Happy 18th, Vincent!

Vincent woke up early for breakfast and then went back to bed. Sunday he did chores and got closer to taking the World Civilization final exam, and we watched on video at home "In Bruges" and "Rock Star." Today he has scheduled a counseling appointment and probably a birthday dinner out with us. Tuesday at 1 p.m. is the next court hearing, when he hopes the house arrest will be lifted (and we hope his lawyer is able to reach a plea agreement that does not involve Vincent even pleading guilty to a misdemeanor).

- Perry

Thunder Over Louisville

Thunder Over Louisville is a big fireworks show (reportedly the largest in the country) and air show extravaganza that essentially opens up the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival each spring in Louisville. Sometimes - due to trips out of town, Vincent’s big 16th birthday party, bad weather – we’ve skipped it. But this year – with Vincent linked with us for at least three more days- we essentially reprised what we did three years ago. In both years – with good weather – we parked our car in front of my old Phoenix Hall apartment, walked the 1 ½ miles to the Presbyterian Center, retrieved some folding chairs I’d stored in my office (having paid $30 in advance to be able to get into the office – most importantly to use the bathrooms), and sat out on a blanket and chairs and watched the air show, wandered off to buy food, and then watched the fireworks. Frisco accompanied us both times (even though he doesn’t particularly like the air show’s loud noises). This year – as I was aware of – we had less of the Center’s lawn to work with. Of course, we ran into some Center people. And – inevitably – we ran into some other people (when there are close to 1 million people, on both sides of the river) – including Vincent, who is of course not allowed to stray from home or us and not allowed to run into friends intentionally. Above is the view of the 2nd Street bridge - closed since Thursday, where some of the fireworks were to be fired from, and behind it the $500 million indoor sports arena being constructed. Below, Frisco and Vincent have already settled on in our front lawn spot, with the Center parking garage (which obstructed our view from this particular perch) in the background.

Stephanie took some pictures with the digital camera, including this one (below) of me looking up into the sky during the air show.

Vincent (who had to be with at least one of us at all times - I even walked to the bathroom with him) and I went down to the Chow Wagon, even closer to the Waterfront, to buy food. We bought extra Pegasus pins and got a bunch of not so good for us fair food to bring back.

We reprised the dish Stephanie had gotten last summer at the state fair, hot beef sundae (pictured below).

Frisco only got a few scraps.

Vincent tried some of the blooming onion (which we weren't able to finish).

It's hard to capture ths air show - hard to even snap pictures of the planes, hard to capture the experience without the loud noise - but a few pictures are below. There are loud, fast supersonic jet fighters, lumbering transport planes, biplanes and other prop planes, and even helicopters. A Facebook friend of mine protested the military nature of the air show, in that some of these air show planes essentially mimick bombing runs similar U.S. government planes make in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The four of us walked briefly along the river - from which many more people would be watching the fireworks than on Witherspoon Street - and we got a hint of the throngs that constitute that 1 million people figure.

On house arrest, Vincent is forced to do things with us if he is going to get out of the house. After getting us to take him to a movie last night, Vincent did some of his laundry and chores this morning, came closer to finishing up his on-line social studies class, and then headed off to Thunder with us, late. Later he did something he hasn't done with me in years: threw frisbee and (even later) a football. My back/shoulder/neck hurts, which limited my football throwing range.

While Vincent and I were back again at the Chow Wagon, buying dessert, Stephanie snapped some more air show pictures

As darkness began to settle, we got a little punchy.

Eva was one of my Center colleagues and - in this case - church mates we talked with (a couple of hours after seeing and talking with her children).

We tried going up to a rooftop stairway landing/patio, but it was too crowded. So, while Stephanie watched the fireworks from another landing, Vincent and I stood and sat on the proper observation point at the front of the building. Not only is the display (at 30 minutes) singificantly longer than most and not only do you have a great physical and cultural environment for the show (the Ohio River) but also everything happens in double during the shows - there are two identical, parallel, and simultaneous displays - less than half a mile from each other, on the river. I got pictures of fireworks coming from the western end only.

During the long walk home, we met more acquaintances of Vincent - in this case, a former school mate).

Just to give you an idea of Frisco's ability to bark at all flying objects click on the video below.

Super Teacher

My students have been reading about Gluskabe, a cultural hero of the Abenaki Native Americans. We will be performing the play “Gluskabe and Old Man Winter” in a few weeks. (We have some major rehearsals to do first.) As a writing project we made up our own heroes. The heroes could not be heroes that other people had already created, i.e. Batman, Superman, Spiderman. My students had to draw their hero and then describe why they were heroes and their super powers. We did a discussion about real life heroes like the airplane pilot who landed in the Hudson River and the ship captain who gave himself up to Somali pirates.

Often I give my students instructions and then help, but this time they were rushing through their drawing and not putting thought into it (except to try and draw Spiderman). I decided to sit down with them and do my own as they worked (they love this where they can see what I'm doing and try and out do me). So I created...Super Teacher!

