Shocker!

Usually my husband doesn't say much when I am grading Pod submissions.  His usual comments are things like "Are you finished yet?" or "What's so funny?" as I am chuckling about something Chris wrote in the message as he submitted an assignment or Nancy's desire to watch Guys and Dolls.

This morning as I was reading through the submitted interpretations of quotes from Streetcar, I told him we MUST find this movie to watch, especially the Treat Williams/Ann Margret version which is still my favorite.

His response, "Uhhh...I never really liked that play."

WHAT?!?!?!  How could he say that?  Whenever I taught Streetcar to my juniors over the years, I was always yelling "STELLA" up the stairs, asking my husband if he wanted me to demonstrate how Stanley cleared the table, or would smile and say "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."  I even suggested hanging paper lanterns over the light on the ceiling fan in the sunroom (vetoed, as was the demonstration of Stanley clearing the table). He always tolerated my little dramatic references, but never once did he say "I never really liked that play."

I am stunned.  I am disappointed.  I must change his mind.

I MUST find a copy of that movie!!!!  On a mission now......

Diction/Word Choice

I always find it interesting to examine a writer's diction, word choice, when he/she uses descriptive passages to introduce characters, to explain settings, or to define conflicts and resolutions.  The denotations of words, as well as their connotation, both past and present, color the reader's interpretation in more ways than one.

For instance - Faulkner describes the daughters in "Barn Burning" as bovine.  Bovine.  When I taught this short story to my juniors, the word bovine was noted on the vocabulary list for the story.  I wondered which student would notice the meaning and then apply it to Faulkner's description of the daughters.  I wondered how much time would elapse between the task of recording the meanings, then reading the story, and finally making the connection.  I was never disappointed. Someone always commented on Faulker's diction in this story.

Bovine = cowlike

Two daughters of a father who moves them from one shanty to another, who burns buildings for revenge are described as being......bovine.  Cowlike.  Were they big and cumbersome?  Did they have cowlike faces?  Big ears?  Huge hoof-like feet?  Did they move slowly as they walked?  Did they have big eyes?  Did they chew their gum like cows chew their cuds?

Now I am not sure how many of my students have been up-close-and-personal with a cow, but I have.  We raise beef cattle and our two daughters showed steers and heifers in 4-H for 10 years each.  I have been up-close-and-personal with more of these animals than I can count. 

Two daughters.  Bovine.  Not exactly flattering.  Very descriptive.  What did Faulkner have in mind when he selected that particular word in his characterization?  We'll never know, but it is fun to speculate, isn't it?

Stella! Stella!!!!!!!

Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights, and Streetcar must be one of my all-time favorite plays.  Williams won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his work.

A play is one work of literature which adapts well to the stage---well, of course.  However, the actors and actresses selected to portray the roles of the characters make all the difference in the world to the end result.

While I love watching the 1951 version of the film (before my time), my favorite is the one made in 1984 with Treat Williams as Stanley, Ann-Margret as Blanche, Beverly D'Angelo as Stella, and Randy Quaid as Mitch. 

Maybe it was because I enjoy Treat Williams, and seeing him in the rain, yelling up the stairs at his wife, wanting her to return to him on that stormy night....oh my.  Maybe it was because I enjoy Beverly D'Angelo's portrayal of her characters.  Stella Kowalski is quite different from Ellen Griswold of the Vacation, Christmas Vacation, and other Vacation movies with Chevy Chase.  Maybe it was because I like watching Randy Quaid put a different style into Mitch, and he too joined Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies as cousin Eddie.  Ann-Margret?  Well, she was a perfect Blanche, a former beauty trying to regain her zest for life, her flight from aging, her need for being desired.

I think that I need to find a copy of that version.  Be back later......

OM & M--

One of my very favorite novels to read and to teach is Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.  If it were a 'public domain' novel, we would be reading it in ENGL 223, but it isn't. 

Why is this novel at the top of my favorites list?  Several reasons....

