If You Want to Write

I have owned a book for about 12 years that tonight I picked up for the first time. (Why have I have never cracked it open until now?) I have only read about 10 pages of it so far, but it has really struck a chord within me: If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit: by Brenda Ueland. It has fascinated me. It tells of the need to express yourself through writing and art, and how it nourishes the human soul. I need to read that, because my life is so regularly inundated and mind-bleared with duty.

When I was younger I used to write poetry frequently. As I've aged and assumed numerous roles and responsibilities, the poetry has all but died out completely. I want to revive that poetic-ness inside me and my family. We'll be happier.

There is already too much of TV (which I both love and hate, My Precious) and the Internet. To be connected to the world is great, to watch Jazz games and The Crocodile Hunter (may he rest in peace) is great, to e-mail is great, to compose my lessons on the computer is great, but sometimes it all gets too much and I need to get away and reclaim my mind, my heart, my spirit, my peace. For that reason power outages are often a blessing.

And as I was remarking to Karin this evening about some of what I had read, she encouraged me to get back to poetry and toothpick sculptures. Awesome!

William Blake - visionary poet
Gerard Manley Hopkins - keen observer of nature
Cat Stevens - "If you want to sing out, sing out"

De do do do, De da da da.

That's all I want to say to you.

Choose

There are many good things to do, but some are much more important than others. Make the better choice.

Why e-mail?

Read my blog.

If you want to talk with me personally, call me. Or visit me.

E-mails (speaking in general terms) are starting to bug me. They are just one more thing I have to take care of. The burden of too much responsibility. That's why we sold our dog.

Simplify, simplify.

Avoid e-mails (and I don't even work for the postal service).

Distractions, Language, Hopkins

I won't title this blog until I'm done writing it.

I have been so distracted lately from scripture study. Other pursuits derail me: a television show, a task in the house, a crying baby, a desire to go play basketball. It's not smart to lower-level my scripture study, for when I do it right it becomes the spine of my life, upholding the rest. My faith.

We should try to speak and write the English language correctly. What we speak closely reflects what's inside. I have enjoyed teaching prefixes, suffixes and roots this year to my students. Some cool web sites I have used to help me: www.etymonline.com, www.dictionary.com, and www.acronymfinder.com. The more I understand about our English language, its origins and influences, and the meanings of words, the more amazed I am. I believe that language is a gift/creation of God. Language is so incredibly complex; how on earth could we have evolved from a one-celled organism into this? Surely we had some Outside Help.

Although I'm nearly 39, I know that I can still maintain good physical shape. I just need to get into a good routine.

Beautiful music is beautiful.

I have been reading some Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems lately. Here is one that enriches me:

"God's Grandeur"

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

=======================

I don't fully understand the poem, but it's beautiful. It has multiple meanings.

Faz muito tempo desde a última entrada a sério aqui....

Eu gostaria de escrever em português. Estou neste momento a ver o jogo de futebol (americano) entre a equipa BYU contra os UNLV. Os Cougars estão a matá-los mesmo. É um massacre no campo....

Uns dias atrás finalmente os empregados de Comcast vieram aqui para instalar a maquinaria para nós termos internet e televisão a cabo. Após alguns pequenos problemas no início, essa nova ligação virtual ao mundo tem sido uma festinha para nós. Finalmente podemos escrever/receber e-mails com nossos colegas, finalmente posso ir aos meus sites mais preferidos e ver o que se passa fora de casa.

Estou consciente de que, e temo que a presença dessas novas distracções podem acabar por serem justamente isso, nomeadamente, distracções. E o que menos nós precisamos hoje, com tres filhas e uma vida cheia de responsabilidades, projectos, e tarefas é mais distracções. Espero que possamos usar estas ferramentas (a internet e a televisão) com bastante juízo e moderação.

