Doris Irons was my first grade teacher. She was fantastic, and sadly this weekend she passed away from cancer.
I had the pleasure of having several wonderful teachers, but Mrs. Irons set the bar pretty high. I still remember the first day of first grade, and walking down the hallway in Southwest Elementary. Mrs. Irons room was one of the first rooms on the left. I remember ISTEP testing and the snack fairy, her reading to us Clifford The Big Red Dog books after lunch, Columbus Day when we made boats out of straws and milk cartons, and our own Whoville that stretched over the majority of the floor.
I remember having to write my name on the board, and being terribly upset about it. I had forgotten to bring something in for Show and Tell, and that was my consequence. I am pretty sure I cried, I am positive that she was kind and compassionate about it. I remember her in jewel tones, always wearing purples, teals and pinks.
My dad enjoys telling stories, especially about his kids. One of his favorites includes me and Mrs. Irons. I don't remember what we were talking about, but my response was, "You're killing me Irons, you're killing me." This was a take off of a line from The Sandlot. Mrs. Irons told my parents the story the next Sunday at church. That happened 18 years ago, and I have still yet to live it down.
In the spring of first grade my grandmother passed away. Mrs. Irons called me up to the side of her desk and handed me a card. My mom helped me read it after school. The card said she loved me, was sorry that I was sad, but that I would see my grandmother some day again in heaven. I saved that card for a very long time.
I never saw Mrs. Irons after she got sick. But whenever I came home from Tennessee I would usually see her at church when she was leaving first service and I was walking into second service. She would always stop me, give me a hug, ask how I was and tell me she was proud of me. I know that I am only one of hundreds of lives that she touched, but I am so thankful to be included among them.
My prayers are with her wonderful husband, kids and grandchildren. I hope they can take comfort in the same message she gave to me. I am so sorry they are sad, but take hope in that they will see her again.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tale As Old As Time
I enjoy the show Inside the Actors Studio - same thing with biographies, I like to know stuff. One of the first questions James Lipton asks is, "What was your first experience with the movies?" Not that I will ever be on this show, but I have my answer prepared.
Beauty and the Beast. We went to see it after church on a Sunday afternoon. At that time the movie theatre was in the mall. My mom, sister, Arliene, Carly and myself ate lunch in the food court beforehand. I remember walking down the hallway and sitting towards the front of the theatre on the right side. It was a great afternoon, and a wonderful movie.
My love for this movie can be seen in physical objects that I have. Call me sentimental (or a little bit of a pack rat) but I haven't been able to throw away my Beauty and the Beast lunch box and beach towel. In more recent years I have acquired a Belle mug (it's gotten me through freshman move-in the last two years) and an ornament that graces my Christmas tree. My senior year of college my VCR (yes I still used it) ate my VHS copy. It was a sad afternoon, thankfully my sister got me the DVD for graduation.
That same year, two friends and myself traveled south to Florida for Spring Break. We spent two days at Disney World and the three of us all had something different we wanted to do. Rosanna wanted to ride Splash Mountain, Rachel wanted a carmel apple, and I wanted to meet Belle. I am not exactly proud of standing in line with 5 year olds in princess gowns, but it is a reminder of how much my friends love me. When we made it to Belle, Rachel shoved me forward and said, "She's a big fan." The girl was very nice and even said we could be sisters. Sad but true, it made by day - as evidenced in the photo below.
Beauty and the Beast. We went to see it after church on a Sunday afternoon. At that time the movie theatre was in the mall. My mom, sister, Arliene, Carly and myself ate lunch in the food court beforehand. I remember walking down the hallway and sitting towards the front of the theatre on the right side. It was a great afternoon, and a wonderful movie.
My love for this movie can be seen in physical objects that I have. Call me sentimental (or a little bit of a pack rat) but I haven't been able to throw away my Beauty and the Beast lunch box and beach towel. In more recent years I have acquired a Belle mug (it's gotten me through freshman move-in the last two years) and an ornament that graces my Christmas tree. My senior year of college my VCR (yes I still used it) ate my VHS copy. It was a sad afternoon, thankfully my sister got me the DVD for graduation.
That same year, two friends and myself traveled south to Florida for Spring Break. We spent two days at Disney World and the three of us all had something different we wanted to do. Rosanna wanted to ride Splash Mountain, Rachel wanted a carmel apple, and I wanted to meet Belle. I am not exactly proud of standing in line with 5 year olds in princess gowns, but it is a reminder of how much my friends love me. When we made it to Belle, Rachel shoved me forward and said, "She's a big fan." The girl was very nice and even said we could be sisters. Sad but true, it made by day - as evidenced in the photo below.
This past weekend I traveled to Atlanta to visit a friend. Part of that weekend was filled with her wedding plans, but Saturday she took me to Beauty and the Beast. Some how I had managed to not see the Broadway production yet, and her being such a great friend knew it was the perfect gift. Once again I found myself surrounded by 5 year olds in princess gowns. It was a great show, and as I read the playbill I found myself envious of the 23 year old actress playing Belle. I love my job, but I would be okay with being Belle for a while. She's smart, independent, and has her own library - what more could you ask for?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Mrs. Ramsey and American History
I have come to the conclusion that I was not a normal 8th grader. Soon after that conclusion I came to a second conclusion that there is no such thing as a normal 8th grader. (Except for that group of girls who never looked awkward, and managed to skate their way through adolescence.) My favorite television show in 8th grade was The West Wing. I loved it. I didn't understand a lot of things they were talking about, but I loved it. I wanted to be CJ Cregg, The White House Press Secretary (see what I mean about not normal). The West Wing was on Wednesday nights, so Thursday mornings before 2nd period American History class Mrs. Ramsey and I would discuss the previous night's episode.
Mrs. Ramsey is one of my favorite teachers. I really liked all of my social studies teachers, but she was my favorite. It is funny what you realize when you are older that you had no idea of when you were younger. For example, I know now that Mrs. Ramsey smokes. She never smelled like smoke but she sounds kind of like Roz on Monster's Inc. She also had long finger nails that she would click together when she was really emphasizing a point. She was (and I am sure still is) a fantastic teacher. Mrs. Ramsey was passionate, and a liberal democrat (rare for Indiana), and made middle schoolers care about history and politics.
The fall of my 8th grade year was the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore. I remember staying up really late waiting to see the results and falling asleep and then waking up to a still undecided election. As I walked into Mrs. Ramsey's class that Wednesday morning I knew it was going to be an interesting class. As we sat down she flipped on the TV and said, "Sit down and be quiet. We're watching history in the making."
The combination of Mrs. Ramsey, American History and The West Wing sparked something - optimism of what our country was founded on and what it could be now. Ideas, change and all of that good stuff was inspiring and exciting. As time has moved on it was easy to become cynical and not really care about politics and government. Then there are events that happen where it is hard to think of much else.
Wednesday night I watched President Obama's speech in Arizona. It reminded me of Mrs. Ramsey and her passion and excitement that she instilled in me. It reminded me of the optimism and idealism, and it was a good reminder of what we can be, and what we should be.
"We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations.
They believed -- they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here -- they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us.
And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."
Mrs. Ramsey is one of my favorite teachers. I really liked all of my social studies teachers, but she was my favorite. It is funny what you realize when you are older that you had no idea of when you were younger. For example, I know now that Mrs. Ramsey smokes. She never smelled like smoke but she sounds kind of like Roz on Monster's Inc. She also had long finger nails that she would click together when she was really emphasizing a point. She was (and I am sure still is) a fantastic teacher. Mrs. Ramsey was passionate, and a liberal democrat (rare for Indiana), and made middle schoolers care about history and politics.
The fall of my 8th grade year was the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore. I remember staying up really late waiting to see the results and falling asleep and then waking up to a still undecided election. As I walked into Mrs. Ramsey's class that Wednesday morning I knew it was going to be an interesting class. As we sat down she flipped on the TV and said, "Sit down and be quiet. We're watching history in the making."
The combination of Mrs. Ramsey, American History and The West Wing sparked something - optimism of what our country was founded on and what it could be now. Ideas, change and all of that good stuff was inspiring and exciting. As time has moved on it was easy to become cynical and not really care about politics and government. Then there are events that happen where it is hard to think of much else.
Wednesday night I watched President Obama's speech in Arizona. It reminded me of Mrs. Ramsey and her passion and excitement that she instilled in me. It reminded me of the optimism and idealism, and it was a good reminder of what we can be, and what we should be.
"We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations.
They believed -- they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life here -- they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us.
And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Technology and The Wizard of Oz
In the wise words of Napoleon Dynamite, "Yes, I love technology." In the past 24 hours I have talked to one friend in Alabama on the phone, seen a picture via text message of another friend's engagement ring in Atlanta, followed a third friend's business in Omaha on Facebook, and emailed a fourth friend in Indiana - and that's just today. That doesn't even include the wonder that is gmail and Facebook chat. I am thankful for technology and the easy bridges it builds - especially to places like Indiana, Nebraska, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma.
I am blessed with wonderful friends - slight problem being a lot of those friends live in places where I don't. From the nursery on I had three best friends that I grew up with pre-school to high school graduation, and still going. Birthday parties, Sunday school, small groups, youth group trips and so much more - I love those three girls. On December 4, three of us stood in matching dresses while we watched the first of our four get married. Now those three girls live in the great state of Indiana, while I am 450 miles southeast in Tennessee. But thanks to technology I have communicated with all of them in some form or fashion in the past week.
When I left for college in Tennessee (the only friend to leave the state) I wondered how I would ever find friends like the ones I had. Little did I know that there would be three more girls waiting on me. Now to make my next point I have to confess something, I've been watching a lot of Dawson's Creek DVDs lately. But in the process I watched a great exchange about friendship and the Wizard of Oz:
Gretchen Witter And Oz is ...
Dawson: Technicolor.
Gretchen Witter: And sure it has it's problems. You know, poppy fields, flying monkeys, ...
Dawson: Talking trees.
Gretchen Witter: But along the way you make friends. Good friends. With people that you never even knew existed when you were growing up. Straw people, tin people, ...
Dawson: And lions.
Gretchen Witter: [laughs] Exactly. And you help each other realize that all the things that you want to be, you already are.
It's cheesy, I know. But there is something lovely about these three people who six years ago I didn't know existed, and now I can't imagine my life without them. We had a wonderful four years together that included two weddings, several road trips and picnic dinners. Those three girls are now doing wonderful things (owning their own business, managing their own store, and medical school) in Nebraska, Alabama and Virginia.
While it would be preferable to be able to walk across the hall, through the parking lot, or down the street to talk with all of these peoples - I'll work with what I have. So thank you Mark Zuckerberg and people much smarter than I am for helping me keep in touch.
I am blessed with wonderful friends - slight problem being a lot of those friends live in places where I don't. From the nursery on I had three best friends that I grew up with pre-school to high school graduation, and still going. Birthday parties, Sunday school, small groups, youth group trips and so much more - I love those three girls. On December 4, three of us stood in matching dresses while we watched the first of our four get married. Now those three girls live in the great state of Indiana, while I am 450 miles southeast in Tennessee. But thanks to technology I have communicated with all of them in some form or fashion in the past week.
When I left for college in Tennessee (the only friend to leave the state) I wondered how I would ever find friends like the ones I had. Little did I know that there would be three more girls waiting on me. Now to make my next point I have to confess something, I've been watching a lot of Dawson's Creek DVDs lately. But in the process I watched a great exchange about friendship and the Wizard of Oz:
Gretchen Witter And Oz is ...
Dawson: Technicolor.
Gretchen Witter: And sure it has it's problems. You know, poppy fields, flying monkeys, ...
Dawson: Talking trees.
Gretchen Witter: But along the way you make friends. Good friends. With people that you never even knew existed when you were growing up. Straw people, tin people, ...
Dawson: And lions.
Gretchen Witter: [laughs] Exactly. And you help each other realize that all the things that you want to be, you already are.
It's cheesy, I know. But there is something lovely about these three people who six years ago I didn't know existed, and now I can't imagine my life without them. We had a wonderful four years together that included two weddings, several road trips and picnic dinners. Those three girls are now doing wonderful things (owning their own business, managing their own store, and medical school) in Nebraska, Alabama and Virginia.
While it would be preferable to be able to walk across the hall, through the parking lot, or down the street to talk with all of these peoples - I'll work with what I have. So thank you Mark Zuckerberg and people much smarter than I am for helping me keep in touch.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Start from the very beginning...
For a while I've been thinking about starting a blog. My xanga account from high school, while hilarious to look back on, doesn't make the cut. Since said xanga account there have many many advances in the blog world including spell check, which will be helpful for everyone. So here we go.
To explain the title, Bonnie Kate is a an old movie theatre where I live. I love movies, and think it would be delightful to own an old-timey movie theatre. If you don't believe me watch The Majestic with Jim Carrey. You will probably agree with me, and may even be surprised that Jim Carrey can be a serious actor. The Bonnie Kate theatre is named after the first, First Lady of Tennessee who among other things thwarted the attempted murder of her husband - so that's pretty cool.
I also learned that bonnie is no only a name, but an adjective
–adjective
While I am by no means all of these things, they are good goals to aspire to. I also like that one word can mean both lively and tranquil. So here we go, stories, musings and what not. This could be fun.
To explain the title, Bonnie Kate is a an old movie theatre where I live. I love movies, and think it would be delightful to own an old-timey movie theatre. If you don't believe me watch The Majestic with Jim Carrey. You will probably agree with me, and may even be surprised that Jim Carrey can be a serious actor. The Bonnie Kate theatre is named after the first, First Lady of Tennessee who among other things thwarted the attempted murder of her husband - so that's pretty cool.
I also learned that bonnie is no only a name, but an adjective
–adjective
1.
Chiefly Scot. pleasing to the eye; handsome; pretty.
2.
British Dialect .
a.
(of people) healthy, sweet, and lively.
b.
(of places) placid; tranquil.
c.
pleasing; agreeable; good.
While I am by no means all of these things, they are good goals to aspire to. I also like that one word can mean both lively and tranquil. So here we go, stories, musings and what not. This could be fun.
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