• the novel is short, a quick read for the guys who never liked to read in my junior English classes
• Steinbeck writes with a blend of narration and conversation, which makes the novel easy to read aloud with parts in class
• Steinbeck's use of realism allows the students (and those of us who read for pleasure) to envision life of the migrant worker in western United States during the 1930s
• efficiency - there is no fluff in the novel. Steinbeck includes only what is necessary to the plot development, conflict/resolution, and character development--no more, no less
• simplicity - another of Steinbeck's traits!  The vocabulary, the plot structure, the symbolism---very easy to understand, even for a slow, struggling reader

Of Mice and Men is one of the few novels that has been adapted to the stage and to film without destroying the integrity of the original.  I have seen three movie versions and two stage performances and all have been very close to the novel itself.

I encourage all of my ENGL 223 students to pick up a copy of the novel sometime during the summer.  Reading it will be quick (see the first bullet above) and I think you will enjoy the slice of life that Steinbeck presents.  If you can't take the time to read, then rent the movie.  You won't be disappointed.

Passing on the love.....

One of my greatest professional joys is hearing my former students share their love of reading.  They may not come right out and say, 'Hey, Mrs. Siemens!  I just happen to love reading. Thanks for making me do so much of it when I was in your classes."  However, I see evidence of the reading habit as I scroll through, specifically, Facebook posts. 

I am not a big fan of Facebook, especially when students check the latest items on the Newsfeeds during my classes, but I enjoy re-connecting with former students, former high school and college friends, and faraway relatives as well as sharing tidbits of news with current friends and colleagues.  In this case, FB has given me the opportunity to view posts that often put a smile on my face.

Today, for instance, I was scrolling through and came upon a picture posted by a former student of her husband (another former student) and their son, reading a book that the sun had purchased at the school book fair.  Not only did I smile because Joey was reading and because Kellie was posting it, but my heart swelled just a little to know that these two students are instilling the love of reading into their son by sharing it with him, but reading together.

I remember when my oldest daughter (now My Daughter the Librarian) was in first grade.  She read well for her age and her teacher, Mrs. Chrzan asked her who had taught her to read.  She replied, "My mom did!"  I don't recall ever really teaching her to read; however, I did read to her often, every night before we turned off her light and probably more often through the day since she was always bringing me a book.  I also modeled my own love of reading for her and her sister.  Even though I was a busy mom, and during the school year my free time was practically non-existent, I always managed to read a few pages before bed, or first thing in the morning, or in the car when we were making hour-long trips to Lafayette. Our trips to the local library always found us carting home books for all three of us...and sometimes even Dad got into the reading groove.

Passing on the love can take many forms.  Seeing a picture of Joey reading to his and Kellie's son----warms my heart.

