March | 2011 | bharrington's Xanga Site

Month: March 2011

Happy Opening Day from the World Champion San Francisco Giants!!!!

The Daily News

1   Baseball's back!

2    If you weren't convinced last year, you might consider following it this year.

3   Yes, the Giants should be amazing. They came into camp healthy and in shape, and are had an awesome spring.

4   The A's are going to be one of the hottest teams in baseball this year.

5   Can't wait to jump in.

6   It all starts tonight for we Giants' fans.

7   You're welcome to join in the fun!!!

8   Can't wait!

9    Moving on, Part One:  I got a birthday present in the mail the other day.

10   Of course, normal life was busily body-slamming me and gouging at my eyes.

11    It woulda been pulling my hair if I had any.

12    Anyway, it was addressed to "Buddy" Harrington.

13    The only person on the planet who calls me that is my Dad.

14    As always, I had fourteen-billion things to get done, and so I put it somewhere in my satchel.

15    Yeah, buckaroos, I have a satchel. It hangs off the dusty side of my horse.

16    AnywayZ...

17    While spending most of my afternoon answering sweet emails from angry parents, grading papers, planning lessons, and going to meetings, I finally was able to go through my satchel and feed my horse.

18 It was then that I remembered the envelope from my Dad.

19 I pulled everything out of the satchel, which is the traveling equivalent of a miscellaneous drawer.

20 Out fell multi-coloured paper clips, newspaper articles about various and sundry things, nose squirts, Altoids, several pens of all varieties, eight billion late papers, and about six mini-calendars with post-it notes attached.

21 I could quite easily have poured gasoline over the entire thing and lit it on fire.

22   After I took more things out of the bag than Mary Poppins could ever pull out of her bag, I came upon the envelope.

23   It was the very last thing to pop up, even though it was the first thing I looked for.

24   Ain't that the way it goes?

25   AnywayZ...

26   It's "anyway", ya boob.

27   AnywayZ...

28   I took a pair of scissors affectionately named "Julius" and opened the envelope.

29   Julius Scissors. Yeah, I name things.

30   Inside the envelope was a check, and a small piece of cardboard around two inch squared. It looked like the end flap off a candy box.

31   The check was a hundred bucks. I swear to you.

32   The little piece of cardboard had been carefully cut into an angular rectangle.

33   It had two words on it written in pencil.

34   It said, "birthday card".

35   Haha, that's my Dad.

36   He can't drive anymore, so he decided to give me a birthday card.

37   All it said was "birthday card" and a hundred bucks.

38   I just drew a huge smile.

39   I love that man.

40   Best guy ever.

41   I almost threw it away, but I left it on my desk, put on my hat, turned out the lights in my classroom, and headed home.

42   I may keep that birthday card forever.

43   A quick word about my Dad before I go.

44   When my Mom passed away, the family gathered together to figure out next steps.

45   We had about three days to make about a bajillion decisions about caskets, viewings, flowers, funerals, and all the rest of that lugubrious boushit.

46   The issue of flowers came up. How many, which company, what they would say, and all that.

47   I approached my Dad and asked him what he would like on the sash that would go across his flower display.

48   Without missing a beat, he said, "I still do."

49    <tear>

50    That's my Dad.

51    My Mom sketched; my Dad writes poetry.

52    "birthday card".

53     Sweet.

54     I feel like I'm six again.

55     Genius decks herself in robes of subtlety.

56     Have a great day.

57     Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
   The Daily News

1   I saw some advertisement on AOL about how to attain the body of a fashion model.

2   Uhhh...aren't I already there?

3   Somewhere they flashed a picture of Richard Simmons.

4   I turntailed and ran screaming from my computer.

5   I absolutely must stop going to sleep early.

6   Because that is middle-of-the-night frights.

7   The trouble with being senile is that you don't know if something actually happened in the middle-of-the night, or if you just dreamt it.

8    Usually it actually happens.

9    Especially if you watch teevee at three, or are up on your computer looking at AOL flashes, or listening to the radio.

10 Like right in the middle of watching some World Series of Poker show, AOL flashes something about being a beauty queen.

11   I look up, because I certainly see myself as one.

12   But then some picture of Richard Simmons morphs onto the screen, frightening you like those scary videos of old that were designed to scare the bejeezus out of you:  a charming table with a bowl of fruit that suddenly flashes a picture of a dead woman's face, and plays a screechy sound, for example. Remember those?

13   Going to sleep early has its advantages, don't get me wrong.

14   But it brings with it an awakening during the witching hour.

15   So last night AOL flashed this stuff about having the body of a model or something, and I assumed they would use my picture illegally.

