Booking Through Thursday: Comfort Food

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. Unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)

Well, to be honest after all those bad things happening, I probably would not feel like reading, I'd feel like drinking several glasses of a cordial such as Frangelico (which works much better than most cold remedies). I'm a miserable patient and when I have a cold reading isn't all that appealing to me. When a beloved pet has recently died, I don't do much besides cry; even Frangelico isn't a salve. Stacks of unpaid bills make me too nervous to concentrate on reading. If I lost my job, I'd probably be frantically looking for another rather than reading. And I've been married a long time, so I can't remember the dumping thing enough to connect.

But in terms of what I read as a comfort book, it isn't generally fiction (although if I was reading a fiction book during a crisis, I could easily see using it as an escape mechanism). My favorite comfort book is one I have read many times: Mark Twain's Autobiography. It is funny, touching, timeless and true to life, all at the same time. (If I could have quickly thought of a substitute word for funny that would have fit with the alliteration...I would have.)

I have the rest of the week off because the university has a short break. Classes are going OK, I have 33 students in the Social Foundations day class, 24 in the evening section, 20 in the online section, and 28 in Toleration. Landed smart rooms all around so that makes things easier. So far, I'm very happy with the changes I made this semester. I got a raise! That makes sending back the recent canvass letter I got for a job (a better one, if the criteria is salary; a worse one on all other criteria) a cinch.

Over the weekend while I was at Olive Day for a few hours, there was some sort of brown out or surge that fried my computer and router in Samsonville again! I was especially pissed because I have been unplugging everything since the last lightening episode, but since I was only gone for a few hours and didn't think there would be a storm, I didn't bother. The electricity was on, and the clocks weren't even blinking, so I'm thinking the cable is the culprit.

So, I bought some higher quality surge protectors that can also take cable wires, I am getting a replacement router since it is (still!) on warranty, and Bob took the machine to a repair place. He managed to turn a deaf ear to the technician's suggestion that he buy a new machine instead of bothering to see if the fried one can be fixed again. Well, not exactly a new machine - another crappy machine that is only the equivalent of the crappy broken machine. The tech insisted I can just swap out all the upgraded components into a new crappy box. Yes, Bob agreed, I probably could. But I am as fried on doing that as the machine is. I just want someone else to fix it at this point. And if I have to resort to a crappy replacement, I'm not going to pay the computer store for that type of machine when I can get one at a yard sale. Or use my mother's spare computer instead.

Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I enjoy doing it. At my old job, I was often stuck with tinkering with the computers just because I was good at it. I didn't like that job duty at all and that hasn't changed. I already spend way too much time on those sort of tasks.

Anyway, it was a nice weekend for swimming. We'll probably close the pool this weekend.

I'm making this post just so that in the future when I check back...I will remember that it was 88 degrees and humid today! The garden is thriving. The new mums I put in are starting to bloom. Looks like it will be another swimming weekend.

What with being back on campus and the hectic weekend, I haven't had a lot of time for posting. On Friday night, we saw the Music Man at the Mac-Haydn theatre in Chatham. It was awesome!! Before the show, we ate dinner at Lippera's Chatham House, and after the show, we had a nightcap at Peint o Gwrw Tafarn, which had live music. On Saturday we went to Samsonville. There was another humid 90 degree day the Thursday before, so the pool has stayed warm. (Two more humid days of near 90 are predicated for Friday and Saturday, so although Bob's plan has been to close the pool on Sunday, if this weather keeps up, he'll wait another week and play it by ear.) We came back on Sunday, and went to a wedding at Birch Hill. The food was great, it is a very nice place for an event. Finally, on Monday I replaced my window box petunias - which had been glorious all summer but were getting pretty ragged - with mums. It looks great!

First day of classes went OK. In looking over my roster, eleven students have taken a course with me in the past. I think, sort of egotistically, that it means I must be doing something right - either that or my courses are an easy A - or maybe it is just that there is a shortage of education classes at the university and since I teach two of them I get most students more than once.

Another jerk, Chad Johnson, opens his mouth and removes any doubt that he is a moron, as he spouts off in support of Vick.

Now, it is no secret that I am no fan of sports, especially football. But my disgust with everyone involved in all flavors of games grows daily. Now some jerk who plays for the Knicks named Stephon Marbury comes to Albany and while here, spouts off about how dog fighting is a sport and Vick is a good guy. I guess he thinks he's so cool that he can say whatever vile thing he wants and suffer not at all? Hey, I have an idea. Why don't the feds dig around a little into this guy's activities? Think attending dog fights run by his pal Mike might be one of his past pleasures? And here's another idea. Email Steve & Barry's, his sponsor, at customerservice@steveandbarrys.com to let them know you will boycott their product if they don't dump him. Hey dude! That's not a sport...it's called the market.

Since I haven't been able to post for the past few Thursdays, I thought I'd catch up today. Not sure if this will be my last BTT for a while - classes start next week, and Thursdays are always difficult during the semester.

Booking Through Thursday: Indoctrination

When growing up did your family share your love of books?

The only other avid reader in my immediate family is my sister.

If so, did one person get you into reading?

Besides my sister, there were two others: my maternal grandmother Mimmie and my paternal Aunt Jean. Mimmie didn't have a lot of education - formally it ended after eighth grade at the West Hurley one room school. But she loved to read and we shared many books with each other. Often I, or my sister, or my mother would go to the library to check out books for her since she didn't like to leave home very much. Aunt Jean worked at the library and at a vintage book seller and she also was a voracious reader. Some of my most precious books were gifts from her.

And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

My father read me a chapter from Pinocchio every night for a while when I was a kid. We read it over and over. He also acted out the story with Pinocchio and Geppetto marionnettes. Sometimes his performances drifted quite far from the Collodi story line!

Booking Through Thursday: Monogamy (from 8/16)

One book at a time? Or more than one? If more, are they different types/genres? Or similar? (We’re talking recreational reading, here—books for work or school don’t really count since they’re not optional.)

I generally read one book at a time and don't start another until I finish it. However, right now I am reading two books at once: Uncle Tom's Cabin and a book about Terri Schiavo. The Stowe book is very heavy reading. The Schiavo one is quite upsetting too, but it is a much faster read.

Booking Through Thursday: Multiples (from 8/9)

Do you have multiple copies of any of your books?

Yes, I have quite a few multiples.

If so, why? Absent-mindedness? You love them that much? First Editions for the shelf, but paperbacks to read?

I collect Mark Twain books, and have numerous copies of a few titles, including Life on the Mississippi, Huck Finn, Roughing It and his autobiography. I got the Complete Works of Mark Twain when it came out again a few years ago, after I already had some of his other books, so probably about a quarter of the complete works made me have duplicates. I also have some very old editions that are sort of investments (as if I could ever part with them)! I may have one or two first editions of the more obscure books, but most of the antique ones are second editions. Sometimes someone gives me a Mark Twain book as a gift, and of course I already have it. Finally, if I see a Mark Twain book at a yard sale, I have to buy it - even if it is a paperback in pathetic condition. I have an entire bookcase devoted to Mark Twain, both paperbacks and hardcovers, some pristine and some battered.

Finally, I bought books I liked as gifts for my grandmother, and after she died, they were given back to me. So that made me have two copies of some things.

If not, why not? Not enough space? Not enough money? Too sensible to do something so foolish?

