At the Front Lines of the Revolution...

    in the Classroom...   

Chapter 1

     When I came home from school the other day, I told my husband of 25 years that I had the best day ever in my 26 years of teaching.  Here's why-  this is kind of like a confession...

     My seniors are finishing A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and even though, as a teacher, I know and understand what makes it a classic, sometimes I struggle to convey that information to those smart, beautiful people surrounding me each day...  I always want the curricular activities I use to be authentic and rigorous at the same time, but every now and then the forces of the universe converge to give me, and those students, something greater than I ever could have planned.  God is like that, ya know...     

Chapter 2

         Anyway, I became aware (ahem) of a Facebook page entitled "Cedar Catholic Confessions."  I read it and felt sick at what I saw.  I was assured by our Principal that he and our President were already aware of it and had asked Facebook to take it down.  They were waiting to hear.  As our President, Father Loseke had written in that week's bulletin, "... Due to the anonymous nature of the sites, anyone, whether or not they have any connection to the school, can submit a post and say anything, true or false, he or she may want. Because of this, some of our students at Cedar Catholic were mentioned by name and were subjected to sexually harassing comments. Other individuals had posted raunchy and explicit comments" (http://www.holytrinityhartington.com/bulletin11-10-13.pdf).  

Chapter 3

     It was disturbing.  I didn't want to interfere [yeah, right ;) ] with the investigation, so I made several obtuse and veiled "observations and comments" to my students warning them not to have anything to do with inappropriate or even scandalous affiliations that might be out there, especially during this time of year.  Advent, you say?  True, I say, but I was thinking National-Honor-Society-recommendations-time, actually.  "Think about the short and long term consequences for your actions and what messages you send out into the world on social media, for example," I offered.    In my mind I accused, "Heads WILL roll, baby!"   (Cue in Madame DeFarge knitting because I was already losing my head over this situation...)  Luckily, the Lord had BETTER plans.

Chapter 4

     (Forgive me, Father (Loseke), for taking literary license with what happened next for dramatic effect and literary emphasis.  I confess it now to you and to any reader, but, it is essential to understand and feel, the power and poise with which you spoke.)  

     When Father walked in front of the altar on Friday morning, no one said a word.  Some students exchanged glances with eyes pulsing for exaggerated effect.  Everyone just knew that a storm was brewing, but none of us knew exactly what this tempest might look like.  I expected anger and ranting because of the shock I felt after reading those "confessions."  Instead the battle cry built over the next several minutes while Father spoke and crescendoed toward revolution.  Much like his bulletin plea, he explained"  ...we at Cedar Catholic petitioned Facebook to take down the demeaning site, but they refused our request due to the protection of free speech rights in America and their own polices at Facebook.  Nevertheless, we decided that we would not allow our students and our school to be maligned or harassed any longer. Originally, keeping in mind our Safe Environment policies, we cautioned people to avoid the page because of the sexually explicit nature of some of the posts.  However, we decided to try to beat the creator of these sites at his or her own game through our own right to free speech. On Friday, I asked anyone and everyone with a Facebook account who is a student, parent, alumnus, or friend of Cedar Catholic to visit the Cedar Catholic Confessions page during the noon hour, to 'like' it, and to post at least five positive, upbuilding, and complimentary comments about Cedar Catholic. Our goal: to flood their wall with so many good and positive messages all at once about Cedar Catholic that anything wicked would be buried under the sheer amount of goodness...As you do, please do not submit anything negative about the site or the site's administrator. We want to keep it totally and completely good.  
     (Pastor’s Note: I am writing this article Friday morning... so I hope that by the time you read this bulletin article, we will already see the effect of our social media revolution to take back our good names.)  As Christians, we firmly believe that evil, which lurks in the shadows and in the darkness, cannot survive when it is dragged out into the light... We can never forget that we are the light of the world. In the name of Christ, we must let His light where it is absent! This past week’s experience taught us that sometimes one cannot fight evil and wickedness with power. Rather, we are reminded that sin and evil are always defeated by goodness, love, respect, and virtue. Thanks to all who helped, and who will continue to help, keep our kids and our schools safe from evil" (http://www.holytrinityhartington.com/bulletin11-10-13.pdf).  THIS WAS WAR! or was it?

