Monthly Archives: May 2013

Walt Whitman: a middle schooler at heart

Today is Walt Whitman’s birthday, so how appropriate that today was our “stalking day.” Each year, after exploring Whitman’s Song of Myself, I have my students go out into the school and the community, and play the flaneur, observing and … Continue reading

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Sometimes it is enough to just walk in the garden…

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Rite of Spring

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the premier of Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, which was greeted with boos, hisses, and jeers. Pierre Boulez conducts the Paris Orchestra in this production from 2002.

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Life Drawing at the Book Club

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Before and after “hair”cut

Working in the garden, it is important to first make sure you can easily get from one side to the other.

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Transformation from a car to a hawk whose wings flap

This is what happens when your creative nephew gets ahold of your Garmin.

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Nothing depressing here

Visiting nursing homes when I was young always made me so depressed. All those old people in one place. I remember those homes as dark and smelly, not necessarily a bad smell, but an old smell. I sometimes accompanied my … Continue reading

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Ten sacred achievements on Vesak Day

How I spent Vesak Day, the sacred day commemorating Buddha’s birth, death, and enlightenment (as celebrated in Vietnam and Southeast Asia): 1. Worked with colleagues to craft a grievance. 2. Learned how to catch a stack of quarters from the … Continue reading

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“Surprise” by Jane Kenyon

It is the poet, Jane Kenyon’s, birthday today. She was born in 1947 and died in 1995 from leukemia. She was married to the poet Donald Hall. He suggests pancakes at the local diner, followed by a walk in search … Continue reading

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Vesak Day

This morning during advisory, one of my students handed me a Vesak card which was designed by her father. This auspicious day, the first full moon in May (as celebrated in Vietnam and Southeast Asia) commemorates Buddha’s birth, death, and … Continue reading

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