Tag Archives: childhood
The Total Worlders
I’ve lived long enough to know that the Gods have a sense of humor, thank God. The Gods who have been spending time in my company these past several weeks are busy and swift, sentimental and gentle. Not Greek or … Continue reading
From Cleopatra to Shirley Temple
by cheri block sabraw The Epic of Gilgamesh offers the modern reader a vivid slide show. The first pictures of life in ancient Mesopotamia, replete with powerful gods and goddesses, set the scene for us viewers. As I wrote, we … Continue reading
Charlotte was on to something (amended)
by cheri block sabraw with thanks to Brighid for her comment One of my best students that year, Mark, received some very bad news one weekend, the type of news that forces deep introspection about everything one believes. His younger … Continue reading
Thunder, Thunder…Thunderation
by cheri block sabraw Maybe because Judge Blah’s job gathers so many unhappy people together in a legal centrifuge, whirls them around with the spectre of a bad trial outcome, and flattens them in conference rooms, wrung out and raw…maybe … Continue reading
A Life Unfolding
Not all people are handsome or beautiful or witty or charming. So thought Fanny, a small 12-year-old girl. She thought herself unattractive. Not ugly but not pretty. Just plain. It’s what’s on the inside that really counts, said Fanny’s mom. … Continue reading
First Hamster Point of View
Day has come to an end. The light in Fanny’s room is beginning to slip through the Venetian blinds and soon, at exactly 6:30am, her Mickey Mouse alarm clock will sound, she will stretch her legs out long and sit … Continue reading
The Nerdy 8th Grade Girl’s Plan for Popularity (3)
Here’s the second part of the story that my students will receive tomorrow, before the quiz. The Nerdy 8th Grade Girl’s Plan for Popularity 1963 Nerds love to memorize things like the Gettysburg Address, all prime numbers to 7919, eighty … Continue reading
The Nerdy 8th Grade Girl (1)
Today I begin my summer grammar course for middle school students. At 4:00 this afternoon, ten kids whose parents have forced them to attend my class and who were hoping that summer might provide a much needed respite from boring … Continue reading
Off you go
I have been one of those types who bounds along in life like a terrier in high grass. I see myself as young and vital until I look in the mirror and recognize that many years have passed since I … Continue reading
The Only Place Success Comes before Work is in the Dictionary
My first vivid childhood memories took place in what the famous American poet T.S. Eliot would have called, The Wasteland. That barren tundra, teeming with lizards, snakes, and scorpions, is New Mexico, more specifically, White Sands Proving Ground in Las … Continue reading