Felizmente o que dá mais contentamento, segurança, e calma mental é o que sempre foi a solução certa: manter contacto sincero com Pai Celestial. Uma televisão, internet, um lindo carro, riqueza, etc. não são necessários para tal.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I don't have much to say. It has been forever since my last blog. I am going crazy. Decision making. Salary. School teaching. Should I stay or go to another state? Dropped retirement benefits. Increase in health benefit monthly premiums. Baby on the way. Tired. Hot summer. I think I'll go into administration, seeing as how I'm currently making around 40K and a beginning vice principal starts at around 69K. Do the math. It makes so little sense to stay in teaching. Hot rooms. Low salary. Big classes. Yep, I'm a whiner.

One woman, One man

Today I sent the following e-mail to Utah Senator Orrin Hatch:

"Dear Mr. Hatch,

I am aware that soon you will be called upon to help decide if marriage can be defined as solely between one man and one woman. I strongly urge you to support such a concept.

Please do all that you can do to support those traditional marital values that have maintained stability in our society for centuries.

Please also do all that you can do to make sure that homosexual marriages are NOT given legal or economic approval.

Although I do not consider myself homophobic, I am outspokenly against homosexuality. Aside from Biblical accounts that condemn the practice as offensive to God, homosexuality is clearly a cancer that is eating away at the basic family traditions of America. If allowed to further inch its foot in the door of social acceptance, homosexuality will corrode our society even further. It goes against nature. It confuses sexual identity. It does not allow the human race to thrive and propogate. It spreads disease.

As a side note, I am a Republican delegate here in West Jordan, and voted for you at the last Republican Convention in Sandy. (Congratulations, by the way.) I voted for you because I trust you, your character, and your wisdom.

Thank you for all the work you have done in behalf of the state of Utah over the years. I respect you tremendously.

Sincerely,
Tim Brooks"

Politics; and Mark Cuban

This Saturday I'll be attending the delegates Republican convention at the South Towne Expo Center.

My choices are John Jacob (http://www.electjohnjacob.com/2.0/), Chris Cannon (http://www.chriscannon.com/), or Merrill Cook (http://www.merrillcookforcongress.com/).

I have perused all three men's web sites, and I'm planning on voting for John Jacob. He is conservative, God-fearing, pro-second amendment, pro-Ronald Reagan, pro-local government (as opposed to federal government) and gives sound, Founding-Father-based values. I like what I read.

As a thirty-something father in the thick of child rearing and career, it is very difficult to find, or make, the time to healthily and adequately involve myself in politics as I would like. I feel under-read and under-studied on the issues, but that is not from a lack of desire.

I care about the issues. I do care about what happens in my community and country. I want to make my voice heard, as opposed to being silently complacent while the passionately liberal minority makes the decisions. I do not want what I consider unhealthily aberrant or liberal views to dominate society.

Changing gears now....

As a fun note, Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks) has an insightful, entertaining, even hilarious blog: http://www.blogmaverick.com/. You'll get a kick out of it. Articles of interest:

"I'm a whiner" (http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000210073685) and

"How to Improve NBA Playoff Officiating" (http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000970073680).

Happy reading!

Meeting Elder Oaks

Today a very special experience happened to Karin and me. It seemed that today’s events pointed us to be in a special place at a special time.

This afternoon we went to the Jordan River temple. Our plan was to have dinner downstairs in their cafeteria then go do sealings. Unfortunately, when we arrived we came to find out that the cafeteria did not take credit cards, and we had only brought a credit card. (Strike one.) Knowing that my pregnant wife was hungry, I asked her what she would like to do. She replied that she was OK enough just to go up and do the sealings. So we went up to do sealings. It was then about 4:30 PM.

When we got to the sealing office, the workers there told us that there wouldn’t be more sealings done until 6:00 PM. (Strike two.) Karin and I looked at each other. We were unsure what to do, especially since my pregnant wife was stiff, sore and hungry. We decided to go through an endowment session. So we went back downstairs, changed back into our temple whites, and went up to the chapel.

When we arrived at the chapel, there were about a dozen people in the pews. One of them was Elder Dallin H. Oaks. He was seated by himself. I whispered to Karin that it was him, and at first she wasn’t so sure. I assured her that it was him. After a few minutes, a worker motioned to our group that it was time to go to the endowment session. Everybody stood except Elder Oaks, who was obviously waiting for his wife, so we left without them. Karin and I were the last two to leave the chapel.

