My Speech Group Today.

"Okay, does anyone else know any songs that we can all sing in our Number 2/Inside Voice?"

The little boy with the glasses and big eyes looks up with a very earnest reply, "We could sing GOD IS BIGGER THAN THE BOGEYMAN."

The only two pairs of adult eyes meet. Eyebrows arch. Smiles creep out to be seen.

"I love your idea but we should probably pick a song everyone will know like Row Row Row Your Boat. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I like that one, too."

The G Is Silent

He was just a really cool guy. He would sit there, backstage or in the dressing room, quietly strumming the strings and going over songs in his head. He was easy to talk to, and once I asked him how he got his nickname. "Was it because your fingers are so fast on the banjo?"

"No," he explained, "When I was little I was a kinda slow, and my daddy would always say to me, 'C'mon Lightnin'!'"

"That's how you got your nickname?"

"Yessir, I was slow."

- Today I was reading a friend's blog and he mentioned a blues musician he loved, and how he used to see the guy play parties in his hometown. The guy, Lightning Boy Steve Malcolm, most recently played with Jimmy Buffett. I love Blues Musicians and there names. (Ralph Macchio's character in Crossroads was also called Lightning Boy!) Anyway it made me think of a man I met when I was in school down in North Carolina. He was a musician brought in to accompany, and perform in a play we were doing at the time - Dark Of The Moon. It was a crazy show; witches, hillbillies, and lots of music including hymns, spitrituals, etc. This guy - his name was Mike Lightnin' Wells - was a great character, friendly, and, if I remember correctly, knew my dad's family. I like him so much that I named a character in my first play after him in tribute to the above conversation.

I googled him and found his website. Looks like he's doing well these days.

As Big As My Foot!

Or close to, anyway.

Here is a picture of a stinging sea nettle jellyfish. They inhabit the Atlantic Ocean and connecting estuaries. The Severn River does get the jellyfish during the Summer, and I have seen a few floating around down at the beach. Today I went out kayaking today and saw the biggest jellyfish I've ever seen outside of the National Aquarium. I was paddling around and I noticed a few odd nettles floating near the surface. Suddenly I see the huge one just drifting with the current towards my kayak. This sucker is so big that, and yes I realize how insanely ludicrous this sounds, I got the chills and actually thought, "I hope that thing can't get me."

Silly, I know but I thought it. Then I turned my kayak around and paddled my ass out of there as fast as I could leaving that monstrosity bobbing in my wake.

2,920 Days (more or less)

For 8 years I lived without a car. I didn't need one. We rode the CTA wherever we wanted to go or we could rent a car for long trips. 8 years without the convenience of a car. 8 years without the cost of maintaining and fueling a car. Now we have two cars. Two gas-tanks to fill. Two vehicles to keep running and pouring money into... What a headache!

For two years now I have lived with a car and dreamt about public transportation.

Sex Is The Word!

I realized today that I have never seen the movie Grease unedited. When I was a kid we had it taped off of public television and I would pop in the VCR tape quite frequently. Needless to say the censors chopped it all up, and even cut out the entire Greased Lightning sequence.

In high school when I performed in a production of the show I noticed a few of the differences between the stage play and the screenplay. I had a better grasp of the adult humor and sexual references but we were still teenagers so they edited for content, as well - we weren't aloud to say, "Pussy Wagon". Too Bad.

Today I got out of bed, for the second time, and switched on the tube. There was the opening sequence to the movie so I sat down, as a 33 year old man, and watched the entire movie. (Okay, I took a bathroom break during Beauty School Dropout.) I was pleasantly shocked by all of the blatant sexual references. I was amazed at all of the TBirds' crude gestures and comments. I smiled when Danny Zuko called Rizzo 'sloppy seconds'. I laughed out loud when Kenickie discovers the condom he bought in seventh grade will no longer do the trick. I guess even teenagers back in the 50's had sex.

If you'd have asked me that question when I was a kid I would have foolishly said, "No Way. Everyone at Rydell High is a virgin and Rizzo immaculately conceived." Thank You Very Much Censors!

Easy Activity

Or so I thought.

The class is studying local Native American tribes for their Summer School unit. The Nanticoke is a tribe that once existed on and around the Cheseapeake Bay, and they traveled, sometime, by canoe. So I thought that we could pretend to take a little canoe trip in class using our imagination.

Simple.

The next ten minutes are spent discussing every manner of boat you can paddle from ancient greek longboats to paddle-boats. The paddling procedure was also examined; two oars at the same time, alternating sides, one oar one side, etc.

Needless to say the class period ended and we were all still stuck on the shore, in our 'canoes' arguing over semantics.

WTF?

I don't know... sounds fishy!

Seasons Greetings!

A Birthday/Xmas In July Pub Crawl through Annapolis! Good fun with friends we don't see enough. New faces, and acquaintances to laugh with at the merriment and carols. Yes, they sang carols at and between bars; an adapted 12 Days of Xmas.

