random noodling

January 17, 2007

Finally coming up for air, after the last deadline.

I finished the third book, and sent it off to my editor on Friday morning, then furiously cleaned house for the invasion of the swim team on Friday evening.

They came. They ate. They left.

And then, I collapsed. For the last few days, I’ve been watching TV and writing: goofing around with a new idea, and revising an old one.

The rest of my life: in bits and pieces:

My cat, Mohawk, is definitely hooked on mint chocolate chip ice cream. We have a quart, and have been eating it in front of him, and watching his reaction. I think he thinks it smells like catnip. He sniffs. His eyes get round. And then he heads for the nearest bowl, even if it requires climbing onto the top of my head or walking under the dog.

#1 son says, if I know my cat’s favorite flavor of ice cream, it’s time to get a hobby.

#2 son would like to know, if there is a public speaking class in high school, is there a private speaking class as well, where you learn to whisper in dark alleys?

He has watched the latest Stephen Wright special too many times. It seems to be rubbing off on him.

To preface the next item, let me explain that our local high school mascot is the gosling. This is because of the town’s history as a producer of goose liver for fois gras. The process was called noodling: the geese’s feet were nailed to a board and noodles were forced down their throats until they became mutant mega-geese, with huge livers.

I can never decide which is more ironic: that the local school system embraces the concept of nailing your feet to a board and forcing things down your throat (interesting educational theory), or that our team mascot, is both totally wimpy, and celebrates animal cruelty.

Why not just name them the fighting veal?

But this morning, we found this headline about a recent game, on the sports page of the local newspaper:

GOSLINGS HARASSED BY OWLS

My God, haven’t they suffered enough?

4 responses to “random noodling”

  1. Anonymous says:

    cell phones in Milwaukee schools

    Chris, surely you have a comment about this ?

    MILWAUKEE – School brawls have gone high tech, with students using cell phones to call in reinforcements — in one case requiring police and pepper spray to break up a fight that swelled to about 20 family members on school grounds.

    The fracas earlier this month, in which six students and three adults were arrested, was the latest in a surge of cell phone-related fights and prompted Wisconsin’s largest school district to ban cell phones in its 217 schools beginning Monday.

    “We consider (cell phones) almost as weapons because when they call, we’re the ones out in front and we don’t know these people are coming,” said Mike Heese, safety security assistant at Bradley Tech High School, where the fight happened.

    Prosecutors are also taking a tougher stance. Adults who harm anyone at a school could face felony charges, said Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Penalties in the past were often fines for disorderly conduct.

    • admin says:

      Re: cell phones in Milwaukee schools

      I think I’m still stuck at slack-jawed-amazement.

      And going on record as unwilling to drop everything and show up at my kid’s school to ‘rumble’ any time they are having a problem. Facing down teachers can be hard enough.

      But if I have to go do physical battle?

      We don’t have camera phones. Am I supposed to take their word for it, when they say Joey’s mom is small and slow and I can take her, no problem…

  2. Anonymous says:

    cell phones in Milwaukee schools

    Chris, surely you have a comment about this ?

    MILWAUKEE – School brawls have gone high tech, with students using cell phones to call in reinforcements — in one case requiring police and pepper spray to break up a fight that swelled to about 20 family members on school grounds.

    The fracas earlier this month, in which six students and three adults were arrested, was the latest in a surge of cell phone-related fights and prompted Wisconsin’s largest school district to ban cell phones in its 217 schools beginning Monday.

    “We consider (cell phones) almost as weapons because when they call, we’re the ones out in front and we don’t know these people are coming,” said Mike Heese, safety security assistant at Bradley Tech High School, where the fight happened.

    Prosecutors are also taking a tougher stance. Adults who harm anyone at a school could face felony charges, said Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Penalties in the past were often fines for disorderly conduct.

    • admin says:

      Re: cell phones in Milwaukee schools

      I think I’m still stuck at slack-jawed-amazement.

      And going on record as unwilling to drop everything and show up at my kid’s school to ‘rumble’ any time they are having a problem. Facing down teachers can be hard enough.

      But if I have to go do physical battle?

      We don’t have camera phones. Am I supposed to take their word for it, when they say Joey’s mom is small and slow and I can take her, no problem…

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