"Mrs. P"

Lassiter Note from 1982

by Robert Robinson on Friday, November 30, 2012 at 12:36am ·

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A funny teaching story from 1982:A band booster Mom at Lassiter HS sat me down on the curb outside the band room on a Thursday night after practice.  When she sat down, her rear-end on the curb, I noticed her "saddlebags" touched the pavement several inches below.  I also noticed that her short-cropped blonde hair had black roots around an inch and a half long, and her thick make-up didn't quite hide the pock scars in her face.  In her Texas accent, she said to me, "Robert, you're young; you're good looking and you work with the color guard. The girls are going to like you, flirt with you, and want to go out with you. -But you are going to have to resist that! Even though you are only 21, that's unethical and inappropriate for a teacher to date a student....  [dramatic pause]...BUT you CAN date my daughter! She's a senior, and a CLARINET!"  

Mrs. R @ Walton Red Tape!

y Robert Robinson on Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 1:08pm ·

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I remembered this morning an anecdote from my teaching years at Walton. There were two 10th grade boys at my chalkboard diagramming sentences while I was floating around the room checking students' work. Suddenly the whole class burst into laughter and one of the boys screamed! I was shocked and decided that this behavior was intolerable so I took the boys to the administrator in charge. When I 

walked into her office and said that these boys needed to be taken care of immediately, the administrator, Mrs. R, without hesitating, looked at my coldly and said, "Is the infraction on your class rules sheet?-Because if it is not, I cannot support you." I, appalled, looked at her and said, "No, Ma'am, it's not. I don't have on my rule sheet, "Thou shalt not grab another male student by the TESTICLES and SQUEEZE while working grammar exercises!" :)

My Funny Valentines

My Funny Valentines




(dedicated to the Walton H.S. Winterguard Fashion 1993 before their winning the Southeastern Championship and before becoming a Winterguard International Finalist., APRIL 1994).



As I stood, with my back arched, my chin held high,

I thought,

“I cannot take this anymore…I don’t want to lose.

The competition is too great; they are all too good.”

I felt the tension in my back grind its way up my spine

To my brain.

I choked back the tears.

“I cannot lose,” I thought. “Not again. The work has been too hard, the fear too real;

The hours too long; the pain too great.”



They all said that we would fall apart.



I stood with my chin held high

In front of an audience too large, too critical, to show any form of weakness, I stood with my chin held high.



I thought, “I cannot lose. It would be undignified.”



Before they called out the scores, this raced through my mind,

And I knew what I learned from Winterguarad and from you…

I had already won.



On Southeastern Championships 1993

Love, Mr. R

School Shooting Threat in East Cobb, the year of Columbine.

I remember when a sophomore male at the East Cobb HS where I taught threatened to kill students in my class and in the school at large because he was continuously bullied by this group of boys. One female student was very upset when she heard the boy say it out loud,so she was crying in class, so I sent for an administrator to come talk to the girl and to talk to the boy.  The A-team refused to come,saying to my Department Chair, that I was "overreacting", so I wrote a letter to them, documenting the case and talking about the danger held within student threats. I also mailed a copy of the letter to myself through the USPS so that would have a legal record of my report. I wrote that we we lived in a dangerous society where school shootings had already occurred in Kentucky and Arkansas,and that we should take every threat seriously. The administration laughed at me and called me "overly-dramatic." Two weeks later, the Columbine shootings occurred and the U.S. entered a new age of terror in schools. Though no one died that day in East Cobb, and we were blessed and spared, would it have been so hard for the school leaders to listen to the children and the teacher?

How the Poor Folks Live (a repost)

by Robert Robinson on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 8:33am ·

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One day a father ofa very wealthy family took his son

on a trip to thecountry with the firm purpose of showing his son how

poor people can be.They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of

what would beconsidered a very poor family.

On their returnfrom their trip, the father asked his

son, "How wasthe trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poorpeople  can be?" the  father asked. "Oh Yeah" said theson. "So what did you

learn from thetrip?" asked the father.

The son answered,"I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a  pool thatreaches to the middle of our garden and they

have a creek thathas no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and

they have the starsat night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the wholehorizon.  We have a small piece of landto live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants whoserve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We havewalls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect

them."Withthis the boy's father was speechless. Then his son

added, "Thanksdad or showing me how poor we are." Too many times we

forgetwhat we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person'sworthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one'sperspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks forallthe bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more. Take joy in allyou have, especially your friends. Pass this message on.

13Random Things about Me!

13Random Things about Me!

by Robert Robinson on Friday, January 30, 2009 at 6:10pm ·

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Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the application then click post).

1) I will start with melancholia: I can't believe that I survived growing up in Deliverance, Alabama, during the 60's Civil Rights Movement and the 70's Disco Era!
2) I lived in a trailer in college. The address was 13 Cherry Street & the phone number was 435-HUMP!
It was the best experience.
3) I miss my college roommate, Therman Mosely. If you ever ate one of his cakes, you will remember how good it tasted.
4) The best part and best memories of my teaching career were first ,COLORGUARD & WINTERGUARD and second, my Shakepeare Students.
5) My best winterguard memory is posing for a group picture in "The Tunnel" at WGI Finals.
6) I taught 7500 English students before finishing teaching in the English classroom! This doesn't count all of my guard girls, band members, college students, and band camp students!
7) I love our farm in Alabama--it is tranquil, bucolic, and private. It was a Cherokee Indian Reservation a 100 years before us, and they called it "The Valley of No Storms."
8) When a group of three people are together, there is always "the smart one", "the pretty one," and "the slut!" Choose groups wisely. LOL
9) I prefer being "surrounded by the best" because I am in good company. Number 1 always stands alone.
10) I am blessed to have a great family.
11) I have travelled to Europe: 7 times with students and 4 times with friends. My favorite place on earth is VENICE, Italy; it is the most tranquil. Then Rome, most passionate; Then Florence, most reflective;and the Greek Isles are most spectacular.
12) Beware of "contaminated advice" from false friends and mates--they will play upon your worst fears because they are jealous of what you cherish in your heart. Literature shows this to be true. It is the Iago or Iaga [Iago-ette], that will turn your life into a tragedy. [Friends are jealous of spouses; spouses are jealous of friends]
13)That said, I am blessed to have great friends and a circle who continuously look out for my best interests.

