Friday Fill-Ins: The Night Before Halloween

1. "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness." by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

2. My fine at the library was huge so I offered to take the books from Borders instead of their shelves.

3. Rushing out, before the vampires rushed in.

4. While watching an Alfred Hitchcock film, like Rear Window,...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh...don't wake the monster under your bed!

6. Don't give me something good to eat! I'll eat it all!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to a Halloween party at The House of Heller (our Art teacher's last name, who decorates her home with drop cloths, leaves from outside, and the only light is candles), tomorrow my plans include going to a Halloween party at our neighbor's and Sunday, I want to go to the last Halloween party at Misericordia for my husband's handicapped sister!

On A Bike Ride In October

In the world outside
is it harvesting time?
The grass of my hut.

~Basho

Mailbox Monday

Into my mailbox came the following books:

• Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto which I bought after reading the review by Charlie from the JLC3 Review Site. It's won glowing praise from numerous sources, and I can't wait to dive into another mystery.


• The Players by Margaret Sweatman which I'm reading and reviewing November 10, thanks to Eco Libris' initiative to read books on recycled paper.


• Sand to Stone and Back Again  by Nancy Bo Flood which will be reviewed at the end of November thanks to Sally at KidzBookBuzz.com

Brought to you by The Printed Page

Oh! A Mystery of Mono No Aware

Title: Oh! A Mystery of Mono No Aware
Author: Todd Shimoda
Published: 2009, 303 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5

Carine says before I can stop here, "Zack's here on a kind of, um, spiritual quest. Looking for a way to experience deep emotions. He heard about a Japanese idea of mono no aware, it's...well, you tell him Zack." (p. 123)

Zack Hara is frustrated by the lack of emotions he is able to experience. In a relationship which is neither hot nor cold, he decides to leave California for Japan in order to pursue an understanding of his grandfather's roots. An even greater pursuit is that of finding emotional depth in his life.

A professor hires him to help him edit work from Japanese to English, and he sets before Zack a series of tasks:

1. Getting lost.


2. Finding a pear-shaped stone.


3. Committing a petty crime.


4. Discovering why people decide to end their lives in the suicide clubs at Aokigahara.


5. Writing poetry.

In the course of fulfilling each task, both Zack and the reader learn what the Japanese term mono no aware means. Essentially, in very crude American terms, it is the emotional reaction to something felt so deeply that one can only exclaim, "Oh!"

When Zack sets out to become lost, in his first assignment, he feels he has defeated the purpose because it is an intentional act instead of an accidental one. As he discusses this with the professor, he says

So, it's the same with emotion. Purposely setting out to feel something, to experience an emotion, will never be the same as naturally feeling the emotion. Right? (p. 51)

Being a person who does not suffer from a lack of emotion, I can't relate to searching for something to feel. But, I can quite acutely react to the search for understanding what would cause someone to commit suicide. The author explores possible solutions such as despair and depression, as well as mental illness:

From what I've seen so far, the suicide victim gets trapped in another world with an alternate logic. Death becomes the only answer for every question and situation. Death becomes the inescapable conclusion. (p. 204)

But, the idea is also presented that it is only in the final moments of one's life that one is able to fully experience mono no aware. Perhaps this can give us a possible solution as to why someone would be attracted to suicide, confused as it may be.

This book is a fascinating look at emotion, and the ancient Japanese term which, although forgotten by many, still lurks deep within our souls. Whether we stuff it down and refuse to display emotion or not.

Mono no aware is difficult to translate literally, although the word "sensibility" is perhaps the closest single word. Sensibility is the awareness of and responsiveness toward something, as emotion in another. It implies a refined sensitivity to emotion and responsiveness toward the sorrowful. Other definitions of mono no aware include:

• traditional Japanese acceptance of the inherent sadness of life


• feelings generated by ephemeral beauty


• the enveloping sensation of refinement and grace in which the feeling and the mind come together


• sensitivity to things and events


• an aesthetic awareness of the transience of all things


• a feeling of being connected to nature and all things


•  a desolate poignancy


• the intangibility or evanescence of objects


• a feeling for the poignant beauty of things


• wistfulness

This book will be given as the Japanese Literature Challenge 3's prize for October. Should you wish to be entered to win a copy, please leave a comment as to something which causes you to experience a bit of mono no aware in your own life.

