Breaking Bad….or missing Walter White

I loved/hated the five seasons of Breaking Bad.  I couldn't stop watching, but, some of the time, I had a blanket over my head and fingers in my ears.

Walter White thought he was so, so smart.

I worry about people who always think they're right.  ALWAYS!  The rest of us are a bunch of fools in their eyes.  Where do you get a self-concept like that?

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Teaching and learning is a fluid field.  The knowledge base continually changes.  What we know about how people/children actually learn is increasing at a statistically significant rate.  I am more concerned about what a child learns than how the teacher teaches it….that's a fact, Jack.

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We've always done it this way doesn't cut it with me.

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Losers make excuses, winners make commitments.  This might be my personal mantra when things get tough.  No excuses.  Step up to the plate.  Swing for the home run.

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Walter was one heck of a chemistry teacher.  He was bright, he was student focused, his administration loved him--Walter was just going to make enough money to take care of his family.   But Walter got greedy.  He wanted what he wanted, when he wanted it.  Walter liked the power.  Walter loved the power.  Walter thrived on the power.

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And the downfall began.

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I've been watching the Walter White's of this world.  Good overcomes evil….but justice sometimes rides a slow, slow horse.

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If this was a story in 9th grade English, your teacher would be asking you for the author's underlying theme.  So, boys and girls, is this really about Breaking Bad?

He wasn't a saint

I've been doing laundry today.  I'm back on half-time and I am not working in the office this week.  I wanted to get back to the garage, unpacking boxes, watching TLC, eating crackers and cheese for lunch…you know, vacation for a school person.

I've been doing lots of laundry….lots of towels.    AND laughing.

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Memories

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Our family has fun.  We laugh.  We play jokes.  We dress up pets.  We punked each other before punking was cool.  Nothing mean.  Nothing nasty.  Good clean fun.

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Late 1990's

I had finished taking a bath.  It had been a long day.  I had soaked my weary bones.  Washed my hair.  Used bubble bath.  And look--there were fluffy fresh towels that had been put out just waiting for me.  Oh, those towels looked nice.  I wrapped one around my wet hair and started drying off with the other one.

Then….. I smelled it.

Wet dog.  I was drying off with the towels that had been used to dry Doc, our sweet Brittany Spaniel….who had been bathed in the same tub where I was bathing….and I was using dog towels.  AND I SMELLED LIKE A WET DOG!

I smelled of "Ode de Wet Dog."  I yelled, "Mike Weaver!"  He was laughing like a wild man-- yep, he'd hung those towels ever so carefully so that I'd smell like dog.  A wet dog.  And old wet dog.   It was a grand prank.

Mike was still laughing after my second shower and second set of CLEAN towels.  And he started watching over his shoulder for what I was going to do in return….he knew it would be coming.  He just didn't know when.


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Three months later, Sally, the calico cat, gave birth to seven kittens in Mike's bed.  Under the covers.

Touche.

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p.s.  I always smell the towels before drying off.  Always.

Conversation with a Four Year Old

Mary Michael can be encouraged to be funny….and she has her Daddy's sense of timing and humor.

Today at lunch was no exception.

I told her that we needed to keep her shirt nice and white.

From the side of her mouth, like WC Fields she quietly quipped, "Like an old polar bear."

She knew it was funny because Uncle Dan and I were howling.

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I can't wait to hear the tales of Pre-K though her eyes.  AND I bet MM's teacher is going to hear lots about our family.  Here's to a great year for all of us!

Inking It- AND I'm not talking about getting tatted up!

Green Ink.

 IT'S Exotic!

Aunt Doris Malloy             &

Chris Kirby

There are some people that dare exotic….they use their ink to convey a message.  Aunt Doris always used green ink when she sent her Christmas cards to our family back in the 1950s…..

&

Chris Kirby always wrote notes and comments to me in the early 2000s in green ink when we worked at CHS.


It's funny how I remember and enjoy their individuality….just because of the color of ink they used.

Thank you both….Erin

If It Sparkles

I'm such a sucker for anything interesting….or shiny….or weird…..or unique.  I am easily distracted.

Really?

I was cleaning my side of the garage when Bill caught me reading an old, old Macon Telegraph.  Clara Eschmann (the food editor) had a story in the Wednesday food section about noodles.  I love a cold noodle salad.  She had written a great article on all the types of noodle salads that the home cook could make.  Okay, I was sitting in the garage in a comfortable chair, listening to NPR, drinking a tumbler of ice cold water….and I had transported myself to Tokyo Alley in Macon where I was vicariously eating Orange Chicken with double noodle salad and no rice.   I know why I kept that article.  Now, I need to put that newspaper some place special so I can use the recipe.

Cleaning and compromising….do I keep the food section?  Yep.

This led me to the memories of Clara.  Clara was a wonderfully creative force who brought Jello Shots to a Telegraph luncheon….she was 80ish and thought the young (anyone under 60) people would enjoy them.  They did.   (I would never tell on her, but she's been dead for 12 years and I admire her spunk.  It is probably not a good idea to bring liquor to work.)

She sparkled.  Clara had, as Mary Richards would put it, spunk.  I love spunk.  Clara saw the good and enjoyed the present.  She passed away in 2002 years but I find myself thinking of the all characters of the Macon Telegraph and the Macon News with increasing frequency.  Many people sparkled and a few of them actually sparked.  But, that's a story for a different blog.

Oh, No. The Toe! (short poem)

Getting out of the swimming pool today, I knocked my middle toe on my right foot funny.  No, I'm not sure how I did it.  I just kind of stubbed my toe really, really hard.

My toe is the purple of lilac bushes in the spring.  

My toe hurts like a son of a gun.  

My toe is swollen like a Hostess Twinkie.  

I think I can say, with complete candor, that I have "toe-li-o."

A Taste of Summer

Yum.  I like summer foods.  Tell me you don't like a fresh tomato from someone's garden.

I got to eat one of the best salads I've ever had…..EVER this past Tuesday!


Linda's Super Salad

Fresh tomatoes--
Red, yellow, heirloom purple….chopped in bite sized chunks

Fresh cucumbers……peeled, chunked

Feta cheese……crumbled over the top

Homemade vinaigrette…..balsamic vinger, olive oil, salt, pepper

Mix with love.  Serve to family and friends.

Add bowl of gazpacho (garnished with Greek yogurt and fresh cilantro) plus fresh corn on the cob with a pat of butter -- this meal is fit for a King (or a Prince….like in "King and Prince!")

YUM!