A Good Day for 5K in Chapel Hill

                                  

The photo above was taken at last year's 5K. I added it to my journal entry because yours truly is there! I'm the one in dark blue to the left, sunglasses, looking at the map.

This year's 5K was different: more participants, and the temperatures were warmer, so most folks wore shorts today.

And what a delightful day it has been! The sun shined, I walked, I watched my son, I browsed at Borders, I replied to some emails and visited journals, leaving comments, and I took a nap. A glorious hour of plain, old-fashioned napping.

The Aging in Stride 5K, sponsored by the Geriatric Interest Group of the UNC School of Pharmacy was today in Chapel Hill to benefit a seniors center. I estimate there were 100 participants, most of them college age to 30 something. Maybe there were ten folks between 40 and 50, and possibly another ten older than 50.

My son explained the cautions of the route we were to take (road construction just ahead), the 5K people set up throughout the route to make sure we didn't get lost, where the water table was set up, and so on. When we got back, there would be prizes for the runners in first, second, and third places, in men's and women's categories, as well as in the older categories.

I wasn't interested in the prizes, in coming in first second third place... I just wanted to come in.

A 5K is 3.1 miles. In Chapel Hill, it's more like a 5 mile walk/run because of the hills. The town is aptly named, hill being the key word. Why didn't they name the town Chapel Hills?

I knew no one there, except my son and his girlfriend, andhe was the organizer, so he didn't walk. His girlfriend is a runner/ walker, so I didn't see her after Steven called "RUNNERS START!"

I stepped aside respectfully to let the athletically inclined get their start, for they would be competing for the time-related prizes. I pulled in behind them, in full power walk with bent elbows swinging.

I kept this pace up for, what... the first five minutes uphill? Then I began to talk to myself... pace yourself, girl. You remember how to power walk. The breathing is much like the breathing you do during labor. I knew how to do that. I continued the pace, feeling pretty good during the first 20 minutes because I was amongst a group of people. We were the last group of people, but we were a group.

Then the group got ahead of me. They were talking to each other, one was pushing a three-wheeled power stroller with a kid in it, and they passed me. That's okay, I thought, I can follow them.

Ten minutes later, they were ahead of me by some 30 feet, but a stop light slowed them down when they had to wait to cross the street and I caught up with them. When we could safely cross, they quickly moved ahead of me again. I let them. I'm not one to say "hey, wait for me!"  Not one of them turned their heads back to "see if the older woman behind us is still with us." That could mean they didn't notice that I was older, so I felt better after that thought. 

I didn't mind as long as I could see them: an older couple, their daughter, her friend, and the woman pushing the stroller with the kid in it. If they were a mile ahead, and I could see them, I would be fine.

I was doing okay, just walking it alone. I had my cell phone with me, and a map of the route. I finally reached the half-way point, about where the water table was set up. I didn't need any water, though, because I was carrying my own bottle of water. The young lady standing there assured me that I was on the right track when I asked her if I was going the right way. Such nice people, these UNC students. With my water bottle in one hand and the cell phone in the other, I had extra weights to help burn extra calories.  <grin> I was feeling good... healthy... involved... alive.

At Gimgil Loop is where I lost sight of my group, the one I had started out with. The loop is one huge curve. I couldn't see anyone ahead of me, and no one behind me. I didn't mind because it was such a beautiful day, and I was dressed comfortably for it. The mockingbirds were singing, there were the brightest red-purple berries hanging on some of the bushes, and dried acorns were dropping from the oak trees like heavy raindrops on a breezy day.

The old homes and yards on that part of the route were well kept. It was a quiet neighborhood, not even barking dogs. The appearance of an old church I recognized from last year, one I thought could be used as a bathroom stop in an emergency, shocked me... it was in the process of being torn down, and all that remained today was stripped grey concrete walls. I remembered when I first saw it last year and had thought it a quaint country church in the middle of a college town. I had rather liked it's antique look. Next year, though, it will be an empty lot. Or maybe something else is being built there? I don't know.

My brother in Georgia called me about this time on my cell to tell me that his son is getting married in three weeks. He could hear the heavier breathing in my voice as I was vigorously walking, alone, in that nice quiet neighborhood. He asked me what I was doing, jogging? I told him I was walking in a 5K and he said, good, walking and talking is good for you, and he continued to chat with me. I told him I was bringing up the rear of this race and he laughed, and let me go so I could save my breath for the walking. My thoughtful younger brother.