When we arrived at the endowment room, Elder Oaks and his wife, who had just arrived, sneaked in and sat down beside us. As Karin and I were the last two to enter the room, the vacant seats for Elder Oaks and his wife were by Karin and me. Elder Oaks sat down, said “Hi” (not hello) to me, and shook my hand. Afterwards I patted his back. I was so excited to be seated next to him!

Long story short: we rubbed elbows with them for an hour and a half! It was awesome! I could hardly concentrate, and I definitely didn’t doze off when the lights dimmed.

My thoughts raced throughout the session. I thought of my own personal worthiness. I thought of the talks of his that I remembered. I wanted to thank him for being such a good example. I wanted to thank him for his talks on preparation for the Second Coming, and how to be a good teacher, and hymn singing, and the Joseph Smith Symposium at the Library of Congress speech. I thought better of our situation and kept silent but grateful.

At the end of the session, I leaned over to him and whispered, “This has been very special for me. Thank you.”

He replied something along the lines of, “It’s been great to be here with you.”

This was a one-in-a-million experience, to be so near to an Apostle. I haven’t had something like this happen to me since Nyman Brooks’ wedding when we sat at the same table with Elder Maxwell and his wife.

Things I noticed about Elder Oaks:
* He wears his watch with the face on the inside of his wrist.
* He is well groomed and nice.
* His temple clothing is just like our temple clothing.
* He is a regular man --- a good, divinely called, inspired, good man.
* He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He has had incredible spiritual experiences with Deity.

This was an exciting, memorable, spiritually rejuvenating experience!

Spewing on education

It's been a LONG time since I last blogged, and my fingers are gettin' itchy to type a bit more. I haven't been into blogging for the last month, because for one reason or another I have been swamped with life. The more important things have occupied my time and attention.

In addition, there hasn't been much to say about my life in the way of crises. Life has been good for us lately, and if I were to complain I'd be an ingrate and a wart.

I have now been teaching at West Jordan Middle School since 1995. I am about to conclude my 11th year. This year has been a unique one, and I daresay that over the summer there will be huge changes occurring in our school and perhaps throughout Jordan School District.

* Reason #1: The district has limited retirement benefits to employees, effective at the end of this school year. As a result, many, many teachers are opting to retire, and numerous others are transferring out.

* Reason #2: The school climate among WJMS' teachers this year has been particularly grumpy, with an enmity between teachers and administrators. We're not on the same page. There has been a lot of gossip and grumbling, and several teachers are seeking reassignment because of this.

Long story short: At a mere 11 years of teaching experience, next year I will be one of the veterans at our school. The turnover rate over this summer will be about as high as I can remember ever. It also means we will have numerous young teachers at our school. Experienced teachers are leaving.

This might not seem like much to you, but to us in the profession it's huge. Imagine if the medical profession had a mass exodus over the summer and next year the hospitals were stocked with only limited-experience physicians and interns. Yeah, it's still medicine, but you know that there'd be a lot of problems.

There is a lot of bad occurring in our schools and in education in general, and not just money wise. While Utah is still tops in the nation in graduation percentage and test scores, it's not because of the teachers. It's because of parent support! You, the parents, are the #1 reason why your child succeeds or fails in school. As an example, I like to draw two different scenarios.

Scenario #1: An eighth grade girl has a supportive family. Her parents have firm but fair guidelines and expectations, read with her, and expect her to succeed academically. Whenever she shows signs of slacking, they step in: privileges revoked, teacher contact, or whatever it takes. They make it perfectly clear that education is important.

Now, let's say girl #1 has an extremely lazy history teacher. On the first day of school, Mr. Lazy hands her a textbook and, in essence, instructs her to study the entire textbook and do X amount of exercises from it per day. He will only tell her this once, and expect ALL work to be completed on the last day of school, when she will also be tested. For the next nine months he won't teach her anything. I can guarantee you that by the end of the year, with her supportive parents, she will have completed all exercises and passed the test with flying colors.

Secenario #2: An eighth grade girl with an indifferent family. Her parents both work, complain about being tired all the time, couldn't care less about school, hated it themselves, and view it as government-supplied day care. They never ask her about her homework, don't show up to parent teacher conference, and never check the school's web site where her grades are posted. If a parent ever calls, they might not even return the call.

