It's no secret to my friends and family that I will not watch the Superbowl. I have not ever deliberately watched any sport on television. If I'm at someone's house when a game is on, I'm only peripherally aware of what's going on. Watching sports on TV is boring, and, frankly, I think it's a waste. It's a waste of money and time.
If you ask me why I'm not supporting the Saints (or the Colts, for that matter), I can give you a long list. Most of my friends will say I'm being righteous and making myself out to be better than others. I say, "Bollocks" to that. I think people are judged, rightly or wrongly, on where they put their energies. In this country, I think we put our energies in the wrong place.
We pay millions of dollars each year for entertainment, and, while I think we all need to be entertained, I think we can find better things to spend our money on. Frankly, I haven't seen a sport's figure who deserves the money he/she makes. I think the US president and teachers deserve more money than guys who run down a field, holding a pigskin, or guys who run across a gym, dribbling a basketball. Ditto golf, baseball, soccer, skiing, etc. I think the people who clean up after us deserve more than they make. Our idea of what's valuable in this country is skewed. And I think it says a great deal about us as a people and a country.
And I don't just boycott sports programming; I boycott "reality" shows on TV. Nothing "real" about them. They are vapid and stupid. If people want reality, they can come watch me try to balance my checkbook and stretch my paltry salary to cover the rising costs of everything from groceries to gas for my car. My reality is not pretty, nor does it have a high entertainment factor. I don't want to see someone pitch a fit because the florist didn't sprinkle red roses on the church carpet for her wedding. That's just dumb.
All the people jumping on the Saints' bandwagon anger me. How many of them supported the Saints through all of their losing seasons? How many of them donned fleur-de-lis jerseys every time the Saints played in the past? How many of them will support the Saints next year if they have a losing season? A loyal fan supports his/her team whether it wins or loses.
I would love to see the people in this state expend as much time and energy on providing excellent healthcare and education, providing employment, saving neglected children, ensuring the safety of battered and abused persons, providing shelter and support for the homeless...on anything other than football. What could we do as a state if each of us focused on our problems the way we focus on a winning football team?
What will winning the Superbowl do for us? Well, for New Orleans, it might bring in a few more tourists, until they see that half the city still isn't rebuilt and crime is out of control...I don't know that it's going to help the rest of us much. New Orleans would be better served if the Ninth Ward was restored so the people who used to live there could go back home and if the Corps of Engineers rebuilt the levees to withstand another category 5 hurricane. New Orleans would be better off with more jobs and more reasons for people to return and rebuild. I don't see how the Superbowl is going to do that.
My friends say I'm a killjoy. I prefer to think of myself as a realist, in that I'm not a person who jumps on any frivolous bandwagon that comes along. I prefer to watch the parade and choose my bandwagons carefully. Football isn't one of them.
My desk takes up a small corner of my living room. It is next to a window, which is a good thing and a bad thing. The window provides much needed light for my work, but it also provides as much distraction as a television. The least thing pulls my attention away from what I should be doing.
I have noticed, the past few days, a number of circling vultures above the woods behind my neighbors' and my properties. This morning, I noticed a large contingent of them sitting in the trees in my neighbors' yard.
In the country, such a sight is not that odd. Animals die--cats, dogs, skunks, coyotes--it happens. The vultures are nature's disposals; they take care of the waste.
But, when I see a large group of them so close to home, my imagination starts to work. Come to think of it, I haven't seen my neighbors--either of them--in at least a month. The person who seems to be staying there has stayed at the house before; these neighbors seem to travel a great deal. So he's not a stranger. Yet...
The problem with being a writer is that my imagination tends to take me on these wild journeys through what might be possible. The writer in me says, "Suppose the person staying there has murdered the homeowners? There's that privacy fence they put up. The nosy neighbor could get a stool or ladder and look over the fence in the backyard..." And, thus, the premise for a short story or novel rears its head.
And that's fine. Writers have to get their ideas somewhere. But it's also distracting...I should be working on coursework, and I'm sitting here dreaming up a novel or story. Usually, I just write myself a note for later and go back to what I was doing. But, sometimes, the idea is so compelling that it derails me...and that's not always a good thing!