16   I was all set to goof on that entire concept, and then Richard Simmons screeched ugly at me.

17   I almost called a priest.

18   Moving on, Part the First: I'm reasonably convinced that Richard Simmons is Satan.

19   When he was younger and more spirited, maybe not. He was just a guy with terrible taste in workout clothing.

20 But now, oh, my. I won't go there.

21   Moving on, Part the Second: And for the life of me I have no idea why I even keep AOL as my primary email address except that it has remained pretty consistent and stable, which I like.

22 AOL is an antique. They flash "news" at you, but if you try to click on the story, it changes before you can to another story. It's like swinging at flies with a flappy swatter and always missing.

23  Most news nowadays is pretty contrived anyway. It's what used to be called yellow journalism. Non-stories are now called news. Stuff about Charlie Sheen or American Idol are top headlines.

24 It's the journalistic equivalent of a circus.

25  How about this. I say the word "Brad" and everybody and his brother knows who I mean.

26  Dude.

27  Brad is a non-story.

28  Let me throw THIS one at you. The Situation.

29  Ladeeez and Gents.

30  The Situation is a non-story, and non-news.

31  He's just a putz.

32   I'm going to write a play about The Situation. I'll call it Everymoron.

33   Gawd 'elp us.

34   Ironically, I'm getting a lot of mileage writing about morons today.

35   Moving on, Part the Third: I'm thinking of going back to my old habit of eating paste.

36   Life is too stressful.

37   I want to work with crayons and paste again.

38   Just me.

39   I didn't really awaken in the middle of the night last night.

40   I made that up so as to establish myself as having no credibility.

41   I realize that probably happened years ago.

42   I'm just having a come to JAY-zuss.

43   I better git while the gittin's good.

44   Hope you enjoy your day. It's "hump day", which to me is downright incredible.

45   Who came up with THAT name?

46   Yeah, as I said, I better git...

47   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

1 To the parent whose daughter hasn't turned in any sort of real assignment since October: are you seriously blaming the teacher for not telling you that your daughter hasn't picked up a book all year, and refuses to do work or study for any tests?

2 Yes I got your request asking me to call you, but isn't the issue REALLY between you and your daughter? And didn't you get that if a student gets an "F" with the comments, "Doesn't turn in work" and "Poor test scores" on a report card, that's pretty much all you need to know?

3 Poor parenting does not equal poor teaching.

4 Parents who want an instant answer as to why their son or daughter has received poor grades should ask early, the second they see the first report card. She's been getting poor grades with notifications all year, and the connection is usually a complete lack of doing homework or classwork. If it takes me a half hour to coax someone to take out a pencil, something isn't right. Perhaps the parent should stress school a little more at home rather than blaming school.

5   Note to lady: Most teachers of high school students have close to150 students and constant bouts of planning, grading, researching, going to endless meetings, preparing for state tests, getting prepared for possible layoffs, aging parents, families, illnesses, and everything else that happens to normal people in life going on simultaneously. And mountains of papers to grade from students who do their work and who study hard. We give ourselves an hour detention after school because your kid choses to be tardy. We give up prep periods to sit in on IEP meetings. We give up lunch periods to give make-up tests. We give up every weekend of the school year for prepping and planning.

6   You have one child. I let you know twelve different ways why your child has not been performing. Listen: you have to study and do classwork and homework. When your child gets an "F", the reason is usually that your child isn't working hard enough. It has little to do with not understanding the material. It has everything to do with you not being involved and insisting that your child work hard in school.

7   It's usually that simple. With all due respect ma'am, it's almost April. How have you not addressed this with your child or me earlier this year? Really?

8   So go to the principal, and the District, and the governor, or whoever else you wish to blame for your lack of essential parenting.

9   Then walk into your bathroom, turn on the light, and look really long and hard into the mirror.

10 Because someone is not doing their job, and it isn't your child's teacher. Trust me.

11 Children who succeed have parents who are actively involved in their education. Children who don't succeed have parents who are not actively involved in their education.

12 It's a simple formula. There are exceptions. But in general, this is pretty true to form.

13 I'm glad you finally realized that calling the school and showing you care is a good thing, but your credibility falls pretty short when it is April by the time it hits you in the head.

14   And then expecting the teachers to drop everything they are doing for one student isn't a good bet. Our grades are due next week, and we are spending the majority of our time reading homework, classwork, and analyzing tests that our performing students are actively doing.

15   We'll get to your child, but your child is being "left behind" for a reason.

16   Look in the mirror if you want feedback.

17   Look in the mirror. Long and hard.

18   Moving on, Part the First: The child in question is clearly fictitious. I just thought that awakening at 4 a.m. annoyed at this recurring theme needed to be put down in print and out there.

