September 14, 2010
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The Daily News1 Last night I wrote something like, "Luv youse" on Facebook. That was for everyone and anyone who helped out in supporting the victims of the San Bruno fires.
2 Thanks for all the support. Your emails were heartfelt and nice.
3 For the record, I got into my room yesterday and told my students a very shortened version of yesterday's DN.
4 Exactly when I was done, Tony Devincenzi, a young, an awesome teacher from my school, opened the door to my room and interrupted my class, a welcome interruption.
5 Tony was also a San Bruno guy, years younger and miles smarter than I, so I welcomed his visit.
6 He stopped everything I was doing and said, quite simply, "Dude. You okay?"
7 I had just talked a fast game to my students, so they knew immediately what it was he was referring to.
8 He knew people whose houses blew up in the absurdity that had happened in San Bruno.
9 One kid tried to interrupt, but he said, "This is more important than you. I'm sorry, but it is."
10 Tony wanted to know if my Dad and friends were all safe.
11 I looked over and said, "We're all good, man. My Dad is safe, and as far as I know, so is everyone else who made it through that nightmare."
12 The students stood stunned, but understanding.
13 Mr. D, you gave a great lesson yesterday.
14 He eventually vanished, and I spoke to my class about how the San Bruno fire put everything into the proper perspective.
15 The lesson went on fantastically, which is the usual thing up at the Chill.
16 Ironically, I had just given a little piece about empathy.
17 So kids who at first thought things were funny, or ridiculous, suddenly found themselves confronted with real life.
18 Add to that a student who had lived in San Bruno for a brief time.
19 And the deal was that San Bruno was just one place, and that this could have happened to anyone, anywhere.
20 The students got it.
21 One great moment in a career of millions of great moments.
22 It's perhaps why I still do what I do.
23 I think you also get it.
24 The REAL real world.
25 Ah, that's about enough of that.
26 Moving on, Part the First: Yesterday I went shopping at Lucky's, just because its what I do on the way home from school each day.
27 Seems no matter how many lists I make, I inevitably forget to buy one thing. Yesterday it was coffee creamer.
28 I think I just psychologically do that because shopping at around 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon is reasonably quiet and unbusy. It's sort of like a walk in the woods to me, in a modern-times sort of way. I skirt the outside perimeter because I mainly need fruits, veggies, and some sort of main dish.
29 Unless I need anything really essential, like toothpaste or moist towelettes, I tend to stay out of the middle sections.
30 And then I put my mind on turning invisible, spacing out, enjoying the quiet, and happening upon cool little things I need, like McCormick's Montreal Grill Spice Rub, or certainly the occasional box of Four-Cheese Cheez-Its.
31 I usually shop pretty healthy, but occasionally, the rebel in me screams, "Lays Barbecue Chips!" or "Digiorno!" Oh, and the worst offender: "Oscar-Mayer Super Thick-Cut Applewood-Smoked Bacon." Evidently the more adjectives, the better the bacon.
32 I don't want too many lousy things, because I don't want the person behind me in line checking out my cart and thinking, "How unhealthy."
33 Anyway, it's a daily ritual, and I think I do it mostly just to wander around invisible for a short stint. I have the time. It takes my mind off things. I don't really have to think, or be on my toes in front of people.
34 I get into this sort of Zen state that I used to get into when I would go into the mountains and sit by a waterfall. It's just that you have to pack and go to the mountains to achieve that state, so over the years I've learned how to move my chakras to that state of chi while walking through Lucky's.
35 I even enjoy the fake thunder and rain they do every now and again on the vegetables. It's sort of like being in the rain forest. I find it radishly refreshing!
36 Of course I'm aware that all that stuff probably has all sorts of poisons on it. You can't by anything nowadays that isn't chemically altered. I know all of this. Yesterday I saw some chicken that ADVERTISED that it was not plumped up with salt water or sea additives. It was written on the package! So...the rest of your chicken that doesn't have that written IS plumped up with salt water? I guess I like that trend, but I will go out on a limb and say that the "unplumped" chicken will cost significantly more.
37 Health is a racket. Any box that is green is gonna cost. Any package that is light green and has the word "Healthy" on it is going to cost a gold mine. I'm glad I have my vegetable garden; it at least has a fighting chance.
38 I've seen all those documentaries about how chickens are farmed, so claiming extra health is lost on me. If I do buy chicken, though, I'll probably wind up getting the "Dump the Plump" brand.
39 Return to Cart: Anyway, those are thoughts that go through my head when I shop. For a while this summer I was eating mostly stuff I grow myself, plus the occasional powdered potatoes and a small hunk of meat, barbecued, which causes cancer and I think worms or something.
40 No, honestly, I was really healthy. I even brought zucchinis and tomatoes to school for lunch, and would eat them raw, or maybe with some McCormick's Montreal Steak Grill Spice Rub, which is an intriguing name for a shaker of salt and pepper.
41 Grill Spice Rub. Advertisers, I swear to you. You don't have to be Fellini to figure that one out.
42 The only thing that interrupts my "chi" is that everyone seems to arrive at the counter at exactly the same time. I believe that there is a certain lemming mentality in all human beings, some sort of supermarket/shopping harmonious convergence that causes sudden rushes to the counter. And suddenly, carts line up from two different directions, causing me undo nervousness. I usually just turn the cart around and cart off to look for more stuff.
43 I will sometimes health-up my cart by getting rid of stuff that is bad for me. I'm always pleased when I have lots of fruits and vegetables. Number one, it's cheaper, and number two, you look cooler putting lots of healthy things on the counter. I can then glance into the basket of the guy next to me and make judgments.
44 Anyway, that's my secret Zen thing. I usually get very little, but I have to do that ritual each day.
45 Yesterday I wound up with salmon, orange juice, and salad. Oh, and the creamer.
46 Today it will probably be Four Cheese Cheez-its, Lay's Barbecue Chips, plumped chicken stuffed with Oscar Mayer Super Thick-Cut Applewood Smoked Bacon and soaked in a thick butter sauce, and powdered potatoes. And a couple of slices of zukes, for health purposes.
47 Life, ladies and gentlemen, is THAT good.
48 Moving on, Part the Second: If you go to the Giants/Bums game tonight, they will donate $3.00 to the San Bruno Fire victims. Gametime is 7:15, and bundle up; you're in San Francisco, out by the bay.
49 I think that's about all I have to share today.
50 Have a Zen day.
51 Eat right.
52 Peace.
~H~
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