comedy (?)

Many considerations went in to our camping vacation plans. One item of consideration was our desire to see an area community theatre performance of RADIO GALS.

RADIO GALS is a musical that I spent a year or more working on, including the recording of the "Original Cast" CD. It was an incredibly fun show and I consider it's author and some of the performers from the show friends of mine.

And so my wife and I were both looking forward to a reunion of sorts with those characters that we lived with for so long.

Did I say it was a community theatre production?

Now I know I've gotten in to a bit of trouble for my contradictory views on community theatre, but if there is a prime example of community theatre done porrly but with lots of heart, that would be this production of RADIO GALS.

I don't care what the show is, or how you want to alter the script, a show has got to be paced in such a way that the audience doesn't lose interest. Perhaps they didn't really understand what they were saying or doing, because the non-scripted parts they seemed to have fun with. The script looked tired in their efforts.

I wasn't expecting Off-Broadway. I wasn't even expecting anything professional, but I was expecting to laugh and to tap my toes to the music. I didn't do much of either.

I'm sure my children are wondering why we ever thought that RADIO GALS was a fun show. You can check out the official home page for RADIO GALS by clicking here.

carv-fest

One of my new hobbies is woodcarving. My grandfather was an excellent wood-carver and for nearly as long as I can remember, I've wanted to carve, too. I still have the pocket jack-knife my grandfather gave me, along with a carving he'd started and he told me to go to work on it. I did, and ruined it completely.

About ten years ago, my wife, knowing of my desire to carve, gave me a set of carving tools. I picked up some wood, some books about carving, and got totally frustrated at my lack of ability.

Finally, about two years ago, a carving class was offered in my new town, and at my wife's encouragement, I signed up for the class. There I learned that my earlier problem was not that I couldn't carve, but that I had dull tools. I enjoyed the class completely, and now carve whenever I get the chance.

In Fairbault, MN is a two-day festival of woodcarving (aptly titled Carv-Fest). Last year was their first year, which I also attended. I took one, two-hour class on Scandinavian flat-plane carving, and actually had my two oldest children signed up for a class on relief carving, which they both enjoyed.

I had a very nice conversation with one of the top carvers in the country, Ivan Whillock, who grew up in Trempealeau, WI and attended Winona State University, graduating with a degree in English.

I didn't spend too much money at the Carv-Fest this year... one new tool, three books, and two pieces of wood -- one just because it looked nice, and one for a project I plan to do for my daughter.

It was a very nice way to wind down the vacation.

camping in Itasca

We took the family camping for our vacation. At the suggestion of my daughter, we headed for Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to see where the Mississippi River begins. Here you can see my children walking across the great river (they are pretty much in the middle of the Mississippi River in this photo)...

The park is a State Park in Minnesota and is very well maintained and with a wonderful information center that easily held the interest of the kids.

We camped in an old (six year old), Wal-Mart brand tent, which probably saw it's last days in the wilderness. I had encouraged my wife to let me buy a new tent, on sale, before we left, but she insisted this old one was just fine for this trip. However...


Thursday, August 25, we took the kids on a miserable three mile hike. 'Course we didn't know it was going to be miserable at the time. It had rained lightly, almost more of a heavy mist, earlier in the day, and then we started for our hike (we belong to the State Park hiking club -- most parks have a designated hike for club members -- to prove you hiked the path there is a password about half way which you log in your hiking book). We were maybe a third of a mile in when the mosquitos came out and were extremely viscious. We hadn't had any problems with bugs for the first two days there, so we hadn't even thought ahead to the possibility of mosquitos. We kept our sweatshirts on to protect us from bites as much as possible, but the air was extremely humid from the heavy mist and the rain still to come. We did manage to finish the hike and see some interesting things along the way (a loon, not far from us swimming casually in a lake, and a stand of trees that were in the process of being felled by beaver).

As we get in the car to head back to camp, it begins to rain. A light, but steady rain. So, we drive around the different campsites, waiting for the rain to let up. I stop at the ranger station to ask if they know what the forcast is, and they tell me it's a 50% chance of scattered showers (they tell me as I'm getting wet!). Doesn't sound too bad, so we head to the tent. As we get there, the rain is coming down harder, the sky is darker, and lightening is flashing all around us. We are seeing lighting strikes inside the park and some thunder is nearly instantaneous with the lightning it is so close. We check the tent and two sleeping bags are already soaking wet. Our cheap tent is "cabin" style, rather than "dome" and while the rain is supposed to run off, it tends to gather and pool above the open roof, and then run down in to the tent.