Ordinary, No! NY Times Film Review (blog) of "A Single Man" directed by Tom Ford.

by Robert Robinson on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 1:12pm ·

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February 16th, 2010
9:09 pm
Rating:
60.
Ordinary, no!
Firth's characterization and Ford's choices in the film do not rather cause a distraction between the grayness of grief and the colors of life, but rather juxtapose the vibrancy of life and love to the starkness of loss and death. This emphasis is especially true in a time and place where homosexuality is an invisible minority. We, the audience, see that George lives in a glass house but he and his sorrow are invisible to his neighbors, invisible to all but the few who choose to peek inside his enclave and into his soul. To the world, George is an ordinary man, but Firth and Ford hint to his exceptionality by the use of his impeccable dress, his attention to detail, and to his fury within his class room, where eventually when George opens up, his voice is loud and clear, even defiant. It is this fanfare of the common man that allows us to understand and empathize with George’s grief. We again get the chance to understand his sorrow when George opens up to Charley as she dismisses his love, and therefore, his grief, as a substitute for the real deal.
You may say that Ford’s work is flawed, especially if you view it as a formulaic drama built on the paradigms of a heterosexual perspective. I say, it is an exceptional work of art, worthy of the Academy Award because it shows a glimpse into the fervent world of George and his repressed passions. It shows the grayness of invisibility amid the colors of life and in the sudden bursts of hope and desire a gay man faces even today.
– idealist rob , atlanta

Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps (taken from Wikipedia 2012).

Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps (taken from Wikipedia 2012).

by Robert Robinson on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 2:38am ·

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Founding

In 1976, Freddy and Linda Martin and Bob Hoehn met with the management of an Atlanta area television station to discuss starting an Atlanta-area drum and bugle corps.(See:Note) After a series of successful meetings, Spirit of Atlanta was founded. The corps was originally named "Concourse"[citation needed]. A contest was held to find a new, more appropriate name, and "Spirit of Atlanta" was chosen. The corps was a DCI first in that it was sponsored by television station WXIA, making it the first corporate-sponsored drum corps. The founding director of the corps is Mr. Freddy Martin.

[edit]1970s

With Freddy Martin as corps director, members were recruited (including several from Jacksonville State University [JSU] in Alabama), a program with no particular musical style was worked up, and Spirit of Atlanta was introduced to the drum corps public at contests in at least nine states in the South and Midwest. At the 1977 DCI World Championships in Denver, Spirit finished twenty-third of forty-five corps.[2][3]

A first year finish of twenty-third was respectable, but Spirit of Atlanta wanted more and an effort was made to secure the finest instructional staff possible. Two new caption heads were hired; brass head Jim Ott from the DCI Champion Blue Devils and percussion head Tom Float from Toronto's Oakland Crusaders, a corps renowned for their drumming. With these two hires, the core instructional group was in place which would take the corps to new heights. Adopting a style that has been referred to as "Southern Jazz", Spirit stunned the drum corps world in 1978, vaulting into eighth place at DCI Prelims in Denver; then at Finals, the corps rose even higher, finishing in sixth place and losing the High Brass title to the Phantom Regiment by one tenth of a point. Both the brass and percussion were among the best in the drum corps activity, and Spirit moved up into a fourth place finish at DCI in Birmingham, Alabama in 1979, featuring the song that would become the corps' trademark tune, "Georgia on my Mind."

[edit]1980s

Tragedy struck Spirit while the corps was on tour in 1980. When one of their vans was in a traffic accident on Interstate 55 near Grenada, Mississippi, brass arranger and caption head Jim Ott was killed. Spirit's members and staff were devastated, but the corps recovered to honor Ott's memory by repeating their fourth place finish at DCI Finals in Birmingham, AL.[2][3] In 1980, the percussion line had the high execution score at finals and tied for the overall high percussion title.

Prior to the 1981 season, the corps lost its corporate sponsorship from WXIA. Financial adjustments were made and the corps continued on. Following the loss of Jim Ott in the 1980 season new staff members were needed to fill the vacancies. For the summer of 1981, the drill designer was Steve Moore; horn caption heads included Gary Markham and Joel Schultz. Visual Designers were Freddy Martin and John Armstrong. The guard instructors brought in the varied talents of Julie Gilbert of the Crossmen, Cindy Anderson of the Guardsmen, and Robert S. Robinson of Jacksonville State University and Chapter V Winter Guard. Tom Float remained percussion caption head and Mike Back, who was a percussion instructor in 1980 returned to the staff. Spirit of Atlanta repeated the musical program of the 1980 season in 1981, with the exception of the concert number, hoping for higher levels of competitive success. This was not to be the case, as the corps finished in ninth place in 1981. The percussion was the highest scoring caption for the year, but Tom Float departed at the end of the 1981 season. At the end of 1982, the corps finished 12th place with the guard ranked 11th in their caption at DCI finals.

After two disappointing years competitively, in 1983 the corps rallied to a seventh-place finish behind the new visual staff of Sal Salas, Scott Chandler and Tam Easterwood along with long time marching instructor Brad Carraway.

In 1984 the Spirit drumline under Mike Back made a run at the high percussion title as they were the "host corps" for the 1984 World Championships.

The 1985 corps saw Tam Easterwood and Scott Chandler's colorguard win the guard trophy, a feat they would repeat in 1987.

In 1986, the tenth competitive season of the corps, the "throwback" show of Southern blues, jazz and gospel earned them a sixth place finish and an all-time high score for Spirit of Atlanta of 94.1 at the DCI Championships.

In 1988, after a disappointing competitive end to the 1987 season, a decision was made to turn away from jazz and blues to the classical idiom. Although the corps' competitive placement improved from tenth to ninth place and scored in the 92's just weeks prior to finals, the classical show based on Stravinsky's "Petrushka" was panned by drum corps fans used to the high-powered brass and exciting shows for which Spirit had become known.

In 1989, Spirit dropped from finals for the first time since 1978.

[edit]1990s

In 1990 Spirit of Atlanta regained Finalist status, but their success would not last long. Financial and management challenges plagued the corps. From 1991 to 1993 the corps' competitive status declined. The financial problems culminated leading into the 1994 season, when the corps announced it would be inactive that summer.

The corps returned to the field in 1995, and began a long rebuilding process. These years would prove challenging, but saw some increased success as the corps progressed from 23rd place in 1996 to a regained semi-finalist status in 1997, and peaking at 14th place in 1998. The corps changed uniforms along the way to a navy blue top with cream pants.

