Rainday Morning

It is raining today in Savannah, GA.  That means traffic will be slowed precipitously, students will be wet and late for class, and all things moving or stopping will be slowed and out of focus.

Rain does to the South what Ice and Snow do to the North.  It changes all plans and calmly advises everyone to stay in bed, or at least to stay at home.  I am amazed at the South -- from Charlotte to Savannah, from St. Augustine to Dallas -- the South deals with weather in an awkward and even backwards way. 

Writing and Thinking without Venom

A word can be a horrible weapon -- calling someone a name, or accusing them of being unethical, or insinuating ulterior motives to someone -- all these put words out there as brutal and hurtful weapons. I would like to say that I have never spoken or written ill of anyone else --- but even in this simple blog that assertion is problematic.

Why? Because people have alternate views of the truth; because people disagree on what is real or not; because people view events differently.  From my point of view I can only try to be "venom-free"  but I cannot guarantee it. 

How to "Use" This Blog

I realize now, just this moment, that I use this blog as an everyday writing source to reflect all the many things that go on in my life.  I leave out the truly intimate elements especially if they are very immediate, though I sometimes reflect back on them when sufficient time has passed. (Old loves "die hard" as the saying goes).

I also respond in this blog to world events, local events, and other happenings that are or will impact me, my family, my students, or my friends. In doing so I never claim to be correct either in my opinions or in my reflections of the "facts" of a particular case.
I'm not being coy here, nor am I issuing some kind of disclaimer, but I do say that this blog will not always be totally correct. (But it is as accurate as I can, at the time, make it). I don't go back in time and correct my mistakes in depicting past events -- so errors do stay on the record, particularly if they are read by and stand uncorrected by, other participants.

So there it is. How to use this blog? With care, with trepidation, with an eye and an ear for errors, with some misgivings. It's the best that I can offer, at the moment. 

1st Week of School

Today, Thursday, is the last day of the first week of classes for the Spring, 2014 Semester at Savannah Technical College.  And that is all I'm sure of... 

The first day was a blur of confusion and mistakes on paperwork, and collapsing classes due to conflicts, etc. This has become typical for this, my homeplace, school.
Why, I am not sure.  Too many decisions made in haste without clear forethought?
Or simply a lack of overall planning?

Yes.

A New High; a New Low

Amid some of the lowest temperatures in the past 20 years, Savannah is cold, cold, cold. Amid the turmoil of political obfuscation and intransigence, the climate for change in America is stalled, stalled, stalled.

It's not true that all "truth" or governmental success lies in any one ideology; but it is true that ideology alone does not create any kind of success outside of action. The factions of politics in America must work together, or else nothing works. The people need to do more than absentmindedly nod their collective heads to whatever idiotic explanations are given for inactivity -- we must demand more, much more. We must demand that the responsibilities that the government has, are continued. We must require our elected officials to live up to their and our responsibilities to each other. 

Our government is not a "capitalistic" state, no more than it is a "Biblically-inspired" state. It is a government "off the people, by the people, and for the people"--no more, no less. Acknowledge that everyone -- and then let's move on. 

A Feeling of Uneasiness

The weather is awful --- changing to "colder than cold can be" almost as I sit and watch my darkening office window. The cold is coming as part of an arctic front that is to be the most threatening in 20 years --- giving everyone a sense of fear and foreboding, strange to say. I have felt this same sense of foreboding nearly the whole weekend -- as my favorite sports teams lost (as I anticipated they might), and everything just seems to be drifting...down. 

Please let this malaise dissipate!

Begin the Beguine

From a Cole Porter song, to a life-affirming ideal.  Beginning a dance that starts anew each semester; learning the weird changing vibes that signal a new exotica; understanding the range of minds that create a new world. 

I am happy to be back teaching again and consulting as well.  I am making enough money to pay my bills easily (yay) and still provide extra cash for gifts and kindnesses.
It is all good. 

For many others it is not so good and so I struggle to keep my life together (and my ongoing processes) -- why?  Because there is no alternative!