Yes, it's that time again. A new semester is off and running. Usually, the first week of class is rather wild and unsettled. For the first two weeks, I feel, at times, as though I have an entirely new class every time I show up. Students add and drop for about two weeks. They shop classes. If the class seems to require too much work, students will drop it and search for one that doesn't seem so involved.
I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with dropped students lingering on my Moodle courses. Even after I delete them, they show up again until the administrator runs a purge against the registration records. I checked some of my classes today, and they showed I had many, many more students in my classes than the Compass roster showed. I get so confused!
Normally, the first week has a few glitches to it, but those are easily solved. Today, though, was busy. I had a student in my office almost as soon as I arrived on campus; then I taught two classes; then a former student stopped by to see me, a colleague needed help with a blog, and I helped with an equipment inventory. I didn't stop until I left for the day. I like busy days, but a busy day this early in the semester is unusual. I survived it!
Right now, I just want to veg out with a book, but I probably should check my email, etc. But, no. I think I need to stop for a few minutes and catch my breath, clear my mind.
My classes and students are promising this semester. So far, the students seem enthusiastic and willing to listen/work. Later in the semester, we'll all start to drag! But we'll deal with that when we need to. Right now, I'm excited about the newness of everything. I'll hold on to that feeling as long as I can!
[Note: This is sarcasm, just in case you can't tell!]
Since you are hell-bent on destroying higher education and healthcare in Louisiana, let me offer some suggestions to quicken their demise.
1. Allow only on-line classes at the state's universities, community colleges, and technical schools, which will result in huge savings. Sure, welding classes might suffer, but having only on-line instruction will allow the shutdown of most or all of the physical plants. Just think--no air conditioning, no heat, no lights, except in, perhaps, the one building that will house the computer server and various necessary humans to push the necessary paper for financial aid, etc. Those professors teaching the classes will provide their own offices, computers, Internet, etc. We won't need physical plants to house them or classes for students, and, thus, we won't need support personnel except to maintain one building on campus (see item 2). We can also eliminate the bookstore by having students order their books on line. Departments can have faculty meetings via Yahoo Messenger or Skype, and they'll be using their own resources instead of college phones and facilities. And the state can sell all of the desks, chairs, etc., that we use in on-campus classes, because we won't need them anymore.
2. In the administration of college services:
a. Have only one person in each department to handle all the work for that department--one financial aid person, one PR person, one dean to handle overrides and course problems. You get the idea. Oh, and only one secretary for all of them. Pare the staff down to the most basic and elemental personnel. This shouldn't be a problem, if you implement item b.
b. Raise tuition exorbitantly, making it impossible for most students to afford it or obtain enough financial aid to cover it. Fewer students will apply to college or attend, thereby making item 2a feasible.
3. Keep chipping away at higher education in Louisiana so that more people will leave and fewer businesses will locate here. That will help with healthcare, too, because, if fewer people live here, fewer people will need doctors or hospitals.
I might be willing to have furloughs, etc., if you and the legislature would do likewise. Governor, how about you giving up 5% of your yearly salary and refraining from work on those days? Many of us would appreciate it if you wouldn't work so hard. And I'm sure that wouldn't be a stretch for most legislators, since they don't seem to do much anyway, except tell the rest of us that we have to tighten our belts. How about cutting all the pork out of the budget? How about tapping into the rainy day fund to ensure that our future workforce gets the education it needs to help Louisiana succeed long after you're out of here? How about looking for better ways to attract more revenue? How about some future-thinking, or is that not a priority for you because, in two years, you don't plan to be here to deal with the mess you've left us?
P. S. In the case of science labs, we could consolidate our classes with the LSUHSC here in town. All of our students could go there to dissect animals. This would be win-win; our students would pay to get the hands-on experience science labs require, and the Med School would get unpaid workers to help with research. In the case of anatomy classes, the students could assist with autopsies, which would provide them with first-hand knowledge of the workings of the human body.
Well, aside from spending most of December in Austin...
