Updates.....

Bookfest - Wow. That was so much fun. I met so many very cool people. I heard Tim Seibles read (Tim, I really meant it when I asked if you could just call me at night and read me stories) and what a wonderful voice and presence he has. I had a student in class today that said that when Tim read, "you just want to melt into your seat and realize how right everything is in the world." I also listened to Dorothy Allison (what a great woman) read a story that has stuck with me since the reading. She made the room resonate with her characters and power. Oh, and then there were about three dozen more awesome writers that made my weekend. If you missed it, you are a fool! The only way to redeem yourselves is to go to a bookstore and buy books and lose yourself in those books for a WHOLE F**KING DAY. There. Go do that.

Field Trip - You may not know this but, at 7:00 am, the day after the Bookfest, I went on a two night field trip to Kartchner Caverns with my son. And THAT was so fun too. There were 19 fourth graders and 10 adults. Kartchner was beautiful, and we went on hikes and swam and sat by the camp fire. Here are a couple pictures from the hikes. Note - there is a bee in that yellow flower. I am, as a matter of fact, not scared of bees. And, if you click on the red ocotillo flower and make it big (maybe even make it your desktop) it looks so cool. It's the clearest, sharpest close-up I've ever taken and it should be seen enlarged. True confession - we stayed at a KOA. It was kind of somewhere between camping and a hotel. There was swimming, mini golf, and all of the tents were about six inches apart. But it was funnnn. I love night time when I'm camping. I have a new sleeping bag and it was cozy and soft and wondrous. I curled up in there and read Bookfest books with my little head lamp and listened to the wind and worried about monsters from the ghost stories. Luckily, there were other people in other tents a mere twelve inches away from my head. Oh, and...there were showers. Yes, we were living in the lap of luxury.

The quote of the day today has relevance to nothing I've written here. Sometimes they relate but not today. I include it only because it makes me laugh. For two reasons; one, it's funny, and two, it's said by "Mango." What is THAT all about?

"Life is hard. It's even harder when you're stupid."
--Mango

Okay, yes, I have had moments when that would apply to me :)