N/A

Root canal is done and the novocaine is worn off. This one was awful!! Not so much the actual procedure - it didn't last as long as the other one I had (that time he had a hard time finding the last root and it took forever) and he didn't hurt me at all, he never does. But after he gave me the second shot of novocaine something happened to my face on the opposite (right side) near my eye - it felt like I was having a stroke, with tics, involuntary movement, etc. Combined with the usual numbness in my mouth it was awful. I didn't say anything, but covered the area with my hand to try to get control of myself. My heart was beating very fast too. I am not all that nervous at the dentist so it was really odd for me. The dentist noticed and said, "are you OK?" I said, "not really. I am having some sort of weird nervous reaction." He asked, "right eye?" I said, "yes." So he told me that is a very common reaction to a shot of novocaine in the location I had it - it crosses over and is nothing to worry about. He told me to close my eyes, but I couldn't. Keeping them open was unpleasant, too. Eventually I got my sunglasses and I wore them for the entire procedure, which helped. But it was all I could do to stay in the chair and not freak out. I have had an episode on one other occasion where I was in such a panic that my leg shakes and no matter what I do I can't make it stop (it happened when I first was learning to drive, the first time I went on a busy road where you have to do 55). That is what happened after I couldn't make the eye thing go away. The dentist didn't seem to notice or care, but it is very upsetting for me. About halfway through he gave me a break, I went to the bathroom, discovered I was still in control of my body, calmed down, and as a result I felt a lot better for the second half. I get my crown on 9/14. Hopefully that will be easier! (But I'm not optimistic.)

We saw Hairspray (the movie) last night. It was great!! Worth seeing.

Here's Beloit College's list about what incoming freshmen don't know. I might have added a few things, but some are funny. (Others I don't know, either...)

I've been reading both Uncle Tom's Cabin (which I have always wanted to read) and Silent Witness (about Terri Schiavo). I'm about halfway through with each. I don't usually read two books at the same time, but Stowe's book is very heavy. Not that the other book isn't, but it is a much faster read. I reviewed them both on Goodreads.

One week until my classes start, and I am in good shape. I got my summer class grades done today. Two days until my root canal...popping advil until then.

Vick to plead guilty! Good news for dogs and animal lovers.

Two weeks countdown to the start of classes! Bittersweet. As my summer winds down, it is jam packed, not only with work-related stuff, but with "fun." I took a little trip on Amtrak to Western New York to visit a friend, and was away from the PC for a few days. (I paid the price, too - I finally managed today to get through my 100,000 emails - some were second and third follow-ups from students, demanding to know why I had not responded to their original query within the first hour after it was sent. Sigh.) Before that, I swam, and went to the winery I mentioned a few posts ago (too lazy to link), and the Ulster County Fair. I took some pictures while I was out in Buffalo, and I'll post at least one, as well as some flower shots soon. This weekend, we may go to the Grahamsville Fair.

My fall classes begin on August 28, and I have a long list of things to do, especially because I am changing books in my classes, so that will involve a lot more revisions than usual. Plus, my summer class ends August 17, so very soon there will be some things to do to wrap up that course.

But instead, I was enticed by this Daily Freeman article to do a little data analysis. I'd read about this Forbes magazine article recently, but didn't look at it that carefully. However, when I noticed that it listed Ulster County's schools (home of my alma mater and weekend house) as third worst in the nation (of the 100 counties they ranked), I couldn't resist! I'm not sure why they chose Ulster County as one of the places to include - perhaps because it is a weekend vacation spot for NYC folks, and they resent the high school taxes they pay on their second homes, or because some of them consider abandoning the metro area and making the move north permanently.

So I tossed my to do list aside (temporarily) and visited the NYS Education Department's school report cards website. I don't feel too guilty, because it is sort of work-related!

Now, Forbes is refusing to give any more details on what formula they used than what is already provided in the article. So naturally, that makes it hard. Hiding the methodology isn't the scholarly way. But then Forbes is hardly a scholarly publication. However, valid or not, such articles do get attention, and so I can sympathize with the school representatives quoted in the Freeman article, that it is an unfair analysis. On the other hand, I have written before (here, here, here, and here) about how the numbers simply don't add up in the district that is my alma mater, so I was willing to give Forbes the benefit of the doubt.

In addition to Forbes' stonewalling on how they figured this out, NYSED changed the format of the report card publications from 2005 to 2006, which makes it very difficult to locate the data. But it still is possible to wade through the reports, do a little number crunching, and compare it to the chart in Forbes. They used four measures: per pupil spending for fiscal year 2004, mean SAT or ACT (whichever is the most common in the state) scores for 2005, participation rate on the SAT or ACT for 2005, and graduation rate for 2005.

In New York, the SAT is the college entrance exam usually taken. I'm not sure how Forbes got the details for the SAT down to the county level. Maybe the College Board is willing to share that information, or maybe individual schools are. For Ulster County, Forbes lists 1,032 as the mean score in 2005, with a participation rate of 62.10%. The only data I could easily access was the statewide average score, and for New York, that was 1,008.

Forbes lists per pupil spending in fiscal year 2004 as $12,482 for Ulster County. They note that this has been adjusted for local cost of living, although no additional information is provided. Ulster County is made up of 10 districts. Assuming by fiscal year 2004 they mean 2004-05, the total per pupil expenditures ranged from a high of $18,543 (for Onteora) to a low of $12,336 (for Saugerties), with an average of $15,794. So I am not sure where Forbes' numbers came from. The NYSED data actually makes the county look even more costly.

The graduation rate was 83.6% for the class of 2005, according to Forbes. That would mean a dropout rate of 16.4%. The data from SED does not support this, although the numbers listed are inconsistent from year to year and so it is not very illuminating. When I consulted the report card data published in the 2005 report, it was different than what was listed for the prior year in the 2006 report. The 2005 report has dropouts ranging from 10.9% (for Kingston) to 1.9% (for Walkill), with an average of 5%, which is terrible in my opinion, although better all around than what Forbes claims. The 2006 report lists the dropout rate for 2005 as ranging from 15% (for Rondout Valley) to 1% (for Walkill), with an average of 5.9%; that's even worse, but not as bad as the number Forbes published.

Then, when I do my own calculations based on the 2005 numbers from SED for 12th grade enrollment and graduates rather than accepting the proportions listed for dropout rate, I wind up with graduation rates that range from 94.3% (for Marlboro) to 81.4% (for Saugerties), and a County average of 88.2%; it's not the same as the dropout rates published by SED, and it still doesn't match the data in Forbes!

Booking Through Thursday: Letters! We Get Letters...

Have you ever written an author a fan letter?

No, I can't remember ever writing a fan letter to an author. I considered writing to Gore Vidal over twenty years ago when he was my favorite author, but never did.

Did you get an answer?

Well, since I haven't written to any author - I guess the only answer possible is "no."

Did it spark a conversation? A meeting?

Again, the only possibility here is no.

I have gone to a couple of book readings, but nothing recently. They weren't superstar-level writers, and I don't remember ever waiting to shake the author's hand or get a book signed. Authors often visit my campus, but I rarely go to the events. And William Kennedy teaches there.

Now, if Mark Twain was still alive...I definitely would write to him! And go to see one or more of his lectures. Does seeing Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain count? I also saw an actor perform as Robert Frost. (Can't remember who that was.)

Semi-related note: I did email the researcher and webpage master of some of the i.t.a. material that I wrote about yesterday, he responded, and it did spark a conversation, mostly him promoting how great simplified spelling is an approach, regardless of the individual's experience with the method.

Here's something interesting about an effort of parents to ban the Junie B. Jones books. I thought I had written here on the subject of learning to read a while ago, but perhaps I am remembering some comments I posted elsewhere.

In 1966, when I was learning to read, my school used i.t.a. (the initial teaching alphabet). There were two kindergarten classes. Mine used i.t.a., and the other class used a traditional method to teach reading. I often wondered about i.t.a., especially after I became an educator, so a few years ago I did some research on it.

