Urban Hike

When it came time to take that cute little Beckett back from his puppysitting we decided to walk. His house is probably a mile as the crow flies, but with a wooded park and two school campuses between us, the crow's flight plan was not a possibility. So, we zigzagged on streets and paths and sidewalks and up and down hills and even cut across a few fields to find the most direct route to that distant neighborhood, braving mosquitoes and a dead rat or two. It wasn't quite as beautiful as the hikes we usually take, but it was good to be outside and going somewhere.

Nothin's Worrying Me

And on the second day of summer...

it rained!
and rained
and rained
and rained
and rained.

But who cares?

Potential Energy

Cumin,
flax,
milkweed,
radish,
watermelon,
poppies,
peppers,
pumpkin,
johnny jump-ups,
summer snow,
sunflowers,
wheat grass,
and
wildflowers:

on the first day of summer
anything seems possible,
and so I planted
some seeds.

Hey, Hey, Hey, Good-bye

In general, I'm not a hugger, but there were a lot of big good-byes at the end of this school year, and so I opened my arms wide to every one of them, leaned in, and held on to all we had been through together for just a few seconds longer.

Working at the same job in the same place with many of the same folks for 25 years made it seem that all of that would last forever, but the last few days have reminded me that it won't. One day, in the not too distant future, all the fun and laughter and accomplishment and frustration and irritation and failure will be in the past.

Actually, it's in the past now, and there is only so much more to look forward to. Maybe it's just summer vacation talking, but I think I'm going to be a little more appreciative from now on, and I might even give a few more hugs.

Warning: Golden Years Ahead

It's happening.

After finishing my 25th year of teaching,
people I started with
are starting to...

RETIRE!

Carbon Emissions

"Well, if you don't want to be a teacher for a day, then find a partner and create a Kahoot," I said last week in an effort to make sure our class time was full and engaging right up until the last day.

(For those who are unaware, Kahoot is a game-based educational tool played by whole classes in real time. Multiple-choice questions are projected on the screen, and students answer the questions with their device. It can be a very engaging way to introduce, review, or assess material.)

"Does it have to be about school?" asked someone.

"No," I replied. "Find an interest you have in common, do some research, and write 10-12 questions."

The notion of having the whole class play their quiz game was instantly engaging, and soon the class was humming along, using all sorts of higher order thinking skills to create some fun time-fillers for those excruciating final days of school.

And that's how we found ourselves competing to showcase our knowledge of "Different Types of Farts" this morning.

First question? Which type is also known as a Ninja Fart?

First answer? Silent, but deadly. 

And so on, until we got to the question When do girls fart? 

The choices were:

All the time
Only at night
When they are alone
Never

As the time was ticking down, I heard one boy agonizing over his answer. He is the oldest of three brothers, so his experience is somewhat limited. "Wait!" he cried. "Do girls even fart?"

Lucky Little Girl

I almost ignored the email.

It seemed like some junk from SiriusXM, but I went ahead and clicked on it before deleting. Turns out I had won two complimentary tickets in a promotion I had entered and promptly forgotten. And that’s how we are going to see Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Dwight Yoakum at the MGM Grand Casino Theater tonight.