Archive for the 'The Stories' Category

Learning for Dummies–New Teacher Blog

Learning for Dummies is what my new teacher blog is called. I just posted a story about Friday over there.
Oh, and the title doesn’t mean the kids are dumb. Oh no. Well, not most of the time, anyway.
I have to admit that I chose the title because it seems like the sort of [...]

Parade

I just got back from walking downtown to watch our Christmas parade. It’s one of those parades where half the town is in it and the other half watches. I was supposed to be on my school’s float, but I chose to watch MY SON carry the American flag at the beginning of the parade. [...]

Dreamcatcher

Last night I was tucking Sage into bed. He reached up, grabbed his dreamcatcher, and proceeded to give it a few good whacks.
I asked him what he was doing.
“I’m cleaning out the bad dreams so that there will be room for some more,” he said.
I didn’t ask where the old ones went. [...]

They’re Coming Beggin’ at My Door

Photo: bradleygee
Yesterday, I heard a soft knock at the door. I opened it to see a large black guy standing there. I figured he must be one of my neighbors.
“Ma’am, I’ve ran out of gas just up the street here,” he said, motioning around the corner to Church Street where I couldn’t see. “Do [...]

Culture Shock

Warning: Long post ahead.
Update: Teaching is going fine, and is currently even enjoyable!
Okay, so I decided that I needed more purpose in my life. To that effect, I went and volunteered my services at a local interfaith agency that provides emergency assistance to people in need. I signed on as an “encourager.” An [...]

A True Story

Photo: Yelnoc
There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about how much legal latitude parents should have when it comes to naming their children. I don’t know where I stand, actually. On the one hand, the libertarian side of me believes we should be able to name our children without government interference, while [...]

Meat Peddlers

Last night, I was asleep when Salsa started barking uproariously. I stumbled out of bed to see what was going on and found Greg on the front porch, reading. I asked him why the dog was having a fit. He told me that a man had just came up to the porch, pulled one steak [...]

Awful News :-(

I’m so angry/sad right now. I found out last night that the wife of one of my colleagues died. She was one of those women who looked perfect at all times. I felt jealous of her and of her size 6 wardrobe. She had a great sense of humor. Her death was a surprise.
It [...]

Visions

Photo: kuyman
So far, they’ve never been premonitions. And when you’re driving down the road and in your mind’s eye you see the motorcycle in front of you skid, tumble, its driver sliding beneath the wheels of an oncoming car–you are thankful for that.
It’s difficult to know what to make of it all sometimes. You [...]

Speaking of Berries

I have a colleague whose partner just died from cancer. It sucks on so many levels, one of which is that they’ve been together like 25 years and since my colleague is an lesbian in this little town, she can’t grieve as openly as she could if it had been a husband who had died. [...]