We sat in the car and waited to see if the storm was going to let up, but when it didn't, we gathered a few belongings and headed the half-hour to the nearest twon and took a hotel room for the night. Wimps. The next day was sunny and we were able to dry most everything out before packing up (we were scheduled to leave anyway). Neighbors told us it rained like that until about 11pm, so we were glad we didn't stick it out. Rain is okay, but the combination of a leaky tent and the many lightning strikes discouraged our trying to tough it out -- with young children, especially.

We are, however, going to look at tents today!

vacation endeth

I have returned from a vacation of camping, carving, and comedy (sort of). It is late, I'm tired, and I will write more on all of the above in the coming days.

I hadn't heard about the category "5" hurricane that is poised to be "devastating" as it strikes the New Orleans area tonight. I had caught a bit about it as it raged through Miami, but it was expected to head north and peter out. I am fascinated by the storm's size and strength.

vacation

Stix is away on vacation until August 29 or 30. See you then!

ouch

I played football tonight. Well, I participated. My son is in a flag football league and tonight it was going to be the dads against the flag football coaches -- who are all members of the high school football team. ...The state champion football team.... We dads outnumbered the high school kids by more than 2 to 1, but we were taken to task. We had maybe five dads you were decent enough to play well. Me? I did my job on defense. Took part in two "tackles" (holding on to the high school kid long enough for me or another to rip off the flag), and broke up one short pass behind the line of scrimmage.

Jeez those kids can run fast!

It wasn't a blow out. Dad's scored one touchdown and high schoolers scored two. But...ow...my legs are aching. I'm going to be cramping tonight.

I'm hardly the jock type, so why did I play? For my kid, of course. He wanted to watch dad play, and as we always tell him to do his best and to at least try, how could I do less? There's talk of forming a dad league, but I think I've had all the playing time I need for the next ... oh, say... lifetime!

Where's the nearest dodgeball court?

dodgeball

We'll deviate from literature to dodgeball. I just finished watching "Extreme Dodgeball" on some channel I not only didn't know I had, but couldn't tell you what it is.

I know that the movie helped spur some fascination to this ...ah...sport, but I believe the movie came about because there are indeed dodgeball tournaments for adults.

Who ever would have guessed that the dreaded gym class sport, where the jocks got to whip a ball as hard as they could at the nerds, would become a televised, adult sport. "Extreme" no less!

Certainly this is a sport for the nerds. The jocks are either in pro sports where they can express their jock-ness or way too out of shape. The nerds, still wirey and having grown up learning how to avoid getting hit by that pocked, rubber ball now rule.

The game I watched, between Philadelphia something and the New York "Bling" actually went in to overtime. The best part came after the game when they were interviewing the nerd from the Bling who threw the wicked sidearm to get his last opponent out. "How does it feel, having won this?" he was asked.

"This is freakin' great. Pardon my French," he replied.

Literature? Popular? part ii

I really am curious as to what people are thinking/saying about literature and popular fiction. Can they be the same, or, as Mo suggests, is it "literature" if it can stand the test of time? My question back might be, "Is it 'popular' if it's only read by a few people?" But Mo... stands the test of time for whom? How many people are really interested in reading James Joyce? Bookstores stock and sell 'em, but is it because people want to read him or because they have to for schools? Then, is it the academic world that decides what is literature by what they choose to study?

I've really enjoyed the works I've read by Paul Watkins (as you might notice to the left, I'm reading one of his works now). He's hardly a name many people know (except that he's got the kind of name where people from my neck of the woods might say, "Wasn't he in the class right after ours?"). He's hardly popular, his work probably won't be around in a hundred years (too bad), but I would consider his work "literature." Why? I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, and that's what's got me bugged. Is it because his characters are on a physical, spiritual, and thematic journey that is often metaphor for our own lives whereas the popular authors tend to write about here, now stories that leave little, if any, long-lasting emotional ties?

Literature? Popular? What's the difference?

