The Daily News

1  Holy Shiskeez! It's Monday?

2  I was in the middle of this incredible dream where the Niners and Raiders faced each other in the Super Bowl. The Niners won, and Harbaugh knocked Al Davis over on his way to congratulate the team. Davis bribed God to trip him, causing both Harbaugh and Lion's trainer Schwartz to stop being Tiggers after a game.

3  It was incredibe.

4  And suddenly, I woke up and it was Monday.

5   Moving on, Part the First: Okay, I have to address this elephant, dept: I've avoided commentary on all the Occupy stuff. I TOTALLY get it, but as an almost radical supporter of what they are saying, I'm fearing the reality that they come across as rebels without a cause.

6   Hear me out.

7   Peope who know what's going on know what's going on. But I literally had to go to various websites two weeks ago to understand what exactly it was they wanted. If people need to Google your cause, then you have no cause.

8   I'm quite schooled in what has been happening in our nation for a long time now. I've posted things in short increments over the years because I never wanted to look like a raving lunatic.

9   I'm well aware of the power elite. I'm well aware of their corruption, of their lies, and of their endless struggle to keep us at war so they can get rich.

10  But here's what the Occupying forces look like to your average Joe:

11  Occupyers: "What do we want?" "WE'RE NOT SURE!!!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!!!"

12   Just sayin'.

13   To me, you have to be a lot more radical. I'd rather see someone do a citizen's arrest on any Bush, or on Cheney, or on David Rockefeller, and start a real movement.

14   It's nice to see that a lot of people are starting to "get it", but I always knew that if you're going to publicly stand up, you'd better do it with the thought in mind that you could look like a raving lunatic when you try to get real information to the many more.

15   You have to pick these people out by name, and get people to see it. Protesting the "one per cent" is like eating lukewarm oatmeal. It works a little , but has utterly no kick. And that number is completely unrealistic to begin with. Think about it.

16   I have known for years that our government lies to us. We forget sometimes that we ARE the government, or at least were before Bush burned the Bill of Rights. But where do these statistics come from? Not many things have a 99%-to-1% ratio.

17  The entire thing smacks of a CIA op. It's like people are being goaded and set up.

18   Someone is going to do something crazy, and the entire thing is going to get out of control. People don't realize that they can get rounded up and put into camps. That stuff has been in place since Reagan allowed Rex 84 to be installed by Oliver North. That has now made its way to Wiki. It's that blatant now. I told people back then what was going on, but I always looked like a madman any time I would don my radical mantle. And Reagan was a kind, patriotic man. Who'd think he would back something that seemingly diabolical? Well, he did.

19   It's now getting pretty scary, and the "one-per cent" are a lot more powerful and ready than the sincerest people protesting in the streets.

20   You have to ask, "Who started this? A bunch of angry citizens? What specifically is their concern? Are they infiltrated, and are they being set up?" Sure looks like a set up to me.

21   I saw Kennedy's head blow up on film. I saw the blatant lying that went on immediately afterwards. I saw the media lie, and lie, and lie. I saw the CIA infiltrate everything from anti-war movements to the media, to education, and I'm quite certain, to everythting else in our lives. I have mentioned it many times over the years.

22   The nice thing about the "Occupy" movement is that sincere people are starting to see all of this stuff that I have seen and on which I have reported for years.

23   The sad thing is that they are playing right into the hands of the power elite.

24   You have to make citizens' arrests on very powerful people. Just screaming at an invisibe boogy man does nothing. One guy throws a bomb and those people are going to be rounded up and disappeared, LEGALLY thanks to our "Patriot Act". And when everyone else turns into out-of-control mob madness, it'll be martial law, which is already well in place, and has been for decades.

25   George Carlin once commented that if you want to see how much freedom we have nowadays, just Google Japanese Americans 1942.

26   I dare you to Google either of these two things: Rex 84 or Japanese Americans 1942.

27   Here, let me help you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_84

28   The Japanese Americans 1942 appears on Wiki; it's THAT mainstream. The link is far too huge for Xanga, but you can Google it right after you hit the link above, or copy and paste it onto your Google. The information is immediate.

29   This stuff has been going on for years. One time, years ago, when I protested one of the bajillion wars these people seem to keep causing, I met people from the San Jose Peace Center. 

30   Pretty eye-opening. When I protested at the Federal Building, I had strangers walking up to me taking my picture. One guy from the Peace Center had one name in the afternoon and another downtown at night. He boasted that his son knew the names of fighter planes. He made veiled threats. He knew of real patriots like David Emory, assuring me that Emory's rants were a bit too negative. 

31  David Emory is a political researcher who used to work with the immortal Mae Brussell, who was WAY on to all this stuff over forty years ago. 

32   Emory has documented every source, and I have read countless books on  all sides of these "issues". I read books by J. Edgar Hoover as well as viewing films put out by the CIA justifying our hiring of Hitler's entire spy service when the CIA was the Office of Strategic Services. They not only admitted it; they justified it.

33   I used to blow the roof off the JFK information because it was something that worked perfectly with teaching fiction vs. non-fiction. I laid it all out there for students, who would say, "Mr. Harrington, aren't you scared of telling us this stuff?"

34   My answer was always the same: those people aren't afraid of some two-bit teacher. I'll be afraid the day that THEY'RE afraid. 

35   So I've decided to watch the entire Occupy Wall Street movement from a safe distance. It looks a LOT like a CIA op. There is no such thing as the "99%" folks, hate to break it to you. We have police and military all standing ready to move in the second they can.

36   We have tea-baggers ready to say, "They SHOULD be arrested and rounded up. If they hate America so much, then they should just move!" And blah, blah, blah.

37   And while they could disappear me like a thief in the night, I'm fairly certain that they have bigger fish to fry, although I do worry about being disappeared or set up for some sort of vilification should I ever even begin to become a worry, which I doubt I ever will. They may expose me for mixing metaphors all the time, for example.

38   Anyway, I just don't want to see tanks coming down my street, or your street, or anyone's street in the world, for that matter.

39   I just think a lot of it looks pretty suspicious. Why no leader? How did it start? What's the cover story? How can you base a movement on a completely unrealistic statistic?