Then I called my son to tell him where I was and ask if they were drawing names for the raffles and announcing race winners yet. He said no, they would wait for 45 minutes or so. I told him I thought I was the last person, that I couldn't see anyone, and he chuckled. I heard him say "My mom's on Gimgel. She's the last one, she doesn't see anyone." The information helped them determine how long it would be before I came back to the finish line.

Once I crossed back onto a main straight road, I clearly knew that I was way behind. I could not see another walker ahead of me as far as my eye could see. I had to look at the map to see which wayto go. Should I turn right on South Street and head back to where I started (a shortcut), or cross over and keep going straight to finish the 5K route?

I called my son on his cell. He said it looked like most everyone was back, and told me that there was nearly a mile of the walk left from where I was standing. He said I could finish it if I wanted to, or turn right there on South street and come back to where he was.

I didn't want to make them wait on me longer than they had to, and I thought two miles was a good walk. If I counted the half mile I had already walked from the parking lot to the starting line, and the half mile back to my car after the race, then I had really walked three miles today. So I turned on South Street and headed back to the starting place. A few minutes later, the group that had preceded me walked in. Had I continued the walk, I figured it would have been another 30 minutes before I eased in.

The prizes were given to the young men and women in shorts with the leanest and strongest thighs. I wasn't jealous of them, I was happy for them, for their youth, for their health and their fitness. For the beautiful day we had for the event, for the little toddler I saw climbing into his stroller to get his sippy cup for a drink, for the young couple and their black lab on the leash, and for everyone's charitable attitude (after all, the entry fees were going to benefit the older citizens of their college town), for my son who organized the 5K, and all the Pharmacy students who helped him. It was a good day to walk.

I picked up my T-shirt, which I had requested in a small size so I could use it as a prize in my classroom. My students love Carolina. For me it's a t-shirt to wear around the house. For them, it's a special honor to have a Carolina tee.

After I said goodbye to my son, who was still in organizer/director mode, and very busy attending to the details of wrapping things up, I left. I drove to Borders and browsed for probably two hours, bought some books for my classroom, ate lunch at Wendy's (it was 1:00 by then), came home, answered some emails and journal alerts, then took a wonderful hour-long nap.

It has been a very nice Saturday indeed. Thank you Steven and all your UNC GIG colleagues for making the 5K possible. My legs are just a little sore, but that feels good too.

Tags: Aging in Strike 5K, Chapel Hill, UNC School of Pharmacy Geriatric Interest Group

Send a postcard to school

Lori, at Dusty Pages, has made a request for her sister, a teacher. Here is a copy of the letter from her sister, Dee, on behalf of another teacher:

I have enlisted our class in a project to not only collect at least one postcard from all 50 states but to accumulate 100 postcards by the 100th Day of School.  If you are traveling to or through another state during your time off, could you please drop us a postcard from your destination? Or, just bring us one back….it doesn’t have to be mailed.  Thanks So Much! 

The address is:

Mrs. Carman's Class

Hardinsburg Elementary School

419 East Third Street

Hardinsburg, KY  40143

I think the teacher is saying that the postcard doesn't have to be mailed from the location you bought it. You could buy the postcard while traveling through another state, then when you get home, mail it to them. I'm going to buy one from my home state of NC... I won't be traveling much between now and November (that's when the 100th day will be).

So, if you are traveling over the next couple of months, between now and end of November, pick up a postcard and send it to this classroom. I know the students will be so excited to get them.

What a great idea! I think I might borrow it, Lori.

Tags: Dusty Pages, 100th day postcard project

How do you spend your dash?

The Dash

A friend sent me this link. It's a brief musical interlude, a poem, and a moment to pause and reflect: how are you spending your dash?

Just click on the link above. The movie is about a minute or so long.

It's worth writing an entry about. But for me, not tonight. I'm catching up on my alerts.

And tomorrow, guess what? I won't be going into my classroom for the first Saturday in five weeks.

I will instead be going to the Aging in Stride 5K walk in Chapel Hill, NC to help raise money for a local senior citizens center. A worthy cause. And, I'll get to see my son for a little while.

But I will be in my classroom for most of Sunday.

Ah, me.

 

Tags: The Dash, Aging in Stride 5K

Help out the Journals Dream Team: Go Beta!

Apparently some folks here in J-land have been experiencing some problems with losing their edit buttons, and having them reappear again. I haven't had the problem, but I read that there are some technical things going on behind our journals that we could do something about to improve what we have and how it works. Also, like Journals editor Jeff said, "If you are at all interested in helping us fix the Journals product" there is something you can do.

