Tin Heart

Each morning, between 4:30 and 5:00, an old sedan of some sort pauses at the blue box stationed across the road from our home. The driver takes five seconds—tops—to slide our newspaper into the box’s pocket. I’ve never glimpsed his face or heard his voice, but I’d recognize the tinny rattle within the car’s exhaust system in any lineup.

The carrier is a name scrawled onto a greeting card every Christmas, tucked between the newspaper's pages like a surprise gift. He’s a ghost on the periphery of my morning—there, then not there, a glowing afterimage behind my eye.   

I wonder whether he takes note of the lamplight shining in our kitchen and the darkness in the house next door. Who is awake? Who is brewing coffee? Pouring milk into a child’s cereal bowl before school? What is the hound dog’s name that bays at his approach and then settles back into rabbit-y dreams? Does the carrier listen to the radio, or does he listen to the silence?

Miles unspool beneath his wheels, heading west. What entertains his thoughts in the glow of the dashboard? What melody beats within his heart? Only he knows.

Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

It's thistle time. Usually thistles bloom in and alongside pastures and fields. This summer we have five bull thistle, or spear thistle, plants thriving and blooming in our backyard. A few tower above my head, and I don't stand much taller than 5'3".

 

The thistle's pink-purple blooms look like fuzzy conical hats against a landscape tiring of its summer's work of growth and production. 

 

The thistle is the national flower of Scotland. Unfortunately, in many areas it's considered an invasive weed and destroyed.

We encourage plants claiming a space in our backyard. Their beauty and value to the critters and birds with whom we share land and resources soon becomes clear. I avoid the thistle's sharp spines, but the American goldfinch eats its seeds and uses thistledown as a primary nest building material. Bees and butterflies feed on the blooms' nectar. We all win.

Once the bloom fades the seed pod turns brown. Soon parachute-like seeds will be dispersed and carried about by the wind to settle in a new growing location. They float by outside the window, small wisps of seed carrying the promise of life within themselves. Hopefully, as stewards of the land, we'll discover more plants finding a home in our yard.  

 

 

The ABC's of Thriving (Surviving) In A Writing Course

Thriving in a writing class can be achieved when armed with the proper tools and attitude. Writing well requires time, focus, and energy. The following tips will create a productive, positive learning experience for any student.

Attendance: Classes cost money. Get your money's worth by attending class.

Balance: Success requires balancing sleep, work, writing, and play. 

Calendar: Mark a calendar to prioritize your time and track assignment due dates. 

Dictionary: It’s still your best resource for finding out how to spell words correctly.

Email: Contact your instructor if you must miss class. It’s the polite thing to do. 

First drafts: You can fix a first draft, but you can’t revise a blank page.

Goals: Setting a specific goal or two will help you plan where you want to go.

Heart: Write from your heart to create meaning for your audience.

Ideas: Explore your interests.

Jokes: Laugh loud and often. 

Knowledge: Write about what you know. Learn about what you don't know.

Listen: What do you hear? Describe a sound using your five senses.

Motivate: Give yourself a reward after completing each assignment.  

Notes: Take notes in class. They help at two o’clock in the morning when a paper is due at eight.

Open Mind: Keep an open mind during class discussions.

Plagiarism: Don’t.

Quiet: Seek out moments of silence. Breathe.   

Read: Approach assignments with your opened mind. 

Syllabus: It's your map for the semester.

Tutors: Take advantage of the extra help a tutor can provide.

University policies: Learn them. They will keep you on track and out of trouble.

Visualize success: Yours.

Walk: A brisk walk will clear your head if you’re feeling overwhelmed. 

X-rated material: It's not appropriate in academic writing - ever.

Yum-o: Mom is right. Eat your fruits and veggies. 

Zero grades: Passing in something is better than passing in nothing.  

Brainstorming, drafting, and revision is up to the student. Professors want students to succeed, but students must earn success on the page.

New Beginnings

September is a glorious month of harvest, mums, apples, cider, and cool sleeping weather. During the early morning hours of September 1 - the day my classes started - a waning moon cast moonlight through my open bedroom window. A lone cricket chirped outside in the grass. The sweet scent of a freshly mown lawn wafted in on the cool air.

A few hours later, students strolled or strode into my classroom. They carried backpacks, phones, tablets, laptops, and water bottles or coffee cups.  I welcomed everyone, and we began the task of getting to know one another. We'll spend the next fifteen weeks writing and learning each other's stories. We'll read essays and laugh and joke and be serious when seriousness is called for and be sad if it's time to be sad. We'll discuss the values and contemporary issues of our time. We'll think and agree and often agree to disagree.

In public speaking, students will slowly shed their fear like an old skin. They'll learn about speaking outlines, visual aids, analyzing their audience, ethics, and the art of speaking behind a podium and in front of it.  They'll speak to us of places they've traveled or places they dream of visiting after graduation. Many will wait until much later when they're carrying a fledgling career in their back pocket and perhaps a toddler in their arms. I'll hear about their hobbies and their families and their goals. I'll admire photographs of nieces and nephews, sons and daughters, cats and dogs, and the occasional prized car or motorcycle.

The possibilities remain endless and exciting, and I savor the diversity. It's an honor to hear students speak about what is important to them in life. I'm left longing to know the rest of their story as time unspools the ribbon of our lives. I content myself with the memories I'll carry and wonder about during my morning walks. Each week, through the processes of writing essays and speeches, we'll examine and celebrate our commonalities and differences. Both enable us to learn and grow together and enhance our living.