Mean Irene and the Trees

As I write this, our power is out (as we fully expected it would be), and the second post hurricane high tide is creeping in. The winds are still gusting a little and the last time I checked – around suppertime – the bay was a restless mass of gloomy waves crested with white caps.

Our big maple tree that I was so frightened of losing survived in fine shape with only a few downed twigs. She’s a tough old gal. Others were not so lucky. One family, a block away from us with a lovely Victorian home, lost two enormous Linden trees that I’d long admired.

I know it sounds silly, but I mourn the loss of these historic specimens. We all mourn the senseless loss of lives during a storm, but nobody mentions the loss of so many of our trees, except as obstacles in the way of getting back their power. This past winter, an enormous copper beech came down on somebody’s roof during a nor’easter. It was over 200 hundred years old. Think how much history it had lived through – the invention of the telephone, the horseless carriage, the Civil War, two world wars, several presidential assassinations and the hurricane of 1938, which had probably been a category 4 or 5. Much more, of course. It was a majestic old tree with a massive trunk reminiscent of the torso of a Greek god or a figure drawing by Michelangelo. Nobody plants these big, regal ones anymore. Like toy dogs adorned with bows, small, decorative trees that defy natural selection have become increasingly popular. A spreading shade tree, however, is a breathtaking thing of beauty that provides shelter for birds, squirrels, porcupines, foxes and other creatures. Trees lend a neighborhood character and cooling shade, not to mention a place for a tire swing, a tree house or simply a place to sit and dream.


After Irene, I so hope that the people effected will consider planting new trees to replace the old ones – graceful, spreading trees that seem to reach up and touch the sky.

Why We Still Need Books

This is a portion of an older post I wrote when I was still working as a school librarian. I may not work as one now, but I think a piece of my heart is still there among the stacks and I think what I have to say is still relevant. It kills me to witness what's been happening to school librarians and their budgets. No matter what they say, volunteers are not trained to manage a library nor do they read book reviews or know all the technology involved. Anyhow, the foundation of a good library is still books, especially when it comes to children. If we want to nurture a literate nation, we cannot slash school library budgets or the professionals involved in running them .

I've always maintained that there's a picture book for every person and every occasion and that's one of the reasons why we need good book budgets. I recently bought an old copy of The Blind Men and the Elephant which I read to my first graders. They got it! Maybe Laura Bush should read it to her husband. Mem Fox wrote a great little story called Feathers and Fools which every soldier and general embroiled in a long, ongoing war should be required to read. And I really think every urban planner and developer needs to study Virginia Lee Burton's book, The Little House or Jeanne Baker's wordless book, Window. When I have a painfully shy student, I often pull out Rosemary Well's book, Shy Charles. And Patricia Polacco's Thank You, Mr. Falkner or Lauren Mill's story, The Rag Coat, are two wonderful books that gently show children the emotional impact of bullying. Living in a diverse society in this day and age, children enter school with more baggage than ever and we need books that will address the broad range of their backgrounds, experiences and problems as well books that still make them laugh. Picture books cut to the chase and get their points across more succinctly than just about every other form of writing .

A lot of school administrators are of the opinion that with the internet and databases so readily available, we really don't need as many books as in years past. What they don't know is that we need books more desperately than ever. Like human beings, books have spines. They have stories to tell. When we open them, they speak to us from the depths of the author's heart and soul. One of the hallmarks of a great civilization is a strong storytelling tradition. Stories give us heroes to emulate, problems to consider, lessons to ponder. Books represent lives, both real and imagined. The internet is fun but, like a slide show, the images flit past us rapidly -- so rapidly that we don't really have time to absorb them. A good story slows down time and gives the reader a chance to absorb the meaning, to soak up the poetry of the language. So, I ask, why not more books?

Two For Tuesday

Two things that have been bothering me recently.

1. Lately I've noticed a trend among school administrators to keep new teachers for 3 years and THEN deny them tenure. Shabby, very shabby. The unions seem to be letting it happen, which doesn't say much for them. Years ago one district out here on the Island had a reputation for pulling this stunt. Anybody who was any good avoided them. Being denied tenure is always a blow to an aspiring teacher's self-confidence but there is no excuse to bring down the ax after 3 years. It's a tacky way of keeping salaries down, not to mention that it's also demoralizing. People accuse teachers of being overpaid but I challenge anybody to stand in front of a group of kids and try to educate them while keeping them entertained and engaged.

2. I usually try to keep politics out of this blog because it would be like opening the floodgates. I do want to say this, however. The Republicans can say what they want about the Democrats but when Bill Clinton left office after his tenure, this country was in great shape. We didn't have a national debt or any wars waging overseas, people had jobs and protecting the environment was something almost everybody agreed was important to the survival of this planet. Despite the problem with his zipper, Clinton was an excellent president. It took George W. Bush 2 terms to undo almost everything. Even I didn't think it was possible. What a fine mess they've gotten us into.

And that's all folks. Now I'm off to paint.