We have this day off. In this edition of the DN, we have an explanation. It might not be what you like.

Too bad.

The Daily News

1   I love this time of year.

2   Don't know why, really.

3   Maybe it's because I always begin re-establishing relationships that are clearly meaningful to me.

4   Ah, shettttup lol!

5   For example, the other day I received an e-mail from me goodly friend and confidant Kenny Ponticelli. Nothin' deep, just a nice update, with a whole lot of soul. Second best guy in my life next to me own Dad. It could even be a tie.

6   I took off to Henry's on Monday with Tracy Wolcott, a genius extraordinare, and we laughed and talked well into the evening. We finally had to get home just sose we could return to the classroom and do whatever it is we do.

7   We had a GREAT conversation about YB, and about how we both try to modify our lessons so that they are closer to perfect each and every year.

8   If I may, two legends.

9   Interesting that we BOTH looked at our traditional lessons with nothing but ideas for improving.

10  After all that, one of my favorite students from last year visited me directly after school yesterday. We talked for an hour about everything and nothing, and I wound up realizing how amazing my classes went last year, better than any time in my career.

11  Life sometimes intervenes.

12  Yesterday, the immortal Patty Gassman and I met at the Macaroni Grill to talk about directing plays and such. To those out there who get the e-mail version of the
DN, I DO know how to spell the word "Macaroni". I accidentally put an "o" after the "c" yesterday and never caught it until after I had mailed it off. So it goes.

13  Patty was THE eminently graceful director at Piedmont Hills for years and years.

14  We instantly enjoyed exchanging stories of past shows, and present accomplishments.

15   Two extreme veterans of play directing, and it was every bit as good as anyone could imagine.

16   Patty was my own school's drama director's teacher and mentor. She's as awesome as it gets, sorta like Kenny and Tracy. Again, on the e-mail, I left out the words "drama director". I was pretty sleepy when I wrote this last night! I usually proofread my DN's several times before launching, but didn't. And I didn't send out any corrections, which I usually do, so if you read last night's DN already, you may have noticed a coupla gaping goofs. Happens. AnywayZ...

17   So in three days, I've been honored to have spent some valuable time with my Dad, Tracy, Kenny, AND Patty, and that's only the beginning.

18   One thing about getting older is that as we all lumber down the road, the greatest survivors keep moving forward and up, never satisfied with the status quo.

19   Ken has gotten married, has two beautiful children, a lovely, intelligent wife, and literally hundreds of students under his direction at Indy.

20  Tracy and I discussed ways of getting better with each and every lesson, which is pretty unique for a coupla veterans, both of whom could clearly rest on our laurels, but neither of whom would ever consider it.

21  And Patty had come out of her early retirement to teach at Piedmont for the day. She blew those students away with a lesson about knowing those around you, and about taking nothing for granted.

22  That led me to writing last night's DN, which I strongly considered not doing, but after talking with those Hall-of-Famers, decided to share with the world, even if I did get a tad languid with the editing.

23  To say that I love those people would be an understatement. We're talking about some of the finest teachers in the business, each of whom knows how to go in there and not only teach, but blow the roof off the joint.

24   I'm proud to be spending time this week with some of the greatest teachers in the business. I have reconsidered many of my upcoming lessons this week in hopes that I could bring all of that soul into my lessons.

25   So I salute my amazingly esteemed colleagues: Ken Ponticelli, my best friend on this planet next to my Dad, Tracy Wolcott, the best teacher in the galaxy, and Patty Gassman, a leader and one of the strongest and most soulful directors walking around.

26  Three Hall-of-Famers in my eyes. I felt as though if it were baseball, I woulda been in the presence of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Jackie Robinson. Truly. Add my Dad to that mix, and you might see the instant strength and vitality that has been happening all around me for the past week.

27  After having gone through two weeks of absolute angst, the entrance into my life by these Masters of the Game can't be understated. In the history of our lives, these were true inspirations. These people are all my own personal heroes. They not only survived years of teaching, but rather than hanging on, all three kept thinking of ways to improve and turn their work into classic art.

28  The very fact that I may stroll among these heroic gods is an honor beyond words.

29   To everything there is a season.

30   And a time to every purpose, under Heaven.

31   Moving on: Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. I've stopped trying to convince the world that it was originally Armistice Day, meaning that it was on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 that all war on Earth stopped, and that peace was establised. It morphed into the entirely different Veteran's Day.

