Yes, I was one of the loonies at the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I wasn’t dressed in costume, but I wanted to be there to share in the special camaraderie that we hardcore HP fans enjoy. I needed to see the movie with a group of people who really cared about these characters and to experience the bittersweet moment of the farewell. I’ve been a fan since the beginning. My daughter was about 7-years-old when the first book was published. By the time the second one was released, the buzz about the boy wizard had really begun, and I thought it was time to …
Earlier today, I ran out to complete some errands. As I pulled out of my development, my head filled with invisible lists and potential check marks, I noticed a line of cars had come to a halt in the middle of usually very busy Fishcreek Road. And then I saw why. A gaggle of about 20 geese, some adults but mostly adolescents not yet able to fly, were crossing from one pond to another in formation that would be envied by the U.S. Army. I couldn’t help but smile, and as I made my right-hand turn away from the geese, I could see other drivers smiling too, and it occurred to me that we don’t …
“You’ve seen Iron Maiden live?” That’s what one of my students asked me as he stared incredulously and then laughed a little. Students tend to assume that teachers either don’t listen to music at all or that we only pipe Muzak into our homes while we think of innovative ways to make their lives miserable. I enjoy a lot of different music, but I was a teenager in the 1980s, the decadent decade of big hair, blue frosted eye shadow and shoulder pads. It was also the heyday of heavy metal music, what we now call “old school” metal. In elementary school, I swooned over Shaun Cassidy and Andy Gibb…
More people should ask my advice about raising children. Seriously. For years, I wouldn’t have presumed to be an authority on the subject because I was constantly worrying about my mothering capabilities. I incessantly asked myself if I had handled a situation correctly, if I should have done or said something differently, if I should back off. I strongly felt (and still feel) that if you aren’t constantly worrying about your kids, you aren’t doing something right. I didn’t really have anyone to ask for advice myself. I gave birth to my daughter a week after I turned 20. None of my friends …
I love live theater. I can’t remember the first live theater production I ever saw, but I remember the first one that really got to me. It was a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at E.J. Thomas Hall circa 1986. I had grown up listening to JCS; my mom was a fanatic and played the original Broadway soundtrack almost every weekend. But that first production opened my eyes to the power of live theater, to its infinite possibilities. In that production, Jesus dressed like he had just walked off the set of Miami Vice; the Sanhedrin was costumed in biker leathers; and the disciples ate corn chips…
When my editor asked me to write a column that addressed Senate Bill 5, I felt overwhelmed at the prospect. How could I write something that hasn’t already been addressed in other forums? How can I discuss an issue that affects me so personally in a dispassionate way? And then I realized that as a second-career teacher, I am in a unique position to do exactly that. Gov. John Kasich has said that S.B. 5 will allow cities and school districts to reduce costs and manage work forces. It stipulates merit pay for teachers and it puts all decision-making into the hands of administrators and …
Since the onset of language in humans, someone has bemoaned its deterioration. I’m sure there was a caveman somewhere listening to the cave kids grunt the wrong way, thinking to himself, “Civilization is doomed.” I’ve become that caveman ... um, woman .... um, person ... oh, forget it! My point is that I notice and care about grammar, punctuation and spelling. (It drives me nuts that I had to leave out the comma that should be placed after the word “punctuation” because it’s journalistic style to do so.) I’m not talking about personal correspondence in e-mails or texts. We all make mistakes…
“Who is Kelly Osbourne to be telling people how they look when she has those awful tattoos on her arms?” That was my mother’s question on the phone one day as we discussed the latest episode of Fashion Police. Of course, I couldn’t help but to take the comment a bit personally. Much to my mother’s chagrin, I have eight tattoos. Most people are surprised to discover this fact even though at least two of them are visible most days, depending on what I’m wearing. I guess I don’t look like the tattoo type, whatever that is. Most people I know have at least one tattoo, some visible, some not. …
My book club used to get together monthly to discuss our latest selection. Once the book had been adequately dissected, muffins consumed, and tea sipped, the conversation often turns to current events. During one meeting, our discussion drifted to the topic of education. We touched on subjects from gifted programs to school security and finally rested on the issue of teachers' salaries. One mother was concerned about the inability of her school district to pass its levy, citing teachers' apparently exorbitant benefits as the reason why the community wasn't supporting the levy. I was the only …
When I graduated from high school in the late 1980s, the world seemed to be filled with hope. I had not known war, my family was prosperous even in the era of Reaganomics and it felt like the world was shifting toward permanent change for good. Racism seemed to have been eradicated by the panacea of education and time. I know now that I was young and naïve, convinced that I could make the world a better place simply by dreaming it. Then came the Persian Gulf War, Rodney King and Sept. 11. I am the first to admit that these events--as well as many others--have left me cynical and jaded. That …
I don’t like vegetables. I don’t like exercise. I don’t like spandex. I also don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I don’t believe in waiting to make a change in my life. If a change needs to be made, then the time to make it is at that moment. It’s for that reason that I joined Akron General LifeStyles on Allen Road in Stow a month ago instead of waiting until the New Year to join the hoards who will resolve to lose 50 pounds in 2011. I’ve needed to join a gym for years, but money and time were hindrances to health. However, around Thanksgiving, I threw out my back for about the …
Now that Christmas is over, you probably have at least three items you don't know what to do with: Christmas cards, unwanted gifts and leftover cookies. There are easy solutions, however. If you're like me, you feel bad about throwing away all the Christmas cards you received. So, at the end of the season, I gather up my Christmas cards and cut out the pictures using scissors with a scalloped edge. Pinking shears would work well too. Depending on the picture, I either keep it square or cut around the shape. Then, with a hole punch, I make a single hole at the top of the picture. I store these…
Although northeast Ohio certainly gets its fair share of snow, it's an acceptable trade-off for not having to deal with hurricanes, tsunamis, major earthquakes or tarantula hawk wasps. A tarantula hawk wasp is one of the largest wasps on the planet that hunts tarantulas for food. Thankfully they aren't in northeast Ohio. Apparently, the female's sting is among the most painful insect stings known to man. Wow. So, what's worse, the sting of winter or the sting of this insect? Dec. 13, I awoke to find some of the worst winter weather I've encountered, and I grew up in the snowbelt. I'm a …
