Solemn Thoughts & Silly Season

This says it all --

The debate continues -- have we passed into "little old lady land" or not? I confess that, yes, I'm solidly in the middle ages; however, Joy & Karen insist that they are LOLs ... though most of the time we can't take advantage of senior discounts. Ah, well, I guess I have a day pass (or perhaps it's a night pass) since my students DO believe I'm younger than the age courtesy of my birth certificate. I just don't let them know how long I've been teaching; they can do the math after I tell them how many years I've taught in DISD.

Unfortunately, being a LOL isn't all it's cut out to be. My mom has all sorts of health issues as she grows older -- and, if memory serves me correctly, the issues won't go away -- and her parents lived well into their 90s. A friend at school nearly ruined her health taking care of her elderly mother ... and the list goes on. The "golden years" turn out to be plated, not 14K solid gold.

On an even more serious note, one of my oldest friends is being treated for Stage 4 lymphomic cancer ... After Karyl moved back to Alabama, we became long distance e-mail and letter friends; this summer, she dropped out of sight after she and her mom moved out of the family house in Birmingham. Thanks to e-mail, her sister could update us -- and her last message was to my Gmail account in September. I missed it then ... and Joy got the update before I did since I seldom check my Gmail. Many prayers will wing their way to St. Peregrin & St. Luke for strength (for her recovery) and inspiration (for her physicians) as she battles for her life.

But on the flip-side, it was Rally Day at St. Lawrence's Church today. Has a NASCAR flavor, doesn't it? Let me tell you, these people know how to have fun ... oh, yes, we had coffee and cookies at some of the booths that were out to recruit new blood into the various organizations. I now belong to two: the St. Lawrence Chorale [choir] and the Ladies of Mary of Walsingham [very Olde Schoole -- founded in 1061 in Norfolk, England! The choir offered sushi (at 10 AM!) and mimosas (yes, I imbibed). Another group had chocolate martinis (yum! they had me at chocolate), the ubiquitous Swedish meatballs (Bab 5 creator J. Michael Strazinski implied that all cultures in the galaxies had a similar dish.), and much more. I mixed and mingled -- as per orders of our choir master -- and met a few more people. With 241 families, I now have a few strands into this larger church. THEY say they're small; but my old parish had less than 1/10 as many people. It may be small compared with the mega-church down the road (also seen from Cherry Court), but it's mighty ... As I recall, I'm going to persuade the girls to do something for the GRACE outreach center. A little charity is good for the soul.

Randomizer Thoughts

The Best Doctor Ever?

For the 21st century, a definite yes~ though you're always remember your first with fond memories. Tom Baker, Doctor 4, brought me into the Doctor Who universe -- and I bet he made fans out of many of the people who now produce (and act) in the show. Still, after Eccleston brought the show back from its long dormancy, Tennant was simply brilliant (to use his own catch phrase). Russell T. Davies resurrected some of the best of the old monsters, a tradition that Steven Moffatt has continued ... though he's added his own twists to the DW mythos that some older fans take umbrage to. (Don't get Joy started on the River Song storyline ... I liked it, but she did not. Spoilers!)

So far, after 8 weeks of school, classes have settled into a routine (more or less). Although we teach more classes, most classes are smaller than last year ... unless you teach English III or IV, where the classes hit 30+. The 10th grade team offered to take up the slack -- even if it's only in one class -- but the powers-that-be declined to consider our offer. Ah, well, we tried. Speaking of which, I must remember to write out the lesson plan & copy it -- It's not a complicated plan (except for the cursed TEKS numbers), but it must be done ... People are counting coup this year; we suspect that the interim administrators need to justify their jobs.

However, I neglected to comment about our last 2 weekends at Four Winds Faire. If Joy took pix, I'll post them ... The Celtic Music Festival, alas, was sparsely attended -- and I suspect did not earn the performers' fees. Last year, we had less than 20 folks come; luckily, one was my friend Marcia who drove in from Flint. Where's Flint? You're asking little old me from DFW? All I can say is that it's a small town in East Texas off Highway 110. Tyler is the largest town near it ... Marcia came to visit both weekends; we talked dolls and enjoyed good music -- although I hadn't quite expected a South rock jam session at the end of CMF. That's all right -- it just shows the connection from Celtic music to folk to "Southern rock" to current country. Besides, all of us rocked right along with the performers.

The following weekend brought the first Wild West Steampunk Exhibition at Four Winds. The belly dancers became "Desi D. Mona and her slightly soiled doves;" the cavaliers became gunfighters and the sheriffs. (Yes, we had shootouts at the tavern -- I mean, the saloon. (Ye Olde Tavern has gotten a massive facelift, with a complete sound stage, raised performance area, and an upstairs. Right now it plays the role of a haunted house.) We had more people this weekend, including part of the Court (dressed as Edwardian ladies & gentlemen), although still more were needed. For Owl Moon Studios, they were rather successful weekends; we made some new contacts and some cash. Dustin says the WWSE will continue in 2012. Yeehaw!!

Beauty & the Beast -- BJD style

Colette & Jurgis

Joy-Joy and I have dolls playing the roles of Beauty & the Beast ... more to follow.

Falling into October

Quetzalquatl Rising

Another season passed between blogging entries. As an update, we moved from Lancaster to Southlake -- about 50 miles as the owl flies, but drastically different in cultural attitudes. Folks from South Dallas and Wilmer-Hutchins have continued the western migration, and most of the southern Dallas County has a minority slant ... whereas Southlake remains unremittingly Anglo in contrast. Plus, I suspect that there aren't any LEP or SED students in the area. Believe me, if you glimpse a person of color around this town, he or she either works for someone or earns twice my salary.