19   Ladeez and gents, this sort of nonsense goes on all the time.

20   When did it become fashionable to hate on teachers?

21   Because I'm not going to sit here and take it.

22    Ever.

23    I have thrown my entire life into this career. I have been passionate and sincere. I have made many mistakes, but who hasn't?

24   One thing is certain: I try every which way to throw thought, intelligence, passion for learning, and love into what I do every single day.

25   I spend hours upon hours thinking about how to reach every single person I teach, and to do so with patience, humor, and kindness.

26   I spend every single Sunday planning, composing, and grading. I spend most of my Saturdays visiting my ailing father, and I still don't get enough time with him.

27   And I'm just one of us. There are literally millions of teachers who throw their hearts and souls into their jobs. There are literally millions of people in education who throw their hearts and souls into their jobs.

28   Their jobs are suddenly threatened. Are you kiddin' me?

29   The vast majority of people who work in education are professional, hard-working people, just like a vast majority of people who work hard in other professions.

30   Where this education bashing started is beyond me.

31   I assume it is with the economy, but honestly.

32   Education is operating on bare bones this year.

33   Class sizes are getting off the charts, and we still have parents who think their kids are in some sort of private school.

34   Good people are getting laid off in droves.

35   Districts hide money because they know that it might run out.

36   Young prospective teachers go through agony every day trying to get into this profession. They do this because they are passionate, and because they are the next generation of teachers.

37   And they get attacked. And they get insecure about their jobs.

38   And somehow, there is a contingency of people out there hating on education and educators.

39   Can those people kindly do me a favor?

40   Can they kindly walk into their bathrooms, turn on the lights, and look long and hard into the mirror?

41   And then give a thought to what this world is going to become when we no longer have quality professional educators, because the people in this profession can go to other professions and thrive, because they are used to being overworked, underpaid, and still expected to perform on a professional level.

42   Just like most people.

43   Okay, I'm going to step down from all of this. I just thought I'd throw a little thought into the mix today.

44   Let's support our schools. Parents, please support your children. They are all good, and they have good hearts. You don't have to help them for six hours with their homework. You just have to insist they do it. And if they don't do it, then be a parent.

45   Don't say, "You didn't do sixteen assignments. I'm going to go call the school and complain that the teacher has not done his or her job!"

46   Ahem.

47   Somebody certainly hasn't done their job ma'am.

48   Somebody hasn't.

49   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
Happy Belated Birthday to Buster Posey!!!

The Daily News
1    Yeah, Buster! Same day as mines, but I try always to keep my birthday a secret.

2   So okay, it was yesterday.

3   But I usually try to keep it a secret because I don't know why.

4   Someone ALWAYS realizes it, and it leaks out, but for me, it's just another day.

5   I figure everybody has a birthday every year, and trying to keep up on that stuff could wear a person out.

6    Also, years ago, I got spanked by some overly energetic students, and my ass burned for around two days. We all laughed though, but literally it hurt so badly that I had to lecture standing up.

7   So I always appreciate kind words, letters and all the rest. Kind people send kind thoughts.

8    So for those of you who sent me all those wonderful emails, FB comments and all the rest, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

9   Birthdays are wid.

10 You love them when you're young, and you fear them as you get older.

11 Either way, my thanks to all of you who threw such kind and wonderful wishes my way.

12 It really did feel good, and much nicer than spending two days with a painful ass.

13 For the record, my best thing was that my Dad is again in and out of the hospital and doing well once more.

14 And my wife and daughters gave up their weekend to take me to Joe's for a wonderful dinner and some hearty laughter.

15   I am so blessed to have so many people actually care that I continue to turn into an old geezer.

16   I feel younger than ever, but that is very much thanks to all of you for being so cool.

17   Whatdya say to having so many people who are wonderful?

18   I can say only one word: thanks.

19   It is an event that happens every year, and every year I dread it.

20   But my family took me to good ol' Joe's last night, and it was heroic.

21   So thank you all, young and old, for the emails, comments, thoughts, and love.

22   It did make for a beautiful day.

23   Moving on, Part the First: The tough thing about all of it was that I got to sleep last night much later than usual.

24   And I had to get today's DN in a bit later than usual.

25   Ah, it's all good.

26   Tryin' man, tryin'!

27   It's WAY late for this old brown shoe as I compose this drivel, almost 11 p.m., which used to be normal!

28   Don't get old, dudes.

29   One fun thing I learned: Buster Posey's birthday is the same day as mines.

30   Mines. That always kills me.

31   So lotta news, not the least of which that baseball officially starts on Thursday, which is payday, March 31. And it is a complete coincidence that this is item 31 on today's DN.

32   Gonna be fun, but there is a bit of a pall with Cody Ross and Brian Wilson down. But it's gonna be fun, and look to the A's to be taken quite seriously by every serious baseball person as well. We could potentially have a Bay Area World Series.

