The Run for the Roses

I am sitting I. The living room at my brother-in-law's house in Towanda, Kansas, just east of Wichita. A number of heifers have had their hooves and hair clipped, we've had lunch, and we've been shopping.   Now we are watching the Kentucky Derby on television.

I grew up ( from ages 12-22) in southwestern Indiana, west of Louisville.  The Derby was a big thing there.  When I moved north to Pulaski County, the Derby fun wasn't there; more people liked the 500, and understandably so.

But I still love the Derby.  I enjoy the events leading up to the main event.  I would love at attend and don a big picture hat.  A Mint Julep would be one of my beverages for the day.  Most importantly I would enjoy watching the race itself.  I really enjoy horses, and horse races, harness races, the silks and the colors.  Here is such ceremony associated with the Derby, though, and it is the race I like the best.

Until yesterday I didn't know that Krogers created the blanket of roses to drape over the winning horse.  I didn't know that people went to the store just to see the work on that beautiful red blanket.  Wouldn't that be something to see?

To be continued.......

What started as a great post which was going to relate to folk literature disappeared into cyberspace on my iPad while I was in Wichita.

What I had tried to include were these things:

A link to the history and styles of hats worn for The Derby

A link to the creation of the blanket of roses by Krogers to drape over the winner

A comment and a link about the Bourbon Trail that my husband and I enjoyed last May when we spent a few days between Lexington and Louisville.  No, I don't drink bourbon, but the touring the distilleries was fun!  If you ever have the chance or the time to do so, spend a few days at Kentucky Horse Park, driving the back roads and enjoying the rolling bluegrass , the stables, the barns where tobacco is dried, and the beauty of the state to our south.

Since Carsten focused on music, I will add these links as well:

My Old Kentucky Home at Churchill Downs

and one of my favorite songs about The Derby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdDwm3QIwfg


There you go!  Not completely as I had it on Saturday, but just a taste of what was there.  Enjoy!

The Final Weeks

Crunch time for me!

Not only are there mountains of papers to grade and semester grades to calculate, but also my husband and I are traveling to Kansas this weekend for our nephew's confirmation in the Lutheran Church.    My mind is spinning as I am trying to finish the grading for the three on-campus classes I teach, so that after I return on Monday, I can focus on the two online courses.

Bittersweet time of year for sure.  I just read Jessica's post about the end of the semester, graduating, reaching for one's dreams, not giving up. 

This semester has been fulfilling for me.  So many of my students have expressed to me how much they have learned in my classes, how much they have enjoyed my classes, and how much they will remember from my classes.    One student even complimented me on 'setting the bar high' for my students. She truly believed she achieved so much more because I did, and she didn't want to disappoint me. Seeing my students improve their skills in writing makes me happy.  Watching my students walk across the stage makes me feel like I have helped them achieve their dreams--for a career, for a better life for themselves, for an easier life for their families. 

But the end of the semester is also sad.  I enjoy getting to know many of my students.  We share stories. They tell me about their lives.  They listen to me share stories about my daughters and my grandchildren.  They understand when I am nervous about my daughter and her husband and the little girl they have in foster care.  I listen when a student tells me her husband just told her he was filing for divorce so her focus might be off for the evening.  When classes end, so do our conversations. 

Such is the journey we are on called life.  Full of encounters and experiences.  Full of new friendships.

I wouldn't trade it for any other profession in the world.

Orphan Train

I have been trying to read a little each night before falling asleep.  This has been going on since Spring Break time, and it started as a way to blend my regular routine with trying to finish a book I had started while we were at Myrtle Beach.

The most recent book I read is Orphan Train.   This had been recommended by a friend, then another friend, and I finally broke down and bought a copy at Target.   I could stick it in my bag and carry it around with me, rather than depending on my iPad for reading purposes.  Currently I am on a 'real book' kick, and I like to turn the pages and feel the book in my hands rather then just tap the corner of a screen for the page to turn.

