I needed a few days worth of reflection before I touched on this subject, as I had experienced a very strong emotional reaction to the power that words have over us. Now that I've had a little distance from the experience, I think that I can write this without crying.
Last Thursday was the final meeting time for the Eastern Michigan Writing Project in which I had participated for four weeks. The culminating classroom activity was a read through of the pieces we all placed in the course anthology. Each person read their piece, whether it was fiction, poetry, or a personal narrative. Four weeks previous to this read through, we were 19 people who were essentially strangers to each other. Sure, a couple of us were lucky enough to already know another person in class (me and Jason, Liz and Nick, Karla and Jessica), but the rest were completely unknown entities. We didn't know if the personalities in the room would click. We didn't know if someone was going to be ultra-sensitive about certain topics. We didn't know if someone was going to be a stick in the mud. Yet, as we completed our time together, each read his/her piece aloud, sometimes with quivering voices.
This is the power that language holds over us. As several of the participants stated, they had written, edited, and revised their pieces several times. When the time came to give a voice to our words, many were overcome by the emotions wrought by the events described. Why is that? What is it about the telling of an important life experience that evokes tears? I can look at and hold the outfit that Andrew was wearing the day I first held him and simply smile. But, as I sit here and write this (full-disclosure, I read aloud to myself as I write), I weep with joy at just the thought of the object.
I think, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, that writing pours all of our vulnerabilities out on the table for all to see. It is like cutting open a vein to see what essential drips out of us. That is scary. Who wants to let strangers in and view our weaknesses? This is the job of a writer, however. That has never been more patently clear to me than after the past four weeks. My job is to find that truth that courses through my body and emancipate it. I'm not sure that I am wholly ready to face those truths. They will forever alter my life's trajectory once I let them go. My writing will be incomplete until those truths are free. I guess I should let freedom ring.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
My Daily Log - EMPW July 20, 2010
I spent two hours last night playing with Windows Movie Maker in order to make the daily log for class. The purpose of the daily log is to visually record the previous day's activity. If I do this properly, you will be able to view it, with music just down below. I enjoyed using movie maker and I am now trying to think of ways to use it in my classroom, either in presenting material to students or having students use it to demonstrate their understanding of the material.
EMPW Daily Log - July 20 2010
You'll have to download it in order to watch it.
Enjoy!
EMPW Daily Log - July 20 2010
You'll have to download it in order to watch it.
Enjoy!
Research Proposal
The final piece I need to complete for my EMWP insitute is a brief proposal for research that I intend to to during the 2010-2011 school year. Of the myriad of areas I need to improve my teaching, I have grown most concerned with their reading comprehension due to poor vocabulary. I want to improve how I help my students learn new and relevant vocabulary.
Hamtramck High School is certainly one of the most unique places I have ever been. Sixty percent of the students speak English as a second language. The majority of all students receive free and reduced lunch. We know that numbers like this usually equate to lower literacy rates. Not only are students like mine less likely to read often, they are also more likely to have a substantially smaller vocabulary. This past school year, I found myself really struggling with ways to handle vocabulary instruction. This struggle was not a new one, by any means. I, however, think that I found more urgency in the matter because my school was facing the prospect of not achieving AYP for the seventh year in a row. In order for students to pass the state mandated tests, they had to become better readers. In order to become better readers, they need to expand their vocabulary. Additionally, I had the privilege of teaching AP Literature and Composition for the first time. The level of vocabulary needed by students to succeed in this class was significantly higher than any other class I have taught.
As the end of the school year approached, I scoured catalogs, hoping to find that magic vocabulary bullet that would help my students. Of course, the program would be simple to use and the students would feel inspired while working their way through the material. Each teacher was given 100 dollars to spend and that was not going to cover a complete set of vocabulary workbooks. Frustration set in and in June I didn't know what I was going to do. Thankfully, the EMPW reminded me that there is research that addressed many issues like vocabulary and that it doesn't take that much time to look into the trouble spots in my classroom.
As I began the research into vocabulary instruction, it was immediately clear that buying a "magic workbook" was not an effective means to improve student vocabulary. In Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock cite Nagy and Herman's (1987) alternative to word lists: more reading.