It was more popular in the UK than it was in the US, and there are still some proponents for using it, or a similar simplified spelling method to teach reading and writing. Apparently, i.t.a. was a response to the difficulties of teaching children to read and write in English, a problem that is not as often seen in cultures that speak a more phonetic language such as Spanish.

I.t.a. didn't harm me at all; it may have helped me (my parents believe it did), or perhaps I would have learned easily no matter the method. I am a voracious reader, I like to write, and never had trouble with spelling, grammar or punctuation (aside from when carelessly writing on the 'net :-).

You can see the influence of i.t.a. on my writing in this story I wrote in February 1969, when I was 7 1/2 years old. This was written during second grade, the transition year from i.t.a. to regular spelling. I didn't write A Cat in a Boat for school; I wrote it at home, to amuse my family. We were definitely not up to writing stories of this length or complexity in school! I would add that the dark theme probably would have gotten me sent to the school psychologist's office...except that in 1969, such things didn't happen, and I don't remember my elementary school having a psychologist. Plus, in second grade I had a wonderful teacher who would not have overreacted. (You can tell even at age seven how much I preferred animals to people, eh?)

However, I do remember that the transition to regular spelling in second grade was very traumatic for a lot of kids in my class. Some struggled for years, and I think some still struggle as adults. Whether that would have been true, regardless, is a good question. Parental resistance is one reason cited for failure of innovative methods by proponents of simplified spelling, but the transition is the most important reason given for failure of this approach. My school abandoned the i.t.a. pilot after just a few years.

I do notice that a lot of students in my classes have trouble with spelling, punctuation, word choice and grammar, and they certainly didn't learn via simplified spelling, but perhaps they were taught with the whole language, rather than phonics approach. I have always chalked my students' weakness in this area up to over reliance on spell checkers, and also to the love affair with text messaging and IM-speak.

I don't have any wisdom regarding the merits of the Junie books, although I think banning books is always misguided. I do believe that reading is better than an activity such as television watching or gaming. But I remain interested in the topic of learning to read, and this is a fascinating debate.

Here's a fun site for book lovers.

On Sunday, we are going to a wine tasting and dinner at this winery.

And, of course, there's the Ulster County Fair this week. I love county fairs, and haven't been to one in a few years. I hope to take in at least one this summer.

I think I have confirmation that Sam is half hound. I really like hounds, but when I go to the shelter to get a dog, I don't look for a specific breed. I just take whatever needy animal is waiting. I have now had three half hounds; Howie (schnauzer/beagle); Rudy (beagle/collie) and Sam (blue tick hound/border collie). Sophie is a full hound (bassett hound) and Penny was a poodle. (Edna is at least partially a Maine Coon Cat, if not a purebred, but she is labeled a domestic long hair). Howie's mix was definite, as was Rudy's half beagle, Sophie's bassett (at least mostly, if not all) and Penny's poodle. The collie part of Rudy was an educated guess.

Sam's previous owner said he was blue tick and lab. Blue tick is an unusual breed and so not likely to be a fabrication, but the shelter staff and my vet both disagree that he is lab. They say that when a black dog is surrendered to the shelter, the owner usually will say it is part lab because that is a popular, good natured breed. They don't want anyone to think it might be a dobie or rottie (not that him being either breed would have caused me to not adopt him. I love dobermans especially). I think border collies may have a negative reputation as well, in terms of being very active. Or it could be that the owner had no clue which male dog that was hanging around fathered the puppies.

Anyway, I think Sam could be a mix of 15 breeds, and very likely blue tick and border collie, but there is undoubtedly some hound in there. This morning Bob went to run errands, and Sam has been nervously pacing (that's the border collie, I suppose). Right now he is sitting near me, being a "scootch." (That means I have to keep one hand on him while typing with the free hand, or he tries to climb on my lap, paw the keyboard, and hit my hand with his head - not sure which breed that characterizes; I call it "scootch."). But the blue tick is displayed by what he does when he is not sitting here being a scootch: he stops pacing, throws his head back, and howls. What a mournful sound.

We're on three day weekends for the next five weeks...so it's off to Samsonville once I finish watering the garden and plants.

One more pent up post. Last night the news was doing its usual gushing about the Saratoga racing season opening. You know, the hats, the glamour, the fun of it all. Oh, how wonderful it all is, how classy, how "in!" Then at the end of the broadcast the sports report came on, and this tidbit: a jockey was thrown during one race. Oh goody, he wasn't hurt. The horse had to be euthanized. Bummer. (Actually that part was only a passing mention; "bummer" certainly wasn't the sentiment.) What's that, G? You don't go to Saratoga in August? But aren't the hats so beautiful, wasn't it a great day, didn't nature smile on us with such glorious weather for opening day?

I meant to write this yesterday, but procrastinated. The connections made over the Internet can be quite amazing. I had a nice surprise. The dogs were barking like crazy - a DHL truck was dropping off a package. I didn't remember ordering anything - but you never know, I order a lot of stuff or I thought maybe Bob did. There was a big box on the porch, addressed to me with an address for some company I'd never heard of in Brooklyn. I opened the box - inside was a large box wrapped in beautiful paper and a gift note from the company. It was a thank you from a guy who bought my reprinted booklet West Shokan: Eden of the Catskills a few months ago. At the time, he was searching for information on the location of a summer house that his great-grandfather had owned until the late 1930s. There was nothing really helpful in the booklet, so later I helped him to find out where it might be and sent him directions on how to get there, etc. Inside the wrapped box was a large can, like one of those holiday popcorn buckets but bigger. Also it was very heavy. Inside the can were 6 bottles of wine!! How unbelievably nice and generous.

Booking Through Thursday: Best Moustache Twirling

Who’s the worst fictional villain you can think of? As in, the one you hate the most, find the most evil, are happiest to see defeated? Not the cardboard, two-dimensional variety, but the most deliciously-written, most entertaining, best villain? Not necessarily the most “evil,” so much as the best-conceived on the part of the author…oh, you know what I mean!

I really had to think about this one. Maybe because I don't often read the type of novels that have villians? Now in true crime stories, there would be so many to choose from! But I came up with one: Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley. Wow, was he creepy! And charming at the same time. I know there are several other books in the series, although I haven't read the others. The movie adaptation of the first book was decent, too; it raised my appreciation for Matt Damon's skill at playing the bad guy.

In Castleton today, I picked the first tomato! Also some green beans. In Samsonville, we've been picking zucchini for almost two weeks.

I don't write much about politics, but as a Capital District resident, MPA holder and long time State employee, it is hard to pass this one up. I'm really shocked, although after seven months of his administration, I am less shocked than I would have been a year ago. I'm linking to The Record rather than the Times Union because after reading the full report, I have a lot of questions about the TU's role, and not a lot of confidence that their reporting is unbiased. I wonder how, or if, they will explain their involvement. Here's a link to the full AG report. It makes interesting reading, even if you are only slightly wonky. This lowers my respect for the governor, and really increases it for the Attorney General. And about Joe, well, I liked him already. It's great to have your Senator be the majority leader.

Here's a link for contacting the Falcons about that lowlife Vick.

HSUS has a link up for sending email to Nike about keeping Vick as their spokesperson.

I've been trying to ignore the story about the football player arrested over dog fighting - not because there is any love lost between me and football (I didn't even know who Vick, much less the Falcons were before this), but because it upsets me too much.