Anyway, as I started to read Orphan Train I had expectations.  I was a little afraid because my grandson was a Safe Haven baby and was left at a hospital for someone to find and for him to be placed with a family who would love him and care for him. I suppose for a little while he could have been termed an 'orphan' because he really had no parents.  Frequently we hear in the news about circumstances where two parents are killed, leaving behind young children with no one to care for them.  This just happened to a friend who teaches in the North Judson Elementary School. One of her students just lost both of his parents when a truck hit the motorcycle they were riding, killing them outright.

However, as I read, I knew that these situations were quite different than those featured in the novel.  The closest similarity was between a girl who was still in foster care today but at the age of 17.  Even though the children had no parents to care for them and were in the foster care system, the circumstances and the time periods were much different.

The contemporary character was so used to being labeled as 'odd' and 'strange' whenever she enrolled in a new school.  She was shunned by the groups of girls and the classmates she encountered.  It hurt.  It stung.  So she decided that if she were to be labeled as 'odd' or 'strange,' she might as well be that way, so she died her hair black and added a white streak down the middle.  She pierced her ears several times and added a piercing to her nose and her lip.  She decorated her eyes with black make-up.  She wore unconventional clothing and jewelry.  By doing this she knew that when others thought she was 'odd' or 'strange' it was because of her clothing, hairstyle, and make up, not because of 'her.'  Gradually as she became accepted by others who saw through her façade, those attributes dropped away.

How often do we judge people by the exterior presentation?  How often are those with multiple tattoos or piercings thought to be weird and strange?  And by the same token, how often are young girls who wear longer skirts and their hair up, and no make up adoring their faces thought to be equally as 'strange' and 'odd'?  How many times was I told that I must have a fiery temper because of my red hair? 

Reading Orphan Train was an experience, and I really enjoyed the novel.  However, I didn't like the ending. I wanted more.  I needed to know more about what happens to these characters.  The last few pages seemed to me to be rushed, like someone was telling the author to 'hurry up and finish that book' so she could do something else.

If you have a chance to read it, please do.  The chapters are short, the style is easy to follow, and you will learn something.  It will make you think.

Gatsby

Isn't Facebook great?  Ok...not so great sometimes, but great when I make a discovery.

My last student teacher before I left the halls of the high school now teaches in a private school in Seattle.  One of her favorite novels is The Great Gatsby (I taught her well, right?).  This morning I found this on my wall....

http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/the-most-beautiful-sentences-in-the-great-gatsby?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.thaVpXeVl

Check it out.

April is the cruelest month......

Several responses in Pod #4 focused on that line from T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland.

This is a line I have taught, discussed, pondered many times. I have asked for interpretations on short answer/essay tests for the juniors.  It is an option for reflection in Pod #4.

Yesterday my husband and I were in Lafayette for a doctor's appointment (follow up on his February foot surgery), then stopping at Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's in search of Hot Shot which is the only thing we can spray around our house to keep the ladybugs out!

At one point my husband asked if I wanted to buy some flowers (pansies specifically) to plant since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny.  My answer?  No.  Why?  Because April is the cruelest month.

There are many interpretations for this line and I am sure that if T. S. Eliot were to read them, he would probably shake his head and snicker at how all of us had missed his intent when penning those lines for the poem.

My feeling is that poetry is meant to be interpreted by the reader, bringing into that interpretation life's reflections, experiences, and events.  How can one reader tell another that he/she is wrong in his/her interpretation?  Unless one reader insists that William Carlos Williams was writing about abortion in the poem about cold plums in the refrigerator or some such thing, any interpretation would be valid and should be considered.  Side note: that I why I always told my high school students that if an essay question asked for his/her interpretation of a quote or a passage, as long as it was answered and reflected on the passage or quote, the credit would be given. Only blank or way out there interpretations would be scrutinized for partial or no credit.

