It's been a week, a hard week

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judih
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It's been a week, a hard week

Post by judih » November 11th, 2006, 3:03 am

Today's 11/11. A good day for refocusing, re-aligning.

cause it's been a week.
It started on Sunday with my son's appearance at the Military Medical Counsel where he was to learn if he was officially in or out of doing military service. That morning i also learned that my friend's kibbutz had been hit with 4 qassams (those rather primitive bombs that we've been continually assailed with for years from Gaza). She was happy that she'd been away and that no one was injured. They simply had holes in their sidewalks and yards.

The next day was scheduled surgery on my son's hand. He'd sliced his tendon (left hand, guitar useful thumb) the week before and was going in for reconstructive surgery.

Tuesday i learned that i was to welcome an American contingent coming to our school, and hoping to forge 3-way ties between us, a Mexican school and a school in north-east NY state. (How would i greet them? Would i speak of bombs, non-work on fortifying our schools and kibbutz residences?)

Wednesday morning i was greeted by my 12th grade students who were relieved to see me, who told me they'd been calling my cellphone, worrying about my safety. i didn't understand. That morning, my kibbutz was hit by qassams -inches from houses, smack on our small grape vineyard.

Where was i when that happened? i was happily walking to school via the dirt road that winds past fields. i was keeping my rhythm with Lou Reed, "Dirty Boulevard" and singing along with Pedro's plight of wishing himself away from the mean streets of dealing and whores.

i taught that morning lesson, but because my students are so very used to qassams and having them land inches away, they found it funny to turn on their recorded 'qassam whistle' cellphone rings periodically throughout my instruction of how to identify the parts of an informal letter. After a while, i bid them adieu and walked out of there.

No one was hurt. My son was on the road to a physiotherapist to remove a thick bandage and learn how to rehabilitate his thumb. My partner was calm ("there's nothing new," he said. "This is always happening," he added to reassure me).

Thursday was a major 12th grade english test. Life goes on. i need to be focused in order to test my dyslexic students orally. i read them the passages, i calm them and i am in good humour till all 6 have been tested.

What else happened this week?
i'm in mid-plan for a creative, expressive workshop for teachers in our school in order to release tensions, fears and anxieties that just seem to mount and mount. i'm working with S, a dance therapist, who studied at Lesley College and is a talented expressive therapist and V, who studied art and kineseology, the study of the technique of body movement. Together with me, into paint, masks, writing and movement, the workshop should be exactly what i need to let out some angst. If me, then surely others will benefit.
mid-plan and need to make some posters.

What else?
Today is 11/11 and i've been reading my own poetry published on another's blog (with credit, but with misspellings) and an encouraging video clip stating that if Aladdin could ask for whatever he wished, so can i and so can you. Ask, get ready with all enthusiastic reception and then receive. That's what the clip said.

So, what to ask for?
Safety
Creativity
Support

i ask for these things.
What would you ask for?

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stilltrucking
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Post by stilltrucking » November 11th, 2006, 9:41 am

I would ask for a present
For every child
Now and forever

I would ask for a tomorrow for the children
I would ask for a present of the presence for the young
How can you live for tomorrow when you have no now present?


On a personal note:

"I don't want much of nothing at all,
but I will take another toke." CD Band

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Dave The Dov
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Post by Dave The Dov » November 12th, 2006, 8:52 am

"I want to fly fly awwwway" now if only the problems you have over there could do the same it would be a better place to live together!!!! :D
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Artguy
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Post by Artguy » November 12th, 2006, 1:10 pm

I was recently listening to eve of destruction and thinking how it is oddly still relevant.....

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judih
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Post by judih » November 12th, 2006, 3:16 pm

hi still
dave
kurt
a present for every child. A present filled with minimal human rights - shelter, food, love and education. Such a wonderful few rights - add health and we're well on the way to peace (one would hope)

fly fly away - a children's dream, a relevant chant - how right you are, dave.

and, kurt, eve of destruction has been the theme song of this current school year.

what a mess.
(what an opportunity!)
but what a quaqmire. This is a fine mess you've gotten us into (Hardy to Laurel)

well, who's 'you' and who's 'us'?
we're all you and us and here we are again.

round and round in the circle game.

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panta rhei
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Post by panta rhei » November 13th, 2006, 6:02 am

oh whow. oh my. what a week!

one son learning about how to operate. another son getting operated. daughters, some far, some close. partner calm, self throbbing with anxiety.
family, friends, students, colleagues, strangers. self.
fake qassam sounds and real qassam hits. a workshop to release and a speech to welcome.

so many contrasts. so many zones of black and white and shades of grey.
the immediacy of reality, the blurry hope of ideas, the despites and stills and yets.
the parallel worlds happening so close to each other, yet being so very foreign.

and a clip of aladdin wishes. what to ask for?

safety, creativity, support. what else could be more important.
all these, to begin with.

all these.

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Arcadia
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Post by Arcadia » November 13th, 2006, 1:50 pm

"This is a fine mess you've gotten us into (Hardy to Laurel)". Good moment of the year to watch that serie again...!.
Really great what you are planning to do with the teachers of your school, we are sometimes a too vulnerable population...!

safety
creativity
support

it sounds good!!

I would add:

paciencia
buen humor
and sunsets by the river

And I hope your son plays again the guitar soon!

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judih
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Post by judih » November 13th, 2006, 2:02 pm

a big sigh of ah-men!

(by the way, same son was army and surgery - it helped keep both events in perspective)

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Post by mtmynd » November 13th, 2006, 7:54 pm

weeks like those make one weak.

i would ask for more (why lessen the wish for anything less?) positivism for our pained people of the earth... the negativity can't remain with the strength its been having (can it?)...

(qassam... is that kwa-sum or kas-sum or...? which language?)

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