And just a side note on that--the battery in my car died at my son's bank. As soon as I raised the hood, though, some knight in a clunky old truck pulled up next to us and jump started the car so we could go buy a new battery. I mean it was that fast. We weren't stranded at all...but the new battery put a dent in my finances. At least I didn't have to call a tow truck!
I spent most of the break reading and updating my Moodle courses. I began my reading odyssey with An Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears. I've had this book forever, and, when I went looking for something absorbing, I rediscovered it. Not an awful book. It tells the same story from four points of view. I'd classify it as an historical mystery.
Then my son and I indulged in a Terry Pratchett marathon. I read Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Hogfather, The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic...I don't think I've left anything out. I can't tell you everything he read, but we kept swapping books. My son clued me in to Pratchett, so I'm doing my best to catch up. I've read Good Omens, the book he wrote with Neil Gaiman, and passed that on to my son. So we had fun with that.
When I came home, I started reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I have three more of his books ordered, so I'll work my way through those during the semester. I won't have much time to read as the semester progresses, but I'll have some time during our Easter get-together at Toledo Bend.
I love to read and lament that, while I'm teaching, I don't have time to read much of anything except what I assign for my courses. Still, I amass these huge piles of books for later...later usually comes during the summer or over Christmas. Sigh...And pile on top of that my writing, and most of my "free" time is not so free!
But I'm not complaining! As long as my eyes work, I'll read!
****
The one puzzlement from the Christmas break: I was gone from home for about 16 days. When I came home on Jan. 2, the only mail I received was the "hold mail" card I left with the local post office, two pieces of junk mail, and my water and mortgage bills. Conspicuously missing were my phone, car, and gas bills. I stopped into the post office today to enquire--I kept hoping the PO would deliver the errant mail--and the guy behind the counter couldn't explain it, and he couldn't find any mail for me. He says he'll talk to the carrier, but I wonder if I should just contact the Post Master General and file a complaint--I'm waiting until I hear back from the local PO. I get more than two pieces of junk mail a week, and my creditors ALWAYS send bills. So to receive four pieces of mail for 16 days is odd (or suspicious). More on this as the situation unfolds...
I hope everyone had a great break. I did, except for the mail thing!
Hello from Austin, TX, one of my favorite cities in the US. I'm fond of it, mostly, because my daughter and son live here, so I have ample opportunities to visit. Austin has a great deal to offer the eclectic, artistic, musical person, but us regular folk can enjoy it, too.
My son had spine surgery on Dec. 8 to remove a Schwannoma, a Schwann cell tumor. The tumor was approximately the size of a fist, and, according to his doctor, was the largest one he had seen in 17 years of surgery. The operation took about six hours; Dan was in recovery for about two hours; he was in the hospital for about a week.
I made a trip to Austin for his surgery, then went back home for five days, then drove back to Austin, where I've been since December 18. My daughter went to Ireland for Christmas to visit her boyfriend's relatives, so Dan needed someone here to cook, clean, nag, and otherwise transport him around. That job fell to me, of course, since I'm his mother.
We've had a pleasant time, really. I've cooked and baked, washed clothes, etc., but we did go to see "Avatar." While I loved the special effects, I thought the message was less-than-subtle, which distracted me somewhat. But seeing it in IMAX is awesome--and made me extremely dizzy in spots!
I've baked two batches of cowboy cookies, two loaves of French bread, cooked pots of soup and spaghetti. Right now, I'm waiting for the last dozen peanut butter cookies to bake. I'm surprised I haven't gained 50 pounds with all the cooking I've done.
We took a trip to Book People, a nice multi-story bookstore here in Austin. And we've made a few trips to the grocery and dollar stores. But, mostly, we've hung out at home, watched movies, and read...we've barreled through quite a few books this Christmas.
I hope your New Year is excellent for you! See you soon, I hope!
Last November, the students who tuned into my blog had to put up with me yammering about NaNoWriMo and had to endure endless updates of my word count.
NaNoWriMo takes place every November. For 30 days, NaNos write their brains out in an attempt to write a short novel in a month. To win, one needs to write 50,000 words between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. Editing and rewriting take place in December. The goal is just to get the words down.
