SpringBreak2024Day1

 

Yesterday we arrived.  Walked about hither thither and yon.  

 I love walking around the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements. The streets are skinny but busy with small courtyards and gardens tucked away here and there. We walked into the Church of Saint Merri.  Named after Saint Mederic, the patron saint of the right bank. When he was a young monk he ate only bread dipped in barley water twice a week.  Later he went on some pilgrimages and worked miracles along the way.  You can't help but love this guy.

When we were here last, the Stravinsky Fountain was being repaired.  So great to see it spinning and spitting away in its playful cheer.  Fun Fact:  Jean Tinguely also made the Chaos sculpture that lives in Columbus, Indiana. He made kinetic sculptures and was also the first director of the Pompidou Center.  He was married to Niki de Saint Phalle for awhile and she also made cool sculptures and illustrated her own little books. 

In short, we're off to a good start.

The Re-Entry

 And I'm back. Why haven't I been blogging?  I'm not sure.  I think about blogging, but then I just watch all 5 of the Twilight movies instead. One after the other. Or I spend hours trying to solve the NYT Spelling Bee.  

Visited my dad recently.   He's having longer, weirder bouts of dementia lately. Sometimes he's okay, but you never know.   Last week he spent days talking about my mom being in the hospital.  When I reminded him that she's been gone for 5 years, he said, "I know, but we have to visit her in the hospital.  She could be dying." So that's been sad and confusing, but today he was fine and we talked about the Battle of the Bulge. 

Soon Husbandman and I will be on spring break.  We will spend a week in Paris.  Something to very much look forward to.

Life goes up and down in its own twisty nonsense and splendor.

The Expressions

 

If you're 63 years old, you might want to make an appointment with a dermatologist.  Those weird age spots cropping up here and there?  Some of them just might be pre-cancerous, so go get checked.  

Waiting for my appointment, I read a sign about the prevention of premature aging. Use of sunscreen obviously topped the tip list, but we should also avoid repeatedly using the same facial expressions. Come to find out, repeated expressions can and will  lead to folded skin that eventually can't get unfolded. 

Too late for me to do much about my wrinkly visage. Repeated facial expressions are an essential part of the teaching profession and I've used the tight lipped mouth with piercing eyes and furrowed brow expression multiple times a day for 40 years now. Smiling also wrinkles the heck out of your face, and I frequently smile to foster meaningful relationships. Plus I find a ton of stuff in 3rdland amusing as all get out.

Pass on this info to any young teachers you know. Tell them to tone down their facial expressions. 

A blank, expressionless face now will make for smooth skin later.

The Learning

We had our first E-Learning Day on Friday.  We had a little snow and a lot of freezing cold, so everyone stayed at home.  We had a teams meeting and it didn't go well.  Lots of tech glitches. I get anxious when I teach online because I imagine parents listening to me and judging me harshly.  It's hard to create a meaningful, engaging challenging experience and I didn't feel like I lived up to my potential on Friday.   I hope we don't have another snow day soon because e-Learning makes my throat constrict. It took a few hours of TV watching on Friday afternoon to calm down and put it in the past. 

 Quiet weekend here.  We saw Poor Things.  Super weird and good.  Emma Stone.  Mark Ruffalo.  Willem Dafoe.  These are good actors who know what they're doing.  You should see it if you want to.

Also, we have a new oven. 

The Marauders

 The last of Merrill's Marauders died last month.  His name was Russell Hammer.  

I'm always in search of stories to share with my dad on our daily phone calls.  I knew Mr. Hammer's obituary in the NYT would be just the ticket. Of course Dad knew all about the Marauders, so as I read facts from the obituary, he added facts from his background knowledge. 

Even after the phone call, I can't stop thinking about the Marauders.  They went through hell trekking  through Burma fighting the Japanese in 1943. They only had what they could carry. Every once in awhile, parachutes would drop extra supplies. Between parachute drops, the Marauders were starving, so they threw grenades into a river, skimmed the dead fish from the surface, and cooked them in their helmets. 

Cooked the fish in their helmets.  I don't know why but that part really gets to me.

In the last few years of his amazing life, Russell Hammer spoke about his dream for a warless world:

He proposed a body of international leaders to solve the world’s problems. “This group would get together and iron it out in words instead of bullets,” he said. “I would like to see a peaceful world.”

I admire Mr. Hammer.  His life and his dream for peace will live on in my memory and on this blog.

The Reset

You're probably wondering about our holiday travels.  Here are some of the highlights of our trip in a bulleted list.  We loved...

• Watching It's a Wonderful Life and Saving Private Ryan with my dad and talking quite a lot about WWII.  
• Audio-touring the Biltmore with #30Something. The stunning estate was all decked out for the holiday. 
• Xmas lunch at Grove Park Inn.  This scenic and historic spot happened to be hosting the National Gingerbread House Competition.  BONUS! 
• Hearing #1 play music twice.  LOVED THIS!  
• Dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Rosabee's. Modern Hawaiian?
• Spending time in the outstanding shops in downtown Asheville. (I bought a new blue Santa for my Santa collection).  
• Jigsaw puzzling. (500 pieces). (Birds). 
• Talking, listening, laughing. A few quiet moments hitting the pages of the notebook. The trip could not have been better.

