Football Mania
I have been afflicted with football mania. This is how I know:
1. I read the whole 352-page book, League of Denial.
2. I watched the whole almost-two-hour documentary, "League of Denial."
3. I pore over the sports section of the newspaper every day.
4. I regularly turn to the sports sections of Time and The Week.
5. I've learned all about the AFL and the NFL.
6. I've painstakingly taken notes on nine youtube segments of "League of Denial"--excerpts from the full-length documentary, creating a glossary of names and terms.
7. I've clipped many articles on football and collected them in a folder. I've photocopied others and printed still others from the computer.
My football mania is atypical. This is how I know:
1. I don't know the names of many currently-famous players.
2. I know that the Kansas City Chiefs are better than usual this year, and I know they're in the AFL. Beyond that, I don't know much about any team or players.
3. The mania came on suddenly and is likely to depart suddenly.
4. The mania coincides precisely with the need for a custom-designed current events study. Time's cover article in late September clued me in to this "current event." That, and a student's suggestion that we study sports. (I'm positive that she did not envision this particular investigation into sports.)
5. I've subdivided the topic of football into 13 subtopics, and written a quiz on a "background" sheet I've already created. I've also listed a number of questions to consider on that background sheet.
6. The more I learn, the less laudatory the whole football enterprise seems to me. The neuroscience on brain injuries is compelling; the piled-high-and-deep NFL money trail looks a lot like muck.
I'll have to wait to tip my hand further on this topic--till the students have had a chance to hold forth on their choice of related topics. Then, I might decide to close out this investigation with some writing on what I've found--or not.
***************
Today is Tristan's third birthday. I find the child irresistible. Not perfect, but nonetheless irresistible.
***************
On Friday, at 91 degrees, Wichita set a record high temperature for that date. A cool down is expected tomorrow, and throughout the week.
***************
I saw an article in the paper today saying that a mountain lion was spotted in Labette County. Still no acknowledgement of breeding females in the state, despite local people on several occasions having seen a group of young ones in the same vicinity as adults. I don't get it. Why this staunch denial of resident animals? Lone males traveling through from Colorado is the usual explanation for documented sightings. I don't think that covers all the bases.
***************
We're about to embark on two evenings of parent-teacher conferences. These are long days for teachers. Meetings from 4:00 to 9:00. No one doubts the value of these contacts, so we'll just do it.
***************
I wish I were smarter about technology, or that we had internet at school. I'm still not sure how I'll get the documentaries downloaded that I want the students to see. It would be ever-so-simple to access it at school if we had an internet connection.
****************
Several folks from here attended the funeral of Naomi Schrock in Catlett, VA. Her young sister-in-law, Tryphena (Trippy), attended Pilgrim for one year and graduated here, so the extended family has lots of friends here. Naomi was 31, and left behind a husband and two young daughters.
*****************
We heard recently that Pauline Ramos has been diagnosed with leukemia in El Salvador. She has cousins and friends here too.
******************
Our ladies' prayer partner banquet happened on Sat. eve. Decorations featured seaside themes--pulled off with amazing aplomb for Kansas--as landlocked a state as any. "An Anchor for the Soul" prompted the assembly of papyrus stalks, water-smoothed stones, rowboats and canoes, and aqua colors. A number of ladies spoke about the anchors that have provided stability during the tumultuous experiences of the recent past. This annual routine is a real treat.
*******************
Kendrick and Kimberly Graber (also known as Kenny and Kim) had a tiny 4 lb. 13 oz. daughter on Thursday whom they named McKenzie Kayl. All are reportedly doing well. The baby was one week early.
*******************
Mandy Nisly is home from the hospital and has been released from the Manor where she had gone for physical therapy. Her back pain is improved, but she still has a lot of mobility problems.
