Into the Wild Wood and Home Again

Saturday! And the day began with G scaring off a very impertinent bear. Seriously, we do not put out kitchen trash, and the bird feeders are empty. Nosing about looking for things to snack on from our bins is a waste of time. But still, there it was (as I'm told, since I was still asleep), on the side step. Then it went around front, and was on the front steps. Valiant husband and trusty dog scared it off. It bolted through the lilac hedge that separates our yard from the neighbor's-- imagine their surprise, with a full-grown black bear popping out into their driveway, full tilt. Yikes.  We live in a rural area, but it's hard sometimes to fathom that there are deer that cross our back yard, that there's bobcats up on the hillside behind our house, and yes, this damned nuisance bear that traverses our yards every night. During the day, there's traffic, dog-walkers, loud noises from the road and sidewalk construction, emergency vehicles-- all the busy-ness of in-town ...

Ah, google docs. What a mess. I have an editor who is trying to share her suggestions with me about a poem they are publishing-- and since she's put it in a google doc, and my regular email is not a google one, I can't access the file. I think we've got it figured out. She'll have to send it to my alternate email (a google one).  What a mess. We were all sold a real bill of goods when they said computers were going to make life simpler. Look at the mess in NJ over the glitch that enrolled 6K+ people in the voting rolls who didn't even ask to be put there. And let's get all sticky with the messes that computer issues have caused with autopay, bank errors, and now...AI jumping the fence that the creators have put around it, and it just goes ahead and does what it wants. And yes, I'm aware that I'm awarding sentience to a non-living entity, but this stuff is wildly scary.  It's bad enough that companies are shifting to AI to do human jobs-- what the hel...

It's Thursday, and that means bills, groceries, house chores...and add in soccer later today. I'm tired, woke up tired, and I wish I could just nap/cruise through the day. Not gonna happen. I'll rally. Just... it's taking some time. I can't help thinking about the start of the new school year, and to be honest, it's making me uneasy. I'm not in a good mental space yet to think about all of that: build the google classrooms, do the GCN modules (which we have not been sent yet, thankfully), and the whole getting up and getting going thing. Hell, I don't want to wear shoes yet.  The pool must be leaking; the water level keeps dropping, and we have not been in it. I'm glad I bought a new one for next year, but I still want to get in again this year-- but if we keep adding water, it stays too cold. Conundrum, eh?  And I'm trying to go without coffee today. My stomach has been a little extra-sensitive again, and I have no clue what's up, so I'm...

  To start with, I fully enjoyed The Odyssey as interpreted and directed by Nolan with such an awesome array of talent. Those who are complaining that it is not "true to the text" are missing the whole point of the story, and as a story rooted in both antiquity and myth, it has to be flexible. No story speaks to 3000 years of people without leaving room for adaptation.  There are things in the text that I miss in the film, but that's because I love the epic poem so much that I know the little things, which are, more than likely, not necessary to the narrative Nolan is spinning for us. There are shifts in the story that clearly show the director's intent, as well. Having Odysseus ponder and regret the effects of war, of breaking the social contract through lies and duplicity and offending the gods because they'd acted against the "laws of Zeus" was a choice that departs from the text. I'm not mad about it. In order for the ancient text to remain rele...

Another grey, overcast, somewhat chilly morning. Though it was ten degrees warmer this morning when I got up... progress? The pool stands, draped in heavy covering, a reproach, a distant invitation, a sad commentary on the distance between wish and reality. OK, I just leveled up the pool. I want to be floating and looking at clouds, but instead, I am not. Sigh. Summer does this to me sometimes.  At least we have no beach vacation plans to be ruined. Or any vacation plans, really. Each day has its own chore list, its own agenda that allows little time for dreaming in the pool, even if it were warm enough. Still, I have just over a month left before stodgy clothes and school requirements horn their way in. Maybe we'll get in the pool again soon. This cool trend is a bummer. (Though there are those cold weather folks who are cheering for the chill. Weirdos.) Today, after my leisurely cup of coffee and a hot shower, I will be wending my way downtown to meet with a former student who in...

We had another really great time at The Frost Place, this time with Abbie Kiefer as our guest poet. The open mic was super, too-- this year's poet in residence participated, as did a few other really good readers. It's awesome to end the weekend/start the week with good words in such a lovely location.  And now it's Monday, and it was 45 degrees when I got up. I'm pretty sure Holly is still going to want to go to swim lessons, even though it's likely to be only about 60 degrees. Crazy kids don't feel the cold. And she starts her one week of pre-K soccer camp today at 3:00 as well. Busy! But in the meantime, I hope to wash floors and maybe bake something-- the house is pretty chilly until the sun comes in the back windows in the afternoon. So, how about those Red Sox? 13 games in a row, and sweeping teams that everyone else seems to think they should have been pummeled by. I'll take it. It won't last (New England sports fans know these things in their sou...