I had asked my high school English Lit teacher to sign my yearbook as a departing gift. Mrs. Rinaldi was kind enough to oblige me and wrote these exact words. "Best of luck in your future endeavors and please stay as far away as you can from English lit". While not literature, I have gone on to write three screenplays, a radio show and recently published a book. Transformation is enlightening and good for the soul. Keep writing.
I had a challenged relationship with high school, but I loved English. I also loved my senior English literature teacher. I went on to write one novel and many other less significant pieces. That teacher is now gone. I wish that I had taken the time to tell her how much she meant to me.
I was blessed to have strong English teachers all through junior high school and high school. I've always loved to read and write. I'm a trial lawyer, so I get to serve as writer, editor, and publisher, in a way, of my works and of attorney who work for me. I've kept a blog about my sons, family, and life for 17 + years, which satisfies my itch to write.
I love Garrison and love this community. Often times, like now, the comments are as thoughtful and interesting as his posts.
Your writings, and my morning coffee, get me started in the right direction! As a college student, I was obliged to take a Lit class…I was a biology major…the poetry parts never thrilled me, unless they were the rhyming kind. Limericks are still my favorite ❤️
I was thinking about going to see your show while you are in my neck of the woods, but, as a Catholic, I could not let myself have an evening of levity during Easter Triduum, when I should be at mass.
Thank you for sharing your humanity Garrison. It gives me hope and I also it helps me to strive to be a better person. I try to take your kindness and pay it forward to others.
I am sorry to hear about golf. Since I am a forester, I like to play golf with what some folks call hickories. Every third or fourth shot goes well and it is fun watching it fly. I am glad they do not go far as I would lose sight of it and probably not be able to find it. But the best part of golf, is sharing the time with dear friends and talking honestly with no concern of offending anyone. So these conversations while golfing are like soul food to me. Plus the scenery is pretty, especially at the Audubon golf course in New Orleans.
And I admire your hope that our president might pick up some sort of humanity. But I think we all know that will never happen. That man is clearly who he appears to be. Which actually makes him very predictable. Which is the major reason he does not rattle my cage.....very often.
Your voice as well as your writing are such gifts! I miss hearing you recite poems on NPR. They came alive in a way simply reading them myself could never accomplish.
Since Easter is a reminder of miracles, perhaps Trump could see the light, but I rather doubt it. Of course, hope can spring eternal!
While the book of Exodus is Old Testament, the 10 Commandments came about as a result of God’s anger with the worship of a Golden Calf.
The metaphor is not lost on me regarding evangelicals and their obsession with the golden hair man, who loves all things guilded, but most especially himself.
And you may have noticed that he has "redecorated" White House spaces that were once traditionally decorated in subdued, dignified displays of paintings with American landscapes or notable American historical events or busts of revered Americans, historical artifacts and such. Now it is all gold stuff - or fake gold stuff - urns and vases all lined up on the mantle piece, some kind of inappropriate "gold" large swirl across the fireplace front, gold chairs, gold drapes, gold or "gold" everywhere. Next up: a gold throne with his name in big "gold" letters, likely prefaced with the word "King." Whether it's a throne of the monarchical type (ARE there thrones designed for delusions of grandeur?) or of the sanitary waste variety, no matter; it's all the same to him. As former Republican operator Rick Wilson so aptly says, "Everything Trump Touches Dies" and we are pathetic witnesses to his carnage in his version of "the gilded age." It was never gilded or nice for the "ungilded" and, in any case, all that glitters is not gold.
The Sanctified Brethren aren't unique to the smile challenged club. Finland has been leading the happiest country challenge for a while, yet they are hard pressed to break into full-on smile. I'm near your age and from a Finnish clan. We are, for the most part, a happy lot, but we require a few shots of spirits to get rowdy and smile. You bring smiles to the faces of others; that's enough. As for the car huckster and the current occupant, if they crack a smile, you know it's because they are causing others pain. Blessed Easter, my friend.
