Teacher Tails - Karrer Shorts: Recent Episodes
Paul H. Karrer
Short stories. No annoying ads. No mercenary pitches. Just stories to warm your heart. Vetted published articles/tales/short stories (L.A.Times, Seattle Times, Teacher Magazine, Chicken Soup, Miami Herald, etc.) by Paul H.Karrer about: Kids, Teachers, Parents, Education, Korea, Incarceration, Samoa, Peace Corps, New Zealand, California, Connecticut, Teaching, Dogs, Chess, Multicultural Marriage, Foods-real or imagined and more. Most are light-hearted.
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Tales from the inside of County jail. Norteno - rules and regulations and a scary night-time inmate-entry puts the pod on alert. Unbelievable way contraband is sent from one floor to another. And ...making your bed Norteno style.
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The author reads a first person account of survival in jail. Gang norms and expectations. Punishments and the unbelievable militancy of the Nortenos Gang. And a few words about an Aryan Brother gang member.
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The author reads the intimate story of how to get 13 years in CA jail. All you have to do is rob the same place three time. It helps if you're a gangster too.
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The author tells of famous frauds, charlatans, and murderous huckster incidents from the 1700 and 1800s in Britain. People are conned and have always been. Fake News and conspiracies are as old as fires in caves...
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A teacher entertains his fifth grade class with some techie magic. Bafflement and befuddlement of a wonderful student with a loud public declaration of love.
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A Peace Corps volunteer has to deliver a fecal sample to the medical office. However, the volunteer is "robbed."
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The author shares how a simple request for a dog by his daughter leads to the discovery of a disturbing photo from the Korean war. And in the end the daughter gets her dog.
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The author repeats an incident shared with him by his very own lawyer. Who we shall call...Hugo to protect any guilty parties.
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The author interviews Guita (An Iranian) about the realities of going to prison in Iran. Giuta's last name is not used for fear of retribution to her or family members currently in Iran.
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The author reads his complaints of yard warfare with burrowing enemies. And...perhaps offers a Noble to the President if he can resolve the conflict.
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The narrator reads Heinz's final three stories. They encompass, awe, love, listening, being present, and appreciation.
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Three stories of Heinz Treviranus about a fish, a surprising money transfer, and just knowing when your kid is sick. They occur in Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand and Germany. Each story is uplifting and full of wonder.
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The author reads from Heinz Treviranus' book It's Shiloh. Chapter's 9-11. A story from New Zealand's military. Another about a dying father's request. The final story is about missing a flight but catching it anyway.
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Stories are read from the book - It's Shiloh. A collection of amazing incidents, occurances, and happenings in the life of Heinz Treviranus. Heinz was born in Samoa but also lived in Fiji, Germany and New Zealand. He passed away in November of this year. He and his son Ludwig worked on this book as Heinz struggled with leukemia which finally took him from us.
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Two strange Tales by Heinz Treviranus of Samoa and Germany are read. One is about a lost family hidden after the Spanish Influenza and an unexpected letter. The other is of the power of love. Both involve Germany, Samoa, and the fickle unexpected twists and turns of fate.
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Teacher Tails podcaster reads mysterious and compelling stories from a dear friend's book SHILOH. Two short stories will be read each time. The friend, Heinz Treviranus, passed away recently and this book is his gift to those who will listen.
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The author explains of his on going border war. Mentions Trump. The Noble Peace Prize, Mountain Lion Urine and Raccoons....
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27 year-old Viktoriia Roshchyna is a well-known name in Ukraine journalism. She was investigating the Russian Black Sites (Torture and off the map detention centers) in the occupied Ukrainian Oblasts (provinces) She was detained and not heard from. Due to her high visibility the Pope tried to intervene for her release in a prisoner exchange. Warren Buffet even offered to help get her released. Her story is not a good one and eventually she was found. Anyone who thinks mother Russian will treat Ukrainians well needs to listen to this.
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The author discusses why Trump wants Greenland. How he came to be aware of it. How some US billionaires want to develop it. A brief history of the Dorsett and Inuit Natives and the Vikings. Treaties which already exist with Denmark and would sufficiently satisfy all the supposed needs of Trump. The unforeseen consequences of this Gremlin's (Trump) gambit and how to get rid of Gremlins.
