Little liberals in training

The Earth Day demonstration I blogged about yesterday was not the first demonstration staged by those of us at Harlan Elementary School in Ames, Iowa.

We had practice. And freedom to express ourselves. Life was good.

Earlier that year, it came to our attention that our teacher, Ms. Dashner, was leaving the teaching profession. We adored Ms. Dashner (as we adored all of the teachers in that fabulous, open, experimental school) and were dismayed that she would be forced to leave school just to have a baby. It didn't seem fair to us.

This also just coincidentally occurred a few years after my only younger sibling was born, which may have contributed to my feelings of abandonment by Ms. Dashner.

I have three older siblings (Terri, Kathy and Nick). I was born years after their family clique had been established. As a result, I felt my childhood was a combination of being an outsider, observing a family unit, yet at the same time, being practically treated as if I were an only child. Conflicted and probably psycho in some way, I know.

It was easy for me to disappear completely in any situation. But when I wanted it, I got lots of attention. Then my younger brother, Pat, came along when I was in second grade. The "olders" (what I call the older siblings) had been hoping we were getting a dog, but alas, it was the announcement of a new baby on the way. It was probably at that time that my eyes turned green. I was jealous. I didn't fit into the olders clique. And I wasn't the baby of the family anymore, either.

Don't get me wrong. I'm totally over this :). I was a kid and I'm just sharing my feelings as a kid. I love my siblings - both the olders and the youngster brother. I only tell you this to explain my 10/11 year old state of mind in 1970.

In my mind, it was terribly unfair that Ms. Dashner was leaving us, her adoring students, to have a baby. I mean, the total injustice of it!

How did students handle being aggrieved in 1969/1970? Our class immediately started planning a "sit in" demonstration, of course. We all made signs. We informed the principal of the time and date our demonstration would occur.

We went to recess that afternoon, toting our signs. When the bell rang to signal the end of recess, we all came together in a clump and sat on the playground with our signs. Quiet, but excited. Feeling rather rebellious. Feeling powerful.

We sat there for the rest of the afternoon. No one interfered. No one tried to talk us down. No one tried to enforce rules. They just let us... be.

A couple of hours later the buses came. The principal and Ms. Dashner came out to us with a garbage bin and didn't say a single word. One by one, we got up and threw our signs in the bin. Ms. Dashner had tears in her eyes as she hugged each of us in turn. We got on our buses and went home.

The next Monday we were presented with our long-term substitute teacher, Ms. Anne Pier. (See blog post from yesterday about Earth Day.)

We were a bunch of little liberals in training... testing the limits of free speech in the small world we lived in. I felt closure. I felt accomplishment. I felt respected.

I remember the very first Earth Day. Ever.

I remember the very first Earth Day. Ever. I was in 5th grade. My teacher’s name was Anne Pier.

I went to a public, experimental, elementary school. It was free, liberal, and exhilarating. We worked at our own speed, with individualized attention from teachers who wanted to be part of this new way of teaching (which, unfortunately, does not exist in any place I know of anymore).

Before coming to Ames, Iowa, Mrs. Pier had taught school to children in immigrant farm worker camps in California. She told us about those children many times. Girls with no dolls. Boys with no bikes. Moms and Dads doing back-breaking work in the fields while the crops could be harvested.

I adored Anne Pier then and still do now.

Mrs. Pier was an inspiring force. She gave us the freedom to organize and take action. For months, we planned for the first Earth Day the planet would experience. We learned about littering. We studied about how air and water pollution occurs and what the consequences are to plants, animals and human life. We learned that the health and life of this Earth is our responsibility.

Yes, we knew all of this in 1970! Erin Brockovich was a year younger than we were. This was before Al Gore started presenting his slide show and before his movie “An Inconvenient Truth” was produced. We knew these things when we were in 5th grade, before it was cool and hip to talk about pollution and global climate change.

April 22, 1970 was a day full of activity. As soon as the bus dropped us at school, we hiked to the arboretum and picked up trash. We fished garbage out of the stream. We gathered litter from the ground.

Keep in mind that we had lived the first 10 years of our lives in the 1960s – think Woodstock, Black Panthers, Watts riots, women’s lib, Viet Nam, the Apollo program… counter culture – so we knew the appropriate action for almost every situation that felt unjust… a demonstration.

We made huge signs and waved them in the air. We marched. We yelled. We were covered by local television. My friend and classmate, Lisa Paulsen, read our prepared statement on camera. We pleaded for adults to save the environment for us, their children – the future.

We felt our endeavors were very successful. But now that I’m a grandmother, I wonder.
Did anyone really listen to the children that day?

Let’s clean up this planet and protect its future for our children. And for our grandchildren.

Let's continue to defend the Earth. Please, remember Earth Day.



Note, did some rewriting and reposted 4/9/09. Audio version is posted here.

What is your signature karaoke song?

Do you have a signature karaoke song? Tell me!

Mine is "I feel the earth move" by Carole King

i also do "Will you love me tomorrow?" (Carole King)

and "I can't make you love me" (Bonnie Raitt).

Thank you. Thank you very much...

#haikuthursday

Silly talking head / YouTube not conversation / it is just one way

Grounded Capricorn / wills her feet to leave the earth / wants to shirk sometimes

Dog and butterfly / never really witnessed that / just an old Heart song

Bird sits by window / predator feline spies prey / furry tail twitches

In honor of #haikuthursday (head start)

Gravity heavy
Obligations weigh her down
Anchored but dreams still

Don't dis my haiku
I try my best to write it
Could be more inspired

(Premature #haikuthursday)

Follow me: http://twitter.com/jacksoncj1

25 random facts about me

I'd like to know more about you. Write 25 random facts about you in the comments.
-CJ

1. I *really* *love* my job and hope that doesn’t change, because if you hate your job, the rest of your life is hard to enjoy.

2. For about 15 years, I had a job I *really* *hated*. That’s how I know.

3. I have 4 grandchildren, also known as the 4 Cs. Christopher, Caille, Connor and Cameron.

4. I’m a cat person. I have one cat, Cricket.

5. I also have a dog, Captain. He doesn’t know he’s a dog, so it’s ok. He’s a tiny 8-lb fluffy white Maltese and was the mascot for the McLennan County Obama campaign.

6. I have to listen to podcasts on my iPod at night to fall asleep.

7. I used to be a voracious reader until I got my iPod.

8. When I was a kid, there was only one other kid in my class who ran more slowly than me. He was developmentally disabled. I haven’t gotten any faster.

9. I have been married more times than you think.

10. Mike and I have been together for 17 years.

11. It took me 9 years to get my BA from Iowa State, because I was a single mom in college and had to work 3 jobs (concurrently) while in school.

12. I hate talking on the phone. To anyone. Nothing personal.

13. I cry freely while watching some commercials.

14. I started sewing when I was a wee little thing, about 5 years old. Some weekends I don’t even leave the house. I sew from early morning until late into the night. Many times, I have stayed up all night sewing.

15. I love to play card games and board games.

16. I have lived in Ames, Iowa; Wichita, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; Dayton, Ohio; Cape Coral (Fort Myers), Florida; Atlanta, Georgia and Hewitt, Texas.

17. My favorite locations were Chicago and Fort Myers.

18. I *love* salt water fishing. I don’t eat fish. Ever.

19. I went to an experimental elementary school: Harlan Elementary in Ames, Iowa. All students worked at their own pace with individual attention from the best teachers in the nation. I learned to love learning at that school.

20. I am a complete addict to National Public Radio (NPR).

21. I hate mingling at social occasions and making small talk with strangers... even though I’m a PR person.

22. My best friends are my daughters (Bri is 28, Devon is 26). I’m not just saying that. It’s absolutely true.

23. In high school I was a “drama freak” (the other categories were “jock” and “nerd”). I started hanging out with the freak crowd when I was a junior. We snuck out and skipped classes by sneaking through the theatre stage control room exit. I know, you’re wondering where that “love of learning” went.

24. I played the lead in my high school musical my junior year. It was called “Of Thee I Sing.” I was the beauty queen (it was a long time ago, people) who got jilted by the President of the United States of America.

25. I read tarot. (Don’t judge me, people.)

12th night, bags, bachelor and biting babies: an epiphany (of sorts)

Went to Robbie and Franci's for Twelfth Night (or Epiphany). We also watched the season premier of Bachelor and shot some pix of their xbohica shopping bags.

Robbie flew in from a New Orleans photo shoot late. He brought a "King Cake" with him. It's like some gargantuan-size glazed donut. Except the glaze is purple and green. Hidden somewhere inside is a PLASTIC BABY (technically, they served the baby "on the side" and Franci stuck it in the cake).

_Bitin' the baby_

Just call me "queen." Uh-huh.

"You might be wondering, "Why on earth would a plastic baby be inside of a cake?" Well, the baking of King Cakes is a tradition in New Orleans that begins on King's Day, at the start of the Mardi Gras season. A tiny baby, just like the ones you see here, is baked into the cake. The person whose piece of cake contains the baby furnishes the King Cake for the next party (which are usually held once a week on Sundays until Fat Tuesday.) However, when celebrating Mardi Gras out of town, most people regard the person who 'got the baby' as the King or Queen of the party being held." http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/kc_buy.php

Men: Would you use these?

The manly version of the original xbohica bags, I call these the special "y-chromosome" edition.

As always, the xbohica name is embroidered on the inside lining.

So, the question is, would a man use these? Please respond with your comments below.

Two tops from one Simplicity envelope

Made one of these with my mom's help a little while back. I hated working with that fabric and was ready to throw the entire thing in the trash. My mom, who was visiting, patiently got a few problem spots to work right. The fabric seemed like a great idea on the bolt, but it's a little bright! I think I've only worn it once.

The turquiose/brown number is something I made one day this week. I like it, but again, I wish I did a better job of "seeing" what the garment will look like when I'm standing in the fabric store.

...meh.

Sumptuous little thing

I finally made a bag for my tarot cards. My deck is New Palladini, so I chose fabrics that remind me of an Italian style.

The outside of the bag is a crushed navy velvet. The lining is the reddish and gold brocade you see in the background.

It's sumptuous!

Turn the drudgery of grocery shopping into a swinging, fashionable event!

Turn the drudgery of grocery shopping into a swinging, fashionable event! Irene and Kristin model original xbohica shopping bags, including matching coupon holders. The baggers at H-E-B are going to swoon when these gals go through the checkout!

Tat shows love of sewing, but e-e-yewww

Still politicking, and therefore distracted from the blog, but ran across this today and thought I'd share. Wow. This person LIKES SEWING.

By the way. I have zero tats. I can't imagine any reason I would ever get one.