Financial challenges would continue to hound the corps leading into the 2000 season, which saw a mid-summer management turnover and a difficult touring year. Nonetheless, the corps finished 15th, and a majority of the membership from that season would continue with the corps over the next 4 years.

[edit]2000s

In 2000, while the corps was rehearsing at JSU just prior to the start of tour, the corps director attempted to fold the drum corps. Due to a very strong response by corps alumni, parents, staff and other members of the drum corps community Spirit of Atlanta got through the season, finishing in fifteenth place at DCI Finals in College Park, Maryland. Following the management challenges of the 2000 season, Spirit of Atlanta re-organized in preparation for the summer of 2001. It officially relocated to Jacksonville, Alabama, and officially became known as "Spirit, from Jacksonville State University". This relationship with the university provided a foundation of stability the corps had not experienced for more than a decade. The 2001 season saw a significantly more competitive drum corps finishing in 13th place while wearing baby blue uniforms again. In 2002, Spirit regained finalist status for the first time since 1990 finishing 10th overall - the highest placement since 1988. Spirit of JSU would make DCI Finals again in 2003 and '05-07. Going into the 2008 season the association with Jacksonville State University was essentially dissolved, resulting in a simplification of the corps' name to "Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps from Jacksonville, AL". The corps continued to operate out of Jacksonville, AL for the 2009 season.

[edit]2010s and Return to Atlanta

In 2010, the corps surprised the drum corps community by announcing its return to Atlanta. After the 2010 season, it was announced by the corps' Board of Directors that for the 2011 season, the corps would once again be known as "Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps." Spirit of Atlanta surged back into finals again in 2011, jumping from 16th place the preceding season to 12th at DCI Finals.

Note: The television station management had the idea of starting new corps across the country, with a corps in every city where the Atlanta station had sister stations. Such was never to happen, and the station sponsored Spirit for only four years.

[edit]Sponsorship

The Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has a Board of Directors, corps director, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. The Executive Director is Dr. Todd Snead.[4]

The Tablecloth

The tablecloth
90 inches round
of my kitchen table hangs to the floor
the table that Pinky and Gaytha Underwood gave me (they are both dead now).
It was a gift to them from PW Underwood, football coach at Auburn University.

My dog, Keats, hikes his leg on the skirt of it. So--
every day I fold it up over itself
And I think of MawMaw Robinson
and her table full of jams, jellies, cakes, and candy jars
which she would unveil as if a magic trick
(and it was magic to me)
when we would come over to spend the night-
her tablecloth would fly in the air and catch the wind
as sheets in country summer.

And my tablecloth is now stuck
in the rotors of the washing machine
as I watch the one-year memorial to tribute and to salute
 Princess Diana on T.V.
and I think--these are the days we are guaranteed.

8-31-98 10:05 pm

Robert Robinson

Winter

“Winter is a Wickedness; a bone-chilling preview to what Death has in store for us.”


by Robert Robinson
1-14-2012

Working with a Diversity of Customers

Danny Guillory, CEO Innovations International

Diversity and inclusion also both come into play where customers are involved. We have customers with very different communications styles--one who prefers texts, another emails, another phone calls, and another in person visits (and one customer who communicates through all modes)--and learning their styles took some time as our relationship deepened. In terms of how we serve them, some customers prefer to ask us specifically for what they want (like ordering a la carte at a restaurant), while another comes to us with a few general objectives and says "I'll give you a week or two and tell me what you can come up with." Understanding the variations on customers has been very important in maintaining our long terms relationships.

It is more obvious when selling to consumers---regional differences, tendencies along ethnic lines, preferences that more women have then men, etc.--but invisible differences that customers may have are just as significant.

13 days ago

2 comments

Robert Robinson • In work, and in training classes, I prefer receiving communications in email or some other written form. The reason is because I am hearing impaired and sometimes cell phone calls are so garbled that I can not discern the details of the conversation and I miss important details. Sometimes co-workers, those who do not practice diversity thinking, are insensitive to this impairment. Having an invisible disability is a challenge at times because I have to interrupt conversations to reveal this impairment. I have been in multiple educational settings where the speaker will stand up before 300 plus audience members and say, "I don't need to use a microphone, I am loud and everyone can hear me." This assumption shows a "speaker-centered" focus of an outgoing message, rather than an "audience-centered" receiver message. As educators and trainers, it is important to remember that we are in front of a group to serve the group, meet their diverse needs, and to appreciate their differences as talented contributors to the workforce. It is not about us, as a "sage on the stage" or a "mouthpiece" to send a one-way message. Diversity thinking in advance of a presentation or training will prepare us to best serve our client and audience.

12 days ago

Danny Guillory • Great point Robert, and good to connect with you again!

Firth: A Single Man (A rebuttal to the NY Times film critic review)

Firth's characterization and Ford's choices in the film do not rather cause a distraction between the grayness of grief and the colors of life, but rather juxtapose the vibrancy of life and love to the starkness of loss and death. This emphasis is especially true in a time and place where homosexuality is an invisible minority. We, the audience, see that George lives in a glass house but he and his sorrow are invisible to his neighbors, invisible to all but the few who choose to peek inside his enclave and into his soul. To the world, George is an ordinary man, but Firth and Ford hint to his exceptionality by the use of his impeccable dress, his attention to detail, and to his fury within his class room, where eventually when George opens up, his voice is loud and clear, even defiant. It is this fanfare of the common man that allows us to understand and empathize with George’s grief. We again get the chance to understand his sorrow when George opens up to Charley as she dismisses his love, and therefore, his grief, as a substitute for the real deal.


You may say that Ford’s work is flawed, especially if you view it as a formulaic drama built on the paradigms of a heterosexual perspective. I say, it is an exceptional work of art, worthy of the Academy Award because it shows a glimpse into the fervent world of George and his repressed passions. It shows the grayness of invisibility amid the colors of life and the sudden bursts of hopes and desires a gay man faces even today.

Review of Canoe, a restaurant in Vinings, GA

Home > Atlanta > ITP (Inside the Perimeter) > Vinings >

Is this your restaurant?