I didn't provide constant updates this year. I'm not sure I mentioned it at all, except on my Facebook page. But, I am happy to say, I've reached 50,351 words, which is 351 words more than I need to "win" NaNo. And we have another week to go.
Last year, I wrote about 64,000 words by the time Nov. 30 rolled around. I have no idea how many words I'll end up with this year, but the novel's not finished. The story unfolded so much easier than the one I wrote last year. I like the characters; I like everything about it; I don't even mind that it's ended up being a fantasy/romance. That's just the way it played out. Sometimes, you just have to let the characters have their way.
So, here's my badge for this year. I hope, on November 30, to provide a word count update along with a winner's badge. 
Now, if I can just get this one published...that's my goal, and I'm going to do my best to make it happen.
Usually, my life is routine. I don't think it's boring--it's just "settled." I teach on campus two days a week, teach two online classes, grade papers, mow the grass, clean the house...
Every so often, I have a hectic week full of meetings, lunches, errands, and sundry things that take me out of my routine. Those weeks wear me out, and I'm more than willing to go back to my routine.
This weekend was one of those hectic ones. I had a Guy Fawkes bonfire on Friday night that broke up around 10:30pm; I had to clean up, wash dishes, and get the cats' food bowls filled for the weekend, because my mother and sister were coming to pick me up around 8am Saturday to go to my uncle's 70th birthday in a town called Montz, LA.
Here's a picture of the funny Guy I made to burn in effigy:
We had fun, ate a bit, drank a bit, and talked a great deal. I love spending my evenings with my friends.
On Saturday morning, I headed south with my mom and sister. My sister drives a Tahoe, which is too big for me to maneuver, so she drove there and back, bless her heart, with my mother as the GPS system. That was enough to convince my sister to buy a REAL GPS system for the next trip we take.
I took quite a few pictures, which I've posted on a Facebook Group Page for my family. But here's one of my uncle and his kids:
I discovered that many of my cousins resemble my immediate family, which shouldn't be a shock, since we share some of the same genes. But, sometimes, the resemblance is shocking. Here's my brother Mike, on the left, next to my cousin Alan, on the right. The resemblance in person is more striking than, perhaps, is evident in this picture:
I had a great weekend, which, of course, put me behind on my grading. But, really, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I had a great weekend.
After nearly three weeks of continuous paper grading, I finally had two days clear. Luckily, a delivery of books from Amazon came to suck up the time.
My son asked for some books for his birthday--an Ursula K. LeGuin trilogy and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. I sent the LeGuin trilogy, but received the Pratchett book later. Since I'd been thinking about reading Pratchett--his Discworld series is popular--I ordered A Hatful of Sky for me. That, unfortunately, is the second in a series of three books about a witch named Tiffany Aching. I liked it so much I ordered three other Pratchett books--The Wee Free Men, Wintersmith, and Good Omens, a book he wrote with Neil Gaiman.
I finished The Wee Free Men at 3am this morning; I began Wintersmith today. I've also managed to wash clothes, sweep the entire house, and put the French bread dough on to rise.
So, why do I feel guilty? Guilty, you ask?
As I'm reading my novels, cleaning my house, etc., in the back of my mind, I hear this little voice saying, "You need to be working on coursework. You have sections to update, schedules to amend, students to pester; the next semester begins in January--it's already October! Get to work!"
I need to kick my type A gene to the curb. I work 15 to 18 hours a day, most days; even when I teach on campus, I come home and hit the computer. My sense of duty/obligation needs to leave me alone for a while so I can enjoy a good book or two or three. I also have two manuscripts written by my friends that I've been reading, and I have my own writing to ponder. It's not as if I goof off that often, if one could call "reading" "goofing off." It's not (she said, defensively). And NaNoWriMo begins Nov. 1, so I'll have that added, self-imposed pressure.
I'm trying to convince my workaholic self that I need time off...working all day every day gets tiring. And I find that I make more mistakes when I don't take time to recharge. When I'm in work mode all the time, I can' slow down or stop. I think that's wrong.
I need to relax. I'm working on it.
