The Green Growing Project, Day One

Okay, so I'm outdoing myself with my gift to the KidsPlayers for this show.  I don't really want to give away my idea in case one of them stumbles onto this blog, but suffice it to say, I'm trying my hand at growing something.  I have blown out the yolks of 42 eggs, cut the tops out with fingernail scissors (did you know you that eggshells can be cut?), coated them with ModPodge to make them stronger, glued them into small flower pots, filled them 2/3 full with dirt, added a tablespoon of water, sprinkled in grass seed, and then added another bit of dirt to cover the seed.

I was discussing the project with my partners at the Gallery and made the (apparently hysterically funny) mistake of asking about planting grass seed right side up so it would grow UP instead of down into the dirt.  Their response, once they finished wiping their eyes, was, "Nature finds a way...."

Was it really that dumb a question??

The Heart of Rock and Roll is Still Beating

Some people never go anywhere.  Some people go somewhere and it's always to the same place.  I grew up in a family like that--but MY family (the one I made) is different.  I'm proud to say that I've dragged my people all over the country to such an interesting assortment and variety of places never seen by most.


This week, it was Cleveland, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--a place I'd considered before, but thought that Cleveland was really too far away for a weekend trip.  This week, with a little prodding from friends who'd been there, I changed my mind.  What a day it has been; what a rare mood I'm in; what a fabulous experience we had there.


Upon arriving (we walked from our hotel), we took photos of large guitars that had been adorned, painted, decorated by local and some more well-known artists.  Like Chicago has its bulls, and Indiana has its large tennis shoes, and Michigan has its bears, Cleveland has huge guitars--we saw guitars decorated in tribute, and guitars by the famous (Yoko Ono, for one).


The lobby was the only place one was allowed to photograph, but there was plenty to photograph, so I took a bunch of pictures.  Then we turned in our tickets (that we bought at the hotel for $2 less....;-) and went in. 


We were funneled into a movie theatre where we saw a fabulous--I mean FABULOUS--video collage documenting--in song and image and very little printed word on the screen--the roots of rock and roll.  And it was all interspersed with train imagery.  Really great.  Made me think of Carie and wish she could see it.


Then we were ushered into another theatre where we saw more modern images of rock and roll, it's power and it's ability to motivate and how it pushes the envelope.  Clips of Mr. MoJoRisin' getting arrested...Madonna's cutting edge performance artist tour... Interesting.


Then we started through the museum.  Fascinating; nostalgic; memory-inducing.


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Grace Slick's fringed leather vest.***** Jimi Hendrix's 2-year-old baby picture.*****Jim Morrison's cub scout shirt.

Buddy Holly's high school diploma.*****The hand-written words to 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and 'We Didn't Start the Fire'. ***** Stevie Nicks' wardrobe. ***** Johnny Ramone's very worn out guitar. ***** A dress that wouldn't fit over Aretha's thigh today. ***** Overheard a comment in front of a Steven Tyler wardrobe piece:  "Oh.  A guy wore that?" ***** An exhibit about music censorship which made us all laugh:

***** We saw a great hour-long, year-by-year movie tribute to all the rock and roll hall of fame inductees that was wonderful and moving, for those that have passed.  At the end of 2006, an image of a letter sent by the Sex Pistols.  Funny. ***** Bits of sheets from a hotel where the Beatles slept. ***** An entire exhibit on the Boss (where I got in trouble for trying to video the words to 'Thunder Road' as the wound up the circular stairway. ***** Janis' beads. ***** An 8-track tape of Fleetwood Mac. ***** Another family with young children, schooling them in the music of 'the old days'. ***** An exhibit on the great disc jockeys and their personal style in song dedication. ***** The 500 Most Influential Songs of Rock--a room I never thought I'd get my husband out of...
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And oh, so much more.  A monument to modern media and culture from the early 20th Century and beyond.  I HIGHLY recommend it.  AND our hotel (DoubleTree/Hilton) was actually underpriced.


The best part of this vacation was that we all actually relaxed.  Forgot about our troubles and pressures back home.  Forgot that we were spending money we didn't have.  Forgot about everything except the family, and the music, and the times that won't come again--as we prepare for Charlie to graduate from high school.  The old hippie I'm married to--whom I swear would never leave the house but for me--enjoyed it, too.  I know he did.  He comes off sometimes as a set-in-his-ways, old stick-in-the-mud, but one of these days, he will look back and be glad for this frenetic, 'gad-about' of a wife who has filled his life with two children, friends, and laughter and memories.  The music is the soundtrack of our good, good life.

So...on that note, let's hear from someone who isn't in the Hall of Fame...