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Podcast 170
The author reviews some Ukrainian history as well as a long list of Russian aggression in the area. He also refers to a previous Podcast #15 In which he interviewed a former student who volunteered on the Ukrainian/ Polish border for 6 weeks. He made one mission into Ukraine to deliver relief supplies.
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A child's day at school is revealed through rhyming verse. Hopes, fears, laughs, and tears. What a kiddo sees and hears etc...
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More rhyming verse from A Day at School delve into the fears, tears, jeers, and sometimes leers from the perspective of an elementary school kiddo.
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The author reads 4 poems from a child's day at school. They are short, rhyming verse and usually have a kicker or twist at the end. All are light-hearted. Hopefully they will make you smile or at least recall those years at school.
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The author reads rhyming verse of an elementary school child's trials, tribulations, and basic survival at school. There is always a clever or tongue in cheek comment at the end. Pages 23 -26.
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The author reads an opinion piece about gun control he had published in V.O.M.B (Voices of Monterey Bay)
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The author reads a story he had published in Shining Moments Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives. A doctor friend volunteered for a medical mission in Kenya. But initially he was put off by the religious tone of it. He found it too churchy. But was it?
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Teacher Tails
Fruit or Vegetable...
Originally published in Chicken Soup for The Soul (First Dates & Soul Mates). The author reads his story about good intentions and a bowl of Coco Puffs from the Korean Island of Cheju.
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Two teachers try to get away from school each day by eating in a car nearby. But fate and a former student alter their quiet and undisturbed lunch. If you are a teacher its very hard to get away from...school.
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The author reads a story he had published in the Chicken Soup Book - Family Matters.
The author's 6 year-old brother annoyingly practiced the piano each morning. The author's 5 year-old sister had a hamster named Hammy. They also had a very high strung mother and an... usually calm stepdad. All of this comes to a whirlwind of connected chaos.
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A DAY AT SCHOOL is rhyming verse about a child's day at school. Issues, worries, incidents, troubles, (real & imagined) cute, and silly happenings. With a kicker on at the end of each poem. Pages 19-22
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The author reads rhyming verse from his Kids' book. A Day At School
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Three RPCVs (Return Peace Corps Volunteers) discuss their time in the Peace Corps in Samoa (1978-1980) Dr. Michael Baughan, Paul Karrer - Teacher Tails Host, Harvey Gerry
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The author reads a story he had published in Chicken Soup for The College Soul.
A female student is surprised at all the attention she gets as she drives her car.
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The author reads his Chicken Soup Story of female students dealing with a totally blinding blizzard.
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The author reads his Chicken Soup Story - Mom, You Have to Try. A family suffers as the grand mother starts to lose her memory. But after she is gone they learn she really really did try.
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The author reads 2 of his rhyming verses from his kids' book A DAY AT SCHOOL
poems 13 & 14. All have a kicker at the end.
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The author reads an article he had published about slavery at sea and the tuna industry.
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The author and his sister deal with a difficult mother who changes for the better due to Alzheimers.
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The author explains some realities of Jury Duty and he has some recommendations,
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Author describes his dislike for skate-boardering until he tries it.
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The author reads 3 poems about survival at an elementary school.
The Bully
The Hand
Bathroom Stalls
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The author reads 4 very short rhyming verse poems about the realities of elementary school. All have a kicker on the end. A riddle, puzzle or comment.
p.6. The Ride
p.7 Reading Hurts My Head
p.8 Numbers
p.9 What Am I?
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A DAY AT SCHOOL is simple rhyming verse about well...a day at school. Humorous and each short poem has a kicker, problem, riddle or final say at the end. About a minute in length each - a read 3 at a time.
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The author reads a super short poem he published with a clever whimsical twist at the end. Fits right in with TEACHER TAILS. And if you admire humming birds even better.
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The author notices one of his female students cries when it rains. He asks why and finds out her parents work the fields. He also discovers many other things about her and her 6 year old brother.
