AMERICA'S COMING BACK!

Yesterday I attended an Obama Rally. I haven't been in a huge crowd since college days, and I knew great crowds and long lines were expected, but I wanted so much to be a part of this 

groundswell of support for Barack Obama. I told myself to not be disappointed if I couldn't get in, but I did get in and got a very good seat. My daughter-in-law went with me and we had a great time together.  Arriving at the baseball stadium two hours before the speech, we were there just in time to get in a long line, snaking for about a mile through the parking lot and over to the temporary entrance. 

The stadium here in  Sarasota holds 10,000 and there were lots of chairs on the ground, so they estimate 15,000 people were there . I know he has drawn larger crowds in larger cities, but for a county  of 360, 000 , most of them republican, it was a great turnout. In this county we have 15,000 blacks, 22,000 Hispanic, 4,000 Asian, and about  15,000 others.

Although we arrived two hours early, many people slept in their cars overnight to be sure to get into this free event. People were amiable, cheerful and courteous. Vendors were everywhere selling buttons, shirts, towels, and signs. You can see my newest wardrobe addition on my head in the photo.

It was so exciting , seeing the thousands of people and the rich diversity . Blacks, whites, old , young, gay, and  straight.  ( I know this because I saw some of my gay friends and know that Obama has welcomed them at almost every rally.) I saw Amish and Muslim standing side by side. Parents brought children because they felt this was such a historic event. We all felt as if we might be part of making history. 

I fully meant to keep politics out of my blog, but I am so excited about the prospect of this man being president, that I am swept up in the excitement of the moment.

I think he is the most charismatic, exciting candidate we have had since JFK.  He has 

character, dignity, elegance and great command of both his emotions and his words. 

I think we are on the cusp of  a new, hopeful era for our country. Our best hope is that he will gain the respect of leaders around the world and restore our universal standing. 

GRANT FOR GOOD TEACHERS

Have you ever said to yourself, "If I win the lottery, I'm going to ....." and then you list all the places  and people with whom you want to share your windfall or good fortune.  Some people actually reach that great place in life where they have large amounts of money to donate and they are not sure how to implement their plan. One good way is to bequeath it  to an agency which has expertise in administering funds. One excellent way is educational grants to teachers and other professional educators. Locally, the Foundation offers grants once a year to teachers in the amount of $500.  

Every year for the past ten, I have had the privilege of being a volunteer grant reader for the EDUCATION FOUNDATION of Sarasota County , Inc. (Florida)  Here's why it is so much fun.  First of all, it is held in a lovely bank room (Northern Trust), and it is provided with a very quiet atmosphere and a banquet of food which is beautiful!  I am greeted by the gracious people who work for the Foundation and given a packet of grants to read. Using a very clear format for grading them, I read the grant and evaluate them on a point system.  I turn them in and get five more. I usually volunteer for two hours and can read 15 to 20 of them in that time. (Retired teachers have the edge  at reading grants, because we have more experience with writing them!)

Each grant proposal is read by multiple readers, so that they get an even-handed review of their merits.  Once the decision is made, the grant recipients are presented with  a check at a program  which is open to members of the Foundation, contributors, volunteer readers and other community  members.

 As a former teacher, I know all too well how much  a little extra cash can be useful in introducing a new kit, new books, new equipment, new supplies to the individual classroom.

It is a real pleasure to read individual plans for making teaching effective and enjoyable.

My favorite one this year was a proposal  to get all high school students in an English class to start a blog of his/her memoirs. Students would read published Memoirs, ( hence the need for money to buy them), then read and comment on their fellow student's memoirs.  Now, you KNOW that excited me!  

       My ineptness with blogging procedures prevents me from placing the photos in a more  meaningful location. At the top left is Mary Kay, who served the beautiful food throughout the reading period. In the other picture I am shown  with Education Foundation members Susan Morris and Helen Martin. Photos are courtesy of  Laura Breeze, Advancement Director.

For further information: www.EdFoundation.net

When I was teaching (Broward County:23 years) I worked on many grant proposals.

I helped the overall school receive money and I personally won  a number of grants for my classroom. I worked for a year with the Sarasota County Literacy Council, writing grant proposals and teaching literacy to speakers of other languages. I wrote a small pamphlet for 

The Accelerated Reader program magazine on how to write a successful grant proposal.

Please don't write me and ask me to write a grant for anyone. It is  really tough work and I'm too lazy in my current retirement state. 

Just another day in my wonderful life!

ANDY ANHINGA: my neighbor

 I couldn't resist sharing with you the daily view outside my bedroom window. This black guy is called an anhinga. He is often called a snake bird and if you could see him skimming across the lake with only his long neck showing, you would see why. The tall bird in the back is a heron. But our subject today is Andy, my daily friend and amusement.

Like a cormorant, he often swims with his head above water, knifing through the surface like a snake  poised to strike. He's much friendlier, however. His feathers are not waterproof by oils so he gets waterlogged. Since he is not buoyant, he can stay underwater and actually swim for long periods of time. I was once in a tourist attraction, seeing a north Florida river from a glass bottomed boat, when an anhinga swam beneath the boat with a fish in his mouth.

Once back on the shore, he spreads out his beautiful black and gray feathers and wings and perches until he is dry again. I rarely seem in pairs, so I'm not sure of their mating habits,but they are certainly a rare sight to see.