The winner of this book is Claire, of Kiss A Cloud. Congratulations, Claire!

Mid-Event Read-A-Thon, Otherwise Known As The Thirteenth Hour

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?

I'm struggling with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Only on page 74, it's a book I've been anticipating reading for quite some time. But, it starts out with so much information from the business world! I'm feeling a bit lost, and every page has a new character. Hopefully, I'll be able to sort it all out soon.

2. How many books have you read so far?

Only Oh! A Mystery of Mono Aware and the first seventy pages of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. To answer your question, one book.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Figuring out the plot and eating my Terra chips.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

I tried to clear the day, but a luncheon planned by my husband for his mother and my son's Homecoming Dance with his still-in-high-school girlfriend were unavoidable.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Actually, I guess a few interruptions are good. Who can read for hours and hours without any break at all? Not me!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I'm delightfully surprised that though the participants are separated by miles and homes, it feels as if I'm reading within a community. A living, breathing company of friends. And, the encouragement from the "cheerleaders" is really something. I plan to visit new to me commenters when this event is over.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Add one a month? Just kidding, I can't imagine improving on something so fun.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Barricade myself on an island?

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Nope. But, that could be due to the nice bowl of Edy's Special Edition Peppermint ice cream I just ate, followed by two fun sizes of M&M's. Got a nice little sugar buzz going on over here.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I think taking small breaks is essential. I think not setting your goals too high is also essential. If I only complete one book, let me make peace with that, and be happy for the participant who's read ten thousand.

24 Read-A-Thon Update #1

It's 4:06, and I've only finished one book of 303 pages. I'm discouraged because I wanted to spend the day reading, looked forward to the day reading all week, and instead, life tends to interfere.

My mother in law, sisters in law and own dear mother stopped by for lunch three hours ago. They've just left, and I've just finished the first book I've laid out for today. I'm hours behind.

But, would I have no family just so I could read?

It's time to begin book 2: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I'll have a post on Oh! A Mystery of Mono No Aware in a day or so.

By the way, can I tell you how encouraging it is to read the comments from fellow bibliophile friends and cheerleaders? Thank you one and all!

The Read-a-Thon Begins

This is my bed at 7:13 in the morning. The bed in which I'm usually sleeping, not photographing, on a Saturday morning. But, this isn't just any Saturday morning. No, this is the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Saturday!

In one second, I'll be back in said bed, with my book of choice: "Oh! A Mystery of Mono Aware" by Todd Shimoda. I was going to give it away as a prize, but now I'm so loving it I don't know how I'll be able to part with it. We'll see.

Also in the pile are Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, Haruki Murakami's A Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Kathryn Stockett's The Help. 

I'm thinking I need to make this a ritual for every Saturday.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. "But still sometimes, when the wind is warm, or the crickets sing, I dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for."
Sally, from the movie "Practical Magic"

2. Be content wherever you are.

3. I want to get far away from the whiners and complainers.

4. Being a concert pianist; this was a dream.

5. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

6. Italian roots are where I come from.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cleaning the house so that tomorrow is free, tomorrow my plans include reading as much as I can for the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon and Sunday, I want to catch up on my sleep!

Looking After Pigeon

Title: Looking After Pigeon
Author: Maud Carol Markson
Published:  July, 2009
Number of pages: 192
Rating: 4.8 out of 5

...I realized for the first time that no matter what the judge said, no matter how much we all might like it differently, our parents, our loved ones, are not ours forever, and we are not theirs to keep. There is always a chink in the armor, and unraveling of the ties, we are always at last on our own. As a result, I find it difficult to believe in marriage, to make that commitment towards a future that I know so little about, to trust in a person I can know only remotely, to trust that person will care for me, look after me. It is not that I don't believe in love-I do, I do. But, I know that if you were to ask me, I would tell you-I am just looking after Pigeon. (p. 180)

I don't know if it's a fear common among children to dread being left, or just one particular to me. But, it was a very real fear in my life,  and it will sometimes surface again if I'm not careful to push it down. Because I don't think we can ever truly discard childhood wounds once they've been inflicted.

