Rhymes and not rhymes

English is a weird and confusing language. Two words look as if they wouldn't rhyme but do (staple and papal) and words that look like they should rhyme don't (come and home). I decided to write a short poem to illustrate this point. I call it "Come (Hum) Home (Comb)":

To me you are so good:
You give me lots of food.
I don't even fear
when I see a bear.

I don't have to work,
and this is quite a perk.
When I see a goose
we always make a truce.

I never have to frown
when the wind has blown.
You tell me to come
and take rest at your home.

I'm glad we're a pair:
You complete my square.
I have lots of pride
even though I've been fried.

You only have one boot
and it's covered in soot.
To help I give you mint,
But only just a pint.

You give me a daisy
even though I have been lazy.
I have come to know
how I love you so.

I am afraid of death
so you give me a wreath.
After you put on your shoes
away your mother goes.

Absolute adorableness

I worked in a daycare for 2 summers. I have seen, changed, comforted, held, rocked, smiled at, fed and taken care of a LOT of little children. I kid you not, the cutest and most adorable kid I've EVER seen is my nephew. I wish he lived closer so I could squeeze him in big auntie hugs. But at least we have Skype. That'll have to do for now.

Novocaine

I went to the dentist this morning to get a sealant, whatever that is. (Is that a nice name for a cavity?) Since I didn't know what a sealant was, I didn't know whether they would make my mouth numb or not. I got all settled into the comfy dentist chair and he said, "Alright, let's put that tooth to sleep." Uh, isn't that the term they use when they're going to kill a dog?! So he killed my tooth, used some sort of weirdish apparatus to keep my mouth open as wide as the Columbia and started the procedure.

After it was all over I kept touching the right side of my face. It's the weirdest thing when your fingers feel your face but your face doesn't feel your fingers. I drank some water and half my tongue felt that the water was cold and the other half couldn't even feel the water. Quite a strange sensation. I just took another drink of water and realized, "Hey, my whole tongue can feel the water!" I hadn't even realized I wasn't numb anymore because the un-numbing process was so gradual.

I think life can be like that too. Some things are so incremental that I don't even realize a change until there's an experience to open my eyes. A lot of times I don't realize what I have until it's gone. I know that I didn't appreciate designated non-smoking areas until I went to Chile and those don't exist. Moral of the story? I want to take time out of my week to inventory how I'm doing and what has changed. As Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Poetry is powerful

The Cold Within by James Patrick Kenny

Six humans trapped by happenstance … in bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood, or so the story’s told.
Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back,
For of the faces round the fire, he noticed one was black.

 

The next man looking cross the way, saw one not of his church,
And couldn’t bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes; he gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

 

The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man’s face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.

 
The last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death’s still hand was proof of human sin,
They didn’t die from the cold without. They died from the cold within.

Knowledge

At my job, I'm either really needed or really not. It's usually the latter. (Latter is the second one right?) I have lots of time to sit in front of the computer. Today I realized that I could let my mind go to mush by perusing facebook and other non-productive things OR I could increase in my knowledge of topics that I want to learn about! The internet is an endless source of information. I got really excited about the list that I made because acquiring knowledge is such a fulfilling thing. Many people would look at my list and think "How boring!" but I am very excited about each topic. I'm very passionate about language and culture. It fascinates me for some reason.

 Topics I want to research:
-Native language acquisition
-Foreign language acquisition
-The bilingual brain
-The effect of culture on personal reality
-Language and its effect on personal identity
-Effective foreign language teaching methods
-Sociolinguistics
-Psycholinguistics
-The international phonetic alphabet
-Speech therapy

Quote from Finding Nemo: "Alright, here we go! We're ready to learn to get some knowledge!"

Heat is relative...apparently

I opened an email entitled "You're extreme heat alert for Beaverton, OR". What was the impending dangerous high? And I quote, "Near 90 degrees Fahrenheit". HA! And just yesterday it was 120 in NYC. Granted us Oregonians are not accustomed to heat but...come on. Unless there is a heat index of 30 or 40 degrees I highly HIGHLY doubt that 90 degree weather needs a heat alert sent to my email account. But thank you, weather people, for being thoughtful.

Walk or no walk

Almost every night some one in the family suggests that we should all go on a walk. We live in a pleasant neighborhood and even have great walking trails close by. Somehow, one of us always comes up with an excuse to not go. It has become quite comical. The number one excuse of course is, "I'm too tired" but the others range from "I need to write a poem" to "The mosquitoes are too thick." I decided to make a list. Yes, a LIST! My list shall be entitled "Reasons Why Not To Go On A Walk." Of course it is still in the infant stages but since this is a place of sharing thoughts, I might as well go for it.

