My Conversation With God – Guest Blog

My conversation with God 7/13/13

I don’t want to talk about the Treyvon Benjamin Martin story

Because it’s been told before because I know how it ends

black boy dead boy no boy wins.

And you,

you were supposed to be watching

keeping him from harm.

His mother prayed and prayed and

you said you would she believed

you could

he was the one in the hood

and you just didn’t.

Maybe you looked away for a second

got distracted,

heard thousands calling your name

so much you couldn’t hear him

couldn’t decipher it from the voices

the noises,

maybe you confused it with a cheer

when the field goal was good,

or a hymn that was really loud

maybe you didn’t like what he had to say

all young and un-educated like.

but really,

how long would it have taken,

how long did it take

for you to call

for him to leave,

join you,

be rewarded

such a short time

in your care.

Was it just too dark that night? Was he just too dark that night?

They say he looked like all the others, “all the other punks that get away”.

— a poem by Cj Coleman

Cj teaches in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, is a Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Fellow (U of Pittsburgh) and a member of Madwomen in the Attic (Carlow University)

Cj emailed me this poem and I found this photograph in my archives to accompany her words.

Hoodie Day March 30, 2012 Pittsburgh Public Schools

School’s Out for the Summer!

Well it WILL be out come Monday, June 17th (the final day without students)

The lockers were all opened and cleared out after the students left. What a collection in the lost and found.

I still have to turn in my keys and get signed out. The grade summary reports got turned in Friday. The books packed from the shelves in boxes or cupboards. Ripped down the bulletin board paper and thought about what color for next fall.

This lone work boot and the baseball were in the hallway by an open locker.

Thought about how I could have rearranged the still life to improve the composition but didn’t touch it,

just moved myself and the camera.

Happy Summer- I’m turning off all alarms.

Waiting for a Ride to Commencement

Saturday at 12:30 PM, Pittsburgh Carrick High School’s Class of 2013 will graduate.

Friday morning, the Timpani were waiting for a truck to take them to Petersen Events Center at University of Pittsburgh. Ready for their part in Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance as the seniors walk in the processional.

The bowl of the drum seemed to glow on this overcast day. And yes, there’s a snare drum peeking from behind.

Unexpected Gift

The seniors in sixth period finished their Digital Photography exam. And after homeroom, the seniors were allowed to go home.

One of the young women in the class and my homeroom, handed me this two tone metal dog pin and said, “Here Ms. Hendricks. This is for you.”

I was so surprised. She’d made it in Jewelry Class.

I took the highly polished pin and pinned it on my shirt collar, fastening the safety clasp, thanked her and told her how lovely it was…. but then as I thought about it, I asked her if maybe she should give it to someone in her family, it was so beautiful.

She said, “No, I want you to have it.”

My first year teaching high school is coming to a close. I’m touched when asked to sign a yearbook. They want me to bring my camera to graduation on Saturday.

I’ve learned a lot.

Thank you Jaquea. (p.s. It is really difficult to photograph highly polished metal)

Big Dreams

It seems from the emails from friends and followers that comcast.net and verizon. net are the largest group not receiving my daily post via my gmail account. There are a few others, too.

Even a new email address and a different provider the next time I sent it, for some reason these addresses think the blog post is the processed meat in a little blue can. (I don’t even want to write the name of it – )

Why after almost four years of daily blog sending it is refusing my emails is something I don’t understand. No bounced back email, no sign of it in spam. People have difficulty subscribing to the blog at wordpress, not receiving a confirmation email. So what changed?

Did someone get in my email? I’ve changed all the passwords and there are no signs of compromise that I can detect. At least a few people wondered what happened to me and others have let me know they are receiving it just fine without a hitch. Did wordpress change something? What is suspicious these days? Who knows. Seems other wordpressers are in good shape but the email situation is exasperating. Thanks for your patience. I did read in an article How To Tell if you are Boring Someone, and one tip was –don’t talk about computer problems. Thanks for your input xxooxx Ruth E.

And the Post Today————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Photographer Martin Weber had a show at Silver Eye Center of Photography called A Map of Latin American Dreams about three and a half years ago. I remembered the faces of the people he photographed and how he documented their dreams and desires on a small chalkboard in every image. He is the inspiration for this project.

We used black construction paper and white chalk. I showed the students his photographs first. Then talked about dreams. I encouraged the students to write specifically.

Today I can’t show you the faces of the students who did this project in my Digital Photography Classes but I wanted to share some of their dreams.

We converted all the dream photos into black and white and then made a display in the classroom. Of course the faces of the students amplify the effectiveness of the composition and evoke emotion but these are just the handwritten dreams of a select few students as we come to the close of the school year (last day for me June 17th)

This could be a good project for many levels of students These are 9-12th graders. I wrote down my dream, too.

