It’s interesting what happens when one is on vacation: when is the last time I recorded an Utterz? Created an Oh My strip? Delved into NJ politics? Loaded Silver? Hung out FriendFeed or Twitter?jjj Yeah, it’s good to be on vacation, but it is going by so quickly . . . Along these lines, I have not scored one baseball game yet this year . . . Oh Amanda, please tell me this isn’t the level of dialogue you aspire to . . . I guess I am not going to try for Bob’s shutterspot this week . . . Why am I reading less and less of Michelle Malkin’s content these days? She limits content in her RSS feeds. It requires a click, despite throwing an advertisement in the feed. That’s not how I surf . . . So much for my dream of getting one of the new iPhones. Those plans are not priced anywhere near reality for our household . . . Despite being in our nation’s capital, I will not be attending the Lua conference . . . This is scary. Really scary. I rarely use my real name for web sites and haven’t for MySpace either, not that I use their service . . . Speaking of which, I recently signed up for a Groupee account. For those who haven’t kept pace, Groupee is the current-day version of InfoPop. Still not ringing a bell? Well, the Groundspeak fora used to be hosted by InfoPop. It’s like stepping back in time . . . My interest in Menuism is waning. Their weekly e-mails tell me I receive compliments and then say I have none. Also, much like TC.com’s rating system, what does it mean that I went from 100% helpfulness to 88%? If it means nothing, then get rid of the metric . . . We are planning our meal at Bobby Flay Steak. I would be even more excited if the site worked in Firefox. It is the only site in his network that requires me to launch IE . . . Making room for another cheesy store on the Avenue . . . I am not surprised: Carla Katz lost her job . . . Wasn’t there a hurricane Bertha a few years ago? I am pretty certain I did a tie-in to the Dead’s song Bertha then, much like Zooma is doing now . . . Is anyone surprised Starbucks is going to close 600 stores? Yeah, neither am I . . . Another datum that I am growing old: the beard is almost all white. . . . And just like that, GR is empty . . .
The other day they waited, the sky was dark and faded,
Solemnly they stated, “He has to die, you know he has to die.”
All the children learnin’, from books that they were burnin’,
Every leaf was turnin’, to watch him die, you know he had to die.
I am a traditionalist. It’s not that new and different things aren’t okay, it’s just that there is something about why something is a classic or a tradition.
I recall reading Moby Dick many years ago. It seemed like a book that many consider the great American novel should be something one reads. I made it through some very good schools without having been required to read it so I picked it up one summer and enjoyed the tale of the white beast despite already knowing the story.
As an elementary school teacher, I have found that I often explain that students need to know certain things just because they are members of our society. Earlier this year it became apparent that my students did not know the story of Hansel and Gretel. I did not have time at that point to read them the tale so I assigned it. A few weeks later we discussed the story. Americans should be familiar with this one.
There are others too. I read Rip Van Winkle for the same reason. Reading aloud to children models how good readers (assuming the teacher is a good reader) approach books. For me, the read aloud time each day is my favorite part of teaching. My students are very engaged during this time. We have read some wonderful books this year: Walk Two Moons, Dear Mr. Henshaw, Encyclopedia Brown, and The Whipping Boy.
As we were finishing The Whipping Boy, one of my students presented a book and asked if I would read this next. How could I say no?
Like many stories, I had heard of Old Yeller. Yeller was a dog and I knew he died. Yet, I never had read the book nor seen the movie. I am not a dog guy and such a story is not one that one that would really appeal to me so I always found something else to read. The night my student asked, I began reading the book so I was prepared for it. I have learned I do not handle tear jerkers well.
Chapter one, paragraph two tells the reader the dog will die and that Travis is the one to do it.
I remember like yesterday how he strayed in out of nowhere to our log cabin on Birdsong Creek. He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then, later, when I had to kill him, it was like having to shoot some of my own folks. That’s how much I’d come to think of the big yeller dog.
What a great way to begin a book! This is an excellent book to use to teach foreshadowing. Throughout when events occur, we kept going back to that second paragraph. That helped provide focus to what was happening.
Along with each story in our anthology is a list of vocabulary words. It appears everyone of those words for Theme 5 in Harcourt Trophies is used in Old Yeller. Word after word, numb, mesquite, etc. was used. What a serendipitous story to reinforce what we learned.
We are at the end of the school year. This is when students should be able to use the skills taught to demonstrate their learning. My students shined. As we read this book over the last couple weeks, lightbulbs lighted above each student’s head as he made a connection that validated my work. When the buzzards circled overhead, my students told me that death was near. How awesome that these children can pick up on points like! Reading this book with this class was a moment of the warm fuzzies. Those do not occur frequently enough for classroom teachers.