If students were to spend 25 minutes a day reading at a rate of 200 words per
minute for 200 days out of the year, they would read a million words of text
annually. According to our estimates, with this amount of reading, children
will encounter between 15,000 and 30,000 unfamiliar words. If one in 20 of
these words is learned, the yearly gain will be between 750 and 1,500 words (124).
This sounds like a reasonable goal for a teacher. I know that I cannot carve out 25 minutes for reading everyday in the class; it is possible, however, to make sure that more reading is assigned for homework. On the surface, this appears to mean more work to collect from students. Many of my students won't do homework for credit, I can see many of them not putting forth any effort on reading for reading's sake. Initially, written assignments for each reading assignment might be necessary.
Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock do not completely rule out the usefulness in directly teaching vocabulary. They present five ideas for teachers to remember when teaching vocabulary:
1. Students need to see a word in context more than one time in order to learn it.
2. Direct instruction about the word improves learning.
3. Associate new words with pictures
4. Word lists do work (note to self, find those catalogs).
5. Directly teach words as related to new content. (124-28)
To address all of these aspects, I will need to make some wholesale changes in my classroom.
I teach American Literature to tenth grade students. Many of the difficult vocabulary words that my students will encounter in short stories and poems are likely to be one-time encounters. I think that in order to help students process and learn those words, I will ask them to create pictures with those story related vocabulary. I will also preview the words before reading the story or poem, in order to directly teach new content words.
In her book Words, Words, Words Janet Allen cites Simmons and Kameenui who tell us that students need to use words frequently if they are going to remember them properly. That means that I will have to ensure that the words we study implicitly as vocabulary will have to be revisited through out the year. List of words will likely be posted around the room. When the opportunity arises in class discussions, the list can serve as prompts both for students and me. I hope that just having the words around and highly visible will encourage students to use new and more advanced words.
I believe that my students will also keep a readers notebook. One section will be dedicated to vocabulary. In this section, students will keep track of troublesome words. I haven't yet determined what will be done with those personal lists. It is likely that students will have to make pictures related to at least some of their words.
In order to gauge my students' growth, I believe that the students will take a vocabulary assessment during the first week of school. This will give me some baseline data and perhaps the first vocabulary list that will be implicitly taught. At the beginning of the second semester, students will take another assessment in order to monitor how much students have learned in the the first semester. Students will take a final vocabulary assessment during June, just before finals. I hope to find that my students will have shown measurable growth since September.
I am looking forward to implementing these changes in my class. Starting the research process has sparked my imagination and has given me a more optimistic outlook on the coming school year.
Resources Cited
Words, Words, Words, Allen, Janet. Stenhouse Publishers: Portland, Maine. 1999.
Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Robert J. et al. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Alexandria, Virginia. 2001.
Hamtramck High School is certainly one of the most unique places I have ever been. Sixty percent of the students speak English as a second language. The majority of all students receive free and reduced lunch. We know that numbers like this usually equate to lower literacy rates. Not only are students like mine less likely to read often, they are also more likely to have a substantially smaller vocabulary. This past school year, I found myself really struggling with ways to handle vocabulary instruction. This struggle was not a new one, by any means. I, however, think that I found more urgency in the matter because my school was facing the prospect of not achieving AYP for the seventh year in a row. In order for students to pass the state mandated tests, they had to become better readers. In order to become better readers, they need to expand their vocabulary. Additionally, I had the privilege of teaching AP Literature and Composition for the first time. The level of vocabulary needed by students to succeed in this class was significantly higher than any other class I have taught.
As the end of the school year approached, I scoured catalogs, hoping to find that magic vocabulary bullet that would help my students. Of course, the program would be simple to use and the students would feel inspired while working their way through the material. Each teacher was given 100 dollars to spend and that was not going to cover a complete set of vocabulary workbooks. Frustration set in and in June I didn't know what I was going to do. Thankfully, the EMPW reminded me that there is research that addressed many issues like vocabulary and that it doesn't take that much time to look into the trouble spots in my classroom.
As I began the research into vocabulary instruction, it was immediately clear that buying a "magic workbook" was not an effective means to improve student vocabulary. In Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock cite Nagy and Herman's (1987) alternative to word lists: more reading.
