We’ve had great weather here, so when the kids get home we’ve been going to the park. I miss when the geese would waddle around us. Now there’s just screeching trees, but at least the insects and the heat haven’t taken over…yet. Mostly it’s just Spider-Man jumps and running around the playground. My oldest likes … Continue reading The Week That Was, or Red Planet Aligned
Our just-turned-four-year-old makes dinner a full contact event. We quit trying to play into her attempts at doing anything but eating, so we just hope that she eats a few forkfuls of something. Every now and then she eats a whole dinner or just ignores it. This week I had asked her to eat a … Continue reading The Week That Was, or Pollen-esia
We celebrated our oldest daughter’s birthday. She was excited that she got to hear her name over the intercom at school. She is still young enough that everyone in her class brings in cards and treats. The youngest was stashing candy and wrappers everywhere, a chaotic flurry of plastic and chocolate. Demanding pizza. Drawing on … Continue reading The Week That Was, or The Shape of Pizza
The week began with some semi-restful snow days. I don’t believe anyone in our home was permanently damaged, though a few tears were shed and more than a few markers bled. The almost-four-year-old sang while we were discussing dinner plans. Her song began, “Tiki masala / I need a dolla.” Not bad. I wrote about … Continue reading The Week That Was, or You got some Duncan Idaho on my Gurney Halleck.
I think I’ve garnered more rejections in the last year than I’ve ever received. The takeaway from that is that I’m submitting more than I used to. Sometimes that makes the process seem easier and sometimes it doesn’t. Lost Chords and Serenades Divine #2 is available for your perusal. Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) … Continue reading The Week That Was, or Down and Out on Electronic Submission Platforms
Most of the week was taken up with getting the second semester of school under way. That and the continual fight with the dryer. I will now have to hire a true mercenary after four troubleshooting attempts that have exhausted my limited handyman artillery. I’ve been a lifelong horror fan and spent a lot of … Continue reading The Week That Was, or And But So
Though in different ways, this year was as tough as last year. Maybe that’s just what it is. I wrote seven installments of Test Prep, my contribution to The Terror Test, a horror podcast made by two fellow English teachers. I wasn’t able to write as many as I wanted to, but I’m proud of … Continue reading The Year in Writing 2017
School is incessant. Essays pile up. Standardized tests becloud the horizon. My feet are unfailingly wet. Either my children have hydrokinesis and practice on my socks, or they are careless around water. Despite the times, Friday saw the release of Jasper Lee’s Mirror of Wind LP. Jasper’s most well-known music is on the score for … Continue reading That Time of Year You May In Me Behold
Since we’ve had threats of snow this week, the kids and I watched The Snowy Day adaptation on Netflix. Ezra Jack Keats’s little book is one of my favorite children’s stories, and, to be expected, gets much altered in an extended animated version. It does capture Keats’s art and the atmosphere of his story, though … Continue reading The First of Possible Weekly Updates That No One Asked For. You’re Welcome and Happy New Year!
Stephen McClurg 