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The author interviews Susan Gerbic - a Scientific Skeptic. She debunks psychics, mediums, fortunetellers, soothsayers, astrologers, etc. The New York Times (Feb. 2019) wrote an article about her revealing a fraudulent celebrity psychic. She's not a favorite in the anti-science world of money making grief vampires (Those who make money by defrauding and scamming those who need/want to speak with deceased loved ones.) She defines cold reads and hot reads - and plenty more - super interesting...
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A teacher reveals his own border crossing at age 6. His Coyote (A cousin) is offered two bags of groceries for the crossing
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The author sits next to a Korean grandma during Thanksgiving. She reveals how as a 17 year old she fell in love with a North Korean soldier. She details how her family fled north and then back south. Also, how she survived being machine-gunned buy a U.S. plane. And what you eat when you are starving...
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The author is told by a former student, now an inmate, in Level 4 Maximum Security - HOW TO GO FISHING IN PRISON.
The inmate was in solitary confinement for 7 years
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The author a multiple gun owner had this published in the L.A.Times. He's against Teachers having guns in schools.
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The author assigns his 5th grade class to write about something they HAD to do. And one shy, silent boy opens up. In the process he breaks his teacher's heart, but now the teacher understands.
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The author had this article published in the L.A.Times. He tells of a favorite student incarcerated at age 14 for 9 attempted murders. This is a student he taught chess. The former student and teacher play one game of chess for nearly three years via the mail. One letter allows one move. The former student was in isolation for nearly 7 years.
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The author has a drink with a friend and learns the guy's mother-in-law shot her toilet dead. She's a tough old bird. She doesn't like her son-in-law and he doesn't like her. She's Mongolian. He's Czech. Makes for a very interesting social interactions. Non-fiction.
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A 3rd grade teacher attempts to explain Thanksgiving to her non-native English speakers and a lot is lost and confused in translation. (Humorous)
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The author's 5th-grade class completely hijacks (most wonderfully) a lesson about St. Patrick. (Originally published in the L.A. Times by author)
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-03-17/history-st-patrick-day-fifth-grade
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My article was published in the L.A. Times and it got a lot of attention. The T.V. programmer for the Tamara Hill Program wanted to interview my wife and me on their T.V. Program. Listen to why I HAD to say..."No Thank You". Pretty funny.
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RFK Jr. the anti-vaxxer showed up in Samoa after 2 nurses mixed the wrong mixture in measle shots. Two children died. Kennedy immediately blamed the vaccine...many deaths occurred soon after because people were not vaccinated due to Kennedy's influence. And now Trump wants to let him control health issues in USA.
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The author inadvertently swims TO a shark. He also mis-judges some very nice kids. Hint- never swim alone.
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The author tells a hitch hiking story about a British chef who gets picked up by The Mongrel Mob Motor cycle gang in New Zealand. The Brit is forced to go to a party and perform a... service.
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The author tells the horrific story of a local serial rapist, Thomas Pollacci , and crossing paths with him.
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The author describes with reminiscent joy - the care, feeding, maintenance and swearing required with having one rabbit for 12 years.
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The authors attempts to assist a friend who was cheated and a person dies due to the help!
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The author thinks he recalls getting his feet X-rayed as a kid while buying shoes. He learns it was true and eventually outlawed. WHAT THE HECK!!!
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I read and comment on my article published in the L.A. Times. I have OCD. My Wife is a Hoarder. How do we Manage? The Tamara Hill TV program called me after reading this article and they wanted us on their show. I said NO WAY. See why.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-07-17/hoarder-ocd-kimchi-refrigerator
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The authors discusses how he used TICKETS in elementary school to motivate kids and to defy the system.
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Just published in NEWSWEEK MY TURN - the author reads how he is impacted by two of his 5th-grade students' wallets.
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The author describes John Denver's last moments before he crashed into Monterey Bay.
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The author goes over the infamous and little known 1948 mass murder at Bixby Bridge (Gallatin Restaurant)
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The author notes tips on how to cut a Wooly Mammoth's hair.
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The author is confronted with a ball popping Pittbull during 5th grade Physical Education class. What to do?
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The author discusses pet peeves (alleged crimes) some pickleball players commit according to other annoyed players. And what the heck is pickleball anyway?