40   Just some questions. Sorry, but they need to be asked. I've been at this stuff a lot longer than a lot of other people, and it screams of a set-up. 

41   I do believe that the protesters are sincere, and passionate. I just don't think they understand the power behind things like this.

42   Anyway, that's my rant. I hope I'm not insulting anyone who sincerely is behind the Occupy stuff. I just think it is conceivably being run by the very people it purports to be vilifying.

43   And yes, they ARE that insidious.

44   I'll let you rest now and get really angry with me.

45   But I've studied this stuff for years and years, and I've read lots of things.

46   And I'm not a stupid man.

47   With that, I'll leave you to your thoughts.

48   Stay safe.

49   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Daily News

1   I have got to stop eating sunflower seeds for dinner.

2   It's just that when the weather gets hot and I get delayed at school, the last thing I want to do is to cook.

3   Don't get me wrong; I love cooking.

4   Yesterday though, I had this sort of fun lunch at some small hole-in-the wall restaurant near the Chill.

5   It's some seafood place near Kragen's, across from the Walgreen's if anyone is interested. Couldn't tell you the name of the joint, and I don't particularly want to pinpoint my every move on Facebook. If I remember, I'll try to get the info to you on Monday.

6   AnywayZ...

7   No one cares.

8   But I'll report it anyway, because the food and service rocked.

9   I had the Shrimp-With-Lobster-Sauce over some rice.

10  Their entire menu consisted of [Fill-in-the-Blank] over rice.

11   It was a bit funny, because whenever I go into a place that I've never gone into before, I check out the plates everyone else is eating the second I walk in.

12  It amused me that every single table, and every single plate had rice dishes and some sort of seafood, which to me seemed a bit worrisome.

13  But I took the gamble. The waitress seated me at this table that was more wobbly than a ferris wheel seat. Two guys had already asked to be moved, and just as she seated me, they said, "That table shakes too much!"

14   The waitress moved me to a more stable table.

15   First time I ever moved tables when seated at a shaky one. It never occurred to me to ask a waitress if I could do that. I usually would take a few sugar bags or napkins and would try to stabilize the situation. Never worked, and never will.

16   No one cares.

17   I get that.

18   But still, I found it amusing that I've lived my entire life suffering shaky tables and never once asked to be moved.

19   You learn so much just through simple observation.

20   AnywayZ...

21   The waitress brought ice water and tea instantly, along with a fork.

22   Sometimes I hate being a white guy.

23   I always enjoyed chopsticks when going to an Asian restaurant. Every time they assume I would want a fork, I get slightly offended.

24   I sometimes feel like scaring them by rudely yelling, "Why? 'Cuz I'm white?"

25    But that is just to amuse myself. The older I get, the less fussy I get about stuff. If I want chopsticks, I'll ask for them.

26   If I want an unshaky table...

27   Oh bother.

28   Anyway, I looked at the menu and went ahead and ordered the Shrimp-With-Lobster Sauce [over rice, which was unavoidable].

29   I drank some water because teaching dehydrates you on an hourly basis. I must drink a gallon of water a day.

30  I settled in to a small bowl of some sort of chicken soup and a simple cup of tea.

31  I pulled out my phone to check emails and business, and then  goofed on Facebook, just to see how bored other people were.

32   Within seconds, my plate arrived in front of me with this incredible food steamingly and screamingly hot and tantalizing.

33  I decided then and there that a fork would work better than chopsticks. I can't handle rice with chopsticks anyway. It's okay until you mush some sort of stew into it, and then you look like an idiot trying to manage it.

34  It is scientifically impossible to eat gravyed rice with a chopstick. There's a reason they serve sticky rice. Took me a bajillion years to realize that, but if I can save one white guy from making a fool out of himself, then my work here is done. I'm clearly a slow study.

35  AnywayZ, the food climbed right into my eyeballs and steamed out my ears.

36   It worked perfectly for a person who had worked late the night before, and whose eyeballs needed whitening.

37   The entire meal turned my entire existence around. I became one with the universe. Shrimp-With-Lobster-Sauce, hot as Hades.

38   I wanted to Google the recipe immediately, but still had one class left to teach, as well as eight billion other things to do before I would get home.

39   I never really did see how much the food was. When I went to the counter to pay, I expected a pretty large bill.

40   I took out my ATM card, and the guy at the counter said, "You had the shrimp and tea. That will be seven-fifty."

41   I honestly thought it would be at least twelve bucks. I left a three-dollar tip and shot back up to the school.

42   I really didn't have much of a lesson plan yesterday. I had a sort of arts-and-crafts day where I gave the students colorful folders and art supplies, and then returned all the papers I've been grading since day one. I put on a little Jack Johnson music, and most of them were pretty content.

43   I organized my entire infrastructure while they did that. The period flew by, but all those papers were now in fun, colorful folders. I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing things and planning for today.

44   In the back of my mind, I kept thinking of Googling the recipe for that wonderful meal.

43   When I finally arrived home, I hopped on the computer that had literally crashed two nights ago. It fell to the floor while I slept. I think.

44   No one cares.

45   It was my laptop, which I love. But it suddenly had some black version of a blue screen, you remember the famous Blue Screen of Death?

46   Looked exactly the same. I figured the thing was doomed, and that any sort of recipe was going down with it.

47   My first thoughts were that I wasn't going to duplicate the recipe any time soon, so I took to my default jar of sunflower seeds.

48   It worked. Always does. After around a half-hour, my computer righted itself, but I was already full. I did look up a recipe. I think I could easily make it. The best part of the Shrimp-with-Lobster Sauce recipe I found was that it doesn't call for anything remotely having to do with a lobster. So you can relax, Sebastian.

49  

50   So it is now 3:30 a.m. and I'm fully rested. I'm a little hungry, but sunflower seeds don't appeal to me.

51   I wonder if that place is open?

52   Nah.

53   I'll just have a few more handfuls of sunflower seeds and call it a night.

54   Or a morning.

55   No one cares.

56   Have a great weekend.

57    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

Oh! Barnhill's Brass Band plays on Sunday at 3 in the EV Theater.

It's worth the plug.

Peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3  I'm pretty proud of Maestro Steve Barnhill for the absolute stunning work he puts in every year since I've known him.