The instructions for helping solve these annoying issues are found at Stephanie's journal, BAMBAM. She's our new Journals Product Manager here at AOL journals in case you haven't heard. I don't know the details of her job, except she takes care of the AIM pages and she writes journal entries as well, or blog entries. I'm not sure which. She isn't either! But she's okay with that, and I am too. She's actually taking comments on the subject at her Jog or Blonal, new names she has suggested for those who are uncertain of what to call their entries.  I left the link above so you could check her out.

It's pretty simple, really. The only thing you have to do differently than you already do when you make a journal entry is to use the beta version of your journal. Everyone has one, a beta version that is. I read about it last year, and tried it, and it worked. The beta journal is exactly like the non-beta journal from our perspective, but apparently there are technical differences that are driving the system magicians crazy with all the problems we have been having lately... or they have been experiencing lately.  I don't know which, maybe both.

Here's what you have to do to write in your beta version journal, which I am doing right now as a matter of fact:

Just add a "beta" in front of your URL.

For example, my journal is http://journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer and my beta url would be http://beta.journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/.

In my list of favorites on my desktop, I have two links to my journal. One is the former URL and the other is the latter.

I can click on the beta.journals link and there I am. My very same journal, in a friendly format more compatible, I suppose with something called R8. Again, I don't know about R8, I'm just trying to help out. If writing entries in the beta version will help the journals dream team out, then I'm going to do my part and write in beta version.

 

Tags: R8, betajournals,

Weather Pixie is here!

I read about the cute weather pixie at Thunder Girl. The weather pixie is supposed to change as the time and weather changes. In fact, according to the weather pixie site, "As the weather in a particular location changes, the characters clothes will reflect the weather and the graphic will show rain, snow, airborne."

I'm going to watch her in my sidebar to see if she is accurate telling me the weather in my area. You can grab your own weather pixie, but under the terms and conditions I am not supposed to link to that site from my website here. But Thundergirl has a link at her site... check it out.

However, I will put the name of the website here if you are interested in your own weather pixie chic. Just follow the directions once you get there. It's pretty easy to do.

weatherpixie.com

Tags: weather pixie

Progression

As you know, I've been using my weekends to arrange and rearrange my classroom since it began four weeks ago. Classes are going well, the kids are into their routines, and I'm not getting lost in the corridors anymore. I know many of the teachers names, and all of my students... I had a very good week.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about making a reading/ listening center in one corner. This is what that corner looked like at the time. 

                            

There is a shelf unit on the floor behind me, built last year by my husband to sit on last year's desk. This year's desk is way too small for the shelf unit, so I began thinking of another way to use the shelf. As you browse through this progression of photos, keep an eye on the blue bulletin board as a landmark.

Steve came in one day to help me move the big stuff two weeks ago. We placed the heavy shelf unit on top of two desks against the back wall, and that seemed sturdy enough. I could live with that!

                         

 

Then I pushed the light colored bookshelf into the area to create an enclosed space. The bookshelf on the left is a visual barrier, and separates the listening center from the small teaching group area at the white board to the left. It worked well enough. Books still in boxes because I was told the white bookshelf might be removed from my room.

                                 

 

Then one day last week, I walked into my classroom and there was a brand new bookshelf sitting in the middle of the classroom floor! I was so happy.... : - )

                                 

 

I walked it across the room and put it in the place where the light colored shelves were, then moved the light colored shelves into another position to create a second reading area. This is what the space looked like until yesterday afternoon. As you can see, the books are still in the cubes. I didn't want to shelf them until I was certain this was the best location for the bookshelves.

                                   

It seemed so dark in that corner.

This morning, as I pondered the arrangement, I decided to move the larger brown bookshelves against a wall for safety reasons, and replaced the student desks with a long, low work table. To maintain a visual barrier, I added the shorter white shelf unit to the left, facing the whiteboard, and added a flip chart to extend the separation. Now it's not so dark, the area is more open, yet separated from the rest of the class.

                                  

There are two tape players/recorders for listening to books on tape, writing materials, a basket of books on tape, a basket of head phones, a few books, and a cd player/radio/tape player. I like this arrangement.

 

                                   

Here is where the new brown book case ended up this morning(the one to the right of the window) and the off-white one to the far left (it was originally in the listening center, see 3rd photo down).

