01 Jul
New Address
252 Northeast Street
Smithville OH 44677
06 Jun
AT
Off with Levi to hike a continuation of the AT that we started in 2004. We are hiking west of 77 in Virginia. If you want to see a more interactive map, you can click here. We will be hiking west on the trail from 77, crossing route 81 and continuing west. The pictures below were taken at our start point on route 77 in Virginia and days one and two on the trail.
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
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| From AT 2009 |
06 Jun
Conan?
I think Jay is better than Dave, but I think I’m switching to CBS for my late-night entertainment; Conan just doesn’t do it for me…
29 May
No more Jay :(
Even though he might be on at a different time, it won’t be the same. I know you object Dave Martin, but I think Jay is better than Dave…
I am strangely sad about this occurrence and have made it a point to stay up and watch over the last few weeks; wow, I should be sad about much bigger things!
20 May
Interesting Quote
“Full awakening comes, when you sincerely look at yourself, deeper than you’ve imagined, and question everything.”
–ad yashanti
06 May
Track
I haven’t written much about my track coaching experience down here in Middletown. For those of you that know the numbers, check out these times at our GMC Championship Meet. I think you’ll find them very competitive, at times even competitive at the high school level. My team finished 6th, I coach for Vail Middle School.
22 Apr
New Lingo
Sometimes I pinch myself and wonder if it’s all a dream. You know that line between humor and tragedy, Shakespeare was right, it is very thin.
A tiny glimpse:
We made cards for the girl in my homeroom that just had her baby and I just found out that another 7th grade girl is pregnant who is also in my homeroom. I’ve broken up ten fights and had two drug busts so far this year. They say it gets bad towards the end of the year. But, at least I am learning the language:
Bre’- referrs to a boy or girl “what’s up bre’”
fake- not nice, bad “man Mr. Conrad, you fake”
clownin- messing around “Kreshawn be clowning Mr. C”
spittin game- hitting on “Allen over there spittin game”
Gucci- fun, cool (really just something to say if everyone is having a good time) “Gucci”
Raw, dope, smack- all words for cool
ATF- all things fresh (it means all things cool) “How are you Demarco? ATF”
Trifflin- bad “shit, Deramoshia be trifflin”
Pound, Smash- sex “him and Meka be smashin”
Hit a Mission- to walk a far distance “Devon, we got to hit a mission”
That Heat- another phrase for cool after coming out of a movie “that heat”
07 Apr
Stop Selling Jesus
Tired of seeing the poor duped into believing the “blessings” of Jesus and also tired of the “ministries” out there wasting money on marketing an item that is by proper definition and understanding, unmarketable.
01 Apr
Paradigm Shift
Home sick today; I caught one of those bugs that lurk around on the dirty hands of Middleschoolers…
It’s been a while… a while since I put down some thoughts about the state of Ryan. Again, like many of my other posts I know you are now on the edge of your seats with anticipation (insert sarcasm:)
Where to begin? As some of you know, I have been teaching in a school of 700 6-8th graders in Middletown’s poorest school. Vail is in a very poor neighborhood where drugs, gang violence and prostitution are a regular occurrence. You name it and I’ve probably seen it or dealt with a student that is in the middle of the situation you are describing. Before this experience, I only thought of issues such as drugs and violence in a very unattached way; a non-human way, much in the way our society deals with them in movies or on the nightly news. Now, that nightly news story of a family ripped apart by drugs and violence has a face and she sits in my homeroom every day. Is it a surprise that she fights back, experiments with marijuana that she got from her parents and is rude to her teachers and peers? And the boy in 2nd period who’s parents have him selling drugs for them just returned from the hospital where he was admitted for a dangerously high blood alcohol level; he’s 13. The stories of abuse beyond imagination and recklessness at home persist and certainly this is no attempt at dramatization; all of these are real and happening now. I play the role of teacher, parent, friend and coach. It is very difficult to balance those very different relationships. Striking the balance is hard and taking care of yourself is really important as well. (I’ve learned this from the experienced ones down here) Oh and on a side note, I rarely like shows or movies with thick drama plots anymore, I feel like I live a dramatic movie every day, I don’t need television to feed me more of that stuff. But lets get our priorities straight, “The Office” is still a must see as well as the drama of sports! (cause in sports you only lose the game, not your dreams or your future)
I could go on and on with experiences down here but words are sometimes a futile attempt at sharing something really un-sharable. Why would I want you to experience Vail Middle School? Oh right, because I want you to experience me (isn’t blogging vain…I’m conceited aren’t I?) FYI- I’m laughing as wrote that last sentence
ABOUT THAT SHIFT THING
My paradigm shift happened well before this experience in Middletown. It has happened slowly over the last few years. The interesting thing about blogging and journaling is that it allows you to track yourself. While looking back at times I want to give myself a high five and at other times I want to grab ahold of Ryan and shake him. Aside from those “what the hell where you thinking” moments, I tend to be o.k with Ryan and I’m happy (very happy) that I’ve distanced myself from some of the dogmatic views of the past.
I guess it’s all part of the journey and we are never stopped at one point. We are never stuck with one specific understanding of a belief because there is always room for expanding and changing; until we die I suppose we will always be thinking and evolving and our minds continue to explore a deeper understanding of life and its mysteries.
23 Mar
At Ease
Rarely does a human being completely lower my defenses and put me at ease. But I was amazed at Charlie Rose’s past interviews with Natasha Richardson and found a complete peace about her demeanor.
20 Mar
Fantasy World
Today while watching the news, I thought of this strange connection:
Just like the bloated financial world before the huge bubble burst; so it is with the virtual world of connections and megabyte friends. The paper money all of the sudden disappeared just like the plug can be pulled or the computer can crash, then what are we left with? We find that we’ve built this illusionary world of convenience and instant gratification while the real world kept spinning. hm…
No judgment here, just some thoughts about our society’s non-verbal and ADHD tendencies. Myself definitely included:)
02 Mar
Now Playing…
Coldplay’s Viva La Vida was the late summer and early fall music playing in my car. Several books on CD and Christmas music consumed November through January and currently, Elton John and Billy Joel are getting me through the rough cold and anticipatory months of February and March. Seriously, how does one marry music and lyrics like Billy, Bernie and Elton?
17 Feb
“Mt. Dew Mouth”
Many of you have probably seen Diane Sawyer’s documentary on life in Appalachia. This story is especially popular down here in Middletown due to our significant Appalachian population. I encourage you to look at the story and think again about our Nation’s healthcare crisis and the amount of prevention education needed in our poorest communities.
Pepsi Company, the distributers of Mt. Dew, have agreed to give money for education and dental care to this population of children going toothless due to Mt. Dew’s high acid and sugar content. And certainly, the problem isn’t just Mt. Dew, Corporate responsibility can only go so far. The problem is also one of personal responsibility and EDUCATION.
I bring this story up because daily I attempt to education relatively poor 7th grade students about the importance of drinking water instead of their 20 oz bottles of sugary, caffeinated and acidic soda. The problem isn’t with having an occasional drink of cola or Mt. Dew, the problem is children don’t know what moderation is and parents are absent. I fear that this generation who drinks soda at every meal and in between will be dead or debilitated before age 50 due to complications from diabetes and or other related illnesses.
15 Feb
Now Reading
This is an excellent book by Rabi Irwin Kula. I’m sure I will read many more books from this author in the future. A very dynamic perspective on personal decisions, doubts, faith etc. along with many, many great quotes from various authors. Kula draws on his many years as a Rabi and gives valuable insight into human nature. I am really enjoying this book.