4  For those of you who are classic DN readers, Barnhill is the guy who used to teach at Overfelt, and whose work was amazing over at that school as well.

5   The first day I was hired at the Chill, I walked over to the school's theater just to check it out. I walked past their Performing Arts offices and saw Barnhill chilling in the office listening to some classical music on his PC.

6   He was a familiar face in a strange land at the time. As Activities' Director, I had all-access to EV's incredibly beautiful theater, and now I had a Hall-of-Famer directly in my corner.

7   Steve and I go back to our very early days in the ESUHSD, when it was somewhat like the Wild West in the District.

8   The District at the time was still trying to define itself, but Steve and I both knew one thing: we were both WAY ahead of all their rules and regulations, because we BOTH knew about hard work and dedication to the students.

9   Nothing else mattered. Since that time, the District has observed the needs of many students, and has tried to put all the teachers into doing all sorts of bidding that would systematically benefit all students.

10  Much of what they have come up with has caused a lot of teachers to tow the line.

11  That's a good thing. A lot of teachers like structure, andlike being told exactly what it is they should be doing.

12  Some teachers NEED to be told that they have to be doing things exactly the way the District dictates.

13  And then there are the real teachers.

14   Teachers who are in it because they know it's a calling don't always respond well to becoming "bots". That's the fashionable word for "robots".

15   Some teachers know instinctively how to place passion and love into every single moment they're out there.

16   Many were taught by what I could only describe as Titans. Many had remarkably creative and innovative pioneers as their mentors.

17   Both of us were fortunate to have been brought up right.

18   I've often mentioned here that a lot of times when someone finds out I'm a teacher, they ask what it is I teach.

19   My kind answer is always the same. "Students," I'll say. I never say it in a condescending way. I say it to amuse lightly. It works, because it's a gentle way of saying that I am a professional mentor and memory-maker.

20  People who have had those sorts of teachers understand immediately.

21  My best teachers were always those who didn't play by the rules, but who obviously loved and had passion for their calling. They would talk as human beings, smile and laugh with the goofballs, and share in the experience of coming in each day to what sometimes looked like insurmountable absurdities.

22  Those teachers were always miles ahead of district regulators, who were often people who wanted to get out of the classroom as swiftly as possible. The general attitude by seasoned veterans was that they were never going to take direct orders from people who couldn't handle the trenches.

23   That attitude remains to this day, only I still see teachers trying to follow to the letter standards' based education that is often completely unrealistic. I used to spend much of my entire year teaching grammar, and mixing it with fun literature, films, conspiracy theories, and high-interest topics.

24  Teaching grammar used to take hours on end, and countless frustrations on the part of the students, because if you are going to teach writing, you need to come as close as you can to getting the students to master the rulebook.

25   Over the years, the district slowly eliminated grammar books. There used to be one grammar book for each level: one for freshmen, one for sophomores, one for juniors, and even one for seniors.

26   They now want us to teach all the same things, but with pretty much no realistic time frames and zero grammar books. We have grammar in our literature books, but it is superficial at best. In the pacing guide, they want us to teach all eight parts of  speech, phrases clauses in like a two-week period.

27  It is so ridiculously unrealistic that we sometimes laugh. I could give the definitions of all those things in two weeks, but mastery would take four years.

28   So a lot of teachers with vision and passion would know instinctively that a lot of what the district demands is the result of short meetings with people who grab a California Department of Education script and try to squeeze ten pounds of sugar into a two-pound bag.

29  And over the years, different groups come in to morph it and change it according to whatever demands are being made at the top. And it all rolls down into a somewhat jumbled mess at the bottom.

30  To their credit, they have some excellent things in place, it's just that the timelines and continuity are absolutely absurd and nearly impossible to implement with any reasonable sense of mastery.

31  So instead, the more seasoned people, the people who were schooled by passionate and interested teachers, and other visionaries realize that lost in all of this "Bottism" is the fact that students will always be students.

32  They will need teachers who come in and who will engage them with passion on a daily basis, tell them ahead of time when they have headaches, have limitless patience, and always use humor and kind words to defuse tense moments.

33   All of which has nothing to do with standards, and everything to do with understanding the scattered minds of teenagers.

34   Barnhill is a teacher who would probably be considered one of those in item 32. He teaches students first, produces unbelievable concerts second, and somewhere in there knows instinctively that he has conquered every standard any committee might have thrown his way, without even looking.

35  The Wind Ensemble performed a part of their Carnegie Hall show last night. I sat with a young teacher, Matt Hall, staring down on one of the greatest musical conductors I've ever seen, and we both stood astonished. I have never seen Barnhill conduct with as much intensity. He pointed at every not, arms flailing, pointing, parrying with a musical beast, and with sudden alarm, stopping it all at once with arms straight out like bomber wings.

36   Matt Hall and I just turned and stared at each other. We were almost frightened, which is what good conducting should to to an audience. Matt is also a young dynamo who uses creativity and passion to reach his guitar students. Barnhill is his role-model, and talks musically while I do color commentary at the end of each piece. We both love music passionately, so it is easy to talk game.

37   I tried bringing some papers into the booth in order to stay up on my assignments, but the second the music started, I put my pencil down and let the amazing work of those students take me everywhere from October to the Trail of Tears.

38   As an added feast, Steve brought in a brass band he has worked with professionally for the past two years. They brought in Aaron Copland, as well as music about Samson and Delilah. That was all in the program.

40   The Wind Ensemble got a well-earned standing ovation last night. The brass band got an enormous welcome and applause after what looked to be their final piece.

41   But the devilish Barnhill added a surprise touch, which is what geniuses do.

42   He talked almost routinely about their last piece, which wasn't in the program. I smiled, because I knew he had something cooking, because that's what great teachers do.

43   He just said, "You'll know this."

44   The brass band went into a dramatic opening to "Maria" from West Side Story. I looked at Matt and said, "Bernstein dude. Awesome." He smiled.

45   The opening sounded like something from a 50's film score, loud, brash, bright. I wanted to sing, "Maria! I've just met a girl named Maria!" Intense.

46   Barnhill then looked over his left shoulder and threw a Bugs Bunny face at the audience.Within seconds, they went into the Simpsons' theme song. It was fast, perfect, and visions of Bart riding the board instantly hit every single person in the Theater.