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The author is waiting in line at county jail to visit a former favorite student. The author is surprised to see one of his current students waiting for a prison visit herself.
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The author is "Legally (claims his child)" hit, chopped, poked by his young daughter. When she spots a VW bug before he does. A game called - YELLOW SLUG BUG NO SLUG BACK.
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The author and his dog unintentionally confuse a woman about their economic situation.
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The author complains about his daughter's tattoo aand the faddish nature of todays tattooees and finally reveals he has a tatoo too.
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RFK JR is brought to task for his roll in the unnecessary measles outbreak and many child deaths in Samoa.
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The author makes his fifth graders write an essay about cheating. But the kids turn the table on him and remind him he's a cheater too and they get rewarded for it as well.
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The author shows and uses the 5 methods of arguing a point. And he used specific examples for the Left and the Right
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The author relates how his father lied about being seizure free from epilepsy and the many fatal results of that lie.
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American teachers are blamed for poor performance of students. And the Solution say the educational reformers is...be like Korean Teachers!!! But.......
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A parking ticket enforcer runs afoul of the author...
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A teacher throws a kickball game to assist a boy with developmental issues. A boy called Chief Joseph.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author's father had an incident in Japan while eating. His fellow educators thought it was a heart-attack. It was not...
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author and his wife know a super famous actress in another country. An incident made her ugly for two weeks and she got to live like the rest of us for a while.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
Two guys share medical procedures they had done on their penises and the hilarious outcomes are discussed. Non-fiction, cute, funny... (Some appropriate profanity. YES! appropriate - profanity.)
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A teacher confesses and describes in detail when he crossed the border (the Frontier) at 6 as an illegal.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author describes why he and his wife no longer wear wedding rings. Although they tried three times.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author has a crew of good girls in for lunch recess. He asks a simple question, "How many of you were in kindergarten together?" The question grows and with a fond memory...sort of.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A young teacher holds a cute pre-schooler upside down and the child's response is hilarious....
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author has a drink with a friend and learns the guy's mother-in-law shot her toilet dead.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author plays a game of chess with a former student and they discuss Biden's decreasing chances of winning the election.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author's Korean wife and their bi-racial infant daughter are returning to visit Korea. But will it turn out better than when the author and his wife lived there?
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author talks about a 10-year old child who later became a mass murderer. The author refuses to use the shooters name.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A non-attentive student spoke when he shouldn't have regarding Socrates and hemlock.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A former favorite 5th-grader with a life sentence describes 24 hours (from A - Z) in Salinas Valley State Prison.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
An adult child gives his step dad a shower for first time. It's a major change of roles.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A former favorite 5th grade student writes to his all time best teacher. The student explains why he is there and reveals the many mistakes he made at life's cross roads.
But the teacher gives him an assignment - some homework.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
A friend in New Zealand and a very good neighbor right here in California end their own lives. In very different ways.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author recalls visits with his very infamous granny. A tough old goat who took nothing from no one
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The author meets a former student. The student invites him to go pig hunting. A thing far out of his universe. But he goes and there in is a teacher tale.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
The school secretary tries to fix EVERYTHING. Even when a child discovers his dead mom in the morning.
A 5th-grader loses his mom. His teacher and the school secretary try as best as they can to smooth things over - no easy task.
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**HAVE A NICE DAY** Pestilence, plague, small pox, measles, polio, chicken pox, mumps, fleas, lice, ticks, psoriasis, dandruff, famine, cancer, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, NO blood pressure, asthmas, allergies, mental diminishment, financial impairment, a treeless family tree, lemon in your sugar, sugar in you engine, long visits from your mother-in-law, short visits from your friends, longer visits from the IRS, short visits from terrorists, longer visits from the FBI, jock rot, yeast infections, a long stay at Soledad, pimples, warts, pustulating open sores, broken bones, fractures, compound fractures, big bills, no insurance, many marriages, lots of alimony, a mean spirited boss, no friends, lots of enemies, barking dogs, screeching cats, night mares in the day and dreamless nights, infections, epilepsy, contusions, bruises, a small cell mate who doesn't like you much, a BIG cellmate who thinks you are cute, a cracked skull, sprained joints, ruptured groin, counterfeit coins, ugly children, a fat one eyed, flabby lipped pug-nosed, toothless one-eyebrowed hairless wife, mice in your burning motor home, Republicans in your bedroom and democrats in your bathroom, winter vacations in Syria with the Huzbullah and lots of AT&T stock bought at an all time high. Oh yeah and hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids the size of an asteroid! These are a few of the things I wish on the S.O.B. metermaid wh...