I'm behind on my posting, but I've been dealing with midterms, specifically midterm exams. I gave two. One went off without a hitch; the other didn't.
I updated my course site with a midterm for my freshmen. I saved it and displayed it in Moodle, and it looked fine to me.
I started grading those midterms Tuesday and became increasingly frustrated because the students weren't following my directions.
I sent the midterms back with a remonstrance. And then my students started emailing me, protesting my severe grading. I checked the midterm. It was not the midterm I posted, but a midterm from the spring. The date on the exam was March 9; not one student emailed me to ask me if that was the correct exam. Not one.
I threw the exam grades out. Regardless of whose fault (I blame Moodle) it was, I wasn't going back to regrade those papers. It took me two days to grade them the first time, and I don't want to read them again. The sad thing is removing the grade didn't not impact midterm grades significantly.
But I learned something. Always change the filename before you upload it. Then you'll know that the file you want someone to see is the one he does see.
****
Okay. This is how I sprained my ankle.
I worked out in the yard last Saturday for several hours, weeding and planting my "fence" garden. Here's a picture:
When I did what I set out to do, I came in the house to get a cup of coffee.
I opened the door from the living room to the garage to go back outside. I have three steps leading down (or up). I turned sideways to close the door, then proceeded to bounce down those three concrete steps. I had to sit there in a puddle of coffee for about five minutes before I could move. I hoisted myself up the stairs butt first and managed to drag myself into the living room. I couldn't stand up for about 10 minutes; I was too shaken and too wobbly. My left ankle swelled a great deal. It's still swollen, and it hurts once in a while, but ice and an ace bandage help.
The coffee cup did not break, just in case you're wondering.
I cannot tell you, really, how it happened. It just did. I'm hobbling, but at least I'm moving around and I didn't break anything, as far as I can tell.
Here's what it looked like a week ago:
I'm not taking off the ace bandage to show you what it looks like today! That hurts too much.
I'm sure my students are screaming, too. If I didn't have a meeting on Monday, Oct. 19, I'd have six days of not having to leave the house. Unfortunately, as soon as classes resume, I have to be at the college four days in a row--on Monday and Wednesday, I have to come in for meetings, each of which will last an hour or less. Feh!
Which means, of course, that I'll spend more time driving than sitting in said meetings. Which means, of course, that I'll have to fill my car up with gas twice in one week. Feh, I say!
At some point, I wish our U would hold virtual meetings, so I could stay home and "attend" in my pajamas. I'd like that. It's not as though I say much in these meetings. I especially try not to volunteer for anything...unless one of my bosses presses me into service the way the British Navy used to "press" citizens of other countries to serve (in other words, by force).
And, of course, this break is not a "break" for my students, or for me. In order to cover everything I need to cover, I have assignments due. Which means I have stuff to grade. If they've stayed on top of things, though, they should be able to slid those things in early and cop a couple of days of snooze time. That is, if their other profs haven't loaded them down with work, too.
Yeah, being a student is a drag, sometimes, but my students can rest assured that I don't have much time to slack off. My only hope is that it rains for six days so I'm not tempted to go out and slog around in the yard to pick up limbs.
Oh, well. The good news is that my daughter has a full-time teaching position as a traveling art teacher in Austin. She splits her time between two elementary schools. She's going to love it, once she gets the hang of working a regular job, with regular pay, regular hours, regular vacations, health benefits, etc. Her first salaried position. It's about time, and I'm soooooo happy for her. Another Smith to shape young minds! It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!
I find myself in a peculiar position...one set of quizzes to grade, but no grading frenzy until Saturday. Wow.
I'll have two or three days of down time, so I'll be able to update my Moodle course sites, read a book, watch movies, play in the yard. Then, I'm back to grading like a crazy person--midterms are here--though I don't have many exams to grade, just two. After fall break, though, I'll have plenty to do, so I'm going to make the most of the down time.
***
The weather is driving me nuts. Yesterday, the high was almost 90; today, the temp here is about 66 at noon. Tomorrow, the forecast is 90 again, then we revert to 70s for the high and 50s for the low. I wish autumn would decide to stay for a while.