Canoe

Canoe: "I'm Sorry" by idealist (1 review) December 21, 2007 - Doesn't like it "I'm sorry" was the theme of our Friday night at Canoe. I'm sorry that I ordered the chutney duck, as it was served as a piece of extremely rare duck smothered in soy sauce. Now, nothing about Canoe's menu said "Asian food" . Nothing about the menu said, "Eat at your own risk". Nothing said, "Bring blood pressure medicine to compensate for our cooking or lack of skill therein." The waitress did say, "I'm sorry," when I told her that the duck had a strange taste that didn't co-incide with its title, Chutney Duck. However, the prompt service of the team of water servers kept me in gallons of refills as I attempted to eat the duck without calling attention to the fact that I was choking on the sodium; it was my yearly business dinner with my boss and colleagues--making a complaint about the quality of food was not an option in this company. When I told the waitress, whispering on the side, "it's 2 degrees from nasty," she did reply again with a smile, "I'm sorry." and proceeded to pour more water. What did I need to do? Ask for a side of pepper? Return the duck to swim on Salt Lake? Have it fly over to the Morton plant? Certainly these were options. At $24.95 for the entree', I could have FedEx'ed the duck across the USA. On the way out, while my boss was waiting on the valet, I told the Canoe hostess -again the reply? "I'm sorry" Yes, this time, I got the message. "I'm sorry" that I went to Canoe; "I'm sorry" that I didn't make a scene. "I'm sorry" that subtlety is not a tool that Canoe waitresses are trained to hone in on. "I'm sorry" that the menu was misleading--both in type and preparation of its type of cuisine. I'm sorry that I didn't know what I was getting into. (The sushi plates should have been my first clue). "I'm sorry" that I won't sleep tonight. "I'm sorry" that I will be trotting to the bathroom all night. "I'm sorry" that I chose gentlemanly manners to avoid conflict at my boss's holiday dinner party." Mostly, "I'm sorry that I ate at Canoe." I guess if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and tastes like soy sauce, it must be sushi," at least according to Canoe. 19 / 20 people recommend this review Recommend

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Oprah.com post r.e. Waiting for Superman Tue 9/28/2010 2:23 PM

I am a 29-year veteran teacher; I attribute many of Education's problems to a flawed values and beliefs system. Call it a negative spiral where all parties are guilty of believing that kids cannot achieve, teachers are ineffective, & parents do not care. This vacuum of negativity drains the energy out of schools and resources. I have kept a 29-year journal of outrageous beliefs and behaviors out of so-called professionals, parents, booster organizations, and students. I have titled it The Problem in American Education: People Behaving Badly! These beliefs and behaviors have chipped away at the foundation of Education until it has crumbled around us. Granted, I can also share encounters with hundreds of wonderful people throughout my career, yet this post is to dissect why many of our schools are failing. If we as educators believe that students cannot achieve based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or test scores, then we produce a product based on that belief: a failure. If we believe that all students can achieve given the right direction and choices, then we will produce a high achieving student regardless of the aforementioned factors. Exclusive schools are based on exclusion; inclusive education is based on inclusion of all. The strength of our diversity of people & talents make our country strong. When we espouse our own self-serving agendas, ethnocentric motivations, & political platforming, we forget: E pluribus unum, "Out of many, one...great nation.

Thanking the Academy, March 15, 2006

Clearly, the Academy slammed the Hollywood closet door shut, and put a deadbolt on it, too! The peoples' backs they broke were the gays and lesbians worldwide. Also, AMPAS has generated an affirmation for me personally. I personally thank all those associated with the development of Brokeback Mountain: the film is pivotal in American history and film. I would like to thank the Academy and Tony Curtis for inadvertently opening the door to this forum of discussion. I would like to thanks those who died before me that I might live, and I would like to thank those who tortured me so that I might become storing. I would like to thank those who hate me that I might be open to love. I would like to thank the radio dj's and the late-night talk show hosts who laugh about me, and the cartoonists that mock me, that I may stand as tall as this mountain and proudly state, "I isn’t queer." I am a homosexual man who has been promised "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." --And I don't need a trophy to validate my existence or my success.

Brokeback Mountain is "The face [of gays] that launched a thousand ships," or shall I say keyboards? This is a film that provokes thought and discussion, brings bashers' anger to the printed word, such as the anger displayed by bloggers who proclaim "get over it, and voices of old Hollywood AMPAS members' defiance to view the film.



This is the film that has triggered true-life recollections of abuse and alienation by many gay men in America; it shows the hatred toward gays such as Matthew Shepherd and others who remain nameless and forgotten, killed for being gay "in the wrong place at the wrong time." [We’re dead]. Brokeback Mountain provides a glimpse of gay life and suffering in a Red State, and shows Blue Hollywood's hypocrisy. [Here I could insert a litany for the dead that I have known in my life]. This film, thanks to Ang Lee, Annie Proulx, the producers, and the actors, shows a rigid belief system that American homophobes don't want others to see--yet, it stands as a Mountain of Triumph for gays who have been mocked by caricatures such as Capote, Jack McFarland, Paul Lynde, and other gay stereotypes. Though these portrayals show the comic mask of gayness, the characters of Brokeback Mountain show the heart of gayness--a sexual orientation based on love, not on affected witticisms or clever costumes of flamboyance. Annie Proulx's direct and pointed comments to AMPAS conceal nothing and hide no truths behind Hollywood's facade. Just as Brokeback Mountain revealed "a love that dare not speak its name," Annie's words lay out the truth about Hollywood.

Review of Looped, starring Valerie Harper, 2010

Looped, starring Valerie Harper, made the legend of Tallulah real for the now generation.

Costar Brian Hutchison annoyed the hell out of me for the first act, and then by the second act, I knew that that was his intent.  His discomforting tension and edginess kept me fidgeting along with him as I listened to the badinage from Valerie Harper's Tallulah. He was the perfect foil for Tallulah to express her free spirited life view. Not only was I looped by the dialogue, I was also hooked within minutes of Ms. Harper's entrance.  I grew up in Tallulah's home town of Jasper, Alabama, and longingly admired her reputation and also her mansion there.  To gain a glimpse of the renowned Bankhead family and to discover the catalyst for Tallulah's rebellion compelled me to hang onto every word of dialogue the play had to offer.  The tension and contrast of the main character and her foil led to a synergy in the second act, both hilarious and cathartic.

Valerie Harper was able to show the embodiment of a true stage and screen diva.  The young men rollicked in laughter at her every zippy one-liner.  I was glad to witness that these young men were learning that a diva is always a diva, even when facing the demise of her reputation, like a decaying Southern mansion.

