Patriot Day Trilogy

Listen my children and you shall hear

of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

on the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Paul Revere's Ride

By the rude bridge that arched the flood

Here once th'embattled farmers stood.

Their flags to April's breeze unfurled

And fired the shot heard 'round the world.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn

If you're a patriotic sports fan living in New England, there is almost nothing better than Patriots Day, a day, celebrated mostly in New England states, that honors the bravery of the colonial soldiers during the battles of Concord and Lexinton on April 18, 1775.  On any givenyear, if you do it right, you can go to the 11 a.m. Red Sox game, catch the end of the Boston Marathon(it's the 113th running today) sometime between 1:30 and 2 (depending on who's pitching), take a leisurely stroll across town, grab something tasty to eat in Quincy Market, and then catch either a Bruins or a Celtics play-off game that evening.

Crazy as it sounds, I actually did that once, a number of years ago now.  Then, it was a Bruins game.  Today, it will be a Celtics game vs. the Bulls if you're so inclined.  Several times, I've done the 1-2, Red Sox and Marathon.  On top of all this, if you're a real early bird, you can witness the re-enactment of the famous battles and then go downtown for the atletic events.  The re-enactment starts before dawn when "Paul" and his friend "Samuel Dawes" ride "sound the alarm to every Middlesex village and farm."  As the sun rises, the British march on the two towns and the patriots rise to the challenge while hundreds, perhaps even thousands, stand along the way to gawk and marvel at the antiquated warfare tactics that set this country on the road to the democracy we now enjoy and flourish in.  And yes, I've done that, too.  More than once

No matter the weather (and it's often cloudy, overcast and/or rainy), there's nothing like this day for community warmth and friendliness.  It's one of my favorite holidays.

Playing Catch Up

I've been so busy the past week or so that I didn't have time to blog. Every night last week I had a meeting of some kind. Board meeting, Red Sox game (!), personnel meeting (we hired a new math teacher), Parent Appreciation dinner, Science Fair, etc. It was exhausting, although very productive, and often fun. The days were no less challenging. Anyone who teaches knows what the last couple weeks of school are like. Kids are restless, teachers are near the end of their rope. Add in a full moon (the "Flower" moon), and you have a recipe for disaster. Except it wasn't really a disaster. Just a huge test of patience.

The baby robins are thriving. They are covered with feathers now, so much that they blend right in with their nest and I can't get any good pictures of them as there is no contrast between them, the nest and the grid I have to shoot through. The goslings are at least twice the size they were the week before. They've joined up with two other geese families and are systematically working throught the yards in the neighborhood around the school. Every morning on my way to work, I find them in a different front yard, gobbling up whatever it is they are finding there. Always, at any given moment, two adults are standing guard along the sidewalk.

Tuesday night my sister and her family took me to the Red Sox game for my birthday. We were right behind home plate...a place I haven't sat for many years (back when seats were $10 instead of $50...). We had a great time watching the Sox win (although it wasn't as exciting as the night before when John Lester pitched a no hitter). I sat there looking around the park at all the different places I've been there. I think I've probably sat in every single section at least once, except for the newer seats on top of the Green Monster (left field) and in the luxury boxes above home plate (although I've been inside once, on a tour). I love Fenway Park! It holds a lot of good memories for me...

Now, I'm up in Maine at my parents' for a couple of days. They've lived here for 5 years, now, and have worked hard to make their yard a magnet for birds. This year, they have more birds than I've ever seen before: indigo buntings, bluebirds (They come for worms when my mom whistles!), Baltimore orioles, goldfinches, purple finches, robins, mourning doves, meadow larks, blue jays, ruby throated humming birds, several kinds of sparrows, tree swallows, and more...all letting us know through their various songs and continued presence how much they enjoy and appreciated this haven.

Photos: Baltimore Oriole outside my parents' sunroom; Canada goose and goslings feeding in the school neighborhood; Jonathan Papelbon strikes out the last batter to win the game; male bluebird eating mealworms after my mom has whistled for him.

Earth Day and Marathon Monday

Happy Earth Day! I just heard Tom Brokaw talk about the history of Earth Day. Turns out, I celebrated the very first one...and I do remember it. I was in 9th grade. Our whole school spent the day cleaning up the campus. We worked in small groups within our classes. Part of the fun of the day was a challenge for each group to come up with a rhyme/chant about their class. At the end of the day, a vote was taken on the best rhyme for each class. That made the work fun, and kept us working together. Guess whose chant won for my class? Yup! To this day, I remember the chant my group came up with: "We're tremendous, stupendous, yes sirree! Nineteen hundred and [ends with three...]"

This year, I'm celebrating the day by getting a new bathtub and shower. Hopefully this will help conserve water (and also improve the cosmetic value of my condo). Meanwhile, yesterday was one of those great days that happens only in New England. At least I like to think so. It was bright, beautiful, clear, and perfect conditions for running the 112th Boston Marathon (the world's oldest marathon) as well as playing (or watching) baseball (Red Sox vs. Rangers at 11 a.m.).

