The Icing

Sunday was my last day in Ohio. As I flew back west, back home, I thought about how interesting it's been to be in the Midwest, to experience a part of the country that is very different from California. Here are some highlights from my day.

We started the day with a trip to the Columbus Museum of Art.

One of my favorite paintings in the museum was Custodian by Robert Gwathmey. I didn't notice the gun in the hands of the African American figure, but he definitely looks strong and unapologetic, deflecting attention from the more stereotypical figure of an African American body on the poster behind him. Another was Lunch by George Tooker. In it, a group of people silently eat lunch with no interaction or even indication that they notice each other. Included in the group is a lone African American man--yet all the characters look similar in their isolated and dehumanized status. One of the most disturbing paintings was Herrin Massacre by Paul Cadmus. The violent scene depicts a labor dispute in which strikers killed a number of scabs. This was an incident I'd never heard about.

The museum also had a special exhibit called "Great Expectations," paintings of privileged children dressed in gaudy clothing and looking just about as unhappy and ugly as children can look. The main collection has an amazing piece by Dale Chihuly, "Isola di San Giacomo in Palude," made of glass. It's huge, colorful, striking, and so complex that one could stare at it from 1000s of angles without repeating the convergence of shapes and sizes.

After the museum, we ate lunch at Abuelo's at the Easton Mall--a restaurant which Johnnie decided was the P.F. Chang's of Mexican food. It was cavernous with large, fatty portions. I had enchiladas (again) with cheesy potatoes and refried beans. I did not feel like I'd eaten a healthy lunch afterwards, to say the least. We also visited the Apple Store and Barnes and Noble, before finally going to the airport.

I'm glad I had a chance to see a little more of Columbus. It's not a great city, still it feels like a typical midwestern city trying to forge a unique identity.

I've made my first pass at creating a digital story using the software program Memory Miner. I encountered a few problems--it's hard to edit out pictures once one has established a library and I can't figure out how to create a specific order amongst the pictures. Still, there are a lot of really interesting things one can do with the software. I was able to identify people in the pictures, designate a geographic location, create a cast of characters (so to speak), insert text/commentary about the picture (or what it reminds me of), and even identify visual elements of the picture that I find interesting. Click here in order to access my "story" about growing up as the only girl with four brothers. But then come back to this post . . . I want to tell you more.

This story isn't perfect or even complete. I relied on pictures from family slides and there were visual images I wish I'd had. I also realized that I remember very little about my childhood! Still, it was fun to see how the pictures triggered memories and I enjoyed reflecting on my childhood (and later adulthood) as the sister of four brothers. As I wrote about the pictures, I thought about the many connections amongst all of us, not just me with my brothers, but my brothers with each other. Although I remember being teased and otherwise experiencing some tension with my siblings, I also remember a lot of closeness, love, and friendship. That's especially true today, as my brothers mean so much to me. I wouldn't trade any of them for the sister I always thought I wanted.

I hope this is just the first attempt at creating a digital story. I also hope to grow more expert in using this technology.

Today I downloaded a trial version of DevonThinkPro, a program designed to help organize information in a variety of forms. For example, I started transferring text files, information from web pages, photos, PDFs and email into one database. The DevonThink webpage describes it as a kind of "file cabinet" for the digital age. I still need to play around with this more, but I think this could help me organize all the different data I have associated with the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project. I also think it would be useful to have a file devoted to the Fulbright experience.

There are so many different kinds of software. It's exciting to create new ways to use my computer.

One of my frustrations at school is that when I access PDF files, there's no way to extract passages to make into handouts. Instead, I either have to print out a page and type the passage in a document OR I have to move back and forth between screens, typing just a phrase at a time. It's time consuming, wasteful, and frustrating.

Johnnie has mentioned Skim before, but, for whatever reason, I just barely realized that I could use Skim, too. It's a free download that enables you to annotate and otherwise manipulate the text in a PDF file. Last night Johnnie showed me some of the things he does with Skim. I have to say, this program rocks!

Download Skim (if you own a Mac) at this website. If you don't have a Mac, ditch your PC. There are too many great programs available for Macs.

This morning, Johnnie and I watched the documentary, "The End of Suburbia," which gave a history of American suburban life as it predicted a future in which our dependence on gas/oil will have to change. I thought a lot about what kinds of decisions I could make to decrease my own dependence on gas/oil. These are the things I'm considering:

1. Have some kind of a garden this summer, even if it involves planting vegetables in the spare pots I have sitting in my backyard.
2. Take the bus more frequently. There's a bus that goes up Palm to Fig Garden on a regular basis. When I do my Long's/Whole Foods run, perhaps I could take the bus instead of driving.
3. Walk more frequently--not just for exercise but to get to the grocery store or to the Tower District.