If students were to spend 25 minutes a day reading at a rate of 200 words per
minute for 200 days out of the year, they would read a million words of text
annually. According to our estimates, with this amount of reading, children
will encounter between 15,000 and 30,000 unfamiliar words. If one in 20 of
these words is learned, the yearly gain will be between 750 and 1,500 words (124).
This sounds like a reasonable goal for a teacher. I know that I cannot carve out 25 minutes for reading everyday in the class; it is possible, however, to make sure that more reading is assigned for homework. On the surface, this appears to mean more work to collect from students. Many of my students won't do homework for credit, I can see many of them not putting forth any effort on reading for reading's sake. Initially, written assignments for each reading assignment might be necessary.
Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock do not completely rule out the usefulness in directly teaching vocabulary. They present five ideas for teachers to remember when teaching vocabulary:
1. Students need to see a word in context more than one time in order to learn it.
2. Direct instruction about the word improves learning.
3. Associate new words with pictures
4. Word lists do work (note to self, find those catalogs).
5. Directly teach words as related to new content. (124-28)
To address all of these aspects, I will need to make some wholesale changes in my classroom.
I teach American Literature to tenth grade students. Many of the difficult vocabulary words that my students will encounter in short stories and poems are likely to be one-time encounters. I think that in order to help students process and learn those words, I will ask them to create pictures with those story related vocabulary. I will also preview the words before reading the story or poem, in order to directly teach new content words.
In her book Words, Words, Words Janet Allen cites Simmons and Kameenui who tell us that students need to use words frequently if they are going to remember them properly. That means that I will have to ensure that the words we study implicitly as vocabulary will have to be revisited through out the year. List of words will likely be posted around the room. When the opportunity arises in class discussions, the list can serve as prompts both for students and me. I hope that just having the words around and highly visible will encourage students to use new and more advanced words.
I believe that my students will also keep a readers notebook. One section will be dedicated to vocabulary. In this section, students will keep track of troublesome words. I haven't yet determined what will be done with those personal lists. It is likely that students will have to make pictures related to at least some of their words.
In order to gauge my students' growth, I believe that the students will take a vocabulary assessment during the first week of school. This will give me some baseline data and perhaps the first vocabulary list that will be implicitly taught. At the beginning of the second semester, students will take another assessment in order to monitor how much students have learned in the the first semester. Students will take a final vocabulary assessment during June, just before finals. I hope to find that my students will have shown measurable growth since September.
I am looking forward to implementing these changes in my class. Starting the research process has sparked my imagination and has given me a more optimistic outlook on the coming school year.
Resources Cited
Words, Words, Words, Allen, Janet. Stenhouse Publishers: Portland, Maine. 1999.
Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Robert J. et al. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Alexandria, Virginia. 2001.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Two links for EMPW 2010
The following two links are required for my final EMPW portfolio.
This first link is for the Demonstration Lesson I did on Tuesday, July 13.
Demonstration Lesson
The second is the poem I posted on the Open Mic section of the NWP website. I've edited it to reflect the perfectly valid point made in the response.
A Lasting Legacy
This first link is for the Demonstration Lesson I did on Tuesday, July 13.
Demonstration Lesson
The second is the poem I posted on the Open Mic section of the NWP website. I've edited it to reflect the perfectly valid point made in the response.
A Lasting Legacy
Friday, July 16, 2010
Final Reflective Essay - EMWP 2010
* A note to all four (?) of my regular readers (hi Tahrima, Chuck, Val, and Laura) over the next five days, I will be posting assignments related to the Writing Project at Eastern Michigan. Don't hesitate to read through my thoughts and feel free to comment, the more the merrier.
As has often been the been the case in my life, I entered the experience at EMWP with a copious amount of self-doubt. It had been nine years since I had last sat in a classroom as a student. In the ensuing years, I became a mom and felt my ability to multi-task had weakened. I also began to struggle in the classroom. I felt disengaged and distant from both my students and the material. Everything that was new was old. The daily grind of students screaming and fighting in the halls, the million and one excuses for why assignments weren't complete. Down deep, I knew that I was part of the problem, but felt helpless to repair the damage. This struggle led me to feel that I had nothing valuable to share as a demonstration lesson. Truth be told, I feared that I had never had a successful writing lesson in the 15 years I had been teaching. As the institute enters into a last few days, I can now say that, given a choice, I would not have spent these last four weeks in any other way or with any other people.