Chapter 5     

     I chastised my lame self the entire way back into the classroom for, after reading and "absorbing" the themes from A Tale of Two Cities a dozen times or more, I had never apparently synthesized them into my being.  After going all "Madame DeFarge" before Mass, I returned to my classroom, a more humble, contrite revolutionary.  Nevertheless, I marched to the front of the classroom , fired up the laptop and blasted the Beatles', "Revolution" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH9zG28GQEg).  My seniors and I discussed the nature of revolutions as depicted in the song, in the book and in our lives that morning in Hartington, Nebraska.  Synchronicity.  In my mind's soundtrack, it was actually the music from "Do You Hear the People Sing?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTLwzuQuRsw) from Les Miserables that pounded in my brain as we made our way to the computer lab.  

Chapter 6

     There was a light evanescent air in the computer lab as students excitedly shared and volleyed ideas around for their part in this war of words.  They logged onto Facebook (eek) and read the other comments by the parents, students and alumni as I heard them laugh and say, "I know... I love that about our school!"  The room was abuzz with everything that we LOVED about our school, and they searched their hearts for ways to say it best.  They were PROUD to defend HER.  There were PROUD to defend US.  The students, members of the Cedar Catholic family, didn't even ignore the most obvious irritations that affect us, or any member of a family, on a daily basis.  They took on those bullets too.  Maybe this is what confession should really be.  Acknowledging, in great love and light, the good and the bad that comprise us all.  When the "administrators" of the Confessions' page broke in and editorialized saying something to the effect that they didn't mind the positive, but that the posted comments couldn't be DULL, I knew that LOVE had overpowered the darkness.  Light wins.  

 Epilogue

     By 2:30 that afternoon, the Cedar Catholic Confessions' page was down.  Objective met..lesson learned... case closed.  Peace achieved...Thy kingdom come. 

Corn Husking Practice

The "Girls" cheer Paul on!

Check out the website for more info http://www.cornhusking.com/

Captain Hook himself, Paul Korth

Action shot

My lame attempt

The "Girls" wondering what on Earth I could be doing...

The Corn Husking Couple, Paul and Shirley Korth

That's allotta corn!

The Emmy Awards in Los Angeles...

Okay, Okay, I am not at the Emmy Awards.  I'll be at school tomorrow, but I am living vicariously through my sister who is at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles tonight!  Read all about these golden statues... http://www.emmys.tv/awards/history-emmy-statuette

Heaven- Caught up in Thought

Brittney before she popped the question...

 Our Angel Chelsea...

  

What's a Godmother For?

     This summer our Goddaughter Brittney came up to the cabin, and one evening after dinner, in the midst of a ferocious card game of war, she asked me, "What's a Godmother for?"          

     Although in hindsight I am sure it was some sort of tactic to throw me off my game just in the midst of a stunning comeback, I replied in an equally stunning cerebral way, "What do you mean?"  She went on to explain that one of her friends told her that if anything ever happened to her mom and dad, she would probably end up living with her Godparents.  THAT's what Godparents are for, she proclaimed!  I assured Brittney that could and would always be a possibility, but I really felt my job as her Godmother was to inspire her soul and point her toward the love of God.  I have always wanted to support her parents in nurturing her Faith.  Some Godmother of the Soul, I am, eh?

