At The Library

At The Library
Cecil County Public Libraries
Cecil county, MD

I go to the library about three times a week.  I go for two reasons: (1) I don't have Internet at my house, (2) I get to work on a clean, uncluttered surface.  I love my library.  It's just great.  As a mater of fact it was named library of the year in 2015.  So I'm not the only one who holds this opinion.

My library in the 1960s was so different. It was musty, worn out and gloomy.  There were beaten up library tables and chairs.  There was absolute silence and obsolete books.  Tired, old women patrolled the stacks and silenced all of us.  It was lifeless.

But not this library.  The CCPL is alive and well.  It is filled with people and noise and movies and audio books and computers, and and DVDs and CD and puppets and microwaves and soda machines.  People speak openly and in normal voices.  Students study together and science programs are offered and well attended.

A handful of veterans wander in to the library every day and they work on job searches.  Individuals come in here and log in to the computers so that they may participate in virtual classrooms.  Middle school kids come here because they have nowhere else to go after  school.  They are bored but at least they are surrounded by books.

Libraries today are alive with a pulse on the community. I love my library. 

Coveting My Things

COVETING ALL MY THINGS
Haiti Family Initiative Program
Jaime, Haiti
Summer 2013

I arrive in Jacmel and head to our summer program.  Word is out that the white people are here.  So the neighbors come running to find us. Many of the women only one phrases in English. They tug on my arm and point to something of mine, "OK, WHEN YOU LEAVE." 

Then they shamelessly point to themselves.  They want my hat, my purse, my blouse, my eyeglasses, my water bottle, my phone, my pants, my water sprayer.  Someone actually pulled on my bra strap.  My $8 Wal-Mart slips on sneakers are a very hot commodity. I have had several requests for them.  

I wonder what the USA Custom’s Official would say if I did come back sans everything that has been coveted.

Mr. Flatley

Mr. Flatley
Philadelphia, PA
1919-2006

The Flatleys lived down the street from us.  In addition to the parents, there were 10 kids.  And our families were intermingled with each other.  My parents were very good friends with Mr. and Mrs. Flately.  My siblings and I were friends with their children.  As a matter of fact, Kathy and I went to grade school, high school and college together.  We were college roommates.  I was in Kathy's wedding and we have mourned together as we said goodbye to our parents and siblings.

Mr. Flatley was very unusual.  He never seemed to get angry about anything.  Nothing seemed to ruffle his feathers.  He could go with the flow and then be oblivious to the aggravations of the moments.

• He built a skiing rink in the back yard during the winter. The whole neighborhood came over to skate.
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• He once held a contest to see who could throw the ball the highest. When the ball went off course and went through a garage window, he just shrugged that off and said, "Well, we will have to get that fixed.  Don't tell Mother what we were doing." And the contest continued.
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• He cleared out the master bedroom once and invited his friends over for an evening of ballroom dancing. All the adults came dressed in formal wear.
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• They would go camping as a family and somehow, got everyone in the station wagon (up to 12 people) and strapped everything to the top.  It looked as if that car was never going to make it to the end of the block.
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• He was 87and at my house for a party.  One friend brought her 12 year old step daughter who tried to make herself invisible all night.  Sensing her discomfort, I left her alone and let her be invisible.  Mr. Flatley went right up to her and sat down and asked, "May I have the pleasure of your acquaintance?" They talked to each other for the rest of the evening.
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• My most memorable moment with him was in my horrible college apartment living room.  He just drove 4 hours to see us and he was tired.  He found a spot on our lumpy, trash-picked couch and made himself comfortable. "Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lay down", he told me as he closed his eyes and took a nap.

I wish I could be this content with life.

Austria

Austria

Salzburg

January 2012

We stood on top of a hill, looking down on this beautiful city of Salzburg.  It was cold and windy and I wanted to find some place to sneak in to just to avoid the cold.  As I readjusted my hat, I noticed I was missing an earring, one of my diamond earrings. My heart sank. I looked everywhere but to no avail. I gave up.  But I hope that some nice young man finds that earring and uses it in an engagement ring for a marriage of a lifetime.

Fireworks

Fireworks

Post Graduation Ceremonies

June

1994-2007

When I was a high school principal, we had fireworks at the end of our graduation ceremony.  It was great fun and added to the celebration.  The tradition started in 1994 at Stroudsburg High School. We realized we had too many people attending our outdoor ceremony and every attempt to get out of the parking lot quickly was null and void.  But we had a lot of old, sickly, fragile grandparents. So we started the fireworks as a way to weed out the crowd.  The grandparents snuck out when the ceremony was finished and the rest of us stayed behind until the last rocket expired in the air.  And then we cheered and cheered and cheered.