The greatest fear I had coming into the institute was the demonstration lesson. I work at a school that had now not made AYP in seven years. Despite my best efforts, I have internalized the message that I work in a failing school. If the school is failing, it stands to reason that the teachers are to blame. What teacher doesn't take it a little personally if a majority of students fail a quiz? If I am a failing teacher at a failing school, I told myself that I had no lessons of which to be proud. I must interview well, because I received an e-mail congratulating me. It was now incumbent to find a topic for the demonstration lesson. A 75-minute demonstration lesson. I finally decided on the children's book project that my creative writing class did. I hadn't felt particularly proud of this lesson, but it did encompass many aspects of both writing and reading. Doing the research for my demonstration bolstered my spirits as I found that I had actually incorporated a few research-solid elements in the project. I was pleased that my students were writing for an authentic audience. I was pleased that the study of the mentor texts was appropriate when asking students to write in an unfamiliar genre. What especially pleased me was the importance of older students mentoring younger students. The things I happen to do right are enough to push me to fix the rest of the project and resurrect it next year.
Along with a new and improved children's book project, I hope to focus on two wholesale changes in my class next year. I want implement to two or three days of writer's workshop, using writer's notebook. From all that I have read so far, I truly feel that this is a technique that will work with my students, It will provide them a safe atmosphere in which to work on their writing, while also allowing me to take home fewer papers, because I will conference with them (and they will conference with each other) in class. If we did not have the time to do research during the institute, I would not feel confident enough to try this new (to me) technique. I am also hoping to improve my method of delivering vocabulary instruction. My students are largely non-native English speakers who struggle with both reading and writing assignments due to their limited vocabulary. I am not as far into the research with this aspect, but I already know that some form of personal dictionary will be on the agenda for my students.
The final aspect of the institute involves the teacher was writer. Beyond all the professional assistance I have gained from the program, the most gratifying personally has been the time devoted to writing. For the past year, I have been composing my "highly anticipated debut novel." All along the way, I have fought that self-doubt that constantly gnaws at my ankles, impeding my progress. I never truly believed that anyone would be interested in my story. During the institute, I frequently shared new installments of the novel, usually to enthusiastic ears. I have received gentle, yet critical feedback on lapses in cohesion or flow. I have completed three chapters since the writing marathon - a remarkable pace for me. I have gained the courage to say that "yes, I will look for an agent and send out the manuscript. This book is viable." For that, I am forever grateful.
I am certain that I will take more away from than institute that I will leave. My teaching was in a terrible rut, the edge of which I now scale. I have worked diligently and confidently on a life-long dream, the novel. I hope that others have enjoyed the moments of levity I have offered. I hope that others will seek ways to incorporate cross-grade cooperation. I hope that, somewhere along the way, someone will buy my completed novel. Most importantly, I hope to keep my fellow members of the EMWP 2010 in my life as all of them have offered valuable lessons.
As has often been the been the case in my life, I entered the experience at EMWP with a copious amount of self-doubt. It had been nine years since I had last sat in a classroom as a student. In the ensuing years, I became a mom and felt my ability to multi-task had weakened. I also began to struggle in the classroom. I felt disengaged and distant from both my students and the material. Everything that was new was old. The daily grind of students screaming and fighting in the halls, the million and one excuses for why assignments weren't complete. Down deep, I knew that I was part of the problem, but felt helpless to repair the damage. This struggle led me to feel that I had nothing valuable to share as a demonstration lesson. Truth be told, I feared that I had never had a successful writing lesson in the 15 years I had been teaching. As the institute enters into a last few days, I can now say that, given a choice, I would not have spent these last four weeks in any other way or with any other people.
The greatest fear I had coming into the institute was the demonstration lesson. I work at a school that had now not made AYP in seven years. Despite my best efforts, I have internalized the message that I work in a failing school. If the school is failing, it stands to reason that the teachers are to blame. What teacher doesn't take it a little personally if a majority of students fail a quiz? If I am a failing teacher at a failing school, I told myself that I had no lessons of which to be proud. I must interview well, because I received an e-mail congratulating me. It was now incumbent to find a topic for the demonstration lesson. A 75-minute demonstration lesson. I finally decided on the children's book project that my creative writing class did. I hadn't felt particularly proud of this lesson, but it did encompass many aspects of both writing and reading. Doing the research for my demonstration bolstered my spirits as I found that I had actually incorporated a few research-solid elements in the project. I was pleased that my students were writing for an authentic audience. I was pleased that the study of the mentor texts was appropriate when asking students to write in an unfamiliar genre. What especially pleased me was the importance of older students mentoring younger students. The things I happen to do right are enough to push me to fix the rest of the project and resurrect it next year.