47   They kept on with background music, and they got faster and faster as the Maestro continued his madcap conducting.

48   It finished abruptly and the audience, who stayed through the entire evening rose instantly to their feet, whistling, screaming, and cheering.

49   I'll leave it there. That said more to me about teaching than anything any committee ever tried to achieve. Committees create camels when they attempt to create a horse.

50   Barnhill brought in a golden Trojan Horse.

51   Barnhill taught students. He also taught teachers.

52   The brass band plays this weekend at the Chill. I'll get details to you tomorrow if I can remember.

53   Meanwhile, we all got taken to school last night.

54   I won't soon forget that performance. Neither will anyone in that thunderous room.

55   Awesome, Mr. Barnhill.

56   Once again, you took us all to school.

57   That's teaching.

58   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Daily News

1   Two great stories coming down the pike from the San Francisco Giants: Bryan Stow, the Giants' fan who was attacked in Los Angeles and went into a severe coma last season, was released from San Francisco General hospital yesterday and placed into a rehab facility.

2   He has recently been learning to talk, and to communicate with family members.

3   I think most anybody who has followed that story is praying for a successful recovery.

4   And folks, don't know if you know, but Buster Posey has already started catching and taking batting practice in the Giants' instructional league.

5   He was supposed to start on November 1, the one-year anniversary of the Giants' World Series clinch.

6   So pitchers and catchers report in February. I'm smiling.

7    The Phillies quick demise made what happened last year pretty authentic. With utterly no hitting this year, the Giants were absolutely in the race all the way up to their last two series.

8   It's almost scary to think of what might have happened if their bats came around like they did at the end of the season.

9   I had absolutely given up on them in mid-August because I saw that one faction of the team was carrying the other faction. I still feel that way. You don't slump for an entire season. You get too old, or you give up trying and believing.

10  The pitchers never stopped. And a lot of the guys who weren't getting the job done are probably going to take a slow boat out of here.

11  With all due respect, it's a youth movement right now, so they should ride that wave.

12  The nice thing is that we're still the World Champs. Not for much longer, but it's nice that even though we didn't get there, AND that we didn't deserve to get there, the team can look back at how close they came.

13   They were around twenty homeruns from taking it all.

14   And about a thousand double-plays.

15   The bottom line: we have two of our guys in rehab working their ways back: Bryan Stow and Buster Posey.

16   The formula seems to be in place.

17   That's nice news, no matter who you are.

18   Moving on, Part the First: Amusing bit in this morning's Merc News: Jon Wilner reports from the Stanford area an interview he had with Quarterback Andrew Luck and his roommate of the past three years, receiver Griff Whalen.

19   I'll allow Wilner to take over.

   "It doesn't take long to understand why Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and receiver Griff Whalen have lived together for three years.
    It takes a few sentences.
    What is Whalen like as a roommate?
    "He'd say I stay up too late--and don't clean up enough," Whalen said.
    And Luck: "I go to bed too early and don't clean up enough."

20   That might help explain Stanford's 48-7 shallacking of Colorado on Saturday. Whalen and luck connected for 92 yards and a touchdown.

21   They do most of their cleaning up on the football field.

22   Moving on, Part Two: At the end of the day Monday I was reasonably exhausted as always when the final bell rang, ending the day. That's usually an eternal moment for anybody looking at the second hand that ends any Monday.

23   My class disappeared out the door rather swiftly, and I relaxed my shoulders. One student and his friend remained, gathering their things, so I started straightening the room and all.

24  The guy's friend approached me. He seemed a little nervous.

25   "M-M-Mr. Harrington?"

26    I turned professorily and gave a short, "Yes?"

27    He hesitated. I honestly felt like an old professor. I felt like saying, "Out with it, lad! I haven't all day!" But I stood and said nothing. 

28   "Ummm...Justin spilled syrup on his homework and he can't turn it in."

29   

30    I thought I'd heard everything. I walked over to Justin, who seemed to be trying to hide his work. 

31    There, on his desk, was a sticky, gooey mess with "Journal Entry 3" written at the top of the page. 

32   I almost laughed. How was a guy managing to eat pancakes in class AFTER lunch, and during the last class of the day? And how was I going to read, or even collect that paper?

33   The beauty of being a teacher is finding the humor in things like that. I knew the poor guy was embarrassed and just wanted to disappear. I thought swiftly, reached into my pocket, pulled out my iPhone, took a picture of the guy's homework, and said, "I'll read this at home. Clean that up as quickly as possible; I have Windex and paper towels, should do the trick."

34  They both smiled, cleaned it up, and that desk never looked more pristine. I told him to throw the homework into the garbage. 

35   Somewhere, somehow I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs is smiling. 

36   Moving on, Part the Third: I'd  post the picture, but I'm pretty sure that a few students are getting onto the DN these days, and I would hate to embarrass the guy.

37   The DN was originally for students in it's Wild West days. And I kept it for the students even at YB, but as I moved on to EV, I decided to keep things somewhat in the family. I thought it would be better. The students have plenty of access to me as is, as do their parents. 

38   So I'll keep the DN for the amusement and bemusement of alumni, and now my entire extended family. I always figured my cousins and nieces and nephews and friends would probably get bored reading about esoteric memories and references to old shows, but they seem to enjoy the DN.

39   I also post on Facebook, so anyone walking around could read this stuff, not that they'd want to.

40   Anyway, I think I'm pretty much done for the day. As I said, I don't want to embarrass the guy. I think it's great that he somehow managed to sneak pancakes into my class. Never saw it. He must have been scared to death. I just laughed.

41    Never a dull moment.

42    Have a great day.

43    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily News

1  Has anyone else found that computers seem to be getting temperamental?

2  The other day I "Googled" the San Jose Sharks.

3   Instead of going there immediately, which should have happened, I was taken to an area that wanted to sell me doors.

4   I mean, I could certainly use a new door, but it wasn't remotely close to what I had requested.

5   This has been going on for almost six months. And it does it on two of my home computers.

6   Shouldn't computers be getting more efficient? Most other electronics seem to improve with the years.

7   I pondered that this morning when I awakened ridiculously early.

8   After doing minutes and minutes of thinking, I came to the brilliant realization that computers are a business, and that their top priority is to single us out and advertise products to us.