Reasons why not to go on a walk:
- I need to play through this Rachmaninoff song.
- I want to eat ice cream instead.
- It's raining.
- It's too hot.
- I just want to stay home.
- I'd rather go swimming.
- I need to road-a-till the garden.
- I want to read Harry Potter.
- I want to watch the Spanish channel.
- I need to write in my journal.

But then last night, we actually DID go on a walk! Despite the mosquitoes and the drive to get to the cute little neighborhood/community of Fairview and the huge effort of leaving the house, we went on a walk. It was lovely. I want to go on walks more often. No reason not too.

Reasons why to go for a walk:
-I've been inside all day.
-I love being outside.
-It's good to get at least a LITTLE physical excercise.
-It's not raining.
-It's summer.
-Because I can.
-It's safe to walk around outside.
-I always feel good afterwards.
-Fresh air is wonderful.
-I need to enjoy life's little pleasures (like walks) while I can.

True Love and True Patriotism

Sullivan Ballou (March 28, 1829-July 28, 1861), was a lawyer, politician, and major in the United States Army.  As I mentioned, he is best remembered for the eloquent letter he wrote to his wife a week before he and his Rhode Island militia fought in the First Battle of Bull Run.

Ballou was born the son of Hiram and Emeline (Bowen) Ballou, a distinguished Huguenot family in Smithfield, Rhode Island. [1]  He lost both of his parents at a young age and was forced to fend for himself.  In spite of this he attended boarding school at Phillips Academy, Andover.  Following his graduation therefrom, he attended Brown University, and went on to study law at the National Law School in Ballston, New York.  He was admitted to the Rhode Island bar and began to practice in 1853.

Ballou devoted his brief life to public service.  Shortly after being admitted to the bar, he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, where he served as a clerk and later as the speaker.  He was a staunch Republican and supporter of Abraham Lincoln.

When war broke out, Ballou immediately left what appeared to be a promising political career and volunteered for military service with the 2^nd Rhode Island Infantry.  In addition to his combat duties, he served as the Rhode Island Militia’s judge advocate.

Ballou and 93 of his men were mortally wounded at Bull Run.  In an attempt to better direct his men, Ballou took a horse mounted position in front of his regiment, when a 6-pounder solid shot from Confederate artillery tore off his right leg and simultaneously killed his horse.  The badly injured Major was then carried off the field and the remainder of his leg was amputated.  Ballou died from his wound a week after that Union defeat and was buried in the yard of nearby Sudley Church. (http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/SullivanBallou)

His wife, Sarah, never remarried.  She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William.  She died in 1917 and is buried next to her husband.

Ballou married Sarah Hunt Shumway on October 15, 1855.  They had two sons, Edgar and William.  In his letter to his wife, Ballou attempted to crystallize the emotions he was feeling:  worry, fear, guilt, sadness and, most importantly, the pull between his love for her and his sense of duty.  Here is the letter:

July the 14^th, 1861

Washington D.C.

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow.  Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
         
Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure—and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me.  Not my will, but thine O God, be done.  It is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready.  I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.  I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us-through the blood and suffering of the Revolution.  And I am willing – perfectly –willing –to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows – when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children.  Is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last/perhaps/before that of death – and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart,...

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved/ and I could not find one.  A pure love of my country ...and “the name of honor that I love more than I fear death” have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long.  And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us.  I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me – perhaps it is the prayer of my little Edgar – that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed.  If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I loved you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you.  How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been!  How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm.  But I cannot.  I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love, I shall always be near you:  in the garish day and in the darkest night – amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours – always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or when the air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead;...for we shall meet again.

 As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father’s love and care.  Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood.  Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters...I call God’s blessing upon you.  O Sarah, I wait for you there!  Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

Language

I've already mentioned I love reading. I think that stems from my love of words and language. If I had endless amounts of money (and were being selfish) I would travel the world to learn about different cultures and their languages. Each language has it's own syntax (the order of words and the rules that govern that language). This is what makes translation so hard. It's so funny to see translations that don't quite make sense. When I was in Chile I saw the sign, "Happy Merry Christmas!" I went on to a website called engrish.com to look up funny translations. I thought these two were pretty funny.