I am pleased to say that all my books are now on the bookshelves for the students to browse. I even categorized them so they can find the ones they like easily. I may let them decide which shelves they want their favorites just to give them some input into the arrangement, and maybe they will be more likely to put the books back where they found them so I won't have to at end of day.

Finally, a shot from the front of the room, looking back at the listening center by way of the small group math area to the right. You can see my brand new overhead projector. It's one of my favorite teaching tools.

                                   

To help you orient, my teacher desk is off camera to the right of the file cabinets. The other reading area I created is against that back wall (blue bulletin board), all the way to the left.

Well, thank you for visiting me in my classroom today! It was so nice of you to stop by.      Bea

Tags: classroom, school, reorganizing

Desiderata...When was the last time you read it?

 

                  desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, 1927

 

 

*Desiderata is latin for things to be desired.

 

Here is a printable PDF version of the poem.

Here are some Wikipedia notes on this poem.

You can order a beautiful poster of this poem here.

 

I remember when it was a song in 1971 by Les Crane. Do you?Such beautiful lyrics for practical living.

Tags: Desiderata,

I miss the old car, but...

This was the car that I've been driving for, what... the past four years... a '94 Caprice. I loved it, it drove well, had good gas mileage, the trunk was huge. Remote control for the doors and trunk. Loved it.

It was the last car Steve's uncle, Jimmy Lyon, sold to us from the Chevrolet dealers in Burlington before he died from cancer two years ago. Jimmy sold us nearly every car we had ever driven from the time we first moved to North Carolina... and that has been since 1975.

We miss his uncle Jimmy, and his wife who passed before him, Joyce. They were good people. Raised up four kids of their own, and I don't remember how many grandkids.

We always trusted Jimmy to find us a good car, a good deal. He didn't know much about fixing the cars, but he could sell them. He was a great story teller, and always had a clean, well turned joke to tell us when we would visit him at his home or his office.

Ah, Jimmy and Joyce... we miss you both ...

So when my car broke down just after we got back from our Florida vacation, Steve tried to make the repairs to keep it running for me. We finally had to face the awful truth: we were going to have to let the Caprice go. It was going to cost more than the car was worth to fix it, Steve found out. It was time to look for a new vehicle for me. That was about three weeks before school started that I began experiencing serious car troubles.

                                    

I don't know what part he's trying to replace here, but it didn't correct the problem. He adjusted things, replaced parts, and even had a computer analysis done on it.

All indications pointed to "Get a new car!"

Normally,Steve would have called his uncle and told him what he was looking for (a used car for his wife to drive to school, clean, something practical, not too much mileage, four doors, a cd player, you know, some conveniences)... nothing fancy. Good price. Jimmy always came through with something just right. The Caprice had been the nicest car I had ever driven. I hated to let it go.

Steve searched the internet for some local cars. For three weeks he has been looking at photos, visiting car lots, calling people up, driving the 'new' cars, but nothing jumped out at him and said "I'm the one!"

Until last week. He saw it. He checked out it's value. He looked at it in the lot. Called me at school today and said he had bought a car for me. We would pick it up after school.

                                    

It's a silver frost 2003 Ford Taurus SES. I don't know all the mechanical things to tell you about it, but it has all the things I wanted, including good gas mileage, smooth drive, nice trunk space (not as roomy as the Caprice, though), and a cd player that works. It has just over 109,000 miles on it. Brand new tires. This is my first car with a working cd player. (The Caprice had one, but it never worked from day 1. Wasn't a big point with us at the time.) 

                                   

It's clean... I mean clean inside and outside. I can't wait to drive it to school tomorrow. Steve drove it home tonight so he could fill it up for me (I had filled his car (Buick Century) up two days ago, so it's only fair!).

After he got home, I hopped inside and took it for a spin up the road. Drives very nice... I like it already. I told him thank you... and "you done good."

VIVI Awards are coming! Be part of it.

There's another event taking place here in J-land, in case you haven't heard yet.

It's called the VIVI Awards, and there is a nomination committee at work even as I speak . Jackie (HopeFloats) is among those on the committee and she has started the VIVI Awards Journal.

                                     

There are several categories open for nominations this year, as Jackie explains in the journal. J-landers can go to the VIVI Awards Journal and enter the names of journals they would like to see considered for nominations.

This is not the nomination time, but an entry of names for consideration. Those interested in participating will be given instructions prior to the nomination date, October 15th. Voting will take place on November 6th. On November 11th, the winners will be announced at the award ceremony.