9   What made me confused is that buying a door is about 150th on my personal list of priorities. Buying Sharks' tix would probably be in my top ten.

10   If I buy a new door, I won't be able to get out to a Sharks' game.

11   I tumble all this idiocy about when I get up too early.

12   Moving on, Part the First:  Sometimes I just love to grouse about things.

13   The othere night I was having this great dream that I was being robbed, but that the guy couldn't get into my house because it had one of those little chain locks. It was sort of like watching Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I kept running into other rooms, like some woman in a Lifetime movie.

14  At no point did I think to call 911. Don't ask me why.

15   Dreams are supposed to reveal things about our lives. I never really thought they were rocket science. I had earlier gotten up to let the dog out and  left my sliding door open.

16   It occurred to me that I might get robbed, but I was way too sleepy to get up and go close it. So I played the odds, knowing I had only another hour-and-a half before I was going to get up anyway.

17   Stupid I know, but really? I was exhausted. And how often in the summer to people leave doors and windows wide open in the middle of the day?

18  The only time I ever got robbed, my place was totally locked tightly. The guy used a glass cutter to get into my place. He could have used a rock, but he was a pretty elegant burglar.

19   I've had cars broken into a couple of times. One time at YB a guy broke the little side window they used to have on trucks and stole stuff. Ironically, it was unlocked, so the guy wound up costing me a hundred bucks.

20   AnywayZ in my dream I just kept enjoying the guy trying to break in and myself thinking of ways I could screw him over.

21   I have no idea what that dream meant. Still don't, and don't care.

22   It did have me tossing and turning. When I had gotten up to let the dog out, I went out to my laptop in the living room and wrote a few bits for the DN. I then put on some headphones and some documentary about the Bible.

23   That'll put you to sleep pretty quickly, even though it's a good Book.

24

 

25   I fell into a slumber, was in the middle of the dream when Helene came out and asked, "What did you DO???"

26   At first I thought SHE was the robber, but quickly collected myself. I looked over and my laptop was on the ground!

27   "I dunno. I just woke up."  It had crashed to the ground. I realized that because of the robber dream, I had somehow wrapped my arm around the headphones, which then pulled the computer toward me, and when the teevee tray it was on hit the couch, the laptop flew to the floor, taking a few pencils and papers I had been grading along with it.

28  That was the beginning of my yesterday.

29   It did give me an opportunity to lock the back door, but I was up for the day, and a Monday at that.

30   Turned out okay, but this morning when the dog woke me up, I got back on the laptop and realized that the space bar needs a tougher pounding orthewordsalldo this.

31   Odd little story, but at 4 a.m. there really isn't a lot going on. I checked the news. Nada. I checked Facebook. As almost always, nada.

32   So that's my exciting life for the morning. I Googled the Sharks. I got an ad for door. I went to sleep the other night. The dog woke me up. I went back to sleep but left the door open. I dreamed of being robbed. A door stopped the guy from robbing me. I tossed on the couch. My laptop crashed to the ground. It now has a fickle space bar.

33   Aren't dreams deep?

34   My brilliant life.

35   That's it for a Tuesday morning.

36    I have to guess you were enthralled. Immina go now. Immina Google the Bible.

37    It'll probably bring me some ad for picture frames.

38    Can't hardly wait.

39    Fear not, grammarians. I'll correct that tomorrow.

40    Right now I must needs get some sleep.

41    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Daily News

1  So...Al Davis walks into a bar...

2   If you are even remotely a fan of the NFL you respect this man's contributions to professional football.

3   While many people really disliked Al Davis, nobody could deny his love of football and of his Raiders. The fans had a love/hate/love relationship with the man, but everyone respected his football mind. A year or two ago I was pretty upset with what was happening to the Raiders to the point that I began to empathize with their entire Nation. A part of me was telling Al that it was time to step down, and to let someone else build the team.

4   I thought he was often cruel to his fans, especially when he up and left for Los Angeles.

5   On the other hand, any football purist will tell you that Davis lived and died with the Raiders, and lived and died football. His influence not only on the Raiders but on the entire world of professional football cannot go unnoticed nor unrecognized.

6   Al always reminded me of some rich, greasy relative who drove an entire family crazy, but who still somehow was loved by family and friends.

7   As a guy who grew up with football, I can only say that I again salute the Raider Nation, realizing full well what this guy ultimately meant to the entire franchise, as well as to all people who understand some of the underpinnings of the NFL.

8   He loved the Raiders, and coined the classic phrase, "Just win, baby!" And the Raiders did just that yesterday, in a stunning victory and tribute to the old man.

9   See ya Al. Somehow I think we all know that we will see you again.

10   Moving on, Part One: In the midst of all the hustle and bustle happening over the weekend, music and art fans lost a friend in former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh.

11  There's a former rock star who came up for a cup of coffee, absolutely couldn't handle things once fame hit, had a nervous breakdown, and settled into being a reasonably successful artist.

12  Interestingly, he Tweeted or Tumbled or whatever people do nowadays a bit of a cryptic message last week talking about possibly dying and putting a will together.

13  He was supposed to go see Weezer perform next week, but was found dead in a Chicago hotel.

14  Interesting story, no foul play reports, but still, all a bit strange.

15  But every time somebody walks into that bar, we spin a bit in our boots.

16  So farewell to both Al and to Mikey. Prayers go out to their families, to their friends, and to all the people whose lives they have touched.

17   The Raiders stepped up yesterday and took another game. I was busy grading papers and chatting with my dottas.

18   Moving on, Part Two: I must say, that was another immensely fast weekends, even thought all weekends are the same amount of hours. Last night I panicked because I didn't feel I had done enough work this weekend.

19   When I took inventory, I realized that on Friday I stayed down at the school until way past seven. I wrote two vocabulary lists and ran them off, wrote my ghost assignment, completely organized all my papers, cleaned and organized the entire classroom, spent half the day Saturday reading National Honor Society applications, and even spent five hours yesterday reading essays while entertaining and enjoying laughter, fun,and football with my family. Got to see the Niners proving that good coaching can make all the difference. Amazing game.