Along with a new and improved children's book project, I hope to focus on two wholesale changes in my class next year. I want implement to two or three days of writer's workshop, using writer's notebook. From all that I have read so far, I truly feel that this is a technique that will work with my students, It will provide them a safe atmosphere in which to work on their writing, while also allowing me to take home fewer papers, because I will conference with them (and they will conference with each other) in class. If we did not have the time to do research during the institute, I would not feel confident enough to try this new (to me) technique. I am also hoping to improve my method of delivering vocabulary instruction. My students are largely non-native English speakers who struggle with both reading and writing assignments due to their limited vocabulary. I am not as far into the research with this aspect, but I already know that some form of personal dictionary will be on the agenda for my students.
The final aspect of the institute involves the teacher was writer. Beyond all the professional assistance I have gained from the program, the most gratifying personally has been the time devoted to writing. For the past year, I have been composing my "highly anticipated debut novel." All along the way, I have fought that self-doubt that constantly gnaws at my ankles, impeding my progress. I never truly believed that anyone would be interested in my story. During the institute, I frequently shared new installments of the novel, usually to enthusiastic ears. I have received gentle, yet critical feedback on lapses in cohesion or flow. I have completed three chapters since the writing marathon - a remarkable pace for me. I have gained the courage to say that "yes, I will look for an agent and send out the manuscript. This book is viable." For that, I am forever grateful.
I am certain that I will take more away from than institute that I will leave. My teaching was in a terrible rut, the edge of which I now scale. I have worked diligently and confidently on a life-long dream, the novel. I hope that others have enjoyed the moments of levity I have offered. I hope that others will seek ways to incorporate cross-grade cooperation. I hope that, somewhere along the way, someone will buy my completed novel. Most importantly, I hope to keep my fellow members of the EMWP 2010 in my life as all of them have offered valuable lessons.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Ravinia - July 10
The second leg of our journey took us to Chicago land, more precisely to Ravinia Music Festival in Highland Park. The drive from Columbus was much easier though double the time.
Ravinia is unlike any outdoor theatre I have ever encountered. We were practically the only people without several coolers and lawn chairs. It appears that most people attend concerts here with the intention of hanging out with friends on the vast lawn. I was stunned by what people were allowed to bring onto the grounds. People had small tables, lawn chairs, and one guy was carrying a full case of beer.
Once again Squeeze opened, though I wasn't surprised by this seeing as Cheap Trick is from Chicago. The set list was exactly the same as the night before, except there was time for one encore - "Pulling Mussels." The guys were far more animated tonight than in Columbus. Chris was performing his customary Chris shuffle, John was all over the stage, and again Glenn was channeling Jimi Hendrix and at one point rubbed the guitar strings on the microphone stand.
Sartorially speaking, Glenn and Chris were in the same outfits as the night before, John was dressed in purple, Simon was Simon, and Stephen treated the crowd to his spectacles and a fetching red smoking jacket.
My seats were way far at the back of the pavilion, but not for long. By the end of "Annie Get Your Gun," we had moved to the third row from the stage. Much better than being in the third to last row.
It seems, however, that at Ravinia, security frowns at people dancing in the pavilion. Two women behind in me in my "new" seats were sternly lectured and security gave me a look, too. Well, once we got to "Good-Bye Girl," I paid that directive no mind and stood up to dance, and it seemed that Chris was urging me as he looked squarely at me, and motioned with his hands to stand up. I was, of course, promptly reprimanded and I think by this time Glenn had noticed. Two songs later, three people in the middle started dancing and once security pounced on the , one of the offenders was quite snippy and was removed.
The next song was to be "Cool for Cats." Before it started Chris said something to the effect of he saw the one fellow get tossed and that everyone should stand up and dance. We did for the rest of the show and there was nothing security could do!