***
I will finally be able to get a flu shot tomorrow, free, thanks to the college's ties with LSUHSC. At first, we were told that the hospital didn't have enough supplies of the vaccine, but, somehow, they magically appeared. This doesn't cover the H1N1 strain, though, so I still have to watch for that. My students have been great about staying home when sick (however mild!), so I haven't had epidemic absences so far. Actually, attendance in my on-campus classes is great, and the online classes seem to be humming right along.
***
I have my fingers crossed for my daughter. She's taking one more test today. If she passes this one, she has a full-time teaching position in two elementary schools in Austin, TX. She went back to college for her teaching certification in Art, did her practice teaching, took two Praxis tests and received her teaching certificate. She has to pass the classroom teacher's test in order to have this job. She deserves it. She's spent most of her adult life, so far, working at minimum wage jobs in cafes and restaurants. She's ready to move up. And, if she gets this job, she'll probably make more money than I do! It's about time she stops stressing about money. Besides, she needs to make enough money to afford my retirement home!
***
Yesterday was a lousy day. I pulled up to the end of my driveway to leave for school and discovered my mailbox flat on the ground. I thought someone had backed into it, but, when I looked at it yesterday afternoon, it seemed that it just fell; my daughter's boyfriend cemented it into the ground in the summer, so the entire thing must have shifted from the road vibrations. One side of my property is a ditch, and the road has a bridge over it right by my driveway. We get so much heavy truck traffic that I think the vibrations just caused the earth to shift. I'll probably have to pull the box up periodically. I can't think of any other way to solve the problem except to have a brick enclosure built around the box. I'll talk to Pete about it. That may be another summer project.
In addition to the mailbox, I misplaced my one pair of glasses; I couldn't read anything, so I borrowed a pair from someone--they were huge and not as strong as mine, so I ended up with eyestrain and a headache. And our bookstore doesn't sell reading glasses--a big mistake with all the older professors and students on campus. I told them that!
I went to the ValueMart here and bought six pair of reading glasses for $5--they had a sale! Lucky me, as long as I don't misplace all of them! I'll leave a couple of pair in my office in case I "forget" to bring a pair with me.
***
So that's the boring randomness of my life for now! Maybe something more exciting will happen--but not too exciting. I rather like "boring."
The last two weeks have passed in a blur. All I've done, it seems, is grade papers...with short forays to the Ace Hardware store for paint for my mother and into the yard for mowing. Other than that, I've been chained to my computer.
I've tried to make time for my own work; I stop grading papers about nine at night, then spend a couple of hours revising a novel. I have a friend in Kentucky who's willing to swap novels with me, so I feel some pressure to make it as good as possible before I hand it over to him. And I have a new friend who's asked me and several other poets to help with his manuscript--decide what should stay, what should go, and what might go either way. And he's asked for help with ordering the poems. So I have these obligations.
And, of course, November is NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month. Crazy people like me sign up to write 50,000 words in a month. I did it last year for the first time, and I wrote 65,000 words--I'm working on revising that novel, and I'm nearly pleased with it.
I don't gripe too much about grading papers, usually. I know it's part of my job--a big part of it. I'd love to be able to teach a class without assigning work, but I'd have to find another way to grade students! I have no idea how I'd do that, but I'm sure my students are full of suggestions!
But, if the weather stays as nice as its been lately, I need a bonfire this weekend! Grading can wait for good weather!
I am not one who usually waxes poetic about companies or products, but I have to promote a company that consistently saves me money, Gateway Tires on S'port-Barksdale Hwy.
The story begins with dinner out on Friday night. I started driving home in the gloomy rain around 10pm, only to discover that I had no "dim" headlights. I had hi-beams and fog lights, but no "regular" lights. Scary, and I'm sure the oncoming traffic was confused, too.
This morning, being the first morning I had time to deal with this, I took my car down the road to a local garage and asked them if they could fix it. I left my car, walked home, and received a call about an hour later--no, they couldn't They'd have to take the entire front end off the car and the bulbs cost $145--EACH--and no one in town had them, I'd have to take the car to the dealer, yada, yada, yada. You get the idea. Sounded to me as though they really didn't want my business.
