LEAP YEAR 2008

Rain

It's a rainy Sunday here in North Carolina. We need the rain. I know we need the rain and I am so unaccustomed to rain that it felt like a big leap to put on a raincoat, get an umbrella and walk outside. It's funny how a simple event like rain can become such a foreign experience. When I returned to campus after Spring Break, I spent far too long trying to figure out where books were in the stacks. When I go out to socialize after a long period at home, I feel awkward. I don't know if I lose the things I don't use. I do know how critical it is to get out there in the rain whatever your rain may be.

Head Scarf

Imagine your grandmother wearing a head scarf and sitting next to a dog. Put her in the flat bed of a pick up truck. Get in the cab and start driving on a highway at 55 mph.

My kids and I saw this very scene yesterday as we were driving on Highway 15-501 South. I wanted to write down the license plate number and turn in the man who was driving the truck. Frances kept saying "Mom, there was an extra seat next to the driver." Even if I had taken the leap and called the police, what did I expect them to do? Is chivalry dead or worse? Maybe the older woman insisted upon some fresh air.

Six Pages

It was 10:54 am as I stood in line for coffee. The woman behind me said to her friend "I wrote six pages in two hours. Don't you think that is sooooo slow?" Single or double-spaced I wonder. Helvetica or American Typewriter. I do the math on my fingers. I must write six pages in six hours (on a good day). I get my coffee. I walk to class and think, bragging is the anti-leap. Bragging followed by false self-deprecation is even worse.

Details

My friend Geoffrey asks great questions. Every time I see him, he asks me about my life, not just how are you but specific requests for information that pick up on conversations we have shared in the past. It doesn't hurt that he is a journalist by training. He applies his craft to connect daily with other people in his life. When you ask a question that goes beyond "What's Up?" you take a leap. Be like Geoffrey. Take care to remember the details of other people's lives. Then, follow up.

Strapped to the Hood

I spent the day with Meria Carstarphen, the Superintendent of Schools in St. Paul, Minnesota. While I was there, she taught a photography class at Como High School. She brought in slides from her National Geographic article about her hometown Selma, Alabama. The students perked up as she showed a photograph of women in a convertible crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. To get the shot, Meria strapped herself to the hood of the car and clicked frames as the wheels rolled. One student asked why she didn't just turn on some fans to make the women look like they were in motion. Meria replied that a part of the National Geographic ethos is to never set up a shot. One might argue that strapping your body to the hood of a car is setting up a shot and imagine the leap of imagination to take such a risk.

Bright Shiny Distractions

Most graduate students angst over not having enough time to write. John Sloop, a visiting scholar, cut through this claim not by being unsympathetic but by offering some great advice and I paraphrase. Block out days to write. Then, write. Do not let the bright shiny distractions get you. Your first draft of anything is a conversation with yourself, not a masterpiece. At first, don’t worry about style or substance. You won’t know what you are really saying until you write. Leap the thoughts out on the page. Herein ends the pep talk. Go write.

The Vow of Silence

I spent part of Good Friday learning more about rhetorical criticism. Instead of soaking up the insights of John Sloop (a rhetorical scholar from Vanderbilt University), I mostly pondered ways I could come off as competent in the midst of a respected group of colleagues. I should know better. Leaping by trying to sound smart leaves behind an icky residue. Next time, I will take a vow of silence until I am ready to speak my mind.

Phoenix

"It sounds like the city in Arizona," Frances said to Trygve. "Are you sure it is not phone-icks?" Tryg replied. I was doing my best to let the discussion carry on but I couldn't take it anymore. "It's phonics, guys." FAWNICS. It only takes a brief interlude with a child or an adult whose first language is not English to realize how difficult English is. Heck, even the word phonics is no cinch to pronounce. Neither is cinch. Learning to speak, read and write a new language is one leap after the next.

Parallel Directions

Circa 8:30 am, one of us opens our front door. We pile outside and wait for the school bus. In addition to panicked shoe and backpack adjustments, we watch high school students park their cars on our street. Today, one student tried to parallel park her BMW. I couldn't stand it any longer. I leapt into her moment and told her to pull her car out, forward and try all over again. She smiled, listened and did not follow my directions.

Crannies

Today, I took a h-u-g-e tub (large enough for a small kid pool) of art supplies and stuck these innards in spare real estate all over our kitchen cabinets. Now, sparkly pipe cleaner rest beside the breakfast cereal. Paint brushes linger by pans. Beads are in a box near the oatmeal. I thought the plan might leap our kitchen into chaos and instead, it made me grin. I am no Julia Child. I love art and I don't mind cooking. As long as I don't squirt the red acrylics into the next meat loaf, this leap will make me smile. Who needs a special cabinet when there are ample nooks and crannies?