The man who does repairs for us at home likes my wife because she is always so positive. He knows I am from New York City and assumes that, by definition, I must be negative
"I am," I agreed. "It's part of my nature. The glass is always half empty."
"Don't you remind her that you are from New York?"
"Every day, but it doesn't work. She reminds me that I am a psychologist and should know better."
"I have a good friend from New York," he explained. He is one of the most sarcastic people I have ever met."
"You know, people complain that Parisians don't like Americans. When I went to France I decided to use my high school French exclusively. I spoke a kind of pig French, substituting English only when I didn't know the word in French. People laughed at me and were quite friendly. I don't think Parisians are any different from New Yorkers. But I am not sarcastic at all."
"Why not?"
I don't want to adulterarte my negativism. I am negative straight up."
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Blowin' in the wind
"Wanna hear my favorite song. It's by Eminem."
The fifteen year old sat herself down at the lunch table and produced her i-phone.
"Sure, why not?"
What eminated from Eminem was a set of obscene lyrics embedded in some cacaphonous noise masquerading as music.
"Have you ever listened to folk music?" I asked naively.
"What's that?
"Music of the '60s with a message--antiwar songs (It was Vietnam in those days), human rights, rebellion, love, home, railroads, prisons, poverty, country, mountains. Beautiful melodies."
"I don't know."
"Have you ever heard of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Weavers, the New Christie Minstrals, John Denver, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Simon and Garfunkle, Harry Belefonte, the Kingston Trio?"
"No!"
"How about the Beatles? You must have heard of them."
"Sort of."
"Folk Music had a message. Not just sex."
"If it was so good, how come it's not popular now?
"Good question. The Beatles, Elvis. Rock and roll took over, followed by hip hop, rap, hard rock, God knows what else. Country and Western is still current. I wonder whether anyone will remember Eminem fifty years from now. It led to Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and others you would recognize. Type some of those names into Pandora.com. and listen to "Where have all the flowers gone?" "If I had a hammer," "The sound of silence," The times they are a changin'," Kisses sweeter than wine. "Blowin' in the wind," "Rocky Mountain high." You might find that you like it."
"I doubt it."
The fifteen year old sat herself down at the lunch table and produced her i-phone.
"Sure, why not?"
What eminated from Eminem was a set of obscene lyrics embedded in some cacaphonous noise masquerading as music.
"Have you ever listened to folk music?" I asked naively.
"What's that?
"Music of the '60s with a message--antiwar songs (It was Vietnam in those days), human rights, rebellion, love, home, railroads, prisons, poverty, country, mountains. Beautiful melodies."
"I don't know."
"Have you ever heard of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Weavers, the New Christie Minstrals, John Denver, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Simon and Garfunkle, Harry Belefonte, the Kingston Trio?"
"No!"
"How about the Beatles? You must have heard of them."
"Sort of."
"Folk Music had a message. Not just sex."
"If it was so good, how come it's not popular now?
"Good question. The Beatles, Elvis. Rock and roll took over, followed by hip hop, rap, hard rock, God knows what else. Country and Western is still current. I wonder whether anyone will remember Eminem fifty years from now. It led to Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and others you would recognize. Type some of those names into Pandora.com. and listen to "Where have all the flowers gone?" "If I had a hammer," "The sound of silence," The times they are a changin'," Kisses sweeter than wine. "Blowin' in the wind," "Rocky Mountain high." You might find that you like it."
"I doubt it."
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New Year catch-up
This is a long overdue up-date.
I continue to publish short pieces that go largely unread. A Peculiar Child's Verses of Garden is a tongue-in-cheek collection of garden rhymes. The publisher omitted the "s" on Verses on the cover, thereby ruining the humor of the title. The first page printed the title correctly, so one out of two required Ss was correct. One might say that the book was "half S'ed." My consulting at the high school is going well, particularly with a counseling group I run for teens to teach methods for coping with anxiety. About a dozen kids attend religiously, 80% female, and unload their feelings about parents, relationships, and school. They would prefer that I not structure the meetings but that won't happen. Their histories with abuse, dysfunctional families, parents in jail, as well as their unbridled anger is daunting. The group has bonded; they resist any attempts to add new members or to split the group into more manageable units. The incidence of panic attacks, depression, and bi-polar disorder is extremely high. They have all the impulses of adults without the judgement. My academic year is now half over and, as usual I will need to decide whether I will continue to make the long trip to work next year or to finally retire.
I continue to publish short pieces that go largely unread. A Peculiar Child's Verses of Garden is a tongue-in-cheek collection of garden rhymes. The publisher omitted the "s" on Verses on the cover, thereby ruining the humor of the title. The first page printed the title correctly, so one out of two required Ss was correct. One might say that the book was "half S'ed." My consulting at the high school is going well, particularly with a counseling group I run for teens to teach methods for coping with anxiety. About a dozen kids attend religiously, 80% female, and unload their feelings about parents, relationships, and school. They would prefer that I not structure the meetings but that won't happen. Their histories with abuse, dysfunctional families, parents in jail, as well as their unbridled anger is daunting. The group has bonded; they resist any attempts to add new members or to split the group into more manageable units. The incidence of panic attacks, depression, and bi-polar disorder is extremely high. They have all the impulses of adults without the judgement. My academic year is now half over and, as usual I will need to decide whether I will continue to make the long trip to work next year or to finally retire.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
