Birds Flyin' High

You know what I mean.

After five days off, there was a lovely dusting of snow overnight that gave us a delayed opening this morning. At 9 AM, well-rested and well-fed, with the sun shining down on me from impossibly blue skies, as I brushed the light, fluffy snow from our cars, even I was ready to go back to work.

Did shortened classes with a quiz scheduled ease my transition? You bet. And when I left at 6 PM this evening after grading and entering all the assignments of the day, as well as pulling together, analyzing, and reflecting a load of data for a mid-year meeting with my administrator, I was still feeling good.

The Wisdom to Know the Difference

Usually I don't mind living such a densely populated neighborhood. I like to think that we're keeping our carbon footprint small by living in a small, economical place. Our complex is well-designed, too, so there is often the illusion of not only privacy, but also autonomy. And although I know that it is really just an illusion, it still upsets me when the curtain is pulled back and I am forced to confront how powerless I sometimes am.

Last night was one of those occasions. At 1 AM a car alarm went off in the parking lot directly beneath our bedroom window, and it continued honking for over three hours. There was literally nothing practical we could do to make it stop.

Really.

Think about that.

We certainly did.

And then we thanked our lucky stars that it wasn't a school night, buried our heads beneath the pillows, and tried to sleep.

The Documentary Zone

The theater is warm and the lights are dim when you walk in. The chairs are really no more than glorified folding chairs with a little extra padding and a single arm rest. The screen? By multiplex standards, it is quite small, but it is big enough. Even so, you choose seats in the first row so that nothing will obstruct your view, lean back, and relax. You are about to enter another dimension.

For the next three hours, you will be immersed in the lives of other people. There is a 69-year-old man who carves huge, wondrous caves from sandstone, an 82-year-old WWII vet who is serving life in prison for murder-- you will see him die, an impossibly optimistic 109-year-old survivor of the Holocaust, unarmed Yemeni protestors in Change Square who are gunned down by snipers, and an ex-Neo-Nazi and his friend, the gay former street hustler who he almost kicked to death 25 years ago.

These are this year's Oscar-nominated documentary shorts, a collection of movies both so personal and humanizing, that you will leave the theater a slightly different, maybe even better, person than you were before. That's the sign post up ahead.

There Is That

"We should have three days of school a week and four days off!" one of my students suggested the other day, at least 24 hours before a snow storm came along and granted his wish.

Many of the kids in the class nodded in agreement. I didn't blame them; who wouldn't want more time off?

"You mean have three longer days in school?" I asked.

"No!" he shrugged. "Just three regular days."

There were more nods, but at least one of his classmates was not convinced. Frowning, he raised his hand. "What are you going to do about being dumb?" 

A Logic of Romance

I heard today that the average American spends 133 dollars on Valentines Day, a figure that gave me pause because my own expenditures were so far below that number. A moment later, though, Jacques Torres, of chocolate fame, described the last minute Valentine shoppers who patronize his store. If they spend over a hundred dollars, I know they're in trouble, he said. 

I prefer to consider the contrapositive.

Y and X

A friend posted the following question on her Facebook page:

Predictions for school tomorrow? Weigh in.

Two men and three women commented as follows:

1. Forecast for rain and then more snow... Means frozen slush and 0% chance. Happy 5 day weekend/loss of teacher workday.

2. All the secondary factors like sidewalks blocked by plowed snow, covered parking lots, messy hills on bus routes, etc. make school very unlikely if it drops below freezing this evening. Plus the schools save many thousands by not turning the heat back up until Tuesday. I don't know if a state of emergency counts against snow days.

3. No way.

4. Nope.

5. Not happening.

What happened to men of few words?

Go Big AND Go Home

More winter weather is predicted for us tonight. Although we have had no huge snow events, this winter has turned out a string of minor nuisances. As welcome as the days out of school have been, by February our thoughts inevitably turn to the price we may pay once warmer weather returns.

Here's how our district has it all figured out:

One more snow day = no make up days; we've got five built into the calendar.

Two more snow days and we lose the teacher work day scheduled for March 31.

After that it's all up in the air with some days made up and others not, but at 10 days total, the state will give us an emergency dispensation, and nothing need be done to be in compliance.

Yes, please.