Now, let's say girl #2 has an extremely proactive, organized, high-level history teacher. On the first day of school, Mr. Proactive Teacher greets her warmly, gives her individualized instruction as necessary, maps things out, keeps grades updated, has scheduled conference time available, invites her to work, uses incentive programs, sends home progress letters, gives her supplies for free, etc. etc. etc. In other words, he breaks his back for her. I can guarantee you that, regardless of how awesome a teacher he is, she will still fail 999 times out of 1000 ---- all because of lacking parental support.

As you can see, in either case it wasn't the teacher who was the deciding factor. It was the parent! You are the key!

While I'm on this soapbox, I'd like to give two suggestions to those of you who are parents, and whose children are or will soon be teenagers:

1) Read with them every day! Especially you fathers. It makes a gigantic difference in their ability to succeed academically. They think better. They understand better. They solve problems better. School is easier for them.

2) Check their grades, with them by your side, on a regular basis. Don't believe them when they say they don't have any homework! It's a lie!

There is so much evil in the public schools: sex, swearing, sarcasm, drugs, disrespect, gangs, ... you name it. However, there is reason to hope when parents are heavily involved in their kids' lives, because those kids make it. They do. I've seen it every year as a middle school teacher. Kids with a secure home life, structure (which is love), accountability, dinner at home, etc. make it. Like a duck in water, they seem to impervious to the evil that often surrounds them.

As a final note, I encourage you to check out www.aft.org. Click on salary surveys.

Blogs Don't Have to Be Long

They really don't.

Disturbing HBO show about the LDS church

I received this from a friend and decided to post it here:

"Dear Friends And Family;
I don't usually have time to read or send forwarded emails but I feel
that this one is rather important and we should all take a minute to do
something about this HBO show.


This is a serious matter for all members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints!

HBO's new series, "Big Love", is about a polygamous family and is set
in a Salt Lake City suburb. About the likely impact of this sexually
driven show, the New York Times said, "We may never look at Utah and
think white bread again."

Parodies of beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints occur in this show as a belief in priesthood by a man blessing
his hunting rifle, belief in personal revelation from the Holy Ghost by dramatic visions
that the polygamous leader discusses casually with a friend. Talk of
"celestial kingdom", "free agency", and the "Choose the Right" slogan are included.
There is a brief disclaimer stating that the polygamists don't have
an active connection with the LDS Church. But if the writers don't
intend for viewers to make the connection, one wonders why they set
the show in Salt Lake City, the Church's world headquarters, and why
they included distortions of LDS beliefs.

In an official news release by the Church the representative said:

Public Affairs representatives have had several discussions with HBO
executives. The discussions have been amicable and constructive. HBO's decision to
place a clarifying "epilogue" after the first program, which states that the
"Mormon Church" discontinued polygamy in 1890, is appreciated. However, the
Church believes that if the statement is intended to clarify the distinction
between Latter-day Saints and non-Mormon polygamists, it is inadequate, both in
its language and in the fact that it will appear only after the first episode.

For the Church's official stand on this story go to:

http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,3881-1-23019,00.html

I have seen the commercials for this HBO TV show on both television
and in the movie theatres and I have been appalled that they would
make a show like this. I am affiliated with American Family
Association and they do a great job of getting notices out to people
about TV shows that go against Christian beliefs. In most cases,
those TV shows have been canceled all together or fined for
inappropriate content. However, this particular show is directed at
the LDS Church specifically and so AFA wont put forth the effort to
get it canceled. So its up to us and all the LDS people you know.
Please forward this on to any and everyone and hopefully enough
people will take a stand for our beliefs and this show will be taken
off the air. I know it takes a little effort to email and/or call
HBO, but this is what we are all about. This is a message that could
reach not only HBO, but a global audience.

Please, take 3 minutes out of your day and stand up for what?s right.
(Read below for more info)

NBC recently cancelled a show about a dysfunctional Episcopal priest
who saw "Jesus", after almost 700,000 people emailed and complained.