Grading Blogs~~~

~~~is tedious.  I have to do this at one setting, and those have been hard to find lately.

So here it is, Friday afternoon.  No meetings.  No interruptions.  No one is on Logansport campus except the people downstairs in the main offices and those in the LRC. 

No one is bothering me. 

I have nowhere to be, no one expecting me, no interruptions....until 4:30.

I have been sitting in my office with all of  the scoresheets open on my computer screen. 

I need to keep the blog list handy so I can check names.  For some reason I can't remember who Nine Lives, so each time that name pops up on a response, I have to check the list before I add the points.

Here's the process:
Open the blog.
Find the scoresheet.
Read the posts and record date and points and a little notation to remember which post I read.
Read the comments on each post, and as I do, bring up the appropriate score sheet to record the name responded to, the date, and the points. 
Rinse and repeat.
Wait.... no rinse.  How about click and repeat.
Read an entire blog and record the appropriate scores, close the blog, and move to the next one.
Heaven help someone who stops by to visit me.  He/she will be ignored.
If the phone rings, there will be no answer.
No interruptions until I finish.

All of them are graded!  Whew!  And they were great!

If you haven't read them, click on the titles at the right and read through the blogs.  I really enjoyed them, but I didn't comment today because that would disturb the flow of grading.

Sigh.

But it is done and I am happy!  Great posts, people!

A Loving Tribute

Often when I was teaching Of Mice and Men, one of the writing assignments would be to write an obituary for Lennie.  Sometimes the submissions were serious; others were humorous or witty. While obituaries are written because of someone's death, I have always been intrigued by them and how they express a person's life in a nutshell.  At the beginning of March a former neighbor lost her mother.   The obituary is one of the most creative and interesting I have read---and I asked her if I could share it with you.  Here it is:

Karen Lue "Lue" Short

November 01, 1947 - March 06, 2014

Karen "Lue" Short of North Manchester, formerly of Noblesville and West Lafayette, Indiana,  passed away on March 6, 2014 after a long illness with pulmonary fibrosis. She died in her bed, at home with her parrot by her side, listening to Ricky Martin sing "Living La Vida Loca." She was preceded in death by her adoptive parents, George and Ruby Short of Edgewater, Florida. Also preceding her demise were Isabell, her converted and beloved bread truck that was a converted living space, and her parrots Tootsie, Hamlet and Quinto.

Karen lived as a child in West Virginia, moved to Noblesville in the 1950's and graduated from Noblesville HS. She lived most of her adult life in West Lafayette, Indiana. She was happily divorced from at least two men, the first being Gerald "Ray" Wiegand of Monon, Indiana. He is also happily divorced. Karen attended Sons of Abraham in Lafayette.

Karen is survived by her sister, Carol Short and her favorite daughter, Tova Wiegand-Green (Richard) of North Manchester and 4 grandchildren: Stephanie (Doug) Bragg of Markle, Indiana; Elaina (Josh) Johns-Wolfe of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Will Green and Ben Green of North Manchester, and a great-grandchild, Charlotte Bragg of Markle, Indiana.

Karen traveled the highways, hitch hiking, loved CA, NV, NY, and VA; never enjoyed humidity of FL, but went there anyway.  She attended both IU and Purdue, accumulating over 200 combined credits. Karen was an avid IU fan, her Favorite Daughter was a Hoosier by birth, but a Boilermaker by the Grace of God. She spoke Hebrew, Portuguese and Spanish, and she had studied French, Romanian, Russian and Danish. Karen worked as a tutor for men's PU basketball team members, florist, health aide at Heritage Healthcare and Soldier's Home in West Lafayette, and as a hot dog vendor in West Lafayette at the Village. She was known as the "Hot Dog Lady" by a generation of Purdue students that frequented the bars of the VIllage. She wore crazy and wacky hats every night she worked. Karen was a girl scout, of the worst kind, you know, that one that has something in the backpack for EVERY eventuality. She enjoyed buying second-hand things at Goodwill, dumpster diving in May after PU let out, camping (anywhere), not living in a house with a foundation (see Isabell above), and coming and going as she pleased. She collected books and puzzles and HATS. And she required all scheduled activities to be around the Jeopardy schedule - tried never to miss an episode. She also listened to the Prairie Home Companion, religiously. In fact her favorite vacation of all time was when she went to Lake Wobegon and learned how to make Norwegian banana bread for the Lutheran bake sale. Her happiest and fondest memories are of summer camp, especially the year her parents forgot to come get her for an extra week. If you wish to honor this experience, please see the Donate link. She wants her gold teeth back from the dentist that yanked them - those were HER teeth to keep. Her last wish is to have the song "Another One Bites the Dust" played at her memorial. If you have no cash to donate, Karen would like you to consider visiting your local farmer's market, hiking a local park, or making some homemade chicken noodle soup next time your neighbor is sick, or as a last resort, pay your next restaurant bill with all one-dollar bills, just to make them wonder how you got them.

A Memorial Picnic and Celebration of Karen's life will be held at Happy Hollow Park in West Lafayette, Indiana (1301 Happy Hollow Rd) on May 18th, from 1PM-5PM in Pavilion #4. Hot dogs will be served until we run out! Memorials can be made to sponsor a summer camper at http://www.brethrenretreat.org.

- See more at: http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/KarenLueShort/Subpage.aspx?mod=2#sthash.YzYosto8.dpuf