My retirement plan

I know I'll probably be teaching for at least the next ten years, but now I know what I'll do when I need extra bucks: QUIZZO!!

I really enjoy the trivia contests at different taverns - have won several gift certificates. Friday night, I hit the big time - $100 in cash!

Really gets the competitive juices flowing.

I was pretty proud of knowing that the rules of boxing are "The Marquis of Queensbury" and that the thing that "The Cherry Orchard" and Star Trek have in common is someone named Chekhov!

News flash! It's HOT in the summer!

I really love the summer - I really NEED the summer to recharge my batteries. But when it is so hot, I long for cold weather when I can pile on the blankets if I'm cold. There is just so much you can take off!

We had a fierce storm last night that toppled trees and knocked out power. And I got to thinking about how the weather is kind of a metaphor for what's going on in the world - unbearable heat followed by tumultuous upheaval.

Think of all the great literature that has environment and/or weather as a factor - Wuthering Heights comes to mind - and we can understand why. When I was driving around the last two days as the temperature neared 100, I noticed that people were hostile and impatient. Last night, we were driving home from the city and it was eerily dark - power was out all over - and drivers were timid and super-cautious. I went outside to see a huge tree down in my neighbor's yard and a bunch of people who had no power were gathered - kind of a "we're all in this together" camaraderie. When we have huge snowstorms and we're all out shoveling and snowblowing, it's a festive atmosphere.

What do you think?

Back from the motherland!

I think every English teacher should get money to go to England (and Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) at least once in his or her career.

I spent almost two weeks in the UK and Ireland and came back feeling oh-so-literary. I didn't go to any famous writers' birthplaces or anything like that, but just being around the towns and hills and ruins made me feel suitably reverent. If I lived there (anywhere in the British Isles), I would just wander around with a tent, sleeping bag, suitcase, camera, and laptop and write about the beauty, the people, the music, and even some of the sadness.

We spent a couple of days in Scotland - high point was probably the visit to Inverrary Castle - absolutely gorgeous. While in England, I got to the British Museum, Windsor Castle, and the Tower of London - amazing! In Ireland we drove around several peninsulas in the southwest - spent three days in Dingle and took a boat ride out to Blasket Island. Saw the Cliffs of Mohr and some other cliffs that just took my breath away. The last night we spent in Ennis - 15 miles from the airport - and saw a movie "The Wind that Shook the Barley" in a packed theatre. This taught me a lot about the fight for independence right after World War I - Ireland has had so much sadness and strife in their history.

Whenever I come back from Europe, I'm reminded how young our country is and I understand how much evolution we probably have to go through. People overseas look at us with a mixure of indulgent tolerance, amusement, irritation, and affection. We're like an obstreporous teenager with a lot of potential, but behaving badly way too often!

Makes me want to read, that's for sure!