Daily Blues & Views

It’s fascinating to see the variety of tattoos on display these days. But something just crossed my path which, I swear, looked more like my Aunt Dorothy’s dinnerware from 1953. A malaise of semi-tropical flowers in semi-tropical colors. One person’s floor is certainly another person’s ceiling. This on the same day as a conversation I had with a woman in a coffeehouse earlier. It was one of those “I’m talking to you and telling you everything about my life whether or not you are interested moments. At first I thought she was just autistic or perhaps had Asperger’s syndrome. Her voice was a few decibels louder than most and it was clear she had no sense of social borders, social decorum. Big deal; I’ve got time on my hands these days. So after her spiel about a drug addicted boyfriend, how she’s waiting for God to send someone to marry and how her 7 year old cat is her only friend, she left as quickly as she enveloped me. Something about having to deliver motorcycle parts to ...

This little flap about having elementary school kids listen to a speech by President Obama isn't little; it's huge. There is much here. For starters, it mirrors the fear and paranoia (they are not the same thing) that some so-called conservatives harbor. I truly wonder what they think they are conserving? Reactionary? Yes, definitely. If nothing else, it highlights the irrational thinking that many teachers face daily when dealing with either parents, spineless administrators, or opportunistic politicos. Another laughable dimension of this episode is the use of the words "lesson plan" to describe both Obama's intention and their worst fears. Most of these folks wouldn't know a lesson plan from a bed pan. Are they that insecure about their own political beliefs that they must censor the President of the United States? In some ways my use of the word laughable is terribly inaccurate. It's not funny; it's pathetic. It is such convoluted think...

http://orelitrev.startlogic.com/digital/indexnew.htm"> My writing group, The Guttery, had it's first reading last night at the Blackbird Wine shop's First Wednesday series (http://The Guttery.com) I had pushed for this quite a while and it's very gratifying to see that it all turned out so well. Aside from the recognition we got... items in a few of the local papers, listings on the web, and lots of friends showing up, I still can't get over the look on their faces as they accepted the applause offered. A real Sally Fields moment there. Yes, guys, they really, really like you. Only 5 of us read last night, so that means that the other 5 have yet to experience this thrill. Hopefully that will come. As the date for the reading came closer, I could sense the anticipation and excitement from some of my colleagues. We spent a couple of group days critiquing our "performances" and even practiced with a mic once. It was well worth it. Given that I...

I've been watching the usual "Back to School" slew of commercials this week. Yes, it is true that for the most part, students and teachers do get excited about the beginning of a school year. There is some sort of renewal that transpires. One of the best things about teaching is that every year you have the opportunity to begin again. One thing that has resonated stronger than usual is a local school supplies drive sponsored by a TV station, a credit Union and a few other businesses. People have been asked to drop off pencils, paper, backpacks and the like in several conveniently located barrels around town. For some reason this strikes me as particularly sad. I see it as a powerful reflection of inequity in our schools. Because it's something true about our schools, it's bigger reflection is our society; our culture. I know I should feel pleased that people are opening up their hearts and placing gluesticks, colored pencils, and fancy file folders in the...

The numbers say it all. The symmetry is blatantly disrupted by the third column of numbers; the show prices: $97. $172. and $138. In horse racing it's what's called "bridge jumping." Here's the deal. When a race sets up in such a way that the overwhelming favorite is sure to run at least third, a wealthy, albeit greedy, bettor places a huge "show" wager and is assured of collecting a guaranteed 10 cents on the dollar. In their mind they think, if I can produce $100,000. they'll give me $2000. It usually works. When it doesn't, you lose big, hence the term bridge jumper. Someone tried this last Saturday at the Humboldt County Fair race meet in Ferndale. This is in very Northern California, just below Eureka. This little fair racing site holds the distinction of being the longest continual racing fair in the nation. To appreciate Ferndale, you must see it. It's a 5/8 mile track set in the redwoods in the tiny dairy community of Fernd...

Oregon Literary Review co-hosts First Wednesdays, a series of readings, performances and wine-tasting at the Blackbird Wine Shop, 3519 NE 44th off Fremont, 7-9pm. This show is 21 and over. Contact Julie Mae Madsen at maemadsen@gmail.com for more information. The readers for September 2 are Bruce Greene, David Cooke, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk, A. Molotkov, & Evan Cooper. This night features writers of a successful Portland writing group The Guttery (http://www.theguttery.com/) Bruce Greene taught for 33 years at an urban high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a teacher-consultant for the Bay Area Writing Project at UC Berkeley for the last 20 years, he’s published numerous articles on educational issues in his own practice as well as personal essays based on his experiences and observations. An avid thoroughbred horse lover, and frequent contributor to The Blood-Horse magazine, he served as Northern California correspondent from 1985-2000. Bruce now lives and writes in Portland, ...

His name was Willard Smith. I first met him in the fall of 1969 while a VISTA Volunteer in the 3rd Ward of Houston, Texas. On a whim, I went to a horse auction with another VISTA and we ended up bidding on a nervous little gelding recently shipped in from the Texas panhandle. Much to our surprise, but more to our disbelief, our $150. bid took the prize. If not for a generous old man, who also bought a hundred dollar horse that day, we may have had to ride our new friend home. I can still see the two horses standing in the bed of this guy's old pick-up truck. Following them on the freeway was just about heart stopping. At least we had a destination. Fortunately, my partner in crime, Julie, had located a horse boarding stable about 10 miles from our home and that's when I met the Smith family. Our little brown gelding arrived in good shape. Never question anything an old black man in overalls knows and does. We paid him about 10 bucks for the task and parted co...