Therefore....my interpretation of that line is that April is cruel because it tempts us (as with the sunny warm weather yesterday) that spring has indeed arrived.  It gives us the impression that we can wear shorts and flip flops and put away mittens, hats, and scarves plus every pair of boots we own for the summer.  We can take all of our winter coats to the dry cleaners because their time is OVER!  However, I remember on April 8, 1982, at my daughter's first birthday party.  There was so much snow that my husband, his brother, and his dad had to push cars out of the snowdrifts in our drive. April!  I remember being a chaperone on my second daughter's first grade field trip to Indiana Beach in 1990.  One of the greatly anticipated events for the kids was a ride on the top level of the Shaffer Queen.  That particular day  in late April we were wearing heavy coats, hats, and gloves on that ride because it was so cold and blustery.  The kids' teeth were chattering and they were freezing.  The most beautiful blooming flowers can be covered with ice and snow during a brief sudden storm in April.  Fruit tree blossoms can be frozen by a sudden dip in temperatures after being tricked into blooming by days of warmer weather.

Yes, April is the cruelest month.  She tricks us, she tempts us, she teases us.

I still love April though.  Both of our daughters were born in April. Some of my favorite flowers are those that bloom in late April and early May.  The flowering trees in April/May are always gorgeous.  Easter is usually in April. and that means family gatherings once again after a long winter's hibernation.

And with that.....Enjoy April!  Happy Spring!

Fog ......Carl Sandburg

Fog

By Carl Sandburg

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on

 

This afternoon my husband and I went to see American Sniper at the theatre at Broadway at the Beach, one of our favorite places to go to the movies while we are here.

 

After the movie and an early dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast treats for tomorrow morning, then drove back to the condo on North Oceans Blvd.  Suddenly we noticed a white haze rolling around the buildings, drifting over the street, and impeding the view of what was ahead.  The closer we came to our condo, we noticed that the top floors had vanished.  The fog was thick.

 

The view from our balcony is limited now.  We can see the sand, the cute little shelters for sunbathers, and a few people.  We can see the shoreline.  Other than that....fog.

 

My husband wanted to go for a walk, and we may do that in an hour or so.  However, I am not a fan of being in fog and not knowing where I am or what I am close to.  Too many times have I driven in the country from our house to my in-laws' house, counting telephone poles as I go, creeping along looking for county road signs, and rolling down windows just to hear any oncoming traffic because I surely can't see any vehicles through the white cottony mess.

 

I am sure the fog will eventually leave, just like in Sandburg's poem. Silently. Looking over the shore line.  Moving on.

 

Reading over Spring Break!

After my appointment with the dentist today, my husband and I drove to Valparaiso for a late lunch and some shopping.

One of my favorite stores is Target, and a Barnes and Noble is across the parking lot from the store on the east side of town.  That was the plan---stops at both.  However, I found several good titles as I was browsing the shelves off Best Sellers and Recommended Reading at Target and we never made it to B & N.

During Spring Break I like to read things that (1) don't have to be graded and (2) won't be taught.  I read differently when I teach something --- remembering content, looking for main points, jotting down examples of literary elements or points to include in an analysis.   I like reading our common book, This I Believe II,  but for every essay I read I automatically think of a writing prompt for a journal entry in ENGL 111. 

During Spring Break I read for pleasure.  I read best sellers. I read books I really don't have to remember.  I read books I don't have to think about too much.

What will I be reading in the car as we drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina?
Which pages will be turned while I sit on the balcony of the condo (hopefully) listening to the waves of the Atlantic Ocean as they hit the beach?

Here they are:

 

 

I have read several novels by Baldacci and enjoy his writing.  This novel was published in 2014.

Christina Baker Kline wrote Orphan Train which was #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

I haven't read anything written by Nicholas Butler (mainly because this is his first novel), but he graduated from the University of Wisconsin and still lives there.  My brother-in-law was on the faculty at Wisconsin and lives outside of Madison for several years.  We really enjoyed touring the state and visiting the capital city.

Thoughts about Red Badge

The Red Badge of Courage is NOT one of my favorite books to read.  If I were to rank the books that I have read from the most liked to the least, Red Badge would be close to the bottom of the list.

Why is this novel then included in the curriculum for ENGL 223?  Why did the juniors at West Central High School read it for many years?  The answer is simple. 

It is teachable. 

Picture this.....a class full of junior boys, after lunch, after a morning of Building Trades or Auto Mechanics at the Vocational School.  They all trek into English class, ready for......a nap.  How does the English teacher keep their attention?  Involve them in the class?  Make the 90 minutes fly by?