Of course, these are only minor changes. I wonder, too, about living closer to work, eliminating processed foods from my diet and adding more locally grown food (did you know that since most fertilizers and pesticides are made of gas that the food we eat is about 10% oil?), getting a hybrid/small car, using a bicycle more frequently, staying in my neighborhood to shop (and decreasing my consumer impulses), and making other more major lifestyle changes.

It makes sense to me that we will run out of oil someday--and what's happening with gas prices right now seems to indicate that we can't continue to live with the same dependence on oil. I know that any change I make may not make a huge difference . . . but at least it's a start.

You may not know this, but wisteria pods can pop as they dry. Mine are going crazy right now, popping with such force that I'm worried a seed will break a window. For more information about this phenomenon, check out this webpage. This afternoon, my neighbors Bob and Ben and I watched as the pods released their built up pressure. I don't remember them doing this last year--I suppose the temperature has been just right to make this happen.

Before:

After:

This weekend, I was in Long Beach for the California Association of Teachers of English conference. I hadn't planned on going until I received a letter in the mail, informing me that I would receive a Classroom Excellence Award at the conference. The association wanted to know if I could be there to accept the ward. Since the last thing I remember winning was a free album from a radio station when I lived in Pittsburgh (an album I was never to receive since the radio station was downtown and we lived in the suburbs), I decided that maybe it would be a good thing to go pick up the award (even if I did have to drive three and a half hours to do it).

I should insert here that I was really humbled by the award, especially because I was nominated by a group of teachers who I've admired and learned from during my years in Fresno. Their generosity astounds me--they are so deserving of recognition for their years of dedication to what can be a thankless profession. I wouldn't be the teacher I am without all the knowledge and expertise they've shared with me.

In any event, I attended the conference, went to lunch, made a brief acceptance speech (which taught me that I really need to work on talking to large groups of people), and went to a couple of interesting workshops. I also hung out with teacher friend Esther and her family . . . and teacher friend and mentor Beth, who still teaches at the same school where we met 21 years ago. That's right, I've been a teacher for 21 years!

This has been an overwhelming week with the Fulbright and this award. I'm not sure I'll ever have a week like this one again.

I found out this morning that I will be the Fulbright Roving Scholar in American Culture in Norway next year! I'll be there for the 2008-2009 school year . . . so look forward to a blog that is full of all things Norway.

Tonight, my friend Karen Marguth performed at the Rogue Festival with "her band" Heavy Sugar Jazz Improv. Every year, she gathers together a group of amazing musicians--this year Kevin Hill on bass (sans dreadlocks), Gary Newmark on drum (singular), a guy from L.A. on saxophone (sorry I couldn't find your name on Karen's myspace page, dude), Jason Wanner from Sacramento on piano, and Dustin Peterson on guitar. Although they definitely have songs they're prepared to play, the group doesn't rehearse together--they basically play off each other . . . improv at its best. They're all talented musicians, so it totally works. Karen's vocals resonate with ease and self-assurance, and the guys tonight were confident enough to let each other shine. One of the things I love about Karen's performances is that she is so generous. She can step back and allow each of the performers to receive love from the audience. If I were a musician, I'd want to be in her band. And Karen's generosity is only exceeded by her talent as a singer. She's grown so much as a vocalist in the almost 10 years that I've known her--and she was good when I first heard her perform!

The highlight of the evening for me tonight was Karen and Jason's collaboration on the jazz standard "Lush Life." I've loved this song since Johnnie and I listened to it on the way back from one of our trips to Monterey last fall. It's a gorgeous, melancholy song. As she introduced the song, Karen noted that the composer was 18 when he wrote this song. Amazing! Karen's silky voice did it justice.

Romance is mush,
Stifling those who strive.
I'll live a lush life in some small dive...
And there I'll be, while I rot
With the rest of those whose lives are lonely, too..

Atmospheric music serves as the perfect background to such sad lyrics, reminding me of the ways that we each strive to feel that our lives are meaningful.

Tonight was one of those nights when I was really happy to live in Fresno. There really are interesting things to do in this town--and the Rogue Festival is definitely one of them. I wish I could go to Joe (Karen's son) and his band's performance Wednesday night (The Makeshift Champions at the Spectrum Gallery). I'm also in awe of my friend John Jordan who is producing the show this year (great article in the Undercurrent, John!). Fresno is defined by its talented and warm inhabitants . . . who explore and develop their talents with joy.

(I was hoping that one of my photographs would turn out. This is the best one, unfortunately.)