once there was a way to get back homeward

One of the Bright Child summer teachers is on a motorcycling trip in Chicago, and I have been asked to cover his classes for a week. Yes, I'd rather have gone on his trip and let him cover his classes. No, that wasn't an option available to me.

So over the past few days I've been clung to, hugged, offered chocolate, and been asked if I'm moving to Switzerland. I've also gotten into quite a few debates, mostly with Brian.

"Miss Stewart...where's Mr. F?"
"In Chicago on a motorcycling trip."
"What's Chicago?"
"It's a city. In Illinois."
"What's Illinois?"
"It's a state."
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is."
"No!"
"Brian, you can't argue this. It is a state."

I then realized there were several U.S. maps on the wall, and walked over and pointed at Illinois.
"See."
"That's like Philidelphia or something."

I was glad he had heard of Philidelphia. So yes, I am Illinois' biggest advocate.

**

And then there was the Clara Barton story in writing class. In a snippet of Barton's memoirs, she describes pretending to be the sister of a delusional, dying man who is calling out for her. Brian, of course, chuckled during parts of the story, and afterward I asked what he thought.

"I don't care, because I'm not dying."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Yes. We all are."
"No!"
"Yes, we're all going slowly towards our deaths."
"No. We're just getting older."
"And then we die," Jaein pointed out.
"Well I'm not dying like that."

So yes, I'm teaching a big picture perspective in history. Not all of our conversations are this productive. For example, I agreed to a "bet" with Brian that if he made it to the major leagues, I would attend every single game, even in different states. Apparently Miss Garcia had agreed to, and I didn't want to be one upped.

**

Authority. Most adults have experienced working under a range of bosses – visionaries, incompetents, gracious, short-sighted, smart, detail-oriented, spacey, reliable, kind, etc. I wonder how the percentage of people who would prefer working under a great boss compares to the percentage of people who would prefer being their own boss in any situation. What about the percentage of people who would want to be their own boss, but not the boss of anyone else?

Is it – for lack of a better word – wrong to crave power/authority in itself? Is it only acceptable to want power because of a desire to fix a wrong or take control of a mismanaged situation? Ie. if there is a perfect/omniscient boss out there, would it be alright to want to take control? Would most people want that responsibility? Somebody go take a survey for me.

**

Emma Cole: A brief volley back at your Personal Mishap and Injury log.

My personal laugh injury and mishap log:

6/26: Laughed so hard my foot involuntarily kicked forward into a cup of water which proceeded to spill all over the nearest laptop.

7/6: Laughed so spastically that my head jerked forward and bashed into a box on my shopping cart. Yes. My head.

I realize this doesn't seem very extensive, but neither the computer nor head were pleased for the next few days. Also, looking back generally at the objects I've tripped into, run over, smacked, walked into, etc., when engaged in laughter, there definitely appears to be a pattern emerging.

**

I wonder what percentage of depression is indulgent, avoidable, harmful, wise, sharpening, inevitable, biological, mental. Numbers on all of those would be nice.

People get addicted to physical pain. And emotional pain. Are all addictions indulgent? Isn't pain usually a result of damage? And shouldn't damage be avoided? Or accepted like a waranteeless piece of electronics?

**

And now a new section for old undeleted texts that live in my phone. Pretty self-explanatory. Please stay friends with me if I put yours up. :)

Undeleted Texts:

"No. I just stared and made several drawings of him. I left them where I was sitting under a rock so he can appreciate them."

I really wish I remembered the full context of this conversation. I know it's a reference to a creepy French movie. That is all.

And then there were these two in a row:

"Youre dumping me over text?" "What the hell Jackie??!!"

Again, don't remember the context. I almost prefer it that way.

**

I was also thinking of starting a Bad Poetry section for some of my old stuff, but I think that would eventually hurt my soul. (And yours.) But for kicks, I thought I'd share a line of a song I wrote in high school:

"Come stand with me under the AC. It's so cold, but you're so hot."

In my defense, I was being silly. I'm starting to become worried that I will one day have to defend something serious with that argument. Like inflicting psychological damage on my family and friends.

**

This sketch reminds me of the arguments I have with my kids. It's like they channeled my future classroom. Uncanny.