Well, I have to head home tomorrow, though I wish that I could attend the Cleveland show. Now I'm thinking about Hamilton in August.
Ravinia is unlike any outdoor theatre I have ever encountered. We were practically the only people without several coolers and lawn chairs. It appears that most people attend concerts here with the intention of hanging out with friends on the vast lawn. I was stunned by what people were allowed to bring onto the grounds. People had small tables, lawn chairs, and one guy was carrying a full case of beer.
Once again Squeeze opened, though I wasn't surprised by this seeing as Cheap Trick is from Chicago. The set list was exactly the same as the night before, except there was time for one encore - "Pulling Mussels." The guys were far more animated tonight than in Columbus. Chris was performing his customary Chris shuffle, John was all over the stage, and again Glenn was channeling Jimi Hendrix and at one point rubbed the guitar strings on the microphone stand.
Sartorially speaking, Glenn and Chris were in the same outfits as the night before, John was dressed in purple, Simon was Simon, and Stephen treated the crowd to his spectacles and a fetching red smoking jacket.
My seats were way far at the back of the pavilion, but not for long. By the end of "Annie Get Your Gun," we had moved to the third row from the stage. Much better than being in the third to last row.
It seems, however, that at Ravinia, security frowns at people dancing in the pavilion. Two women behind in me in my "new" seats were sternly lectured and security gave me a look, too. Well, once we got to "Good-Bye Girl," I paid that directive no mind and stood up to dance, and it seemed that Chris was urging me as he looked squarely at me, and motioned with his hands to stand up. I was, of course, promptly reprimanded and I think by this time Glenn had noticed. Two songs later, three people in the middle started dancing and once security pounced on the , one of the offenders was quite snippy and was removed.
The next song was to be "Cool for Cats." Before it started Chris said something to the effect of he saw the one fellow get tossed and that everyone should stand up and dance. We did for the rest of the show and there was nothing security could do!
Well, I have to head home tomorrow, though I wish that I could attend the Cleveland show. Now I'm thinking about Hamilton in August.
Night 1 - Spot the Difference Tour Squeeze
It's that time when I get to act on my favorite obsession, Glenn Tilbrook and Squeeze. They started the US leg of the Spot the Difference last night, Friday July 9 at the LC Ampitheatre in Columbus, Ohio. As usual, Laurie was Thelma to my Louise and of course we had VIP meet and greet tickets.
We pulled out of Hamtramck a little before 1:00. The ride down was harrowing at times due to the torrential rains that seems to follow us. It slowed down our travel considerably and I was (as I am wont to do) growing worried that we would miss the 5:15 deadline ominously conveyed in the VIP confirmation e-mail I had received a few days earlier. All my worries were for naught as Laurie safely delivered us to the Renaissance Downtown Columbus Hotel with 45 minutes to spare.
We quickly checked in, ran up to the room for a little freshening up, and a costume change. We were told that the venue was walking distance from the hotel, so we started afoot, but the weather turned foul once again and we opted for a cab.
We arrived 15 minutes before the 5:15 deadline and grabbed our tickets from will call. Sadly, the venue knew nothing about the meet and greet. They tried to find out and asked us to wait. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. We waited an hour before a representative from the band finally came to retrieve us. She apologized profusely while taking us backstage.
As we hit the backstage area, the guys were finishing "If It's Love" in the sound check. The rain had stopped at this point. The band wandered back and immediately I could spot the difference between and Glenn Tilbrook meet and greet and a Squeeze meet and greet. A Glenn meet and greet is pretty free-wheeling while the one I experienced felt more constrained, even though no one was pushing us along. Perhaps it seemed less loose simply because it was the first night of the tour.
That said, there were several funny moments that stick out to me. The first occurred while chatting with Simon and Chris. Simon asked if I had a raincoat and I said no,but I had an umbrella. During this very brief and innocuous exchange, Chris gave Simon a slightly horrified look and said, "I thought you just asked her if she had a wanker."
I looked down at my skirt and replied, "I don't have one of those either."
Simon then insisted on telling me that a wanker is actually a bottle opener and that should I be in London, I should go in a pub and announce that I need a wanker. I told him that I was sure that every man in the bar would gladly volunteer.