my incredible Godmother, Aunt Marie

     Well, since then, I have thought about this a great deal.  I have thought about my own Godparents and how they have served as an inspiration to me through the years, and how I want to truly serve my Godchildren, these seven incredible people I have been entrusted to light and love.  I've never exactly known how best to do this.  After all, where is the elusive Godparents' Guide to the Galaxy?  Sometimes I feel like I fail especially when I live so far away from them for most of the year.  This insight comes especially hard during this week when we remember in a special way Brittney's twin sister, our Goddaughter Chelsea who died from SIDS in 2001.  I know that she is in Heaven, and my goal is that someday, we'll all join her.  Even in this, Chelsea is the one to lead me toward peace, love, joy and understanding because I get that from her spirit each and every day.  These are the characteristics I most want to epitomize as a Godmother, mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, teacher and neighbor.  Of all of the things that I have ever questioned in my life, and trust me there have been many, my Faith in God has always been my one constant.  But how do I measure up in conveying this to those around me and especially my sacred seven?

     A couple of years ago, just after we moved to Nebraska, I read an article in a magazine that inspired me to send out a survey/evaluation tool to my Godchildren to see if I was measuring up.  I got some really interesting responses, but with the Grace of God, it might be time to send it out again and update the data.  Anyway, here's what the letter looked like...

Dear Child of God/Godchild of mine,

"Being the best Godmother to you is the most important thing in the world to me.  Please answer the following survey questions in order to assist me in doing my job better.  I want you to know that I am very proud to be your Godmother.  Thank you for taking the time to respond.  You may return this to me anytime." 

1.  Name something that we have done in the past together that you have really enjoyed and you want to do again.

Brian...

2.  What is one thing you have wanted to do with me but never have?

Conor

 3.  What one thing have you wanted me to teach or tell you that I never have?

Emily

 4.  What one thing is really on your mind that you want me to know?

Tarah!

Sean

5.  How am I measuring up?

Love, 

Auntie PJ

Wausa...Color Run!

The Rising Phoenixes

cough, cough...gag!

Nebraska...The Good Life

In the beginning...

It's harder than it looks...

so I wasn't in the wagon this year...

I was okay with that.

He was so high up...

Three generations

This shot is too beautiful to be real

Grandpa Huwaldt and his boys

Nebraska Gothic... Oops, I am on the wrong side!

I will never look at my oatmeal at breakfast the same

God is good... All the time!

My weak arms were throbbing here.  Mr. Huwaldt wasn't even breaking a sweat!

Hitching it right for the ride to Pierce...

Next stop the Pierce Threshing Bee!

"Hey, Is this Heaven?" "No, it's Nebraska."

 

 

Bringing in the ...Oats!

      Each year, it seems that we return to Nebraska a little bit later in the summer.  The last couple of years, I have returned too late to participate in the annual tradition of bringing in the oats in order to prepare for the Pierce Threshing Bee.  But not this year.  No, Siree, Bob... The loading of the oat shocks was Tuesday night, but Tuesday was hot.  Darn hot,.  It was so darn hot, I wasn't sure what to expect.  In all honesty, I guess I should have expected what I have come to experience each August when we cross from Iowa into Nebraska and see the "Nebraska-  The Good Life" sign.  I feel a tremendous sense of peace, relief that our odyssey has come to an end for another year and a quiet kind of joy.  This peacefulness comes over me after I pass through Sioux City and head west on Highway 20.  People wave from passing cars as all of those old familiar sights and smells wash over me...  I look for the county 13 and 40 plates.  Nebraska is like "Cheers" in that way... it seems like everyone knows your name, story and vehicle.  Anyway, I felt that peacefulness last night lobbing those bundles.  There was a gentle breeze blowing, and the sky went on forever.  All the generations came and worked together sharing drinks, expertise, pitchforks, opinions and lots of laughter.  The sky and its setting sun cast a rainbow of light on the cool warmth of community.

       I wish I had a picture riding back to the parsonage with Mr. Huwaldt down those country gravel roads last night as he was telling me stories of what farming had been like through the years.  Although I didn't get in the wagons last night, I felt like I was on top of the world all the way home. Do you remember that part in Field of Dreams when Shoeless Joe Jackson was asking Ray where he was playing on that baseball field?  Shoeless Joe called out, "Hey, Is this Heaven?"