Such is the case with Pigeon. At the age of five her father leaves their family, and although her voice is very mature, it's clear to see the pain she is suffering at his absence. Pigeon, with her older sister, Dove, and older brother, Robin, move into her Uncle Edward's house on the Jersey boardwalk; it is where their mother takes them when she must abandon the apartment the family had lived in.

The smells of Coney dogs, salt water taffy, coconut suntan oil, and the sounds of crowds on the beach do little to assuage Pigeon's feelings. She is certain that someday her father will return. And her hope, unrealistic but undaunted, made me hope just as hard that he would.

I cried while reading this book. I'm crying now.

At first, I was annoyed that Pigeon's character is mature beyond her years. She seems to be feeling and thinking things that are clearly through an adult's eyes. But, she is telling the story in retrospect, and her insights about family, life and love moved me deeply.

I'm thinking about the quote at the top of this post...when abandoned as a child, we must make the decision whether we can trust again. It seems safest to barricade ourselves behind walls of non-commitment. But, I disagree with Pigeon. I don't believe that by staying single we stay safe. Safety is not possible in this word, alone or linked with a soul mate.

While Pigeon is looking back on the summer she experienced at age 5, and taking us right back to it with her, I found myself revisiting similar age old issues. Control. Trust. Disappointment. Imperfections from those we love. They are all a part of growing up; a part of learning how to take care of others as we look after ourselves.

Other TLC tour stops include:

Monday, October 19th – A Sea of Books
Tuesday, October 27th – Literate Housewife
Thursday, October 29th – Steph and Tony Investigate
Monday, November 2nd – A Reader’s Journal
Tuesday, November 3rd – The Scholastic Scribe
Wednesday, November 4th – Raging Bibliomania
Monday, November 9th – Clever Girl Goes Blog
Tuesday, November 10th – Book Club Classics
Thursday, November 11th – Caribousmom

Saturdays

It's a typical Saturday for me: rainy, as it has been all month, and I'm staring at the pile of laundry which must be done this weekend. The laundry, the grocery shopping, the cleaning of the bathrooms, the discipline of what I put into my mouth, which at this time of year? Turns out to be entirely too much sugar. Sometimes, the Fun Sizes don't amount to that much fun when I look at my scale.

But, I'm anticipating two good things in the week to come: the first is the discussion of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book on Thursday with one of my book clubs. I can't wait to see what this group of teachers, and retired administrator, will think of his Newbery Award winning novel. For me, it was one of the books he's written which I've enjoyed the most. I loved the mood of the graveyard, the care of the souls, the way that our little boy grew up.

The second thing to look forward to is the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon which comes to us a week from today. Only one week until I can hole up with my books; the laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning be damned. I'm perusing my piles, wondering exactly which books I'll select for this glorious day. I'm quite certain they will have something to do with the RIP IV and the Japanese Literature Challenge 3 because it's been ages since I've read anything for either of those.

Come on October 24, and perhaps I could have a little pile of Fun Sizes beside me as I read. What will you read? What will you snack upon or imbibe?

Find a fresh new look on this same topic at DebNance's Readerbuzz; it's hilarious!

A Collection of Bibles

I'm actually kind of embarrassed. Does a person need this many Bibles?

I'm finishing up the Old Testament, and getting ready to start the New in a week or so, and I thought I'd take stock of my Bibles. So, I just made a nice little pile on the Steinway, and it kept getting bigger. And, bigger. I don't even have my Woman's Devotional, or the NIV New Testament I keep at school, in this picture.

What I do have are:

• three New International translations


• two New King James translations


• one King James translation


• one New American Standard translation


• one New Living translation


• one New Modern from J.B. Phillips, and


• one Revised Standard Version from my confirmation in 1975.

