A Rare Find

Friday, November 4, 2022

I was really looking forward to work today, because the boys’ soccer (football!) team was playing for the state championship at US Bank Stadium (home of the Vikings) at 10:15am. That meant most of the kids would not be at school for most of the day. Wheeeeee. Since the 9th graders had a test yesterday (surprise!), we were not going to start our new unit with most people gone. I told them yesterday that today would be a completely free day – bring something to entertain themselves if they were going to be at school. So, that came as a complete surprise to them when they are arrived today. When you think about it, it must be fun to be about 14 years old – surprises come flying at you all of the time.

The soccer team was winning 2-1 until the final 90 seconds, when the other team tied it up. In overtime, (apparently) the ball went between someone’s legs and then some and then they lost. Someone had to, but you do always hope it is the other team. The ten buses returned by about the start of 5th hour, but only about 60% of the class was there. Most of them hadn’t eaten anything, so they traveled in little groups to the vending machines and that was our class period. Sixth hour is 11th graders, and I had seven of them in class. Two who had gone to the game came in and asked if they were excused for the whole day – indeed they were – and they said good-bye, have a nice weekend. So, I was playing a game with two students, two were doing the assignment that is due Monday, and the other three were chatting. I started telling the two I was playing the game with a story – for the life of me I can’t remember what it was… some tale of traveling or something… and I realized everything else had stopped and everyone was listening to me.

Everyone was listening to me. Ooooof. When does that happen?

It is my substitute teacher super power. I can tell a good story. I know it is primarily that I am off topic and they are happy not to “be doing work”, but it connects us and I can get better behavior and more learning to happen then. The thing is that since coming back from pandemic, I have not once told a story. I have been traveling around to different schools and you can’t just be a stranger and start telling some random story – you have to have a little connection first. Since coming to the high school, and knowing a lot of my students, I haven’t even thought of it. I lost the habit. And I have had no connection with them. I found what I didn’t even know was missing.

When I got home, Alexander was there, ready to take us to the airport. I came into the mudroom and his head peeked around the corner (he has a TERRIFIC ability to come straight out from the side of a door frame) and he said, “Caaaaaandeeeee.) I had left all the remaining Halloween candy on the kitchen island and he had been enjoying. I walked in and we talked about the Reese’s and the cookies and creme bars, then I pointed to the Airheads and Blow Pops on the counter. He said he hadn’t even seen them, and they were the good stuff. He said he and a friend had recently been discussing the rare and magnificent find it was to get a watermelon blow pop in your trick or treat bag. I dumped the box and we sorted through the 50+ suckers, looking for watermelon. None. Grape, cherry, strawberry, and orange. No, not orange. Maybe orange. Maybe something else. There was picture of watermelon on the box, but no suckers. He was very disappointed, but obviously they no longer make the watermelon ones. The memory must sustain the glory of the past.

He took bags out to the car and as I was coming out, he came running back. He had grabbed a couple strawberry pops to go, and lo and behold, a watermelon! We re-searched and found no more – a single watermelon in the patch. More lost was found!

Then we went to the airport, got on a plane, sat in the bulkhead with lots of legroom and a very nice steward named Daniel in the jump seat with us for take off and landing, watched Bullet Train (VIOLENT but hilarious), and now we are in Orlando. It’s very Florida out. 🙂