     Ray replied, "No, it's Iowa."  I don't know about you, but last night in the Gubbels' field west (?) of Coleridge, Nebraska did feel a little like Heaven.

  

  

Inside the Grafton County Jail

Spider webs can be hard to see, but they illustrate intricate relationships...

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy" (J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye from Chapter 22).

                During the summer, in addition to lots of spiders, snakes and other assorted wildlife at Miles Pond, I get the opportunity to hang out with some really cool people.  One such group of people is my chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  The DAR, no stranger to justice issues, embraces its mission in today’s world by being “dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children.”  It sounds almost cliché, but it is not as I have seen this mission brought to life by the members of The St. John de Crevecoeur Chapter.   One such inspirational illustration is our Vice Regent, Linda Clark.  Linda volunteers her time at the Grafton County Jail to assist residents in getting their GED (General Education Development) Diplomas by preparing for and taking a series of tests.  Linda became involved in the program through her church, but was able to able to arrange for our DAR Chapter to take a tour of the new Grafton County Jail in North Haverhill, New Hampshire on July 17th.  In hindsight, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what I learned, and more importantly felt will stay with me forever. 

                On the morning of the jail tour, I greeted the pond during my morning walk.  I found a spider web outside of our cabin, and it captivated me.  I was mesmerized when I saw how the web showed the myriad of relationships among many different segments.   I saw one spider racing across the surface while other critters were stuck, unable to recover from that one, false and damning step.  If the sun had not glistened against the threads just so, I too would have been captured in its silky, yet invisibly sticky lines.  This image stayed with me the entire day as I began the tour and listened to Lieutenant Kendall discuss not only how this new jail offered more modern facilities, but how the new jail complex represented the philosophical changes in criminal justice systems as well.  Lieutenant Kendall discussed programs, like Linda’s church ministry and GED programs, that are offered in order to rehabilitate prisoners so that they can serve their time and upon release, live productive lives.  Novels like Catcher in the Rye and Les Miserables were the first to pop into my head.  If only these prisoners in the Grafton County Jail could have been “caught” before they fell off that first cliff, spiraling into their behavior and crimes that led them here.  If only they all had saviors like Bishop Myriel was to Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.   Not only did the Bishop’s intervention offer Valjean redemption, but Valjean’s redemption in turn led to salvation for others…many others.  He, like Salinger’s protagonist Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, caught them all, and I have a deep sense of gratitude, appreciation and profound respect in my heart for all of the employees and volunteers who serve these people each and every day, offering them an opportunity for redemption and salvation.   

                I could tell you that the world we live in can be a very dangerous place, but the news reminds us of this every day.  Sometimes it makes us feel like we might want to lock ourselves away in our own homes and never come out again.  After all, each one of us has been affected in one way or another by people who break the law, and perhaps we have even felt a self-righteous surge of pleasure when “justice” was served in one form or another.  I know that I have.  What I can’t illustrate in this blog is the heartbreaking feeling deep in my soul as I heard about prison programs for pregnant women or read their poems, saw their collages.  What I can’t explain is the scary feeling in my stomach when all of the DAR ladies crowded, and then were locked into, the transition chamber before entering the various blocks or pods of the prison.  Looking from the control room into their cells, into their eyes as we looked at them and they watched us haunts me still.  I wanted to reach out and save them all, but how do I help?  Having been a mom, teacher, boy scout volunteer, prayer warrior and youth group sponsor for the past 26 years, I do try to proactively support parents in helping students to become productive citizens who know (and do) right from wrong.  But now, with this new experience from touring the Grafton County Jail, I want to integrate and thread this knowledge into what I already do to save them all.  I have this heavy feeling that my salvation may depend on it…

                We are all intricately, even though sometimes invisibly, connected, so “that's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."

Welcome to the Grafton County Jail!

Philosophical changes in criminal justice have changed the way jails look.