The Road to 65, Mile 300: Cinquain

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Poetry

September 23, 2015, Chino Valley- In this third day of my trial run at Mingus Springs, one of my teaching tasks involved breaking down the writing of a cinquain, one of the simpler forms of poetry, so that it was comprehensible to my 21 eight-year-olds.

It is only fair, therefore, that today’s “Road” entry be a cinquain of my own device.  It  is a reflection on the episode that was the season premiere of “NCIS”.

Team

Ever reliable

Poised and ready

At a moment’s notice,

Trustworthy.

My teams are thus:  Son and siblings, Faith Community, colleagues, students, dedicated friends.

“I’ve met your team.  How can you say you’re alone?”- Jon Cryer to Mark Harmon, in the above-mentioned episode.  Indeed, and neither am I, really alone.

The Road to 65, Mile 299: What Is School?

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Posted by on in Education, Personal Values

September 22, 2015, Chino Valley- I am gratified that my sleep and energy levels are proving more than adequate to do the job I have been given- and will get more in tune with the students and their needs, in short order.  A lot of time and energy will need to be devoted to shoring up their skill levels, to say the least.

Much has been said about the “dumbing down” of the curriculum, with an idea that the common denominator, in a polyglot world, is pop culture.  There are uses to which phenomena, like Hip Hop can be put, but seriously, I see no good use for lowered expectations,double negatives, coarse speech and mangled grammar.

A longtime friend complained today, that teachers are getting all the blame, for students’ lack of success, and that people should stop crying Victim, every time they are criticized.  She is right on both counts, and I attribute these phenomena to false pride, if not narcissism- and both are rooted in insecurity.

Teachers are just part of the team that raises and nurtures a child.  Parents, extended family, community members, and the child herself, are equal partners in this effort.  No one should get off the hook, when a child fails.

I will need to do a lot of one-on-one and small group tutoring, both during, and outside of, the school day, in order to bring my students up to speed. There will also need to be consistent parental encouragement and efforts to provide a stable home life.  The child needs to be taught responsibility, as one of the finest supervisors I  have ever had kept saying, day in and day out, in the Fall of 2001.  That supervisor was 18 years of age.  She was a prodigy, and is now a Master Teacher, at age 33.

School is more than just a building.  It is a community, a center, a medium of exchange (in the ideal sense, not in the financial sense).  It needs to be a refuge of hope and of strength.  We have a long road ahead.

The Road to 65, Mile 298: Equinox and Equity

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values

September 21, 2015, Granite Dells-  I spent the evening of the Autumnal Equinox, observing the International Day of Peace, with a host of kindred spirits, enjoying the music of a local artist, Celia, and of our host, Johnny Light.

Heaven on Earth, where I find myself fairly frequently these days, is the home of John and his beloved, Happy Oasis, whose poetry is another draw to the blessed Dells- one of three “Rainforest”-type environments I have found in Arizona.  Johnny built the place himself, from the ground up, after their earlier home was leveled by a forest fire, little more than a year ago.

Celia was moved to thus dedicate a song to the victims of northern California’s ongoing wildfires, arguably the worst natural disaster we have had in this country, since Hurricane Katrina.  Over 23,000 people have now been displaced, with many living in tent cities.  Her song was simple:  “Rain”, chanted over and over, for about five minutes, with a Chilean rain stick furnishing the percussion.

John and Celia are each in superbly equitable relationships.  Many others in the assemblage, this evening, are in that situation, as well.  I enjoyed equity, in my marriage, and know that it is hard work.  It is also the most satisfying effort there is.  Yet, perhaps, Celia’s song, “Everyday Goddess”, puts the whole matter of gender and roles into perspective:  “It’s no big deal”.  If we just be, and not cast ourselves into untenable roles, then it seems that true equity will come about, as a matter of course.

I arrive at an exquisite realization, every time I set foot in Heaven on Earth.

The Road to 65, Mile 297: Where I Stand, Part 3

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values

September 20, 2015, Prescott-  I spent this day alone.  Tomorrow, and for almost every day for the next three months, I won’t need to be concerned with being alone.  In fact, my aloneness has often been a good part of the reason why I have brought so many difficulties on myself, over the years. Penny brought me out of it; then when she passed, and I drifted back into torpor, various people came into my life and helped our son keep me on the straight and even.

“Development Comes From Within.  The process of human and community development unfolds from within each person,relationship, family organization, community or nation.”- Four Winds International Institute

This second principle for building a sustainable and harmonious world correctly states that it is the individual who feels the impetus to build self, from inside out and from the bottom up.  Without a determination to focus outward and concern myself with the needs of others, I would remain stuck- trying to live above my means, casting about to blame a chimeric force, bigger than myself, for all my woes and looking to an imaginary solution for those problems.  Each of us is capable of a certain degree of good.  It is towards that capacity that one best focuses.

Once a relationship is established, it is essentially either 100/100. or 0/0.  For one person to do all the work in a relationship is the same as a sluggard, dragging thrice his weight in rocks, along the ground. I had to work at not trying to do it all.  Fortunately, I had an exemplary partner in that, and most other regards.  Only when a couple has this balance set, can a family successfully begin.  Mother and father set a united front, and child(ren) have a clear sense of wiggle room.  Family organization, even in the age of the nuclear family, or rather, ESPECIALLY in this age, is best set in stone, with room to expand outwardly, to grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins- clear up to as many generations as can meaningfully participate. Community is only as strong as its members can manage, through cooperation, due to recognition of several common goals, and despite differences of opinion.  I was raised by a conservative, business-minded father and a liberal, civic-minded mother.  The town was close-knit, first by neighbourhood, then community-wide.  We did knock on doors before entering, once people from Boston started moving into the newly developed suburban “projects”, which in those days meant new, single-family homes, and there were no longer just the “old families” around. Neighbours minded each other kids, and everyone respected the Irish cop on the beat. Dad had a few men over, each weekday evening before dinner, and they would sit on the porch and solve the problems of town and state. The Town Meeting was held, once a year, and further discussions addressed key issues, almost in Athenian style.  Things were accomplished.

The same is true at the national level.  Too many unwieldy interests, motivated by entitlement, are pitting themselves against one another.  My father told me to never regard the “other side” as an enemy, to be vanquished, but rather as a teaching unit, to which I do best to listen, and to expect them to listen to me.

The “what” and the “how” do not need to be at odds with one another, ad nauseam.  Perfect is Good’s younger sibling, and needs the example borne out first.

The Road to 65, Mile 296: Where I Stand, Part 2

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Hiking and Nature, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities

September 19, 2015, Prescott-  For the next several posts, I will be centering my comments on 16 principles, developed by Four Worlds International Institute, in Surrey, BC.  It is led by a man for whom I have a lot of respect:  Hereditary Chief Phil Lane, Jr., of the Blackfoot Nation.  All quotes herein are from the document, The Fourth Way:  An Indigenous Contribution to Building Sustainable and  Harmonious Prosperity in the Americas, Update, October 2008.

Nobody asked me to do this, but I share both genetic memories and spiritual values with the Aboriginal Peoples of the Americas, specifically with the Penobscot Nation, of central Maine.  There is no barrier between us, except those that people choose to put between each other.  So, let me begin.

Principle 1: “Human Beings Can Transform Their Worlds. The web of our relationships with others and the natural world, which has given rise to the problems we face as a human family, can be changed.” –  

The author, savant and change agent, Star Hawk, has written that, for Man to regard himself as divorced from nature, is an arrogant mindset.  In fact, we in our physical state are very much connected to the rest of Nature.  It’s pretty much a given, to me, that each and every thing we do in this life is a matter of choice.  Some choices are more difficult than others, but they still need to be made.  So, with regard to relationships with others, we can choose to respond to people, or to ignore them.  I have found that I can only ignore those who irritate or are disagreeable to me for just so long, before one or the other of us presses for a resolution. The converse is also true.