This is without a doubt one of the best meditations on Maudy Thursday I have ever heard, and as an Episcopal priest, I've heard a lot of them. This reflection on the Maundatum - unintended as it was (or, was it?) - is absolutely pitch perfect.
I try to keep a slight smirk on my face as often as possible in an attempt to counter the effects of gravity on it. It also helps to make me look more cheerful when I am out in public.
One of the happiest days of my life was during the orientation week in college when I placed out of Freshman English, after never having gotten above a B in it in high school. (Many of my classmates were children of Harvard and MIT professors or administrators, so the competition was tough. My parents barely made it through high school and I was the first in my family to go to college.) We had to have above 650 on the English Achievement Test and to pass a written exam.
The English placement exam consisted of a writing sample and lots of multiple choice questions about grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literature. I had taken 4 years of Latin in high school and have always been a good speller, so the spelling and grammar questions weren’t a problem. I had more difficulty with literature, but fortunately I was a voracious reader and had read most of the books that were referred to in the test.
The essay was on the subject, “It’s not a good idea to be too open minded because there is a danger that your brain might fall out.” I thought that it was a stupid topic and don’t remember what I wrote, but it must at least have been coherent and grammatically correct. My roommate, who was valedictorian of her high school class, had to take Freshman English and always seemed to be typing papers for it. Of course I never said anything, but I had wonderful feelings of relief every time I heard the clicking of her typewriter.
After reading DBB, I so needed this... Balance.... https://open.substack.com/pub/dianabutlerbass/p/good-friday-now?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3ga4j
Happy Easter, Garrison!
We’re all grateful that you turned out the way you did, a national treasure.
I had asked my high school English Lit teacher to sign my yearbook as a departing gift. Mrs. Rinaldi was kind enough to oblige me and wrote these exact words. "Best of luck in your future endeavors and please stay as far away as you can from English lit". While not literature, I have gone on to write three screenplays, a radio show and recently published a book. Transformation is enlightening and good for the soul. Keep writing.
I had a challenged relationship with high school, but I loved English. I also loved my senior English literature teacher. I went on to write one novel and many other less significant pieces. That teacher is now gone. I wish that I had taken the time to tell her how much she meant to me.
I was blessed to have strong English teachers all through junior high school and high school. I've always loved to read and write. I'm a trial lawyer, so I get to serve as writer, editor, and publisher, in a way, of my works and of attorney who work for me. I've kept a blog about my sons, family, and life for 17 + years, which satisfies my itch to write.
I love Garrison and love this community. Often times, like now, the comments are as thoughtful and interesting as his posts.
Happy Easter.
Your writings, and my morning coffee, get me started in the right direction! As a college student, I was obliged to take a Lit class…I was a biology major…the poetry parts never thrilled me, unless they were the rhyming kind. Limericks are still my favorite ❤️
If only our president would read a poem every day and get a dog.
But I would not wish that on a dog.
"They're eating the dogs! They're eating the cats!"
I was thinking about going to see your show while you are in my neck of the woods, but, as a Catholic, I could not let myself have an evening of levity during Easter Triduum, when I should be at mass.
Sure you can!
Thank you for sharing your humanity Garrison. It gives me hope and I also it helps me to strive to be a better person. I try to take your kindness and pay it forward to others.
I am sorry to hear about golf. Since I am a forester, I like to play golf with what some folks call hickories. Every third or fourth shot goes well and it is fun watching it fly. I am glad they do not go far as I would lose sight of it and probably not be able to find it. But the best part of golf, is sharing the time with dear friends and talking honestly with no concern of offending anyone. So these conversations while golfing are like soul food to me. Plus the scenery is pretty, especially at the Audubon golf course in New Orleans.
And I admire your hope that our president might pick up some sort of humanity. But I think we all know that will never happen. That man is clearly who he appears to be. Which actually makes him very predictable. Which is the major reason he does not rattle my cage.....very often.
