"Let It Be Me"

11 May 2017:
"That's when you need someone,
Someone that you, you can call,
When all your faith is gone,
It feels like you cant go on.
Let it be me." --Ray LaMontagne, "Let It Be Me"

This lovely and dreamy song came on in Panera on this rainy day and just made me sigh.

Dramatic Yelp Reviews

10 May 2017: "Looks like there are holes in your story AND your teeth." --Aziz Ansari, doing dramatic readings of Yelp Reviews.

Loved this. Aziz never disappoints.

Sweet days of May...

9 May 2017:
"If I could make a wish,
I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need.
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound,
Nothing to eat, no books to read..." --The Hollies, "The Air That I Breathe"

These days of May--between graduation and the start of summer school--are often some of the sweetest: good weather, a relaxed pace, and just a general sense of all being well, at least for a moment. These past couple days have been especially lovely and this song, which came on today, seemed tone-appropriate.

Fallingwater

8 May 2017: "The next one...." --Frank Lloyd Wright, when asked which of his buildings was his favorite.

Yesterday (posting a day late here) I got to do something I've wanted to do for a long time: visit Fallingwater. Amy and I drove up and toured the house, along with some other Wright and Wright-inspired home in the area. Every bit of the trip was wonderful.

Good bye to some friends...

7 May 2017:
"A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I, face to face..." --Billy Joel, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"

Today I attended a sort of going away party for a couple of my friend, Mark and Erin.They are heading to Plattsburgh, where Mark has a new job. I've only known them for about two years, but I'll miss them (and their fantastic dinner parties) terribly. Anyway, this old Billy Joel song came on while we all were talking which lead to a fun discussion of favorite Billy Joel songs...then Elton John...then Bruce Springsteen. You get the point.

Graduation 2017

6 May 2017: "My first piece of advice: choose love." --Jessica Salfia, the speaker at today's Department of Education pinning ceremony, the first ceremony I attended today as part of commencement celebrations. Jessica is a Shepherd grad, English adjunct, and from everything I've heard, a simply amazing teacher. Her words of advice to our graduates who are about to enter the world as teachers were just terrific.

Commencement is such a special day, which I know sounds cheesy, but I guess what I mean is that it's just a day of so many emotions: pride (in our students, our university, and our own hard work), joy (celebrating their achievements, seeing their families), and sadness (I will miss some of these folks so much it hurts). But it also reminds me of something I am lucky to be reminded of so often: I am blessed to have this job. It lets me choose love every day.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2

5 May 2017: "I don't use my head to fly the arrow boy..." --Yondu, from Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2.

What a fun movie! And the line above, without giving anything away...I'll just say that it got to me, but I am, of course, a big old mush inside.

"Ask a Very Grown Woman"

4 May 2017: "Because even the worst advice from a friend comes with a second message and that's just 'I got your back.'....She had my back. I had hers. Which in the end, of course, is more important than anything." --Ira Glass, remembering his friend, Mary.

I am behind on my This American Life episodes, but found myself quite moved by this one, including the great segment with comedian Chris Gethard and his dad and the fun part in the beginning on the "Ask a Grown" videos. This show gets some flack for being kind of predictable in its tones and structures, but boy, do they do what they do really well.

[I did skip the segment about Trump supporters getting angry with the Dallas journalist because I just couldn't bear to hear from them on a day when this administration is about to celebrate both taking away health care from people and signing a horrifying "religious freedom" order. I know that's not the most healthy response in a democracy, but I need a break.]

"A Change of World, Episode 2: Books that Broke Down Barriers"

3 May 2017:

"We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage
the one who find our way
back to this scene
carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear." --Adrienne Rich, "Diving into the Wreck"

As I took a long walk this morning, I really enjoyed listening to this episode of Poetry Off the Shelf, which features great discussions of Plath, Sexton, Rukeyser, Lorde, and Rich. Something about my mind this morning latched especially onto Rich and this amazing poem. I feel like I get it more and more every time I read it, though "getting it" is ultimately sort of not the point. I guess what I mean is that you are never really going to understand the wreck itself, but that process of diving in and really looking around--that I get more and more.

"What I Wouldn't Do"

2 May 2017:

"If we were children I would bake you a mud pie
Warm and brown beneath the sun
Never learned to climb a tree but I would try
Just to show you what I'd done

Oh what I wouldn't do
If I had you, babe, I had you
Oh what I wouldn't do
If I had you, babe

If I were old, my dearest, you would be older
But I would crawl upon your lap
Wrap a blanket 'round our frail little shoulders
And I'd die happily like that

Oh what I wouldn't do
If I had you, babe, I had you
Oh what I wouldn't do
If I had you, babe, if I had you

So lace your hands 'round the small of my back and I will kiss you like a king
I will be your bride, I'll keep you warm at night
I will sing, I will sing

It was now and we were both in the same place
Didn't know how to say the words
With my heart ticking like a bomb in a birdcage
I left before someone got hurt

'Cause it was what I wouldn't do
If I had you, babe, I had you
It was what I wouldn't do
When I had you, babe, when I had you" --A Fine Frenzy, "What I Wouldn't Do"

Quoting the whole thing here because it seems wrong to excerpt it and disrupt the complete little story it tells. Such a sweet sounding song, but with a sad kicker at the end. And for someone like yours truly, who is never very good at making big moves...well, it hits close to home.

Yup...another podcast reference...

1 May 2017: "It allowed me to imagine an adult version of myself, which was huge..." --Sarah, a guest on this episode of the Nancy podcast. I won't give too much away here, but you want to listen to this conversation she has with someone important from her childhood.

New 'do...

30 April 2017: "High five!" --the little kid getting his hair cut next to me today, thrilled with how his spiky mohawk turned out, giving the stylist some grateful affirmation. This whole process was so cute to watch. He was maybe two or three years old and at first was scared to be in the chair, but some reassurance from his parents and a lollipop from the stylist settled him in. And then as she worked on his hair and he saw it becoming just what he wanted, he got so smiley and confident and happy. I mean, my haircut is pretty good--I like it just fine--but I wish I could feel a fraction of the way that little dude felt as he saw the finished product.

I also like that today's post is about a little kid and yesterday's about someone over 90 years older than that kid. Here I am, in the middle, listening to them both and trying to learn what I can.

The people you meet...

29 April 2017: "We been together 49 years...He's 98..." --a wonderful and interesting man I met at a Shepherd University Foundation event today, talking about his relationship with his partner.

Meeting this couple--one a retired teacher and the other a retired psychologist--was lovely enough, but to hear that they had met relatively late in the life of the older partner and that they had had so many years together...well, it just made me happy.

Spring 2017 Grading: DONE!

Just entered my last grades! Commence chair dancing: Frank Sinatra, "You Make Me Feel So Young." Off to bounce the moon just like a toy balloon!

Grage

Just had a brief conversation with my work husband about the need for a word like “hangry,” but for grading. It took us about a minute to get there. “Grage”: the feeling when the work you are grading fills you with rage. Feel free to use it in a sentence today. Fortunately, I haven’t had much need to use it this week (thank you, dear students!), but folks might want to stay away from Tim for a few hours/days.