Sounds quite exciting!

But for more clarification, and to see the categories, go to VIVI Awards Journal and enter your own name in a category, or someone's journal you think stands out above the rest.

Jackie did an excellent job of explaining the event.

Keep in mind it is only for J-land Journals, even though there are great blogs and journals stretched across other corners of the internet.

Right now, though, we are just spreading the word so everyone is aware of it. You know, you've read a lot of journals this year, and you have some favorites. Now's the time to grab some peer recognition for them.

So go check out VIVI Award Journal and consider the various categories and add your link or other journal links of your favorites.

 

Tags: VIVI Awards

A peek into my classroom

It's Thursday. Which is almost as good as Friday. Is there a special verse to say about Thursdays, you know, like we say about Fridays (TGIF)?

I like Thursdays. All last week's hard work preparing for this week has come to fruition, and now I am planning for next week. I've met with most of the teachers I work with to make sure I know what they are doing in their classrooms. This helps me coordinate, reinforce, and supplement in my classroom what the kids are learning in their regular classroom when I pull them out. Also, in the event they are pulled out and will miss a language arts or math lesson, I can make sure they get it from me instead. Only in a smaller group setting, more conducive to learning for many kids.

It's quite the balancing act, and though I feel like I am walking from one end of the state to the other in order to deliver my services, I know that this is how it has to be for now.

For now, I have my own classroom in a mobile unit, and I love it. I haven't posted pictures for the same reason people don't want to invite folks to the new house until they have it all fixed up. It's like I'm planning an Open House for my classroom here at AOL journals. I want you to see what I have done with the classroom, but not until it is in better shape.

                                          But here's a peek, anyway.

                                  

This is how my classroom looked two weeks ago after I moved all my stuff inside. If you recall, I had to wait until the former occupant moved into her new classroom, and she had to wait until the new wing had passed inspections before she could move. It was a week after school started before the third and fourth grade teachers could move into their new classrooms.

                                 

And this is how it looked a little over a week ago after I unloaded the boxes and before I moved the desks into their current arrangements.

                                  

Last week, it looked more like this. You can see the boxes of things not yet put away to the left as well as another unfinished bulletin board.

                                   

I was able to clean up one corner... still have three boxes of books to put away. That's an old drawing board I brought to school to use as a reward for students who get their work done (or even their homework done). The TV and radio/cd player are pretty much standard classroom equipment these days. The little rug was given to me by my friend (remember the basket someone left on my deck over the summer for my birthday? The rug was one of the items with the basket). Thank you, Alyson. It looks great in this reading area.

                                  

My desk area looked like this two weeks ago. One of the computers had to follow its owner to her new classroom, so now I have the one with internet access. I love the wheeley chair. The printer is broke, so I'm sending a request to get it repaired. Yeah, the blinds are crooked... I keep forgetting to even them up.

                                   

This is going to be a listening/reading center. The shelves to the right were built by my husband last year to fit exactly on top of the desk I had in my former classroom. The desk there was longer than the desk I have now, so I improvised. Hated to not use the shelves, so I set them on top of two student desks. Yeah, I know, the bulletin boards need something. Haven't had time to do that yet.

Since then, I have put up a few posters, a few maps on the wall, and arranged the desks into three areas. I have most of my boxes emptied, and some of my files are actually in the file cabinet.

The posters and maps are adding some needed color, and breaking up the dingy yellow walls. I'm going to change the curtains, and I have great plans for the bulletin boards. I really would like to paint the walls, though.

It's on my list of things to do before Christmas.

2996 Project: John Rhodes

                      

 

One man who died in Tower 2, the south tower, the one that collapsed first, was John Frederick Rhodes. He was from Howell, New Jersey.

Click on his name for my tribute to him, or scroll down one entry.

                                                                     

                    

                                                           Graphic by TC Designs

 

                                                      

Tribute to John Frederick Rhodes, Jr.

                        

 

                              

I am honored to write this tribute to a man whom I have never met.

I found out about him at the 2,996 project a couple of weeks ago.

John Frederick Rhodes, Jr. was a family man.

What I found interesting about him was that he didn't take up golf until he was in his forties, that he loved learning new things, and that he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of his work. Those who knew him said he had a great sense of humor, but mostly he was a family man.

He was a senior vice president for Aon Risk Services, where he had worked for 12 years. He didn't seem to mind the 90 minute commute to work every day.