Couldn't we do the same for this show? If you agree, will you:
- forward this email to at least 8 people
- email a polite protest to HBO:

Go To:
http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do?

Then enter your information, specify it's about Big Love, and leave a
message asking them to cancel this offensive show.

One or two sentences is all it takes. Or feel free to copy or edit
this message:
I am offended that you would produce the series Big Love. It demeans
and distorts sacred beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. By setting the show in Salt Lake City, it blurs the line
between the Church and the long renounced practice of polygamy.
Please cancel the show immediately.

For "extra mile" effort and effect, call HBO's operator at (212)
512-1208 from 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri EST and ask to leave a message asking HBO
to cancel the show "Big Love".

Thanks!"

Suggestions for Disneyland

As I have become somewhat of a zealot lately on how to make a Disneyland trip the best, here are some suggestions and lessons that we have learned:

CONSULT THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO DISNEYLAND. Don’t buy it. Check it out from the library. Some rides that you think are fun aren’t, and some rides that you think the kids will like will make them cry. Pay special attention to the Fast Pass suggestions, as well as the park itinerary suggestions at the back of the book. By the way, you can use your kids’ Fast Passes.

WHEN TO GO: Go in the offseason (January, February, or between Thanksgiving and Christmas). Hotels are cheaper and lines are incredibly shorter. Also, middle weekdays are best (Tuesdays to Thursdays). Days near a holiday are too crowded. This includes UEA.

GET A HOTEL RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET (on Harbor Blvd). Why?
(1) you don’t have to pay for parking,
(2) you don’t have to wait for a shuttle,
(3) you can rest each afternoon there then return refreshed to the park for a fun, full evening,
(4) you can eat in your room (most come with a microwave and fridge), go to a local grocery store, or walk down to McDonalds and save a ton of money. We often made oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, and other microwaveable foods in our room.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE PARK EACH DAY:
* food/snacks (they do allow food)
* water bottles (you can refill them at the park)
* sunscreen
* sunglasses
* I recommend a hat (otherwise the sun saps my energy and gives me a headache)

IF YOUR DAUGHTERS WANT TO MEET THE PRINCESSES: We found the lines to see them much shorter in California Adventure at the Animation Building. It seems that most people are looking for them at Disneyland. And the princesses are incredibly great with the kids! Take tons of pictures! Your kids will look at them again and again and again.

IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN WHO LIKE FANTASYLAND RIDES (Dumbo, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, etc.): Go there first thing in the morning. The lines get long for the rest of the day. Pass by the characters who stand near the entrance and try to distract you. See them later in the day.

AWESOME, USEFUL WEB SITES:
* www.disneyland.com - Print out the calendar for each day you plan to be there. This might sound dumb, until you realize that some days the park opens one or even two hours early, may or may not have the fireworks, Fantasmic, etc. Also, it will tell you what rides are down.
* www.getawaytoday.com - Good package deals. Well worth looking into! It saved us a lot of money.
* www.mis2palm.com/DLInfo (case sensitive) - My brother Matt’s web site. Full of useful tips to save time and enjoy the rides. Pay special attention to the part about Fast Pass use.
* www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html - Great map of the park and neighboring hotels. We used this site as the diving board for figuring out what hotel we wanted.
* www.tripadvisor.com - Check out your hotel’s ratings before your reserve.

SIDE NOTES:
* Stay in one area of the park as much as possible. Too much walking is exhausting.
* You might consider booking a lunch or dinner at one of their restaurants. We had lunch at the Blue Bayou, and it was great. #1-714-781-DINE
* Fantastic time saver: Splash Mountain and California Screamin’ (the roller coaster in California Adventure) both allow a “single rider” option. For both rides, you can go up to an employee at the entrance of the ride and ask for a single rider pass. Take that pass and go into the exit. Walk all the way up to where people are getting off the ride. An employee will wait for a ride with an odd number of people on it and seat you almost immediately. You might not believe this, but even if the estimated wait time for either ride is two hours, you will literally get on the ride in about two minutes. In other words, this option could save you hours of line waiting. The only drawback is that you have to go on the ride alone.

