A Missed Day
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 08/28/2015 - 20:05Every day this year, I’ve written something for the blog and posted it. That is, until Thursday. I thought I had posted something Thursday morning, but apparently I didn’t. I spent time picking beach plums. We went to Coast Guard Beach and watched seals. We stopped for fried seafood. We kayaked in a kettle pond. We drove around the cape for a little while. We had a fire and roasted marshmallows. But, in the end, I did not write.
Today was a travelling day. I picked more beach plums. We had one last swim on the cape before heading home. We stopped and saw the new goats at Locket’s Meadow. We visited with Papa and Nana, and now, it is late, and I’m writing a quick post before heading off to bed.
I did do some important writing on Thursday, and I have quite a bit more that I need to write. Perhaps tomorrow I can put up a couple posts and catch up.
“This is going to be a legendary year.”
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 08/26/2015 - 18:14The Roanoke Times, in there article, Our view: Sweet Briar does what it wasn't supposed to do; it reopens quotes a banner welcoming students back to Sweet Briar College saying, “This is going to be a legendary year.” They note that in other years, this would seem just sloganeering, but this year at Sweet Briar is going to be legendary. It already is legendary.
For those who missed my previous blog posts about Sweet Briar, this was the women’s college in Virginia whose board of directors voted to close the school last spring. It was cited as another casualty of changes in higher education, where liberal arts, and women’s colleges just aren’t valued as much anymore. Yet not everyone shares the same view about the value of women’s colleges and liberal arts education and a group of alumna and other concerned people gather, and fought successfully to keep it up.
Yes, this is going to be a legendary year for everyone at Sweet Briar. It is the spirit and attitude that we should be encouraging students with. It makes me think of how leaders in Hartford welcomed students to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School
The group — Hartford businessmen, lawyers, community organizers, city politicians, artists, neighborhood dignitaries, a police officer in uniform — erupted in cheers and whoops for Jamar, giving the boy high-fives and handshakes as if he were LeBron James being introduced at Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
I hope it will be a legendary year for those students in Hartford as well.
All of this provides a stunning contrast to how freshman women were welcomed at Old Dominion University in Virginia, 200 miles east of Sweet Briar. The Sigma Nu fraternity there made national news, when their activities were suspended after putting up banners saying “Rowdy and Fun, Hope Your Baby Girl is Ready for a Good Time.”
In all the discussions about charter schools, high stake testing, and so many other educational issues today, we tend to overlook the educational culture and climate. Sweet Briar College in Virginia and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School in Hartford get it right.
“This is going to be a legendary year.”
Poem Fragments
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 08/25/2015 - 16:53The Perseids: A Guided Meditation
I started this back during the Perseids. I had ideas of where I wanted to go with it, but haven't had time to come back to it, So, here it is as is. Maybe I'll work on it more later.
Turn off the 42 inch meditation focal point,
the focal point with talking heads
that distract us from what matter,
the focal point that jerks your emotions
with bright flashes and loud explosions.
Sit on the porch, with your head tilted back
and choose a smaller focal point.
I like Marfak, Theta Cassiopeiae,
Cape Cod Pitch Pines
Likewise, I had originally thought of this as a longer piece. We'll see when I get back to it
The sunlight seeped through the pitch pines
above the warmed berries below
creating a dappled image that would flummox
even the most dedicated jigsaw puzzler.
The Whale Watch
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 19:30It was a nearly perfect day for our annual whale watching trip. The rain and fog had moved on leaving the sky a dull grey, and the sea nearly a mirror. Even the slightest movement of sea creatures seemed amplified.
With the rain and the fog, the heat and humidity left, making the smooth ride even more comfortable in the cooler, drier air. The whales seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, as minke and fin whales sped around the boat and humpback mother whales played nearby.
Kim and Fiona stood on the bow of the boat for much of the trip, but I remained seated, except when we were near whales.
After the whale watch, we headed up the pier to our annual dinner at The Lobster Pot. Like the whale watch, this was also highly enjoyable, and after a great dinner, we returned to our campsite to decompress and prepare for another night on Cape Cod.
Sunday on the Cape
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 19:30It is Sunday evening on Cape Cod. It has been foggy today, but we went to the beach anyway. I swam a bit, walked on the beach, collected stones and built small cairns with them. In the morning, I went to St. Mary’s of the Harbor in Provincetown.
I read a bit more of Michael Cunningham’s Land’s End, and did a little of my own writing. I have a lot to write. I slept for a while. Now, my stomach is bothering me and I have a sore throat. I hope it is just a passing thing.