Looped, starring Valerie Harper, made the legend of Tallulah real for the now generation.  Costar Brian Hutchison annoyed the hell out of me for the first act, and then by the second act, I knew that that was his intent.  His discomforting tension and edginess kept me figiting along with him as I listened to the badinage between his character and Valerie Harper's Tallulah. He was the perfect foil for Tallulah to express her free spirited life view. Not only was I looped by the dialogue, I was also hooked within minutes of Ms. Harper's entrance.  I grew up in Tallulah's home town of Jasper, Alabama, and longingly admired her reputation and also her mansion there.  To gain a glimpse of the renouned Bankhead family, and to discover the catalyst for Tallulah's rebellion compelled me to hang onto every word of dialogue the play had to offer.  The tension and contrast of the main character and her foil led to a synergy in the second act, both hilarious and cathartic.

Valerie Harper was able to show the embodiment of a true stage and screen diva.  The young men in the audience rollicked in laughter at her every zippy one-liner.  I was glad to witness that these young men were learning that a diva is always a diva, even when facing the demise of her reputation, like a decaying Southern mansion.

Photoshopped 9-27-10

I want to be photoshopped and made to look cool

I want to be airbrushed so that I can fit on the cover of GQ

I want my Fred Mertz body to take a shit until

I am as thin as Brad Pitt.

9-27-10

Ramona Patton replies 9-27-10
Brad Pitt has the looks
Brad Pitt has the gold
Brad Pitt has Angelina
You have a belly roll!!!!

• • Terri Buckel writes a response...9-27-10
    "I Want..."
    I don't think Fred has hair on his head
    You have a mane that puts Dolly to shame
    Brad's always sad
    ...Cause Angie's so bad
    ...You get to mingle
    Since you are still single
    GQ is fake art
    without any heart
    I think you look cool
    don't brothers drool?
    And as Granny said,
    "You can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first."
    <br>

Review of Hamlet on Broadway, starring Jude Law, 2010

Mr. Brantley’s sullied perception does not do justice to Jude Law’s performance in Hamlet.  Relying on his own Cliff Note’s version of what Hamlet should be, and who the character should be, Mr. Brantley and his written opinion were far from what I saw on stage on Nov. 22, 2009.

Either Mr. Brantley had terrible seats when viewing the show in October, or either his scathing review of Mr. Law led to an excellent performance in November.  Mr. Law used nuance to depict the introspection of Hamlet. This “rakish leading man of film” articulated the lines with a fusion of verbal and kinetic synchronicity that emoted Hamlet’s inner struggle almost to perfection.  Quite frankly, he was able to carry the play.  To give Mr. Brantley the benefit of the doubt, perhaps Law’s mirror to life cast a weak reflection early in the play’s run only because the flaw in the play was the other actors’ ability to match and respond to Law’s subtleties. Even the royal court’s character portrayals were flat.  It was Law who kept the plot focused, even when the dialogue was paced at an allegro clip.  Law was able to portray Hamlet not so much as a Freudian weakling, but rather as a royal disgusted to have to deal with Denmark’s courtly petty deceit and staleness.

Once I was able to get past Claudius’s Leno-esque profile, I could begin to see this character come to life. Flat to begin with, Kevin R. McNally redeemed his performance in his prayer soliloquy.  Geraldine James finely portrayed Gertrude’s regality, but the delivery of her lines paralleled a Kennebunkport matriarch’s hostessing skills…a little to frilly and shallow.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ophelia was developing, but the director’s choices in her mad songs left us without a full understanding of Ophelia’s angst. That, coupled with her impeccably coiffed beauty in the scene left us without knowing her state of trauma. Staging, sound effects, and set design were not, Mr. Brantley, overblown beyond Shakespeare’s original intent, but where designed more as a chronicle of our times.  And that towering stage worked well to bring the characters down to crawling between heaven and earth.

Yet, it was Law, his Hamlet, who was able to stand tall.  It was Law, who was able to bring pregnant words to life.  It was Law who was able to depict a believeable Hamlet, both in age and in dignity.  I admit it, this teacher of Hamlet for the past 21 years stood outside the stage door seeking an autograph from Jude Law, not because I was star-struck, but because I was inspired. If Law can mesmerize and enthrall a theater full of teenagers and, in your words, Mr. Brantley, ‘captivate Broadway theatergoers who wouldn’t normally attend productions of Shakespeare,” then indeed, just as I muttered to Jude Law as he signed my playbill, “I hope he wins the Tony!”

On Seeing the "Ancient Faces" Exhibit at the British Museum

In the British Museum, I went to the Mummy special exhibit-from Greece, some were Etruscan and of other heritages-and the exhibit was of "painted faces on wood" coffins of the people. It was an interesting mix of realistic painted faces of different classes of people: artistocrats, middle class, and even slaves.  Yet, all were treated the same in death. Their portraits were painted. For the exhibit, each face was numbered and labeled by descriptions, such as "the skinny man," "the bearded man", and "the naked man".  It inspired me to write a poem, seeing the face numbered #161.
#161 was descirpted as "Eyes Painted in Alabaster"

Eyes rendered in painted alabaster:
The head was painted
no different from the rest.
The mask was clay,
the boy was dust.
And come to this,
we must!
--

Robert Robinson

Dear Governor Perdue:

Dear Governor Perdue: I have written you before, but did not receive a response. Though I appreciate your 4% raise proposed for educators, something more important is needed for the teachers of Georgia. That is 25-year retirement with NO PENALTIES. Here are some reasons:


1) After 25 years, many if not most teachers are burned out; allowing those who wish to retire after 25 will bring fresh new teachers in and relieve some of the apathy and poor performance from those who are burned out. Though veteran teachers who wish to stay probably aren't burned out and will continue on.

2) I am the sole caregiver of an elderly mother who needs my attention--as a "baby boomer", you know many of us are taking care of our parent(s) earlier than anticipated. (I am just finishing my 24th year of teaching, and my mom needs me now, since my dad died last June.)

3) Other SE states allow 25-year retirement; why doesn't Georgia? Many other teachers from Alabama who want to continue to teach after 25 years drive over the state line into Georgia and fill Georgia's need for qualified teachers.

4) I need to take care of my Mom in Alabama, but I am too old to start over in a new retirement system and reciprocity does not exist between Alabama and Georgia.