How much more is this true, with regard to nature.  One can, in the name of stockholder profits, order the spewing of poisons into the atmosphere, water and soil, for just so long, before the toxins find their way into the Web of Life- with cancer, dementia and neurological ills becoming pandemic.  One may, in the name of Science, release Genetically-Modified Organisms into the food chain, while demanding that the rest of the planet toe your line, or face crippling litigation.  Then, because living things are just not ready to digest your products and therefore, in the case of humans, RESIST purchasing them or, in the case of scavenging rodents, birds and insects, just IGNORE the stuff, you redouble your efforts, getting shills to write articles that ridicule those who won’t buy GMO’s, and prodding normally thoughtful, even-minded people to jump in the fray and try to analyze the case against your products, with a view towards “talking some sense into those who would starve humanity, for the sake of romanticism.”  Still, the illnesses, and the wreckage, pile up.

My plans, with regard to relationships, are these:

  1.  Accept all offers of friendship, unless and until such offers prove to be based on ulterior motives.
  2. Respect those, online and in real time, who indicate they wish me to not contact them, either for a time, or permanently.
  3. Be a trustworthy person, more than I have been towards some people in the past.
  4. Listen, listen, and listen some more.
  5. Own the mistakes I have made with people, and do better by them , and others.

My plans, with respect to Nature, are these:

1. Tend the seeds I have planted, in my back yard.

2.  Honour animal and plant life, wherever I encounter them.

3.  By all means, continue hiking and other acts of personal exploration, both in my home area and          further afield.

4.  Carry a trash bag in my pack, so that the unwarranted intrusion of the thoughtless may be mitigated.

5.  Recycle, as much as possible, while recognizing that not everyone regards this practice as truly beneficial to the Planet.

I have gone on longer than usual, but these matters are very basic to my human and natural states of being.

The Road to 65, Mile 295: Where I Stand, Part 1

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal goals

September 18, 2015, Prescott- One thing about transitions, there are small stretches of time when money is tight, communication gets garbled and difficulties ensue.  I was raised to work through them, and so it is, right now.  I have had a few confrontations with people, both online and in real time, over the past three days.  In each case, rather than start World War 10,000, I have chosen to rely on my intuition, as to what the other person(s) was/were getting at.  One is simply a snarky, and somewhat abrasive, individual who enjoys a good comeback.  A few of those have defused that mess.  Another wants to know whether I have just moved on.  That is really up to that person.  I am still here, and as said earlier, I will not impose myself on anyone who seems to want to be left alone.  Another individual doesn’t want anyone who doesn’t drink, and doesn’t seem to have much money, in his establishment. (It is a restaurant, not a bar, per se, so the clientele ought to be mixed).

I sense the mood in this town is changing.  Hipsters tend not to like anyone who isn’t strutting their cash, and I see more hipsters around, over the past few months.  I haven’t had much money, over the past six years or so, though that is about to change, albeit gradually, and modestly.  I will be EARNING a living wage, starting next month.  Life will be more on an even keel.

I’m not going anywhere, though.  My son is in San Diego, until the end of next year, at least, and I have a growing number of friends in Los Angeles. Prescott is six hours from San Diego, seven from LA, and proximity rules.  I still have a good many friends here, even those with whom I seem to be having misunderstandings.  I am also very much enamoured of a place where I can walk just about everywhere that matters, and drive to the rest of the places, in a half hour or less.

In the next several posts, I will be commenting on points made by Chief Phil Lane, Jr., who heads up a spiritual retreat in Surrey, BC, as to the development of a spiritual community.  His heartfelt and well-considered tenets could be applied in a good many settings.  I stand in a circle, where heart, patience and intuition matter.

The Road to 65, Mile 294: Battles

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Inner Struggles

September 17, 2015,Prescott-

The wounded advance,

Towards the distracted,

equally bleeding foe.

The battle is chimeric,

Quixotic, of unknown origin.

These battles always are,

It seems.

How did we get here?,

Asks the target of his wrath.

What does that matter?,

Snarls the knight errant.

The battle is joined,

and I shall be the victor.

What are the spoils?,

Asks his erstwhile friend.

What does that matter?,

Fumes the attacker.

The battle is joined,

and I will be the victor.

Soon he stood,

Above the prone figure,

Savouring his pile of ashes.