*******************
Wyatt (Grant and Clarissa's) stayed with us for several hours on Saturday. He was too tired to sleep till we took him on a car ride. He didn't sleep more than about 15 minutes--long enough to give him a very sweet disposition. After that he decided that Hiromi was not scary after all, and he had lots of smiles and funny wrinkle-faced teasing expressions. He stood alone for a bit to demonstrate his new prowess. He's a little over 9 months old.
*******************
Frolics are planned for the end of the week to work at the "Elreka" facility. Next week a roofing project for a nursing home in Hutchinson will call for a number of volunteers. On Thursday of this week a hog roast and auction-of-services is planned at Center as a fundraiser for (I forget what). Unfortunately, I also forgot to list this among the announcements today. The MCC meat canner will be here next week. A "thank you" fish fry is planned at Nelson Lee's initiative for Saturday evening--in gratitude for how the community supported him when he had surgery for a cancerous growth on his tongue. Some of the donations will go to support Hands of Christ.
*********************
Hands of Christ director Paul Yoder and his wife Edith plan to take up residence (3 days a week for 3 months) in an office location in Hutchinson. Shane owns the property they will occupy, and Rock Rentals, his property management business, has an office in the other half of the building.
Having a more permanent residence in Hutchinson seems to make sense for a variety of reasons, so this is an effort to begin to explore the options. It's also an effort to provide for smooth transitions in the case of new personnel coming aboard--which would be complicated if it never moved outside Paul's private residence.
Paul talked to us today about how missionaries go to where the people are, and how Jesus dwelt among men when he came to bring redemption.
********************
Wendell and Jeanine were in church today. They plan to stay in the area till after Christmas. I asked Jeanine today whether the school where they've been teaching has a "sabbaticals policy." She said they don't.
I find that is the usual answer when I ask that question of people in conservative Anabaptist circles. I learned today that our school board now has a policy on sabbaticals. That was not the case when I first took a sabbatical six years ago. I hope to see a copy of our policy soon.
I've also been gratified to see how the idea of sabbaticals has caught on among our local ministerial teams. Some effort has been made to operate by a system, although it's not completely uniform.
I believe schools and churches stand to gain a great deal by observing regular sabbaticals. Gardeners too, which is how the conviction first took root in my consciousness. Each person willingly taking their hands off the "controls" of their position for a time seems healthy in any organization. Helping the group evaluate roles in the absence of any single individual's contribution can open up new ways of meeting the needs, making things more manageable for everyone as time goes on.
******************
Hiromi has been doing a lot of plumbing of late. He's dug up a water line by hand, in order to facilitate connecting to it to run some new water and wiring lines. Also, yesterday, he unclogged the pipe going from the house to the septic tank. This task was made simple by the presence of a stand-pipe he installed in the line near the tank, and the crafting of a concrete lid for the tank that enabled him to check the level of the tank's contents.
Bob Prettyman, Clare's father, solves problems like this for people regularly. He says that low-water-volume toilets make plugged drain lines far more likely since each flush is too low-volume to reach the tank--so the line is not routinely emptied as is possible with higher water volume.
We're puzzled by what Hiromi found nestled squarely under one of the water lines he dug up--a tree root larger than the diameter of the pipe. It's a puzzle because no trees are growing close to that area. We can't figure out where the root came from. A lo-o-o-ong way away, it seems. If we could tell by the root whether it was Siberian Elm, Cottonwood, or Maple, we'd know where the culprit resides.
****************
I found it necessary to proscribe discussions of body parts in typing class last week. It was an oblique (but very well-understood) reference to the speculation I interrupted on the relationship between sweat stink and underarm hair volume. Puh-lease. I did tell them that it's not that such discussions are always inappropriate, but typing class is not the appropriate venue.
Adolescent boys are probably the earthiest of individuals, but that doesn't mean that everyone else within audio range needs to tolerate having their mind space forced to consider whatever is uppermost in their minds. I like that this group usually is quite quick to try to cooperate when I ask something of them--if they can stop talking long enough to hear what I'm saying. The girls are models of virtue, so they're not part of this running-at-the-mouth problem.