33   Both teams are going to be competitive, so I'm looking forward to this rain letting up for a few days, and then jumping into a fun Spring.

34   So that's about it for a Monday when I got to bed "late" last night.

35   Gonna fly low today, even though I got plenty of sleep. It's my gift to myself.

36    See you all tomorrow.

37    You fly low too.

38    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1   Almost built me an ark yesterday.

2   On the way home I took a back route. I went past Penitencia Creek and it looked eerily like a tsunami.

3   We had flash flood warnings all over the place.

4   A little scary, to be sure.

5   Don't get me wrong. I find rain refreshingly peaceful.

6   I have also learned the fine art of umbrellaing.

7   And I love how green and lush everything gets.

8   But that tiny creek suddenly roaring out of control gave pause.

9   Ah, vell.

10 It's sort of funny because yesterday I felt like Gene Kelley in the puddled parking lot. My foot accidentally splashed through a puddle at the same time I did a sort of choreographed sweep with my umbrella.

11 A few years ago I learned how to use and keep umbrellas.

12 Umbrellas we misplace because they are not a part of our daily routine.

13   I no longer buy cheap umbrellas. The difference of say five or six dollars is well worth the investment.

14   I also never open an umbrella if it is a windy rain.

15   You have a seventy per cent chance of your umbrella turning inside out, and then you try desperately to use it for the rest of the day.

16   <basketball buzzer>

17   Ain't gonna work.

18   On rainy days I stay in my classroom leaving the door unlocked because students continually come in after school having forgotten their umbrellas.

19   They also come into class first thing in the morning with umbrellas that have turned inside out, like wet socks out of a dryer.

20   Honestly, they should teach the fine art of umbrella-ing in school.

21   What works better in life, knowing Algebra 2, or learning Umbrella Logic?

22   The smartest students on the planet can't think through Umbrella Logic.

23   Umbrellas are poetic too, if you give them a listen.

24   It really could pass as a fine art.

25    Mary Poppins uses hers to fly. Think about it.

26    Ah, it's a lovely thing.

27    Moving on, Part the Second: Rain.

28    There's a Beatles' show playing at the Orpheum in San Francisco. It's called Rain. I have to assume it is a cover band going through a tribute.

29    Years ago they had a Broadway show called Beatlemania, which was a sort of tepid two-hour salute to the boys.

30    As I recall, the group became a traveling cover band that would do county fairs and art-and-wine gigs during the summer.

31   It was always sort of fun to hear. I'd like to hear a cover band do different versions of familiar songs, rather than going note for note. It's always weird to see salute bands anyway, because they're not the real deal.

32   I do appreciate nice covers of good songs though. The late Harry Nilsson is on some Starbuck's CD and does a really sweet cover of Mother Nature's Son. And yes, it is close to the original, but quite lyrical and peaceful.

33 Plays nicely with rain, and with thundering creeks and lush hills.

34   It's raining steadily right now.

35   It's peaceful.

36   It's 4 a.m. and all is well.

37   Time to sleep.

38   Time to dream.

39    Have a lovely weekend.

40    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
    The Daily News

1   I had several Austrian exchange students visit my classes yesterday.

2   In a way it was great because in the morning I didn't have my keys, so we all chilled in the hallway before school. It was somewhat like a farmers' market, and my students got to relax and chill with these wonderful students from far away lands.

3 What I loved was that they were older, like seniors, and my freshmen stood astounded at the exchange.

4   What's really funny is that they didn't really talk initially about education. The first topic was the drinking age in Austria!

5   They can purchase beer and wine at the age of sixteen in Austria, and hard liquor at eighteen. So they could actually club at sixteen.

6   That was the first issue they brought up. Can you even imagine?

7   My freshmen lit up on all of this. I, naturally, was astounded when they asked how many of our students drink and smoke.

8   A whole lot of them said that they did.

9   Noooooooo! Haha, my image of my wonderful students shifted somewhat dramatically yesterday.

10 I see my freshmen in particular as sweet and innocent. I've often referred to a book I one day wish to write called Ears and Braces.

11 I guess that's just a part of the occupation.

12 Turns out that a whole bunch of them have already had their first beer, even at the quaint old age of fourteen. The Austrian students said that they begin drinking as young as the age of six!

13   Well, I guess Shakespeare did say that there is nothing new under the sun.

14   Astounding.

15   Sometimes I am so naive as a teacher that it is practically idiotic.

16   Pretty eye-opening, but pretty human, I gather.

17   Yeesh.

18   Great day though, because the Austrian students also told my students that their school day is much longer, and that grammar is of utmost importance to the Austrian culture.

