i way today years old
before i noticed
that tiny pepperidge farm goldfish crackers
each had a smile.
—
“the simplest positive action is a smile.”
-maxime lagace
Jun29
Author Archives: beth
Jun28
absence.
Cinzia Paolina De Lio was dismissed in 2017 after she reappeared for four months and triggered complaints.
Italy’s highest court confirmed the dismissal after a legal battle, saying her absences showed a “permanent and absolute ineptitude”. Ms De Lio has condemned the ruling and vowed to “reconstruct the truth”.
The secondary school teacher, who specialises in history and philosophy, said she had documents to prove her story but told Repubblica newspaper: “Sorry, but right now I’m at the beach.”
“I will reconstruct the truth of the facts of this absolutely unique and surreal story”, she said adding, “I don’t answer questions from journalists thrown around that wouldn’t do justice to the truth of my story.”
Ms De Lio was reinstated in 2018 after a ruling by a judge in Venice but the education ministry appealed against the decision and it was reversed by the Supreme Court of Cassation last week.
The ministry argued that the teacher had kept out of the classroom for 20 out of her 24 years of service. For the first 10 years she was completely absent, and her absences in the other 14 years were attributed to sickness, personal or family reasons.
The court heard that in a four-month period in 2015 when she did teach in Chioggia near Venice, students complained of her lack of preparedness, her failure to bring textbooks and her “random and improvised” way of marking. An inspection found she was “unprepared” and “inattentive”, and students refused to take part in her classes as she was distracted by her phone.
Her 2017 dismissal turned into a legal battle, going through an appeal and counter-appeal, before finally arriving at the top court. Her defence of “freedom of teaching” was rejected by the court which argued it was the teacher’s responsibility to guarantee students’ right to study.
Describing herself now as a freelance journalist, she told Italian media that she had documents to refute the claim that she had been absent for 20 years. The education ministry said it would “increasingly strive to ensure that the activity of teaching is carried out with adequate professionalism”.
—
“absence is presence with distance.”
-taeyoon choi
Jun27
dignity.
i went shopping
for two very different gifts
the first
a bit of fancy lingerie for a soon to be bride to be
the second
a book about animal art for my granddaughter’s soon to be birthday
all went well at the first shop, i found a beautiful gift
at the second shop, i found the perfect book
but when i looked down
i noticed that the lingerie has spilled out of my bag
right onto the floor
smack dab in the center of the little indy bookstore
i casually picked it up without too much fuss
laughing to myself
but when i tried to put it back in the bag
i discovered that the bag had torn
which led to it falling out in the first place
when next trying to quickly stuff it in the bag
it kept getting worse
falling to the ground a couple more times
so i finally
had to scoop the whole mess up in my arms
and clutch it to my body
carrying it to the register to buy the book
leaving one arm free to pay
no one said a word
but they did offer me a small chocolate and a smile as i left.
—
“i left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat.”
-george grossman
Jun26
broken.
bittersweet.
‘juan and amelia’
painted and left behind
and
‘amelia and juan’
painted and now left broken.
—
“the heart will break, but broken live on.”
-lord Byron
Jun25
what the fudge?!
since i was an itty bitty girl
my very favorite desserts in the whole wide world
always included
my hometown bakery’s (sanders) milk chocolate hot fudge topping
(on anything, or sometimes just a spoonful or bowl (small) of it, yes)
in my later years
i have it on special occasions
or on a random tuesday
imagine my reaction
when i read a local article
how it was now very hard to get
so of course
i then decided i had to have it
checked the usual places
without any luck
went to amazon
found an offer
for $288
for 6 jars
of what is normally under $10
now i want it more
haven’t yet found a way to rationalize the cost
even though it may very well be worth it
perhaps an emergency go fund me is on the horizon.
—
amazon ad:
Sanders Chocolate Hot Fudge Dessert Topping, 10 oz, (Pack of 6)
$288
100+ viewed in past month
FREE delivery Jun 29 – Jul 7
Or fastest delivery Wed, Jun 28
Only 1 left in stock – order soon.
Per the Detroit Free Press: ‘Due to supply chain and production issues, the chocolatier decided to pause production on its dessert toppings until it is able to find a new manufacturing facility.’
—
“price is what you pay. value is what you get.’
-warren buffett
Jun24
at death’s door.
last summer
when my computer went all black
and stayed that way
i took it to my local computer nerds
who miraculously resuscitated it
but gave me a grim prognosis
‘living on very borrowed time’
so i ordered a new one
while waiting for the old one
to finally go in peace
but it continued to limp along
until a couple of weeks ago
when i saw the above message
‘more than 10 hours to charge it – while plugged in’
until finally
it read
‘not charging’
i took mercy on it
we’ve been through a lot together
it knows all of my secrets
my ups and downs
has given its all
after a fond farewell
pulled out the new one
not as familiar
but we will soon be
a team
as we begin again.
“on the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.”
-scott adams
Jun23
Zzzzzzzz.
“drawing on my fine command of the English language, i said nothing.”
-robert benchley
—
book source credit: Disaster Inc. by Caimh McDonnell
Jun22
comfy chair.
i wonder
how many things
this chair
has been
to the people
who spent time in it
a comfort
a fort
a refuge
a tower
a snack bar
a hiding place
a favorite choice
a sick bed
a vantage point
an escape
a place to rest
a playscape
held together by tape and hope
so many stories to tell
now the chair sits silently
who knows what’s next?
—
“bring out….. the comfy chair!!!”
-graham chapman, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Spanish Inquisition
Jun21
this is the solstice.
Midsummer or Estival Solstice is the 1st day of summer when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky.
The term solstice is derived from the Latin words Sol (sun) and Sistere (to stand still) because the sun’s position at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and the surrounding days, unlike at other times where the Earth’s tilt causes the sun’s path to rise and fall from one day to the next.
—
“this is the solstice,
the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
the year’s threshold and unlocking,
where the past lets go of and becomes the future;
the place of caught breath, the door of a vanished house left ajar…”
― margaret atwood
Jun20
on world refugee day.
*refugee rescue, painting by stephen burgess, winner of the 2017 ms amlin world art vote
Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution, or terror. World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20th and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
—
“refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—
except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.”
—
* Stephen Burgess, a driving instructor from Buckinghamshire in the UK, won the 2017 MS Amlin World Art Vote organized by National Open Art, for his stunning painting of Libyan refugees being rescued at sea.
Burgess was inspired to create his picture, Refugee Rescue, after watching a TV documentary about refugees crossing the Mediterranean to try and reach Europe.
His painting is based on an image taken by a photographer on board an Italian Navy helicopter and vividly captures the moment hundreds of Libyan refugees were rescued at sea.
—
source credits: united nations, separatedchild.org, evening standard
I didn't have my glasses on.... 