In the Kingdom of the Blind

[copied from dland]

Or to paraphrase, the kingdom of the deaf, the one-eared librarian is ... confused?

First, a few days ago, I was doing something or other on my iPod and I stopped because I heard a strange noise. Finally, I got it, and I said to K, When you press the buttons on your iPod, do they click? Uh huh. Okay, so just now I was in the car -- alone -- and singing along; the song was Baby Driver by Paul Simon, a catchy tune, and I came into the house and was feeding the cats and still singing, and you know what? I could hear myself. I could hear myself sing.

It wasn't pretty.

So the hearing aids are pretty good when they work, although I still need to reach my final comfort level with the volume controls, but it's hard to do that at this point since they stop working randomly. But otherwise, I think I'm happy with them.

I had a weird day at school, and tomorrow is a full-day in-service, so, if you would, shoot me now. I routinely do not attend a lot of the in-service days, but I go to this full day one in the spring every year. I hope I don't regret it. Tomorrow, the district's librarians are meeting at the middle school, which is down the street from my house. Even so. Please, Mr. Custer. I don't wanna go.

I had dinner with the Sibs just now, which was fun. We are planning to get together for brunch this Sunday with our various children, so I'm looking forward to that too, although not to the nor'easter which is supposed to be inundating us with wind-driven rain that day. We'll see.

In the meantime, the same middle school down the street, as well as the elementary school that adjoins its property, have flown their flags at half staff since December 26, when the period of mourning for President Ford was announced. Once in a while, they fly at full staff, but mostly half. This is driving me crazy. Last week, I called the elementary school one day and asked why they were doing that. The secretary told me that each week or thereabouts, they get an email that tells them the name of a soldier who died in the war and they should lower the flag to honor him/her.

I said, bewildered, You mean, a soldier from Bizarro Town?

No, I don't think so. No.

A soldier from New Jersey?

[pause] Maybe sometimes. But no, not from New Jersey.

Someone emails you and gives you the name of a soldier and you lower the flag?

Yes. I think we get the email from the superintendent's office. [Talking in the background.] No? No, then, it's not from the superintendent's office. It's just an email that we get.

Oh. Okay, thanks.

Uh, okay. So somebody spams them with this allegedly patriotic email, and they just do it. This is who is educating our children. At the high school, we follow the rules of flag etiquette, and may I say, our flag is flying at full staff. Because, even though I am all in full support of doing whatever we can for our service-people -- bringing them home would be the best plan -- we do not, in this country, lower the flag for war casualties, and doing so, I think, is a political statement more than anything, and a political statement that is not in support of our current government. If we declare that as a country we are in mourning for every lost soldier, we are making as strong an anti-war statement as we possibly can. When protesters march in Washington carrying the names and images of our war dead, it is a strong statement of mourning. It is not a show of support for anything, except for ending the war. Which I certainly favor, of course, but it is not at all appropriate for a public school to do this. (There's another school in town, the one I attended as a child, that proclaims in large letters on its signboard: GOD BLESS AMERICA! Oy. I bite my tongue as I drive by and remind myself that I don't live in that neighborhood and I don't go there often so I just need to ... let ... it ... go. But 't'ain't right, McGee.)

I am all about the obscure references today.

News Flash: What have I told you about the Garden State Parkway? And here's the proof. I just heard a new bulletin that about an hour ago, our governor was injured in a car accident on the Parkway and was med-evaced to somewhere -- Camden, I think; God help him -- with at least a broken leg, and one of his state troopers was possibly injured more severely. Now I read that he rarely wears a seatbelt. Way to be a role model, gov.

So I got me some time here tonight, as the Hubs is teaching (and hopefully not travelling home on the Parkway) and K is working until 8.30. I'm going to clean up a bit and make my lunch for tomorrow and take out my clothes. The morning will be very strange, as I am usually at work before seven, but tomorrow I don't have to be there until 8.30 so I don't have to wake up until seven. Can't imagine sleeping that late, but it'll be nice to try. The last time we had an in-service at the middle school, I had time to take a very long walk before I went over there, but dang, it was actually spring then, and a beautiful morning. Not only has the in-service been pushed back from May to April (along with the senior prom, which is tonight), it's still freaking winter-time out there. I don't want to walk from the house to the car, let alone a couple of miles around town before work. Although I was planning to walk to the school tomorrow and then home for lunch and back, but it turns out I have to be at the high school for lunch, so I actually need to drive my car around the block and park so that I can get to and from the high school without using up any of my hour and walking to and from my house to get the car. Now that I think of it, why didn't I call in sick?

Dishes. Clothes. Lunch.


watching The Simpsons :: entry #1428