My mother always says, on animal welfare issues, that you can't have your head in the sand and be in denial. Right now, AOL has a picture of a starving Pitbull on a chain as the headline so there is simply no way to avoid it. Of all the terrible, heartbreaking things in this article, I found this sentence to be the most appalling:

"After a meeting involving NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the Falcons, the league will let Vick keep playing, the Associated Press reported."

Wouldn't want anything to get in the way of weekend beer sales, I guess.

If I was a Falcon - or even a football - fan, you better believe I would be taking action of some sort so they knew my views, and following it up with a boycott if nothing was done.

Update: I may not be a fan, but I am a consumer. So I did a little searching, and sent off my letters of protest. Here is the HSUS link, with information on how you can email the NFL to demand that they suspend Vick. And here is Nike's website, where you can email them about their sponsorship of Vick.

Update 2: Wow, Nike's spambot already responded. Here's my original letter, borrowed somewhat from the HSUS:

As an animal lover, I had to write to you to demand that you please immediately stop sponsoring Michael Vick for his alleged involvement in dogfighting. Vick's recent indictment by a federal grand jury for crimes related to dogfighting is a certain sign that you must treat this matter seriously. Reports of extreme cruelty to dogs who didn't "perform" to the fighters' satisfaction only add to the disgrace Vick brings to Nike.

Dogfighting is cruel and criminal, and football players must be held accountable like anyone else. Please drop your contract with Vick immediately--anything less would reflect very badly on your judgment, and on the Nike brand.

I was disgusted to read in the paper today that he was going to be allowed to continue to play, and that Nike was continuing to support him. I intend to boycott all of his, and the NFL's sponsors until he is suspended from the NFL, and until the sponsors drop him.
Thank you.

And here's Nike's response:

Response (Caryn) - 07/19/2007 02:33 PM
Thank you for contacting Nike regarding Michael Vick.

Nike is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick, and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and abhorrent. We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen; therefore, we have not terminated our relationship. We have, however, made the decision to suspend the release of the Zoom Vick V and related marketing ommunications. Nike will continue to monitor the situation closely and has no further comment at this time.

We appreciate that you took the time to contact us and your feedback will be passed along to the proper department.

Sincerely,
Nike

They give you the opportunity for more feedback, so I wrote back:

OK then. Plenty of people have had lucrative contracts terminated while waiting for "due process" to play out. Some even spend time in jail, without bail. I (and, I suspect, all other animal lovers) find your position unacceptable, and will simply vote with our feet (not Nike-wearing feet, I might add). What that means is we'll terminate our relationship with you immediately. That's not due process - that's called the market. Thank you Caryn.

And here's Nike's next response (btw, I sent that follow-up by hitting "reply" and typing into a specific area that was designated for my comments):

Your e-mail was submitted to an Internet address that cannot be processed.

Oh wow. Sometimes people at big corporations can be so stupid, PR-wise. Like they are so powerful and we are all clueless drones who worship their brand and will be brainwashed by television commercials into forgetting how much they suck. Newsflash: big mistake to piss off animal advocates, Nike.

So - it looks like the final message is boycott Nike, and all of the NFL sponsors! (And I never slip up. You know I still have not set foot in Target.)

Booking Through Thursday: Just Wild About Harry

1. Okay, love him or loathe him, you’d have to live under a rock not to know that J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, comes out on Saturday… Are you going to read it?

No.

2. If so, right away? Or just, you know, eventually, when you get around to it? Are you attending any of the midnight parties?

No, no, and no.

3. If you’re not going to read it, why not?

Because I haven't read any of the other Harry Potter books (nor have I seen any of the movies). They aren't the type of stories I enjoy. Even as a kid I didn't care for magic, wizards, or that sort of foolishness (borrowing the term from my grandmother). I also almost always avoid anything that is surrounded by so much hype. (The alliteration in that sentence was unintentional.) However, I do think it is good that these books have encouraged kids to read.

4. And, for the record… what do you think? Will Harry survive the series? What are you most looking forward to?

I have no idea, but if I had to guess I'd say why would she kill him off? I know it is supposed to be the the last book, but why would she ruin her gravy train when she could just keep cranking them out, raking it in and the series fans will eat it up? It would probably be much easier to continue after taking a break, than coming up with new ideas and facing the risk that reviewers will compare them unfavorably to her past work. On the other hand, you'd think she'd have pretty much run out of new material at about book two. Of course, having read none of the books, my opinion on the subject isn't worth a lot!

I think this is a good year for petunias.

About yesterday's book rant: well, something bad did happen to one of the characters. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the main characters.

On Sunday, I was finally able to fix all of my computer problems in Samsonville. I replaced the ethernet card, the graphics card, and the router, and I am officially back in business. (I was able to fix my mother's computer a couple of weeks ago.) It took a lot more time than I anticipated - it always does, so I'm not sure why I expected it to be easier. Netgear sent me a new router since my old one was still under warranty, and yesterday I sent the damaged one back to them. I can't say enough good things about that company!

I am reading The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks. I don't like it very much. It isn't completely awful - I enjoyed it at first. Aside from a few "telling not showing" episodes, and an occasional duplication of the same phrase (ie, "roll in the sack"), the writing is fine - he mostly writes well, so in that respect it is easy to see why his books are often bestsellers - but I don't identify with, or even like, the characters.

I took the book out of a box in my department on campus. When people retire or leave the job for another reason, often when the office is cleaned out some of the books wind up in the common area, free for the taking. I always go through them, and take whatever interests me. Usually they are academic books, or at least education-related, such as something by Kozol. But last time there were quite a few fairly recent popular novels. I took the Sparks book because I'd seen (and liked) The Notebook, and have read good reviews of his writing.

This has nothing to do with my frustration with the book, but it's pretty hard to believe that a man is writing this book, or for that matter, wrote The Notebook. I suppose that is kind of a sexist remark, I mean why can't a man write a romantic story?, but they are not simply romantic, they are the ultimate "chick lit" or "chick flick." (I hate those terms, BTW, and usually I am not thrilled with that genre either, at least not as done by a contemporary author. [Bronte, Austen, etc. are fine.] I also dislike movies such as "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle" so I am probably not the best audience for Sparks' books.)

Anyway, I am about halfway through this book and I'd like to reach into the pages and slap the main character because she is so whiny and "poor me," and then slap her love interest just for good measure. Not that he doesn't deserve a good slap for his own tiresome nature. It seems the reader is supposed to view him as heroic? I don't think so; I think he is a glory hog. I keep hoping something really bad will happen to one of the characters and the book will wind up surprising me and being worth the effort! I don't know if The Notebook read like this, maybe. But even if it did, the looking back through Altzheimer's Disease theme made the story much more charming. With this book I am so annoyed that the so-called hardships these two characters have faced are either 1) self-inflicted, 2) not all that difficult, yet they act like such martyrs or 3) sad, but get over it already.

One other thing that is bothering me is the issue of the little boy. Many of the choices the main female character makes strike me as harmful. And the things they eat, because they don't have a lot of money, would make her fat, not thin. Plus that sort of diet would not help the son's learning disabilities. If his mother is supposed to be making such sacrifices for him, and has researched his disorder so much, you'd think that would be a no brainer. Hey, but why be concerned - a man swoops in and magically the kid improves!

It's too bad this was the first book of his that I read, since it is possible the others are better, and now I am turned off. But at least I know why I found it in a box for free!

OK. Enough said on that. I took some more flower and garden pictures, which I will post eventually. We had wonderful produce this weekend, as I struggled with the machines: fresh zucchini from the garden, and fresh local sweet corn from the Hurley Flats.