19 They also are into shopping and music. Some things never change, here or there.

20   I loved that after they were done speaking, my lesson plan was the balcony scene.

21   Sometimes everything happens just the right day, and yesterday was one of them. It just fell into place.

22   I've been on a roll lately anyway, so this fit right in.

23   When life turns wonderful, it's great to realize and enjoy it.

24   Yesterday was one such day.

25   Moving on, Part One: On the Other Hand Dept. I had some difficulties with some stupid data entry boushit yesterday, adding around three extra hours to my day.

26   By the time I got home I was exhausted.

27   But when I drove up, I saw my daughters' cars in front of the house.

28   Not only was Nicoley visiting, but my wedding-bound Caitlin was home from Sac too!

29   What a wonderful surprise!

30   Both my daughters were home, and the laughs began instantly.

31   Life brings gifts when you least expect it, I swear to you.

32   AnywayZ...

33   Good times, man.

34   Well, I crashed out at around 8 p.m. last night, old fool

35   And I awoke at like 11 p.m. in order to write this nonsense.

36   So it's midnight; I've just cleaned up after the soup I made for dinner, and all seems quiet and well.

37   I'm in my usual state of disbelief and amazement, but I am also charmed by each day.

38   Hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thursday.

39   Peace.

~H~

xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1   So...Elizabeth Taylor walks into a bar.

2   One of my favorite all-time actresses. Amazing talent.

3   She was also a crusader for Aids' awareness when a lot of people didn't even know what Aids was.

4   She went through husbands like I go through socks.

5   But she was an amazing human being, and wonderfully entertaining.

6   We lost one of the greats, that's for sure.

7   And so it goes.

8 Moving on, Part the First: It's funny how sometimes we don't even notice greatness while it is around us, nor great days when they are around us.

9   Yesterday was a great day, even though it started out ridiculously.

10 I went in all ready to enjoy a great day with my students, but for some reason, my head was reeling from worry about my Dad.

11 I won't go into a lot of details, but the other day I decided that he needs more help, and sent an email to my sisters voicing my concerns. They probably do a whole bunch more than do I, but he has reached a point where he is forgetting stuff, and feels that despite doctor's orders, he could eat anything he likes.

12 And he is becoming like a schoolboy who doesn't want to comply with teachers' rules. What he doesn't get is that if he doesn't comply with the doctor's orders, he is endangering his life. He just doesn't get it.

13 So the other day I launched the sort of come-to-Jay-zuss email to my sisters. I said basically that we can't soften and let Dad "cheat" on his diet anymore. There was this, "Oh, he could have this every now and again" thing that we all do, but if three people are allowing the occasional cookie, or chips, then he is possibly getting three times the amount of "treats". It's not working. Bottom line. And he knows how to play us, well at least me. The guy is smooth.

14 Anyway, I had a beautiful afternoon, and when I got home, I had emails from both my sisters agreeing that we need to get more help, and that we needed to clean Dad's house of any foods that could compromise his health.

15 I was afraid that we might have had a rift over that one, because you feel sorry for someone who wants to eat the things they love, but in a situation like this, you just can't.

16 It has been stressing me out all week, because I wasn't sure how my sisters would react. I wanted it all to stop, and to have all of his meals controlled by professional health people.

18 Well, all three of us joined forces, and are ready to see that my Dad is able to eat well and be under professional care, as well as our care. I thought my email might have triggered anger or disagreement, but instead, both of my sisters united, and I think we are going to see an improvement in my Dad's health. It doesn't sound like much, but when they both agreed, I felt like my spirit lifted and went to Heaven. Seriously. It might seem like a little thing, but to me it was enormous.

19 It doesn't sound like much, but I've reached a point in life where sometimes it's the little things that make monumental days.

12 I've always felt that anyway.

13 An umbrella and a friend, for example, could be as important in the scheme of things as six trips to Hawaii, or a day in Disneyland.

14 We learn these things as time passes.

15 So in many ways, yesterday worked. I didn't go to Hawaii; I didn't go to Disneyland, but I did enjoy the dreary day with a friend, and then came home to nothing but nice news.

16   Helene greeted me with news that we will probably get a wedding coordinator for Caitlin's wedding, because my baby is stressing. We found someone who sounds great, and is pretty reasonable price-wise. Is that a little thing. Certainly. Is it monumental? Yes, because I love Caitlin, and I think it will be monumental to her.

17 Moving on, Part the Second: Yesterday also brought with it a bit of embarrassment to me in the classroom.

18 First, my vocabulary list had at least three errors on it. You don't notice those errors until you see glaring errors on a handout. Fortunately, my students were pretty supportive. I wrote the handout while stressing about things, so I had a couple of glaring errors on it. Once it's printed, it's in stone.

