I-Blog

So Apple has unveiled its I-Pad and the talk everywhere seems to indicate that no women were involved in the naming of this device. It's also an example of how current technology can make us feel a need for an object that we didn't even know about until yesterday.

I can't quite imagine why I would need or want an I-Pad...especially since I'm past menopause....but I do love my I-Phone. Although I did just fine until recently with a simple cell phone that was just a phone, I find I now do need my instant connection to the internet. Or do I?

Yesterday is an example. I attended an all-day BER seminar given by another foreign language presenter. At the lunch break I checked my e-mail. There was a Chicago Tribune "breaking news" message, "Man with Gun in Northwestern Building". Yikes! A fortunately short-lived panic set in until I read the text of the article and discovered the situation was in the Law School downtown, not even close to any place David might be. Whew! Later David sent a text message saying that he was just fine. Later the NU parent Listserv sent a reassuring message. Later yet, we found out that the situation never was dangerous. All this while sealed in a windowless hotel conference room!

Had the same event occured BI (before I-phone), however, I would simply have heard about the resolved event on the radio as I drove home.

If the event had been on the Evanston campus, would knowing about a potential problem for David have been helpful? What could I have done from inside the conference room other than panic?

Kevin was involved in an accident last Saturday night. Another car "merged" into his car as he drove west on Congress just before turning onto the Kennedy expressway. He was able to call 911 on the spot, to call us for advice, take pictures of the damage, and to tell us he was on the road home from his I-Phone. He is able to know about rehearsal changes and shift openings at his part time job on his phone while he is out and about. He can track the distance, time, speed, and route of his long big rides on his phone. He can take movies of himself on his phone while he practices, download them to his computer and have a wonderful visual/auditory opportunity to improve his skills. Sounds to me like he does need that I-Phone.

I picked up friends at the airport arriving exactly on time because I was able to track their flight - actually see where their plane was - on my phone. Ken and I read movie reviews, chose a flick, selected a theatre and show time, and bought our tickets all on my phone. I can listen to anything from music to books on my phone. I can check the weather anywhere in the world, be awakened in a hotel room, write notes to myself, and keep my calendar on my phone. Nothing that I can't do in other ways, but, man, it's handy and it seems like I need that I-Phone.

So, while I don't see any need for an I-Pad, I do eagerly await the addition of the I-Launder, the I-Cook, and the I-Clean to Apple's product list. However, just as no men were involved in naming the I-Pad, I suspect that the men at Apple see no need for those products since it's already a given that I launder, I cook and I clean. Well..., Ken would question the clean part....and sometimes the cook part.....

Plop, Bling, Click

I've spent most of my life in very noisy surroundings. There's nothing like teaching foreign language in the middle school to make every cilia in the inner ear vibrate maniacally. Those same cilia were regularly assaulted by the amazingly loud cries of newborns, followed by the screams of toddlers running through the house, followed by the practice of musical instruments and raucous Cub Scout den meetings. Those cilia were later set on end by percussion concerts, strange noises from video games, and all too soon, Pomp and Circumstance.

Now it's quiet.

This morning Ken is off judging the junior high science fair and Kevin is at a rehearsal. As I sit at the kitchen table I hear the soft plop of water droplets from melting icicles land on the porch. I hear a "bing" every time an e-mail is received by my phone. The laptop makes a mysterious soft "pong" sound periodically. The furnace fan kicks in. A car door slams out on the street. I even hear the click of every key I push on the keyboard.

My mom can't hear sounds like these. Most of her contemporaries can't hear them either.

Ken and I both worry that our hearing is not as astute as it once was. Kevin rolls his eyes when he hears our preferred TV volume setting. Our conversation is sprinkled generously with "huhs?" and "what's?". The background music and crash-bangs in movies prevent us from hearing the dialog. It's frustrating, but I still hear the pings, bings, clicks, and fans of my often quiet world and I am thankful.

The mild hearing loss is most likely a result of genetics and years of living with major noise. When the boys were in school and I was teaching, I yearned for a few minutes of quiet. Now, when I actually have those moments, I'm not crazy about them.

Fortunately, the resident percussionist comes home and practices marimba, snare drum, and even cymbals......and all is again right with the world!

I Don't Have to Do That Anymore!

As I was perusing our local newspaper online I clicked on the police blotter and, once again, found that a former student has had a brush with the law. I felt bad for "Bart's" family as they are caring parents, but going back to 8th grade, they just didn't have a clue about what to do with a basically good kid who was totally influenced by the bad actions of his peers. Since his name is in the police blotter, "Bart" probably continues to be greatly influenced by the wrong kind of peers.