I imagine he was a very patient man. You'd have to be to not mind a 90 minute commute from NJ to NY and back again at the end of the day.

Even more important to him than his job or golf was his family. I found out that John scheduled his business trips so he would return home on Fridays and not have to work on the weekend. His daughter, Deborah, fondly remembers her father dancing with her in the kitchen when she was a girl, her feet on top of his. He continued dancing like this with her into her adulthood.

He said to his wife "Make sure you take care of family, because without family you have nothing."

Being well traveled, John believed that the journey was the point, not the destination. His family said of him that he lived for the moment.

Which is probably why, in the end, he chose to do what he did.

I imagine that being a senior vice president, John carried a great deal of responsibility for the company, their clients, and their employees and staff. Mr. Rhodes took it a step further on a very personal level.

He stayed behind when he could have fled.

                                            

He was on the 93rd floor of Tower 2, the south tower, the day that it happened. No doubt he had already heard of the north tower's hit 18 minutes earlier. But 18 minutes isn't really that much time for people to interpret and understand what had happened. I wonder if someone had called him to tell him, to warn the company to get their people out.

I wonder what he could see from the windows of the south tower.

I read several online articles about that day, in that tower. There was a lot of confusion in the south tower even before it was hit. People were being evacuated from the south tower following the 8:46 impact of the north tower. Then, announcements over the PA said that the south tower was secure.

They'd had fire drills regularly in the Twin Towers ever since the 1993 terrorist attack, so the employees knew what to do.

John could have taken an elevator down to safety along with other personnel during those first minutes after the north tower was hit, but he told a colleague to get on the elevator and get out of the building. 

"The man got on the elevator and my dad went the other way," said his daughter, Deborah. "He never got out."

Eighteen minutes later, hijacked Flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m. The impact left a hole from the 78th floor to the 84th floor.

John was on the 93rd floor. He would have felt the building sway as the blast rocked the tower. At that point, at least one of the evacuation routes to the upper 30floors was still open. Not everyone was aware of that one stairwell where 18 people were able to escape from the upper levels, as reported by 911research.com.

I can't even imagine the details of what happened next.

What does one do when one is faced with death, and the chance to help others who are also facing death?

Do you flee or stand firm?

Whether one is a senior vice president of a global company dealing with environmental risks, or one of the lower paid waiters in the Windows on the World restaurant (107th floor of the north tower), the critical question is asked. We don't know for certain what we would do until faced with the situation that calls for courage and sacrifice.

When the question was asked of him, John Rhodes chose to stay behind. His daughter said that he would probably have been helping the women on the floor.

That says a lot about the kind of husband and father he was. He loved his wife dearly, and he knew there would be husbands out there worried about their wives, or fathers praying for their sons and daughters, that they wouldn't be alone at such a fateful and frightening hour. John would have assured them, consoled them, and encouraged them in their last moments alive.

It's what he would have wanted for his own wife, or his daughter and son had they been there instead of him.

His family said he was a giver. He sacrificed for others all the time. It makes sense that he would want to help others during a time of confusion and panic while facing the ultimate terror of being trapped above burning concrete and steel nearly a hundred stories off the ground.

John Frederick Rhodes was only 57 years old when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed around him and his co-workers at 10:05 a.m. on September 11, 2001.

He is missed by his wife Linda, his daughter Deborah, his son John, his father John, his sister Elizabeth, and his daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

I didn't know you, Mr. Rhodes, but your memory lives on here, in this one tiny point of hyperspace, as a far away twinkling star. I know your family loved you dearly, and have missed you greatly these past five years.

No doubt your family and friends could have written a more personal tribute than I, with their memories of you reminding us of our own fathers and brothers and sons. It is enough that we know your name and that you lived and died a family man.

There is meaning and purpose in that.

                                                  

 

                             

            The poster above is created by Alex Spektor, entitled The Sun.

                                     You can find it at this website.

 

                                               

 

The 2996: A Tribute to the Victimes of 9/11 was created by D.C. Roe. If you are interested, you can also view the list of over 3000 bloggers who are paying tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It takes a minute to load up.

 

Jackie has already written a beautiful tribute to a police officer at Hope Floats, and so has Natalie at Interface. Guido wrote one about Norberto Hernandez. If you are participating in this project, please leave your link to that entry in your comment.

Thank you.

 

Thank you, Donna, for making the photo of Mr. Rhodes extra special for this tribute.

