Not a hero!

Last night while I was standing in the foyer of Target Center before the Lynx game a woman whom I didn't know approached me shook my hand, said "Thank you" and handed me a pre-printed card. On the front of the card was printed "Thank you for your service and dedication to Our Country." On the reverse it said "Dear American Hero, I am not certain as to how to express my gratitude for all you have done to secure my freedom. Please accept this simple card as a small token of my appreciation. A grateful American citizen."
It took me a little while to figure out that I was likely selected because I was wearing my 'Marines' cap a friend gave me this summer. It left me with decidedly mixed feelings.
At the very least I know that I am not a hero. When I enlisted in 1959 all healthy American males were expected to serve at least two years. After two years of directionless college I needed to regroup. A three year enlistment in the Marines gave me time to grow up, fulfill my military obligation and have some travel and adventure. Patriotism? not so much and no heroism.
The infantry company to which I was assigned had a First Sergeant who had 30+ years of service. I remember him waxing eloquent about the lack of patriotism among the Marines in the company. Some of the Marines had enlisted as an alternative to going to jail.
The well meaning woman who gave me the card is probably the embodiment of reaction to the disgraceful treatment of American Servicemen returning from Vietnam. Everyone seems ready to bend over backward to honor military personnel. It is true that many make great sacrifices in military service.
The all volunteer services of today are a subject for another blog in which I'll argue that the draft should be reinstated,

Expensive Lynx

All season I've been attending the WNBA Lynx games. Going alone, I'd buy a $10.00 ticket, which was the least expensive, and then sit in better vacant seat. Well...no more. Now, in the second round of play offs, the cheap tickets are $15.00 but the crowds are so big that there are no better vacant seats.
Tonight is the first game of the second round and I paid $42.00 for a seat like I was previously sitting in for $10.00. The ticket price was $35.00 and then Ticketmaster charged me $7.00 for the privilege of doing business with them.
They beat San Antonio 2 of 3 in the first round and now they start a best of 3 with Phoenix.

Ingenous splint

The topic of the "reading for comprehension" lesson I was working on with three fifth graders was "Our Marvelous Body." I asked the three students with whom I was working if they had ever had a broken bone? C. said "Yes, I broke my wrist." Then I asked if she'd had a cast on her arm. She said "No, we laid chopsticks on my arm and wrapped it with cloth to keep it from moving." It must have worked because her arm is fine now. Perhaps that's what you do when you don't have medical insurance.

So slow smart....

M. & S.A. were in town for a quick visit to see us and our condo. So M.A. and I wandered over to the Mill City Museum and were greatly impressed. The best feature is an elevator display using a freight elevator as theater seats as the elevator stops at 8 floors telling the story of the flour mill. The stops were superbly and creatively done...I'd say an outstanding presentation. The 19 minute movie history of Mpls. done by Kevin Kling was also first rate. The unanswered question; Why has it taken me so long to discover this?
M.A. saw his first Peddle Pub, too. That's the wagon? carrying up to 15 passengers and peddled by 12 of them that plies downtown Mpls. It's a mobile pub. There are 8 of them here.

Book Report

Our (old) neighborhood book club read Faith Sullivan's The Cape Ann and had a lively discussion of the book. The book is a good read but the most delightful part was that Faith Sullivan was present. She's a lively, vivacious and very interesting person. She lives in Mn and buy groceries at Byerly's where PN works so PN invited her to attend our book club.
Faith said that she once lived in a railroad depot as do the main characters in The Cape Ann. That reminded me of the time that the grain elevator manager and his family lived the elevator in my home town in SD.
Faith has written a sequel to The Cape Ann which is entitled Gardenias.

Noble Academy

When I walked into the 5th grade classroom to volunteer today the teacher was ecstatic. She said "It's the first time in years I've had a volunteer." Now that's a fun reception! I think I've found my niche.
While I was helping Malachi with his reading I did some of the getting acquainted stuff. "Do you like to ride your bike?" " No." " Do you like to go fishing." "No." "Do you like to play basketball?" "No." "What do you like to do?" "My homework."
While I was helping some students the teacher had a math session with other students. A math problem was projected on a white board. As the students worked the problem, simple Algebra actually, the teacher's writing on the board interfaced with the computer program. When I was a student in that one room country school in SDak. we didn't have that.

Nice Ride Bikes

Scattered about downtown Mpls. are Nice Ride Bikes which are available for rent. Pop in your credit card and pop a bike out of the docking station. Or, people like me, have an annual subscription with our own electronic key that lets us take a bike free for thirty minutes, after which, there is a small fee.
Suffering from a sore heel this summer and with a very energetic young Springer I've taken to biking more and walking less. Trygve loves running alongside the bike. Being the Norwegian that I am, I've learned where to change bikes so I can ride longer than thirty minutes without an additional charge.
What I didn't know is that there is an internal odometer in these bikes that records mileage as they are ridden. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I went online to look at my account and discover that I've peddled over 400 miles this summer. Trygve has run most of those miles as well.

More about Noble Academy

Teachers at Noble are hired on an 'at will' basis. All students have an improvement plan. Every six weeks they are measured against that plan. If a majority of a class is improving the teacher is assumed to be competent. If progress of a class is inadequate the teacher is counseled. If subsequent measurements show inadequate improvement the teacher may be dismissed with 30 days notice. Teachers can also resign after giving 30 days notice.

Noble Academy

Today I began volunteering at Noble Academy which is a charter school in N. Mpls. (50th & Thomas Ave N) The school has an enrollment of 500 students in Kindergarten through 8th grades. Five years old the academy is housed in a building recently vacated by Maranatha Academy. Obviously it was built as a school but I don't know when or by whom. It is a wonderful facility.
Classes are limited to 25 students, 95% of whom are Asian, primarily Hmong. The other 5% of the students are African American. There are two Caucasian students, one of whom, is from Sweden. Her parents chose the school because she is an English language learner and her parents like the emphasis on learning English.
Students are bused from Mpls. and surrounding suburbs and both breakfast and lunch are provided. The school day is an hour longer than public schools. Saturday classes are offered, too, and a majority of the students attend. Noble teachers are invited to teach on Saturdays for extra pay and some do. Teachers, even principals, from other schools also teach.
Every student learns the Hmong language. There is one teacher, a St. Olaf graduate, who specializes in teaching Hmong. Today I sat in on 2nd grade Hmong lesson and got an idea I'll use when I teach in Thailand.
I'll work individually or in small groups helping with reading and conversation. The schedule is flexible...I'll just notify the school a day in advance of my schedule.

Corn Report

While in SD over Labor Day weekend I checked the status of my corn. I'm happy to report that it is tall and weedy. The silk has dried which means that pollination is complete. The kernels have not begun to dent yet so it is a good thing that I don't plan to harvest it. It will still be very wet by the time it freezes and would take much drying for storage. But, it is mature enough to provide good winter wildlife food. July's very hot weather advanced it's maturity. August was dry but there was enough moisture earlier to carry it until a nice rain the first week of September.