32   Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against giving a day up to our war veterans, but I NEVER liked that they removed the idea of peace and brought in this salute, which should have had its own day.

33  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. had a wonderful piece about this in his hilariously poignant Breakfast of Champions. It was in the introduction to the work, and included the following sentiments. I include some comments from my DN of November 11, 2006:

12 Note: Vonnegut's reference to 1922 was a reference to his own birthday, and not an historical inaccuracy. Duly delivered. 

13  Here is the remainder of his lovely words about Armistice Day, repeated again especially for the DN readership. Hope you appreciate these amazing words:

So this book is a sidewalk strewn with junk, trash which I throw over my shoulders as I travel in time to November eleventh, nineteen hundred and twenty-two.

I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' day is not.

So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.

What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet,  for instance.

And all music is.

34  Thank you Mr. Vonnegut.  Thank you Ponch, Tracy, and Patty.

35   Have a great day everybody.

36   Oh yes, and peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily News

1  I've been living among the Turtles for the past week.

2  It was exactly a week ago today that I jumped into The Pond and began swimming once more. Actually, it was in the cloudy waters of The Gym. But Turtles nonetheless.

3  In the past week, I made it to The Gym five days out of the past eight (Monday to Monday).  Not what my original intention was, but clearly better than the prior week.

4  The goal: to get in amazing shape and to get healthy, strong, and handsome.Two outta three ain't bad though.

5  I could always get healthy later.

6  My mode: the large pool in The Gym. Hereafter the pool shall be referred to as the Pond. 

7  The challenge: swimming amid the many Turtles that seem to find their way into the Pond.

8   Well, here is the report of some of the experiences. First off, once you have gone to The Gym, you aren't allowed to call it anything but The Gym, as though everybody and his brother goes to one gym only, at least grammatically. Like everybody goes to the same Gym, The Gym.

9   You go on Facebook or something, and everybody seems to be going  to The Gym.

10  Must be quite a place. I think I found it, but I don't see all those people there when I go.

11  Anyway, my poison is swimming thirty laps each time, a lap being down and back.

12  The trouble is, the water is foggy for Gawd knows what reason, and I have to wear goggles to protect my eyes.

13   I look not unlike a bulgy-eyed, frog-faced snapping turtle, except that I can swim smooth and straight, which the other Turtles in the water can't.

14   But the water is so murky that I can't see some renegade Turtle suddenly all up upon me in my lane.

15   The Turtles in The Gym flap their arms all sorts of directions, with no concept of a standard crawl stroke. You just suddenly look up and a huge shadow appears before your eyes, and then paddles off to the other lane, with no concept of territory.

16  At the end of each stretch, I pop out of the water, take a breath, and glide back in the other direction.

17  There is usually a Turtle resting in the corner. The other night, one looked like a mean hombre, a snapping turtle from the Northern Caribbean, to be sure. He smelled of Cuban cigars and his mustache etched out two small triangles. He never snapped, but just glared at me like he was going to snap. I popped my head back underwater and kicked the side to get away.

18  A little later, two Disney Hippos plopped into the water, creating massive bubbles right in front of my startled face. I zipped between them continuing with my laps.

19  As I moved swiftly away from the Hippos, the same Turtles that suddenly appeared, suddenly appeared AGAIN in my lane, causing me to zip between them. Being Turtles, they had no idea of Pond etiquette, and continued on their merry ways, hands flying in every direction, chins riding the crest of waves created by both themselves and their Hippo counterparts.

20  What I WANT, of course, is a lane in which I could simply swim my thirty laps, and get into my street clothes before anyone looks at me. My dream is not to have to worry about that, but with a Pond full of Turtles and Hippos, it's quite a challenge to do straight down and back laps.

21  Every now and again I can slip across The Pond to a fast lane. It sometimes is empty, but the empty doesn't last, as Sentinels post themselves at either end, and just stand still in the water, as though they were guarding the sides from Invaders.

22  It isn't too bad, since there are no Turtles, but it gets tough to move to the wall.

23   At each end of the Pond, there is a wall with a Cross on it. I often shoot through the water and tap the Cross, a knightly procedure that I do each time. I tap it with my right hand, as a Sign of Reverence.

24   Sometimes the Hippos bring younger Hippos into the water and block the Cross. I usually manage to do some sort of fancy move to get my right hand to touch the Middle of the Cross.

25  Each 11th lap, I go on my back and do an elementary back stroke, where I coast and cool down. I won't do it if I see any evidence of Turtles or Hippos. I'll swim right through and not cool down.

26  On days like yesterday, when the Pond had other serious swimmers, I get to enjoy lanes all by myself. It's wonderful when that happens, because everything is divided in threes: the first third having to do with my past, and pulling any stresses from the past right behind. The second third is all about the present, and what needs to be done right now, and the third third, if you will is all about plans for the future.

27  Uninterrupted by Turtles and Hippos, the Pond becomes joy personified, where I swim, pull, splash, breathe, and cruise in an orgy of splashing and bubbles. It absolutely rocks my world, knowing that if I keep going I will eventually turn into a Handsome Prince.

28   Oh, I'm quite certain it will eventually work, and despite all the challenges, we swimmers have learned to live peacefully with the Turtles and the Hippos.

29   I'm so excited!

30   Welp, that's about it. The World of The Gym, and all the interesting creatures that hang there. There are other sinewy creatures slipping into the spa, as well as the Buddhas baking in the sauna, but that's for another day.

31   Right now, I'm sleeping better and loving life.

32   Enjoy your day today. I slept seven hours last night, and awakened refreshed and renewed. Nice to awaken rested, and with a new life.

33   Hope you live life; love life today.

34   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1   Meet my Dad.

2   The guy is a knight.

3   For the past several years he has been by my Mom's side as she went through all sorts of procedures for all sorts of different things. My Mom was paralyzed the last seven years of her life, and my Dad was with her constantly, loving, helping, and being her rock. He never complained, and both of them have always seen the glass half full.

4  When I was around five or six, he crashed in an small plane in the Sierra. The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash, but my Dad and his friend lived. It crushed his feet and cracked his ribs, but he walked away. I used to draw crayon airplanes all the time at school. It was always a sunny day, with a blue stripe at the top of the page indicating sky, a bright yellow sun, and me in a garden with lots of flowers. The teachers were worried, but really, once Mom told me Dad was okay, I used to play and not think about it too much. I saw him in the hospital and he looked a little scratched, but fine with his two big old casts. Since then, he has lived through a lot.

5  He has had all sorts of cancers and has been carved from head to toe, but he is still strong, good, and funny!

6  Around eight years ago, while riding a moped in Tahoe, he was hit by a car and raced to the hospital. After worrying about him all morning, he came walking out. He threw his jacket over his shoulder and said, "Let's get the Hell outta here. And can you stop by the liquor store? I gotta buy a six-pack!"

7   He has been in and out of the hospital for the past few years as well. He has some goofy stomach thing that has had several different procedures, so we always have to bring him in.

8  Once, while he was talking to me in the hospital, he accidentally pressed the nurse's button. In flew this really cute nurse who said, "Did you need something, Mr. Harrington?"

9  Dad looked up, gave a puppy-dog look, and said, "Love?"

10  Haha! Apple. Tree.

11  Anyway, when I was a kid, he used to take me to all the Forty Niner games, and each week we'd watch the away games together, along with all the other games. We still watch lots of games together, but it has been years since the two of us actually sat at a game.

12  Yesterday that happened, once again. We can always talk about everything and nothing, so we got out there early, tailgated with some friends, and went inside. My best friend from childhood sat on my right, and my Dad sat on my left, almost the same exact location we all were in when we saw "The Catch" happen. We were all there, Niner fans since birth.

13  The sun was shone, the place was ready to go, and we enjoyed the entire day, even though the Niners went into the tank late in the game. When the game finally got out of reach, my Dad, who had been reading the scores of other games on the scoreboard, said, "I thought the Raiders weren't playing today."

14   Keeping my eyes on the field, I said rather matter-of-factly, "No, they aren't. They have a bye."

15   His reply?  "No they don't. They're down on the field!"

16   The Raiders, if you don't know, are absolutely pathetic this year, with all due respect to the Raiders' fans.

17   Great comment.

18   He has had great comments his whole life, subtle, polite and cool.

19   Anyway, what a great day, even if the Niners lost. It was beautifully fun to see my friend Nick as well. He is ALSO pretty funny, and has always been a great guy. He told this joke yesterday:

Nick.  Why do women wear makeup and perfume?

Me.    I don't know. Why?

Nick.  Because they're ugly and they smell.

20   Ya gotta love it.

21   All in all, this will be a memory for me. Well, my sort of memory. I really love simple memories. I don't always have to have Disneyland memories, or going places and having huge fun memories. Those are always fun, of course. I simple memories, like just riding to the ballpark with my Dad in the TOOOOOONDRA, or spending a Sunday with just him and me sitting in comfortable chairs watching football, talking about everything and nothing. Those are always the best to me.

22  With my head all out of sorts the past two weeks, this was an instant antidote.

23   I got home and felt full strength once more, and smiled.

24   Amazingly clear headed and completely back to normal strength, although I didn't get to the gym last night. I fully intend to go later today however, so that I can continue to strengthen.

25  You have to work out both physically and mentally anyway.

26  Seeing my Dad and my best friend from childhood was a great step towards clarity and alertness, both of which have managed to dodge me for the past few weeks. Feels great, and more importantly, normal.

27  I even had the DN written last night at 8:30 p.m., arguably my all-time record!

28  So it's good times, laughs, and I'm guessing I may even be able to fight off insomnia, since when this was being written, I was at around 8:30 last night.

29  And so I'll leave today's DN at that. I was going to go into some of the hilarities of working out each day, but that may have to wait until tomorrow's DN.

30  I'm smiling, so that's a good place to tell everyone out there thanks for the e-mails and nice thoughts; things are WAY righted now,  and I want to wish you a great day today, and once again say, "Thanks."

31  Now get out there and fly low; it's Monday!

32   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 The Daily News

"Hey, don't make fun of Albert Finney!"edition.

Haha.

1   Buncha bananaheads. I hear laughter bouncing off the walls. I'm not sure as to what it all means.

2   Ah, you know who you is.

3   Mmmmmm. Moroccan oil.

4   ; )

5    Hehe.  = )  <---clearly a DN shout out to an honest  and sincere friend. Meanwhile...

6    I hate the Yankees.

7    M'bad. I don't ever mean to reveal my true feelings, as you all obviously must know.

 8   Still, I hate the Yankees. That team was bought, pure and simple.

9    Ah, I'm probably sour grapes.

10   Yep.

11   No doubt about it.

12   Moving on, Part 1: Thought I'd change it fast. After all, I'm a teacher, and for whatever reason in life, we are doomed to follow rules nobody else in the entire universe must follow.

13   Ah, vell.

14   I've always felt that nearly any time that people wish to put restrictions of others' freedom, it's a rule that is simply prejudice. Teachers are always expected to play by a different set of rules. I clearly never do, and never will.

15   Seriously.

16   Teachers are expected to give up at least twelve of the first thirteen original Bill of Rights.

17   Some clarity? Okay, fine. This Old Brown Shoe has managed to remain as human as possible, and to jump in and enjoy, love, worry, hate, and encourage everybody, the same rights as every other citizen in the Western world.

18   I personally refuse, and I do think most teachers would agree, to put a muzzle on and allow stupidity and nonsense to enter the mainstream.

19   We just ain't cut like that.

20   Yeesh.

21   Just thought I'd air that out.

22    Moving on: Know what annoys me?

23    People.

24    Know what I LOVE?

25    People.

26    The trouble with people is that they tend to see everything immediately from their own perspectives, and seldom take time to consider the feelings of others.

27    I don't leave myself out in that equation. I too am quite guilty on that count, but who isn't? We are, all of us, above and beyond all sensitivity, all about ourselves.

28    Yet we don't consider the feelings of others SO often that it is clearly something worth not only mentioning, but calling out. And I put my hand up as one of the first guilty parties. How critically mean we can be, often without even knowing that we are doing it.

29   Trouble is, we tend to take others for granted. And when they go through their own idiocies, we tend to distance, in what we think is elegant fashion. They may need a moment, or maybe even a day, or even a quick response to a simple e-mail, or twitter, or whatever.

30   Just a quick word of advice, for that it's worth: if that person is just a normal person in your life, give them an answer; give them some sort of quick response. It takes milliseconds to answer and it brings warmth and certainty into someone's day. They chose YOU as a person meaningful enough in their lives to give a "holla". Dude. It takes twelve seconds to "holla" back. wtf? Just do it. It's easy for you, and may mean the entire universe to them.  

31   Ignoring people altogether is hurtful and insulting. Think about it. Straight up. Mean. I've been guilty of this, because I know that the people I can truly depend on are a safe bet. And yet I personally am guilty of being too busy, or too certain that I can always catch them later. And often, I don't. It is a simple gesture to acknowledge people. It is always too easy to blow them off. Give a wink, a smile, or a thumbs up. Everyone is insecure to an extent, so we all need to take the extra minute to be at least polite. I failed on that one last year when I had got my 15 units. Lost a best friend from childhood in the process. So give it all a careful thought.

32   I just thought I'd throw that one out there, because we are SO immersed in technology these days that we forget some basic common courtesies.

33   One of the most beautiful things about my Mom is that she always felt that there was nothing common about common courtesy.

34   <sigh>

35   I miss my Mom. <tear>

36   As I miss common courtesy.

37   Moving on, Part the Second: Well, I have now officially been to the gym twice this week. Might not sound like much, but each day was a grueling full hour of intense swimming.

38   It's funny too, because I'm pretty certain that I can actually DO this, because I have done it in the past. The importance was following through with a second trip to the gym, a public announcement, a private announcement to the people closest to me, and then a plan.

39   The plan is quite simple, and the last time I used it, it worked famously. It's a transferable skill.

Listen:

 The first ten full laps I would spend ridding myself of the past, "pulling water" behind me. I wouldn't completely throw things behind, but things that I felt were now destructive, or thoughts that while sentimental, might now be destructive, right behind, so that I could physically see them bubble and splash with each dig.

40   The second ten laps would be an immediate plan for the next three days. If the old sentimental things would try to enter, I would instantly consider them now irrelevant, and make a list of things that could physically happen in the next three days.

41   Yesterday, for example, I pulled all the angst of the past month behind, and there was plenty. During the next ten laps, I devised a plan to string my wonderful guitar, Annabel, sort papers alphabetically, and write the DN. Three pretty practical and doable things. I did all three last night.

42   On my third series of laps, each of which was a full down-and-back in a long pool lane, I would plan what I intended to do to make my life better in the next few weeks, and in the next few years. It became instantly clear, and I've already devised a schedule as a result of the swim.

43    Three simple things: lose the pain of the past, make a plan for the immediate present, and make a doable plan for the future. In one hour of swimming, I would keep my mind off the toughness of pulling major water for an hour, and instead working on the physical and mental demands that might make for a healthier future.

44   In my next DN, I intend to give a blow-by-blow of the hilarity of trying to nail those three goals. But for right now, I thought I'd pass this strategy on to anyone trying to make things better for themselves via gym. Most could start as early as tonight.

45   A LOT of our tension and misery is self-inflicted. A disciplined regimen, both physical and mental, could do remarkable things to allow one to awaken to a much more stable, strong, and ultimately happy go of it.

46   It worked my first night out, so here's hoping I might be able to offer a bit of hope to others. I felt completely empowered, strong, and ready to rock by the time I got hom, and did indeed string my guitar, alphabetize student papers, and write last night's DN.

47   I even avoided Facebook for a stretch, because there's a lot of the past lingering there. Stringing my guitar took the place of sighing about things that won't change. Alphabetizing student papers gave me a jump on a deadline that will become super-intense within three weeks, and writing the DN is always a much longer chore than most might realize.

48  I also thought that anyone reading this could adapt the principles to their own lives, and quite quickly do some positive lifestyle adjustments.

49   Well, that's about it for this week. I fully intend to work out every single day, seven days a  week no matter what. My head has cleared, my love still love, and my dreams of happiness and health for my family and friends larger than life. Laughter and screaming resulted in someone shrieking out, "HEY! DON'T MAKE FUN OF ALBERT FINNEY!" I have NO idea what that was about, but the laughter lasted well into the night.

50  Have a lovely and important weekend. I hear loud laughter in the house right now, almost tearful. Is there anything more lovely? Ah, the sun will indeed, come out. Get some sleep, willya?

51  Live life.

52  Love life.

51  Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

I am better now. Word of honor. I am better now.

                                                                           

                                                                                                                      

A verily cryptic and mysterious Daily News the first part of which is in Comic Sans, which is a cryptic rearranging of Common Sense.

33    Peace.

~H~



www.xanga.com/bharrington




Walk On. Stay safe tonight.



There is nothing common about common sense.