The next funny moment happened shortly after Chris abruptly left. I asked where he had gone,. The band representative explained that he had gone to throw out the first pitch at the baseball at the stadium down the block. That wasn't what I heard. I swear she said he went to throw up. Glenn and John Bentley both chimed in that they had heard the same thing.
Finally, I asked Glenn and John if they would have a chance to watch the World Cup final on Sunday. Absolutely, they both smiled. John asked me who I thought would win and I said Holland and he agreed. This prompted Glenn to ask me if I had heard about the octopus in Germany that had accurately picked many of the games, including the game Germany lost to Spain. Something about the octopus (or squid) squirming around on something. Anyway, the octopus has chosen Spain as the champs.
Naturally, they had to leave, so we left to go find a spot in the general admission crowd. From the number of t-shirts, it was clear that this was a Cheap Trick crowd. The sun really broke through the clouds as the boys came on the stage and launched into "Black Coffee in Bed." Despite the heat, they were all properly attired in suits: Glenn in that lovely brown pin stripe suit her wore on Regis, Chris looked very chic in black with his shades, Stephen was dapper in a blue suit, Simon wore a vest, and John delivered the bass dressed in gray, topped with a fedora.
The rest of show was peppered with songs I hadn't heard live like "When the Hangover Strikes" and a D & T song "When Hope Fell Down." The complete 17 song set is at the end of this post. They were tight and on fire. Glenn played like the guitar god he is, duly impressing many of the nearby Cheap Trick fans. In the middle of his solo for "It's So Dirty" the two guys next to me turned to each other and said "this guy is fucking great."
As the opening act, they had no encore, so it's off to Chicago.
Play List
Black Coffee in Bed
Take Me I'm Yours
Annie Take Your Gun
When the Hangover Strikes
Loving You Tonight
If It's Love
It's So Dirty
Goodbye Girl
When Hope Fell Down
If I Didn't Love You
Cool for Cats
Is That Love
Someone Else's Heart
Up the Junction
Hourglass
Slap and Tickle
Tempted
We pulled out of Hamtramck a little before 1:00. The ride down was harrowing at times due to the torrential rains that seems to follow us. It slowed down our travel considerably and I was (as I am wont to do) growing worried that we would miss the 5:15 deadline ominously conveyed in the VIP confirmation e-mail I had received a few days earlier. All my worries were for naught as Laurie safely delivered us to the Renaissance Downtown Columbus Hotel with 45 minutes to spare.
We quickly checked in, ran up to the room for a little freshening up, and a costume change. We were told that the venue was walking distance from the hotel, so we started afoot, but the weather turned foul once again and we opted for a cab.
We arrived 15 minutes before the 5:15 deadline and grabbed our tickets from will call. Sadly, the venue knew nothing about the meet and greet. They tried to find out and asked us to wait. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. We waited an hour before a representative from the band finally came to retrieve us. She apologized profusely while taking us backstage.
As we hit the backstage area, the guys were finishing "If It's Love" in the sound check. The rain had stopped at this point. The band wandered back and immediately I could spot the difference between and Glenn Tilbrook meet and greet and a Squeeze meet and greet. A Glenn meet and greet is pretty free-wheeling while the one I experienced felt more constrained, even though no one was pushing us along. Perhaps it seemed less loose simply because it was the first night of the tour.
That said, there were several funny moments that stick out to me. The first occurred while chatting with Simon and Chris. Simon asked if I had a raincoat and I said no,but I had an umbrella. During this very brief and innocuous exchange, Chris gave Simon a slightly horrified look and said, "I thought you just asked her if she had a wanker."
I looked down at my skirt and replied, "I don't have one of those either."
Simon then insisted on telling me that a wanker is actually a bottle opener and that should I be in London, I should go in a pub and announce that I need a wanker. I told him that I was sure that every man in the bar would gladly volunteer.
The next funny moment happened shortly after Chris abruptly left. I asked where he had gone,. The band representative explained that he had gone to throw out the first pitch at the baseball at the stadium down the block. That wasn't what I heard. I swear she said he went to throw up. Glenn and John Bentley both chimed in that they had heard the same thing.