20  So I guess I did enough, although I usually like feeling a little more put-together on Mondays. I've become a firm believer in getting organized, well-planned, and clear-headed, especially on Mondays.

21  I think I am, since I knew on Friday that today would be already planned, but I still have that Type A thing going on. Some of us are just like that. I'm Type A AND an insomniac who still manages seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

22  What's funny is that sometimes I wish I were a lot more laid back. I notice that most other people seem to leave work at work, and are able to relax.

23   My brain won't allow that to happen. I somehow have to be tuned in and ready to roll every single day. When I don't, I get eaten alive. Maybe it's a teacher survival thing, but I insist on being absolutely prepared every day, and on rare occasions when I'm not, I get almost dizzy.

24   So I've already slept four hours; it is again almost 4 a.m. as I tack this folderol out, and I actually feel that I am ready for Monday.

25   Don't ask me how, but I do. Stuff flies in fast and furious these days, but it always feels nice to be prepared.

26   So I think I'll cut this one short once more and try to get in a few more winks. I do so enjoy sleep.

27   Have a good Monday. Fly low and stay strong.

28   And to Al and Mikey, stay cool fellas. We'll all be joining you before you know it.

29   Meanwhile, I'll sign off as I always do, with two fingers thrown your way.

30   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Daily News

1  With the passing of Steve Jobs, I fell behind on some of my follow-ups.

2   The other day I reported that I had to deal with a "chatty" group in class.

3   I decided to honor a request from other class members and call the noisy ones out.

4   They served themselves up on a bit of a platter, because at the very beginning of class I brought up a couple of issues that needed addressing. No point in letting an elephant have his way in a room.

5   Ironically, the second I brought up the issue of rudeness, the same group began chiming, shucking, jiving, and talking. What are the odds?

6   I instantly moved them, gave a quick talk about rudeness and tardiness, and began my lesson.

7   The class became agonizingly quiet.

8   It's the old "Be careful what you wish for..." thing.

9   Naturally, yesterday the same guys came in and instantly tested me by sitting back in their other seats. I called them out again, and re-located them. I sensed anger and resentment coming from their corner, but they had been divided and conquered pretty handily.

10  I began my lesson, realizing that I stood in front of the class at a lecturn and was doing everything that the newer studies in education declare as certain doom: lecturing intelligent stuff, making sure that everything being said was nothing but facts, speaking with no personality, no interaction, and no humor.

11   After about two minutes of this ridiculousness, I put the students back into groups and had them select a person to go to the board and write the answers to a worksheet I had given the day prior.

12   I told the noisemakers that since I wasn't lecturing, that they could work with their groups.

13   The atmosphere changed abruptly. The class seemed back to normal, with a little socializing mixed with the answers going up to the board. I had built-in visuals in various colors popping off the white board. The entire class relaxed and all was normal. Nigel sat in front, smiling. Nigel's a bear. He's cool. He hurt his arm last year.

14   It occurred to me that I seldom hear noises coming from many classrooms in the school, as though pure silence is needed in order for lessons to be learned.

15   I am SO used to class activities, music, timing, humor, laughter and all that it almost felt that the students who complained were just used to learning being a passive thing, and that students who act like normal teenagers are out of hand.

16   I went through that phase at one point a long time ago, and got over it rather quickly. What's interesting is that I taught a lot of what they now call "support" classes over the years. I taught a lot of students who had issues with "mainstream" classes, many of whom were just as intelligent as my honors kids, but who also had rebellious streaks and wiseguy attitudes.

17  At one point, YB continually gave me those guys because I was purportedly really good at handling them. And I was. But it was also WAY more challenging than teaching the high achievers.

18   On the good end, I would always see more progress than a lot of other teachers. It drove me crazy having those guys year-after-year, but I learned a lot of subtle techniques in the process.

19   Humor, genuineness, high-interest topics (ghosts, JFK, Romeo and Juliet put on a psyciatric couch, the Arthurian legend, etc.) and a respect for the intelligence of all students always left me feeling at the end of the year that I provided not just a bunch of lecturing blather, but rather genuine memories, good times, and a safe place for all my students.

20   So the Great Move-People experiment turned out exactly as I thought it would. I now have a faction of that class that is resentful and almost rebellious. It will take a week or two to remain consistent. I will need to ignore the resentment and teach the same way I have always taught: with humor, laughter, music, and a degree of fun.

21   In a way, it was certainly an interesting experiment. In my younger days, I'd get little notes now and again that certain people in my class needed to be called on the carpet, which is always true, and you will always have a few who do. You'll also occasionally have a student or a group of students who get fed up with my patience with rudeness. I have actually seen people at faculty meetings ruder than a lot of my students, and I watch how others handle things. Sometimes it's just a hyper day. We all know this about meetings. The same is true of classrooms.

22   But I've SEEN the toughest hombres life can send a teacher, only to find that the vast majority of them have good hearts, nice families, and people who love them.

23   For me, a teacher should never teach a class; rather, he or she should conduct a class like a symphony. There should be as much beauty and change as one would find in a work of Mozart, and while it should contain some structure, it should also contain rhythm, swing, soul, tension and repose.

24   And occasional discord.

25   At this point in my career, I think I know better than a fifteen-year old how to do the job.

26   Yesterday I subbed for my good friend Gemma. Her class was a bit chatty, but overall pretty good. At one point, some guy yelled out something because he needed to act out, and I just ignored the guy. As soon as he realized that his stuff just made him look like an idiot,  he settled back into doing his work. I didn't need to say a word.

27   A student of mine from last year said from the back of the room, "Mr. H, how can you put up with some of these guys? I mean our class last year was never like this!"

28   The class then fell eerily silent. I looked over my glasses, tossed my eyes to the left, then to the right, then said, "It's a marathon, not a sprint."

29   I gave a knowing smile of a guy who clearly has been there, and got back to grading some papers. The class was respectful and charming the rest of the period.

30  I've said for a while now that I see teaching as an art. It takes really careful planning, quick reflexes, humor, and often attention to detail: bringing in subtle music, knowing when to switch-up the lesson when it clearly isn't working, realizing that not every student is going to worship you, and knowing that a few will never like you.

31  And realizing that it is all a means to an end. Ten years from now a whole bunch of them won't even remember my name. Others will be a part of my soul for the remainder of my life. And I a part of theirs.