In New Zealand the author gets bamboozed by his daughter to go Zorbing . And they come a cross a contingent of Chinese party members. A Psychiatric ward comes into play as well.
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The author observed a disabled man abused and it doesn't sit well with him. Nor did his own inaction.
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The author describes the inner workings and specifics of his writers group of 31 years
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The teacher is given an apple on April Fool's Day. But someone took a big chunk out of it. But who The class refuses to squeal...
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The author is given a trunk of old letters he received over the years. Lots of memories and treasures - especially THE TRAP LETTER.... Funny
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The author visits his former student in Level 4 Maximum Security prison - Salinas Valley State prison. They exchange information and stories. Fishing in prison is one of them.
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Our 58 lbs rescue bull terrier attacked another dog and we went to the vets to have her euthanized - but....
A teacher playfully puts a huge rock in a withdrawn child's backpack with super results...
The author and his wife gossip in Korean about a cowboy. Unfortunately Mr. Cowboy also spoke Korean.
A teacher is engaged in a parent teacher conference for his 5th grade student. The mother's phone rings. At that moment her husband informs mother and kids he crossed the border into Arizona's Sonoran desert from Mexico.
A teacher still has his class practice handwriting now and again. He is never happy with the results and he shares a "story" about a girl with super handwriting, but no second finger joints on either hand. The kids don't believe him and then one day...
The author visits a former 5th grade student in prison. Roles are changed as the inmate gives his former teacher some smart advice.
Father and daughter hike in the woods and see more than they should. But a practiced mantra makes it ok.
A teacher races each 5th grade class over the years. And finally he loses. The teachers own words come back to haunt him.
The author helps a friend cut glass in New Zealand. He meets a blind customer and learns a great deal.
A French bulldog informs the listener of exactly how to take proper care of Frenchies. A few slights and comparisons to German Shepards are made.
An inmate, a former 5th grader, of the author shares prison stories during a visit. The author learns prison gangs defend their reputation with a sentence of death even if it involves chess.
A reading lesson with students turns into a learning lesson for the teacher. The kids know lots of vocabulary words the teacher doesn't recognize in the article. They are all words related to prison.
The author cleverly drops his phone in the toilet. His visiting Korean student gives him some hope.
A friend I nicknamed The Counselor is a magnet for people needing advice. Even strangers come up to him and ask for his input. Funny
The author's wife flew to her homeland but quarantine rules changed while she was in the air. Not nice.
Published in The Seattle Times - the author (an old fart) makes two new steadfast friends because of Covid. One a dog the other his human...
The author went to New Zealand on the cusp of the Corona virus. Very scary to see it unfold from afar. And we are still dealing with variations of it.
The author shaves his fat head due to a self-induced horrible haircutting error. And there are a few unexpected consequences.
My grandmother visits me in Samoa and we attend a drag queen pageant. My conservative grandmother is given a front row seat and is chosen to be a judge. It only gets better from there. Published in Sn Francisco Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun.
A foreign male living on Korea's southern most island is watched by his provincial ancient land lord. Why?
A new teacher has to have an informal goal. He decides he will get one kid to stop swearing - no matter what.
An old woman and her grandson are waiting in line when they notice a tough gang banger. A potential for conflict arises. It isn't what occurs.
I catch my lawyer in the act of being less than 100% on the job. He even turned red. Hell must have froze over...
My white-haired grandma visited Samoa and got to judge at Drag Queen Pageant. There was much to be seen.
The female owner of a wonderful coffee shop terrorizes her clients. However she has a wonderful soft spot - dogs.
Every 3rd Friday a Peace Corps volunteer competes with a Samoan chief to sit in a special place. But why?
