"The sack weighs the same as the statue" - I Jones

Today is one of those days in which everything seems to rush up on me.

I am sure thats never happened to you.. Everyone else plans out their days and never changes plans.

Today I was looking forward to being at home and putzing around the house. Now I going over to a freinds to spend the day and most of the night. Thats why I writing now. I told myself that I would do a blog a day, and so i am try to do it.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends. Its been a while and I am sure that by the time the day is over I will have had a great time. I always do. At some point I will have to write about things that happen when plan change.

I just remember a quote I once heard. "Life is what happens when your planning to do other things."

I look forward to that.

"Chicago looks Great in Snow!" - M. Balandic

OK. I still look forward to a good snow storm. Theres something about the white snow softly falling and giving everything a crisp clean look.

Theres the thought of the school closing and getting a day off you didn't expect. The dream of snowball fights and sledding, ending in a cup of hot chocolate.

Maybe your mind wanders to sitting in front of a fireplace reading a book.

Or even more to being with the person you love, snuggling up against the wind and snow.

So I ask myself then why, today when the snow is falling and it is piling up on the window pane outside, am I cleaning cabinets and rearranging my kitchen? Shouldn't I be outside in the brisk, cold, late December air? Wouldn't I be better served by enjoying a book that I have been longing to read and sipping on hot chocolate? Shouldn't I at least sleep in a little late?

It is then that the ugly head of adulthood raises up and reminds me that I have certain responsibilities that I must deal with. I now have a house to maintain, children still living under my roof, and of course a wife to keep happy. The dreams of running in the snow, dodging snowballs, or reading a book take a backseat to the things that adults have to do.

Maybe its a sign of growing up that I take pleasure in seeing my cabinets clean with all the spice bottles in a row, not in alphabetical order, I haven't gone that far in to the realm of adulthood. Throwing out the old things that were half used or would never be used. Finding things I had put away and forgotten and now look forward to making them.

Maybe its that my clean cabinets remind me of the fresh snow sitting outside on my window pane. Right now they have a crisp clean look to them. It seems as if there is an unlimited number of things that can be done with or to them.

In truth I think that my clean cabinets are like the fresh snow. They are both clean, they are both in a state of newness, and they are both waiting for me to come and play in them.

" No Hablo Ingles" - G. W. Bush

So today I sat down and worked on the stamp book I got for Christmas. It was a wonderful gift from my family. One that I will enjoy for years.

I enjoy stamps, back in June I bought myself a World stamp book. I thought to myself "Self, get the world book for stamps. The stamps from around the wold are colorful and show you different things from around the world." I agreed with myself and bought it. When I got home I started to go through a bag of world stamps. Starting my exploration of the world though beautiful yet small pictures in living color. It was only then that I discovered the mistake, the flaw in my postage plan to travel the world.

Yes you guessed it . . . I'm an American.

Like many of my fellow Americans out there I never learned another language, and like the current President I to had a C average in high school. I found that try as I might I would have had to go page by page, looking over thousands of pictures of thousands of stamps to find where the one stamp I had in my hands went. After a day or two of trying and finding the resting spots for only 6 stamps , I gave up on the world tour. Sure every so often I go back and try to place another stamp. I wander the world on those sections of paper. I gaze longingly at the black and white pictures hoping that someday I will find the stamp that rest there and see what that place in the world looks like in color.

Until then I will find places for my American stamps to call home. I know many of the stamps that are in the book. Many I have used and enjoyed over the years. I will be happy searching for stamps in out of the way place to give homes to, but deep down there will always be a part of me that wishes I had learned more at a younger age. That I had understood the value of other language's. So that perhaps I could have explored more than just colorful pictures on shiny pieces of paper with stick'em on the back. I might have been able to explore more of the real world, the world beyond the page.

" No one will ever read my writings" - C. Dickens

As the Christmas season is drawing to a close I start to really think about the questions "Will any else I don't know ever read my blog?" comes to mind.

I decided to title each blog entry with a quote. Not a real quote but, one that I create, This is a tip of the hat to Robert Asprin. One of my best loved writers. His Myth books have them starting each chapter. They are a fun way to start each entry and will hopefully bring people back, even if its only to read the quote.

This is my sixth entry in as many days, far better than I have ever done before when it comes to blogging, and only my son and wife have read it.

I know what your going to say "My God man give it time, someone will find it."

So I come to my question. How do people find a blog? Are they mousing around the internet one day and their mouse trips over my blog that is laying about somewhere in the vast electronic internet sidewalk? They look down and say " oh my, whats this laying about? Why its a blog from some theater teacher. I wonder if it worth my time?" Then comes the fateful decision. Will he click it up and read it? Will he click it in his pocket to look at later? Or will he mouse over it unclicked and leave it sitting lonely, waiting for some other mouse to come along and trip over it?
Perhaps there is some internet being who knows all and reads all that is on the internet. This blog being could find what I write worthy of being read and mysteriously point others to my blog. "Hey Ed look what I found in my e-mail! NO not another are you lonely tonight e-mail. Its some blog from a theater teacher. What do you think I should do?" Will they look at it? Will they delete it? Will it sit in their inbox until their account ends?
Or is it just a matter of hoping that some one will put in a word search that matches one of my labels. They follow it and read my entry. If they like it they may read others and maybe, just maybe even subscribe.

I guess in the long run, I like many other not to internet savvy bloggers, will just take time and search the experience's of others in hope of finding the key to getting people to click it and read the blog. If I only get a smile from my quotes it will be well worth it

"Its not easy being green." - T. Grinch

First Merry Christmas to all.

Second I have to say that this morning I got the present I look forward to very year. Making breakfast for all my kids and their wife and girlfriend.

We never have a normal conversation at any of our meals when everyone gets together.

Today my two oldest sons got into a "not serious" discussion about politics. When all was said and done we determined that water boarding is torture no matter who does it and that it all stems from Chris throwing sand in James eyes when James was about 6.

Everyone liked their gifts and I will start putting together my stamp books in a few days. My wife did a wonderful job of finding things I had talks about wanting during the year. although I was not ready for the bath towels, I came to the realization that she has gotten so much better at remembering things I had talked about and coming up with gift ideas for me that the towels mean more to me than other thing i could have gotten. I am very lucky to have her in my life.

I am also thankful for having three sons who have grown into good, decent young men. It would seem that my wife and I did a good job in raising them.

So as an other Christmas comes to an end I can only say that I wish as much joy and happiness to you and yours as I feel about my own. and remember . . .

"God Bless Us Everyone!" - T Tim

"Where did I put that bag" - S. Clause

For so long now Christmas has been a family time. From when I was growing up All the aunts and uncles would come over with their kids to see Grandma and Grandpa at the house in Libertyville.

I would lay in bed on Christmas eve waiting for Santa to come to the house. I would also be waiting for the rest of the family.

Christmas was more than the presents under the tree. It was a time when I got to see many of my cousins. Trust me there were a lot of them. The house was filled with the sound of talk and laughter. Smells of Christmas cooking fill every inch of the house.

In the end everyone would go home and it would be just my mom, grandma, grandpa and me. But the Christmas feeling was still there. The memories lingered far longer then the smells of cookies and ham.

Now I don't see them like I use to. My mom side of the family all have their own Christmas traditions that they follow. I am sure that many of their grand children wait to see them and their aunts and uncles. With the smells of Christmas in the air. Laying awake after words with the feeling of wonder in their minds at what a wonderful time they have had. Looking forward to next year.

I have my own family now. We go to my wifes side of the family for holidays. I love them all and they have filled me with new memories of Christmas and love. In ways that are different and yet the same as when I grew up.

In the truest sense they don't need to get me anything for Christmas. They have given me a gift that goes far beyond anything money can buy. They have given me a family with love and hope. People to share with.

When I go home the memories will be with me long after the smells and sounds of Christmas day are gone.

Is it over Yet?

I know everyone thinks teaching is so easy, or so hard, but you get all this time off!
Well in the last two days I have put 14 hours into a project, ( sure its a Christmas present for my in laws, who are great. I don't have to say that they don't read blogs that I know of.) but also spent the last 3 1/2 hours on the kitchen really cleaning the frig. Most of the main household people, be they women or men, are now saying "Now you know what it like!"
Well I was a house husband for 16 years and the primary care giver for my 3 sons and I don't remember it being this hard.
As a great man once said when told he was getting old . . .
" its not the age, its the mileage" I. Jones
Only 9 more days and I can go back to doing the easy things. Working with high school students.

Blog entry two: The Warth of Kahn

Ok, so i am going to try and keep a blog going. This may not be a good thing. In early times, meaning up thru the middle ages and a bit farther, The person who would stand in the town square, or walking around town, and talk to himself was looked on as a "special" person ( in modern terms they rode the short bus). Today we just figure there on a cell phone. Now we are given the chance to talk to ourself all we want and people can choose to listen to us or read us to be more precise.
This is much more along the lines of people standing in the town square and talking about things that are important to them and to the community as a whole while standing on a soapbox. The questions is with more people talking about things that are personal and less community based will history look back and say that this was a good thing?
In the long run I think it is. It is the chance for people to connect on a level that means more than just a superficial glance.
How important will be left up to the individual.

hold that thought

This is just to let anyone know that I have started a blog. Give me some time and I might even keep it going.