Despite my love of the yule time tonight I was a Grinch - I partied but would not make merry - and a designated driver.

Then My Wife Says To Me,

"It's totally your type of movie."

Dark. Doomsday Scenario. Science Fiction. Psychological Thriller.

I'd seen it when it came out months before. I was totally engrossed. I bought into the world it created, and couldn't wait to see it again. So I finally rented it.


My wife is right. I guess you could say I have a Sunny Disposition.

Someone Sent this To Me.

It's all over the internet. If you haven't seen it watch the whole thing. I thought it was pretty cool. I like what it says.

Trying To Get Active.

So yesterday after sitting in the movie theater for a Sunday afternoon matinée I decided I would try and take advantage of my neighborhood resources and get a little exercise. Among other things my community has a tennis/basketball court, swimming beach and kayaks. I like to kayak... every now and again...

So Adam and I went kayaking on the Severn River yesterday afternoon. Two couch potatoes, no offense Adam, paddling around the river. My first kayak seemed to be taking on water, so I beached it and got another one that sat higher in the water. (They're all open ocean kayaks) We didn't make any great trek down the river or shoot the rapids or anything. Just a leisurely paddle in the afternoon.

I plan on doing this more often during my free days. I've also been trying to take longer walks with the Tooter to get a little exercise. Can't sit on my butt all day every day. Although I have, so far this Summer gotten through the first 4 books of the fantasy series I mentioned. I'm reading novel and author's notes on the novel. The latest book did not disappoint. Today when I get home from babysitting maybe I will start on the 5th book.

Or maybe I'll go kayaking.

Made me giggle.

Get your Yo Mama widget at hostdrjack.com

My three favorite are:

1. She eats Wheat Thicks!
2. She Jumped for joy and got stuck!
   
3. Her butt looks like two pigs fighting over Milkduds!

Boob Tube

One of the perks about having this time off lately is that I have managed to catch some films on cable, or dvd that I haven't seen in years, or missed when they were in the theaters. More than one morning has passed when I get up, make a cup of coffee with every intention of working on a script or reading a book but then the remote control calls me. I switch on the Boob Tube to see what's playing and WHAM! I get sucked into a movie and... can't... look... away!

This morning it was Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. In general, I don't always like Spike Lee Joints, but there have been exceptions in the past. His films always have a great cast of memorable characters, more often than not, portrayed by exceptional actors. This film included such gems as Mookie, Radio Raheem, Buggin' Out, Da Mayor, and Sweet Dick Willie!So I spent my morning sipping coffee, and bearing witness to great racial conflict all the while craving N.Y style pizza from 'Famous Sal's'!

Radio Raheem says, "FIGHT THE POWER!"

I Think I'm Starting To Miss The Kids.

I'm dreaming about them.

I just woke up from a dream in which I had to send a note home to student's parents because of insubordination. I've had other dreams recently, too. Rehearsal dreams. School hallway dreams. I even woke myself up the other night when I dreamed I had been notified of a graduate's death. (Messed Up, huh?) My dreams are also about students from my last school as well. It's all a jumble of familiar faces.

It's been about 3 weeks since school got out and I've had a lot of time to kill. Have I been the most productive? No. But I've tried. I have worked on some writing, tidied up little sections of the house, seen a few movies, and walked Tootsie a lot. I'm also on Book 3 of the Incarnations Of Immortality series I debated getting into this Summer.

Today is the first day of Summer School (ESY), and I go in tomorrow for my Tues & Thurs schedule. I'm not looking forward to the commute, but apparently I'm looking forward to getting back to work.

Happy 4th Of July!!

We're just relaxing. Hope you are doing well.
Sit back. Listen. Watch.
(The original post was changed after the firework effect was corrupted somehow. Feel free to adjust volume on either the music or video, which does not automatically loop.)

Missed My Commute SO Much!

First day of Summer School Orientation was yesterday. So I got up and casually made the drive to Rockville from Annapolis. I was late. I forgot about all of those drivers who never learned how to merge, and those people who shouldn't have a license just because they're idiots.



I wasn't majorly late. Just annoyingly so.

My wife has actually commented on how calm I am in traffic. I admit that I can have a very short fuse with certain things: for example: technology, losing my checkbook, family, the price of gasoline and Oprah Winfrey. Traffic, while it does get to me, doesn't enrage me because I'm powerless to change it. If I'm sitting in my car and all I can see for the next five exits are brake lights I'm not going to hulk out, lay on the horn, curse your mother, and start flipping the bird to every inept motorist I see. That would be silly. Instead, I quietly sit in my car, surfing Sirius channels, going over lesson plans in my head, and imagining what the world would be like if I had access to a nuclear arsenal.

We're overcrowded! We''re wasteful! We're violent! We're self-absorbed and we DESPERATELY NEED TO CHIT-CHAT ON OUR CELL PHONES IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC!!!!!!

I'd hate to think what might happen if I had my finger on the button.