So, just what is "literature" anyway? A couple of days ago I wrote about Harry Potter, and Kootch commented, asking the question I was hinting at: If the book is a result of good story-telling, keeping the reader wanting to turn the pages to find out what happens next, why isn't this good literature? Why aren't Pulitzer Prize for Literature given out to John Grisham or Tony Hillerman or Jackie Collins? Their books sell well. People enjoy reading their books. Do you even know who won the Pulitzer for a fiction book in the last three years? They were awarded to: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides [2003], The Known World by Edward P. Jones [2004], and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson [2005]. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of any of these books. So I want to know. Just what is it that makes these better books? Books worthy of being considered "literature"? 'Cause quite frankly, it would seem that to be considered "literature" it would have to be inaccessible to the average reader, both physically and thematically.

Thoughts anyone?

witty is as witty does

I took one of my sons fishing the other day. For me, a chance to spend some one-on-one time with my son. For him, a chance to go fishing.

Although I am the last person in the world to give fishing advice (okay, maybe Kootch is the last), I couldn't help but offer advice to my son while he was trying to snag some sunfish.

"You have to jerk your rod a little, help that hook stick in to the fish's mouth!" In his excitement he would either jerk the hook completely out of the water or just start reeling.

On and on I went, "Jerk the rod. Just a little jerk to the left like that. You need to give it a jerk." (Obviously I only know one bit of advice. I'm sure it's the same bit my dad gave me on the two or three times he took me fishing.)

Finally, after one more bit of advice offering..."Listen, you really have to jerk your pole to snag that fish."

He said, "Okay, Dad. Don't be a jerk. I get it. I just get excited."

I probably should have been mad, but instead I laughed. He looked at me, wondering what was so funny. "'Don't be a jerk'?" I said. "Yeah. get it? 'Jerk' the pole, don't be a jerk?"

Yeah, I got it. But how great to hear this boy who only just turned eight, already able to understand and use puns.

I may not be able to teach this child how to fish, but I can teach him the power and fun of words!

Mr. Potter, if you please

Let's talk about Harry Potter for a minute. I'm about half way through the latest book (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and, like every other writer in the country, I have wondered just what it is about Rowling's series that has made it so popular.

A conference I spoke at in upstate New York a few years back, had noted children's author Bruce Coville as the Keynote Speaker. (Now, I happen to think that Mr. Coville's books are about as good as the genre gets.) His address spoke of the HP phenomenon. What he said about the Potter books is that they have a higher quotient of CTPP than most books. CTPP. That's "Cool Things Per Page." And he's right, you know. Read through a book and you'll see cool things all over the place...stairs that move around, pictures that talk, headless (nearly) ghosts, sports games played on broomsticks, and magicked items galore! And of course, what better way to attract an average young person's attention but throw what seems to be an average young person in to a SCHOOL to learn magic?

I don't think anyone will ever look on these Potter books as great literature, but then few popular writers will ever have their books considered great literature. LeCarre? King? Grisham? Sheldon? Popular authors. And just what is it about popular authors (and I'd certainly include Rowling in that list) that people buy their books by the millions?

The answer, I think, is that they are good story-tellers. They can tell a story in a way that makes you want to turn the page and see what happens next.

I am very conscious of this thought as I am reading HP6. I realize that I want to go on to the next chapter and find out what happens. I want to know how the character is going to get out of the jam s/he is in. I want to know if the relationships are going to be patched up. I want to turn the page or read just one more chapter. This is excellent storytelling.

I liken it to Louis L'Amour. I never thought I'd read a western novel (and enjoy it), but when I read my first Louis L'Amour book, I had the same reaction as I have with Harry Potter. I wanted to turn the page. Louis L'Amour was a good story-teller. Rowling is a good story-teller. Most best-seller list authors are good story-tellers.

In some ways I am enjoying book 6 in the Potter series more than any of the others, and in equal amounts, I am enjoying it less. I can't help but wonder how much of the book is Rowling's writing and how much is what editors think needs to be there to please the hords of fans.

If you've read the Potter books, I'd be curious as to what you think.

trod the boards

I love the theatre. Not just seeing a play, or working backstage, but the actual, blueprint-able, physical building, theatre.