I’ve been lately thinking about my life’s time, all the things I’ve done and how it’s been
And I can’t help believing in my own mind, I know I’m gonna hate to see it end
I’ve seen a lot of sunshine, slept out in the rain, spent a night or two all on my own
I’ve shared my family's treasures, had myself some friends and spent a time or two in my own home
And I have to say it now, it’s been a good life all in all
It’s really fine to have a chance to hang around and sit here by the fire and watch the evening tire
While all my friends and my old honey sit and toss the times around
And talk of poems and prayers and promises and things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care 
How long it’s been since yesterday and what about tomorrow
And what about our dreams and all the memories we share....
---Henry John Deutschendorf

A Traditional Diary Entry--3/30/10

There's nothing like watching miles and miles of countryside go by to inspire pensivity and self-reflection.  I love traveling, driving...watching the landscape change.  Granted it doesn't change all that much between Central Indiana and Northern Ohio, but I definitely marked the division between Central Ohio and entering into the Cuyohoga Valley.  Love the farms of northern Ohio.  So much I wanted to stop and take photos of the run down 100-year-old barns in the rolling, soon-to-be green hills.
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Ben said that since he started on his medicine, he feels more popular at school.  I asked him why and he said, "Maybe because I'm nicer...?"  Ben IS so much happier--ergo--easier to live with these days.  Pleasant to be around.  He's more popular with ME, too.  ;-)
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Wish John felt better.  He's been sick since he got home from school on Friday.  Flu, run down with exhaustion...he's better, but he says he feels weak and worn out.  He slept most of the drive up here.
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Listened to Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind on CD on the way up here.  What a great horse story....and based on a true story, at that.  Had to smile when Agba, the horse boy, and Sham (the Godolphin Arabian) were rescued by a Quaker. 
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Really starting to worry about money.  Something has to change.  What? How?
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Cleveland is really foggy.  Pollution?  Charlie says no. He says that if it were smog (as opposed to fog) , there would be health alerts and no one would be allowed outside.  That's sort of a relief.  It really IS foggy.  We're only a couple of blocks from Lake Erie.
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There are giant guitars everywhere here.  Like the bulls in Chicago and the bears in northern Michigan, the race cars and sneakers in Indy.  Kinda cool.
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Relaxing in our hotel room on the 9th floor.  Watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" with the kids.  Took Ben swimming.  Ate in a nice restaurant.  Tomorrow, "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".  Cool.

Why I Love FaceBook

I can't help it.  I LOVE FaceBook.  Yes, you heard me right.  I'm talking about that bottomless black hole, that time sucking vampire of a social networking tool called FaceBook.  And here's why:  


1)  It is an Ageless Community.  
I'm friends on here with ten-year-olds; I'm friends with an 89-year-old man from my home town.  It's amazing; we're all connected.  My friends, in some cases, are friends with my other friends, simply by virtue of the fact that both of them know me.  My young high school friend is friends with one of my high school boyfriends and friends with my college roommate.  They are connected to him because they're connected to me and likewise.  He is important to them because he is connected to me and again, likewise.  Conversely, I'm friends with some of his friends, that I've met, but don't know well.  They are important to me because they are important to him.  My college roommate is friends with my mom; I'm friends with my friends; and friends with their children and their friends and their out-of-town relatives.  They are important to me because they're important to my friends and they provide a link to them, to knowing them better, to knowing who are were, where they came from and who they are now.  That's important to me.  And we're all connected by this 'addiction' to technology.  And by the common thread we have all running through our lives--that we live in this world together.  And we love living in the age of technology.


2)  You can always find a Middle-of-the-Night Friend on FaceBook.  
Lying awake worrying?  Up with a cold?  Just can't sleep?  You can ALWAYS find a middle-of-the-night friend on FaceBook.  It may not be your BEST friend, or someone you'd feel comfortable calling on the phone in the middle of the night.  But they, like you, are--for some reason--up, and not sleeping.  It may not be someone with whom you'd like to share your secret middle-of-the-night fears or concerns, but they're there, and more than likely, looking for a distraction just as you are.  Share a laugh, a YouTube vid, or just small talk for awhile.  SOMEBODY is out there for you and you can find them on FaceBook.  Distract, share the wee hours with a friendly voice.  Relax and soon find sleep again.


3)  Everyone can be Incredibly Amazingly Undeniably Witty on FaceBook.  
Something funny happens at Wal-Mart?  Think of something profound, clever, and wise while pumping gas?  Enjoying a golden oldie on the radio?  Share it!  Don't wait.  Pull out that cell phone and MobileText/Twitter/iPhone it right up there.  FaceBook provides an endless opportunity to share with the world, your cleverness, your depth, your funny moods, your pensiveness, your every waking breath and thought.  If it's worth thinking, it's worth sharing, right?  Right.  FaceBook is the stand-up comedy stage for the electronic age.  We are all top-notch comedians.  The world (or at least our Friend base) is our audience that never sleeps.

4)  FaceBook's Amazing Connectionary Practicality
Okay, I made that word up, but you know what I mean.  FaceBook is the new grapevine, the electronic word-of-mouth, a backyard fence on the whole world, the 2010 version of the party line (if you kids even know what THAT is).  I've used FaceBook to find a babysitter, a ride home for my kids, to promote my various events, get help for a project, and for countless other things.  Somebody is hurt or ill or needs help; somebody needs something; somebody has something that someone else might need.  It's better than an ad in the paper, better than a poster or an e-mail.  Better than the telephone, telegraph or tele-woman.  (Hahaha...another oldie but goodie....).  And it works.

5)  The "Oh, the Places You'll Go" Community
I think this is my favorite reason for loving FaceBook.  You see, I LOVE knowing where 'my people' are, what they're up to, their successes, their sorrows, their happinesses, the challenges they're up against, who they're with, the fun they're having.  For example, Halloween:  sitting home--passing out treats to the handful of costumed visitors we had--the statuses, the photos, the comments came rolling in.  People at parties, people dressed up--those who were out and about, those who were home, those who were trick-or-treating with their kids--ALL were enjoying Halloween in one way or another.  And it was fun to share those individual moments with my FaceBook community.  Christmas--same thing:  people with their families, going to or coming from church, wrapping gifts, posting their moments on FaceBook, snippets from the Christmas specials they were watching or carols being hummed under their breath.  A holiday shared by all.  Moments shared by all.  This winter when the Colts were winning game after game--what fun to share those victories; celebrating Butler's wins; spending Spring Break with travelers in Florida, in New Orleans, in Williamsburg, Texas, North Carolina, and--yes--Cleveland.    I love sharing MY fun with others, too--the adventures we're having, the surprises, the trying moments and the hilarious 'you-had-to-be-there' moments.  Everyone CAN be there on FaceBook.  Take a vacation; celebrate a birthday; spend the holidays with EVERYONE.  FaceBook makes it possible.

So that's why I love it.   Can't help it.  And I'll be posting the link to this blog on my FaceBook page, and then sitting back, and waiting to hear from my FaceBook family....  Do you like it?  Do you agree?  I suspect a good many of you will....  <3  <3  <3

Routine Questions

My personal insecurities sometimes lead me to ask my friends and loved ones questions such as:  "Do you like me today?" "Are we still friends?"  "You won't forget me, will you?"  "We're on the same page, right?" and the one I ask my husband:  "Why did you marry me?"  Today's answer was, "I wanted someone who wouldn't sass me." 

Whoops.

A Different Child

After just five days on Prozac, one Ben Schaefer is a different child.


Now I know you mother-types out there are probably horrified, and believe me, this was NOT an easy decision.  But since about Day One, he has been a moody, sullen and unhappy child.  Yes, you're right.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but in the last six months, he's become increasingly disagreeable, difficult to manage, to enjoy, to communicate with, to mother, and, last but not least, a little bit scary.  His relationships with his teachers, what few friends he has, his family--are all combative, guarded, mistrustful, defensive, and antagonistic.  It's all been very difficult for a mother to watch.  His behavior was affecting the whole family, coloring the atmosphere of our house--and I finally decided to do something about it.  After five months of counseling, his counselor referred us to a physician who could prescribe medication.  She talked with Ben, with me...and wrote him a 'starter prescription'.


After just five days, the resulting changes have been, in short, phenomenal. 


For one, he now takes 'no' for an answer.  ["Mom, I don't want milk."  "You have milk first and then you can have a pop."  "Okay."]  He listened to and participated in conversations going on around him.  He accepted interruption during said conversations.  At the grocery, he came running when I barked.  He tried to help us problem-solve a transportation issue for tomorrow.  As he is a low talker, I frequently have to say, "Louder, Ben!" when he's in the back seat of the car.  Usually he gets mad and says, "Just forget it, Mom!!!" or he purposely repeats himself perhaps even more quietly.  Not tonight.  He spoke up with what he had to say.  I don't think I've heard an edgy tone, a contradiction, or any arguing all day.  His countenance is relaxed, almost at peace.  It's all I can do to keep my mouth from dropping open with each interaction.  


Give it a couple more days and I'll try something that...two weeks ago....would have have rendered him immediately oppositional--I'll check his homework.  THEN, we'll see.  Say a prayer.  Keep your fingers crossed...

The Rise of Sophomoric Humor

In the midst of this rather stressful stretch of days, I'm taking joy and comfort in the growing sense humor of my youngest child.  On his way out the door to the bus this morning, he solemnly informed me that they were going to watch "The Movie" again in Health class today.


[For those of you who are so far removed from middle school as to have forgotten about "The Movie", stay tuned; I'm sure those memory synapses will be firing in just moments....]


He reminded me of the conversation we had when they watched "The Movie" last week, which centered around the lunch menu.  They had hot dogs.  He--and his middle school compatriots--thought that riotously funny--in view of having just seen 'The Movie".


This morning, looking me right in the eye, he solemnly said, "We're watching 'The Movie' again today."
"Oh?" I said.
"And you know what we're having for lunch?"
"Hot dogs again?" I queried.
"No," he said, pausing for a moment.  "Shrimp poppers."  And THEN the giggles broke forth.




Seeing the humor, setting the scenario, building the suspense, timing...it was all there.  He might be my child after all...