Enjoy!

Timmerz

Report of the Neil Diamond concert back on 12-2005

My friend Ken Craig asked me to tell him about the Neil Diamond concert. Here is what I can remember.

The concert was held was back on Friday, December 16, 2006, in the "E" Center in West Valley.

When tickets went on sale, Karin told me that she wasn’t so interested in going this time (we had gone together back on August 31, 1999), since she had already seen him. I tried to understand her, but that to me is like saying you’ve seen your dad so you don’t need to see him any more. Anyway, suffice it to say that Karin doesn’t share the same passion for the man that I do. I can respect that.

So, since Karin showed no interest in going, I had to find a partner. I couldn’t just go alone, could I? But who would go with me? I wouldn’t go with a woman, unless she were a relative, and none of them wanted to go either. I canvassed my ward and work. None of my buddies wanted to go with me either. Time edged towards the concert date. What was I to do --- go alone?

I finally decided to just go alone --- despite how nerdy, desperate, awkward, and socially unacceptable it might seem. I HAD TO SEE THE DIAMOND.

A couple of weeks before the show, I started searching eBay. Coincidentally, I found somebody selling ONE ticket to the concert. It was a $78 dollar ticket. I thought to myself, “Am I willing to spend up to and perhaps exceeding $78 to see Neil Diamond all by myself?” I answered that question. Time was pressing. I was more than willing.

Long story short: I won that ticket for $41!

My wife Karin helped me prepare by ironing on two different pictures of him on a white t-shirt. I then doctored it up some more: a large “N” on the right shoulder; a large “D” on the left. I also found an example of his autograph on the Internet and forged it on my chest: “To Tim, my biggest fan, Neil Diamond.” It had the write swoop and everything. On the back, by the picture, I wrote, “Not a hot August night, but a night of chillin’ with Neil.” Now I was ready.

When I got to the concert, I sat down in front of two ladies. I came to find out that they were two forty-something bus drivers from the Salt Lake School District. They were nice. We chatted a lot and quickly became Diamond friends. Right before the concert, one of them spilled her entire beer right behind me. Some of it splashed on my arm. The rest drizzled down around my feet. For the entire concert I had excellent footing, because my feet stuck to the floor!

The stage was most interesting and at first confused me. It was a large circle, angled up at the back as if it were being propped up. The middle of the circle was dissected by a large line going down the middle, running from top to bottom. In other words, it was shaped like a large, flat aspirin. The two segments were completely covered with large white drapes.

A few minutes before the concert, the announcer came on to say that the show was about to start. OK..... I couldn’t see how it was possibly about to start. There were no instruments, no microphones, no drums on stage! There was nothing at all! How were they going to put it all together in five minutes?

I never did figure it out until I started hearing music, the beautiful introductory sounds of “Crunchy Granola Suite.” Suddenly, the drapes covering the two segments were sucked down into the floor. Gradually, sections of the band were raised up as the elevating floor ascended! It was so cool!

Then finally Neil came out and we all went berserk, in our middle aged ways. “Dee dee dee; dum dum dee dum dum.... I know a man was out of touch; and he’d hide in his house and he didn’t say much! Deedle dee dee dee dee dee dee doodle ee doo!” I sang along, nerdy alone, to practically every song. People looked at me; I toned it down a little bit.

Highlights during the show:

* About half way through the show a guy in front of me turned and tossed me a bottle of water. He yelled something like, “You look like you need it. You know all the songs!” He and his posse were impressed.

* Neil sang a medley from Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It was beautiful. I would love to have a recording of it. While he sang they showed video clips from the movie in the background.

* He sang “We” from his new album, and, I think, “What’s It Gonna Be.” I can’t fully remember. By the way, check out the album. Stripped down, raw, open, emotional, touching, unplugged. Not what you’d expect from someone his age (no offense).

When he sang “America,” they showed multiple black-and-white video clips of immigrants arriving in Ellis Island. It was touching and inspiring. I love and admire Diamond’s patriotism, especially in a Hollywood world where it is so mindlessly hip to be rebellious and criticize all things dealing with our government. I can’t stand how so many celebrities think they know it all, as if their fame automatically empowers them to heightened political knowledge and clarity.

