Month: September 2009

Arabic Lesson

It’s raining in Vermont, and cold. Yesterday after school Kim and I tried to learn how to pronounce properly the name of our Iraqi classmate, Sabah. Success was partial. [flashvideo filename=wp-content/video/arabic.flv image=wp-content/video/arabic.jpg /] This is my Russian classmate, Tatiana, who seems to be feeling a wee bit less homesick. I’m very glad. The photo was taken by Bill, the only student older than I. We learned today that he has withdrawn from school. Sad to […]

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Giant Bunnies

I haven’t posted a letter from KT in a long time. Today’s the day. I’d written a mass e-mail which said, in part: Sorry I don’t even to have time to make your names invisible to one another. It’s okay: there are no icky people amongst you: no stalkers or anything. She replied: Well, like I kinda like to stalk. You sound like you’re in a whirlwind of activity.  I imagine you’ll always be pretty […]

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Accidental Humor

I keep confusing school with my job. When a teacher assigns work, I’m affronted. “You want this tonight? The quickest I could turn it around is about a week.” Fail. I had a dream last night with a tragic ending. Someone had given me two Norcos. I joyfully popped them and then, just before I started to feel the effects, my alarm clock went off. People think I am very funny. I wish I meant […]

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The Flower Lady

From where I sit at my newly arranged desk on the third floor I see a mass of purple flowers in the foreground and dense woods just beyond, with a path mown between. Fifty feet into the trees there’s a spot of silver flickering. It’s all I can see of the stream. Late yesterday I looked out the window and saw Mary, co-landlord with Victor, make her way along the path and disappear around the […]

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