I was home working (cleaning) while watching the Marathon and the Sox game, but other years, I've been part of the thousands who start the day at Fenway Park and who end up out on the Marathon sidelines cheering the runners on. If you're lucky, the way I have been several times, the Sox play a quick game and you get out in time to see the leaders cross the finish line.

One year, I went from the Sox to the Marathon to the Bruins play-off game, all within a 7 hour shot. Now, that was a marathon!!!

Photos: A flag along the Marathon route; the Olympic Torch was part of the stsarting ceremonies; some of the 25,000 runners at Heartbreak Hill; Big Papi gets ready to connect with a pitch

Grave sights and a full moon

During my walk around Boston on Tuesday, I stopped in at two famous cemeteries. The first was the burial ground at King's Chapel. Several famous colonists and citizens are buried here, including John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, and William Dawes, the other rider who warned colonists that "the British are coming!" Perhaps the most famous fictional character buried here is Hester Prynne, of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, set in 17th century Boston.

A few minutes walk away is the Old Granary Burying Ground. John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and Benjamin Franklin's parents are among the notables buried here. I didn't have time to ramble leisurely through this tranquil spot in the midst of a busy city, but was able to linger long enough to think about the importance of each person, not just those who made the history books.

Tonight, there is a full moon, or very nearly so. I always know, without looking in the sky, if the moon is full because things get crazy at school. I love this shot the Red Sox camera man took of the moon over the Sox at Yankee Stadium. The best part, of course, is the score =)

Two Fenway Fly-Overs

Four F-14s were scheduled to fly over Fenway Park during the Red Sox' home opening day ceremonies. The cool thing for us at our school is that we are directly along the flight path for these amazing jets. We see and hear them either on their way to the ball park or on their way back (depending on which direction they decide to fly over). I warned the visiting committee that somewhere around 2 they would probably hear the 4 jets, and indeed some of them did.

I'm not going to say I'm jaded by now, having seen/heard a number of these. But I will say that there was another Fenway flyover that interested me just as much. The hawk I wrote about a few days ago has refused to leave Fenway Park! She and her mate continue to call the Park home, and today, during the opening ceremonies, the two of them flew all around the park, one of them with some kind of a rodent in its talons that it dropped into the crowd as it cruised by!!! I would love to have been there to see that!!!

The pre-game ceremonies were exciting, too. They brought in legendary athletes from all four of Boston's major sports...including several of my personal favorites from the '70s and '80s, including Bobby Orr, my favorite Bruins player, and Brian Daubach, a Red Sox player that my journalism class interviewed a few years ago in the pressroom at Fenway Park! The Boston Pops played while the team received their 2007 championship rings, and Bill Buckner (the "goat" of the 1986 World Series loss) threw the first pitch to my all-time favorite Sox player Dwight Evans.

A pretty classy affair when all was said and done. I just wish I had been there. (The only time I've had tickets to Opening Day, it got snowed out and was rescheduled for the next day...when I was flying to Russia on a choir trip. I had to give the tickets to my parents and had to watch the opening ceremony from the airport waiting area.)

Photos from the Boston Globe. I had a picture of the hawk with the rodent, but I can't find it. I'm afraid I deleted it. If so, I'm so sad because it was kind of cool...the photo here is by an AP photographer...admittedly much cooler than mine off the TV...

Hawk Attack!

One of the top news stories of the day is that a red-tailed hawk attacked a young teenager at Fenway Park this afternoon! Apparently the hawk had built a nest on a ledge outside the Press box inside the Park and the girl, who was touring the Park, got too close and upset the hawk who attacked her and scratched her face enough to send her to the hospital!

Mass. Fish and Wildlife officers were already on their way to check out the hawks and the nest, but the attack happened before they arrived. They did check out the nest and there was an egg, a cold egg, in it. Apparently the hawk flew away after the attack and hadn't been seen since (as of 6:30 tonight). You can read more about the story here.

Photo from The Boston Channel (Boston's channel 5) website.

Merrily we Roll Along

That title fits this day doubly, at least. My main reason for using it was because of the Rolling Rally the city of Boston held for the WORLD CHAMPION Red Sox =) Quite a number of our students "skipped" school in favor of the rally. Several others came in for a few hours and then left (including my nephew, who went with his mother and another parent and his daughter and friends) to go to the rally. They called in periodically to let us know they were OK and having a great time. Meanwhile, the Red Sox players and affiliates were enjoying a slow 7 mile journey through Boston on "duck boats," waving and shouting to the enthusiastic, but orderly, crowds.

My other reason for using the title is because it describes my life so well right now. I am over the top busy, and not a little tired, but tomorrow we end our first quarter on a fairly happy note, with things going more smoothly than not. If you teach, you know that's not always the way it goes with kids. This year, so far so good. Sure there have been bumps along the way, but none, so far, that we've not been able to handle. Some years are like that.

Photo from The Boston Globe on-line, John Tlumacki, photographer. My sister and nephew and a couple dozen of my students are somewhere in that crowd!!!

Never Give Up!

I have been a Red Sox fan for 35 years. I'm up late tonight because I just watched the Red Sox beat the Indians for the American League championship.

Down 3 to 1 to the Indians, they won 3 games in a row to take the championship. What a huge example of never giving up!

Now, on to the Rockies!!!