rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth;
without rain, there would be no life.
-john updike
Apr22
Apr21
finding myself.
one saturday night in 2012, a search party was organized in iceland to hunt for a woman who had apparently failed to return to her tour bus. but the twist? she had. she became part of the search party looking for her, unaware that she was the subject of everyone’s concern.
the tour bus in question had stopped near iceland’s eldgja canyon and the woman in question took the opportunity to go freshen up and change clothes.
when she reboarded the bus, the rest of the passengers didn’t realize it was her. instead, they became alarmed that she’d gone missing. the driver waited for an hour before the police were called.
things escalated. a search of the area took place, joined by around 50 people, some in vehicles, many on foot. the coast guard was alerted, and the search went on for several hours.
it wasn’t until three in the morning that the truth became apparent: that the woman everyone thought was missing was actually helping them in the search. once she realized she was the missing tourist, she informed the police. the search was called off.
moral of the story? it’s always worth properly counting the number of people on a tour bus. no matter what they happen to be wearing.
—
“not only do I not know what’s going on,
i wouldn’t know what to do about it if i did”
– george carlin
—
credits: mentalfloss.uk
Apr20
windows.
“the quiet house” on the 3-6 year old children’s playground
—
on a trip to visit schools in north carolina
i loved meeting the young children
and
i loved meeting the educators who
understood the importance
of using
play, compassion, kindness, projects, community
and
hands-on learning
when teaching young children.
i met many people who were so passionate
about
education and children and life in general.
what a lot i learned from them.
—
the whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
– sydney j. harris
Apr18
stumble not.
traveling with my co-workers
to meet fellow educators
i was faced with a snap decision.
with one of us busy on her phone
working to get transportation from the airport
and the other already at the bottom
i suddenly realized i was left carrying two rolling bags.
while standing at the top of the moving stairs
and people piling up behind me.
i quickly did the math
and decided that:
me – one human
plus
they – two rolling bags
would probably not all
safely make it down at the same time.
so instead of a minus one situation
at the end of the equation
i heaved my companion’s bag
right onto the escalator
all on it’s own
let it just gently bounce and roll down
figured it could take care of itself
alerted them to look out for it at the bottom
though when they looked up
they were too busy laughing
to realize the gravity of the situation
and somehow
it all ended well.
humans and bags both
none the worse for wear.
survival instinct kicked in
at just the right moment.
and that is why we are teachers.
we are always learning.
i feel that i might be good in a landslide situation.
or a kindergarten classroom.
—
“let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not.”
-ieyasu tokugawa
Apr17
this is sunday.
“this is sunday, and the question arises, what’ll I start tomorrow?”
– kurt vonnegut
—
image credit: funnyofpictures.com
Apr16
happy national librarian’s day.
in front of the first saint paul public library bookmobile, 1917.
—
“i’m of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around
every living librarian who crosses my path,
on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.”
– barbara kingsolver
—
photo credit: st.paul public library
Apr15
peep show.
the classic twilight zone episode “nightmare at 20,000 feet”
starring a very young william shatner
inspired this peeps scene.
the black and white effect is part of the work;
this was not altered after the photograph was taken.
original scene with shatner from the twilight zone classic.
—
credits: peep artists -allie berg and jonathan herr,
the twilight zone, rod serling
Apr14
hive.
the little bee whisperer
of last summer
is back.
at age 6
grandson f
tends to the hive
happily
watching and wondering and learning.
—
the happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist.
for man it is to know that and to wonder at it.
– jacques yves cousteau
Apr13
fancy.
going to the movies
with one of my
six little grandies,
baby r
for her very first time.
she was all dressed up
so fancy
in
new sparkly too-big blue shoes with tiny clicking heels
shiny movie star jacket
polka dot tights
cornflower blue ruffly skirt
tumbling down curly hair
with
booster seat
popcorn
gummies
soda
and
full of so much excitement.
we were the only two in the whole theater
and
even if we weren’t
it would have felt like we were.
—–
“i dress to kill, but tastefully”. – freddie mercury
Apr12
discovery.
—
credit: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
I didn't have my glasses on.... 