That's a nice segue to something I wanted to link, but couldn't find again when I actually started writing: I read a story about how difficult it is to find food that is produced in the USA, and also that it is more expensive when you can get it. The article mentioned that sometimes bad weather means there are not enough California or Florida orange crops, and so citrus fruit has to be imported; there is no choice, regardless of price. I wanted to link to that particular story because the essence of buying local whole foods means that you have to make a lifestyle change. If the produce isn't locally grown in your area, or it is out of season, you just don't buy it. It was strawberry season, so we picked, and ate strawberries nonstop. Now they are done - no more strawberries for a year. It was cherry season, same thing. Now it is sweet corn season, and we are eating our fill. (And I must add that we grow the best around here.) Peaches are coming soon, zucchini is here now, and within the next couple weeks so many other things will be, too. I grow as much as I can, but I also visit farm stands and the co-op. If you want green beans in the winter, it's quite simple: you have to freeze or can them when they are in season!

Booking Through Thursday: Celluloid

1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?

I don't know about "best;" I suspect if I thought about this long enough I'd come up with a lot of possibilities. So I'll go with the first thing that popped into my mind, the recent War of the Worlds. Now I know a lot of people hated that movie (I liked it), and there were some important differences between it and H.G. Wells' wonderful story, but I think the spirit of the book was captured in the movie, as well as in the amazing technology.

Another recent example that I remembered: The Freedom Writers Diary. I thought the movie The Freedom Writers did a good job at capturing the book. (And Hilary Swank even resembles Erin Gruwell.)

2. The worst?

Again, I'm not sure about the "worst;" and since I almost always think the book is way better than the movie, there would be even more possibilities for an answer to this one than there are for the "best" if I thought about it for a while. So - the first thing that popped into my mind: The Firm. Oddly, that is also a Tom Cruise movie!! Not that it's a classic novel or anything, but the changed ending in the movie irritated me so much! Why can't Hollywood leave such things alone? Or is it that movie audiences couldn't handle how the book ended?

In the interest of having two and two - another example of "the worst" adaptation that I am thinking of is not books and movies, but plays and movies. I just have to mention it because I think it really was "the worst." I thought Phantom of the Opera as a movie was so bad they should snap every DVD of it in half, and erase the master. What an abomination.

3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)

Yes, in all three cases I'd read the book first, and I saw Phantom on the stage before seeing the movie. I agree that whatever you are exposed to first probably seems best, although I'm trying to think of an example where I saw the movie first and liked it more, and I can't! Maybe because I almost always read the book first, and in most cases, may or may not see the movie. Even in the case of the two movies I listed as "best," I didn't like them more than the books - I simply thought the movie versions were respectable adaptations.

Added 1: OK, I came up with one. I didn't see the movie first, but I think I enjoyed it more than the book: Last of the Mohicans. James Fenimore Cooper's books are great - but they are also kind of difficult reads.

Added 2: Here's another great book to movie adaptation: The Scarlet Pimpernel. Though I still liked the book more, and so much had to be left out, the 1934 movie was very good (the 1982 TV movie wasn't bad, either).

Added 3: For a hilarious take on James Fenimore Cooper's writing, read "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences" in How to Tell a Story and Other Essays by Mark Twain (1897).

How bizarre. But there's no doubt he'll have a license before I do.

Wow, it is hot (and humid) here! I had my first swim of the season on Saturday. I also went swimming on Sunday. The water temperature was in the 80s, the pool is crysal clear, and it was lovely. The flowers and veggies are thriving at both houses.

I visited the State Museum when the exhibit that this book is based on was on display. Powerful, interesting, sad stuff; good that it will be published.

I've been meaning to link to two stories from the Times Union. First, from July 4, these three essays on what it means to be an American. Impressive writing, especially considering they are kids. I am using the piece in my class, since right now we are discussing the meaning of culture.

Then, this bittersweet essay. Sniff. Reminds me of all the dogs I love (Sophie, Sam), and have loved (there have been so many! Rudy, Penny, Howie, Hobo, Pud, Pepe, Duke, et al) but especially Howie, since he was half-Schnauzer, lived to be 15, and he was the first dog I got after moving away from home.

Unrelated, but something that occupied some time this week: last week we had a terrific thunderstorm that must have struck near my house in Samsonville. It zapped my mother's ethernet card, and she thought it killed her monitor too. She was unhappy with using her old spare, so I got her a "new" one (really it is used, but it is a decent 17" Dell, amazing how cheap they are). When I was there last weekend, I replaced the NIC in her computer, and discovered that her monitor is fine (luckily my nephew needs the used monitor I bought), but that the lightening also burned out my ethernet and on board video, and it ruined two of the ports on my router. It's an old machine, but since I have a wireless laptop and the desktop is for light use only, I didn't want to buy an entirely new computer. So I took the CPU back to Castleton, and earlier this week I replaced the NIC and video card. Luckily, that worked, since I hated the idea of spending too much on that old machine. I also learned that the router is still under warranty, so I will be able to get a replacement. Luckily the wireless and two remaining ports are working, so we are still in business there. We both had surge protectors, but they aren't foolproof, so from now on my mother will unplug everything when there is a storm.

Booking Through Thursday: Great _____ Novel

What, in your opinion, is the (mythical) Great American Novel?

Since he is my favorite author, it just has to be one of Mark Twain's. I know the standard answer is Huck Finn, and that is a great novel for sure, but my vote would be for An Innoncent Abroad. It is laugh out loud funny ("but is he dead?"), and so American.

Tell us where in the world you are!

New York, USA.

From my button collection.

Since I have more time this summer, I thought I might try a new meme. But when I Googled to find some to sample, I wound up spending a lot of time reading this at Wikipedia. I finally did get around to checking out a few memes, but never chose one. Instead, via Sya, I'll try this one, at least for today:

Booking Through Thursday: Desperation

What’s the most desperate thing you’ve read because it was the only available reading material?

That would have to be magazines in the waiting room at the dentist's office, or the hair stylist's.

If it was longer than a cereal box or an advertisement, did it turn out to be worth your while?

Any of the popular women's magazines that I've read in those circumstances: Absolutely not. But sometimes Hudson Valley is available, and that is great (I just subscribed yesterday, in fact).

This column in the Sunday Troy Record bothered me. I only read this columnist's writing occasionally. The few times I have read it, the focus has been on being pregnant and having kids, subjects that don't interest me. I'm not sure why I read the column this week, but last time I read it was when she announced the naming contest for her second baby. Readers won't actually be choosing the name; they will be recommending what she should call the baby in her column. I see she is referring to the baby as "Thing 2" in this column, which I guess is only the placeholder until the contest results are in. Still, it strikes me as dehumanizing. But maybe that shouldn't be a surprise. This column is about her anxiety over the baby's health shortly before he was born, since there was a chance he would have a chromosome disorder. You'd think that would be deep, but in what I suppose is an effort to be funny, instead it comes off as trite.

She writes that she'd been sent an article from the New York Times that "claimed that roughly 90 percent of mothers who are given this information early on abort the fetus." I remember reading that article and thinking "how sad." Does everyone in society have to be the same? It is as scary as the movie Gattaca. The Record's columnist writes "It makes sense, but it also does something else. It changes the face of our society. With fewer children born with Down syndrome, there will likely be implications such as fewer services available to those individuals as well as a shrinking social circle." She believes "it makes sense?" (I guess she is living in the plastic, shallow 90 percent world. Once again, I think "how sad.") Her only thought was about the fewer services available to people with special needs since most are now aborted? Faced with the prospect and the article, she must have something more philosophical, more thought-provoking than that to say. She continues "I'm not sure which made me more melancholy: that we could have a special needs child in a few hours or that this child's circle of support would be shrinking from year to year." Melancholy? Is that really an apt description of the emotion? Maybe so, in the land where going to the mall is a good way to spend Sunday, watching TV is a good way to spend every evening, WalMart is a good place to shop, and fast food is a good thing to eat.

