Pictured above: self portrait of your struly, taken at Springfield Art Association’s Edwards Place Art Fair Sunday. This picture has been slightly retouched.
I’m committed to a substitute teaching internet regimen that keeps me from logging on betwween 6 am and noon and from 1 to 10 pm. This means more concise blogging and jperhaps less of it.
VAT’Z SARONG MIT DIS PISCHER?
Not the one above; this one . . . . Sunday night, the DIRECTOR of WSEC PBS TV for Springfield, Illinois urged viewers to support the station he directs so that programs “like Ken Burns’ terrific Civil War series” can air commercial free in the minths ahead. Twice in rapid succession he mentioned the “Civil War” program, which, of course is a Burns masterpiece that should play more than once in the home of every legal citizen of the United States. What’s wrong is that herr Doktor Gerald Gruebel was speaking NOT of that series of some years ago BUT the new series, slated to air soon, which was the point of the pledge drive programming and programming and programming and yet, even mo pro for the past two weeks, I think. If it’s not Charlie Rose starting on SEC at 11 instead of 11:30 as it does on WILL, I never watch SEC — what, NEVER? No never! What neveeeer? Well, hardly ever. I continued watching the jabbering bloke with that inimitable “deer in the headlights” presence on camera simply to witness the next car wreck wheezing absent-mindedly from his mouth! Several sentences later, he did catch on to his early folly and began referring to the up and coming Burns series entitled “The War.” Well, there was no fun in watching after that, so I tuned to WILL and thoroughly enjoyed the “Nature” series program about Hippopotami. BRAVO WILL!
CHRISTIANS APE al QUAEDA in CHI-TOWN
I remember a time when my friends of the Catholic fatih could not eat red meat on Friday.They said it was a sin, and I believed them; that for them it was a sin, but I was good for some McDonald’s redmeat burgers which at the time coast 19 cents each. If , while eating my meal, a car full of devout practitioners of the historically and theologically fascinating religion had sped by and thrown a bunch of hand grenades into our midst because of our failure to believe as “true Christians” . . . I’m here to tell ya, we’d still be talking about it today. But by the grace of God, it didn’t happen.
Last week, members of a Shiite faction attacked members of their faith who believe it’s okay to dine between sun up and sun down during their holy period of Ramadan. Several of the faithful died from that attack. As a human being, my sense of my Creator suggests civil mayhem in any form (including perpetrating the loss of human lives) serves no faith and speaks well for no creator.
Northern Illinois: Christians who profess a belief mis-named “pro-life” are vowing to violently oppose the establishment of a Planned Parenthood office. If you believe that only sand-crazed zealots from the Middle East are a blight upon humanity, please think again and consider the tragedy now unfolding in our own state, of geography and Christian faith as well, and pray for sanity to prevail.
A MIDDLE-SCHOOL LIBRARY LESSON
At an east-central middle school Monday, I had the pleasure of leading 7th and 8th graders to the fine library where the knowledgeable librarian explained changes to the layout and launched a mandatory reading program. One aspect of her talk that stayed with me was the recommended reading levels noted in many of the books. The librarian advised that all the students should select books with reading levels between 4.5 and 6; that 6 may have too many hard words for them, so if they wanted something easier to select books closer to 4.5. It occured to me that the numbers probably relate to national grade level standards of vocatulary, that a 4.5-rated book on a national level was intended for students in the second half of 4th grade, and that 6-rated book might be intended for 6th graders. In classes of 7th and 8th graders, this seemed out of synch with life. As I said, the notion did occur to me, but I didn’t ask the librarian to explain it to me. WHY? I decided it would not serve my attitude positively if I knew.
As students looked for books, I iintroduced the librarian to my Vachel Pages and AeroKnow web sites. She seemed impressed, and I believe she bookmarked them for future reference. Does the circumstance of a writer/webmaster/poet/historian substitute teaching to eat and to pay for insurance and hot water seem a mite ironic to you as it seems to me? Wouldn’t you imagine there might be a more productive channel for my talents? I do.
Live long . . . . . and proper.
