11/11/11

A Poet of Math

A muse of numbers
Figures and symbols that
have meaning for a select crowd
Striking phobia chords in others

Subject to interpretation
see in it what you want to see
But in math
 you need proof

Elegance in the algorithm
the Everests are in the theorems
and the peaks sometimes elusive
Unreachable.

A stanza of comfort
when all the columns add up
all the symbols make sense and
you feel as if you touched infinity.

Why in the incalculable meanderings
of this world did the lines intersect
in such a way that
made a problem unsolvable?

We scratch our heads
get out the erasers
try to do it better, make the corrections
and pray we get it right this time.

 I dedicate this to a fine math professor Robert Whitton. His life and talents changed the lives of many. A car struck him on a dark and rainy evening. He passed away on Friday. He will be missed. Be careful out there. I mean it.

Will I ever learn? or Harvest 2011

After last year's wondercrop, I wanted to burn my gloves. Then spring came and I got caught up in the excitement of the planting frenzy. It wasn't that bad last year...was it? I decided to keep it simple this year and I only planted three tomato plants, two squash and about 20 onions. You are looking at all I got from all of the plants. A friend of mine who watered for me while I was gone in July says she got one tomato about the size of a small plum. I tried harder to attract bees this year. I pollenated the zucchini. I planted a coneflower. I endured my daily attack of mosquitos. I am starting to understand the mass use of chemicals in the food growing business...I am not happy about it but I understand it. It is just harder than it looks to grow things well. Although my next door neighbor's garden was busting at the seams...After some observation, she gets more sun. I chopped up my little onions and had them in a taco. Viva la jardin...

Not a Saint, Maybe a Poet, Definitely Crazy

Something compelled me to pursuit a full-time job. Oh, maybe something to the effect that I am not getting any younger, I have no retirement plan and it’s time for a shake down. Well, I got it. I am working full-time in a self-contained classroom composed of autistic children. They are amazing beings. I personally am wired in an odd way with the MS business and all, but I can only imagine what the electrical impulses look like in their brains. It is fascinating and frustrating all at the same time. You see the manifestations of their misfirings in everything from trying to hit you because they can’t express their frustrations and pains, or by screaming because they cannot move from doing one thing to another without utter chaos in their minds. The chaos pours out as bad behavior in their bodies and sometimes you have to be quick to not get the brunt of their feelings. I have never been more physically and mentally exhausted from a job. I hope I can keep going. I am already attached to the kids and wonder how each day will go and hope for the best. As a parent of a child who is mildly “on the spectrum” I understand how hard it is to see the future for these fragile little people, because first, you have to get through today, or the next thirty seconds. We hope for the best and for a tolerant world that will support and embrace these unique children. The crazy part is dealing with the bureaucracy of a big school system and the struggles of the teachers to mesh as much as possible with the mainstream. With no planning period and no actual breaks at all, the days are long (esp. since they are 45 min longer than last year) and beyond comprehension in terms of physical output. Currently, the district is trying to figure out how to measure these teachers in the “Pay for Performance” metric. Too bad sweat equity isn’t quantifiable in this case. If anyone is still out there, thank you for reading!