The Road to 65, Mile 293: Transition

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Posted by on in Education, impediments, Personal goals

September 16, 2015, Prescott-  Someone remarked to me, online,this evening, that my generation is finished and that I should get in my “slot”, with regard to working with youth.  I know enough about this person to understand that he was just trying to get a rise out of me.  It didn’t work, in that way, but it did strike me as ironic,as did his plaint that I was “bouncing around too much”.

The irony is that I have entered  a five-year period of relative settlement, following four years of “bouncing around”.  At a time in life when many people, especially those in the Western countries, almost demand that we retire from work, and berate those who don’t, I am returning to a regular work schedule.  The reasons are two:  First, I am not ready to leave the world of education behind.  Second, another Western value is that we remain independent and do not burden others, financially.

I recently read of a woman, age 100, who is still working as an educator. I applaud her! In my case, I plan to work until age 70, take a two-year sabbatical of focused travel, then return to work for three more years or so.  I think 75 will be a good age for me to stop gainful employment, but I don’t know as I will ever occupy a “slot”, determined by others.  Conversely, I don’t ever presume to think I will know what is best for others.

So, as my transition back to having a room full of children as my daily, and long-term, responsibility begins, and I get acquainted with my students, starting next week, I ask the gadfly, and all others who look askance at those of us who do not go gently into that good night, to stay tuned.  I have lots left.

The Road to 65, Mile 292: Triggers

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Personal goals

September 15, 2015, Prescott-  Most of you know I am mildly autistic, and have struggled with being in situations where I must mingle with strangers, especially if they themselves are reserved.  Talking with people on the phone is worse, and I usually try to be as specific and brief as possible, on that medium.

Today, I worked with a class of emotionally-handicapped children, with plenty of adult assistance.  A child in the room is severely autistic and has serious outbursts, on occasion.  Today, he had several, all handled very well by his one-on-one assistant.  Dealing with him, per se, did not trouble me.  The whole scenario, however, did trigger some feelings of reduced self-worth in me.

I was never outwardly aggressive or raging, as a child- preferring to withdraw from my surroundings, in times of conflict, and work things out in some sort of fantasy realm. When I left the school, at the end of the day, I found several of those old ghosts were revisiting me.  The difference now is, I have plenty of friends on social media sites, and several friends in my Faith group, here in the Prescott area.  I am less certain about people outside my Faith group, but I realize that part of that is my own tendency to shrink back, when feeling awkward.

Triggers, I have learned from reading “The Peaceful Warrior Collection”, are signals that more work is needed on those issues. The biggest one is my own perception that, to at least three people I have regarded as friends, around here, I am little more than a nuisance, and so I have stopped communicating with them altogether.  It’s one of the things on which I must work, internally.

The Road to 65, Mile 291: Pending

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Personal goals, Service Activities

September 14, 2015, Prescott- First, my apologies to friendly readers- Heath Muchena, JoEllen Coney, Starman Jones, Richie Salgado and Michel Fauquet.  I found your lovely comments in my Pending file, which has been ignored even longer than my Flickr site.  I have cleaned it up and approved all of your comments.

I am sad to hear that another Xanga friend, Sister Mae, has died.  She was a rock-solid friend, when I was on the old network.  I hadn’t heard from her, on Xanga 2.0.  Now, I know why.

My new position is three weeks away.  I worked today on a one-day post and will do the same tomorrow. There ought to be several other posts, this week and next, in the run-up to Fall Break, which will see me enjoying a bit of the high country.  I haven’t decided exactly where,yet, but I know it’ll be in-state.

Choices, we make and choices we own.  In accepting the charter school position, I had to decline a Red Cross post.  I think that position will go to someone who has actually worked in Social Services.  Several other changes, vis-a-vis my weekday schedule, will come about, after October 12.  I own those, also.

My erstwhile tendency to walk off and leave things hanging came to me in a dream, last light, with Penny warning me that this is a feature of mine that I should relegate to the past.  Yes, I have made a world of progress, in that respect.  Focus is improving, day by day.

Someone commented this afternoon, that I have “bedroom eyes”.  Yikes!  I thought we had left that term in the scrapheap of shallowness.  Since this person is not within my age-range, I will take it as a misguided compliment, and leave it at that.

It is nice to be appreciated, and it is nice to have a few things- pending.