During "Bart's" year in both my class and homeroom, I spent a huge amount of emotional energy trying to figure out what to do with him. I devoted a tremendous amount of time talking with his mom. I spent most of the class period and homeroom trying to keep "Bart" in his seat and somewhat quiet so I could teach. I ignored other students' needs because "Bart's" behavior was constantly in my face.

I don't have to do that anymore!

Actually, thinking about "Bart" brought to mind the many, many things - some serious, some not - that I don't have to do anymore. Sometimes change is hugely apparent to us, sometimes change is huge but so subtle that it's not readily apparent as it's happening.

So, besides agonizing over students, what don't I do anymore?

• I don't subscribe to the local paper. As the schools section shrunk, the "campus news" stopped appearing, the wedding announcements disappeared, and the pictures of society benefits dominated, I became more and more disenchanted with the local press. My fear of being cut off from local news and information about former students was unfounded, however, with the advent of the on-line version. Every couple of weeks I check to see who got married, who is on the dean's list and, yes, who is in the police blotter. All is well!
• I still relish my paper copy of the Chicago Tribune as I eat breakfast but am not quite as hysterical as I formerly was about the potential demise of newspapers. Along with physically holding a paper in my hands as I drink my coffee, I also peruse the New York times on-line and receive e-mail updates all day long from the Tribune. It's not all bad.
• I don't write checks anymore....well, rarely....and I haven't balanced my checkbook in years! Bills are paid on line, even the church contribution is automatically taken out of our checking account. I actually resent having to pay the hair dresser and my mother's bills with a real paper check. I love, love, love on-line payments but hate, hate, hate the fact that I run out of deposit slips long before I ever run out of checks!
• I don't set an alarm....well, rarely.
  
• I've given blood for probably the last time. The phlebotomists at our local blood center clearly were distressed with the state of my veins when I went last Wednesday. Giving platelets, as I've done for a while, was clearly out of the question as my veins are just too filled with scar tissue from years of donating blood. After they fussed a while with my "deep" veins, I was able to give whole blood, but then spent the rest of the day bordering on fainting. This change has been on the horizon for a while and it's a change that makes me sad.
• I don't cook....well, rarely. Retirement was supposed to be filled with menu planning and lovely dinners prepared for my husband. Well, husband works late. I have a meeting, or rehearsal, or dinner with friends, or a tutoring session. Dinner ends up being on the fly. Seems like I cook an actual meal about twice a week and we eat leftovers on the other days. Not good!
• We don't eat at the table. After always eating as a family around the table as the boys were growing up, we find ourselves sitting in front of the TV in our recliner chairs eating our leftovers. Very not good!
• I don't think twice about booking a flight or renting a car or making a hotel reservation. All done on line, easy-peasy! Very efficient!
  
• I don't use the land line. We are having serious conversation about dropping our regular telephone service. Why look up a phone number in an address book when I can just click and make the call on the cell phone? Why call at all when it is so much more efficient to text or e-mail? Very weird!
• I don't do volunteer tasks that I don't want to do. No more feeling obligated to do a PTA task that I don't like. No more "volunteering" for a school committee that will entail endless hours possibly leading to nothing. No more serving on church boards that deal with money. Man, it's great to do volunteer activities that match my "gifts". Very cool!
• I don't not exercise. Very horrible English but very worthwhile and fun!
• I don't feel as guilty for reading a book for pleasure. Very wonderful!
• I don't have to run to the grocery store and do laundry all day on Saturday. How refreshing to spend part of Saturday morning communicating with a few loyal readers! Keeping up with family and friends is something that I will NEVER put on my "don't have to do that anymore" list!
  

Musings About Jury Duty

This week Ken once again has jury duty. Some people never get called, but Ken repeatedly gets called--- not just to jury duty, but to jury duty at the Cook County criminal courts where all the nastiest murderers, gang members, and drug dealers are tried. He is hopeful that, once again, his number won't be called and he'll come home a free man at the end of the day.

I've also been on jury duty several times, but only once at the criminal courts. It was way back in 1971 when I was a young, naive, single teacher living in a trendy city neighborhood. Preparing for jury duty was a real bear since I had to leave sub plans.....for a non-Spanish speaking sub.....for two full weeks!

Lesson planning finally done, I arrived at the criminal courts, found the jury room, got my number and waited for the juror orientation. That was the first shock. Aside from the usual information about bathrooms and schedules, we were informed that there were two juror waiting rooms - one for men and one for women. In all seriousness, the bailiff informed us that the sexes were kept separate to prevent hanky-panky and save marriages! It had never entered my mind that jury duty would be my big opportunity to make out with some stranger and subsequently ruin his marriage. To think that in those days I actually went to bars with the goal of meeting men. How stupid! All I needed to do was break into the mens' jury room at the court house!

