Yes We Can

Yesterday I had the opportunity to stand on the field of my old high school and hear (and sometimes see) the person who I hope becomes the next president. This was the stadium where more than 10 years ago, I watched Friday night football games, so it was a stunning reversal to see if packed with 19,000 Obama supporters.

Dublin doesn't trend Democratic, so I was a little surprised to see the turn-out. As we waited in line to get into the stadium, I told my mom and Chris how I clearly remember being the only vote in my mock 4th grade election for Dukakis. Seriously out of a class of 29 kids, I was the sole vote for the Democratic ticket.

Also, waiting in line, it was motivating to see the diversity of people waiting hours to try to get a seat at this event. People brought children and friends, there was black and white and Asian and Indian, we saw old and young. Undoubtedly, this candidate, this man is speaking to many different people and people are responding.

The speech was, as I expected delivered flawlessly. On television, I am often impressed with his oratorical skills, but in person, I had a better sense of the passion behind his words. Much of the speech was similar to his acceptance speech on Thursday, but the words and ideas still resonated with me.

I'm so glad we went to see this historic event and I hope the momentum of this campaign continues.

Ring Your Bell

Columbus has a AAA baseball team who is moving stadiums come next season. While I totally support the move from the current location to the more vibrant downtown Arena District, I felt a few pangs of nostalgia as this baseball season is coming to a close. See, as a little girl, I spent many memorable summer evenings with my parents and older brothers watching Clippers games. We usually sat behind the Clippers dugout and at the time the team was the farm affiliate of the New York Yankees. This gave us the chance to watch rookies move up through the system, in the early 80s we would have watched Don Mattingly before he got called up to the majors. (Some good Clippers history here.) Actually, I was probably not so into the baseball at that time. I found it more fun to place the stickers from the Cracker Jack boxes to the seats in front of me and to spend most of the game ringing the cow bell that was for some reason part of the fan experience. There was a song that went along with ringing the bell..."Columbus Clippers our fans are half the fun, whether we are winning or if we've had a spell, Columbus Clippers ring your bell." As I got older, my brothers would hide the bell from me because I was evidently supporting the team a little too much.

So it was with all of these memories (and more) that Chris and I joined some friends at Cooper Stadium for the last Dime-A-Dog night in the current stadium. A perfect late summer evening, Monday night drew in many fans wanting to see the stadium one last time and probably like me, relive their own Clippers at Cooper stadium memories.

The stadium seemed smaller than I remembered and the souvenir stand was sold out of bells, but there is still something magical about minor league baseball in a small stadium brimming with young families. And while the Cracker Jacks came in a bag instead of the traditional box, there was still a surprise inside (sadly no stickers). I didn't hear the Ring Your Bell song, but the Clippers pulled out a win.

I'm looking forward to visiting the new stadium and creating new memories with our children, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for what I knew as Cooper Stadium, home of the Clippers.

So That's What is Happening to the Socks

The Olympic Spirit

Is anyone like me and staying up way too late watching the Olympics? For some reason, men's gymnastics and the individual swimming medley hold a sway over me. I can't turn the television off as I am completely drawn to the obscure sports and stories of greatness.

Although I distantly remember the Olympics of my childhood where we would gather around the TV on hot summer evenings, my true love affair with the Olympics began in 1992 with the Barcelona games. I even had the soundtrack to the games and I would sing along loudly with the guy from Queen and the Spanish opera stars. As a melodramatic teenager that year, I totally ate up the stories of the ex-Russian gymnasts who were competing under new flags...in an uncertain world...against unbeatable odds. The television coverage that year particularly lent itself to underdog stories and vignettes. I swear just about every athlete had lost a parent in a freak accident. It made the wins and losses so much more poignant.

I kind of checked out for the Atlanta Olympics...I had just graduated from high school was ready to head to college and had way more important things to do than sit at home and watch the Olympics. I started finding my way back for the Athens games, but with these Beijing games, I feel like I'm home.

P Friend

Let's all bid my good friend procrastination a nice round of welcome back. I thought I had nipped this bad habit in the bud several months back, but he's made a come back. Well actually, procrastination is almost always around as Chris and I make our way through home projects (kitchen pictures coming soon, I promise!), but I thought I had kicked it to the curb in other aspects of my life. Not so much, I've discovered.