5) By taking away the penalities for 25-year retirement and letting us draw our benefits immediately, we can follow our traditional family duties, as laid out generationally.

6) The military allows retirement after 20 years, so do some state government jobs, and social worker jobs; why must teachers work (by force) until 30 years?

7) You would overall improve the quality of education in GA by allowing burn outs, worn outs, tired outs, and special needs teachers like me to move on and not bog down the educational system with apathy or shifts in priority.

8) I have raised a generation, and now am a lead teacher training other teachers---allow me to retire with dignity and grace....like other states do.

9) And by the way, I started out making $800.00 per month and have lived as a single teacher ever since, and my quality of life keeps going down, though my degrees and experience keep going up. Attached is a vitae for your consideration of my plight.

Brokeback Mountain Breaks Down Barriers 2006

Brokeback Mountain Breaks Down Barriers 2006


Let's put it like this: Oh my God! When I saw Crash! I knew that it was a magnificent film and it both dispelled stereotypes and showed the beliefs in stereotypes as truths. Truly, the Academy Awards should have an award for Best Ensemble Cast. As a college professor, my students saw Crash and then discussed it in my Multiculturalism class this past summer. I thought at that time that nothing could beat it as Best Picture....but like Emerel says, "BAM!"

Along came Brokeback Mountain and the subtle eloquence of the music, scenery, and empathy were interrupted by magnificantly timed moments of Pathos! "Bam! The heartwrenching cruelty of society so played out by Randy Qauid, the murder and hatred of gays, and the repressed lies that society has caused gays (and their loved ones) to suffer---leading Heath to represent loss , repression, and fear, and Jake, representing both hope and helpless vulnerability beyond his control. These two heartwrenched lovers juxtaposed to the beauty of the cinematography is artistic nuance at its finest, making Ang Lee my choice for Best Director. And Let's not forget Jake as "Best Supporting Actor" at the Academy Awards. He epitomizes the tender side a gay man often must conceal and reveals the lonliness gays face in a crowd.

Crash is reality at its harshest----but Brokeback Mountain reveals to the American general public the repressed, secret suffering that so many gays have experienced in their real lives.

As I sat mesmerized in the theater, I noticed other men sharing the same silent suffering they and I had experienced in life--represented by Heath-- a repressed rage: loss and desperation that has to be endured. "If we can't fix it, we have to stand it." That stoicism stands like Brokeback Mountain itself and Ang Lee gracefully chisels away at America's prejudices, shaping our future culture. This by far, trumphs the reality the we all know exists in Crash---

"Heather" 1986

"Heather" 1986


1986 This teacher remembers the time a father called and complained to me for using the word "butt" in class. What he didn't know was that I was repremanding the boys in class for passing around naked pictures of his daughter passed out drunk. She was in a bathtub naked, passed out, and surrounded by beer cans. When I told the boys to surrender the pictures, one said something rude to me and I told him to "butt out!"

Going Postal 2002

Going Postal 2002


Did I tell you about the time that I taught diversity at the Postal Service in Milwaukee and was assaulted by one of the participants, a janitor? And then, I had 2 uniformed federal marshals guarded my door for 7 days, and I had an undercover FBI agent in my class each day? Oh well, and someone stole my credit cards? Seems that my boss forgot to tell me there had been a double murder and 1 suicide there the week before with someone going postal---all that for $400.00 a day, so I guess driving in the sludge this Dec. 16, 2005, wasn't so bad in comparison--even though my bronchitis is still acting up and driving me crazy--On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and to my country (oh, never mind, that was my boy scout pledge--you remember Boy scouts, that's where Robby Br---- peed in a Beer Can and made another guy and me drink it--luckily the other guy went first, so when it was handed to me, I threw it to the ground and told him to piss off---get the pun? Anyway, I can't believe that every NE county in Georgia closed school today and I had to drive to work in sleet and slush in the dark just to be here on time; and can you believe, one of the administrators called a 7:45 meeting for all HS teachers this am----nor rain nor sleet nor snow, will keep me from school or your party---no wait, that's the postal service------my one guest could be my good friend PHLEM, you know, Mucus Welby’s son. At any rate, how could I miss the possibility of this annual gathering with the big screen slide show of me dressed as George Michael at Halloween? And how could I miss seeing Todd F call me Bob F , and Miss Sherri saying "hey ya'll", and Ciara giving me big hugs with the "t" word, and saying the Irish "shiet" every other moment; that is before of course, the courtly guests arrive from Alfredo--good cheer and good company--I hope to be well enough to be there---I guess I could wear a surgical mask and keep the germs away from everyone. Kicklighter could bring me one.

Life is what happens as you make other plans 2005

Life is what happens as you make other plans:




If someone would have told me that at age 33 most of my friends would be wiped out by a plague, I would not have believed it. Yet, 27 of my friends died of AIDS in a two-year period. The timing of this after finishing an MA in Communications and another 45 hours of an add-on Master of Education in English was devastating. However, I stood strong and enrolled for an Ed.D. in Educational Counseling in 1996.

I was accepted without reservations in 1996. However, Life decided to knock me for another loop—in June of 1996, I was rear-ended on the interstate highway by a retired 70-year old school teacher. She called it "a little bump". It totalled her Cadillac! I guess she called the Civil Rights Movement, "a little altercation." As for me, I spent the next two years in physical therapy compensating for 2 collapsed disks.

Dad had sudden renal failure in 2000 and spent the next 5.5 years on dialysis before succumbing to kidney failure, COPD, and emphysema , all resulting from 60 years of smoking cigarettes and cigars.
As family members' life spans approached their end, we lost 2 aunts and 2 uncles thereafter.

Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, along with my sister.  Their recoveries took 5 years and they are now both cancer free.

Now, the total of friends passing has exceeded 30 by the time I reached fifty.
Currently, I am blessed with new friends who have helped fill the void left by the passing of  the others, though they can never be replaced.

 Cliché’ or real, life is what happens when you are making other plans.

Wicked Witch of the Cafeteria 1997

Another example of people behaving badly was this witch of an administrator in one of the high schools where I worked.




I had a 10th grade African-American boy in my class who had sickle-cell anemia. He was short for his age and developmentally challenged. He had a withered hand and a withered foot, so he had great difficulty carrying the high school books in a backpack as big as he was; the bag probably weighed 30-40 pounds, without exaggeration.



