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My Profile
She blinded him with whiteness - 2008-07-25
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5:16 p.m. - 2008-01-09
I never thought I'd say this but….thank goodness for standardized testing. Today Wolf took the Language Arts portion of this year's test. Starting right after morning assembly Wolf didn't have time to get whacked out about anything. He, like his mother, actually likes taking tests. Wholly absorbed with filling in scantron bubbles and writing essays the residuals of his sour looking-for-trouble mood melted off and after putting down his #2 pencil the balance of his day went very well. Though I am no fonder of NCLB testing than I ever was, self-defeating things that they are- eaters of time, money and creativity that prove nothing about the training of a fine inquisitive mind, which, hello, is the purpose of education, I am grateful for today's test for giving my boy the grace space he needed to remember himself. Whew. In other news, I went out with Mo last night. To a new (to me) Irish pub. The pub is in a much renovated building which was originally built as a Sambo's restaurant. A Sambo's which was quickly picketed right out of business, racist thing that it was with not only that offensive name, but a cartoonish mascot of Sambo himself- all grinning white teeth and a polka dot shirt under frayed overalls limned in glowing neon 10 feet tall on the roof. The quick demise of Sambo's left the building to lurch through many, many incarnations over the last 30 years and I was amused to see how it's come full circle as a hokey racist establishment again. This time it's the Irish being caricatured, but either they have a hugely forgiving sense of humor or no self-awareness at all, since the place was patronized by nobody but obvious snub nosed, freckled Sons of Erin who didn't seem to mind the crushing weight of Guinness and Jameson's tacky bar goodies and the other ersatz blarney bullshit hanging on the walls. I wondered what my own Irishman would have thought of the restroom doors- the men's featuring a shillelagh and the ladies' had a pot o' gold. Knowing Mick he'd have had a rueful laugh about the deluded gigantic size of the shillelagh, but would gallantly say that my sit-upon was a treasure indeed. One of Mo's many musician buddies was taking a breather from his regular band and honing his solo act and she wanted company to go see him do his thing. The stupendously warm weather was making me restless so asking me to come out and play last night was perfect. Mo came to get me just after Wolf had gone to bed. I turned the computer over to Mick who was gleeful about hours of uninterrupted VW porn and I set off for the pub with a clear conscience and a big thirst for a Blue Moon on tap. It was good to get out. It was good to see Mo and hear her sing. James invited her up to harmonize, to heck with the solo gig. Mo did a fine job as always and I blissed out on the good tunes, the Blue Moon, and the mild adventure of being out on a school night.
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