The Last Step

It doesn’t feel real yet. I would guess that is mostly because it is the start of a holiday weekend. But ask me on Monday afternoon and I’ll most certainly tell you that I feel the change. Today was my last day at the office. I am, at the moment, unemployed. This is of course by choice. On Monday morning I will start my first day of student teaching. This is the final step of my current degree program.

I really enjoyed working at the funeral home. I felt that I was good at my job. In addition to working at the funeral home I also had the opportunity to teach mortuary science classes at Vincennes University. Even though I am leaving the daily grind of the office I will continue to teach those courses. I know what you’re thinking. Why leave if I loved the job, right? Well…it is a complex answer, but for this purpose I’ll answer it simply. More often than not I felt trapped. And nobody puts Andy in a corner.

Ah Autumn....the smell of censorship is in the air.

I can't believe it! I forgot to mention Banned Books Week! The last week of September the American Library Association publishes the list of books that have received the most requests to be removed from shelves in schools, public libraries, and retail stores. Of course, it never happens.

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week in order to bring attention to the books. Take a look at the list. Have you read any of them? I sure have. :) I have already read the red ones, and the blues ones are on my list for this year.

Alexie, Sherman. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian."
Anderson, Laurie Halse. "Twisted."
Angelou, Maya. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Block, Francesca Lia. "Baby Be-Bop."
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. "The Tortilla Curtain."
Brown, Marc Tolon. "Buster's Sugartime."
Burroughs, Augusten. "Running with Scissors."
Cast, P.C. and Kristin Cast. "House of Night." (Series)
Chbosky, Stephen. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
Comfort, Alex. "Joy of Sex."
Crutcher, Chris. "Deadline."
Drill, Ester. "Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL."
Dubberley, Emily. "Sex for Busy People: The Art of the Quickie for Lovers on the Go."
Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
Frank, Anne. "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl."
Fuentes, Carlos. "Aura."
Garrison, Eric Marlowe. "Mastering Multiple Position Sex."
Hahn, Mary Downing. "The Dead man in Indian Creek."
Harding, Kat. "Lasbian Kama Sutra."
Hartinger, Brent. "Geography Club."
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants: A Short Story: The Complete Short Stories of Hemingway."
Hitler, Adolf. "Mein Kampf."
Irving, John. "A Prayer for Owen Meany."
Johnson, Maureen. "The Bermudez Triangle."
King, Stephen. "Survivor Type. A Short Story from Skeleton Crew."
Kingsolver, Barbara. "The Bean Trees."
Klausen, Jytte. "The Cartoons That Shook the World."
Knowles, Jo. "Lessons from a Dead Girl."
Lee, Harper. "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Lippman, Laura. "The Crack Cocaine Diet: A Short Story from Hardly Knew Her."
Martin, Michael. "Kurt Cobain."
McDonald, Brian. "In the Middle of the Night."
Mead, Richelle. "Vampire Academy." (Series)
Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff. "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary."
Meyer, Stephenie H. "Twilight." (Series)
Moore, Alan. "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier."
Morrison, Toni. "Song of Solomon."
Myracle, Lauren. "ttyl"
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. "And Tango Makes Three."
Schrag, Ariel, ed. "Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age."
Scott, Elizabeth. "Living Dead Girl."
Sedaris, David. "I Like Guys: A Short Story from Naked."
Seierstad, Asne. "The Bookseller of Kabul."
Selzer, Adam. "How to Get Suspended and Influence People."
Shusterman, Neal. "Unwind"
Sliverstein, Charles, and Felice Picano. "The Joy of Gay Sex."
Snyder, Zikpha Keatley. "The Egypt Game."
Sones, Sonya. "One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies."
Toriyama, Akira. "Dragon Ball: the Monkey King."
Von Ziegesar, Cecily. "Only in Your Dreams: A Gossip Girl Novel."
Walker, Margaret. "Jubilee."
Walls, Jeannette. "The Glass Castle: A Memoir."
WritersCorps. "Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems."

On a side noet I am pleased that I have met THREE of the authors listed above: Marc Brown, Toni Morrison, and Barbara Kingsolver.

And Here's to You...

Necessary Evil

Unwavering....