Here is my description of Super Teacher. Some of the details were added AFTER the students have left the room.

It is unknown where Super Teacher really comes from. Some people say Mars, some say Saturn, but it is clear Super Teacher could never come from Earth. Her powers are uncanny and no one can compete with her undying devotion to her calling.

She is able to stop running students with a single word. She can see cheating students from across the room. She is able to get EVERY parent to show up for parent-teacher conferences with a single note. She can erase white boards with her mind. She can understand administrations directions, spoken and unspoken, in a single listen. She knows who is writing notes to pass just by the sound of the pencil on the paper.

Super Teacher is able to be in three places at the same time: in the workroom making copies, in the classroom with students, and in case conferences with troubled students. She flies to work, so is never late or stuck in traffic. She can control time so she has time to plan, grade, curriculum map, hold conferences, write notes to parents, organize field trips, call social service agencies to help struggling parents and students, attend school board meetings, be on curriculum design committees, AND have a family, attend church, volunteer, exercise, garden, and attend cultural events.

Super Teacher also has the ability to mesmerize students. She walks into the room and all talking, pencil chewing, paper tossing, and general horse play stops. She opens her mouth and students actually listen. Students understand her directions the first time they are given. Super Teachers students always pass standardized tests, even if they are a sub-group for Adequate Yearly Progress and No Child Left Behind.

Super Teacher is able to keep up with all licensing renewal requirements with a blink of an eye. She is so organized that nothing is ever misplaced. Her room is always clean and neat, with no paper balls under tables. Her room is also decorated with academically appropriate and attractive posters that never fall off walls or get drawn on by students. Her decorations also never fade from lights or sun.

In other words...Super Teacher is NOT from Earth...Nope, no way, no how!

---Stephanie

Willly Wonka and AYP

I believe in recent years teachers and kids at Stephanie’s school have put on a play each fall and a musical in the spring. Last spring Stephanie’s English as a new language colleague Stephanie and the music teacher, Sally, another friend of Stephanie's, helped direct the musical ("101 Dalmations"). This year, the daughter of Susie Gahan, Abby, the principal (whom we’d seen back when she was in high school in “High School Musical,” embarked on her directorial debut, with “Will Wonka” (which cost the school $400 to buy the music to).

When I arrived at the front of Fairmont, the school lobby was festooned with decorations. Later Stephanie would help sell flowers to defray costs. Parents, staff, community folks, and students not in the play bought $3 tickets also to defray costs, and the cafeteria staff pitched in to make desserts which having a ticket gave you a chance to eat. Folks from the Church of God church down the street that has partnered with Fairmont had helped make lots of the costumes.

The production involved a range of lights, sound system (with a few kids having microphones taped to their faces Madonna style), and recorded music. All produced glitches at times.

Before the show got started, the principal told the audience what she had told Stephanie and her colleagues a few hours earlier in an after-school faculty meeting. After missing the Indiana version of “No Child Left Behind” “Adequate Yearly Progress” targets last year (and this becoming labeled a kind of failing school in – it turns out – a failing school district), the school this year passed AYP – no doubt in small part due to Stephanie’s students' improvements in the fall IN standardized test. A couple of years ago the state shorted the amount of time students had been learning English before their scores counted towards the school’s overall scores, and so last year Stephanie’s students dragged down the school’s average scores (though privately the superintendent – now on his way out – told Stephanie’s principal – who likes her program – not to worry).

Once again Stephanie had several students in the show, which featured regular set changes, singing, dancing, and some colorful costumes and props. Abby introduced the show (below).

On the far left is one of Stephanie's Asian American students, from China, who played the Candy Man.

I had to leave during the intermission/dessert buffet to drive to church to lead a phone focus group for work. On the way out Stephanie and I took a good look at the decorated lobby.

As I left, Stephanie and Ms. Gahan gave their colleague Katie a hand selling flowers. Stephanie said eventually they sold out!

Stephanie, who saw the show dress rehearsal Wednesday, said the show improved each time, and the second half I missed was the best yet. I had seen another of Stephanie's students in a cowboy hat (Mike Teevee). But I missed a third student of hers and lots of classmates as Oompa-Loompas. I did, however, make it to church with almost 10 minutes to spare and - with Joelle and Ellen on the phone - led one of the better of the six resourcing congregations for mission endeavors we've led this past week.

