Daily Blues & Views

 My class and I were once discussing movies.  When I mentioned that I'd recently seen a film under discussion, someone asked, "Who'd you see it with."  When I said that I'd gone by myself, they were incredulous.  "What," I said, "You've never gone to a movie by yourself?"  They hadn't. But then I realized that it just might be a matter of age.  What they saw as abnormal, if not a complete oddity, becomes less so as one ages.  In fact, I'd wager that all these years later, most of them have had the experience.   Going somewhere by yourself became the topic the other day as I chatted with a small circle of friends.  One shared that she seems more reluctant to go somewhere by herself since the pandemic and resultant lockdown.  "I got halfway there and then almost turned back," said another friend when explaining a trip to a specialty grocery store she recently made.  We all seemed to agree that a slight case of agoraphobia se...

 This is when I feel the "pull." Every August, when the Back to School commercials begin, I get the urge to go to stationery stores.  Not only do the teacher dreams continue, but so too does the desire to get school supplies.   Refreshing all the paper, the clips, the pens, and the pencils are one of the genuinely pleasurable things about teaching.  Setting up a new roll book, a grade book, whether digital or traditional, gives one a sense of order that we know will quickly deteriorate. Nevertheless, it is a pleasurable experience.   As a young teacher, I used to go clothes shopping for the new year as well.  A chance to get a few new shirts and perhaps a winter pair of pants was always part of the process.  As teacher dress standards became less strict, that seemed to become a thing of the past.   Today, when I see all the TV commercials for school supply drives, I always become puzzled.  To an outsider, it would seem that we ...

 "No one is above the law..." So say the politicos and the Attorney General, and all but a handful of Republican sycophants.  Of course, the defeated ex-President continues to act in such a way that he is much higher above the law.   Famous for his diatribe on why people plead the 5th Amendment so as not to self-incriminate, he then turns right around and uses it himself.  His hypocrisy is consistent.   He's hiding his guilt and raising millions in the process.  This is a crossroads for American democracy.  I'd add a few other things like the two-party system as well.   We are fastening our seat belts for the sure-to-come bumpy ride that will play out all the way until the next presidential election.  While Trump maneuvers state legislatures and state secretaries, he's on a collision course with the Department of Justice.  Only when the orange man is reclining in a brand new orange jumpsuit will we know for sure that he ha...

 Seems as if I just checked one off my bucket list.  Last week, my brother-in-law and I hiked a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.  All told, we did about 8 miles going from White Pass, Washington up to Deer Lake, then on to Sand Lake, and back again. This was part of our annual fishing adventure, which happened to be at another lake near the PC Trail. With perfect weather and the wind not too bad, we set out over the well-marked and maintained trail taking time to take in all the wildflowers, the beautiful overstory of Pine and Fir trees, and mindful of others going and coming on the famous path. The gradual incline wasn't too bad, but just in case a break was required, there were some makeshift wooden benches for a brief rest along the way.  This part of the trail features a couple of forks in the road, but responsible hikers had made arrow signs with sticks indicating which way to go.  Some parts of the trail are fairly easy to walk, but others have gnarly t...