19 I also walked into a rather strange thing. We have some students from Austria visiting our school, and two girls came in yesterday to observe my classes. I was my usual graceful host in such a situation.

20 Midway through my lesson, when the students did desk work, they called me over.

21 One of the girls asked about which American word meant the way you feel when you first walk into a room. For the life of me I couldn't figure it out. I was stil a bit out of sorts because of the weekend.

22 I was charmed to find that the word they were looking for was "impression". My room is lovely, and most everyone who comes in tells me that. So it was clear they were trying to say that their first impression was a good one. I was also pretty welcoming and friendly. So feeding them the word "impression" was clearly my pleasure. Part of their assignment is to keep a diary, so I thought that was pretty cool.

23 I always play nice music for my students when they are doing desk work. I found this wonderful version of Greensleeves that I often go to because it is almost impossible to recognize, and yet it somehow works.

24   So that was playing while the students broke from desk work and put vocab sentences on the whiteboard. The room danced with pastel markers and laughter flying every which way.

25 Somewhere in their, the Austrian girls called me over again.

26   One girl asked if the past tense of "fly" was "flight". I said, "No, the past tense of 'fly' is 'flied'."

27   And then I returned to my desk.

28

29   I really need to get some rest.

30   Within seconds I moved back to those exchange students and told them that I was a fooking idiot, and that the past tense of "fly" is "flew".

31   Can you even begin to imagine?

32   Hilarious.

33   Still, the idiocy added to a great day, despite the weather and everything else.

34   Sometimes it's the little things.

35   So that's life, innit?

36   Umbrellas and stupid things.

37   Those are important.

38   It's raining, and just after 5 a.m. right now.

39   The rain is music.

40   I'm loving life. I'm smiling about Elizabeth Taylor because she has been a sort of companion over the years.

41 And I'm smiling about umbrellas.

42 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News
1 I have taken to driving an alternate route home lately.

2 Normally I'm superstitious about changing routes.

3 But I have decided that taking a few back roads through the hills of San Jose is a small way to change the scenery in my life.

4   We're all in such a hurry all the time that we tend to want to get places the fastest way possible.

5   I certainly fell into that.

6   We miss out on so much of life that way.

7   So a few weeks ago I decided to figure out ways to avoid the main roads on my daily routine.

8   It has worked out famously.

9   Most people could probably do this as well.

10 What I did was I found alternate routes to work.

11 Since I work in the East Hills of Sannozay, I found some quaint streets and neighborhoods that I never knew existed. Or maybe I did, but because we are all in such a hurry all the time, we don't take the time to look around the places through which we travel each day.

12 I found that instead of riding in traffic, I can now ride through small neighborhoods all by myself, no traffic, no stresses, and lots of small houses with families and kids and all.

13 What's really great is when I have to travel back to some sort of traffic, I land at this Starbuck's that's a simple right turn and a stop.

14 If I need to get coffee, it's right there. And there are other hidden stores that nobody knows about.

15 And cheap gas stations. They are never cheap near freeway entrances, but if you go off the beaten path for say a mile, they go lower, almost thirty cents a gallon.

16 I love this time of the year. It's Spring. Don't let the rain fool you. And I absolutely think each year that everything looks prettier, and that the hills turn green and the sky filled with cumulus clouds and blue sky.

17   Changing my driving habits has been a subtle addition to this exquisitely underrated time of the year.

18   Everything seems fresh and clean and colorful. Birds are still singing and chirping. I whistled to a few last night, and they whistled back.

19   Yes, you can't really barbecue or garden, or take baseball seriously. Yes, we are in a sort of waiting line for summer.

20   But it's a gorgeous time of year, a time of reflection and rebirth.

21   And making a small change, like adding five minutes to a commute and getting away from the traffic moves from being a small change to being a large change.

22   You should try it. At first I got sort of lost, but after a few tries, I felt my way around the neighborhoods and now travel through an entirely different world.

23 And what's amazing about it is that it isn't anything big.

24 Sometimes it's the little things.

25 I probably shouldn't be telling you about what you should do, because people who do that sometimes annoy me.

26   <But you really should give it a try.> ; ) <---------sideways winky guy.

27 That's it for today.

28   Clouds. Blue sky. Lush hills.

29   I need sleep.

30   For what it's worth, have an elegant Tuesday.

31   Love what's real.

32   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 You know what is wonderful about my ride home each night?

2   The streets I must pass in order to get home.

3   Each night I must pass first Hamlet Court.

4    I then fly past Tambour Way, and proceed on by Minuet Drive.

5    This eventually leads me to Poetry Drive, which I take to finagle my way to my front doorstep.

6    It is an enchanting end to my day, each day.

7    If I told people this, they would certainly think I was making it all up.

8    But my rides home always ends in those passages.

9    For a guy who has been going through all the stuff I've been going through, you would think I was making this up. But life is all about passages.