Apparently, my collections are not confined to fiction and perfume.

But, I love my Bibles. I love reading through them in a different translation every year. I love the Psalms in King James, and Leviticus in New Living. I love comparing one particularly meaningful verse with several different translations. I love the notes and photos which tumble out of each one:



There's the picture my son drew of himself and me one year when he was in Kindergarten...



and a verse in my grandfather's beautiful copperplate writing. (He was a pastor on the prairies of Canada in the 1930's and an important factor in our family's belief.)

Well, the Bibles are a heritage as well as a beautiful source of language. I'm not going to feel guilty about owning so many; as my husband said, "Even the Christian publishing houses need our support."

As I near the end of the Old Testament, in my quest to finish the Bible in one year, I want to remind you that you still have time to read the New Testament if you start October 15. By December 31, you will have completed the entire book, and just to give you some extra encouragement, I'll post October's reading list here:

• 9/15/09     Matthew 1-4


• 9/16/09     Matthew 5-7


• 9/17/09     Matthew 8-11


• 9/18/09     Matthew 12-15


• 9/19/09     Matthew 16-19


• 9/20/09     Matthew 20-22


• 9/21/09     Matthew 21-25


• 9/22/09     Matthew 26-28


• 9/23/09     Mark 1-3


• 9/24/09     Mark 4-6


• 9/25/09     Mark 7-10


• 9/26/09     Mark 11-13


• 9/27/09     Mark 14-16


• 9/28/09     Luke 1-3


• 9/29/09     Luke 4-6


• 9/30/09     Luke 7-9


• 9/31/09     Luke 10-13

In case you decide to join me, I'll post the rest of the readings in my sidebar. And, I wish I could loan you one of my Bibles.

Old Thinking, Same Self

I'm noticing I need to make a paradigm shift in my way of thinking. It's crept up on me rather slowly; so subtly in fact, that I don't notice the necessity until it's staring me full in the face.

It first became apparent when I was watching an ad for early detection of breast cancer. The commercial was called something crazy like, "Save The Boobs!" and it showed a Raquel Welch-type woman jiggling down the side of a pool in a white bikini. See, even Raquel Welch is indicative of the paradigm shift; who thinks of her as buxom any more? Who even knows her name?

That's not my point. My point is that when the announcer came on, he said something like, "This is serious! For women in their prime: 19, or 20, or so..." and I forget the rest of what he said. Because apparently my prime was like 28 years ago. I'm so "old" I'm more than twice my prime age...

Then, I was talking to the Supportive Education teacher in our building. She's very helpful, and sweet, and we were in line together to get our flu shots at the district office. As we were filling in our forms, so we can't sue anyone if we die from the vaccine, I saw her put down 1977 as her birthdate. 1977? I was a Junior in High School in 1977!

Then, the frosting on the cake is my utter and sheer delight in watching Mad Men on Sunday nights. I love that show: love, love, love it. I look at the phones on the wall with their mile long cords, which my mother always burned on the stove because she had it stretched out while she was cooking dinner, and I look at the ugly ass wallpaper and matching geometric burlap drapes, the huge lamps, the girdles and stockings which attach to them, and I can relate! Not that I wore them myself, but how often did I watch my mother un-hook her stocking, singular, from the little rubber grip that held it up? How often did I smile at the elevator man in Marshall Fields as he asked her, "Which floor, ma'am?" and then turned the brass wheel in the elevator to take us there? How long ago was it, exactly, that the office doors had the names of their inhabitants in little metal capital letters? (Except our Principal's name was written in gold on his frosted glass door. Which was next to The Bench right outside in the hallway. So daunting if you were naughty...) It's like my life is being shown before my eyes all over again!

I don't have an answer for this yet. I'm still absorbing the fact that I feel like I'm in my prime, but I'm certainly not according to all the evidence around me. And, does it matter that I love my red lipstick as much as the women at Sterling/Cooper?

I hear red is making a comeback. Although, for some of us, it never left.