32   It's all in the game.

33   Great week.

34   Somewhere in all the madness, a lesson was learned.

35   Maybe two or three.

36   Maybe none.

37   Gottago now.

38   Enjoy the rain.

39   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 ---Steve Jobs

8   "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Stanford University commencement address, June 2005

9   "I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. Humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing about a third of the way down the list....That didn't look so good, but then someone at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of lomotion for a man on a bicycle and a man on a bicycle blew the condor away.

That's what a computer is to me: the computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds."

Interview for the documentary "Memory and Imagination," 1990

10  "My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people."

Interview with 60 Minutes, 2003

11   Here's the link. I'm going to bed.

12    Amazing man.

13   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/the-best-steve-jobs-quote_n_997300.html#s338862

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily News

1   It is raining.

2   It is also in the 2 a.m.

3   I remember the days when they used to tell us that we shouldn't be on the computer if it's raining because we could get electrocuted.

4   Does that still hold true?

5   In the teaching profession, rain is often welcome, at least if you don't have to teach P.E.

6   The students always seem a little quieter and more subdued.

7    I used to love that, because I actually love to rile my classes up. I don't like it if students get crazy and disrespectful, but overall, I like to know my classes are alive.

8   One of the creepiest things that can happen to a teacher is a sudden fifteeen minutes of absolute silence. In my younger years, I thought it was a sign that I had great control that day.

9   Now it's just strange. It's happened a couple of times. I'll say, "Read these ten pages in your books." And the students will. The room goes completely silent. After about one minute I want to put on some music, or something. We're a noisy world; absolute silence in a classroom seems eerily unnatural to me.

10  It's funny, because yesterday I scolded one of my classes for having been rude on Monday. I even moved a few kids in order to attain more order. One of the kids I moved came up to me and apologized for being rude, stating that something crazy had happened over the weekend, and that he and his friends were buzzing a bit about it.

11   He naturally wanted to sit where he had been sitting all year. I like my students to feel comfortable, safe, and at home in the classroom, but those guys were pretty disruptive on Monday. They're just good friends, and they all get their work done, but while I was lecturing on Monday they simply couldn't control themselves.

12  I allowed them to sit together once more. During my lesson yesterday they listened politely, although they might have been playing hangman behind my back for all I know. The lesson went well, almost a tad boring, but sometimes that's just the nature of the beast.

13   Tuesdays are sometimes fun for the students because I allow the students time to put vocabulary sentences on the board. They get a break from lecturing and have an opportunity to study for tests on Friday. I'll often put music on while they do this, just to keep a fun and lively atmosphere happening.

14   Yesterday ironically I put on Bill Cosby's Noah bit. They didn't really listen, but I was using my sophs just to see if the bit worked at all in a classroom. I also wanted to time it, because my English 4's are learning Bible stories, and have just finished reading Genesis.

15   When I brought the students back to see if they had used the vocabulary correctly, there was a little noise, since it was the end of the period. This happens at any meeting, seminar, or presentation. Nothing felt wrong, just a lot of energy as I closed out the last five minutes of class. There is always the sound of backpacks zipping, shoes shuffling, and talking going on. I felt at that time that any learning that lands at the end of class was dessert. Their sentences completely augmented the lessons. My sense as a professional was that even with a little ambient noise, the learning was absolutely happening. It felt great, and I felt energized.

16   With around two minutes left in class, one really sincere student handed me a bright yellow Post-It note.

17   It read, "Our group...feels really bad because nobody's paying attention. I think you need to move a lot of people to prevent people from talking."

18   I thought, "What a nice gesture; these guys actually have my back." At the same time, I knew instinctively having done this for so long that nothing was really out of the ordinary. There WAS a lot of energy, as well as a buzz in the room, but from my perspective, nobody was really being overly disrespectful. They knew it was the end of the period, and after a little fun activity there is naturally a lot of quiet talking.

19   We teach for almost 180 days. I have been teaching since the Flood. I know when to stop, when to pause, when to instill the fear of God in students, and when to relax and smile. If we decide as teachers to holler, scream, and separate friends too much, it will inevitably backfire.

20  You have to choose your battles. I would never have survived this long if I tried keeping silent rooms.

21   In my younger days, those sorts of things would have really made me feel that I wasn't handling things correctly, that all the other teachers had quiet kids who would sit with their hands folded and mouths shut.

22   I recall one time at some inservice or other a guy telling us that a classroom without a little talking and the occasional gale of laughter is a place of doom. 

23   The guys who had been rude on Monday remained polite for the majority of my lesson. Yes, toward the end when I reviewed the sentences on the board there was chatting, but the students instinctively knew that what I was saying was a little closure and repitition, and that the lesson had clearly worked.

24   I wondered what the other teachers did at the school. Younger teachers sometimes become overly strict. I took some college classes in '09 that said those sorts of "techniques" keep students in their own cells, and that engaging students and allowing them to interact naturally will always get better learning results. Letting students teach each other will always work better than being the "sage on the stage."

25   The State of California tries to get it across to teachers that they should rather "guide from the side" and let students interact, and that straight lecturing with a stick is purely nineteenth century foolishness.

26   So I felt a little strange. From my perspective, I probably had one of the better lessons of the year, although I did feel that my "lecture" went a bit long. I knew they needed to break into groups and to relax a bit towards the end of the period.

27   This all puts me into an interesting situation. The group that wants to see me crack down on the "talkers" seems to feel empathy for me, yet I really didn't see any reason to reprimand late-inning laughter and enjoyment. What could wind up happening if I listen to the one group is that the other group might feel attacked. On the other hand, ignoring it might cause my "backers" at some point later to burst out and yell at the other group.

28   So I'm thinking of some sort of strategy to keep the class normal. I can't ignore the group who is concerned; they feel deep down that the other group is being overly disrespectful. And to be honest, they have had moments of blatant disrespect. It was not yesterday. I think my "backers" saw that I allowed the guys I moved to sit together again, and that any sort of noise from that area would look like I weakened. I don't feel I did; I feel that the student brave enough to come up to me and apologize was making a bit of a concession.