-- Perry

Tax Night

For the past few months I’ve been helping lead Children’s Fellowship, with Stephanie and others, at church on Wednesday evenings. Saturday mornings and afternoons I’ve been going to the Presbyterian Community Center to help people do their taxes (and doing our own last week), not going in on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, when taxes are also done. Wednesday morning I got a voice mail message from the PCC’s Charles, pitching for me to come in to a final special Wednesday PM Tax Night version of taxes there. And I had been trying to think of a Children’s Fellowship activity to help connect our kids with some of our church mission endeavors. In between Children’s Fellowship (which I had already been missing too much – last week I missed Martha’s Easter walk, which the parents helped out with) and a couple of Guatemala mission meeting scheduled, I wasn’t sure I was actually going to be able to help people with taxes. But Stephanie and I hit upon an idea that we would bake (first cupcakes) then – ultimately sugar cookies while the kids were in Children’s Choir, then get frosting, sprinkles, and colored icing spray cans so that the kids could each decorate two or more cookies – one for themselves, and one for volunteers or clients at the PCC. Charles had said that 60 clients came in to try to get their taxes done Tuesday night, and – since they had to turn some people away – I figured a decent number would be there tonight (plus it turns out almost all of this tax season’s volunteers were there).

Already Tuesday night on the way home we had bought some stuff, and Wednesday morning I got more. Martha seemed to like the idea, and so – although we never get there as early as we’d like – with help from Dana and others – we got the sugar cookies baked and cooled and the frosting, etc. out. We caught a break because the lights and electricity flickered and Debbie decided to give the kids a Children’s Choir break, and so they played on the playground for several minutes, which makes them less antsy. But they were pretty excited about this project and ended up decorating way more than two cookies each. We wound up with two vats full of cookies for PCC folks. Each of the kids got one, and some saved some cookies for others. (The adults were bad and beforehand ate a fair number of cookies we decided were too dark – not very Weight Watcher friendly – not all food must be eaten.)

Below Ethan decorated. Ethan attended to this actvity more than some past ones.

Below, Oden decorated. Oden is a meticulous and creative artist who helped us a little making the dough before Children's Choir started.

Cara, below, decorated a bunch of cookies, including one each for her father, mother, and two sick nieces, Olivia and Lucy.

Oden and Ethan - below - are Children's Fellowship buddies.

The dads relaxed during the activity. Ethan and Hannah's Dad, Luke, took a break from cooking quesadillas with great pico de gallo (?) sauce for us, and talked with Oden's father Paul and Ariana's father Marcus (who talked to me about him working a third shift half shift at UPS).

Hannah, in the background (Ethan's sister), and their mother, Dana (in the foreground), both decorated cookies. Dana, Luke's ex-, has started coming to church and helping with Children's Fellowship (beginning a little bit after Luke and Lenora, Hannah and Ethan's then stepmother, split up). Hannah and Ethan were classmates (broadly construed) of Vincent at Brown.

Anna is a woman who comes with Leyla (who for some reason I got no good picture of - except for the group picture above top) to help out. You might recall that Leyla was a singing sensation at the Talent Show. After I'd left Stephanie got Leyla (who without Lucy is the youngest - and definitely the smallest - kid there).

The kids (and adults!) were both very creative and very productive. Note the cookie with the dollar sign (we explained what we were doing).

Oden finished a couple more cookies.

When I got to the PCC at 715 p.m., the place was packed. There were nearly a dozen tax volunteers there, plus several dozen clients and friends and family members having their taxes done or waiting. Plus there seemed to be some other families there for other activities. No time to take out my camera – I was quickly passing out cookies to people all over. Some folks were quite judicious – deciding they weren’t hungry or didn’t need all of that sugar – but the cookies were very popular with plenty of people (including kids and also some adults who took more than one). I actually probably could have used a whole nother vat or two of cookies (of course, I couldn’t stack them because that would mess up the icing).

Inefficiently, I drove back to church for one of my Guatemala meetings, then back to the Center with a few more cookies, in time to do one more (for the season), relatively complex return (which I made a relatively minor error on, that one of the coordinators, Pam, caught). The client turned out to be someone who knew me – someone who had worked for another office in the Presbyterian Center, but was then downsized in the 2006 layoffs (that nearly got me too). She was frank that getting laid off devastated her (working at the Center, she said, had been like being part of a family) and led to some health problems that had essentially disabled her (until God brought her back from the brink, she said). Still, she was good-natured, and I vaguely recognized here. As with some of these complex returns and chatty clients, I spent an hour plus with her, before heading back to grab some fried chicken and Pam (below, with her) checked the return. (Pam and Tenida both have paying day jobs as accountants also.) (Like many of our clients, this woman was a repeat client - though I had not done her taxes myself last year.)

I sat back in the kithen and chatted with Tenida, Charles (pictured below), and eventually Pam. We still miss Bill (Tenida's predessor) (health problems and longer work hours sidelined him as coordinator) and Wanda, who eventually retired from the Center (then came to work again at the Presbyterian Center - before getting caught by the layoffs).

Before leaving I stopped by the computer room/taxes room to get my stuff. Teenagers also use the room as computer lab during the other eight months of the year. Although Tenida was going to come back after having chicken to actually electronically file the 50 returns we'd done that night (10% of the 500 we'd done during the whole season in that one night) before midnight (I lived around 10:30 p.m.), after that - in terms of tax volunteers and tax clients - this room will stay silent and empty until January 2010 rolls around again, when we'll start up again.

-- Perry