Also, the school year brings its own new stresses as we move from TAKS to EOC ... The new test looks like a pre-AP test; I wonder how long it will take before the powers-that-be notice that the "learning curve" to pass the test for graduation will take longer than 4 years ... and they claim that LEP kids won't get an exemption once they're in regular classes.

Enough boring stuff -- Joy and I went out to Four Winds for the Celtic Music Festival. They had a small crowd; as usual, the advertising came out at the last minute. Worse, there were 2 state fairs, Canton First Monday, TJC football game, and who knows what else competing for people. Two friends of ours showed up, which improved the day -- and we did sell a little jewelry. Of course, we spent some on a new hat for a BJD and a new CD by Jed Marum, the "Yankee in Texas." Unfortunately, the Southern rockers took over the final set, so Jed put away the sound system and didn't sing. A disappointment because I hadn't had a chance to listen to him perform this year -- and he was one reason why we chose to go.

This weekend brings the first Wild West/Steampunk Weekend at Four Winds. I don't know how it will go -- for all of social media's claims to put you in contact with other people, I haven't seen impressive results. As Hope says, until you see the people in the audience, you can't count on their online promises to attend. My only concern comes from teaching on Monday ... though, if it's an A-Day, I'll only have 3 classes ... that might not be too bad. Ah, corsets and clockwork (to quote a book title) promise to create a memorable weekend.

Scorching School Daze

Benedict & Beatrice, 2011

School started last Monday with little fanfare at SHS. We are still a construction zone -- no kitchen for the cafeteria, no auditorium, ripped-up walls. and few water fountains and restrooms ... What a beginning to a new school year! The old lady of brick and mortar is getting a facelift, but we're in the middle. In fact, the Thursday & Friday when I moved my classroom and organized it, there was no AC -- and it was 105* in the room! The room also had no ceiling; you looked upwards and saw the 86-yr-old joists and beams that support the roof. In the workroom opposite mine, we found windows looking onto nothing -- they had been sealed years before. The journalism teacher braved the heat to take photos; we joked that they were windows for the mysterious "fourth floor," a legend in the school ... SHS has its own urban legends of ghosts and goblins.

A hurricane on the East Coast and the heat in the Southwest -- I don't want to wish storms on the Gulf, but I wish we could get something besides heat and more heat.

David Tennant & Catherine Tate re-united in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. I hope there's a cast recording, since that's the only way I'll experience their Benedict & Beatrice sparring. I loved the movie version directed by Kenneth Branaugh and for the longer time thought that he and Emma Thompson's performances couldn't be topped ... Well, the current stage versions may prove me wrong. I worked costumes & front of house when the Dallas Theatre Center did the play in the 70s -- we costumed it as warriors returning from the Texas war of independence in 1835. (Remember the Alamo!) Google and check out the gallery; Tate's Beatrice wears overalls in the early scenes, and Tennant wears a Navy uniform. It's a fun play; for those of you who aren't familiar with the plot, think Romeo & Juliet in a comic universe: no matter how bad things seem to get, the universe works to unite the lovers, despite their avowed dislike for one another. "Our hands against our hearts," as Benedict says. It all works to the good.

Let's hope the same goes for the 2011-2 school year.

Mother Nature's Crying

If you live in North Texas, Saturday brought a welcome surprise ... The clouds had a pity party for the farms & fields that have turned brown during this long drought. I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow -- and with it 100+ heat -- but for today I'm enjoying the unexpected precipitation.

This week has brought a funeral as well as a rainstorm ... Even us city kids watched the different clouds and the way the wind shifted north and west from Oklahoma. After the funeral Mass, we drove to the Mt. Carmel Cemetery outside of Electra, past Punkin Center. The fields had been burned to a crisp -- not even the cows were in sight. Still, each family took the cemetery tour after the internment. Most of the names were German ones: Fluesche, Hartmangruber, Roessler, Jacobi. According to Chuck, one ancestor -- Emil Fluesche -- settled there and brought other people from the Old Country to farm cotton and wheat in the 1870s & 80s. Chuck gave the quick tour to one of our cousins who'd come up from San Antonio for his mother's funeral ... I doubt that he knew how much history was contained in such a tiny plot of red dirt.

So, what does Sherlock have to do with rain and funerals? On the drive back to Dallas, I discovered that my cousins also watched Doctor Who and other British shows ... even the old ones like Up Pompeii. Perhaps it's because both attended schools that taught Latin. Who knows? I should've guessed since Chuck's vehicle has a Union Jack pasted to the back window. Strange that we don't have that much time together, yet we wind up in the same cultural place ... Hmmm. You might deduce that nurture tops nature, as far as personality development goes. Either that, or I read waaaay too much.

Texas Toast

Testing the Waters

Keeping an eye out for Mother Nature's heat seekers ... We had these visitors at the community lake (pond, rather) in Lancaster. I've seen a few near the megachurch just west of the apt. Good luck, birdies!

I don't think heat was a contributing factor in my aunt's passing in hospice ... She had spent years in a nursing home; her family had scattered decades ago. I'm not sure that my other aunts have any contact phone numbers for her ... We shall see on Thursday when we go up for the funeral. Ironically, we had planned to drive to Wichita Falls to visit with her.

This weekend I said farewell to the church that I had attended since 1980 when I moved to Lancaster. The congregation has steadily shrunk as children moved away and the demographics have changed ... At best count, we had 12-20 people who regularly came to Mass. Although we had moved in June, I regularly went down on Sunday; but with the start on school next Monday, summer is ending -- and it's time to move on. They understood why I didn't want to make a 40-50 mile drive ... gas hasn't gotten any cheaper since June. I made the announcement, and -- for the last time -- stayed for cake & coffee. St. Martin's is a good country church ... I only wish we had found a way to "grow the congregation" where we were planted.