10   But that's all true. It's like a Disney ride, each and every day.

11   The cynical out there will probably cringe, but I'm absolutely telling the truth.

12   It makes me smile.

13   Sort of like on Saturday.

14    As usual, I went up to visit my Dad, who somehow is still doing reasonably well.

15    I had health issues I needed to confront him with, but when I got there, he was chilling with my sister, watching Diehard 4. It was raining out, and I had just returned from a wake and a funeral on Thursday night and Friday.

16   I never felt more safe and comfortable.

17   I have some issues I needed to bring up with him, but the moment simply wasn't there. It seemed inappropriate. He doesn't follow his diet regimen, and I wanted to confront him about it, because his health is so delicate right now.

18   But I simply couldn't do it. I knew in my heart and soul that I needed to have "the talk", but something told me it could wait a few days.

19   Life does that.

20   My sister Linda was there, and all three of us got pulled into the movie, and the rain.

21   For once, it felt like we were who we have always been, and it was clearly evident that for one brief, shining moment, we could live through all the diets, talks, and boushit.

22   Interestingly, we always refill a hummingbird feeder that hangs out the window of the family room. My Mom, who passed away a coupla years ago, loved hummingbirds.

23   Bedridden in her final days, she drew pictures of the hummingbirds who came to visit her each day.

24   Among her other talents, my Mom was a sketch artist extraordinaire.

25   She always sketched beautiful things like women's faces, dresses, animals, and nearly anything. Even when she was young and beautiful she would do that, sometimes just as a hobby.

26   Some people knit. Others write songs, or sing.

27   Mom always sketched, just to have something to do, the same way we all doodle.

28   Her talent went unnoticed by most, because it was just a little thing, but her sketches always were right on target, and lovely.

29   She never mentioned it to anyone, nor really showed her sketches to people any more than you or I would show our doodles to anyone.

30   It was simply a small, beautiful thing that she did.

31   In her waning days, she sketched the hummingbirds who would come to the feeder outside her window.

32   I bought her a sketch/crafty kit for her birthday, or Christmas one of the later years; I truly don't recall which. She never really touched it, and I have no idea why. Yet she continued to sketch on small pads of paper.

33   And it was always beautiful, but nobody really ever acknowledged it. We have all doodled sometime, like maybe when we sit around on a rainy day, or talk on the telephone, but Mom's doodles were always remarkably artistic to me.

34   She never said a thing about them; she just did it the same way any of us do those little things.

35   And towards the end, she sketched hummingbirds.

36   My beautiful daughter Caitlin took notice of the hummingbird sketches and has decided that her wedding in July will include hummingbirds as a part of her sunset theme.

37   How lovely is that?

38   Anyway, on Saturday, I went up to visit Dad not for pleasure, but on a business trip. I had to let him know that he needed to keep a more vigilant watch on his diet, and a few other things. We had a few incidents in the past month that warranted a scolding, and I wasn't really ready to do that. It is important, really important.

39   When I got there, I saw my sister Linda and my Dad enjoying a movie, and the rain started up, and I knew immediately that the conversation could wait for another day.

40 Linda has watched over him pretty nicely anyway, and my other sister Gayle has been going up during the week. We also have professional help coming in five days a week, so it isn't that bad. He just wants to eat whatever he wants, and in his condition, he simply can't. We all try to monitor it, but he has reached the point where he doesn't want to cooperate with people telling him what he can and can't eat.

41   This is what happens to people as they begin to age. They don't want to be told what they can or cannot eat, and it often causes huge challenges to the rest of the family.

42   So I went in with an agenda, but somehow, the time simply wasn't right. He was fine, at least for the day, and we all settled in to watching movies and laughing and joking.

43   In my head, the moment could wait for another day or two. I sat down and decided that it was more important for him to enjoy a normal day with his kids.

44   Right in the middle of Diehard 4, it rained really hard, and hummingbirds from all over flew to the feeder in the family room window. I couldn't help but think that Mom was sending us signs that we had to enjoy one another, and that diets, hospitals, doctors, and all the rest needed to rest for yet another day.

45   I smiled, and we went on to listen to a baseball game, and then watch some Superman movie. We made all the usual jokes about how both Superman and Clark Kent had disappeared for five years, yet nobody suspected they were one and the same.

46   I chimed in with a lot of fun observations about the Man of Steel, and Dad kept chuckling, because I stayed clean with most of the observations.