I have received a mild amount of criticism concerning my perpetual college career. I don’t mind, actually I don’t pay much attention to it at all. But I do feel the need to set some things straight…

I am not running away from anything.
I am not expressing a general lack of commitment.

In fact, it is quite the opposite. I am committed to something greater. I have never been one to settle for the common, and I do not intend to start doing so anytime soon.


So, I remain attentive to my ambition.

The Soul's Own Speech

From the Vault. Originally posted in May of 2008. The following is a reflection on the 50th Anniversary of the Emory & Henry College Concert Choir.

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A mountain top experience, in both the literal and figurative senses, is perhaps the best way to describe last weekend. I had the opportunity to return to the campus of Emory & Henry College to participate in the 50^th Anniversary Reunion of the college’s Concert Choir. As many small college musicians would likely express, our choir was different, exclusive, and uncommon. Since the Concert Choir’s founding 50 years ago there have been only three conductors. Yes, I said three. While only under one did I serve I can honestly say that my life, or at least my musical outlook therein, has been transformed by all three outstanding leaders. I have developed an understanding of how I believe a group of diverse voices can and should transcend the ordinary.

In my short three years I had the pleasure of working with our founder during a handful of special occasions. His principles of the choral sound are idealistic, and often not achievable. I respect his convictions and his faith in the system, but I am not naïve enough to consider what has been titled the Westminster Sound to be the only acceptable sound. When it all does come together, believe me friend, it is truly a sacred experience. His successor, my mentor and conductor, had a less idealistic design of choral sound but all the more romantic! We achieved moments of supreme musicality that would bring to tears even the toughest of accounting and public policy majors. Some of these moments were in rehearsals, while others were on the road during our countless concert tours here and abroad. We were not perfect…there were other moments of a lesser amount of musicality. Perhaps this is best termed as the ‘scuro’ to our ‘chiaro.’ I learned a great deal from our conductor…most significantly being how to not conduct a group of musicians. Saying that, I respected him and I will forever remember what he taught me in what I consider my vocal coming of age lessons!

Change was in the air, and change did transpire in the spring of my final year. Our conductor was released of his teaching responsibilities for a myriad of reasons – all well founded by the acting administration. I was pleased to have a hand in the selection of the current Concert Choir leadership. We saw numerous applicants for the position. Some were too short, too tall, too traditional, not traditional enough, wore too much black, lacked piano skills, but finally a fit was found. The Concert Choir received its third conductor, and might I add – a Yankee! As was expected, change was not well accepted by a few Concert Choir members both past and present. It was viewed as a fallen Dynasty, an empire destroyed, and a then 47-year tradition lost forever. I am and always have been a supporter of the current Concert Choir leadership. I even had the opportunity to host the choir at my church during their Mid-West tour; something that our alumni look forward to doing.

I attest that the Concert Choir sound is alive and well! The change has been for the better. At the reunion the current Concert Choir performed their Germany/Austria spring tour program. I was moved. However, during a reception afterward, the rift between the old and the new grew to an uncomfortable width. Nothing disparaging was said about the current choir, but all the while nothing altogether too positive was said either. “Good intonation, clear sound,” was all that was said to me. Is that all you heard? Are you so blinded by the ‘glorious’ days that you are not able to embrace something so Rich and Vibrant as what was before you? Sure, the process is different. I say the process is better. You call it ‘academic,’ and I call it progressive and more importantly successful – more successful than not. I beg you to open your heart of fire! The 2008 concert choir is our Emory & Henry Concert Choir. The tradition, my friends, lives on!

know kidz left beeHinde

Back in October I started working towards my graduate degree in education. I am taking on-line classes from a university located in a major southwestern city. While I am very impressed with the university and the faculty, I have yet to be impressed with my classmates. I have started a collection of quotes from my classmates. Some of the following contain slight grammatical errors, while others are just weird. Enjoy! These are your children’s future educators!

“I think by maintaining the required GPA, you are following threw on the commencement to your education”

“I think a portfolio would definitely help the teacher categorize what needs to be learnt in order to become an effective teacher.”

“I have began planning my student teacher experience already.”

“…it looks as if the teacher has more lead way with the schedule than the actual curriculum itself.”

“Now-a-days colleges look for extracurricular activities on applications…”

"This day and age most all the girls have enough breast for several girls."

"In essence, language is learnt in the same way that a person learns everything else"