In 2000, I changed schools and mentioned this tradition.  The Springfield people jumped on the idea as well.  At the conclusion of  our indoor ceremony, we wandered outside to a community party.  Since the crowd was already there, it was so easy to add this little extra attraction.

When I retired, a co-worker told me I had done great things as a principal but she was most grateful for the firework. "Every burst of light is one of our kids going off in to the dark to light up the world," she told me.

Sea Dog

Sea Dog
Sister Sebastian, RSM
Principal
Our Lady of Lourdes
Philadelphia, PA
1962-1966

She was ugly, dog ugly; hence the nickname SEA DOG.  She was large, old, waddled with a pronounced limb, yelled, barked orders and conveyed a message of authority.  Nuns, lay teachers and kids alike feared her.

She punched kids with a force that caused them to cry. She slapped the boys across the face. She called us "retarded' and threatened the possibility of being banished to public school is we did not behave. She loathed nonCatholics and told us so.  She referred to the local business owner as "that cheap Jew."

She was a despicable person, something I recognized as an 8 year old and I was happy to be rid of her.

Bird In Flight

Bird In Flight

Middlebrook, VA

Spring 2006

I captured this photo through a window.  I am sitting on the couch when this titmouse lands on the railing outside. I slowly grab my camera and pull it towards me.  I try so hard not to make any sudden movement as I do not want to scare the bird away.  I lift up my camera, take aim and begin to focus just as my bratty nephew taps on the window and startles the bird.  It takes flight but not before I snapped this shot.

While it is not the best shot, I love the fluttering of its wings.

Tammy

Tammy
My doll
1964

All of my friends had Barbie dolls.  I had Tammy.  She was two inches taller and a bit more realistic in her weight distribution.  But she was a little cheaper in price and in maintenance.  Her outfits didn't cost as much as Barbie's and my mother was able to make a few outfits.  She also didn't have the 10,000 accessories that Barbie had. So, I had to work around the Barbie things.  When we wanted to take a ride in Barbie's car, Tammy didn't fit.  She had to run along side.  She didn't fit in the dream house as she was too tall. And dating Ken was out of the question as she towered over him.

As a kid, I don't think I saw Tammy as an inferior to Barbie but it would have been nice to fit in the car.  As an adult, I think there should be more Tammys in life.

The Women's March- A Few More Photos

The Women's March

Washington, DC

January 21, 2017

"The kindest politest and calmest gathering/protesting I ever saw. And the exhibition of posts on Sunday, in front of the White House, along the independence ave!! Now I know how great this nation is and why. Solute!"- a message from one of my former Chinese students.  Three of them came to DC and spent three days, attending all of the social gathers on both sides of the political parties.

Being Outlandish

Being Outlandish

Northwest String Summit

Portland, Oregon

July 2016

I attend this music festival and the critical mass of people are dressed in outlandish outfits or their hair is dyed a ridiculous color combination or there are lots of blonde-haired dreadlocks or  they adorn something that causes them to be noticed by everyone.  One man walked around with his hairy chest exposed to his nipples and a tight fitting bride's gown. He also wore a crown of jewels.

None of these appearances bothered me.  But I did find sad that this environment was probably one of the few places where these people could walk through life without judgment.  And it made me wonder, "why do we interfere with people's effort to be as authentic as possible."

On The Beach

On The Beach

Rehoboth Beach, DE

Summer 2015

While others sit on the beach, wearing next to nothing, I take this time to cover up.  The sun is not my friend.  Both of my parents had serious bouts of skin cancer.  And I am white and Irish.  I am cursed by the sun.

I am usually the only person there fully clothed. Long sleeves, long pants, a hat, a blanket to cover my feet and a sun shelter are my usual attire and accessories.  As my friend mockingly says to me, "Hurry up Kel, we are going to the beach.  Put your burka on."

The Red Guard

The Red Guard
Sias University
Henan Province, China
Winter 2012

They marched through the campus every morning and every afternoon.  They were students who had joined the Communist Party.  The overwhelming majority of my students were not members of the party and did not identify with this display of nationalism.  Most of the students were oblivious to these daily rituals.  As a matter of fact, often, I was the only one who stopped to watch them.

My Antarctic Barbecue Party

My Antarctic Barbecue Party

Wendell Sea

December 2007

When I was told we were going to have a barbecue on the upper deck of our ship, I thought the idea was ridiculous.  We were in the middle of the ocean in Antarctic.  That small detail did not seem to bother the crew.  So we all participated, in the cold, in a snow storm, on the Weddell Sea.  We had spare ribs which proved to be a challenge for me.  I couldn't handle the ribs with my heavy duty mittens.  So I would have to take a mitten off, quickly pick up my rib, take a bit, put it down and put my mitten back on. Drinking my warmed wine was also a challenge, not impossible, but a challenge.