So, I called Gateway. I told the guy my problem and what the garage here said. He said, "Bring it here first. We can probably take care of it more cheaply than a dealer can."
The bad news--the bulbs from the dealer would cost $216--EACH--but Gateway could get them for $128--EACH. Gulp. Total with tax and labor would be about $328. And it would take an hour.
I graded papers; I re-read the stories for my Eng. 215 class. I tried not to panic. How soon could I get to the bank and transfer money from savings? Did I really need to go to the grocery store this week?
I'm ready to start a movement--before a dealer can sell you a car, he/she must tell you replacement costs for every part you might have to replace. Just about the time I had worked myself up into a full-blown crusade, Craig, one of the counter persons, came over to me and said, "We checked the part numbers for the bulbs, and we think we can use bulbs that cost about $10 or $15 each. Does that sound better?"
I offered to cook for him for a year, but, smart man, he turned me down.
Total cost for parts and labor? $84.47!
And that's why I will shamelessly promote Gateway Tires to anyone who asks me.
I'm three weeks into the fall semester, and I feel as though my butt has fused to my chair...that my hands are welded to the computer keyboard...that my world has narrowed to a small section of my living room.
When was the last time I sat in one of my living room chairs to watch a movie? I have a crick in my neck from glancing over my left shoulder to view the TV. But work comes first...or does it?
I am probably as conscientious a person as anyone will find. I take my responsibilities seriously. Some days, though, I just want to sit on the carport with a cup of coffee and let life drift by. Once in a while, I indulge myself. But, then, I remember all the "stuff" I need to do, and the responsible person in me gives me a swift kick and tells me to "get with the program."
I'm trying to lighten up a bit. I will drive into Shreveport on a Friday to have lunch with friends; I'll drive in to visit my parents and siblings. I need to do that more often. Narrowing my world down to the desk and the computer is restrictive. I can't be a well-rounded person if I'm always fixated on work.
That's not to say that I give myself permission to ignore what I must do. But I'm trying to find a balance--all work and no play, etc. I don't want to be dull! But procrastination doesn't get the work done.
I'm looking for the middle ground...but it's a learning process!
I realize that, since the semester has begun again, I need to keep up with my blog so my students will have something to laugh at...I mean, "read." I could recycle blogs, but that's one type of recycling I'm not in favorite of--"The Best of Ms. Smith's Blogs." I don't think so.
So, today, after I finished reading freshman diagnostics (finally) and grading a quiz for my 215 class and re-reading a couple of stories I need to teach tomorrow, I went outside to enjoy the freakishly fall-like day and watch the hummingbirds duke it out in the back yard.
I learned something about hummingbirds when I was in Colorado. They make noise. I don't mean just the wing noise; they make sounds that I'd describe as "twittering." Maybe that's where the Twitter site took it's name.
What I've discovered during my numerous afternoons of watching them is that they are aggressive with other birds, too, not just their own kind. They'll go after a Jay or Cardinal if those birds get in their way; hummers will also chase wasps and bees away from feeders, but I haven't noticed them going after butterflies.
Hummers attack each other physically. Today, during a quiet stretch when the other birds had gone off, I listened and watched as three hummers chased each other around the yard. They "chest bump" each other--well, maybe not exactly, but they fly straight at one another and try to knock each other off flight. One hummer hovered around the feeder, and another much smaller hummer flew at him and knocked the large one sideways three times. And, at times, I thought they must be fighting with their beaks--I thought I heard some "clacks" in there.
I took Middlemarch out with me to read, but I didn't make it through two pages before the hummers claimed my attention. One of them--the smallest, most aggressive of the three--sat on the clothesline closest to my chair. I managed to get a good look at him/her, and the hummer sat still for a good five minutes. It's not true that they are constantly in motion; these guys sit still plenty.
Watching the birds is one of my favorite past times. It's relaxing and informative. Of all the birds, the hummers are my favorite. I wish they'd hang around all year, but I know they have to migrate. I still keep the feeders out and filled all the time, though. I can't ever tell when one of them might need a drink before its long journey southward.