I feel more comfortable walking along a dark, empty stage than I do navigating the toy-strewn obstacle course of my family room. I've been known to arrive to a show early (when I was actually working in the theatre) enough so that I could wander around the set, just making it all familiar to myself.

I don't know that I can accurately define what it is about the stage that is so special to me. It's more than the any one sensory reaction. More than all five senses together. It's a spark of magic that I feel in my soul. A spark that I don't get from anything else I've ever experienced.

Today I walked about on the large, empty stage at the university which employs me. It felt good. It felt comfortable. As if it's exactly where I belong. And of course I do. I belong in the theatre some how, some way.

I'm sure that I stood a little taller, spoke a little more confidently, and walked with a swagger that comes from ownership of something most impressive.

It was hours ago, but I can still feel the spark inside of me. Is this why I have been able to go as long as I have without working directly in the theatre? Fifteen minutes walking around a bare stage has given me a boost to last six hours, so has ten years of theatre work allowed me to go on for fifteen years of no theatre work (except for an occasional foray in to the amateur world)?

I wish everyone could experience the natural high I get just from being in a theatre.

my use of the blog -- no apologies

Something I read in a friend's blog a while back got me to thinking.... He mentioned how the writing of his blog was taking up more time than he wanted; how his blog was a rather carefully crafted, rewritten blog. No wonder I enjoyed reading it so much! And I wondered if most blogs were that way.

It would make sense, I suppose. These are published words, posted where anyone in the world could view them, if desired.

I take a very different view on my blog (in case you couldn't notice).

My blog tends to be straight off the cuff. Sometimes I don't even proofread them.

For me, the purpose of this blog is the challenge to sit down and write every day; to come up with a topic and to follow through on it.

Should I ever come up with anything really worthwhile, I may try to rework it for another source, but truth is, I have another (non-public) blog for those specific kinds of writing.

Sometimes here I'll speak rather rashly (thanks, Mo, for remembering!) and many times I'll make some spelling/grammatical/English-teacher-wince type errors (yeah, thanks Kootch), and I don't mind having them pointed out, but for me, the challenge is in this first draft.

I've only missed a couple of days since I began this, so for me, this little experiment is going pretty well.

why are summers so busy?

Summer is slowly winding away and the wife and I can't help but wonder where the days have gone and how we can possibly fit in all the things we still want to do.

Why does summer seem to go by so quickly? Is it because we hope to accomplish too much? Because the kids are off from school do we plan too many activities? Of course many of us still are working during the summer months and trying to cram in the trips and activities fills up the weekends unrealistically.

I had promised my son that I would take him out fishing more this summer than I did last summer, and yet we've only been out once. We really wanted to get some family camping time in, and yet there are only three and a hlaf weeks left to work that in.

Where does the time go?

great discussion

There's a really good discussion going on from my blog of August 9th. You can read the blog and the comments by clicking here. Please add you own two cents worth!

make it interesting

In reference to yesterday's post, some people have commented that it's important to find works that will appeal to students, to get them interested.

Certainly we realize that we can't reach everyone, but how do you teachers make the attempt to reach the majority? Do you see the tastes changing over time, or are the quality books from the past still worth reading? I would imagine that books which might be older than your students are unfamiliar to them, but once they get in to the story find that they indeed are still worth reading.

How current do you teachers of high school literature stay on the market? Do you read award winning books each year? Does it even pay to stay current or are you saddled to the past due to textbook and budgetary concerns?

In an era where kids are so reliant on instant gratification (such as posting blogs, sending instant messages, and cell phones), how do you make a book seem interesting? A book, which might require four or five days worth of reading?

I am interested in this because it is the students today who are shaping the way publishing and reading will become in the future.

textbooks

Okay all you teachers... there was an editorial in Friday's USAToday about the (poor) reading habits of today's teens, the dearth of quality textbooks, and how many teachers are using these lousy textbooks as a crutch for their own teaching. You can read the article yourself by clicking here.

Do you teachers out there agree with the article? How do you get around the issue of over-sized but under underwhelming textbooks?

Many of you that I know who might be reading this are English teachers. What do you think is the biggest reading-killer among high school students? How do you think that interest can be brought back? Surely we can't make every student an avid reader, just as we can't make every student a top-notch athlete. But how do you develop good reading habits among kids who are living in a nano-second world -- everything has to happen immediately?

welcome back, Discovery!

