Weirdo's Make the World Go Round

Mom says my last post was weird. I thought acknowledging it’s weirdness by using the word “eccentric” in it’s title would cover the little guy’s butt for anyone who read that and thought, “That Laura girl is a weirdo.”

Nevertheless, I called it weird first so clearly I can’t be that weird. See how that works? That weird post is perhaps a great example as to why my brain was no match for standardized testing or the ridiculous school system as a whole. That said, I was mostly a B student. I can play your monkey games. I just have no use for them. Now, languages and creative arts -I got A’s in those classes because that stuff actually makes sense.

I heard a great Ted Talk years ago that focused on all the ways academia squelches out creativity. This post is not a dig on academics. I will say this only once for you know my indignation is great. Education is very important. Despite years of verbal outrage and nap-inducing exasperation at attending various educational institutions, I have healed enough from the trauma to acknowledge the positive intentions of such organizations. Notice I said intentions.

Now back to my Ted Talk. In a manor much more graceful and intellectual than the one I’ll give you here, the Ted Talker told anecdotes about squirmy little children that couldn’t sit still or stop fidgeting all through class.

He said he spoke with a woman who had a long career as a professional ballet dancer and choreographer. He asked her how she found out that she loved dance. She said that her school thought she had a learning disability because she couldn’t sit still and focus. They sent her to a specialist who listened to lots of people talk about her and then he turned on some music and had everyone follow him out of the room except for the little girl. Once everyone was gone, within seconds she was up on her feet, dancing around the furniture.

“Your daughter’s not sick,” the specialist told her mother. “She’s a dancer.” She needed to move to think. The Ted Talker explained that this woman went on to have a renowned, muti-million dollar career in dance and inspired thousands of people around the world while another doctor would have given her A.D.D. medicine and told her to calm down.

I heard this talk almost ten years ago and I still think about it. It's not that she didn't need to go to school. She needed freedom to use her creativity - to be that dancing weirdo.

Anyways, let me tell you about the Union folks.

Ellen has started what she has declared to be her last semester teaching. She is not signing up for another year but has no further plans for what to do with her life. She doesn’t seem all that worried. Chris continues to be a busy beaver and has doubled his workload in an effort to lessen his workload. That’s all I’m allowed to say about that at this juncture. 

Dad and I have been working on the new dock and he finished up the walkway last week. I can’t wait to get back out there. Buddy couldn’t restrain his enthusiasm and he darted his mad dash down the walkway and that poor baby stepped on a nail. He handled it like a champ though and still wanted to patrol the area on his three good feet.

Last week Dad put a giant pork butt on the grill for slow, all-day roast. He had to leave the house for a meeting so he told Mom to check The Butt every now and again and that he’d be back in one hour. During that hour Mom managed to light the entire grill on fire, blowing the grill thermometer out of orbit with it’s large roaring flames. Dad came home to this little pork butt, about a third of the size it was when he left. Mom was indignant the whole night. 

I’ve been trying to organize myself for this new year and feign an interest in marketing tactics and things of that ilk. I don’t like it one bit. Too personal. Too horn-tooty. More importantly, Ellen and I have been using our time wisely, perfecting some new tricks. We'll be ready for Vegas in no time.