Many books that are popular now are good stories, but there is a casualness to them. Characters are coarse. Language is blatant. There is something about a classic that lifts one from the current style of reading. Old Yeller is a refreshing read. The richness of the text is a reminder of what great literature is. And that is what Fred Gipson’s book is: great literature.
Classics are classics for a reason. The story of Travis and this mangy yeller dog is heartwarming. More so, it is well-written and captivating. We knew the ending from the get-go, but it didn’t make it any easier to read once it came. Yeller was a hero and he had to die.
Don’t cry now
Don’t you cry
Don’t you cry
anymore
lalalada
Sleep
in the stars
don’t you cry
dry your eyes
on the wind
lalalala
la……..
It’s been a hectic week and I am not as on top of things as I would like to be. Some of the music making its way through Silver has been:
Jefferson Airplane: 2400 Fulton Street (disc one)
The early stuff. Ah, good stuff. Over the years I have found different facets of the Airplane to love. It began with White Rabbit, then the hits, the Dead influences, the Crosby influences, and am now a Jorma fan. As such, Embryonic Journeystands out. What a great tune.
Grateful Dead: Hundred Year Hall Europe ‘72. Deadheads recognize this tour as one of the monumental times of the band’s history. This release highlights the band at full speed, but only partially. One thing GDP has been irritatingly maddening with is releasing partial shows. This 26 April 1972 show is missing 14 songs from the night. Furthermore, the songs presented are not in chronological order. Argghh!
Yet, there’s the 19-minute-plus Lovelight and a 39-minute Other One! Yes, the band was on fire.
Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks Volume 11; 27 September 1972 Stanley Theater, Jersey City, NJ
After the Europe run, the band continued rocking back in the States. The complete show is captured on this release.
The thing that stands out for me is Brokedown Palace. It seems so fragile here. To think it was written in the same afternoon as Ripple and To Lay Me Down. That is some trio. Of course, the highlight of this show is the 30-minute Dark Star. Truly mesmerizing.
Bob Marley and The Wailers: Live!
I have been a Marley fan from since I was a boy. I never got a chance to see him live, so this album has always gotten heavy play from me. Now that I do not have all my boots that I used to (I am convinced I once had every Marley show that circulated), this is all I have. The No Woman, No Cry is superb here!
Dude of Life: Crimes of the Mind I just read on Wikipedia that The Dude is now an elementary school teacher in NYC. That astounds me!
I recall this album’s release. I was very excited as it was at the height of my liking of Phish. THe Dude of Life was a close friend to the band having written several of their early songs, including my favorite Fluffhead. Crimes is a Phish album with The Dude singing his songs. Awesome! I was blessed at having seen a show on the brief tour that followed.
This album is not as weird as I sometimes think The Dude is. I really enjoyed listening to it this evening. Self is the highlight for me.
Rhythm Devils: The Apocalypse Now Sessions The epic movie with a legendary cast has a wonderful soundtrack. That music was played by none other than the Grateful Dead’s rhythm section: Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Great stuff here with the boys and their friends imitating the sounds of the jungle. The ambient sounds make for a pleasant listen. The river music is among the most harmonic of the releases I have of Mickey’s. I really like this.
Sadly, this article is dead on about my favorite two actors . . . Someone said to me recently that anger is a big eraser; it erases what it perceives is a bigger emotion. Hmmm . . . Overheard from a public school teacher: “Clinton won Pennsylvania 55% to 47%” . . . There is a actually a Mac & Cheese group on Flickr . . . Spring is here, it’s time for sailing. I eagerly await a couple upcoming sails on the A.J. Meerwald . . . Gasoline prices are having us re-consider our summer vacation plans. It may be better to fly than drive . . . O’Reilly has another new segment (Reality Check). It’s a clunker. The show needs an overhaul; it is becoming far too segmented for my tastes . . . The two highlights of Corzine’s budget were closing nine state parks and eliminating the Dept. of Agriculture. Corzine has backed away from both proposals. That is fine, but not a penny more should be added to the bottom line. How much you want to bet more spending is added? . . . It’s good to see justice has been served: Wesley Snipes is going to jail (I bet there will be an appeal) . . . Wow! Zoomabooma sent me this article that explains how the Grateful Dead’s vault (stuff, not music) has been donated to Santa Cruz . . .
To celebrate what better way than a beautiful version of Peggy-O by the Grateful Dead. This traditional Irish folk song was a staple for decades. Enjoy!
. . . And just like that, GR is empty . . .