47   That's not so easy to do with Superman, but it was utterly enchanting and absolutely fun.

48   The hummingbirds kept coming to the feeder in droves; the rain kept raining, and I knew that my Dad was loving a rainy afternoon with his children.

49   And for the first time in quite some time, I again felt like a child, like I was home again, and I loved it.

50   Sometimes, boy.

51   For the first time in years, I felt that I was home again, that all the strange quirks and twists in life had put me back to where I belonged.

52   Sometimes we just have to talk back to the world and tell it that it needs to slow down and leave us alone. What important to the world isn't necessarily important to us.

53   That happened on Saturday.

54   Dad had an enormous smile on his face when I had to go, and I had one right back for him and Linda.

55   And as I left, I swear that in the corner of my eye I saw a hummingbird give me a wave, all Disney, of course.

56   I'm going to believe it did. I went home smiling, past Hamlet Court, Tambour Way, Minuet Drive, and straight down Poetry Drive, and arrived home none the worse for the wear and tear. And my Dad had a great day with his children.

57   And I thought I would share that on this rainy Monday.

57   That's it. Have a great one.

58   Peace.

~H~

xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 Just returned from yet another wake.

2   Friend's mother-in-law.

3   I should have majored in this.

4   The good thing is that I had a safe and spiritual ride home from San Francisco.

5   Thank goodness my life is that movie 50 First Dates.

6   I'm approaching that entire thing of I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

7   AnywayZ...

8   The funeral is today, but for the life of me, I can't remember who died.

9    Oh!

10 Friend's mother-in-law.

11  That's right.

12   Just kiddin'.

13   Holy shit.

14   I meant that about the wake.

15   They're Greek.

16   So their was a lot of Holy shit going on in the cathedral. Incense, statues, reverse signs-of-the-cross, chantings, etc.

17   I saw an old friend at the wake. He's actually a young friend in my frabjous eyes.

18   We walked into the chapel, looked around at all of the statues of Jesus and stuff, and I asked him this:

19   Where's Zeus?

20   Ah, yeesh.

21   I think I hold the world's record for going to wakes.

22   It's sort of dangerous to go to any sort of wake on St. Patrick's day.

23   As always, it put everything into proper perspective.

24   Is anybody reading this stuff?

25   Probably not.

26   Or maybe so.

27   AnywayZ...

28   The first part is done. I always look to see the meaning of life in these things, and I always walk away feeling still more spiritual.

29   Pretty typical, I imagine.

30   But got home late. Never a good thing, except that I had a spiritual occurrence on my drive home.

31   I had the entire last part of Godspell on my CD player, and blasted the Long Live God/Prepare Ye finale stuff.

32   Right when the singer chimed in "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord", I had an electric chill zap my entire body.

33 I swear to you. People talk about those moments, and I always figure that they are just thinking they had some sort of religious thing happen.

34  This was real.

35   I swear to you.

36   Maybe I've had just too much of this stuff the last few years, and maybe it just all came to a head.

37   But last night I got zapped. No question.

38   In many ways, I loved it.

39   It wasn't just soulful or spiritual; it was like a jolt of pure joy.

40   But something really spiritual and physical happened all at once.

41   If that was a taste of heaven, then bring it.

42   I couldn't help wondering how many other people that has happened to.

43   Don't know, really. I have a funeral to hit today, and maybe more will happen.

44   I sure hope so. I felt some sort of amazing feeling going through my entire being. Never happened before. It was physically similar to when someone opens a door in the winter and a blast of cold air hits you, only WAY more joy, and much warmer!

45   Just curious, I guess. I'm a pretty practical person, so this was new.

46   Whatever it was, I liked it. Godspell always worked for me anyway. I was on God's freeway last night. I swear to you.

47   Moving on, Part the First: Maybe yesterday was some sort of sign. Iono. But listen: THREE times I got applauded by my students for my lesson on the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.

48   All I did was give a brief lesson on Shakespeare's rhythms, and pushed "play" on a CD of the balcony scene.

49   In every single class, even the slowest students were rivited and following, because they understood the language. I stood astonished.

50   Maybe I'm just seeing that the light went on.

51   Lights go on.

56   I looked around all day long at my most disinterested students. To a person they had the book open and read along with what I call my Cheap Cuts O' Actors' CD. It is the one provided with the textbook.

57   When we finished, there was applause. I then had all six thousand papers I have been grading passed back by class angels. While they passed them out, I played an audio of the selfsame balcony scene using Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting from Zefirrelli's R and J. Perfect backdrop to having papers handed out.

58   So a grand day, really. Applause for a lesson, a passing that brings good friends together, and a ride home with Godspell blasting. And some sort of spiritual jolt.

59 Life's good.

60  Gottago.

61   Peace.

~H~

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Month: March 2011

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