I have a great opportunity to teach a class at a local community college this coming quarter. Teaching this class will help me on a number of levels. First, I can use that Master's degree I earned back in 2002. It will also spice up my resume and earn us some extra money. I'm also really interested to see if this is a career path I would be good at and interested in pursuing more seriously in the future. So, all positives there, but I've been struggling to stay focused on creating the syllabus and making lesson plans. There is a lot going on in the GK household, and although I'm excited to tackle this new challenge, it's just been put to the back burner in favor of some other things lately.

Today I was able to buckle down and have had made some decent headway, but class starts next month and I still have a ways to go. I know if I stay focused and complete small projects, the scary though of "OMG I'm teaching a college-level class" won't seem so daunting.

Any positive thoughts are welcome. Of course, if you would like have procrastination over for a visit, that would be great, also.

Happy Birthday Anne With an E

Have you all noticed the recent slew of articles about Anne of Green Gables? Yes, our favorite little red-haired orphan is turning 100 and someone in the Anne machine has done some great pr to mark the milestone. I've seen articles in Newsweek and on Slate and I'm sure there are others.

Let me first say how much I adored the Anne series. I read each of the books several times. As Anne progressed from the youthful exuberance of Green Gables, to the more contemplative Avonlea, to the good times of college on the Island and then to her teaching career, I was right there with her. Likewise, I read and wept as she and Gilbert as newlyweds lost their first baby while living in their House of Dreams and then again as she lost another son during WWI in the last novel of the series.

So Anne and I go way back, which is why I look at these recent media pieces with interest. Both seem to suggest (aside from noting the popularity of Prince Edward Island among Japanese tourists) that Anne is getting the short shaft in terms of her place in literary history. Anne isn't taught in schools and evidently she's hard to find in bookstores (Mom, don't throw out my old books just yet). Is it because the Anne books smack of feminism? After all, Lucy Maude Montgomery had to publish her novels as LM to gain the respect of her peers in a time when not many women were successful authors. All of the Anne books, especially the early ones, have the girls are just as good, as witty, as strong, and as fun as boys message. Reading the books all those years ago, I didn't notice this as a central theme. At the time, I was too interested in Anne's antics and relationships with the townspeople of Avonlea to spend much time thinking how strange it was that these books written 80 years ago feature a heroine. Besides, I was a girl and didn't need much convincing that girls were capable and fun. Reflecting back now, though, there is the girl power theme and the books are full of strong female characters who shape Anne into a strong woman herself.

Or are the Anne books not literary stars because they don't deal with heavy issues? Are these books with their pristine island settings just a little too wholesome to make critics pay attention? I don't think this is the case, because the books don't shy away from tough situations. Anne is an orphan and some people in Avonlea don't like her because of that. Also, these books show the realities of life and death (who can forget Matthew having a heart attack in the barn and Anne feeling guilty about it). And let's not forget the time Anne accidentally gets Diane drunk on strawberry wine. No, the Anne books aren't a Pollyanna romp through the a Canadian island, they're a bit more real than that.

I'm not sure what has kept the Anne books off the literary radar, but I'm so glad the books were part of my childhood. I'm also heartened to know girls now are still discovering the books, even if they are hard to find among the Gossip Girls series.

Can't Worry About It

Even though you wouldn't believe me if you glanced into my closets, I'm not really a shopper. If an item of clothing fits, is cute and the price is right, I'll buy it. Because of this trait of mine, I was very happy when I found out I could wear the same dress in two weddings this September.

We had first picked out this dress for my friend's Nicole's wedding on September 12. Then it turned out Chris' brother is getting married September 27 and his fiancee needed a bridesmaid. I stepped up the plate (or the altar so to speak) and in chatting with her one night, she mentioned she was looking for brown dresses. I just casually said I had a cute brown bridesmaid dress. One thing led to another and now I'm wearing the same dress for both occasions.

So at first I was happy to wear the same dress to both weddings, but now things have taken a turn for the bad 1980s wedding because Chris' aunt just called to ask me about dyed shoes to match. Oh, the horror!