Analog Clock Faces Smile at 10:10

My old clock fell off the hook and a new battery couldn’t help it recover.

I found this turquoise retro looking kitchen clock last Saturday in Shadyside. Oh how I love a second hand. I really like to look at a clock with a face and get a visual as to how much time is left. Most students like a digital clock for telling time.

My colleague used his Phillips screwdriver to remove the bolted kitchen clock out of the box. I ‘d bought it for my classroom. I never really noticed the time at which the clock was set when we got it out of the box.

Mr. B (Bob) told me that clocks for sale are always positioned at the time of 10:10. Huh, I had never really noticed that fact. I thought it would make an interesting post to think about. Maybe everyone else already knows this. Is it the same in other parts of the world. I guess 9:09 or 8:08 or 3:03 wouldn’t look as good.

And sure enough there is information all over the internet about it and why. Timex says they set their timepieces at 10:09:36 exactly.

It shows off their name and is symmetrical. Mental Floss has an article all about the myths and truths of the default setting 10:10 on watches and clocks for sale.

So I started thinking about digital clocks for sale and many of them online for sale are set at 12:34. Who knew? This is just something I haven’t thought about.

Thanks Mr. B. (See Bob and Whiskers 1955 post) He told me that even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day!

Here’s the packaging for the kitchen clock for the classroom. You can see the three holes where the clock was screwed into the cardboard. I thought of going to stores and photographing a multitude of clocks at the 10:10 setting but decided at this time of the school year, one photo of the photo on the packaging would suffice.

(an iPhone photo of a photo on the packaging)

Following Mr. John’s Truck Up the Narrow Road

One day BEAUTY, the next day NECESSITY- Andy said the blog is like a Carousel Slide Show and you just don’t know what’s next–

On the way to school one morning. Shot with old iPhone 4. How about that narrow road Parkfield Street?

Not sure how a toilet got named a John, so I looked it up and found out they are named for Sir John Harrington and that there is even a toilet museum.

One of my favorite posts on the blog is the pink toilet in the snow.

Cars Driving Uphill Have the Right of Way

….and so when I leave school and I’m driving down Parkfield Street (AKA the Cow Trail) and someone’s driving uphill, the road’s so narrow you have to pull over to the curb and allow the uphill car passage. Even pulled over it can be a tight squeeze.

Wouldn’t you know it, I got lucky on Monday afternoon and as I’m at the curb I look out the passenger window and see the neighborhood of Carrick and St. Basil’s Church up at the top of another hill. One shot with the window down and then I put the camera back in my school bag and take my foot of the brake and head down the hill as the uphill driver gives a wave of thanks.

Looked up St. Basil‘s story, too.

This shot shows Pittsburgh topography. Hills and more hills.

The trees are full of leaves now. Shot with the Canon 70-200mm lens as I was headed to the Girl’s Softball game.

Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere- 7:02 AM

Spring!

We are eager for it to begin. In earnest.

Monday there was a two hour delay due to ice, snow and sleet. It was unexpected and I heard it on the radio as I was already driving to school.

Can we trust the groundhog? Phil said it would be an early Spring. Well Phil, it’s Spring tomorrow on the clock and calendar but it feels like WINTER today. Chilly and gray. We are ready for blossoms, muddy earth, warm breezes. Saturday I saw my first robin in the back on the porch post.

Now I know, no one reads the blog for the weather report but the change of seasons is significant. We just want to be reassured that a true Spring is coming and will warm us up. SOON. (Florida readers- I saw those photographs of you in short sleeved shirts!!)

Before school I stopped in at the Giant Eagle and bought this bouquet. I took the daffodils to school for the students to photograph. They were buds in the morning and by the afternoon they had opened.

You can see the set up with the background of folded white paper to eliminate clutter. When I was ready to go home and the lights were off, this is what I saw.

Just received from a Florida friend who is visiting friends in Boston-First Day of Spring.Thanks Kristin — Just received from a Florida friend who is visiting friends in Boston-First Day of Spring.
Thanks Kristin

4 Fireplaces at the Red Light on Fifth Ave and Kirkpatrick Street

Taken with the iPhone. Through my dirty windshield. I was at the end of Birmingham Bridge ready to go up the hill onto Kirkpatrick Street to Centre.

Not ideal conditions but there were those four fireplace openings staring at me as I sat and watched the cars come down Kirkpatrick Street.

Different from my daily route, it was my old route from last year’s school but I’d gotten my hair cut on Carson Street and was headed home.

You might remember Jurassic Pittsburgh from April 2012 if you ‘ve been following for awhile. I took that shot of the dinosaur-like demolition machine on the way to my former school. Added it here at the end cause who has time to back and look. But this is the result of the demolition.

Below are the photos from April 2012 that I took on the way to my former school.