Added: One more thing from this column is bugging me. She writes, on the subject of the uncertain health outlook for the baby, and the fact that her new furniture hadn't arrived "...the lack of furniture doesn't rise to the level of "bad" anything. (Unless of course the dresser or bookcase falls on you, and then THAT WOULD be bad.)" That rubbed me the wrong way, so I did a little hunting around. "From 2000 through 2005, CPSC has reports of 36 TV tip-over-related deaths and 65 furniture tip-over deaths. More than 80 percent of all these deaths involved young children. Additionally, CPSC estimates that in 2005 at least 3,000 children younger than 5 were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms because of injuries associated with TV tip-overs." I'd say that is more than just "bad." And it certainly is no joke.

I'm steamed. And not only because it is hot outside. In answer to the question I posed last week about whether it was better to just forget about it - or to expend energy: "just forget about it." I called the collection agency listed - a legal firm. All I can say is this interaction did nothing to reduce my hatred of lawyers. Well, that's not all I can say. The agency is in the most plastic town in the capital district, a northern suburb that I hate. This interaction did nothing to reduce my hatred of plastic 'burbs, or of that particular plastic 'burb. The creditor is a medical group. This interaction did nothing to reduce my hatred for the medical model. The nasty woman I dealt with (and who else but a nasty loser would work for a collection agency run by lawyers? One that probably specializes in collecting medical fees, I'll bet) eventually said there is nothing I can do about it except pay it. She said it goes against me that I have never contacted them before. I protested, you've never sent me a letter! I have never received a bill! She insisted they had sent me numerous letters. What could I do to combat such untruths? Suffice to say the call ended on a very unpleasant note.

I then called the credit reporting bureau (only TransUnion has the items listed) to see what I could do. Essentially, nothing. Oh, they are opening a dispute, but if that no-good collection agency in the plastic town says the charge is true, it's tough luck. He said I should do whatever I could to dispute the charges, but he wasn't willing to tell me exactly what that means. Write to the attorney general? Think bad thoughts about the scum law firm and jerk of a doctor who fabricated the charge? I could tell the guy on the phone at TransUnion wondered why I cared. It is only $153 combined for the two charges, and they will drop off in a year. There is nothing else negative on my report, and it certainly hasn't hurt my ability to get credit. Big deal, right? But it is the principle of the thing!! At the end of the call to TransUnion, he tried to sell me identity theft protection! I said, no thanks. I wish I never received this credit report. Ignorance was bliss!

I'm off to go strawberry picking! That's the best thing about June. It's been a few years since I've gone, it was too rainy last year and I don't remember why I didn't go the year before that. I can't wait.

I probably say this every year, but my garden and flowers have never looked better.

More pictures. Too cute for words. The bottom one is Edna, unfortunately she does not like to pose and always moves shortly before the picture is snapped. I tried three times and this was the best I could do.

Yesterday, as I was paying my credit card online, I noticed an $84 charge for Hoodia! When I called to dispute it, the customer service representative said they have had many complaints about this company recently. So check your bills!

Somewhat related, a few weeks ago a salesperson called me to hawk identity theft protection. He spoke so fast, I was busy, and somehow I guess I wound up buying it. So I called yesterday to cancel it. Today they sent me a copy of my credit report, and there are only two bad things on it: both wrong! From 2001, they are from a health organization I have never visited, and they are now at a collection agency (that has never contacted me). I don't know whether to say, "so what?" because in one more year they will drop off, or whether to expend the time and energy to have it fixed now.

To Delight and to Instruct has created a great compendium of posts about the many aspects of going to graduate school.

The day we went to Springwood (FDR's home in Hyde Park) happened to be the day a statue of Winston Churchill was being unveiled:

Here's the beautiful view from the house, looking toward the Hudson River:

And, in keeping with my interest in all things dog, here is the sundial in the rose garden where Fala is buried (the big monument marks FDR's and Eleanor's graves):

The site is a lot more organized than I remember from my earlier visits. I also don't remember the visitor's center. Our tour guide for the house was a wonderful park ranger. She had the patience of a saint. Our group was very large, maybe too large. Then there was a couple there with two young children whose behavior was just awful. Why would anyone think a baby and a toddler would be interested in a historic house?

It would take much longer than a day to go through the house, visitor's center, and library. Something I noticed, and I can't remember whether this was true in the past, was that there were many exhibits that attempted to address internment during WWII, the conspiracy theories surrounding Pearl Harbor, etc. Although I'm not sure, I suspect this is a reflection of contemporary sensibilities and criticisms, and it was not there on my last visit. I also noted that while they still mention it, they seem to be a little gentler on the subject of FDR's mother and her relationship with Eleanor than they did in the past. Or maybe it was just me and I focused more on that when I was younger.

It's hard to tell where one dog ends and the other begins! That's Sam with the teeth, and the other is Freedom, his pal who is a guide dog:

Rather than flower pictures, here's one of my pre-mulched garden in Castleton (none post-mulch, and none of Samsonville yet):


And here's one of my new shed for garden tools:

I've been busy and not on the computer much. Spent Thursday-Sunday in Samsonville and did a lot of socializing. Yesterday was mulching day for the garden there (it was hot!), and that was today's task in Castleton. I was sore last night and this morning, but seem to have worked it off today.

On Friday we went to FDR's house and library in Hyde Park. I've been there before on elementary and high school field trips, and I also went many times with my mother and grandmother. I took some pictures that I will post once I download them. I also have some new flower pictures.

The pool is not quite as disgusting, but it is still cloudy. I had to order a new part for the filter and I hope that does the trick. Swimming weather approaches!

Sya links to this post, which invites comments here. So I posted this from 2004.

Two things that are constantly in the news that I don't care about: Duke Lacrosse Team and Paris Hilton.

Here is a PDF file that I created based on my October speech on One Room Schools. It is an adapted/expanded version of the One Room Schools virtual museum that is on the Gully Brook Press site. The attachments are not included. I may eventually create a booklet, and offer it for sale on the publications page.

Interesting and kind of creepy, reminds me of AI. It's sort of cute, but Haley Joel Osment was a lot cuter. Put some clothes on that robot!

This story reminded me of my master's degree graduation ceremony. At that time, the university had commencement at the Knickerbocker Arena - or was it the Pepsi Arena by then? Not sure (it's now called the Times Union Center). Unlike now, it was a combined ceremony, undergraduate and graduate students at the same time. Only the doctoral students got to go on stage when their names were called. I believe the dissertation title was read, also.

The ceremony was already a bit controversial, because some Turkish official was receiving an honorary degree and there were people who were not thrilled. I remember being cornered in the office by a woman who worked with me. She was a strange lady, claimed to have some sort of chronic or terminal disease and she always had a nurse/companion with her who was equally odd. But that is another story! Anyway, she demanded to know if I planned to boycott the ceremony, or at least turn my back and join a protest against the Turkish guy. At the time I was a graduate assistant, so the power differential made her behavior even more inappropriate. But I held my ground and said, "if you think I am going to disappoint my parents who have been waiting for thirty years to attend one of their children's college graduations, you are crazy."