He is doing a lot that should rattle your cage, daily.
Your voice as well as your writing are such gifts! I miss hearing you recite poems on NPR. They came alive in a way simply reading them myself could never accomplish.
Since Easter is a reminder of miracles, perhaps Trump could see the light, but I rather doubt it. Of course, hope can spring eternal!
Although, contemplating whether Donald Trump could find Jesus, I believe that ship has sailed!
The closest he could ever get would be to compare himself to Jesus, and favorably.
While the book of Exodus is Old Testament, the 10 Commandments came about as a result of God’s anger with the worship of a Golden Calf.
The metaphor is not lost on me regarding evangelicals and their obsession with the golden hair man, who loves all things guilded, but most especially himself.
And you may have noticed that he has "redecorated" White House spaces that were once traditionally decorated in subdued, dignified displays of paintings with American landscapes or notable American historical events or busts of revered Americans, historical artifacts and such. Now it is all gold stuff - or fake gold stuff - urns and vases all lined up on the mantle piece, some kind of inappropriate "gold" large swirl across the fireplace front, gold chairs, gold drapes, gold or "gold" everywhere. Next up: a gold throne with his name in big "gold" letters, likely prefaced with the word "King." Whether it's a throne of the monarchical type (ARE there thrones designed for delusions of grandeur?) or of the sanitary waste variety, no matter; it's all the same to him. As former Republican operator Rick Wilson so aptly says, "Everything Trump Touches Dies" and we are pathetic witnesses to his carnage in his version of "the gilded age." It was never gilded or nice for the "ungilded" and, in any case, all that glitters is not gold.
The Sanctified Brethren aren't unique to the smile challenged club. Finland has been leading the happiest country challenge for a while, yet they are hard pressed to break into full-on smile. I'm near your age and from a Finnish clan. We are, for the most part, a happy lot, but we require a few shots of spirits to get rowdy and smile. You bring smiles to the faces of others; that's enough. As for the car huckster and the current occupant, if they crack a smile, you know it's because they are causing others pain. Blessed Easter, my friend.
Amen man!
This old Mac guy and friend of Bob Douglas thanks you for the daily joy you bring us. When I’m almost 83 I hope to be as cool as you seem to be.
Bravo GK!
I had a high school English teacher who thought my writings were the stuff of genius.
To prove him right, I did not pursue a career as a writer.
This is without a doubt one of the best meditations on Maudy Thursday I have ever heard, and as an Episcopal priest, I've heard a lot of them. This reflection on the Maundatum - unintended as it was (or, was it?) - is absolutely pitch perfect.
I try to keep a slight smirk on my face as often as possible in an attempt to counter the effects of gravity on it. It also helps to make me look more cheerful when I am out in public.
One of the happiest days of my life was during the orientation week in college when I placed out of Freshman English, after never having gotten above a B in it in high school. (Many of my classmates were children of Harvard and MIT professors or administrators, so the competition was tough. My parents barely made it through high school and I was the first in my family to go to college.) We had to have above 650 on the English Achievement Test and to pass a written exam.
The English placement exam consisted of a writing sample and lots of multiple choice questions about grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literature. I had taken 4 years of Latin in high school and have always been a good speller, so the spelling and grammar questions weren’t a problem. I had more difficulty with literature, but fortunately I was a voracious reader and had read most of the books that were referred to in the test.
The essay was on the subject, “It’s not a good idea to be too open minded because there is a danger that your brain might fall out.” I thought that it was a stupid topic and don’t remember what I wrote, but it must at least have been coherent and grammatically correct. My roommate, who was valedictorian of her high school class, had to take Freshman English and always seemed to be typing papers for it. Of course I never said anything, but I had wonderful feelings of relief every time I heard the clicking of her typewriter.
Bene Factum! (Which I believe may be ‘Well done!’ in Latin.
My Dad's psychiatrist suggested he visit all churches! And we ended up Unitarians!