Tags: John Frederick Rhodes, Jr., Project 2996, 9/11 Memorial Tribute

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Where were you on Sept. 11? continued

I knew that some of the kids would be going home, and they would be alone until their parents got home from work.

But we were being asked not to tell the students (K-5) anything about what we knew.

The rest of the day passed, on the surface, like any other day, but the teachers knew... you could see it in their drawn faces. They tried to have a normal day for the students... it was just another day of learning for them.

But there was more hugging going on as we passed each other in the halls. Hugs of reassurance, comforting each other, despite the fact that we lived over 700 miles away from where it happened. Distance had nothing to do with feeling safe, or feeling neutral. That day, our hearts stopped beating for a few minutes.

Many of our teachers had family and friends in New York. We did not let the kids see our tears. We did not want to frighten them. No one got homework that night.

The last class of students that came to my room heard what I wanted them to go home with.

There are never any guarantees for safety and security in our world, in our communities, or in our homes. It's all relative, and perceived. Sometimes fantasized. 

This was too complicated to explain to the children at that moment. I just didn't want them to be afraid, particularly those who had single parents, or parents who came home very late.

"Today when you go home, some of you will be turning on your television to watch cartoons, or your favorite show," I began.

"No, I'm going to play my video games," one boy said.

"Good, you go right ahead and play them. But if you do turn on your television set, you might find that your favorite show isn't on. It is possible that the news will be on instead. I just want you to know that when you watch the news tonight, please watch it with your parents. If your parents aren't home when you see the news, I want you to remember this one thing: no matter what you hear, you are going to be okay. You are safe in your home. Call your parents, or call your grandparents, or call someone you know who cares about you if you don't understand what you are hearing."

"Oh, I don't watch the news," a girl said.

"Maybe you don't usually, but tonight, you might be watching the news. Something really big happened today." I searched for the words. "If any of you pray at home, tonight would be a good time to pray for our world."

I gave them my home phone number to call me if they wanted to.

That night, no one called me. I was relieved, because it meant they all had someone with them, to answer their questions. To reassure them that everything was going to be okay.

In their little worlds, everything was going to be okay.

Tags: September 11

Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?

What were you doing on September 11, 2001?

John's Weekend Assignment #128: Share your thoughts about 9/11. You can remember back on what you were doing on the day or give some thought to how we think about it today. Thoughts personal, political or philosophical are all up for consideration. Tell us all what you think about when you think about September 11, 2001 .... Write it up in your Journal or Blog, and then come back here and leave a link ...

I was beginning my third year as a teacher. Those who knew of it happening did a very good job of not telling the rest of us. Teachers who had television sets were told not to turn them on. I didn't have a television set, so I didn't even hear that message. It was 11:00 a.m., as I walked to the lunch room, that I noticed an unusual number of parents or grandparents either picking up their children, or eating lunch with them.

I stood in line behind a woman whose granddaughter was about to eat lunch. She was a friend of mine from church. I asked her "Is it Grandparent's day or something? What's going on?"

She turned and said, "Bea, haven't you heard? Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers this morning..."

Try processing that kind of news coming to you during school hours, with no awareness that it had already happened.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "What...?  How...? What happened?"

"They think it was a terrorist action," she said nervously. Knowing this woman, I knew she was very concerned for all those killed, their families, ... the implications were too great, too difficult to grasp.

Shock. That's what I felt.

And then I started thinking of the thousands of people in the towers... I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

So I left the lunch line and nearly ran to the front office. There was a television set on, like I knew it would be. Whenever there is bad weather, it is on. This was bigger than bad weather.

I stared in horror at the screen. All I could see was a sky view of the city, and smoke, just smoke. I didn't realize it but by then, the towers had both collapsed.

"Where are the towers?" I asked to no one in particular.

A teacher standing beside me, her eyes riveted to the screen, said, "They're gone... they collapsed."

My hands flew to cover my mouth as the meaning of it all sank in. Tears filled my eyes. "No!"

She looked at me and said, "Bea, you can't tell the kids. Don't say anything to the kids. They'll find out when they get home. Their parents can talk to them about it."

When they get home? But some of them go to an empty home, alone until their parents return from work. They will turn on the tv to watch cartoons, and they will see it. The older ones will understand enough to be afraid. The younger ones may think it's just a movie. These thoughts went through my mind as I returned to my classroom.

I had a plan on what to say to them before they went home.

(To be continued....)

