Miscellaneous Rambling
Man, spring crunch last night: two tennis matches, soccer game, Freshman orientation with Max. But I much prefer it that way to the alternative: one event every night, Monday through Thursday. Tonight is open, leaving me free to seed a few more beds: arugula, cress, lettuces, spinach, cilantro.
You want to know a great scam to learn a ton from reputable sources for pennies? The Great Courses from The Teaching Company. Yes, they're salty . . . but not if you buy the CD used from Amazon, then rip them from the CDs into your iTunes library, then upload them into your iPhone and listen to them while planting arugula, cress, lettuces, spinach, and cilantro. Just ordered: The Great Ideas of Philosophy ($12.92) and American Ideals: Founding a "Republic of Virtue." ($10.95). Both are lecture
series by the erudite Daniel Robinson, whose An Intellectual History of Psychology might be the best I never finished.
I went to Max's Freshman orientation last night. I was stunned by the well-behaved eighth grade students and the sheer number of parents in the audience that are friends, clients, or otherwise acquaintances of mine. When Michael (now 19) did the orientation, at the exact same small town high school, I told Marie that Armegeddon was coming to our town. The trashiness of the audience, the unruly student body . . . I was in a downright angry mood when I left. But last night? I felt great, like things are really looking good for my hometown and alma mater. It's amazing what a huge difference there can be between classes. I'd love to hear what causes the same demographic make-up to produce such radically different results.
Happy May Day to my TDE comrades.