In a nutshell, the concert was fun, awesome, and memorable. I love Neil Diamond. He is a gracious, grateful, savvy showman. He loves his fans. He gives it his all. He was born in 1941 (that makes him 65).

Enjoy, Ken!

(This is my 10th blog.)

Sometimes I Wish I Were Famous (Just a Teacher)

Sometimes I wish that I were famous.... a rock star.... or an actor.... or a successful professional basketball player. To look perfect, sound perfect, appear supremely confident, have the image, wildly succeed in front of others, have the lauding admiration of millions, attention, praise, ....

I look at celebrities I admire and who have had a profound effect on me, like basketball player Larry Bird, or singer Bono of U2, or Neil Diamond, and I analyze them. I watch them and am fascinated by their focus, their success. I think to myself that they have known pretty much their whole life what they would do. They completely immersed themselves in their career, studied it, swallowed it, and made it part of their being. Even at a very young age, they showed greatness in their field, and consuming dedication.

The results for them have been marvelous, remarkable, amazing. They have achieved notable success, and set a precedent that others in their field are endlessly compared by/to. I admire them both so deeply.

I often wish I were as successful as them. I sometimes look at myself and feel that I'm not nearly as successful as they are.

But then I start to see some similarities between them and me. Although on a small, local scale, as a teacher I sometimes feel like a Larry Bird or a Bono or a Neil Diamond, in that I have enjoyed tremendous success in my own career. I too have been admired, albeit by 13-year-old kids. I have influenced and inspired a few lives. I started out my teaching career strong, passionate, full of ideas, full of desire for independence and a need to do things and establish things on my own (kind of like U2’s career). I wanted to find my own personal theme as a teacher; like a sculptor, I sort of knew where I wanted to go and began chiseling away at what I knew would NOT make up part of my desired masterpiece. Teaching so far has been a quest to discover what my masterpiece is going to look like. I'm getting a bit closer each year.

And as I reflect on my career I see myself getting better and better. I have a growing quiver full of skills on my shoulder now, many of which are unmeasureable or imperceptible. I know so much more than when I began teaching in 1995. I have made a ton of mistakes, primarily in that first year, learned by trial and error, and now feel myself more effective than I'’ve ever been. I'm not perfect, but I'm a solidly effective, successful, accomplished teacher. I feel tremendous accomplishment and satisfaction in that.

I'm in my 11th year now. That means I've taught approximately 12,000 periods, and around 2,200 students. There are cities in Utah smaller than that. I've given out somewhere around 2,000 scored assignments in that time too. I've had students involved in murder, suicide, drug abuse, sexual abuse, self abuse, binge drinking, and just about everything you could imagine. I've seen broken bones, vomit, more zits than I care to remember, spontaneous tears, fist fights, stealing, bullying, conscience-less shameless lying, and bizarre, alien, psycho behavior. I've heard profanity that would make a sailor take notes. I've been shoved, kicked, pushed, flipped off, caricaturized, and criticized like Satan. I've been criticized and blamed; I've also been praised to high heaven.

I sometimes feel like I've lived 11 lifetimes, in that every year is crammed to the gills with roller coasters of emotion, barrages of questions, crises, defiance, decisions, and challenges. At 38, I feel like I've had a 50-year-old's equivalent experience, career-wise.

Just last Monday (March 6) a 20-year old former student named Mike Massé came to my school. He sought me out just to thank me. He had hardly spoken one sentence when he approached and embraced me. He thanked me profusely for the influence I had on him six years previous. I didn'’t even have a clue that I had ANY influence on him whatsoever. He told me that because of me he had published 16 of his poems and was still writing. He must have emphatically said, "You were my all-time favorite teacher" at least four times. I was so flattered and happy to hear him speak. My heart was profoundly touched. I was grateful to be a part of his happiness and progress.

My patriarchal blessing tells me that I will have an influence on those whom I least suspect.

I may not play basketball very well, although I absolutely love it, and I may not carry a tune worth paying for; but I feel some definite satisfaction in knowing and hoping that I am creating a legacy in my own career.

