Today I was watching an old western and saw the wooden sidewalks in the film. I was wondering why they got rid of them.  They were cheap, functional and environmentally friendly not to mention a natural atmosphere. Maybe we should bring them back but then, there’s probably some kind of law saying you can’t. Seems like anything simple has a law against it. Are there any towns that still have them? I’d like to know.

As a child growing up in central Maine, we had a vegetable garden and also ate a variety of fruit and veg. I’m not sure it was as varied as in colonial times but it was certainly more varied compared to now. I am often shocked at how  little modern-day Americans eat fresh produce. According to the USDA, Americans today eat very little fruits and vegetables.   If we consider what early Americans ate as being  ’American’  then we can conclude that our diets today are ‘un-American’…right?      It may sound very Aristotelian but it seems that since 9/11 Americans are really into  ’being American’  and spend an  inordinate amount of time trying to define what that really is.  At any rate…

Today in cold States like Maine,  much of our fruits and veg are now trucked in from warmer States which makes them expensive at certain times of the year.  People now eat more meat, fried or fatty carbohydrates and some children of today don’t even know what a tomato is. That’s just plain wrong AND the thing that tops it off is that people don’t want to know, don’t want to be healthy, don’t want their children to be healthy even to the point where they allow laws to be made to keep themselves and others unhealthy.

 In the America I grew up in during the 70′s, we were taught in school about vegetables and the 4-4-2-6 idea of eating a variety of foods. That same program was subsidized by the same U.S. government that today does just the opposite. Talk about living on Mars!! It’s not just un-American – it’s un-earthly.

Freegan – Someone who goes around looking for free things. Examples would be, taking bottles and cans out of trash bins or searching dumpsters for useful things.

Earworm – A song stuck in your head (or ear).

Furgle – When you search in your pocket or handbag for something.

Worfing – Surfing the internet while at work.

Precuperation – The act of collecting the items you need for recuperating from an illness.

Gobletygoop – A yucky substance that is not yet defined.

Bumster – Jeans that are cut to hang low on the butt.

I personally love new words and love how creative people are with language. I thought ‘gobletygoop’ was already an official word but I guess we have to wait on that one. Maybe those lexicographers should start their own ‘new word’ site so we can look them up but then that would create a paradox so that probably won’t happen.

Stranded soldiers at Dunkirk

Although I like reading historical books I’ve never really liked reading about war. The reasons people go to war are always the same, money, power, greed and it’s always incredibly destructive. Since living in Europe where countless wars have been fought I’ve seen first-hand how destructive war is. That said, there are always a few stories that inspire me and the story of Dunkirk is one of them.

Many people may know the basic story. After fighting long and hard the British and French were pushed by the German army to the beaches of Dunkirk which is on the coast of France.  It was a big defeat for the allies. The hungry and exhausted troops retreat to the beach but there was no way for them to evacuate. The harbor at Dunkirk was destroyed and large war ships could not get to the beach. The 340,000 soldiers were stuck with German artillery constantly bombarding them and no where  for them to go. In comes Operation Dynamo!

The plan of rescue was called Operation Dynamo. Everyone in England who had a boat of some kind was asked to help rescue the men. It may seem like a small thing but these boats were not built for long sea voyages and the captains of these small vessels had no military training. These were ordinary people and the boats were a mix-match of fishing boats, tug boats and week-end boats that would make the ocean trip across the channel. With no warning and no training thousands of people came to the rescue.

What many people may not know is, when the little boats got to Dunkirk they were met with German artillery overhead. The soldiers were exhausted and desperate to get out. Getting into the boats was not easy. The water was rough and deep and many boats capsized. The little boats made countless trips back and forth from the beach to the ships and many even made the cross-channel trip repeatedly to get the men to safety.

When I see the pictures I am amazed at the number of men on the beach and how the boats were so full of people. Every inch had people on it. We see the destruction of buildings, vehicles and people. But what we don’t see in a picture is the smell of burning oil and gunpowder or the rotting of dead bodies. We don’t hear the shower of gunfire overhead or feel the hunger and thirst of sitting on a beach for a week with wounded friends beside you.

Today there will be a reenactment of the rescue at Dunkirk to mark the 70th anniversary of this heroic time. Some of the original little boats will be making the trip in memory of Operation Dynamo.

Little boats ready to set out for Dunkirk

While I was sitting in the car waiting, a boy about 13 years old came out of the store with something to drink and a sandwich. He meandered a little around the door and started eating his bread and looked at the flowers that were in buckets just outside the store door. The boy looked at the flowers turned then looked at the flowers again. I could see he was thinking about those flowers. I wondered if he was thinking about them for his mother on this mother’s day then it happened. He took a bunch of pink tulips and went back into the store to pay for them. He came out of the store with tulips in one hand and his sandwich and drink in the other and seemed to have a spring in his step as he walked down the street. I don’t even know this boy but I knew his mom would be proud of him. I certainly was.