1. I read the whole 352-page book, League of Denial.
2. I watched the whole almost-two-hour documentary, "League of Denial."
3. I pore over the sports section of the newspaper every day.
4. I regularly turn to the sports sections of Time and The Week.
5. I've learned all about the AFL and the NFL.
6. I've painstakingly taken notes on nine youtube segments of "League of Denial"--excerpts from the full-length documentary, creating a glossary of names and terms.
7. I've clipped many articles on football and collected them in a folder. I've photocopied others and printed still others from the computer.
My football mania is atypical. This is how I know:
1. I don't know the names of many currently-famous players.
2. I know that the Kansas City Chiefs are better than usual this year, and I know they're in the AFL. Beyond that, I don't know much about any team or players.
3. The mania came on suddenly and is likely to depart suddenly.
4. The mania coincides precisely with the need for a custom-designed current events study. Time's cover article in late September clued me in to this "current event." That, and a student's suggestion that we study sports. (I'm positive that she did not envision this particular investigation into sports.)
5. I've subdivided the topic of football into 13 subtopics, and written a quiz on a "background" sheet I've already created. I've also listed a number of questions to consider on that background sheet.
6. The more I learn, the less laudatory the whole football enterprise seems to me. The neuroscience on brain injuries is compelling; the piled-high-and-deep NFL money trail looks a lot like muck.
I'll have to wait to tip my hand further on this topic--till the students have had a chance to hold forth on their choice of related topics. Then, I might decide to close out this investigation with some writing on what I've found--or not.
***************
Today is Tristan's third birthday. I find the child irresistible. Not perfect, but nonetheless irresistible.
***************
On Friday, at 91 degrees, Wichita set a record high temperature for that date. A cool down is expected tomorrow, and throughout the week.
***************
I saw an article in the paper today saying that a mountain lion was spotted in Labette County. Still no acknowledgement of breeding females in the state, despite local people on several occasions having seen a group of young ones in the same vicinity as adults. I don't get it. Why this staunch denial of resident animals? Lone males traveling through from Colorado is the usual explanation for documented sightings. I don't think that covers all the bases.
***************
We're about to embark on two evenings of parent-teacher conferences. These are long days for teachers. Meetings from 4:00 to 9:00. No one doubts the value of these contacts, so we'll just do it.
***************
I wish I were smarter about technology, or that we had internet at school. I'm still not sure how I'll get the documentaries downloaded that I want the students to see. It would be ever-so-simple to access it at school if we had an internet connection.
****************
Several folks from here attended the funeral of Naomi Schrock in Catlett, VA. Her young sister-in-law, Tryphena (Trippy), attended Pilgrim for one year and graduated here, so the extended family has lots of friends here. Naomi was 31, and left behind a husband and two young daughters.
*****************
We heard recently that Pauline Ramos has been diagnosed with leukemia in El Salvador. She has cousins and friends here too.
******************
Our ladies' prayer partner banquet happened on Sat. eve. Decorations featured seaside themes--pulled off with amazing aplomb for Kansas--as landlocked a state as any. "An Anchor for the Soul" prompted the assembly of papyrus stalks, water-smoothed stones, rowboats and canoes, and aqua colors. A number of ladies spoke about the anchors that have provided stability during the tumultuous experiences of the recent past. This annual routine is a real treat.
*******************
Kendrick and Kimberly Graber (also known as Kenny and Kim) had a tiny 4 lb. 13 oz. daughter on Thursday whom they named McKenzie Kayl. All are reportedly doing well. The baby was one week early.
*******************
Mandy Nisly is home from the hospital and has been released from the Manor where she had gone for physical therapy. Her back pain is improved, but she still has a lot of mobility problems.
*******************
Wyatt (Grant and Clarissa's) stayed with us for several hours on Saturday. He was too tired to sleep till we took him on a car ride. He didn't sleep more than about 15 minutes--long enough to give him a very sweet disposition. After that he decided that Hiromi was not scary after all, and he had lots of smiles and funny wrinkle-faced teasing expressions. He stood alone for a bit to demonstrate his new prowess. He's a little over 9 months old.
