Gone

Twilight brings the faint noise of a dog

whose failing bark yields to night

The silence shatters from within

 I realize the days and miles have added up too many times

The stepping stones become a blind crossroads

I cannot follow

I turn and enter the room where

candlelight sketches my past

and the moonlit faces of comely women, faded poems in hand

I see the quiet street, the unpaved roads and the

directionless signs

Days became miles became days and miles became years

Gone.

Disrupt the Lives

We're back in Watergate mode again.  All the cliches are blossoming on the surface of this dirty dishwater we call a Presidential administration.  Let's see, it's not the crime, it's the cover-up, what did he know, and when did he know it? don't forget about "midnight massacres" and the ever-popular "Constitutional crisis."
So the Attorney General acting under orders fires the Deputy director of the FBI right before he's eligible for his pension.  After 20 years on the job, some "thank you for your service."
Your service... your service, we hear this when people work for the government.  We hear it especially when they fight the government's wars.  It's become a sacred chant for most who serve their government.  But there are a few who serve and never get thanked.  They get explanations, accusations, and all too often, shown the door.
What happens when government service takes another form?  Those young people, myself included, who disrupted their lives to serve in either the Peace Corps or Americorps don't get the gratitude from many.  Not sure why that is, perhaps because there is a bit of romanticism connected with Peace Corps.  People see themselves on a beach in Africa or Asia, working with the locals to bring them water, or higher crop yields, or definitely teaching children to read.  With Americorps, once known as VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) there is also a romantic notion, but a bit less because in this country we are much more familiar with many of the conditions that breed poverty in the midst of so much abundance.

Perhaps it comes as a surprise that those who volunteer for VISTA and Peace Corps sometimes experience the same kind of danger and threats as the members of an invading army.  During my service in Houston, Texas, I went to live in the murder capital of the nation (at that time) with very few resources and was instructed to win the hearts and minds of the people.  Sound familiar?  If not, it closely parallels the philosophy of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.  Now, I'm not suggesting that VISTA service should be considered the same as being in the military, no, no.  But there are similarities.  Both were intended to disrupt the lives of those who served.  That was the official government line for consideration as a conscientious objector t the Vietnam war.
People who serve the government in any capacity often do drop everything and give their all for their government.  They often sacrifice good jobs and career opportunities. In the end, I wonder why people serve their government.  Obviously, those drafted into the army would have preferred to go on with their lives but felt the responsibility to give back to their government.  If you ask them most often you'll hear about freedom and how it isn't free.  Fair enough.  Those who serve by working to improve the lives of others seem to care more about their own worldview.  They may ever prefer to be called citizens of the world.  Their willingness to disrupt their lives lies closer to the notion of improving the human condition by building rather than destroying.  Sometimes, you get what you need.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

On the surface, the notion that arming teachers is a viable solution to the complex issue of school shootings is absurd.  It's ridiculous for so many reasons, not the least of which is the destruction of the learning environment that would surely be a consequence.  Oh, I know that an active shooter roaming the hallways is a greater disturbance to the learning environment, but what I'm suggesting is that any proliferation of firearms in or near a classroom diminishes the idea that this is a place of learning and that inside the walls of a classroom resides a learning community.
I get that one well-trained person might make a difference during an active shooter incident but to add the idea of arming teachers onto the job description of an already overstressed profession is both repugnant and ludicrous.

I say this because of the reality of a teacher's day.  Unless they walk around their rooms with holsters or have a rifle rack behind the desk, the chances of a teacher making any kind of a difference should an emergency arise is nil.  Real classrooms are crowded and cluttered. They look like 32 people wor there. Closet space is limited, if not scarce. Besides, what makes anyone think that teachers could easily fire a gun at another human being? We are abler and interested in helping someone in distress without adding another violent solution to the mix.  Some could, to be sure, but the vast majority are there to help, not corral psychotic misfits with automatic weapons.
Being a teacher and a police officer have a few things in common, but far more differences exist.
When I see cops frustrated by the fact that some people they stop don't seem to respect them or obey their commands, I think a teacher would probably be better suited to deal with the next few minutes of the encounter.  Teachers, more often, try to see and deal with the whole person.  I know there are cops that do that too, but, sadly, they don't often make the headlines and, unfortunately, they are in the minority.  Both occupations get worn down by the number of needs they must respond to and by those who are vulnerable to a surplus of everyday expectations and demands.
As the 20th century model of public education continues to change and adapt to the new realities that technology has wrought, my advice would be to put more emphasis on mental health both in courses and in support systems available.  Until we do, we'll be a culture where it remains far easier to ban a book than an assault rifle

Of Another Universe

The magic is in the numbers
                                the colors
                                 the people
                                  the lineage
                                    the names

You have to take a risk, follow a link, look deeply and
     understand the weather
                       the myriad of variables, and, always,
                       be willing to abandon logic and certainty in an instant.

Each race is a puzzle with its own cast of characters
         each animal and each human carries infinitely more variables,

                             and then there is the very ground trod upon, with moisture or not,
                  with grass or clay or mud or synthetic-
                 the brown sugary beach sand that yields to the size of a foot or the cleat of a shoe.

     Body language tells the tale, makes the magic.