29   I'm sure after all these years that I'll nip this one in the bud, but it does strike me as a little funny that I need to stop and handle this, or that it might escalate.

30   At this point in my career, classroom management tends to be cake, especially this year. I've great classes, few behavior concerns, and everything seems better than ever. Last year I had a class that was pretty challenging, with truly disrespectful students, airplane tossers, and some students with severe home troubles. I had to remove students from class at least fifteen times last year. I wrote a record number of referrals. So I do know the difference between mischief and disrespect.

31  Those students last year were "rough", but they also became a challenge. We wound up having a pretty nice ending to the school year, and when they see me now, they smile and wave.

32   The hardest part of teaching right now is keeping up with all of the grading at a high-producing school. I also have to turn my ghost unit into an evaluation project, complete with action plans, deadlines, standards and all the rest. I worked on that all yesterday afternoon.

33  These days, time-management, planning, taking care of IEP's, meetings, attendance sheets, School Loop, parental communication, and grading has become the difficult part of the job. Classroom management, especially this year, has been cake. Trying to get a car tuned up or a haircut, or even making time to see friends and family has been the challenge.

34   But having sincere students worrying about the rudeness of other students cannot be ignored. It's a sleeping giant, and I'm going to need to come up with of some interesting strategies in order to deal with it this morning.

35   Fortunately it is raining.

36   It is also in the 3 a.m.

37   And somehow I'm still worrying about all of this.

38   I have to think that in some sort of strange way, it all makes me a better teacher.

39   Wish me luck. Right now I need a little more sleep. I've already had five hours, so I'm not worried about being awake. I've been really electrified and alert all year.

40   I'll just need to keep my radar turned up pretty high today.

41   And it's raining.

42   That much I know.

43    It is raining.

44    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily News

Night terrors: Another tale, told by an idiot.

1   Love the rain. And I'm a white guy.

2   We white guys stereotypically like the sun, the surf, the Beach Boys, and tanning.

3   Uh...yeahno.

4   When I was young I loved all that stuff, because I bought into all of that stuff because I was young.

5   Now I enjoy being comfortable, and the rain seemed so cleansing and nice yesterday.

6   Driving home through the east hills made me smile. I took all back roads yesterday because I stupidly left my wallet home.

7    I completely wanted to avoid all traffic and get the newly undented T000000NDRA safely in my driveway.

8    By the time I was done at school, the rain had let up. The wet and the coolness surrounded and embraced me. I almost fell into a daydream. Nobody drove the back roads home. Jazz played on the radio station, and I even cracked my window open for a taste of the damp air.

9   I came over the top of one small hill, and began a smooth roll down when a pickup truck pulled in front of me.

10   Suddenly the guy went into a three-sixty sideshow.

11   This was somewhere three miles north of the school in an area that has circular skidmarks all over it. I remember wondering about a week ago how those marks got there.

12   I had heard about "sideshows" in the news, but never thought much about them, and here was a guy literally going around in circles around two-hundred feet in front of me. I slowed down. The guy completely stopped in the other lane and just stood still. facing me.

13   I wasn't sure what to make of it. I wanted to get out to see if he was okay, because that happened to me a few years ago during a drizzle. I was merging onto north 280 right around Tully, and almost got sideswiped by a madman. I had pulled my steering wheel to the right to avoid a collision and wound up going up the embankment, back down, and then doing a three-sixty.

14   I found myself facing oncoming traffic, and just stared for a second. One motorist pulled in front of me to ask if I was okay.

15   I felt a little like Bruce Willis. Was I dead? Was I being given a second chance?

16    All that Hollywood boushit danced through my head. I had a religious experience, punctuated by a devilish thought of grabbing the guy who ran me off the road by the neck and throttling him.

17   Yesterday this other guy just stopped right in the middle of the road. I drove slowly past, realizing that he seemed okay. I rolled down my window to ask if he needed any help, and he gave me a look that could freeze beer.

18   He gave a second look like, "Who are you staring into my space?" and drove off, ungrateful bastid.

19   I proceeded to relax my shoulders and get on my merry way, all the time wondering if this idiot had done that on purpose. It occurred to me that he was right in the middle of a quiet neighborhood where people walk dogs, children play, and old people go for walks during the quiet rains.

20   I couldn't fathom a person doing something that stupid on purpose, but this guy gave a look that seemed to tell me he had.

21   Like anyone else nowadays, I dwelled on it for about three seconds and moved on down the road.

22   For a brief second I became a comic book hero, with thought bubbles and a re-enactment of the incident spinning through my head.

23   I even had blue hair, like Superman.

34   At this point in life, I'll take any sort of hair. In my reverie, it was pretty sleek and handsome.

35   I also thought that if I had decided to leave work around thirty seconds earlier, I might have T-boned that guy.

36   I'm pretty superstitious about things like that. For example, if I decide I'm going to get into a right lane, I go with my initial instincts, never a second-guess. I absolutely abhor detours, because they take me to an area against my better will.

37   Anyway, I got home, and didn't really give any of it a second thought.

38   We do that in life. But when I awakened at around 1 a.m. it lurked huge, like a dark overcoat and hat hanging on a hook. I saw shadowy figures and mailer-daemons haunting their way through my dreams, and awakened abruptly to the wispy sounds of  whirring fans, and the glowing green starry weirdness of LCD lights, of comfy socks, of closing walls and ticking clocks.

39   I'm okay now, but I still wonder a little if I'm dead. My fingers glow over the keyboard keys with a moony backlight. They seem to be alive. My right hip has this quirky pain, indicating aliveness. And I have this immense craving to drink cold milk out the bottle, which to me leans a little towards the dead side.

40   But alas!

41   I'm okay.

42    My feet cracked when I got up to pour myself a glass of milk. My nerves steadied, so I pulled back on all that. I saw the face of the sideshow guy playing out on the inside of my eyelids, and then blinked again, closed my eyes but the screen turned bright, with strange designs vibratingly alive.

43   Bad craziness.

44   The milk helped, thank the goodness. 

43   I hopped back to sleep, eyes like saucers staring out over the slanted darkness.

44   It was going to take a while.

45   But I eventually got back to sleep.

46   God bless the rain. Or Joe-the-Bear bless the rain. Or whoevs. Just thanks for giving me life.

47   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington