June 9, 2010
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1 I am a thousand shoes blowing across the evening sky.
2 I am a missing sock.
3 I am one pie short of a Stooge.
4 I am the Creator; I am the Fool.
5 I am the Lighthouse.
6 I am the Darkness.
7 I am the music.
8 I am the song.
9 I am you.
10 I am your hope. I am your disappointment.
11 I am your inspiration.
12 I have a heart of gold.
13 I have a heart of darkness.
14 Give me, give me, give me my due.
15 I am, after all, just an Old Brown Shoe.
16 Sing it.
17 Bring it.
18 I cherish having you in my short, short life.
19 I wish I had never met you.
20 You're beyond awesome.
21 You've become a fake, and you know you have.
22 I am the eggman. They are the eggmen.
23 I am the Walrus.
24 Moving on, Part the First: Well, the year's winding down like a tired old clock.
25 The winds blow across the sky with wispy memories of a year gone mad.
26 Last night I pulled up a garden chair and watched the night sky.
27 A slight wind danced across my face, instilling life to my eyes and to my weary cheeks.
28 I began reflecting on so many things. I had music playing. Seasons of Love came on in the distance, and it went perfectly with the wind.
29 Five hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes.
30 It blew me all the way back to last year, when I thought things were good.
31 It blew smoke rings from the corners of my mah mah mah mah mah mah mah mah mind.
32 Five hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes.
33 I looked up and saw a fighter plane and a raven split the sky.
34 I looked at my fence.
36 I wanted to cry.
37 I wanted to clench my fists; I wanted a reason, and there was none to be found.
38 I looked under the lawn chair. Nothing there. No reason.
39 Yesterday one of my absolute best students handed me a piece of green binder paper.
40 It was a letter thanking me for giving energy every single minute, and for teaching her more than she ever imagined she could learn, from becoming a writer, to ghosts, to the Golden Age of Greece, to Greek and Latin roots, to the sweeping lines and wondrous poetry of Shakespeare, to the hip-coffee house poetry of her own classmates, to finally the immortal Taming of the Shrew.
41 She told me that she had always wanted to teach English, but didn't think she had the right patience, and saw how many teachers fight the job and teach angrily these days. They have become slaves to state standards.
42 She told me that after having watched me come in every single day, and teach with passion every single minute, that she is now interested in the profession. She was inspired that I have such a passion and love for my job.
43 I slowed her down. "It's just a job," I mused. I tried to hide a smile. I had reason to.
44 It was perhaps the greatest moment in my entire teaching career.
45 We stood for a silent second, and time stopped, except the five-hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes multiplied times a career.
46 Each time we think we have failed, we have in some way succeeded.
49 Not many jobs give you that.
50 It was a moment for the Ages.
51 Enjoy your day. I'm almost completely done. I am the fence. I am the lawn chair.
52 I am almost done.
53 I am almost done.
54 Peace, wondrous kites, and flying shoes.
~H~
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