Read The Red Badge of Courage.  With parts.  With acting.  The tallest boy in the class played Jim Conklin, the tall soldier.  The boy with the youngish looking face, the one who never said much of anything became The Youth, Henry Fleming.  The loud kid who always cracked jokes and  couldn't sit still took on the role of Wilson, the Loud Soldier.  Any number of other soldiers were played by any number of other students on the brink of nodding off during normal class time.  Add some blood and guts plus ants creeping over a dead guy's face and they were hooked.

From the teacher's standpoint, Red Badge held a wealth of elements that were easily explained and understood.  How can even the toughest students not understand the scene where Henry and Wilson run up the hill with Jim, Jim's death, and the wounds in his hands and his side depicting the crucifixion?   How can students read about all of the RED and the GREEN and the BLACK and GRAY and not recognize the color symbolism?

The story is simple, yet complex.  The action covers a short amount of time.  The characters and the setting are both universal.  Red Badge is really about any war at any time with any characters or any nationality.

So, no, this is not one of my favorite books to read for pleasure.  However, it is one so craftily written that it is a logical choice  to include in a course curriculum and an easy read for those who don't necessarily enjoy spending their time with a book.

Gazing through the Picture Window on a Saturday Morning.......

No, I am not going to write a poem. I don't intend to write anything that resembles any type of genre, except a blog post!

However, I looked up from my recliner, my place for my Saturday morning routine of grading online submissions, to see beautiful snowflakes drifting through the air.  Of course they are not in my living room, but the view through the picture window is beautiful.

Yes, I am tired of snow.

Yes, I am tired of cold temps.

Yes, I am really tired of my concern over the driving conditions each day as I hit the country roads from west of Pulaski to Star City to Royal Center to Logansport and maybe Kokomo.

Today I am concerned about the driving to Pyrmont when my daughter and her family live.  The plan is to go there after lunch, spend the afternoon and evening with everyone, spend the night, go to church in the morning, then attend a baby shower for a friend in the afternoon.  I won't be driving, but my husband doesn't like to drive on snowy, icy roads any better than I do.

But for now....I am thinking of Robert Frost's feelings as he slowed his horses to gaze at the woods on a snowy evening, years ago.  Even though the hustle and bustle of life as we know it was non-existent then, I am sure he faced many struggles in his daily life.  Getting home before dark.  Feeding the horses and ensuring their safety in the barn before he went into the house for his own warm meal.  Cutting and stacking more wood so his family would be warm and cozy into the night.  Even though the challenges and concerns were different, they still existed, just on a different scale.

Here I am, worried about riding in our Ford Escape with four-wheel drive for 40 miles in a little snow.  Not really a big problem.  But even more, I am thinking about my life right now.  Some issues have been weighing heavily on my mind lately, and I am not sure what direction they may take me.  Maybe some reflection on Frost would be appropriate right now.

As I move my head from the computer screen toward the picture window once again, the scene has changed, just in the time it took me to begin this post to now.  The beautiful snowflakes have disappeared to just a fine sprinkle similar to the change from Q-Tip sized cotton to a poof of baby powder.

No parody of Robert Frost's poem!  Just some reflections on our busy lives, the wonders of nature, and life in general.

eBooks

as I type this, I am sitting in a gym at the Ft. Wayne campus, listening to a presentation about eBooks and such.  We were just asked how many of us teach a course using eBooks, and I raised my hand because we are reading Red Badge in another format than the anthology and Gatsby will be the same way.

My question....do you feel comfortable reading a digital form of a book, or do you like to feel the pages turn of a book you are holding in your hand?  Thmk about it.  Will libraries in small towns fade away because everyone has a Kindle?

New Semester! New Blog!

Welcome to the world of Blogging for the ENGL 223 course in the spring semester of 2015!

As we discussed in the Blackboard IM session on Wednesday, February 11, the blog will take the place of a formal midterm exam and a final exam.

Please check the Midterm Blog folder in our shell on Blackboard for instructions, suggestions, and guidelines.

The blogs from students returning to ENGL 223 from the fall ENGL 222 course are shown at the right.  Please click and take a look.