Ultra far-right conservatives are probably secretly celebrating the death of the "last true liberal" of the senate, Ted Kennedy. For me, the end of an era has arrived. With Ted's death, the dream of Camelot, begun with John F. Kennedy's presidency, seems to be fading away.
But maybe not. Those of us who grew up during the sixties listening to and buying into the dreams of John, Robert and Ted Kennedy will probably carry on. Though I am not now, nor have I ever been, a card-carrying communist, I am proud to say that I am a "true liberal" in most areas of my political thinking and affiliation. I so want the philosophical aspects of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to become a reality, not just in America, but in the world--but not through war or aggression.
That brings me to this health-care controversy gripping our nation right now. I'm not one to jump into the fray without thinking things through. I'm not going to mouth off in response to some knee-jerk capitalistic conservative just to make my opinion known. I have to think it though and come to my own conclusions, make my own decisions.
I know enough about early American history to know that Jefferson, Adams, Madison, et. al, weren't the liberal bleeding-heart types. The philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence was not egalitarian sentiment--Jefferson was a member of the "ruling class," one of the privileged white men who owned property and wielded power at the highest levels. He wasn't concerned with the slaves he owned, or women, or the disenfranchised. He wanted to protect the interests of the powerful like himself. The philosophy of the Declaration is great: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." But in Jefferson's day, the meaning of this passage was specific and non-negotiable--white men who owned property were equal to each other and to the British government that oppressed them, and only they had these rights, which didn't apply to anyone else.
The great thing about America is that, as the country has changed, so has our conception of the promise of the Declaration. Our Constitution reflects those changes as well--the 13th Amendment, which freed slaves, the 19th Amendment, which gave women the vote (finally, damn it!); we are an adaptable country. We are an inclusive country. We're willing to admit our mistakes and right our wrongs...most of the time.
Here's what I think about healthcare...I think all people, regardless of age, gender, income, class, party affiliation--whatever one might use to classify them--deserve the same level of care. A poor person should not have to die from a treatable, preventable disease just because he/she doesn't have money. Likewise, I don't think a person who flashes a big wad of cash, or pays through the nose for health insurance, should have more or better care than said poor person. My Mother and Father, who are 78, should get the same care as my two-year-old niece. That philosophy certainly expands Jefferson's conception of "life," and I'm sure it plays into the ideas of "liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
So who pays for it? We all do, as we always have, through our taxes; if we're all "created equal," then we should pay taxes when we have jobs or make money. When we come upon hard times, then maybe we should go back to FDR's WPA--put people to work fixing the roads, beautifying public parks, painting murals on post office walls and government facades, tutoring others for literacy--we could do so much for each other if we just tapped into the potential of every American, if we gave every American the chance to be productive and useful. They get paid, we get taxes back from that to pay for health care. We could do more if we'd stop talking and start planning.
I am not opposed to dialogue and compromise. I am, however, opposed to yelling and scare tactics. Those people who oppose change simply because it doesn't come from their political party impede true change. And they do a disservice to all of us. Debate, discuss, compromise. I think that's the true "American Way."
Teddy, I'm going to miss you and your imperfect, improbable life. Even though many considered you a member of the privileged class, you worked hard for the rest of us. RIP, Teddy. "And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Okay, so classes begin in less than a week, and I'm not sure I'm ready for them. I sent out "welcome" messages to my online classes and have already started receiving emails from the students. That's what I call getting a head start!
I'm sorry this summer is coming to an end. It's been productive and relaxing. I had a great group of students in my online course. I could take care of them AND my house without compromising either.
End of summer means less travel, but I hope I'll have more visitors and more bonfires. I didn't burn a single fire this summer--but that had more to do with the burn ban than anything. Fall and winter are ideal times for fires, so I'm starting to pile the fallen limbs in the fire pit for my first official bonfire of the season--maybe at fall equinox. I definitely want a fire on Guy Fawkes Day!
Still have a bit of work to do on my courses, so I'll work on that today. Sigh...if only this could be an "endless" summer without the heat!
