Go Asheville

I stumbled upon this. Good in lots of ways, but left out so much. Only goes to show that you need more than 36 hours in Asheville.

NY Times: 36 Hours in Asheville

Are we all Crazy/Angry

"It's an old and ironic habit of human beings
to run faster when we've lost our way."
-Rollo May

This weekend, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert are hosting "rallies" at the National Mall in Washington, DC. My brother is going.
The "Rally to Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive" actually is very indicative of our country. This summer, I saw something interesting-- America rocks. Just don't watch the news or ask politicians. If you do, you'll see America as hateful, divided, intolerant and dangerous. Here's what I saw: a country that was warm, embracing and inherently good.

So what happens? We let the minority dominate. The failure of our democracy might be that we don't hear the majority. The screams, threats and fear mongering of the minority is what most of us hear. And in turn, it shapes what many of us believe. We are a society that has allowed ourselves to be driven and shaped by fear.

I read a fascinating article a few weeks ago in the NY Times about how irrational a society we are as reflected by our parenting. Parents over worry about school shootings and kidnappings (which I don't wish on anyone) when statistically their children are more likely going to get involved in drugs, become obese or injure themselves playing soccer. The most dangerous activity our children do everyday: get in cars. The rates of accidents and injuries in public transportation is much lower than in personal vehicles. If you really wanted to keep your child safe, you'd be better off putting them on a bus or even an airplane.

Fear drives us to be irrational. It causes us to scream and shout while forgetting to think. Fear builds walls. If we could learn to look past it, we would see lots of great things and people that were missed because our eyes were shut, ears were covered and we're yelling too loud.

Blog Hibernation

My last post was Sept 21. Wow. Where has the fall gone? And why am I captain of "Team Blog Suck"?

For what they are worth, here are my excuses:

1) I've been super busy. Yes, that's tired and used, but I feel like I have been working harder as a teacher this year than any year since my first. Classes are the same, but the students are different. I don't have bad kids; I have kids that drain me emotionally. They are students that have many academic, social, emotional and developmental needs. Awesome, sweet kids-- but they are physically and emotionally draining. Unbelievably tiring, each day I am just exhausted.

2) I have not been feeling very artistic and original. I've had great ideas and subjects for blogs, just have not seemed like I could put words to these ideas. Writer's block if you want to call it.

That being said, Monday, November 1 is the beginning of wrestling season. My life becomes consumed by my role as coach. This blog may disappear. I hope not, but I am in a real funky, fluid and flaky place in my life right now. I may or may not be figuring it all out. Just when I think I know the answer, I am proved wrong. When things are dysfunctional in my mind, clarity emerges somehow.