Musing about my childhood raincoat

 My family moved several times while I was growing up because of my dad's job. We lived in Neenah, Wisconsin for almost all of my elementary school years. 

My mother bought me a white raincoat when I was maybe in second grade. It had sort of batwing sleeves and a hood. I'm sure she thought it was cute and also easily visible in a rain storm. However, my classmates decided it looked like a ghost and so whenever I had to wear it to school, at recess they would all run away from me yelling, "It's a ghost!"

I'm sure that was fun for them. It was not for me. It basically meant that whenever it was rainy no one would play with me. I hated that raincoat. 

I never told my mother and I never complained. It was unspoken, but clear that while we didn't lack for anything, we weren't spending money frivolously. I was not going to talk my mother into buying another raincoat. 

So I dealt with it as best a seven-year-old can. I reluctantly embraced the role and ran after my classmates pretending to be an actual ghost. 

I was so so happy when I outgrew that raincoat. My sister inherited it. Many years later, when we were adults, it came up somehow in conversation. She said the same thing -- the other kids designated her the ghost and ran away from her. She also played along with them. 

I haven't thought about that raincoat in years. I don't know why I thought about it today. It's 95 degrees and sunny here today. 

The DNC

 We all know the Democratic National Convention is in Chicago right now. My husband and I are avoiding the Chicago Loop and the United Center area. We are watching parts of it on various screens -- last night it was my husband's phone. 

One of my former students is at the convention! She is with a group called Civic Influencers, which works to get younger people and diverse people involved and voting. It is always a pleasure to find out what my former students are doing, but I am particularly proud of what this student is working for. 

I don't want this post to be about partisan politics. Instead, I am thinking about the excitement of the Convention and the history behind our elections, all the way back to George Washington. I'm not that knowledgable about that history*, but I know the election process has become more inclusive and of course, we all have access to seeing at least parts of the nomination process via the Convention being broadcast.

I'm also thinking about all the work that gets done off camera - my student working for civic engagement, others working to bring various issues to the attention of people who may have influence. 

The Convention continues tonight and we'll be watching again.

*I taught American history to 4th graders, from Jamestown through the end of the Revolutionary War for 17 years. I tried to learn something new each year, whether I could use it in my teaching or not. I know quite a lot about that time period!

Unanswered Questions

 Today I have decided to use Tammy Evans' prompt: Make a list of 10 questions that have no answers. Or maybe have absurd answers.

Why I am so bad with technology?

Will I ever be fluent in French? (I'm working on it, but I really have no idea.)

How do you know when it's time to quit?

Who are those people who like lutefisk? (No offense intended - I am Norwegian by ancestry.)

Why can't I ever remember my dreams? (The ones while I sleep, not the real-life dreams.)

Does everyone talk to themselves?

Are there really ghosts?

Will I be able to read all the books I want to read?

Will I finish writing a novel? (This qualifies as a question with no answer because I have no idea what happens next in the story.)

Does the squirrel that hangs out in my backyard like the squished berries I throw out for her?

That was challenging, but I did it!

Side note: The American composer Charles Ives wrote a piece titled "The Unanswered Question." It's quite a haunting piece. You can listen to the LA Philharmonic playing it here: https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/765/the-unanswered-question

Summer Musical Theater Memories

 I was terribly stuck for ideas of what to write today. I looked in several books and online for possible writing prompts. I finally decided to use this one:

"Brainstorm ideas for a quirky musical that, as far as you know, has not been written. Choose one idea and write your title." Well, my thoughts led in a different direction.

I love musicals. When I was a kid, my dad had LPs of different musicals - Oklahoma, Carousel, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and most likely others that I'm forgetting now. When I was in high school I got to play in summer musicals for three summers. I play (French) horn. My first musical was West Side Story. It was the the most difficult thing I had ever played. And I had a blast. It is a brilliant music theater piece. The second summer I played in the pit for Carousel. Such beautiful music and such an awful premise for a love story. I didn't think about that as a high school kid. My final summer musical was Brigadoon. I didn't know this musical before that summer. It was also a  lot of fun. I have since watched the movie, which is charming.

The orchestra for a show is in the pit, naturally. And that semi-invisibility leads to some goofiness. I remember one incident well. In Carousel, we had an electric bass in the pit, as well as an upright string bass. The electric bass player was a sensitive guy and every night he would cry at the same moment. I think it was when Billy Barker, who was killed in the first act, comes back as a sort of ghost and meets the daughter he never knew. It's a scene with no music, so the orchestra sits silently, then comes in for the next musical number. On this particular night, the other bass player, who was playing the non-electric instrument, stealthily turned up the amp on the electric bass. So when it was time for the next musical number the first note from the bass thundered out above the rest of the orchestra. He immediately turned it down and all was well. 

I'm happy to say that I was not involved in any way with that prank.