At any rate, he was a sweet kid that looked like a mini Erkle. He was able to achieve, though he was much slower. Another difficulty is that he had this quirk. When he began to experience anxiety, he would masturbate, play with his penis, or whatever you want to call it. He was unconscious of this very bad habit. Most of the time, it went unnoticed. Yet, one day 2 girls came to my desk and asked to move to new seats in the room because the young man’s habit was embarrassing them. I complied.



Every day, the bell would ring and the guy would have great difficulty loading his books into his book bags. Every day, I would help him, life his heavy literature book, because he was unable to do this with one hand. I would help him put his book bag on his back and wait patiently for him to slowly walk to the door. Then I would lock my room and go to lunch.



Unfortunately, every other week, I had lunch duty. Our school had 2500 students and was the square footage of 3 acres. I had to zigzag through the halls crowded with students to race to the cafeteria where I had duty. It was at the complete opposite end of the building. There, after a 5-minute class change, teachers were supposed to shut the doors to the cafeteria and guard the door. Needless-to-say, when my student “M” was in my class, my helping him made me late to duty at least once or twice a week.



One particular week, the witch was supervising the teachers on duty and the cafeteria.

I was late and could not get to the door in time to close it. As I was running to the door to the cafeteria, (we had 8 doors in an octagon-shaped cafeteria), Mrs. Witch shut the door in my face at the tardy bell!

Without asking why I was late, she opened the door and hatefully said, “What in the world would our school be like if all teachers were like you?” I just smiled, but was very hurt inside. Understanding diversity would have been a good point for the Witch to learn. Common Sense would have been for her to ask why I was late.

The Thinker 2003- A Re-gifter Caught in the Act

The Thinker 2003- A Re-gifter Caught in the Act


Two years ago, a friend of mine, also an associate of my fashion designer cousin, came over to stay with me for Merchandise Market in Atlanta, an annual event. He had been doing that for the past few years. Every time that he would come stay, he would bring me a "host gift" for letting him stay. He has brought me a nice art print, Faberge-style eggs, designer shirts, and in 2003 he brought me a nice sized bronze of "The Thinker." I placed it in my living room, isolated on top of a nice chest, with a mirror behind it, and a spotlight on it as well. It catches everyone's eye when they come to my house.



This week is market, too, but for the last 2 years my friend decided that he would stay at a hotel and take the train to market. I digress. Instead, my cousin came to stay and brought another of their associate designers, Brian, to stay. Quite an agreeable fellow, he was. He complimented me on my home, told me how pretty it was, and then admired "The Thinker." He asked where I recieved it. I told him my friend, D---, gave it to me two years ago. He told me, "Oh really? I gave it to him 3 years ago for Christmas....it cost me a lot of money. I have been asking what he had done with it, as I had not seen it since....now I know!"



So my friend D---- was caught in the act of "re-gifting". I apologized to my house guest, told him that I had no idea it was a re-gift, and offered to give it back to him. He was crushed at D----, but no matter how much I persisted, he would not accept The Thinker back. From now on, I will tell admirers my friend, Brian gave it to me.



"Foul deeds will rise, though the whole earth or'whelm them, to men's eyes." Shakespeare

Wal-Mart Customer Service April 2005

Wal-Mart Customer Service April 2005


9:00 am I leave home, go to Wal-Mart to return stainless steel cleaner==I ask a customer service representative to call for more help because 1 associate is handling all 5 customers, while cashiers are idle, greeters, are idle, etc. the customer service representative yells across the store, rather than using the intercom: “Val----, someone wants you over here.” Val---- saunters, sashays, or shuffles, dragging her feet over, and asks who wants the help.



I said "I do, but the 2 other people are in front of me"; both are African American...and I acknowledge them with an affirmative nod and eye contact.

Val---- asks, "But what do you want?" I told her I have a return…"do you want to help me?" "Not before the other people I don’t", she says, (sucks her teeth )flicks them, which means “fuck you” in non-verbal street slang and walks to the counter. The customers in front of me stay out of it. I say: “Val----, I want them to go in front of me, the one customer service person needs your help.



Val--- helps the other 2, then the 1st customer service rep credits my return to my Amex card and I leave. I ask a cart collector outside if he knows if the manager Lorraine is in and he says no; I ask him if he knows any one named : “Val----". He spontaneously laughs, and says,“ I just mind my own business. I say, “Judging by your laugh, you know her well; I won’t press you further, have a nice day." I call and ask for the acting manager, am put on hold, the hold is lost, so I call back and speak to a man; he voluntarily tells me he is white; I relayed the story to him, he says he’s sorry, I told him, "I don’t want an apology from you; I want you to listen to my story." I give him my experience as a diversity trainer, tell him what the sucking of teeth means in street slang, and then say that what recommend is that you have “Val----, pushing carts outside rather than working in customer service." I thank the man for his time.



There is no point in meanness and rudeness for no reason.

On Diversity and No Child Left Behind Dec. 2003

On Diversity as an Educational Practice


Just as Corporate America has experienced the influx of diverse employees into the workforce, America’s public schools have experienced the same boon in a diverse student population. Meeting the needs of all the students enrolled in schools is not only essential to humanity, but now it has become a federal law under President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” mandate. Schools must demonstrate inclusion for each and every student at all levels of education.

It clearly follows that the diverse work population will want the best possible education for its children. No longer is it the norm for communities to be clustered or segregated into ethnic groups. Instead, our communities and schools are reflective of a multicultural nation. Meeting the needs of the schools and communities invites the opportunity for adults to bring in a worldview and macrocosmic understanding of human needs and similarities. As a result, many consulting groups, diversity trainers, and passionate individuals can see the benefits of inclusion and of a multicultural perspective on our global marketplace and community.

Some schools in the Atlanta, Georgia, area boast as many as 17 different native languages spoken within its student population. If investigated, other schools even could boast more. The Valuing Diversity paradigm includes an understanding of these differences and sees each student’s cultural heritage as enrichment to the school climate and the curriculum. Those schools that still practice Assimilation or Else are indeed missing educational opportunities and are certainly leaving children behind.

Defining Human Diversity simply means the ways people are unique, including their age, gender, physical and mental abilities, and sexual orientation. Diversity does not stop there, though. Cultural Diversity includes people’s attitudes, heritage, values, and religious beliefs. Furthermore, Systems Diversity refers to organizational schemes in which people have worked and includes our schools and how people are educated.