*******************
Frolics are planned for the end of the week to work at the "Elreka" facility. Next week a roofing project for a nursing home in Hutchinson will call for a number of volunteers. On Thursday of this week a hog roast and auction-of-services is planned at Center as a fundraiser for (I forget what). Unfortunately, I also forgot to list this among the announcements today. The MCC meat canner will be here next week. A "thank you" fish fry is planned at Nelson Lee's initiative for Saturday evening--in gratitude for how the community supported him when he had surgery for a cancerous growth on his tongue. Some of the donations will go to support Hands of Christ.
*********************
Hands of Christ director Paul Yoder and his wife Edith plan to take up residence (3 days a week for 3 months) in an office location in Hutchinson. Shane owns the property they will occupy, and Rock Rentals, his property management business, has an office in the other half of the building.
Having a more permanent residence in Hutchinson seems to make sense for a variety of reasons, so this is an effort to begin to explore the options. It's also an effort to provide for smooth transitions in the case of new personnel coming aboard--which would be complicated if it never moved outside Paul's private residence.
Paul talked to us today about how missionaries go to where the people are, and how Jesus dwelt among men when he came to bring redemption.
********************
Wendell and Jeanine were in church today. They plan to stay in the area till after Christmas. I asked Jeanine today whether the school where they've been teaching has a "sabbaticals policy." She said they don't.
I find that is the usual answer when I ask that question of people in conservative Anabaptist circles. I learned today that our school board now has a policy on sabbaticals. That was not the case when I first took a sabbatical six years ago. I hope to see a copy of our policy soon.
I've also been gratified to see how the idea of sabbaticals has caught on among our local ministerial teams. Some effort has been made to operate by a system, although it's not completely uniform.
I believe schools and churches stand to gain a great deal by observing regular sabbaticals. Gardeners too, which is how the conviction first took root in my consciousness. Each person willingly taking their hands off the "controls" of their position for a time seems healthy in any organization. Helping the group evaluate roles in the absence of any single individual's contribution can open up new ways of meeting the needs, making things more manageable for everyone as time goes on.
******************
Hiromi has been doing a lot of plumbing of late. He's dug up a water line by hand, in order to facilitate connecting to it to run some new water and wiring lines. Also, yesterday, he unclogged the pipe going from the house to the septic tank. This task was made simple by the presence of a stand-pipe he installed in the line near the tank, and the crafting of a concrete lid for the tank that enabled him to check the level of the tank's contents.
Bob Prettyman, Clare's father, solves problems like this for people regularly. He says that low-water-volume toilets make plugged drain lines far more likely since each flush is too low-volume to reach the tank--so the line is not routinely emptied as is possible with higher water volume.
We're puzzled by what Hiromi found nestled squarely under one of the water lines he dug up--a tree root larger than the diameter of the pipe. It's a puzzle because no trees are growing close to that area. We can't figure out where the root came from. A lo-o-o-ong way away, it seems. If we could tell by the root whether it was Siberian Elm, Cottonwood, or Maple, we'd know where the culprit resides.
****************
I found it necessary to proscribe discussions of body parts in typing class last week. It was an oblique (but very well-understood) reference to the speculation I interrupted on the relationship between sweat stink and underarm hair volume. Puh-lease. I did tell them that it's not that such discussions are always inappropriate, but typing class is not the appropriate venue.
Adolescent boys are probably the earthiest of individuals, but that doesn't mean that everyone else within audio range needs to tolerate having their mind space forced to consider whatever is uppermost in their minds. I like that this group usually is quite quick to try to cooperate when I ask something of them--if they can stop talking long enough to hear what I'm saying. The girls are models of virtue, so they're not part of this running-at-the-mouth problem.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
8:19 PM
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