My embarrassment stems from the fact that the U.S. was one of the founders of the United Nations but does not adhere to the International Health Constitution which the U.N. has written. Seems like they can talk the talk but can’t walk the walk.

http://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf

My Teaching School

I am almost finished getting my teaching certifications here in Holland for high school and adult education. I’ve been asked by many how that works here so here’s a small explanation. As most thingsare  in this country it’s actually very complicated. If something is easy then it isn’t Dutch s… this will be a quick version.

First, there is a distinction between kinds of teachers for high school and adult education namely the first and second grade teachers. They get the same pay and have pretty much the same education except that first grade focuses more on didactics and only first grade teachers can teach the higher classes in College Prep courses, other than that it’s the same. A teacher always specializes in something. For me as a native English speaker and a BA in English I chose teaching English as a second language. This means I can’t teach any other kinds of classes other than English however this rule is often broken by schools when they need someone to fill-in temporarily.

I don’t know what other subjects need to do specifically but teaching a foreign language means the teacher has to be fluent in the language and know the theories of teaching each of the four language skills;  reading, writing, speaking and listening. This is a bit different from for the exact subjects such as maths and sciences because they only need to focus on one skill whereas foreign language teachers need to focus on four.  Along with all that,  teachers need to prove they are proficient in the seven competences and make a portfolio showing their proficiency. These seven competences are: interpersonal, pedagogic, subject content and didactics, organizational skills, working together with colleagues, working with local area, and reflection and personal development. They need to have proof that they are proficient such as feedback from other teachers, filming yourself teaching, feedback from your pupils and your own lesson plans and personal development plans for each class you teach. We have to teach for at least a year in front of a class with a minimum of 12 hours a week and for each lesson a lesson plan is to be made. When class is over a reflection of how you did is to be made. Not all schools require this but my teaching school is considered a very good one and requires it.

I teach in a pretty normal school high school for this area. There are just under 2000 students and I am fortunate it is close by. Although I have gone to two different universities before this one I must say this is by far the most emotionally draining course. All the self-reflections and feedback is like having hard therapy every time you teach. Whenever kids are acting out or being pains it all comes back to you. What did you do to allow this behaviour? What could you have done so this behaviour wasn’t started? What did you do to deal with this behaviour? bla bla bla…

I think when it is all finished then teaching could be fun but at the moment it is just plain frustrating. Fortunately I have a good relationship with all my classes and for the most part the kids are pretty cool. I have 10 more weeks which has become my mantra.

I want my coffee

I want my coffee in a cup

I want my coffee

I want to drink it up

I need my caffeine or I’m real mean

Give me a cup

I want my coffee in a cup

I have been trying to find this song for the past two years. I don’t know who sings it or where to find it. I googled it, went to the Dr. Dimento site and wrote a letter to the radio station (which has not been answered) and still I can’t find it. Does anyone know this song?

Jump to years later and I would do the same thing. When the kids came downstairs to eat breakfast or if I was rousting them out of bed I would sing, have I told you lately that I loved you but I never really heard the original song. I knew it was some kind of country song but I don’t recall hearing it. It is typically a song the local radio station would play…WDME in Dover-Foxcroft…but I don’t remember it.

This afternoon my daughter was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework and I found myself singing it just to say I loved her. It got me thinking so I searched for it on youtube. I found lots of versions of it. I gave my mom a call and we had a talk. She said her mother loved Gene Autry and thought his voice was wonderful. She would play Have I Told You Lately That  I Loved You on the piano and they would all sing the song. I guess the chorus part stuck in my mom’s head and years later she would sing the song to us. I couldn’t find the Gene Autry version on youtube but here’s a Jim Reeves version which is in the same style. I was surprised to see that there were a few versions done by young people giving the song a more modern twist. Guess its a classic. I’ll have to have my kids listen to it some day and then they will know that I didn’t just make it up but its a real song.

Just before Christmas I was muddling around with the tag surfer and I quickly became addicted.  For those who don’t know what it is here’s a quick breakdown. When someone adds a post they can also add tags to it. Tags are simply words which can be used to categorize your posts. With tag surfing you punch in a word and recent posts people have tagged with the same word pops up.

At Christmas I like to do crafts so I put ‘crafts’ into the tag surfer. I got all kinds of cool ideas people had done. Its a great way to share ideas with each other. Its like having your friends around and sharing things you’ve made or done.  I also like to tag surf with the words ‘homes’ and ‘art’ and I’ve tried other words out just for fun. You never know what you’ll find but its usually something that interests you. Give it a go. It’s easy and it’s pretty cool.