Finally, I asked Glenn and John if they would have a chance to watch the World Cup final on Sunday. Absolutely, they both smiled. John asked me who I thought would win and I said Holland and he agreed. This prompted Glenn to ask me if I had heard about the octopus in Germany that had accurately picked many of the games, including the game Germany lost to Spain. Something about the octopus (or squid) squirming around on something. Anyway, the octopus has chosen Spain as the champs.
Naturally, they had to leave, so we left to go find a spot in the general admission crowd. From the number of t-shirts, it was clear that this was a Cheap Trick crowd. The sun really broke through the clouds as the boys came on the stage and launched into "Black Coffee in Bed." Despite the heat, they were all properly attired in suits: Glenn in that lovely brown pin stripe suit her wore on Regis, Chris looked very chic in black with his shades, Stephen was dapper in a blue suit, Simon wore a vest, and John delivered the bass dressed in gray, topped with a fedora.
The rest of show was peppered with songs I hadn't heard live like "When the Hangover Strikes" and a D & T song "When Hope Fell Down." The complete 17 song set is at the end of this post. They were tight and on fire. Glenn played like the guitar god he is, duly impressing many of the nearby Cheap Trick fans. In the middle of his solo for "It's So Dirty" the two guys next to me turned to each other and said "this guy is fucking great."
As the opening act, they had no encore, so it's off to Chicago.
Play List
Black Coffee in Bed
Take Me I'm Yours
Annie Take Your Gun
When the Hangover Strikes
Loving You Tonight
If It's Love
It's So Dirty
Goodbye Girl
When Hope Fell Down
If I Didn't Love You
Cool for Cats
Is That Love
Someone Else's Heart
Up the Junction
Hourglass
Slap and Tickle
Tempted
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Lasting Lagacy
A Lasting Legacy
I am at the age where I occasionally think about the end.
Inevitably, I think about how I want to be remembered.
Realistically, I understand that people will most vividly remember those last years;
So how to make those memorable?
There must be a word out there that describes the type
Of older woman I aspire to be.
The type whose grown son says,
“Mom, stop flirting with the waiter, he’s my age.”
To which I’ll reply, “But he started it.”
The type who travels the world, on her own self-guided tour
And ends up assisting in the building a school for girls in some remote village.
I ask four friends, each of whom gives me a different word.
“Plucky,” says the first. I hang up the phone and
Walk into the kitchen to retrieve the wine from the fridge.
No, I decide. It sounds too much like a puppy rescued from
A life on the streets.
“Spunky,” reads the message on my phone.
Oh no! I can’t even think of anything spunk related
Without giggling like a teenager.
A third friend offers up “perky”.
I contemplate it until I step out of the shower
And duly note that my figure has moved from
Star gazing to navel gazing.
Finally, my dearest friend suggests “moxie.”
Images of matinis, jazz bands and enticing hemlines
Swirl in front of my eyes.
Late nights filled fine meals eaten in front of fireplaces, chatting
With clever people.
Skateboarding with the grandkids before a bedtime snack
Of chocolate cake.
When that day does come, please be sure the epitaph reads
“Sister, she had moxie.”
I am at the age where I occasionally think about the end.
Inevitably, I think about how I want to be remembered.
Realistically, I understand that people will most vividly remember those last years;
So how to make those memorable?
There must be a word out there that describes the type
Of older woman I aspire to be.
The type whose grown son says,
“Mom, stop flirting with the waiter, he’s my age.”
To which I’ll reply, “But he started it.”
The type who travels the world, on her own self-guided tour
And ends up assisting in the building a school for girls in some remote village.
I ask four friends, each of whom gives me a different word.
“Plucky,” says the first. I hang up the phone and
Walk into the kitchen to retrieve the wine from the fridge.
No, I decide. It sounds too much like a puppy rescued from
A life on the streets.
“Spunky,” reads the message on my phone.
Oh no! I can’t even think of anything spunk related
Without giggling like a teenager.
A third friend offers up “perky”.
I contemplate it until I step out of the shower
And duly note that my figure has moved from
Star gazing to navel gazing.
Finally, my dearest friend suggests “moxie.”
Images of matinis, jazz bands and enticing hemlines
Swirl in front of my eyes.
Late nights filled fine meals eaten in front of fireplaces, chatting
With clever people.
Skateboarding with the grandkids before a bedtime snack
Of chocolate cake.
When that day does come, please be sure the epitaph reads
“Sister, she had moxie.”
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