Last month, my 13YO son and his good friend performed guitar and sang at the Centerfest Arts Festival (held by the Durham Arts Council in Durham, NC), just a 3-minute drive from where we live. I’ve uploaded a compilation of their performance at the following link, proud mom that I am: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QazW77S8VzI&t=273s. You can feel… (read more)
Kenneth Wayne Batts, RIP, 8 Sep 2017 It’s eerie, the hindsight premonition that often follows a death, even a very sudden one. When I heard our friend’s ex-father-in-law Warren’s voice message around 9:30 last Friday night, I immediately thought something was wrong with Kenny. Then I checked my cell phone and saw that Kenny… (read more)
(Click photo at left to see a video of my own pond.) It was a lot of hard, sweaty work, but every member of my family helped at least a little, and I love my backyard pond. The only thing missing is a solar-powered pump. (Patience, darlin’, patience…) Pond installation can be back- and time-consuming… (read more)
Frazey Ford’s song ‘Done’ sums up exactly how I feel about the Republican Party. *Done* Frazey Ford I was taking every hit from you You drive by shooting son of a bitch And I’m done Oh-oh, I’m done Who told you that you could rewrite the rules? And do you really take me for a… (read more)
I sent the email below to Durham Public School board members today. If you live in Durham and agree, please follow suit. . __________ . Dear School Board members, I hope you are all well, and I thank you (sincerely) for your service. Please note these excerpts from Greg Childress’s Herald Sun and Durham News… (read more)
Money, Money, Money…It’s a Rich Man’s World. – ABBA*** As a child, I wondered at the adults who spend most of their lives doing jobs they dislike so they can grow old and do next to nothing. Now that I’m an adult, I’m beginning to understand our addiction to money. My husband Mike and I… (read more)
This is what is missing in our schools. In most cases, the day they enter first grade (sometimes earlier), public school kids’ creative and experiential education ends, and worksheets and standardized testing begins. (Fortunately, this is anomalously NOT the case at EK Powe and DSA (both public), where my kids go to school.) Education is… (read more)
To: Superintendent L’Homme and Durham Public School Board Members Cc: Durham News Editor Mark Schultz Date: February 6, 2017 at 10:38:45 AM EST “We will need help from families, partner agencies, and communities,” states Durham Public Schools Superintendent Bert L’Homme’s February 5th commentary regarding DPS’s challenges in meeting the educational needs of low-performing students (LHomme_DN_Feb2017). By… (read more)
I received my ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) of “Eddie The Electron Moves Out” (the sequel to “Eddie The Electron”) today! I got tears in my eyes when I read it – seriously. I can’t get over the incredible quality of every aspect of the book. Harry Pulver’s illustrations are PERFECT. Better than I ever imagined…. (read more)
It pains me to think of all the mentally ill persons languishing on our streets or in our prisons. So many are uniquely brilliant in ways we are only beginning to understand. What’s more, the NRA and supporting politicians argue that we don’t need better gun control, we need better treatment of mental illness. So… (read more)