The 13 Days of Halloween

Title: The 13 Days of Halloween
Author: Carol Greene
Published: September, 2009 by Sourcebooks
Genre: Juvenile Fiction/Picture Book

Yesterday morning I stood before my class and announced that I had a new book to read to them. "Have you ever heard of The Twelve Days of Christmas?" I asked. "Well, this book is titled The 13 Days of Halloween..."

"Mrs. Smith!"

"Yes?"

"Thirteen rhymes with Halloween!"

"You're right, Jacob. Now..."

"Mrs. Smith!"

"Yes, Terri?"

"Thirteen can be a good day. My dog was born on the 13th of July..."
"...and my football jersey has the number 13 on the back...,"said Ethan,
"...and my number in class is 13," said Saif.

"Okay. Well, we're going to listen to this story," I said, and I began:

On the first day of Halloween, my good friend gave to me:
a vulture in a dead tree.

"Mrs. Smith! Vultures can peck your eyes out!" said Keya.

"Yeah, and vultures fly over the desert looking for dead animals," said Shobhit.

"Then it's not a very nice gift, is it children?" I replied. "Let's hear the story before we make any more comments."

and so, I read them the whole story, which we actually started singing together because it follows The Twelve Days of Christmas so nicely. Plus, it's a great way to enhance their memory skills: seeing if they can remember each new gift as it was added. When we got near the end:

On the twelfth day of Halloween my good friend gave to me:

Twelve cauldrons bubbling,

eleven bats a-swooping,

ten goblins gobbling,

nine wizards whizzing,

eight brooms a-flying,

seven spiders creeping,

six owls a-screeching,

five cooked worms,

four giggling ghosts,

three fat toads,

two hissing cats,

and a vulture in a dead tree.

I turned the page and read,

On the thirteenth day of Halloween I invited my good friend to tea, and I gave HIM a present.

The children waited, breathless as I said,

A real, live....

and showed them this picture:

There was a stunned silence. And then a flood of comments wondering what could be inside the last gift. I had them take out their Reading Response Journals, mere notebook paper stapled inside a cover into which they write about what they've read, and had them write what was inside the box. (Kyle still insists it's a giant baby floating head.)

Then, I asked them what they thought of the book, because many of us who've read Murakami, for example, were initially frustrated when we're left hanging. An amazing 17 children out of 29 said they liked the ending left ambiguous! Here's what they said:

"I loved it because it was funny and scary at the same time." ~Nicholas

"I like the idea that they didn't tell what the ending gift was so we could imagine it more." ~Claudia

"I like the way it kept adding on and you could also sing along." ~Sophie

"Thanks for actually letting us use our imagination instead of telling us. p.s. I said he got a giant floating baby head." ~Kyle

and my personal favorite:

"I'm usually Mr. Specific, but I'm glad you let me use my imagination for once." ~Jacob

There you have it, in better words than I can say. This is a great Halloween read, and the kids totally loved it.Totally.

A Teaching Professional. Or, Not.

Those of you who have read my blog, and know that I'm a teacher, have often left remarks commending my teaching ability.

Do not be fooled.

I have been asked, in order to receive a stipend which was promised to me upon National Board certification, to teach a 12 hour staff development class. If I do not, I will not receive the stipend which I have received since 2004.

I'm enraged.

Now, there's the camp that says, "You're a professional. You ought to be leading other teachers with the knowledge and experience you've acquired."

And, there's me, who says, "I do! I lead Institute Days, and Building Articulation Days. I've implemented the teaching of Regie Routman's writing curriculum at teacher in-services. I teach my children to the best of my ability every day of my life. Isn't that enough?"

Apparently, not. Apparently, there is never too much that one can do for the sake of one's profession.

But, it doesn't make me less tired. Or, less burdened by expections which increase exponentially every year.

My husband and I are thinking about buying a sweet cabin in the Northwoods. As I rant to him, he says, "Tell you what. I'll get a job in Wisconsin. You can be the Porch Monitor."

Now that's a job which has exactly the expectations I'm looking for right now.