A teacher gives his class an exotic fruit to sample. Who would have guessed it could kill a student.
Peace Corps volunteers have a 2 week isolated village stay. Villagers choose who will stay with them. But who stays where and why did no one want me? It all makes sense later.
A teacher recalls a miracle in class. A 5th grader girl (a selective mute) utters one word and the class goes crazy. Goats are involved and so are time -warp letters
Parents start calling the teacher because a student has given lots of kids hundred dollar bills . And they are real and the kids are only 10. What's the story here?
A Tibetan friend crosses paths with Brad Pitt. But Korea, New Mexico, California, and New Zealand get involved. And a pissed off German...
I recall a disturbing incident where my students cheated on a test and I was encouraged to deal with it harshly - the Samoan Way (Fa'a Samoa)
A very detailed description of visits to Salinas Valley State Prison - Level 4 Maximum Security. Abuse by correction officers to visitors. And how I learned to smile when I didn't want to, but had to.
Peace Corps volunteer Uncle Mikey is up to his catastrophic doings again. It's all about Chickens, but spearfishing matters too.
A Peace Corps volunteer attempts to set an example for his host village with his garden. Things go massively awry. This volunteer is renown for being shadowed by screw ups - these events were triggered by what became known as as THE TURMOIL FACTOR.
On a morning P.E. run a 5th-grade teacher learns things about his kids. Some sad - some wonderful.
Some 5th grade girls beg their teacher to come in class during his lunch break. Teacher practices his fiddle. - WARNING!! THERE IS A SUPER BRIEF WRETCHEDLY HORRIBLE RENDITION OF "ANGELINE THE BAKER" But suffer a bit and listen to commentary. Cute
A Peace Corps teacher of science learns many things in South Pacific's Samoa - like Pigs DO fly.
On a packed bus in Korea my wife is robbed of her ancient Rolex while I'm with her. The passengers insist on all of us going in the bus to the police station. Police inform us we were hit by a well-known bump and push gang . Unbelievable ending ...
After a lesson on the origins of MLK Junior Day, a 5th grader asks, "Teacher were YOU a racist?" The teacher rethinks his knee-jerk reaction and admits yes. But there's even more to this story...
A Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa but from Texas looooves his boots. But how long can leather boots last in the jungle?
One teacher has ZERO bathroom problems with his 2nd graders. WHY? A principal finds the reason.
A Peace Corps Volunteer (me) completes his 2 years in Samoa. He goes to New Zealand and wonders will he fit in to normal society again. Will people be decent? He has a heart-warming and humanity at its best experience.
Korean story I had published in San Francisco Chronicle. A friend explains how her best friend in high school lived in a quarantined city of lepers Sang Dong - because both her parents had the disease. Heart-warming story about friendship, special shoes with a happy ending
A teacher tells how he dealt with his 5th-grade class lock down after hearing a gun shot and seeing a police officer crawl beneath his class window with a drawn gun. Happy ending... fortunately.
Two guys take a hike across a reservoir in Connecticut. The ice has a surprise for them. Also the story is a metaphor for one of the guys, who unfortunately like the ice, has become less and less solid over time.
A teacher deals with series of events at the same time. A child has stapled her thumb. A child outside is dancing in a puddle. Some parents think they have a conference NOW!
A Connecticut Yankee teaching English in Korea delivers three orphans to their new families in New York on Christmas Eve. But one of the infants has massive disabilities. What is going on? Do the new parents know?
A woman in a store accuses me of being a racist after I address her and the child with her (she's Anglo) in English and then Spanish. My small Frenchie wanted to say hi to them and I wanted them to feel at ease.
A wonderfully resilient 5th grader deals with her mom's death in a heartwarming and magnificent way.
An ill 2nd grader escapes to school. He doesn't want to miss class. The teacher told them finish school...go to college. Years later teacher and student meet. What happened to the kiddo?
During a week at science camp a teacher gains some insights as to why a particularly troublesome child has issues. And why his favorite thing in the world is hot showers
This opinion piece was originally published in The Monterey Herald. Nothing came of it. Then I offered it to Education Week. They published it and it went VIRAL. 16 Google search pages connected the letter to the world. It was published in Chinese and Hebrew even. CNN called me at school to do another opinion piece - see what happened with that at the end of the reading.
