Come On, Team America!

In the 80's a fellow teacher and I put together a multi-disciplinary unit based on Hot Zone, a book by Richard Preston written about an Ebola outbreak. In this true story, monkeys imported from Asia to Reston, Virginia for research purposes were suddenly getting sick. Originally, the monkey handler didn't know what was going on …

Co-existing With Corona Nervosa

Me and Dad Back in the Day It's been said that each generation has its own worldly burdens to bear and finding the entire world grinding to a halt as we confront this unprecedented pandemic is certainly one of ours. We will feel the economic impact of what is happening for months and perhaps years …

A Fifty Mile Trip

Captain Stewart, shame on you! Your greed in selling that salt and those shingles made you venture out, short handed, along a heavily fog encrusted coast in Northern Michigan. With a crew of only three to battle the wintry gale that blew in that Friday evening in early May? Did you not stop to consider …

A Northern Perspective

"Up North" is a land of wizened souls and the courageous .  My people tell tales of great migrations: Indians in canoes, sowing rice in shallow rivers; of Blacks running up from the South seeking freedom; French fur trappers sent by LaSalle, and farmers from all parts of Europe clamoring for fruit growing land. Yes, the …

Colonel Cordero

Oh, seeds of rebellion and chaos born of colonization! Could we not have held firm in our Spanish conquest against the Mexicans?  We had the love of God behind us with our missions. Horses, canons, guns and swords of security to fortify us. Add to that good hearted Canary Islanders to settle a happy San …

Live All You Can!

"Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that, what have you had?" (Henry James in The Ambassadors) If I had one piece of advice to share with others, it would be something …

The Fog

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. (Carl Sandberg, 1878- 1967) Sailing the Great Lakes this summer, our boating plans often shift on account of reports of early morning fog. The fog renders reality unclear. It is a shape shifter. It …

Repurposed Boat Shoes

From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam "Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?" ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** A monk brought two potted plants to his Master. "Drop it," ordered the Master. The monk dropped one pot. "Drop it," again ordered the Master. The monk let the second pot …

One Last Thing Before I Go: Podcast

What if you could just dial up a friend or family member who has died and gone to heaven? What would you talk about?

No Fair! Podcast

I got a huge kick out of the first segment of This American Life about a pre-school class where tattling was getting WAY out of hand. Kids evidently have a very keen sense of justice from a very early age. This is one teacher's solution: install a recordable red old fashioned push button phone and …