Although the science and fascination of space flight seems to have waned with the general public (I think the human race in general has developed a larger sense of apathy), I am still easily engrossed by anything "space" related. I've been watching the news regularly for updates on Discovery's mission, and am glad to have them returned to terra firma.

My son has a photograph on his wall of the members of this Discovery flight, autographed by each team member. He's excited by it...got to show it around school last year, but truth is, I think his dad was equally excited by it.

non-fiction

Perhaps it's a result of aging, or maturing, or maybe it's just a natural changing of tastes, but I find that I enjoying reading non-fiction more than I ever have in the past.

I've been thoroughly enjoying The Last River Rat, much to my own surprise. While I do have a certain love of the outdoors, I wondered if the book would speak to me at all. It does!

The book is broken down in very interesting ways. First, the "chapters" are broken down by month, but then each chapter is broken down in to three sections. First is a short segment telling us what each month means to the "river rat" -- a person who lives off the land and among the sloughs and backwaters of the great Mississippi River. Then the middle section (which I have enjoyed the most) in which the author describes an outing he has taken with the "last river rat", and finally, a tale told by the river rat himself.

I definitely get a feel for the land and can picture the encounters described by the author, J. Scott Bestul. It has brought back some delightful memories I've had of my time exploring the woods and fields near my home, as well as reading the books of Sigurd F. Olson -- books that my grandfather had passed down to me and my brother.

Now I have to admit that Scott Bestul is a friend of mine. A good enough friend that our families, and one other, enjoyed a barbeque lunch together yesterday. But I could just as easily not mention the book at all if I didn't enjoy it.

Scott tells me that the BBC recently did a documentary on the subject of the book (Kenny Salwey), and the book is soon coming out in paperback.

I urge you to pick up a copy. It's worth the read.

the denizens of Oz

I first read L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1968. I remember the day well because it was the first real book that I had ever read from cover to cover in one day. I read the book again for the first time since '68 a few weeks ago , to my daughter. Though she's quite an accomplished reader, she still likes to have Dad read out loud to her. Because of her passion for the Harry Potter books, I thought she might like the fantasy world of Oz.

I am reading it again now, to my two boys. And if you glance over there to the left, you will see that Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is on my reading list.

I'm rather enjoying my visit to Baum's Oz.

If you're knowledge of Oz is based on the delightful movie, then you really ought to get acquainted with the very different world that Baum wrote about. And if you're really unfamiliar with L. Frank's world, it might surprise you to learn that he wrote some fourteen books in the Oz series, and more were written by a few other dedicated authors.

Wicked has become popular due to the fabulously successful Broadway musical, and while the book can stand on its own, I'm finding that I appreciate it more because I can see the connections from the characters in the different books.

I will admit that I have not read any of the other books in the Oz series, but I will be adding them to my reading list and you can expect to see some over there on the left soon. Oz is as unique and marvelous a land as Rowling's Hogwarts.

Maguire's Wicked is definitely not for children (there's politics, murder, treachery, intrigue, and sex), but it is so far a pretty good read.

Again, don't assume you know the land of Oz because of an MGM musical. Visit it for yourself.

shameless capitalism

By now you've noticed some of the additions to this blog. This is a little test of mine. If I find it annoying or in some other way obnoxious, they will be gone. In the meantime, feel free to use the Google ad search bar at the top, or to click on the ad links to the left. Believe it or not, I get paid for everytime these are used. Payment accrues in small amounts and when my total reaches $50 (about 7 years?) Google will send me a check (provided I have filled out all the proper electronic paper work).

I figured, "Why not?"

Again, this is a test. If these ads are not too intrusive I may put ads on some of my other web sites. Let me know if you find them annoying or if they take away from the site.

dichotomy

Caught.

Mo has caught me in my own dichotomy. Sort of.

In the comments to the blog below, Mo has pointed out that I earlier wrote about community theatre in a rather negative view. First of all, I'd like to point out that Mo has only mentioned a portion of my blog of June 24, 2005. Where he left off I went on to write:

• So why do we do it? Well...it is live theatre, and if not for the community theatres, sadly, many people would have no other theatre experiences in their lives. The more unfortunate part of community theatre is catering to the audience with the stock of plays which you can predict were either done in the last five years, or will be in the next two seasons. The communty theatre audiences don't want to be enlightened or moved, or made to think. They simply want to be entertained. Just try doing a communty theatre play that has a cuss word and see how many complaints are lodged. I'm about to see RUMORS. ... And truth be told...I'm looking forward to it, because I enjoy going out to the theatre.

What this tells me (and yes, I already knew this about myself) is that I am one of those people that I mention who take a dim view of attending community theatre. I expect it to be "bad art." As I recall, my blog of June 25 was about my surprise at how much I enjoyed the community theatre production I had seen.

I am someone who will go out and see professional, semi-professional, as well as amateur theatre. I do this, in part, because, as I wrote on June 24, "I enjoy going out to the theatre." I don't usually look forward to the community theatre productions I attend, and I usually attend them because I have to. However, I am almost always pleasantly surprised at the quality in the shows I have seen. In fact, the worst play I have ever seen was a semi-professional theatre production of a new work titled, "Dick of Death." (Sad how the worst sticks with me, like a fish-bone lodged in the throat, while I'm hard-pressed right now to name a "best" play I've ever seen.)

But no matter what I expect, or do find, in a community theatre play, the role they play as a provider of art is still vital.

The words Mo has pulled out are a bit harsh. They show me just how much of a snob I am when it comes to theatre. I truly must not have been looking forward to seeing a community theatre play that night, despite the fact that I said I was was. "...not even a step below watching a sitcom"? Ouch.

Community theatre has it's problems. Talent can be one t(hough often it's not as big a problem as people [me] expect). Variety is another. What often makes community theatre undesirable to me is the lack of variety of material that will be put on stage. This is not because the organizers of community theatre want it to be that way, but because they know that their audience base (the people who do see this community theatre as the epitome of art in their community, the people for whom sitcoms are golden) won't shell out the bucks to see something provocative.

Most community theatre organizations recognize the balance -- providing art and entertainment within their audience's tolerance.

I'll do my best not to slam on community theatre again, Mo.

the value of community-based arts

My friend, K, recently wrote inhis blog about seeing a community theatre production and being pleasantly surprised at the talent level.

Too often the term "community theatre" becomes synonymous with "poor quality" or "bad art." This is too bad because the idea often will keep people away simply because they expect it will be bad simply because it's community based.

Not everyone can afford to drive to the nearest sizable city to take in a play or concert or visit an art gallery or museum. In fact the cost of such a trip is often prohibitive to many. It is this very reason that community-based arts programs (whether they be theatre, an art gallery showing, or a local concert) are vitally important.

In an era when we are losing school-based arts programs yearly, the communities have an even more important role to play in offering opportunities to families to be both spectator and/or participants in the arts.

For some, the community theatre might be the only theatre they see in their lives. Would that I could send everyone to New York to get the full Broadway theatre experience, but I can't. I might encourage people to take in a show at a nearby school or touring production, but I know that realistically, most people I know won't go.

Most community-based arts programs are run by people who (whether they can verbalize it or not) recognize the need for art in our lives. Many might only see it as looking for a chance to act or the opportunity to play an instrument, but what they are expressing is the inherent need for art in our lives. How dull would our lives be without art?

Looking back to yesterday, when I visitied the Vesterheim Museum, I was quite taken by the art that decorated nearly everything in the homes of these poor Norwegian families. Everything...EVERYTHING...(from bed posts to steamer trunks to wall-mounted shelves) was either delicately hand-carved, or painted, or both. At times the craftsmanship wasn't any too great, but I was impressed with their obvious need for art -- and their recognition of the need for art.

People today don't recognize this need for art. In part because we are inundated with advertising masquerading as art. Book covers, video covers, cd covers, magazines, junk mail are all often poor substitutes for art.

Some might argue that community theatre is also a poor substitute for professional theatre/art, and yes, I would agree, but isn't experiencing a play live, where actors feed off of the audience response a unique and important aspect of theatre? Do we get that from sitcoms and other television programming? Isn't walking through an art gallery and seeing the actual paintings and sculptures a richer experience than thumbing through a book or magazine? Isn't attending a concert more exciting than listening to a cd or radio? Why did I take my kids to the museum yesterday? Why didn't I just check out a couple of books from the library?

