Day 6: Test II

Today's post is going to be several several shorter stories surrounded by the question of, "I remember..." With each new story beginning with the phrase, " Tell me..."

Natalie Goldberg points out that using that small nudge of, "tell me..." versus "tell about a time...," gives us the sense that we have someone to talk too. In a every good quote she states,

"In the act of writing is the unspoken need of having another to listen."

Something that I find all together true when I sit to write, even in my personal journals.

For to me, writing in my personal journal is not so much in helping me discuss and process events in my life (inherently listening to myself) but the greater motivation is the thought that one day, my children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren, will be able to pick up these books and to listen to the thoughts and stories that 'Ole Grandad' had to share with us.

Today's writing assignments:

"Tell me about a time you were in trouble in class."

"Tell me how you first learned to read."

"Teach me something."

"Tell me how you felt about math."

"Tell me some details about an uncle or grandfather. Be sure to include their name."

Three minutes each.

"Tell me about a time you were in trouble in class."

I remember almost never being in trouble in class. I say "almost never" because surely through 20 years of schooling, at point or another I must have been in some trouble for something.

Wether it be for recess, not doing homework or simply day dreaming in class...

I was always the quiet one in the classroom, the obedient one. I didn't always get things as quickly as others around me, but I tried my darndest to understand and comprehend all that I could.

Mostly out of fear of my parents really, they were (and still are) as loving as a small child cant want, but they had high expectations for us to meet. Not so much in what we learned, but how we acted while we were at school.

"Tell me how you first learned to read."

I remember many a day, of reading exercises, of writing, of language comprehension. My great-grandma Haverson (God bless her) had been a school teacher for many years.

When my parents told her that I having trouble reading and writing at school, she would come over to my grandparents house, when my family would come up to visit, and she would sit with me for hours doing work pages; reading, writing and arithmetic for good measure.

Here was this woman of years earned, sitting with one of her blond hair, blue eyed great-grandchildren. And it is one of my most precious memories of her.

"Teach me something."

How to 'center' a ball of clay:

First, you will need to plop your ball of clay onto the wheel, this will cause it to stick to the wheel head. Then, you will ned to start the wheel spinning.

Get your hands wet and get the ball of clay nice and wet as well.

This first action you will take is called "centering," from looking at the clay you can probably see that as it spins it's center of mass is off center... hence the word, "centering."

Your going to take your left hand and place it on top of the ball of clay, with most of your pressure going to be on the 'ball' of your palm, the second hand (right) is gong to come alongside the ball of clay.

With your thumbs touching so that they can communicate with each other.

"Tell me how you felt about math."

I was driving home from Oklahoma one night (I was living in Kansas city at the time).

The moon was out and shining with all it's fullness and I had one star out of the right corner of my driver side window that I felt was either following me all the way up to Kansas City or simply trying to play a game of 'hide and seek.'

At one point along the drive, I was coming up to a turn in the highway. One of those slight bends that you usually don't think about. But the way the way the moonlight was hitting it, I noticed the angle at which the road was raised and the thought came to me, "Someone used math to figure out at what degree the turn should be and at what angle the highway needs to be raised in order to compensate for the velocity (= speed + direction) of a car going 70 miles an hour, so that the vehicle doesn't simply fly off the road!"

"Tell me some details about an uncle or grandfather."

I remember so many memories of my uncles and grandfathers.

So many pleasent memories.

I remember my grandpa Ron, we would always go to his farm in northern Iowa for holidays. He owned and ran a thousand acres of land, as well as a barn full of hogs.

He was not a man of great height, but he was strong. I remember him grabbing our arms and us trying to get away from his grip and never being able too.

His head was one of the shiniest things that I had ever seen. He would often cover it up with his wig when we went out for dinner, but sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast, I would often try to sneak a rub to feel how smooth it was.

Done!

Most of these guys are actually about 4 minutes long. About that's one of the points of this assignment, to start remembering things and that whenever one of them perks your interests, you make a list of them in the back of your notebook to visit again.

Tomorrow's chapter, "Funny."

May miss a couple of days starting Monday depending on how much internet access we have down in southern Missouri. But will continue to be faithful to this challenge in my notebook.

See you all soon!

-Eric Alan