Well, that was a bit of a tangent. Back to the ceremony. There were quite a few doctoral graduates that day; it took quite a long time for the names and dissertation titles to be read, for each student to be hooded on the stage, shake hands, and for the audience to clap. To be perfectly honest, it is a large school, it was a very long ceremony, graduate and undergraduate commencement don't mix that well, and the whole thing did get to be mind numbing. So after quite a few names, the graduating seniors, who were seated in the back and had been batting around beach balls, somehow collectively devised a different response: they all clapped at the same time, but only once. There was this thunderous clap as each doctoral student was hooded. It was hysterical, in an embarrassing sort of way, although if I was getting my PhD rather than my master's degree, I may not have appreciated it. But then again, maybe I wouldn't have minded. It was a happy day. Nothing could spoil the experience. And the undergraduates were just being exuberant.

Later there were lots of letters in the Times Union criticizing the university and the undergraduates. I am not sure that the ceremonies were ever held together again.

About the linked story, I can't believe the school district was this stupid in the first place. But then high school is really mostly about control, rules and authority, isn't it?

Judge Sophie reacts: "how dare she! Lock her up and throw away the key!"

At 12 students, my summer class is the smallest I've ever taught. Most years I get enrollment in the low 30s, which is enough for me to get the large course incentive. This year, I changed the schedule from a 6 week intensive to a 12 week all summer, and I knew I wouldn't get that many students because they have to register for it almost as soon as spring classes end. But I thought there would be more than 12! Of the 12 students enrolled this year, two are nonresponsive (which in an online course means they have done no work and do not answer emails but for some reason stay registered).

I had grown dissatisfied with the intensive format; a number of assignments were not possible at all, and the workload was extreme. A lot of students wound up taking incompletes, and some of those students never bothered to finish and get a passing grade.

Unlike my experience with on campus classes, there is always a lot of adding/dropping in an online course, so it is very hard to predict enrollment and arrive at a class size that is "just right." Luckily, the official enrollment stayed above 10 (dropping below that number before the class started would cause it to be canceled). That was a relief. I am not sorry to miss out on the incentive, but I didn't want to lose the course entirely!

I suspect next year I will have to go back to the 6 week intensive schedule, though. Twenty less students is a significant amount of tuition dollars for the university to forfeit due to my experiment in changing pedagogy. So I am going to enjoy what will probably be my only summer of spread out, minimal work.

Now, what will I do with my extra time?

We opened the pool on Saturday. That's the earliest we've ever been able to do it. To our dismay, the water was disgusting!! Lots of algae. Green water. Yuck. It has never looked so bad. So Bob dumped in a ton of chemicals and we got the filter going. Unfortunately it has some sort of a problem. It works, but there are leaks. My father will figure it out and let me know if we need to buy new parts. Swimming is fun, but pools are expensive, and a lot of work.

Here's one of the window boxes.

My prediction about being done with planting on Wednesday was optimistic...and inaccurate. I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and until 2 pm today. (As well as Saturday in Samsonville.) I'm done!! Lots of comments from passersby when I was working on the window boxes and flower beds in the front of the house. The sunflowers are a big hit. And the geraniums are something too. I'll put up a few pictures eventually. My mother reports that the cukes and zukes are up in Samsonville. Hopefully the weather will hold and we'll be able to open the pool this weekend.

Busy weekend! Got in the Samsonville garden on Saturday. Now working on the one in Castleton; should be done tomorrow. No complaints from students about Spring grades! This really was a good year. Summer session class starts today.

I finished with grades at 7 pm last night! Since I made several changes this semester, it was a lot easier. I did have to work 10 or 12 hour days, but there were no late nights and this past weekend, I only put in a few hours each day. They become available to students at 12 noon today. Hope I don't get a lot of complaining emails. The last thing I have to do is email feedback and the breakdown of their grades to all students, but that will keep for a few days.

My summer session class starts 5/29. It became accessible to students yesterday, and I had it ready last week. So now it's on to other endeavors. Cleaning inside a bit for one, but more importantly: Gardening!! I'm psyched!

The lilacs are coming!

I came across this post and remembered that recently I was thinking of my driving (or rather, non-driving) again. I did a search of the Gully Brook Press archives to see if I'd written about this subject, and all I came up with was this quote from February 2003: "Certainly there are way too many angry drivers on the road; this became more apparent in my quest to get a license. So I gave up. I think I’m just not mad enough to drive." That sort of sums it up.

I've taken the written test to get my learner's permit three times in my life. Every time I got a perfect score on it. I am a walking manual of driving laws. The first time I got my learner's permit was when I was 16. I wasn't all that interested in driving, but learning to drive is expected at that age. I practiced a few times in an old Jeep my parents had, and later in an old car that my father bought. I never got up to the point of going very far from the house, mostly I drove around in the church parking lot next door to where we lived. The situation was complicated because a friend of mine lived with us and my parents didn't really feel like teaching her, so she would have resented them doing it for me. Then, shortly before I turned 17, I went off to college and abandoned driving. I think permits were only good for one year at that time.

I took the written test again several years later, but never bothered to practice driving at all and it expired. My final attempt came seven years ago. I was graduating with my PhD, figured I needed a new goal, and decided that I wanted to try to get my license before I turned 40 in 2001. I've received a lot of pressure over the years on this subject. People think you are crazy if you don't drive. They can't comprehend how you can function in modern society without a license. It always embarrassed me. So once again, I took the written test, but this time I made a serious effort to learn. I practiced all the time, and even took one lesson to sharpen my parallel parking skills. The end result: I failed the road test. Four times. Once in Kingston, twice in Troy and once in Delhi. Three times in a car, and once in a truck. Every time it was for a different reason. Twice were automatic failures, twice because of too many points.

Although no one at New York State motor vehicles will vouch for this, I am actually a competent driver and should have had no problem passing the test. But here's the thing: I hate driving. I have never felt comfortable in a car, whether as a driver or as a passenger, even when I have complete confidence in the driver. One thing my last attempt taught me was that I am not concerned about my own skills. Before that, I was always afraid I couldn't control the car in an emergency, was certain I'd hit deer and other critters and I couldn't cope with that. But I discovered that isn't a problem at all, my observational and reaction skills are fine. Other people, all those people who have had no problem sailing though the road test hurdle, just scare the crap out of me.

Unfortunately, the awareness of how truly dangerous driving can be only increases with age. It's a crime really, what a bloodbath our highways are and no one bats an eye. We advocate about diseases and protest war but act like getting killed in a motor vehicle accident is not the much greater threat. It's just a fact of life. It is a much better idea to get a license when you are young and naive. Even with a ton of practice, I had to psych myself up every time I got behind the wheel and practically wanted to kiss the ground when I arrived at my destination. Driving never felt natural to me. I think this is the real reason I failed four times at my age. My demeanor makes my feelings obvious on the road test. It isn't simple nervousness, because in truth, I was not that nervous when taking the test. I just know I could never pass it.

My learner's permit was good for five years this time, and it expired in 2005. This time, I made peace with it. Decided that driving is just not for me. What I thought in the past - that if I practiced enough I'd get comfortable - isn't true. It would take years not behind the wheel but on the couch to get the courage to pass the road test, and I don't care to invest the energy. And that's OK. I don't get nearly as much pressure as in the past; everyone knows I tried hard and it isn't in the cards. While I was searching for old posts, I came across this one. Could that be the seed for my driving phobia?

The Spring 2007 semester comes to a close! Yesterday was the last day of classes. I had a funny experience in the cafeteria. The cashier said to me "you certainly look happy." I responded, "yes, it's a beautiful day, and it's the last day of classes, and that's always a good thing." She replied, "are you graduating?" I laughed, and said, "no, not graduating. Actually, I'm a faculty member." So she said, "you're a professor? You look so young!" How flattered I was! It's been a long time since anyone has mistaken me for being that young, I have far too much grey hair. But maybe my casual dress yesterday (I held class outside) threw her off?