I spent the first two days grading papers and catching up on correspondence. (We actually wrote letters, on paper,using a pen, back in those days. We did have ballpoint pens, however. I had thrown away my quill.) I met some pleasant women, chatted about what they were making for their husbands for dinner, played gin, and wondered what kind of wild poker games were going on over in the mens' jury room.

On day three my number was finally called. At least a hundred of us filed into the huge old court room to find out that we were going to be questioned as potential jurors for the trial of a notorious gang leader. Hmmmm, this was getting interesting! Presiding was a well-known judge and at the lawyers' tables were nattily dressed attorneys and an equally elegantly dressed defendant. In fact, the defendant looked like he had just stepped out of Gentlemen's Quarterly.

In groups of twelve, jurors were then called to be questioned. After listening to about five jurors, I knew that I would never be called for this jury. The defense would love me - I was young, naive, and liberal. Heck, I even read such seditious literature as Time Magazine and lived in Lincoln Park. The prosecution, however, was dismissing any potential juror who gave the slightest inkling of actually being able to listen and understand testimony or come to a conclusion based on evidence. Nope, it was clear the prosecution was seeking jurors who would pre-judge this case based solely on the defendant's race and reputation.

Of course, that is exactly what happened. After spending five agonizing days in court- having to sit and do NOTHING but listen for six hours a day - I was finally questioned. After about three questions that proved that I was a teacher (meaning I was at least somewhat intelligent), read the horrible liberal press, and lived in the notoriously free thinking 60614 zip code, I was given the figurative heave-ho. After a couple more days in the female only jury room, I was released, paid my $5.00 a day stipend, and sent back to the normalcy (!) of the junior high.

I don't know how the case was resolved. It was a minor offense for this particular defendant, so the case didn't make the news. I know that eventually the prosecution must have run out of pre-emptive challenges and had to take some - yikes - liberal, intelligent jurors. I presume the judicial system worked as it should have.....but I don't know for sure.

In later jury duty assignments I was able to sit in a jury room with men - gasp! I actually sat on a jury for an interesting case related to a traffic accident. It is good to know that the judicial system has modernized tremendously since the dark ages of 1971.

The concept of being tried by a "jury of your peers" is still somewhat troubling, however. I was once not accepted for a jury in a DUI case because I had donated to MADD. So, someone who - horrors! - is against drunk driving shouldn't be allowed on a case involving a drunk driver? On the traffic accident case, we submitted to several days of testimony about the severe injuries and suffering of the plaintiff. After we rendered our judgment that, in spite of our sympathy for the plaintiff's suffering, the defendant had not caused the accident, the judge told us that we were a "tough jury". In other words we had rendered a fair judgment based on the facts, not on the sentiment--and that surprised the judge! We see pictures all the time of really horrible people who come to court looking like a million dollars.

I guess all that is fair and I do know we have the best judicial system in the world, but it still makes me think "What if I ever was a defendant?"

Of course, my biggest worry is being judged by a jury of my peers. Who would ever want to be judged by 12 junior high school teachers!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've Had a Foot of Snow but..........

Yes, folks, the weather forcasters predicted we'd have a whole lot of snow and, this time, they were right. As usual, however, their doomsday predictions just didn't pan out. Instead, I took a look at what a foot of snow can mean and was led to compose a top ten list of things I am thankful about on this snowy day.

10. We've had a foot of snow but I could stay home yesterday.

9. We've had a foot of snow but the grocery store lot was completely plowed and I even got the
third space from the door!

8. We've had a foot of snow but it's a light fluffy snow that Ken could easily remove with the
snow-blower.

7. We've had a foot of snow but this light fluffy snow also created some fascinating symmetry for anyone who took the time to look at their own back yard.



6. We've had a foot of snow, but that one foot became several feet for fences and bushes
that got submerged in snow-blower piles. As cold as the bush looks, next summer it will thrive from all the insulation and moisture the snow provided.



5. We've had a foot of snow, but the sun is shining and it makes neighborhood trees glorious.


4. We've had a foot of snow but the Christmas lights are still up and provide an other worldly glow.

3. We've had a foot of snow but I was still able to have my Friday morning walk and gab
fest - inside!

2. We've had a foot of snow and it will feel really good to have the oven on as Ken's birthday cake bakes later this afternoon.

1. We've had a foot of snow but THERE ARE NO MOSQUITOS!