Rock on.

Cliff Klingenhagen

"Cliff Klingenhagen"
By Edward Arlington Robinson

Cliff Klingenhagen had me in to dine
With him one day; and after soup and meat,
And all the other things there were to eat,
Cliff took two glasses and filled one with wine
And one with wormwood.  Then, without a sign
For me to choose at all, he took the draught
Of bitterness himself, and lightly quaffed
It off, and said the other one was mine.

And when I asked him what the deuce he meant
By doing that, he only looked at me
And grinned, and said it was a way of his.
And though I know the fellow, I have spent
Long time a-wondering when I shall be
As happy as Cliff Klingenhagen is.

The Same Thing

I wrote this back in October of 2004:

Every TV channel reports the same “news,” in the same way, and at almost the same time

That’s why I like the movie Napoleon Dynamite ---- because it is not the same. It is not typical, predictable. No sex, no ridiculous violence, and filled with fabulous character development.

I don’t want the same everywhere I go ---- the same pants, the same books, the same music and ridiculously predictable radio stations, the same-o same-o food in every restaurant chain, the same merchandise in every store

WE ARE DOMINATED BY THE SAME in so many settings.

What happened to tie dye shirts?
What happened to greasy spoon restaurants?
What happened to stores that sell unique items you can’t find anywhere else?
What happened to grass roots bands and local poetry?
Where are the mavericks and the individuals?
Where are unique plots full of soul?

Considerations, Thoughts

The picture you see here is of my two aunts with President McKay. Awesome! My relatives with the prophet. This picture was taken in 1953 at a "Golden Gleaner Banquet." I don't know what that is.

Listening to Neil Diamond's "12 Songs" album again. Soothing and pensive. He is such a talented song writer!

Today is Saturday. Saturday is a special day; it's the day we get ready for Sunday, then Monday, then we head to Disneyland! We are very pumped to be going. Karin checked the weather forecast in Anaheim, and it's possible rain. She is discouraged, but I'm not too worried. In fact, it might be good to have a bit of rain to discourage some of the locals from going.

I need to keep exercising.

Jordan School District is dropping retirement benefits from their employees at the end of this school year. Disheartening. It was predicted in one newspaper that as many as 1/4 of the district teachers might jump ship in the next year. That would be so devastating for our school system (larger classes, more inexperienced and perhaps less qualified teachers). I am concerned not only about that but even more so for our family's financial future. It causes me to consider moving to another state, where teachers are better compensated. But our families live here! We want to be near them. Maybe I could go into another profession --- but what? The future is a question mark.

Why do I Blog?

Why do I blog?

My brother Matt today and I were discussing my new blog site. He voiced some general distaste for blogs, asking aloud why anyone would want to have a blog, a somewhat public journal, that anyone could access.

When he said this I didn’t have an answer, and it got me thinking. Why do I have a blog? Why am I (at least for the moment) intrigued with having one?

I thought about it.

I remember about 10 years ago, when I decorated two blank white t-shirts. I went out and bought a couple of permanent laundry markers and marked up those two shirts. One was a collage/list of “things I didn’t like” (although nowhere on the shirt did it say “These are things I don’t like”). It included things like lima beans, country music, Dennis Rodman, rude people, B.O., etc. For me it was a fun, gentle way to voice myself.

I filled the other shirt with quotes -- quotes from movies, poems, scriptures, TV shows, etc. It was a lot of fun to do, and quite a conversation piece. I still have that shirt, and even though it’s getting old, I am very attached to it. It means a lot to me.

I also remember how BYU had (has?) a “Soap Box” every Wednesday. It was a public forum for people to say whatever they wanted, within appropriate bounds, on any topic that weighed their minds.

As I am often a very outspoken person, for me the blog is a great way to have my own newspaper, or more specifically, editorial column -- a place where I can praise, question, complain, wonder, observe, spew, wax poetic, journalize, or whatever. It’s also nice in that I don’t have to send a specific e-mail to a certain person and await for a reply. Here I can just throw it out to sea, like a fish, and let anyone who wants to catch it.

So, why do I blog? To express. To voice. To be heard. To connect.