Last night we saw Five for Fighting and Chantal Kreviazuk at the Egg. Awesome concert, I basically agreed with this review.

While we were waiting for the locksmith to come today, a good samaritan called - he found Bob's briefcase! So even though it was an expensive episode (still had to pay for the service call and a stop payment order on the checks was already in), it restores our faith in humanity.

As the semester draws to a close (classes end Tuesday), I am looking back on the 2006-07 academic year with satisfaction. This has been the best year since I started teaching. I had wonderful classes, and seem finally to have learned how to intervene in a negative class and make it better. Two really good additions this semester were the book lesson plan and presentation assignment, and Just in Time Assessment. It has left me energized, even as I face the enormous, ridiculous, anxiety-producing workload of the end of the semester! This summer, I am converting my summer session class from a six week intensive to all summer, twelve weeks, almost just like the fall and spring sections. In the fall, I am changing some of the required books in all of my classes.

Yesterday Bob was at an all day meeting in Albany and during lunch he left his briefcase in the WWII memorial park next to the state museum. When he realized it and went back it was gone. He reported it to the Empire Plaza police, lost and found and museum front desk but so far no one has turned it in. It had less in it than when his briefcase was stolen out of our car last year, but one thing it had that wasn't in there last year was his key chain with the car and house keys. There was a checkbook in there too with our address so now we have to have the locks changed. And of course the briefcase is a loss again, I'd replaced the one he lost last year with a new one that was the same from LL Bean. Luckily I had a copy of the car key, so I took the bus downtown to meet him and we were able to get home.

The forsythia bush is looking good.

There are a lot of things I don't write about here, for various reasons. Some because I don't subscribe to the "emotional vomit" type of ejournaling (or even paper journaling). Some because I don't like to reveal too much about students. And some because of privacy.



Something I haven't posted about this past year is my grandniece (or is it great niece?), Grace. She'll be 1 on Friday. She had a (very) difficult start, but is doing great now. She is such a happy little person. Yesterday was her christening, truly a joyous occasion.

We went to see The Namesake at the Spectrum on Friday. Great movie, worth seeing. We had a delicious meal at My Linh before seeing the movie.

It was a strange night. We were seated in front of a large picture window in the restaurant, and witnessed three young men going through a wallet and tossing it in front of the window. They disappeared for a short time, and returned with a woman's over the shoulder briefcase. They were digging through the contents as they walked by. Bob found our server and told her, and she told the owner, who went out (wearing gloves! How CSI) and picked up the wallet and its contents. She called the police, and we spoke with the cop.

While we were talking to him, a couple came in and asked whether the officer was there because of the car parked nearby. We said "no," and they went away. We finished our dinner, and when we left, we saw the couple again, standing near a car that was parked on the street, still running, with the front passenger's door open. After we chatted, and explained about the stolen wallet and briefcase, they called the police. As we were having dessert at a cafe next to the theatre, the cops came back. I don't know the outcome, but I wonder if the two events were connected, and where the driver was.

85 degrees today!

Finally, a beautiful, sunny day! I even noticed a couple of leaf buds on the lilac bush.

I scanned another image of St. Augustine's. It's a postcard, with an illustration by Ethel Adams. I'm not sure of the year, but it appears to be before the building of the house next door that I grew up in (which I think was 1968 or 1969), where my nephew now lives.

I finished the taxes, and mailed them yesterday. I was actually done figuring on Friday, but I waited until Monday to fill in the forms. Since Monday was Patriot Day in Massachusetts, and that's where my federal taxes are processed, we get until the 17th to file both the federal and NYS forms.

We had a surprise 80th birthday party for my father on Sunday. It was at the height of the nor'easter! Only 12 people canceled, but 5 others came whom we weren't expecting, so we had about 52 people there. There was no electricity, luckily my brother had a generator. Here's the fabulous cake (I wanted to get a better picture but there were too many people crowded around admiring it to make that possible):

The campus shootings at Virginia Tech are so upsetting. Last week, a woman I didn't know who was wearing hospital scrubs came into my classroom, looked around, sat down in the front row nearest the door, and then after a while, got up and left. I nervously joked with the students after she was gone, trying to guess what her intentions may have been. I know the odds of something horrific happening aren't that high, but in 1994 we did have a gunman hold students and a professor in a lecture center hostage. He was eventually overcome by a group of students. One student was shot during the struggle. The case was the subject of this PBS documentary. I've never received any training on what to do in any sort of emergency situation on campus aside from the once per semester fire drill in my building. I'm pretty calm under pressure, but I think some sort of guidance would be a good idea.

The hard drive in my computer on campus was dead when I got there yesterday morning. The computer support guy was able to recover the documents I had saved (I usually use the network to store documents, but for some reason this spring semester I made a folder on my desktop and have been saving there lately). But what a hassle not having a machine! What is there to do in the office with no computer? I had to go to the student lab to check my email, and I also had to ask someone with access to my network drives to print my class rosters. The computers in the lab must have a ton of spyware, they are so slow and the mice are all jerky. I managed to find old handouts from a few semesters ago to adapt for the group exercises I had to assign. The copies were kind of messy, but it worked out OK. I am hoping the hard drive has been replaced by tomorrow, when I am on campus again.

Otherwise, I am good shape as I go into the end of the semester. The changes I made really have evened out the workflow. Today I worked on the taxes, and I'm almost done.

I'm freaked out by the pet food recall. So there is rodenticide (according to NYS) and melamine (according to the Feds) in the wheat gluten. It seems like the plot to a bad science fiction movie. Is someone trying to kill off our pets? It makes me really glad that I feed my animals a homemade diet. I also wonder about the possibility of human grade wheat gluten being tainted too. I think it is totally plausible.

On a brighter note, I finished half the journals for two classes (the rest will be done on Monday) and all the midterms for another. Wednesday will be devoted to the taxes. Right now I'm making apple pies for Easter. (This minute I'm typing, but you know what I mean.) Sophie is driving me crazy, wanting the peels - or preferably, her own apple. Or several apples. Even the entire bag, if possible. (Sam wants apple too, but that's only because he's imitating Sophie.) The pet food manufacturers can shove their products, as far as she is concerned. But bring on the apples!

Yesterday, we went to Hartford, CT to the Mark Twain house and museum. I've wanted to go there for years. It is about 100 miles from here, and it took under 2 hours to get there. There were two separate tours of the house, one of where the family lived, and the other of the kitchen area where the servants spent their time. It's a lovely brick Victorian house, built in 1874. Mark Twain lived there from 1874 to 1891, and sold it in 1903. He wrote many great books while living there with his family. Most of the furniture was sold off in 1903, but his one daughter who survived him was still alive when the house became a museum in the 1960s and she donated the things she had inherited. There also is a visitor's center on the grounds, with a great museum shop (I spent $146 in it!). I think I may have known more than the guides, although I kept my mouth shut because I hate it when people act like know-it-alls at Cherry Hill. Next door is Harriet Beecher Stowe's house, but we didn't go there.

On the way back, we stopped in Lee, MA and ate dinner at the Salmon Run Fish House. Great place, this was our third time there.

I sponsor a little girl through CFCA. That's a reputable organization if you're interested in becoming a sponsor. The girl lives in the Philippines and will turn 13 on April 15. On Saturday, I got a heartbreaking letter from her; a typhoon struck not far from where she lives and her family lost their house. She included a colorful Easter card that she made and a new picture. So, I sat right down and answered her. This is one of the pictures I sent, from October 2006: