...bon voyage !

I taught for nearly 40 years...
around 3000 students...
elementary school to college...
music, English, reading...
history, careers...


the first day was always so full of promise...
nervous excitement, anticipation...
and a little scary...

when I was a student, it was that way too...
the promise of learning new things...
having interesting experiences...
finding out how things worked...

the lure of the laboratory...
the smell of new books...
endless lines to register or sign-in...
[yes, this was way before computers...]
and learning your "way" around...

a good friend starts her college career Monday...
and I couldn't be more pleased for her...
for as long as I've known that she didn't attended college...
I have believed that she should do this...

anyone who knows her...
would probably be as surprised as I was...
to discover that she had only taken a class or two...
many years ago...and had never worked on a degree...

I say surprised...
because when you get to know her...
work with her, talk with her or read her writing...
she is so very well-spoken...
and well versed in many areas...

it is quite an accomplishment...

for her intellect to have become so well polished
without having spent time on the university level...

this is, thanks in large part,
to her desire for knowledge...
her love of learning...
and her innate curiosity about everything ...
[well, everything that is... except math...]

these traits have driven her to read voraciously....
in a multitude of disciplines...
and being very intelligent, she has become educated...
well beyond the secondary level...
largely through her own efforts and desire...
[did I mention that English was NOT her first language ?]

she will be attending classes with students
who have many varied backgrounds
and learning styles...


the driven ones who need to get good grades to transfer...
the "brown-nosers", who want attention...
the lazy ones who didn't get the grades for a 4 year school...
or who don't want to get a job or move out of their parents home...
and the ones who haven't a clue where they're going...

there will be other "mature" students, like herself...
starting over... continuing on... or just passing time...
[been there, done that... NOT easy..."after 40"...]


there will be hard workers, hardly workers and those in-between...
class clowns, "tortured souls", true believers and misfits...
students with nothing...students with everything...
smart ones...dense ones and everything in the middle...
quiet ones, noisy ones, sleeping ones, absent ones...



and there are as many kinds of teachers ...
as there are students...

there are teachers who've been "beat down" ...
by indifferent students and the system...
putting in their time, cashing their check...
and counting the days until retirement...


there are the "martinets"...lords of their domain...
bullies, because they can get away with it...
holding students "hostage"... assigning endless papers...
insisting on "their way...or the highway"...
ransoming grades with submission... a total power trip...
THIS is not a battle anyone can "win"...

there are the "nurturers", who are in loco parentis...
doing the "tough love" for those "late bloomers"...
there are "wind bags"... full of themselves...
aging Hippies, who try to be "cool"...
and the ones who think "June, July & August"...
are the 3 BEST reasons to teach...
[they probably WON'T be teaching summer school...]

I hope she'll manage to avoid most of those...
though with her real life experience advantage...
she'll be able to identify them quickly...
and deal with the situation better than most...

I really hope that she gets to work with some of the good ones...
the ones who still love teaching...
who try to understand ...
and care about the students who populate their classes...

who still feel passionately about their subject...
and can transmit that appreciation to their students...
the effective ones... who don't judge the value of their class,
by the length of their syllabus... # of assignments made...
or pages to be read, before the next class meeting...
and who grade student work fairly...

of the nearly 3000 students I've worked with...
only 1 or 2, in 40 years, were even close to that unique blend...
of quick intelligence, curiosity, creative talent, work ethic, desire to learn, courage, resiliency...
and being "a genuinely good human being"...
that my friend is...

I would have loved having her in my class...



her chosen path will be difficult at times...
she will encounter obstacles...
but if she keeps her faith strong...
and her "eyes on the prize"...
while trying to enjoy the journey...
she will persevere...and reach her goal...

so here's wishing all the very best for you...
Miz Minka...
no one deserves this opportunity more than you do...
and may God continue to richly bless both you ...
and your journey...

...come on down !!

we are all
just too aware...
that THIS...
is a BIG problem
these days...


so I thought...
what better PRIZE to offer
my upcoming visitor # 1000...
than a Visa gas debit card
for $ 100.00...

the card has to be presented for payment inside...
[pay the attendant...]
it won't work to "pay at the pump"...
but will work where ever Visa is accepted...
[which is just about everywhere...]




you might say, "Catsinger...ARE YOU NUTS ? !!!

or did you just hit the "big one" in the lottery ?"

[if I had done that, the card would be for $1000.00...]
no...I'm just putting a third of my "economic stimulus tax refund" to work...
and thanking my readers in the process...
[your tax dollars at work, ladies & gentlemen...]


so help me celebrate a milestone...
and get something good for yourself along the way...
the big event will happen within the next week or so...
[probably a LOT sooner now that I've done this...]

so, plan ahead and scheme away...
there are a lot of you "big picture thinkers" out there...
all's fair in this economy...[can you say wi-fi ?]
including "dropping-in" often...

[I had 43 visits in an hour ...once...
but in retrospect...
Sitemeter must have been "on something"...]

TO WIN...
you MUST leave me a comment proclaiming your victory...
in other words...you must be aware that you are # 1000...
{I assume that everyone can read Sitemeter...}
then e-mail me your contact information
and your prize will be on it's way...

SO...
may the stealthiest, cleverest ...
and "most driven"among you...
[sorry, couldn't resist...]
be victorious !


[disclaimer...]
if # 1000 is a visitor from outside the US...
the winner will be the first US visitor
who leaves me a comment, proclaiming victory
AFTER # 1000....

[international currency exchange is beyond me...sorry...]

if # 1000 is a person in the US that I can't contact...
because they don't leave me a comment,
proclaiming their victory...
then the winner will again revert
to the first comment I get after # 1000...
[can you tell that I've run contests before ?]

ALL INSTRUCTIONS CLEAR ?

THEN LET THE GAMES BEGIN !!!

...MORE ketchup, please

sometimes, you just don't "plan far enough ahead"...
you have the condiments...
but not the "delivery vehicle"...



sometimes...
your brain is just not working...
and you choose the WRONG condiment...


[I really can't "do" hot...]

then there are those times ...
when ONLY ketchup will do...
and LOTS of it...


I never use ketchup on eggs...
but here...
even I'd make an exception...
[ tomato-y cat butt hair... tasty...]

...monday,monday

whether you awoke from a disturbing dream...
to an even worse one...
[that it's MONDAY !...]


the world is full of surprises...
[especially for the terminally cheerful among us...]


of course...
there is something to be said for the opportunist...
[and...what goes around (& around), eventually barfs...]


happy Monday, everyone !

...bits and pieces, out and about

just 5 houses south of me...
a casualty of the several unrelenting days of wind...


my front porch on Memorial Day...
hence, the flag...
[mess, what mess ?...I don't see a mess...]



"the money pit"...also on Memorial Day


my "nectar peach" tree...loaded down with what will be
the sweetest, juiciest white peaches...
IF... I get them before the critters...


the Australian Oak [aka Silk Oak]
blooming in front of my house...
there's one in the back yard too...

...waving the "red" flag

ketchup... condiment of the gods...
saver of meals... savior of meatloaf...
savored... with anything fried & crunchy...

always liked it... never lived on it...
and no... it's not my favorite vegetable...
nor do I consider it a major food group...
but there's always been a bottle
in any 'fridge I lived with...

and from my earliest days...
it was always this one...



they say that taste and smell can trigger
or even "are", your earliest memories...
so since it was what I grew up with...
I always bought it...

that is, until MM, a self-proclaimed "condiment queen"
informed me that "Brand H" was fine for cooking...
but that "D M" was the ONLY kind to eat...
when "taste" was important...

so, being "open" to new things...
[and she is usually "right on" with advice...]
the next time I needed ketchup...
I bought some...



quite a bit was used in a meatloaf...
[I know... but I was out of "Brand H"...
I was committed to making the meatloaf...
and I MUST have ketchup IN my meatloaf...]

so last night, I was having a burger ...
[not the usual menu around here much anymore...]
and used the DM ketchup, as a condiment,
for the first time... and it was REALLY GOOD...


a bit tangier...[that pineapple vinegar perhaps ? ]
very tomato-y and just plain delicious...
I am now a convert to DM ketchup...
and MM was right... again...
hummm....


ketchup lovers show their colors proudly...

with a NUMBER of different articles of clothing...

but perhaps ketchup's enduring allure
can be best summed up by the following "saying"...

directed at humans...
attributed to dragons...

but works equally well for us ...
with almost any food...
since for many people...
"everything" is better with ketchup..."

some people love that "ketchuppy" goodness SO MUCH...
that they have caused products to be made...
with the "red stuff" already included...



these are Kosher, ketchup flavored Cheetos...
[I have NOW officially seen everything...]


I rather prefer to add my own ketchup...
and there are, of course...
some foods that MUST be accompanied by ketchup...


"lives there a man, or woman, with soul so dead...
that never to them self has said...
'pass me the ketchup for my fries'..."


"gotta have ketchup here..."


been there, done that...
if I'm eating ketchup on a sausage...
I'm ONLY eating ketchup on the sausage...

though...I do admit to liking the "Chicago" style...


no ketchup... NOT even on the counter...

this, however, is just WRONG...
[tuna AND ketchup ?...ON A PIZZA ? !!! ]

I suppose there's NO accounting for taste...
[can you say, "plop,plop, fizz,fizz..." ? ]

some folks LOVE their ketchup SO much...
they don't care what they eat it on...
just that there's a LOT of it...


"extra-large" size[compared to a Micky D fry...]
ketchup packets...from Germany...
[why am I not surprised...? ]



lots...
of different brands...
and the resulting arguments between "fans"
have been the reason for massive taste tests....




and for the "health conscious"...organics too...


[is deep fried food really healthier with organic ketchup ?]

and... of course... "vanity ketchup"...

"Trekkie" ketchup...
created for William Shatner, himself...
[would Spock ketchup be green ?]



and then...beyond "tomato"....there are other flavors...


mmmmmmmm.... "hot fudge", by any other name ?
[this sounds like something DD should "investigate"...]



if you don't 'get' how special...check out the background "flora"...



there IS purple [grape] ketchup...
I included this ad from Africa for MM...

...nothing gold can stay

Nature's first green is gold...
Her hardest hue to hold...



Her early leaf's a flower...
but only so an hour...



Then leaf subsides to leaf...
So Eden sank to grief...



So dawn goes down to day...
Nothing gold can stay...




["Nothing Gold Can Stay" Robert Frost, 1923]