Because the arts are about the here and now. About the personal involvement, even as spectator, to a more enriching experience. Without the community-based arts programs too many people would lose out on the experience.

the value of heritage

I took the family to the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa today. I was more than pleasantly surprised that not once did any of my three children complain about being there or being bored. ...And it's not largely a "hands-on" type of museum.

I think that in this age of melting pot conglomeration, it is more important than ever that children learn about their heritage. We didn't stop to read every sign or to study each item in depth, but I did attempt to explain the significance of each section. There were four floors inside and many buildings outside to look at.

Not surprisingly, my daughter kept telling me how much she wanted to learn about her Norwegian heritage. She wanted to buy all of the Norwegian-English language books, she wants to learn rosemaling (a Norwegian form of decorative painting), and she wants to loom weave the way she saw many of the woven objects in the museum.

One of my sons wants to wood carve in the Scandinavian style tradition (that my grandfather did).

And whether or n0t the kids will actually get around to doing any of this doesn't really matter. What is important is the excitement they have for these things. Things that are in so many ways unique to their heritage.

Whether we realize it or not, so many of the things we do in our lives are done in ways that have been handed down to us through the many generations. Holidays in particular are rich with family history and tradition.

But we shouldn't only acknowledge our heritage during the special holidays. Because we are who we are, it is important to understand our past and our ancestors. What was so terrible about where they lived that they were willing to pack and move to a foreign land sight unseen? Or...what was it about the potential for greatness in the New Land that tugged at our ancestors' souls?

I know that we don't all have a wonderful heritage museum within driving distance, but surely there are ways to explore our pasts.

I don't want to deny my children any other part of their ancestral descent (primarily Irish and Swedish), but I really am thrilled that they enjoyed this outing as much as they did.

lobbying

I had a working lunch today in which I was lobbying for a new position. For those who've read this blog for a bit will note that I've been bored by my position at the dance school. Available at the university (which owns the dance school) is a General Manager of the theatre position.

Part of my trouble is that I am not looking for full time work. My writing has suffered, just working part time. However, I'd certainly be happier running a theatre than I have been answering phones at the dance school.

Of course the university is looking for a full time person, but beyond that, they are looking for the work to get done so that the Dean of the School for the Arts doesn't have to do it another year. He and I have a good working relationship, and I feel certain that something will come of it.

it's the heat!

Had a pretty lousy day today with the kids. It actually started late last night when I caught the boys doing something which they knew was wrong. It continued today with the constant fighting. If it were in my nature to walk away from the family and not look back, today would have been the day that would have done it.

My neighbor and I discussed this over a drink earlier this evening. She's noticed the same thing going on with her two kids, and she says everyone she's talked to have complained about how naughty their kids have been behaving. "It's the heat!" she said. "It's cabin fever. We don't insist that they get outside because it's so blamed hot, but they just go stir crazy being cooped up all day, every day."

Maybe she's right, but I know for sure that the behavior of my kids has made my temperature rise.

the jerk

Okay...I didn't really want to write about this, but it's on my mind in a big way.

Last night my son signed up for flag football in our small town. One of the two coaches for this is a friend of ours and I think would be a good coach teacher -- especially for those kids like my son who is not as athletically advanced as many of the others.

The other coach...is a jerk. He reminds me of every jock in high school who treated all non-jocks as a waste of time. His son, of course, is one of the best athletes in his class (who also happens to be in my son's class). There's not a day that goes by that you don't see them (the jerk and his son) tossing some kind of ball around. My first annoyance with them came at some sort of event held in the school gym...lots of people milling about and the jerk having his son run through the crowd of people and then throwing a nerf football the length of the gym to him.

So we go to sign up my son for flag football (and he was reluctant to sign up because he's already feeling that negativity from those who are better at it) and the jerk couldn't hide the disdain in his voice when he said my son's name to the woman writing it down.

I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much in to it because I already don't like the guy. Maybe the jerk is okay. After all, how bad can a guy be when he spends time with his son? And yet with what little I know of him I feel that if his son isn't the best at each of the sports, he will be disappointed with the boy. That, of course, is not my concern. But what is my concern is how he will treat my son, who he already, apparently thinks very little of.