Tags: Weekend Assignment #128, September 11

Vision, Passion, Purpose

Near the end of August, I wrote an entry that explained the missing ingredient in my heart those few weeks just before school started.

I don't know why it was missing, except that I had started feeling tired by the time August came around, and wasn't ready to go back to school.

Rather than talk too much about it, for I wanted this entry to be as brief as possible, I am here to tell you about a profound video production I just saw yesterday afternoon during a staff meeting at my school. I choked back the tears, for the timing of it is everything.

It is brief, but the music and words are powerfully moving.

You won't be disappointed if you take this link and listen to it and watch it for yourself.

It's about three minutes long.

Turn up your volume, and click on big screen for the full video... you won't be disappointed I promise.

Then come back and tell me what you thought about it.

        Vision, Passion, Purpose

                                         by clientlogic.com

Tags: Vision, Passion, Purpose, clientlogic.com

Journal alerts a problem?

Some folks are having technical problems, not getting their "Comment Added alerts. or "New Entry Alerts." Journals editor Jeff is looking into it. He's going to post what he finds out at his website, Pixel Pusher, as soon as he knows something.

Some of you have asked me if I'm getting my alerts, including the comment alerts.... But I didn't get some of Sugar's alerts. If she hadn't sent me an email to tell me this, I wouldn't have known she had made an entry or two over the past few days.

Thanks for asking! I hope the problem is fixed soon. Sounds like it has affected lots of journaling folks.

So if you are having a similar problem, click on Jeff's link above and let him know.

 

A note about tags

                                                    

Donna at This, That, and Hockey, shares her special talent of creating graphic tags.

She goes on to explain the difference between a snag and a tag in one of her entries. I'll see if  I can pass on what she said the way she said it. Better yet, I will quote her:

 Best way I can explain it is this....  Snags are as is. Tags mean you can request a name or saying be added. 

Of course, you need to go to her website to find the beautiful motion graphics that she is referring to as tags. She will add your name to a tag for your own personal identity graphic. Maybe you've seen other people with the images on their journal page. Apparently there are lots of places to get them, but I don't know where they are because I've never searched for them before.

But Donna's images blow me away... especially her water motion graphics. If you look closely at the sunset above, you can see the waves in the background.

You have got to go visit her now and check them out.

Just look at the subtle movement in this kitten's nostril. Isn't that just adorable?

                      

To be like Max

What I really looked forward to today was coming home and seeing if Journals Editor Jeff had posted the intro and link to my journal at the AOL People Connection Page.

I almost laughed when I saw myself there!

Then I chuckled because it made me laugh!

The week prior to posting the Guest Editor Six Picks, I had been worried about other people reading my journal, afraid for the world to take a peek at my life. Afraid they would find it boring, irrelevant, or trivial. That they would criticize it, make fun of it, or even disregard it as pointless and a waste of time.

But it hasn't been like that at all. Even more surprising was the increased number of comments I received as of yesterday when I first posted the entry. That was pretty cool to see as well.

If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I've been waiting for you with a little nervousness, but now I'm glad you are here. If you'd like to leave a link, please do.

Thank you all, those J'Landers who come regularly, even if you don't leave a comment. I do read all of your comments, but I don't always respond to them. From what I've been reading lately, you all have the same problem as I do: journaling consumes a significant chunk of time.

Last month, when I wrote the entry just after returning from the mountains, where I had fled as on a retreat seeking solitude, I had decided it was time to clear out the clutter from my drawing room and my heart, to make room for something deeper and more meaningful.

                                                      

I came back appreciating the simple life. When I say simple, I mean free of technology. At the mountain cabin, which belongs to friends of mine, I had no telephone, my cell phone didn't work, and I did not turn on the television or the radio the entire time I was there. Relative to my daily routine, that was solitude.

A few days later, a lotus flower in our little bog-like remnant pond became a sign and a reminder of new life rising up out of the mud. It was an encouraging sign a few weeks before the school year was to start.

                                         

There is no doubt that the wonderful technology designed to make life simpler for us is sapping up all of my free time. Mainly the computer.

I hinted, in my journal, that my journal habits would have to change. I still think they do. I need to modify them, so my life can be balanced once more. Ironic that this decision comes at the time I am asked to be a Guest Editor.

                                    

Even Max knows what to do when he has some free time!

                               

to all my J'land friends, and to those from other lands, for making journaling an interactive experience!

Bea

 

Tags: Max, Lotus flower, spiritual retreat, solitude