[::.. sue is a site ..::]

Saturday, October 26

My mother and father-in-law sent us a package. We picked it up from the post office this morning. They sent it to replace a previous package that was stolen off our porch by a degenerate asshole. The package contained a six pack of white Champion socks (for Ben), two pairs of cutsey Target brand socks (for me), a torpedo level (for Ben), "Campbell Kids" hot pads and a Campbell's soup can magnet, a small pumpkin basket with two tealight candles, two halloween goodie bags each containing three snack size snickers bars, two "Endangered Species" chocolate bars, one featuring a salmon and one featuring an elephant, thirty feet of 1/2 inch nylon webbing which my father-in-law recovered from an abandoned work sight (he got about 1000 feet all together, spent about a month untangling it, ran it through the washing machine, and cut it into 300ft lengths, he thought Ben might like some, so he sent a sample; Ben has been using it to lasso me), and a card with a typewriter and a vase of daisies on the front containing my mother-in-law's new school picture (she runs a pre-school program), snapshots of her new Passat, and a check for a hundred dollars.

8:35 PM | permalink

Paul Wellstone


Paul Wellstone, the senior senator from Minnesota, has died in a plane crash along with his wife and daughter. This is a sad day.

11:45 AM | permalink

I do not have to work until eight o'clock today. I usually start at seven. I do not want to go at all. I want to stay home and write. I think this is a healthy thing to want. I began all these sentences with "I". I guess that is a no, no.
6:58 AM | permalink

Summerhill website.
10:59 AM | permalink

Would you entrust your children to this man?

I am re-reading a book called Summerhill: a Radical Approach to Child Rearing by A.S. Neill. It is a book detailing the ideas and history of a private school in England, founded in 1921 by psychologist A.S. Neill. The book was written in the late fifties and published in 1960. The school was founded on the principle that children should be loved and approved of. Adults should not try to instill in them a bunch of bullshit, harmful social conventions and repressive attitudes. (Sounds pretty radical so far.) Children at Summerhill were not compelled to attend class. A child was encouraged to play, and lessons would be there when the child decided that lessons were wanted (on the theory that a child learns better when ready to learn). The children (ages 5-17) and the staff made the rules of the school by democratic vote. The vote of a 6-year-old was counted the same as the vote of the Headmaster. This created a safe and free environment for a child to become a full-feeling, full-thinking individual. No shame, no manipulation, no authority for it's own sake. It's an extraordinary book; mind expanding, and very funny. Here is an example of an exam question at Summerhill. (Given not to assess students, just to amuse them really.)

Where are the following: --Madrid, Thursday Island, yesterday, love, democracy, hate, my pocket screwdriver?

I am not a parent, (yet) but just reading this book I have reaffirmed my commitment to the important things: freedom to think and act as I choose, provided I am not harming anyone, rejection of "respectability" for the sake of mantaining the status quo, the importance of a love not based on guilt. It's a book that challenges me to lead my own, quiet revolution for a more sensible humanity.
6:12 PM | permalink

So, imagine you are the service manager for a flourishing Plumbing & Heating company. You have given 14 years of service to this company. You are a certified pipe fitter with many years of experience, so many in fact that you are nearly eligible for retirement benefits though your union hall. You are taking a drug called Interferon to boost your immune system to help you battle melonoma. You arrive at work on a Monday like any other. Except today, the president and vice president of the company invite you downstairs for a meeting. You are being laid off. You are the only one being laid off. You're middle management and your salary is standing in the way of profitability. (Did I mention that the president and vice president are father and son?) Poof, you are sixty years old and you are banished to the land of wind and ghosts. You are driven home by the company mechanic because you must immediately relinquish your company vehicle. Gather your things. Ignore the whispers as you leave. Do not show emotion. Do not let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

This is what happened to one of my bosses today. Dear Steve, I hope you went home, cracked open a beer and made love to your wife. I hope you will quickly rebound from the rude awakening that you, like all of us, are disposable. I hope you are able to make the best of a humilating situation. Collect unemployment, play on your boat. Live, Live, Live.
6:03 PM | permalink

This is a postcard my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, sent to me. It gives the measurements for her cat, Lucille. I am making Lucille a sweater with red and white stripes.
4:53 PM | permalink