SKYWAY MEMORIES

Crossing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge from Manatee County to Pinellas County is always a visual thrill. The view of Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico , as well as the St. Petersburg Skyline, always delights me. It also brings back a flood of memories that happened over my lifetime.

 I  once made a trip with three friends to Miami Beach for a weekend. Before that date, one had to cross the bay in a ferry boat, then pick up the Tamiami Trail on the other side. (so named because it went from Tampa to Miami.) While we were cavorting on Miami Beach and flirting with sailors from the Key West Naval Base, the newly constructed Sunshine Skyway bridge opened. It was Labor Day, 1954 and everyone in St. Pete decided to drive over to Sarasota and vice versa. There were no breakdown lanes then, so every other car in the slow moving lanes was overheated and stalled. On our return trip, we were determined to join the sightseers  and  therefore lengthened our trip by hours! But the view from the top of the bridge was worth it!

In May of 1980, I was visiting a sick aunt in St. Pete, staying overnight in Bradenton. As we crossed the bridge the night of May 8th, the rain was coming down and the wind was blowing fiercely. The children were a little spooked and it didn't help that my husband kept teasing them saying, "Oh, my, I can't control the steering wheel!"  Needless to say, we made it.

Next morning, our relatives woke us to say that a large ship had hit one of the bridge piers and that the southbound lane had  broken , sending many to their deaths.

It was with a quiet sense of our good fortune that we left early and traveled over the mainland to St. Pete on that day.    You can find  a wealth of information and good photos by simply googling "Sunshine Skyway crash" , but one video is worth watching for some chilling photographs.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjBGLxMdP4

MONSTERS: BIG: REDUX

I live in Florida, on a small lake interconnected with several small ponds and golf courses by underground pipes and/or bridges. We are near a large  county park, so alligators migrate into our area frequently. This lovely guy sits on the bank across from my lanai to sun himself. I estimate his length at nine feet.

You can't blame these creatures for moving around in what was once their own territory.However, it can be unnerving to see this guy swimming around when you are out washing windows.

Normally, 'gators don't act aggressive toward adults. However, they are dumb creatures and are always looking for a good meal. I f your arm or leg is hanging in the water, all he sees is lunch.Children and pets are frequent targets of alligator and I keep my doors tightly closed and locked when the grandchildren visit.

I have asked that he be removed. I am told that there is no provision for removing and relocating alligators.  They are NOT on the endangered list and the parks department doesn't have a budget or the manpower for removing them.  When one is considered threatening, he can be captured but ti is his death sentence. A trapper is brought in who captures him and then

kills him to sell his meat, skin , and skull.

I was told by local authorities that they are considered harmless (yeah , right!) if they are under ten feet and run when they see you coming.

So, I guess we are stuck with Albert until he goes looking for a mate, and , hopefully moves along to a more primitive location.

(this post is a repeat of one I inadvertently deleted last week! photo by Evvy Peck

HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS

Attending a high school reunion can be traumatic. Attending high school can be traumatic.

I guess your expectations of a reunion are based on whether your high school experience was good or bad , and what memories you retain. If you were spurned by your favorite "crush", you may dread seeing him again. 

I grew up in Beckley,West Virginia where I attended Woodrow Wilson High School. I knew everyone and  had my own secure spot in the local pecking order. When I was 16, my parents moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where the high school senior class had almost 600 members.

I was the proverbial little fish in a very big pond. I did not make many friends that year and 

never dreamed that some of them would be my friends much later in life.

I subsequently went to St. Petersburg Junior College, then known as "JC" where I made lifelong friends. Most of them had graduated  from SPHS. The two years I spent there were fabulous , in terms of a good  education and also in the sense that I made many friends who are , 55 years later , still very close to me.

My blog is called "gracefulaging" and some of the 100 people who attended our recent reunion exemplify what I mean by that. Oh, some of them are not so graceful in a physical sense. 

But in the definition of grace that means "an attractively polite manner of behaving, or courteous goodwill", that was evident in abundance.

Gone were the days of comparison of beauty, talent, athletic skill. The beauty queens have aged, some not so well as others, and the athletes often have osteoporosis, or other such ailments.

(However, a fair number were still able to kick up their heels and jitterbug!)

So it seems that aging is a great leveler. Hopefully, we have all learned respect and compassion and are more accepting of people and who they have become.

It was flattering to hear people say, "You haven't changed!" and fun to hear them say, "You always made us laugh!".  But it  was also oddly  comforting to reflect on the ride home that 

this was time well spent.  Time spent in the company of old friends is rare and precious.

COMING SOON: MONSTERS:SMALL

After writing MONSTERS:BIG , it was my intent to follow up with MONSTERS:SMALL . You'll see one of them here. I am trying very hard to get one to open up and talk to me. (A task I did NOT try with the alligator!)  

Every day, as I walk down my front sidewalk, little lizards like this one scurry across the sidewalk in the dozens. They are all over the wall. I have gone out and tried to talk them into conversing with me but only get a little enlargement of the eye and a repetitive bobbing of the head. I'm not sure how to interpret it.

  A few days ago , I did manage to get one to throw out flare at me, but just for a second.

I continue to woo them and hope for a real video  next week when I post the authentic

MONSTERS:BIG

  At that time, I will tell you northerners out there what it is like to live among these wee creatures. I will also tell you about their "flares' and venture an opinion of why they do it.

It would seem to be a sexual attraction thing, but they have done it for me when no other lizard was nearby. Can I be that attractive? We shall see.