So after a crazy end of 2023 in 3rdLand, now I'm reset and feeling just fine.  

Happy New Year, Dear Reader. Let's hope it's a good one. 

The Eve of Christmas

 It's a happy time for us, visiting two out of the thirteen original colonies for some generational mixing and mingling. 

As happy as I am right now, there are others who are probably even more cheerful this holiday season.  Most notably, New Yorker Kevin Depaolo and the Moore Family of Tennessee.  Kevin, crushed by a 10,000 pound boulder, was rescued after ten hours and survived with all his limbs intact.   Four month old baby Moore was sucked up by a tornado earlier this month and found just fine in a fallen tree when the storm passed. 

Glad tidings indeed.  Can't stop thinking about these stories. Both occurred in this final month of the year. 

The Holidays

Thomas Dambo is an artist who makes trolls out of recycled materials.  My goal in the time I have left on this earth is to visit every damn Dambo troll this side of the Merrimack.  

Or I might have another goal.  I haven't decided yet. 

We're visiting my dad at 90Cab.  My dad's doing a lot of sleeping.  I've put Saving Private Ryan on the TV to lure him into a conversation.  He's obsessed with WWII movies.  He wakes now and again, and makes a relevant remark.  My brother reports he stays up all night and sleeps all day. Doesn't make a lick of sense.

Gear Up.  Fall in. Tom Hanks says that every man he kills... the farther away from home he feels.  

I get it. 

The Turkeys 2023

Good Friends... Here are the turkeys of 2023.  Inspired by Go Dog Go, we made turkey beach party hats.  

We are missing #1 Son and Ms. Shea.  

But rest assured, their turkeys were outstanding.  

Do you like our hats? 

We had so much fun making them.  

g

 

The Loves

I like the mini love stories the NYT puts out.  They're written by regular folk.  Less than 100 words.  Today's story was written by someone who was married to a cowboy for many decades.  I wrote this haiku about the photo she sent in with her piece:

cowboy fixing tack

horse patiently waits and wonders

about tack's importance 

I'm also a regular reader of the NYT Modern Love column.  I love the stories and the accompanying illustrations by Brian Rea.  These columns are also written by regular folk.  This week's story was by a man who didn't want his girlfriend to bring expensive cheese to a dinner party.  She broke up with him soon thereafter. I wrote this haiku about his situation.

why so controlling?  

Does cheese really matter that much?

lonely days ahead now

Then I decided to write a haiku love story about our recent weekend with our grown children. 

Rosalyn and Quinn

their giant autumn foliage 

fill up 706

It's not the best haiku but why should I worry about that?  I think it clearly communicates that these 2 people have a significant impact on our lives.  It also refers to the season which is a hallmark of traditional haiku.

Now it's time for a vacation. Glorious.  It's fun to gallivant about with nary a care in the world. 

The Blow Up

 

Halloween on a Tuesday should be a federal crime. 3rdLand experienced a significant decrease in learning levels for 5 days straight. By the time the bell rang for dismissal each day, I felt wrung out like an old kitchen sponge. My energy reserves were so depleted I worried that I might not be able to drive the mile back to my house. 

 I like Halloween as a citizen, but as a teacher I do not care for it. Because of this year's unfortunate timing, my fatigue built up and by Friday I had a sore throat.  On Saturday I couldn't move off the sofa.  As I languished, I caught up on Golden Bachelor and watched movies.  Flora and Son was good.  Appropriate Behavior even better.  Midnight Run and Blue Jay are older classics.  See any of these films if you want to.

Most 3rdLanders had a plethora of fun stories, but come to find out, the kids with the blow up costumes had some sadness.  A dinosaur inflatable worn by one third lander deflated halfway through trick or treating.  He carried on in his own attire, a pain to explain to the candy givers. Another 3rdlander skipped Halloween altogether when his Sponge Bob inflatable went bust 20 minutes before T-or-T departure time.  His parent dashed back to the shop but was denied an exchange. Annoyed beyond all get out, this kid opted for staying home. As we all know, some losses are so devastating that recovery is impossible. You may want to boycott that store next year.  At the very least, save all packaging and receipts.  Overall, I do not recommend the blow up costumes. Too much heartache.

On Wednesday a kid came to school wearing a Xmas sweatshirt. Charlie Brown. Tiny Piano. Pathetic tree with red ornament. That one sweatshirt led to an extended, wild mashup of Halloween recollection with fervent Christmas plans. 

We're in holiday hoedown mode and I need to figure out how to stay healthy. It's not going to be a super season of holiday cheer if I end up in a coffin by New Year's.