The author (me) rebukes and then rebuts a statement by New York Times & NPR Op-editor David Brooks. He stated, "A major impediment to education reform is the teachers' unions."
I detail what is education reform? What has it done so far? (Public education destruction.)
A 3rd grade teacher tries to explain what Thanksgiving is all about but makes a linguistic blunder which horrifies her class. The kids are "Newcomers" migrants from all over Mexico. Some do not even speak Spanish. For many their primary languages are - Nahuatl, Mixtec, or Maya
A retired teacher (me) is asked by a former to go pig hunting. The former student is in his 30's now. I go and hope I'm not a moron. But I am. However, all pigs lived for another day.
I interview a former student, D.J. Corbett, who volunteered at the Polish-Ukrainian border for 6 weeks. He snuck into Ukraine briefly with a supply of donated basic goods he bought. Homeland Security in USA pulled him aside and gave him some strongly worded suggestions. Lots of heart-wrenching incidents and a few heart warming ones. D.J. connected with some Polish riot police and we both play chess with them now via the internet. Much more...
This article was published in Critical Read. The editors wanted an art creation based on a piece in a museum. So I carved a chess set from deer antler and related it to the most famous of all chess sets - The Lewis Chess set. (Pieces are displayed both in England and Scotland) I tell how my Frenchie Winnie inspired the set as she loooooved to chew deer antler.
My siblings and I contacted a legal firm after seeing a class action suit advertisement. We were hosed. I tie in the annihilation of three Roman legions in 9 A.D. by Germanic tribes due in no small part to mistreatment by Roman lawyers. I end with a lawyer friend's humorous non-fiction tale of his nakedness and a burglar. Guess who got screwed!
A wife flies to Korea during Covid but the quarantine rules change while she is between countries.
An observation of the many women who prepare themselves before they visit their inmate.
A correction officer refuses me the ability to visit my former student. He claims I came at the wrong time. I did not. I discuss what is forbidden during a visit.
A reading of an article I wrote in VOMB (Voices of Monterey Bay) about French Bull Dogs. A few comments at the end. Photo credit to Kelli Uldall - that's our Winnie in the photo.
I brought my daughter of 12 to Samoa, a place I had lived in for 5 years. We met my artist friend John Poynton and stayed in his "guest house." His guest house was with a lot of imagination a house and hardly for guests. We made the best of it and will never forget.
John Poynton a famous artist living in Samoa told me this story about his house girl, love, singing, and theft. He was a true artist residing in pure poverty, but was the boiler plate eccentric example of an artist.
I will try to attach a link of his paintings
Published in The Seattle Times. During Covid two dogs and two old guys meet in the woods and all become steadfast friends. A Frenchie named Winnie and a German Shepard named Romeo are the main characters. A few comments about the story after the reading.
Enclosed is a link for the story...
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/making-new-friends-at-the-end-of-a-leash/
Just got this published in the L.A.Times. One of my favorite former 5th graders went to prison for 9 attempted murder charges. We played one chess game for nearly three years. I read the story and comment. I visited him regularly in level 4 Maximum Security at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad. Very intense for this old teacher...
I read and comment on the L.A. Times article which got me started. It is about my 5th-graders and how they hijacked a lesson about St. Patrick's Day. All non-fiction. It involves a laser pen, sheep, St. Patrick, leprechauns, and loving , kind, Latino 5th-graders.
I read and comment on my article published in the L.A. Times. I have OCD. My Wife is a Hoarder. How do we Manage? The Tamera Hill TV program called me after reading this article and they wanted us on their show. I said NO WAY. See why.
L.A. Times published my article about why teachers should not be armed in schools. French International TV asked to interview me. They have a viewership of up to 30, million viewers the world over.
I read and then comment on my article in The L.A. Times - The Sriracha Shortage, or as my wife might call it: Our long heatless summer.
Background history on the Sriracha (world hot sauce shortage) How it impacts me, my Korean hot sauce loving wife and an Alaskan bear.