Lost in Translation

Our writing club students are fond of posing ridiculous challenges for each other. Today's was a good example: Write about green bananas and how they are valuable to the scientific community.

To be honest, it seems like appeal of the challenge thing is fading, because the only kids who chose to write to this one were the two French exchange students who were shadowing one of our regulars.

But their contribution was fascinating and luminous in its own way:

Bananas (Romeo & Juliet’s prologue)
By Marie and Lola

Two green bananas both alike in dignity
In fair Banania where we lay our scene
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
Where civil juice makes civil hands unclean
From forth the fatal loins of these two green fruits
A pair of star crossed bananas takes their lives...

Not bad for a second language!

Reach Out

A few of my regular news outlets reported that today was the 40th anniversary of the first cell phone call

ever.

Of course the reporters marveled at how the world has changed, and some even took a few snarky pot shots at our current culture of constant connectivity. (To paraphrase Brian Williams: It's hard to imagine how we ever got along without them, although somehow we managed to win World War II and put a man on the moon.)

To me, the best observation was made by the man who made that first call, Martin Cooper. He noted that the mobile phone shifted our entire conception of the telephone: we used to call a place, but now we call a person.

Wow. It doesn't seem like it will be too long before the phrase, May I speak to... is obsolete.

Cooper also pointed out that every phone has an on/off switch, and that we should all remember who controls who. And he's right, because you may not always be home, but you are always you.

History 101

I have the New York Times website as my homepage-- I just like seeing the Grey Lady's perspective on the world every day. Tonight when I clicked over, I saw a banner advertisement that was hard to ignore: Experts say the first 150-year-old has already been born.

Imagine that!

The ad was interactive, and you could click on a time line to see some of the iconic headlines you might have known if you, yourself, had lived for the past 150 years. How could I resist?

But wait... mapping the human genome, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Maggie Thatcher's election? These were not exactly the first events that came to my mind for the last 35 years. I kept clicking back in time until at last I hit the one that I knew would be there, probably because it is always there: Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg.

Coincidentally, I just started reading a book about that tragedy today. People who know me may be surprised; not because I'm reading about Titanic, but rather because I've found a book that isn't a rehash of all those I've already poured over. You see, when I was a child, I was fascinated by the story of the doomed ship, which was then still lost on the floor of the ocean. The enormity of such a loss weighed heavily on my young mind, and it was nothing short of a miracle to me when the wreck was discovered in 1985.

Today, though, the book I picked up is a completely novel take on the ill-fated voyage that even after 101 years so many of us are so familiar with. It's called, Titanic: Deck Z.

And yes, Z is for Zombies.

I know, right?

Miss March and April

Over the twenty years I've spent in the classroom, I feel like I've become a bit of a school calendar connoisseur.

We start the day after Labor Day, and growing up in a region where school and September are synonymous, I'm fine with that. Columbus Day? Consider the holiday politically correct or not, a three day weekend at that point in the school year can revitalize students and staff alike.

Veterans Day on the other hand is nice, but not particularly necessary, especially with planning days and/or election day before and Thanksgiving soon after. Three days at Thanksgiving seems like a luxury, but it's a good idea given the number of families who travel.

In our system, we rarely get two full weeks for the winter holidays, but the one year that we did, it was awesome, and I keep my fingers crossed year after year for a repeat. Unfortunately, this coming year would be the best possibility according to how the holidays fall, and it's not going to happen.

King Day and Presidents Day are like stepping stones to spring break, but if that vacation week is early (as it is this year) then the rest of the term can really drag on, and Memorial Day is no relief; by then a holiday is a distraction-- everyone is ready to wind things up.

Summer is summer, and the merits of a longer or even year-round school calendar can be debated in another post.

Given all of the above, I must confess that as a career-long middle school teacher, this year's calendar has been one of the best ever. Why? Because as luck would have it, St. Patrick's Day was on a Sunday, and today, April Fool's Day, was a teacher work day.  That simple twist of fate has given us an entire year with no pinching and no pranking.

If only we could make that permanent.

What a Tweet

Like many things, I have been rather slow to embrace Twitter. While my brother has been an avid follower for a few years, I joined just last summer, and then only so I could get the inside scoop on where the food trucks would be (but that's another blog post).

Since then, though, I have definitely come to appreciate it. More than any other media, it offers spontaneous and immediate communication boiled down to what seems like the essentials. Not only do I know where the food trucks are and what they may be running low on, I can also see what the snow looks like from the studio window of an author I admire, what a certain celebrity cooked for dinner, or even get the answer to my own personal question from a famous chef.

But, wait! There's more: I can find out what trails are open in my favorite National Park, whether or not that actress is really going to challenge the senate minority leader, what books my friends are reading, and if it might rain tomorrow. All in one place, all in 140 characters, whether I really need to know it or not.

Postcard from Charles County

We went on another little outing today, this time to Chapman State Park, which is about 45 minutes from our house. I don't have a rating system, but if I did? CSP would be 4 stars, 2 thumbs up, 9 pine trees, or something else pretty darn good.

To begin with, the weather (which I'm aware is beyond the control of the park) was perfect: low 60's and plenty of sunshine. T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers were just right for the outing.

Next, although there were five or six cars parked in the lot, we only saw two other couples, and then just to nod as we passed.

Third, the trails were easy, but not flat or boring. They descend and ascend about 200 feet over a couple of miles through hard wood forests punctuated liberally with stands of towering loblolly pines.

Fourth, there is a payoff in the hike. About halfway, the trail opens to a wide sandy beach on the Potomac. We could see another of our favorite spots, Mason Neck State Park, right across the water. Several boats were out fishing, and a bald eagle agreeably soared just over head.

Fifth, there are historical sites to explore first hand. The property belonged to the Chapman family from 1750 to 1914. They were related to George Washington by both blood and marriage and good friends of George Mason, as well. Their plantation survived and thrived through both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The house that was built in 1840 still stands today, and there is also a family cemetery and some other cool ruins within the park boundaries. And, as if that were not enough, in 1954 a Hungarian countess bought the place and for the next thirty years, used it as her country estate and horse farm.

As we headed down the wide, red clay drive back toward our car, I was already thinking of when we might be back and who we should bring with us.

A Good Friday

We ended our week off as it began: dealing with practicalities. There were deliveries and inspections, emails, phone calls, and bills. All were addressed without stress, as if each and only one were the business of the moment, which they were.

In the afternoon we took a short drive to a National Park within 20 miles of our home, but one that we've never visited. Literally a massive fort with bulwarks and bastions galore; it was built to protect and defend, and we practically had the place to ourselves.

Walking its parapets with sweeping view of river and sky, it seemed like I could almost see my home, and I realized that some vacations are meant for escape and some are meant for being present.