Educational trends have already acknowledged differences in students from Learning Styles Inventories, Special Education, Gifted Education, Talents, and Inclusion classes. Many schools are lacking in the awareness of Institutionalized Discrimination. Institutionalized Discrimination is defined as discrimination so embedded into an environment that it becomes commonplace and unnoticed to those people living and working within the confines of that environment. Most of the time, an outsider has to come into the institution to recognize that this paradigm paralysis exists. If not, the school is at risk for creating either a discriminatory or hostile environment for some of its population.

Cultural surveys reveal patterns among different ethnicities, but the prudent principals or headmasters would assess their own educator base and student population so that accurate educational orientations would be determined. Then in order to get 100% out of the teachers and paraprofessionals in the school, and to reach 100% of the student population, that principal or headmaster would implement strategies based on those findings. Then the school would certainly master the “No Child Left Behind” concept.

What can a school do? By having policies in place and a work climate and educational climate that promotes diversity, people can bring their unique qualities to work and into the classroom. This workplace satisfaction will allow a teacher to focus on the task at hand rather than struggling with a barrier in the school that states, “Your difference is clearly not welcomed here.” Those talented, diverse educators have gained the social leverage and social mobility to move into school systems that establish diversity as a precedent and an advantage. Clearly, if your school does not reward a diverse climate, those talented educators will move elsewhere. If students stay in a barrier-filled learning environment, the educators are asking students to learn with one hand tied behind their backs—what child wants to do this? Imagine the loss of learning when an educator or environment inhibits a child’s capacity to learn.

In order to have high-achieving schools and high achieving students, our educational leaders must provide diversity training for its staff and its students. Our schools then must implement these diversity practices as part of their operating norms on a daily basis. Then, and only then, shall we in America achieve the “No Child Left Behind” mandate.



*Copyright pending 12-4-03

Venice, July 2001

“Ah, Venice, the world would wail the loss of thee”, says Lord Byron over 170 years ago…Venice hasn’t changed much since then, and still hasn’t sunk into the Mediterranean.




Spending two glorious weeks in Venice this summer was the much needed respite from our modern America and its hectic pace—and though I have visited Venice as a tourist four times before, I finally learned what life was like as a resident of the island of Venice. My friend and I chose to rent an apartment on one of the residential streets just a couple of blocks from the Vivaldi church—which is on one of the lesser-known piazzas in Venice.



I had always wondered what was behind those double doors we always passed on our ACIS tours, and I had longed to capture a glimpse of what lay behind them. The apartment was the third floor of a former three-story residence behind a set of those double doors. The home was still in the family –the Mother occupied the first landing, the son, Caesar, the second; we had the privilege of climbing 66 stairs to reach our apartment---and it was a privilege because once there, we had a view of the campanile of San Marco, the terra cotta rooftops, of secret gardens that lay behind other homes—all this was for our pleasure on a daily basis. Occasionally one of the cruise ships would sail past and seem to stealth behind the rooftops.



But the most glorious part of my residence remained to be seen. It was only when waking before dawn that I received my biggest thrill. How can one capture in words the mist from the Grand Canal coating the rooftops in reflections of moonlight? How can one describe the complete stillness of the morning—without the sounds of cars whizzing in a maddening rush? God gave me a moment I will never forget…because in that moment of complete mist and stillness, I was able to capture in my memory a sunrise of most glorious proportions. The sunrise was a secret one, serenely rising over the campaniles---cresting over the staggered silhouettes of the buildings—and then making a simple statement: I am the sun: I am here, rest assured—and Venice will be, too—bask in the glory—and from that moment, life awakened.

A seagull began screeching---flying in zigzag patterns to awaken the others---and suddenly the air was alive with countless echoes from other birds, and the bells chime-in the morning—and as the sun began to radiate—the dew dissolved—and the bells continued for minutes. The cacophony continued—and I, too, was alive! -Alive in a way that can only occur in Venice. Each morning was like this—I anticipated sleep so that I might have other joyous awakenings.



Dr. K--- of Georgia State University, a renowned author and historian, lives in Venice each summer. She hosted Dr. E-- and me for a day of Venetian history and touring. The service she provided to us was immeasurable. She took us through the Venetian hospital, which was a former monastery. She narrated the history of several churches, pointing out architecture, historical significance, but also refreshed us with historical anecdotes that only a scholar could know.

Dr. K--- is famous for translating medieval manuscripts. Her colorful depictions of medieval leaders delighted us. We then took a ferry to Torricelli where we received a personal tour of the Etruscan museum. Dr. Kuntz’s knowledge of the civilizations of Venice was matched by her knowledge of the archeological discoveries in the Veneto. From laughter at sitting in Attila’s throne, to sobriety at discussing the frescos within Torcello’s churches, we gained a day of education that will probably never be matched.

Dr. K---’s brilliance did not take away from her generosity. She treated us to the Cipriani Hotel for lunch. There, the manager of the restaurant gave us white-glove treatment befitting a “professori doctori”

of her reputation. From the seafood salad anti-pasta served in shell, to the bronzoni baked and seasoned to perfection, we dined in the best of style. Since we could not decide on which dessert to have, the waiter just gave us each three different desserts---we were stuffed. –All this while looking onto the rose-gardens and grape-trellished pathway to The Church of Santa Maria (?).



Dr. E--- and I selected a favorite café, Cleopatra’s, family-owned and operated. We took at least one of our meals daily there. The result was rewarding. The whole family began to call us by name: Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Pop, and three children all knew us by the end of our stay. Their smiles were huge when we would approach daily…They knew our favorite treats---pomodoro and mozzarella in oil and basil, vino rosso, and of course, a different flavor of gelatto at every meal. Seeing them daily allowed me to practice my Italian and learn more each time; Dr. E was already a scholar. The familial atmosphere was welcoming.



One morning we decided to take a train to the Friouli region and had another treat along the way. We caught one of the early water-taxis –and sitting in the prow of the boat, we were able to view a silent Grand Canal—the perfect photographic opportunities were around every bend….there I snapped Byron’s villa, the San Giorgio church, the Salute, the Academia, the Rialto Bridge—all illuminated by morning sunlight. Something inspiring exists in the silence of morning and in seeing an image untainted by reminders of modern times. We were almost transported: the taxi might have been a gondola, the century might have been the 19th---not the twenty-first. I thought, “What news on the Rialto?” as I passed under the famous bridge.