purchased through E-bay), pillows (made from cloth napkins, table runners, and placemats that my wife found for a song), plants from Old Time Pottery, and rugs from Garden Ridge.



Each tent was also equipped with a faux fire (a Chauvet Bob purchased through Amazon.com).


From one tent to another:


Most of the pictures were taken with the lights on; the effect was much warmer when the gym lights went down. The black polyvinyl, which has the appearance in the full light of a massive trash bag day tends to transform into a black void when the lights go off. The night ended up a great success.

Peace
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First Picture With My New Camera

Peace
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