who let the dawgs out

Yes, friends and neighbors, we have a dog now. Yesterday we went on a mission and went looking for a pound puppy, and went shopping for some "dog crud" (as my brother calls the accessories of dog-life).

Today we went and bailed our new friend outta lockup. (sorry but the jail/pound metaphor hasn't worn out its welcome yet). She's a 3-year old lab mix (whatever the other ingredients are, they musta been big because she's a BIG girl (alot of junk in the trunk), but not so much that we can't have her inside the house. Since she's been in lockup for about a year and a half, her house skills are a bit rusty, so we need to work on house manners a bit since she's out of practice. Just as jail doesn't teach you the skills to live in mainstream society, living in a shelter doesn't necessarily prepare you for living in a house with people and a surly spoiled cat, but she's friendly, tame, seems real eager to fit in and listens real well/follows directions, and for a lab, she's pretty mellow most of the time. She's still a bit clingy/needy, but I imagine the novelty of being in a new strange place hasn't even begun to wear off yet.

We had her outside all day today and wore her out real good with toys and general outdoor/yardwork so now she's curled up at my feet snoring/snorting away the way labs do when they're content with life. It's kind of a good thing that I'm home during the day most days right now because I think she needs some stability in her life. So for a while I get to play stay-at-home-mom. Kinda weird, but I've got crops that need planting, and plenty of projects to do around the house, so it'll be nice to have a personal shadow to keep me company while I do that stuff.

The cat is preturbed at having her routine totally disrupted, but fortunately she doesn't appear particularly afraid of this new curiously slobbering goofy thing that's taken over the house--just a bit annoyed. Unfortunately we're going to have to play the rotating animal game for awhile until the novelty wears off for both parties, but one thing I'm not worried about is the safety of the cat--she is going to be fine...she is already strutting around as seductively as possible to show her lack of concern. I'm sure she'll do that thing where she looks cute and vulnerable, and when the dog gets too close, she comes out of a bag, hissing and snarling. She's done that routine with dogs many a time, and they all fall in line.

It's still kind of mysterious and wonderful looking over and seeing a big black dog sprawled out on the floor by my feet. It's been such a long time since I've heard panting, had a leash, and had anybody around who wants to play fetch games. I can't wait to take her to a bigger park and let her charge around to her heart's content. (We live near a dog park). It makes me wish that kids worked this way too...where you could go in, look at some likely ones, eliminate the ones who are too loud, noisy, rude, bad tempered, lethargic, or bad-mannered, and if all else fails, you can bring them back in if for some reason they don't work out. Alas, you can't do that with real kids, although I know of one I'd adopt in a heartbeat if I were in a more stable situation instead of being a grad student with no job. He too is living in a temporary situation, is housebroken, plays well with others, and has the sad puppy dog eyes-look down cold. Hopefully someone will bring him home soon, get him some good toys, and get to know him, he's a sweet kid.

In the meantime, I've got a few weeks of initial settling in to do, and some house training, but this assignment's looking easier than some past cases I've had. This dog doesn't seem to have too many "issues".

for teens

All that's sacred comes from youth, Dedication, naive and true, With no power, nothing to do, I still remember, why don't you...don't you...

Happy Friday

Happy happy Friday,
I love coming home to my new house,
Even when it's pouring down rain,
Life is good

April 4th

I just noticed that today is April 4th, a date that will always be significant to me after having lived in Memphis. For those of you who are less aware of these things, here's why April 4th is a significant date in history:

"On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of (the Lorraine Motel) in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking (AFSCME) garbage workers of that city, (Martin Luther King Jr.) was assassinated." (nobelprize.org)

So indelibly does this tragic event stain the collective memory of Memphis, that it is still commemorated yearly (especially by current AFSCME members who maintain information about the sanitation strike on their website (http://www.afscme.org/about/1532.cfm)). This is a day that is solemnly commemorated by those who are still struggling for justice in a still unjust society, who are still trying to realize full equality and participation in the American Dream.

As a person who is rarely involved in public events of any kind these days, I still feel the pull of what Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to accomplish in his short time here on earth. I still see far too much injustice and inequity in the lives of the children I have known and I still want to do something about it. And like everyone who cares about these things deeply, I am still not always sure how to go about doing this.

Two Choices: (for you SPED folks)

The message I received this morning was one of those forwards you get. This one was better than most so instead of forwarding it, I'll post it here and comment on it:

Two Choices:

What would you do? ....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice? At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do; where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win t he game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first base man's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ..... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitchers intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-base man's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay; run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

---

As heartwarming as this story is, what's even more remarkable, I suppose, is that when you work with kids every day, you actually have these moments fairly often. As stressful as teaching can be sometimes, life is full of these kinds of small moments and eventually you gather enough of them to sustain you when the more tedious things start ganging up on you. One of my favorite inclusion stories was from a time when I was working at an elementary school about a year ago now:

There was this kid in the class who was rather autistic thus had limited social skills and rarely spoke or interacted with the other kids (he was basically non-verbal and given his family background, probably an ELL to boot). One thing I knew about this kid is that he loved soccer, and sure enough, one day during recess that's what he wanted to do.

I had recess duty and being the obliging sort, I went to look for a soccer ball in the bin of balls they keep for the kids to use, but there weren't any left. I went back to let him know that there weren't any balls to use, and saw that he was standing at the edge of the playground watching some 2nd or 3rd graders who were playing soccer.

A couple of them noticed him standing there and realized he wanted to play too. I knew he would never ask to join in, but his eyes said it all--he really wanted to play too (which is really unusual for this little guy-he usually just kinda wanders around the playground by himself at recess).

Then one of the other boys came right up to him and passed him the ball and said "come play with us" and they moved their little circle over to where he was and played with him taking turns until the bell rang and it was time to go back to class.

I nearly cried because they were so sweet and patient with him. Kids are so awesome sometimes, I swear. They seem so simple most of the time, yet they are full of all of the mysteries of the universe. As the saying goes, children are the face of God, and the more time I spend around kids, the more I believe it.

april 4

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride