Here I give you the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th issue in the series.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Earth Postage Stamps--Peacemaker Series #'s 32 through 34
My ultimate goal with this series is to issue 100 stamps honoring people from all over the world who have given of themselves to bring a greater peace to all people, creatures...to creation.
Here I give you the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th issue in the series.
Here I give you the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th issue in the series.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Teachers I Have Known
I'm inaugurating a new series of memoirs dedicated to my "teachers". And I start this set of reflections with a most unlikely candidate in some ways. She was only my teacher for one quarter of my 7th grade year. She taught Home Economics in a rotation that included typing, shop, and ecology! Go figure, right? It was the seventies.
Blanche Stanton was a teacher cut from a mold like most of her contemporaries that now belongs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. While I went to school in southeastern Michigan, she hailed from southeastern Kentucky. I remember that she was a formidable presence who was often beset upon by the mocking of us kids, yet never took it in stride. She was at war with us, and by God she had no intention of declaring surrender.
In 12 years of public under-graduate education, I was "sent to the office" on one occasion, by one teacher: Mrs. Stanton. My crime? I rolled my eyes at her. No shit!
The infraction occurred on the heels of a diatribe that she performed upon returning from a sick day to discover that someone had placed her electric, plastic bottomed coffee percolator on an electric burner on one of the stoves in her classroom resulting in an absurdist sculpture of sorts, but ending the career of her coffee pot.
All these years later, I wonder if one of the mitigating factors in her outrage was a caffeine deficiency created by the demise of her beloved percolator...
My banishment to the office was a total and utter shock to me. MY GOD, sent to the office...insubordination...was next? Courts Marshall? Execution? I knew that if my dad ever discovered that I had been thusly accused, death would be a blessing.
Sheepishly, I entered the office and took a seat. I didn't say a thing to anybody. I held onto the pass like a spy with the code that could end the war while still in enemy territory. Suddenly the vice-prinicple entered the office and seeing me asked, "What are you doing here?"
I handed him the note from Mrs. Stanton. He read it, and then asked, "What did you do?"
"I rolled my eyes."
"You what?"
What did he mean, 'I what?' I repeated myself, "I rolled my eyes."
He rolled his.
He looked at the clock. He looked at me. He said, "Stay here another 10 minutes and then go back to class."
Like a blast of snow in the face of man on the edge of heat exhaustion, a wave of relief passed over me.
Now, lest you think this is the story of a bad teacher, quite to the contrary, Mrs. Stanton gave me one of the most valuable things I have ever received. She gave me my first introduction to cooking. And I LOVE to cook.
The recipe that got the ball rolling was for an Apple Crumb Coffee Cake. After making it with my lab mates in her kitchen, I proceeded to make and remake it again and again for anyone who would tolerate it, and for any occasion at which it would make any sense at all.
Mrs. Stanton was the best kind of teacher. She was real. She wasn't afraid to be eccentric, odd, or old school. She loved her subject, and when anything got between it and conveying its importance to her students, she wasn't above displaying her passion indiscriminately.
So besides the amazing recipe, she also taught me that teachers are not perfect. They need to be forgiven every now and then--just like their students.
POST WRITING THIS, I DISCOVERED HER OBITUARY:
Blanche Kelley Stanton
STANTON Blanche Kelley Stanton, age 85, passed away on, July 20, 2011, at her home in Peachtree City, Georgia. Blanche was the beloved daughter of Carrie Waters Kelley and Charlie Hoke Kelley. She was born in Pickens County, South Carolina on September 18, 1925. Blanche was an excellent student and served as a member of the National Beta Club in High School. After her high school graduation, she attended Michigan State University where she studied Geography and Home Economics. While serving as Executive Director of the Dairy Council of Stark County Ohio Blanche met her husband, James Stanton. They were married on June 9, 1956 and remained happily married for 51 years until James passed away on June 19, 2007. Mrs. Stanton taught Home Economics and Geography in the Flat Rock Michigan Schools until her retirement in 1985. In her retirement, she enjoyed Cairn Terrier dogs and spending time with her husband. Mrs. Stanton is survived by a brother, James Kelley; nephew, Marty Kelley; nieces, Dalton Blankenship and Gemma Kelley; sister-in-law, Agnes Hazard; nephew, Charlie Hoke Kelley III; niece, Betty Gault; brother-in-law, Donald Stanton; sister-in-law, Jeri Stanton; nephews, Douglas Stanton, Clifford Stanton; niece, Shirley Stanton Grate; brother-in-law, Bill Cobb; nephews, Stephen Cobb, Michael Cobb, Robert Cobb; and niece, Cynthia Cobb Todd. Graveside Service 1:30 p.m. MONDAY, August 1, St. Joseph Cemetery, 6440 South High Street Lockbourne, Ohio, Rev. Dr. William L. Snider, Officiating. Arrangements entrusted to the JOHN QUINT TREBONI FUNERAL HOME and CREMATION SERVICE, 1177 W. 5th Avenue.
Blanche Stanton was a teacher cut from a mold like most of her contemporaries that now belongs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. While I went to school in southeastern Michigan, she hailed from southeastern Kentucky. I remember that she was a formidable presence who was often beset upon by the mocking of us kids, yet never took it in stride. She was at war with us, and by God she had no intention of declaring surrender.
In 12 years of public under-graduate education, I was "sent to the office" on one occasion, by one teacher: Mrs. Stanton. My crime? I rolled my eyes at her. No shit!
The infraction occurred on the heels of a diatribe that she performed upon returning from a sick day to discover that someone had placed her electric, plastic bottomed coffee percolator on an electric burner on one of the stoves in her classroom resulting in an absurdist sculpture of sorts, but ending the career of her coffee pot.
All these years later, I wonder if one of the mitigating factors in her outrage was a caffeine deficiency created by the demise of her beloved percolator...
My banishment to the office was a total and utter shock to me. MY GOD, sent to the office...insubordination...was next? Courts Marshall? Execution? I knew that if my dad ever discovered that I had been thusly accused, death would be a blessing.
Sheepishly, I entered the office and took a seat. I didn't say a thing to anybody. I held onto the pass like a spy with the code that could end the war while still in enemy territory. Suddenly the vice-prinicple entered the office and seeing me asked, "What are you doing here?"
I handed him the note from Mrs. Stanton. He read it, and then asked, "What did you do?"
"I rolled my eyes."
"You what?"
What did he mean, 'I what?' I repeated myself, "I rolled my eyes."
He rolled his.
He looked at the clock. He looked at me. He said, "Stay here another 10 minutes and then go back to class."
Like a blast of snow in the face of man on the edge of heat exhaustion, a wave of relief passed over me.
The recipe that got the ball rolling was for an Apple Crumb Coffee Cake. After making it with my lab mates in her kitchen, I proceeded to make and remake it again and again for anyone who would tolerate it, and for any occasion at which it would make any sense at all.
Mrs. Stanton was the best kind of teacher. She was real. She wasn't afraid to be eccentric, odd, or old school. She loved her subject, and when anything got between it and conveying its importance to her students, she wasn't above displaying her passion indiscriminately.
So besides the amazing recipe, she also taught me that teachers are not perfect. They need to be forgiven every now and then--just like their students.
POST WRITING THIS, I DISCOVERED HER OBITUARY:
Blanche Kelley Stanton
STANTON Blanche Kelley Stanton, age 85, passed away on, July 20, 2011, at her home in Peachtree City, Georgia. Blanche was the beloved daughter of Carrie Waters Kelley and Charlie Hoke Kelley. She was born in Pickens County, South Carolina on September 18, 1925. Blanche was an excellent student and served as a member of the National Beta Club in High School. After her high school graduation, she attended Michigan State University where she studied Geography and Home Economics. While serving as Executive Director of the Dairy Council of Stark County Ohio Blanche met her husband, James Stanton. They were married on June 9, 1956 and remained happily married for 51 years until James passed away on June 19, 2007. Mrs. Stanton taught Home Economics and Geography in the Flat Rock Michigan Schools until her retirement in 1985. In her retirement, she enjoyed Cairn Terrier dogs and spending time with her husband. Mrs. Stanton is survived by a brother, James Kelley; nephew, Marty Kelley; nieces, Dalton Blankenship and Gemma Kelley; sister-in-law, Agnes Hazard; nephew, Charlie Hoke Kelley III; niece, Betty Gault; brother-in-law, Donald Stanton; sister-in-law, Jeri Stanton; nephews, Douglas Stanton, Clifford Stanton; niece, Shirley Stanton Grate; brother-in-law, Bill Cobb; nephews, Stephen Cobb, Michael Cobb, Robert Cobb; and niece, Cynthia Cobb Todd. Graveside Service 1:30 p.m. MONDAY, August 1, St. Joseph Cemetery, 6440 South High Street Lockbourne, Ohio, Rev. Dr. William L. Snider, Officiating. Arrangements entrusted to the JOHN QUINT TREBONI FUNERAL HOME and CREMATION SERVICE, 1177 W. 5th Avenue.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Random Quote 137
~ Albert Einstein, 1879 - 1955
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Bonsai Tree Stamps in 2012!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Dinner Salad!
1) A wreath of crudely ripped organic Romaine Lettuce and drizzle with Ken's Lite Caesar dressing.
2) Arrange pointing outward from the center a ring of the following in this order: A) French Green Beans (blanched 4 min.), B) Asparagus spears (blanched 1 min.), and C) Avocado wedges.
3) Top with two hard boiled Eggs divided longways into sixths.
4) Drizzle center of salad with more Ken's Lite Caesar dressing.
5) Finish with fresh ground Black Pepper!
Devour, politely!
Monday, December 12, 2011
What I'm Reading #38
Everyone who loves a teenager who feels like they are different. A teenager who will most likely face a future of difficult choices and hard work. A teenager who hold within themselves a passion, even and especially if it has yet to be discovered. This is the book, that they need to read--that YOU need to read with them together. The opportunities to discuss ideas, the revelations and triumphs achieved through love and sacrifice all teach such powerful life lessons. I love this one, through and through.
Reading books together is powerful. Parents need to read to their children and then WITH them. WITH THEM--get it? The journey of discovery is never more powerful as when it is shared.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
13 views of Washington, DC, A Nocturne
Earthquake: Mexico
Oraciones para los gente de Mexico...
Today's Sermon
Some men never think of it.
You did. You'd come along
And say you'd nearly brought me flowers
But something had gone wrong.
The shop was closed. Or you had doubts --
The sort that minds like ours
Dream up incessantly. You thought
I might not want your flowers.
It made me smile and hug you then.
Now I can only smile.
But, look, the flower you nearly brought
Have lasted all this while.
Wendy Cope, 1945 -
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Christmas Ornaments
This one joins a seahorse from last year on a holiday tree in Houston, Texas. What cheer!
And a pic of one now residing in Chicago! (Cheers, Dean)
Others flew (swam?) off to friends in Dover, New Hampshire; Versailles, Kentucky; Cleveland, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; Detroit, Michigan, and Louisville, Kentucky. What joy!
Fairwell!
Fascinating from beginning to end.
World Watch: Earthquakes
Here's the thing. I check in on this site nearly daily and have been doing so for the past 15 or so years, and this is as calm a week as the earth has experienced in well over a year. Cool? or calm before the storm? Hmmmm....
Friday, December 09, 2011
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Today's Sermon
for sonny cozzi
wait in some un/discovered corner
where no man has profaned
the sweetness that is love
and i will come at sun's setting
to kiss away your fears
and hold your strong hand
in my own
~ Adrian Stanford, 1950 - 1981
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Random Quote 136
~ John Fugelsang, 1969 -
What I'm Reading #37
I LOVE her, but this book was overall very disappointing. Her take on her experiences grew more and more self-serving and I kept saying to myself, "You are too intelligent to have said that or done that"--I would have to think she was borderline retarded to accept her take on her interactions with other people. It left me feeling more disappointed in her than impressed, but I still think she's comic genius in spite of her treating me like an idiot as a reader with this memoir....
I can't remember the last time a book disappointed me so much.
Poets Of The 20th Century To Be Honored On 2012 US Stamps
I would have gone to 20 poets, a single sheet with 20 unique stamps on it and would add the following 10 contemporaries to the group:
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Raymond Carver
Audre Lorde
Langston Hughes
T. S. Elliot
Kenneth Koch
James Merrill
Marianne Moore
Lucille Clifton
May Swenson
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