New Directions

Another week has come and gone. It's funny how as a teacher the time gets chunked into weeks. I used to think, before I became a teacher, that teachers existed only at school. No thought to what they did on the weekend, or what they were outside of the school grounds. I now realize school is not the only element in my life. I did learn just like a small child playing peek-a-boo by covering their face, I do have a life on weekends.

The fries shown above were grown, prepared and cooked by Maureen. They were monsters out of the ground and I/We at the 'Zoo have come to like sweet potato fries.


They grow stealthily in the parkway, then plop onto plates after some effort by Maureen, and satisfy a not too greasy craving.

I grew up in a house that didn't eat sweet potatoes, at least not like this. It's one of the life changers that has come out of our suburban sharecropping project. There are many things we do differently, and I guess it's just a natural progression from our thoughts of how to adapt to the changing community around us. The Corolla adaptation, if I go through with it, is another example.

Along those lines I'd like to take up fishing. What I did in my younger days doesn't really count much. I can gut and clean a fish, but what I'm talking about is going to Kaweah Lake on a fairly regular basis and catching fish, hopefully trout, for food. Doesn't a grilled trout taco sound great? The key is to remember the joy of fishing is no greater than the joy of eating. Hunting is another avocation I'd like to pursue. But I've come across a new twist to these activities and others.

Maybe my filters are set higher than before, but every endeavor has new technological advances that one must possess to accomplish the task at hand. This doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for. There is a blinding array of choices that one has to wade through to find what is needed. Even then one is not sure we've made the right choice because of the myriad of different options available. I know I'm a dinosaur in many ways, but how about a simple metal edged ski with some sidecut, 3 pin bindings and some leather boots? Why do fishing poles come in so many lengths? Do I really need to have four or five different poles and reel set ups? I just want to fill my taco with some meat.

In looking at these enterprises I get the feeling I'm being sold a lifestyle instead of tool that helps me live better. I need to remember to use the tool, not become a tool of a company.