Daily Blues & Views

 So now some folks in Florida are trying to prevent their kids from seeing Michaelangelo's famous sculpture of David because his entire body is exposed. A principal was even fired because allowed the renaissance sculpture to be seen by his students. This famous piece of classical art has been around since___ but suddenly in 2023, it is considered pornography by some overzealous parents. It is, no doubt, the offshoot of time people trying to ban books from school libraries.   If you've wondered about the word sanctimonious lately since Donald Trump applied his invented word de-sanctimonious to Ron Desantis, the governor of Florida, this is a good example.  When a person or group of people are sanctimonious they are making a show of being morally superior.  That applies nicely here.  Of course, the way Trump uses the word is more of his nonsense as desanctiminoius is not really a word.  Trump could hardly be morally superior to anyone or anything, having...

    I once knew an old Kentucky "good ol' boy" who was fond of saying,  "The things you see when you ain't got a gun." If he saw something outrageous like a poorly dressed person, or perhaps something truly ugly, it could be funny.  But the things you see can be a lot more than that.         It's often said that the things you see as a young person set the tone for much of your later life.  These are usually things that initially came as either a surprise or shock or perhaps an affirmation of something you wondered about as a child.  Are there evil people in the world?  Does the society I live in treat all people equally?  Does money talk?  Does anybody really win a war?     We know that people who grew up during the Great Depression forever retain that "Depression mentality.  They waste nothing.  They constantly worry about the vagaries and vicissitudes of the economy.  Having enough food, a decen...

 I recently saw another news story about the current teacher shortage.  The lack of qualified professionals is only one dimension, another is that young or beginning teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate.  Lots of one-and-done careers. As a retired teacher who went the distance(34 years), I am concerned and outraged that the powers that be don't do something drastic.   We need to maintain the notion of a public school system that values equality and adequately provides the type of education that our kids deserve.  Who would want to enter a profession that undervalues all the time and effort it takes to educate a person?  If we vetted and tested candidates for public office they way we attempt to vet teachers, we'd have a Congress that could pass some legislation that would properly fund school systems.   Everybody agrees that teachers should be paid more, especially given the demands and the time required to effectively do t...

 When Chris Stapleton sang the Star-Spangled Banner at this year's Super Bowl he drew rave reviews.  Some who reviewed the proceedings even went so far as to say he was the most soulful singer of the day.  That's saying something given soul singer Baby Face had sung America the Beautiful moments before.  But no matter how well Stapleton sang there was one thing he didn't do.  He should have sung the word banner correctly.  How do I know?  I was a student of Mrs. Taylor in 1957 at Camelia Avenue Elementary School.     Mrs. Taylor was the music teacher.  She moved her large body in and out of all classrooms teaching music and singing to all grade levels. Accompanying herself on the autoharp, she'd hold court for a few minutes before we'd launch into songs like The Erie Canal or Faniculi Fanicula.  But Mr. Taylor was at her best when she was complaining about how few singers sang the Star Spangled Banner correctly.  In short, the ...

      Some years ago, while working at a graduation of the school where I taught for 30 years, I chanced to meet a photographer.  She was taking pictures for one of the local papers and took a break while some of the speeches were going on.  We had a casual conversation about school and students until the topic of people doing their art came up.       Maggie, my new friend was a serious photographer.  She often sold photos of her work at openings and art/craft fairs.  Sometimes her photos were framed or tinted to add dimension and intrigue.  Sometimes both.       Then an idea hit me.  I was writing for Bloodhorse magazine at the time and had an idea for a story. Bloodhorse is one of the key publications of the thoroughbred horse industry and is funded by the Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners of America.  It's a beautiful magazine with lots of color photographs of the even more colorful world of thor...

       I recently read about a project concerning the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. A group has decided that an individual photograph of all 58,000 of those names on the wall should be assembled and displayed so that people could see more accurately who these people were.  That is, what they looked like.  Of course, what immediately came to mind was the Life Magazine cover of June 1969.  That week an even 100 U.S. servicemen had been killed in Vietnam.  In previous weeks the numbers were higher, like 350 or 473.  But the even 100 prompted the editors of Life to issue a special fold-out cover.  The photographs of all 100 GIs were printed so the nation could see the faces behind the numbers.  The impact was immediate and overwhelming.     I was in training with the VISTA Volunteer program in Austin Texas that week.  I vividly recall someone having a copy of that magazine and on an afternoon break from the trai...

 His name was Larry.  He was about 14 years old when I met him back in 1971.  As a newly employed counselor in a residential treatment facility for kids that were classified as dependent/neglected, I had a lot to learn.  Employed was hardly the proper term.  It was $50. a month and room and board.  The counselors were mostly conscientious objectors to the Viet Nam War, and the placement there was a form of alternative service.  The theory was that to be classified as an alternative service, the work must disrupt your life.  Trying to live on $50. dollars a month will certainly do that.   (Photo David Soffa) Most of the kids that occupied the 3 houses which comprised "The Saint George Homes" were either violent or learning disabled.  They had been placed by either their parents or a court order.  Some had lived at other facilities, but because of their behavior were either expelled or encouraged to find another placement. ...