Roberta M Roy

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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Over There

Bulbs in two of the pots on the sill of the sliding door leading to the balcony have sprouted--my youngest grandson's and my thirteen year old niece's. No sounds of shovels or plows beneath my window. It snowed all week--but not last night. Yesterday my son and I got his business taxes in order. Tomorrow is the first of March. And I can't wait for a clear weekend to run to North Country! . . . Still missing my old friends there.

But the season in Chile is fall. Wracked by an earthquake of 8.8 on the Richter Scale at it's deepest, spring in Concepcion is lot further off than just getting through the winter with injury, death, and destruction all around on a scale, the largess of which one cannot even begin to guess. But like most mass events, unless you're part of it or know someone who is, it exists over there where, in the interest of sanity, even the stark and confusing images on television fail to bring it in full clarity to the mind weary of news of war, storms, terrorism, and other earthquakes.

No one knows this more than photojournalists. Take Lorna Tychostup. Bedded down in Baghdad, Iraq, trying to get to the bottom of what life is like there. She left a couple of days ago on assignment there with a team of others and a boss she reports is excellent. To take pictures, I assume. Impressive.

And even more impressive if you have seen her pictures from her last tour there--of Iraqui families living and caring for each other. Smiling and enjoying what they have among the ruins. Caught in the blink of a shutter in a moment when even for them the war has slipped to an 'over there'. And hearing Lorna, as she stood makeupless in one of same simple t-shirts and cotton slacks she wore when she was in Iraq. Somehow the clarity of the line of her guileless lines made it clear she carried no weapons. As she spoke, she reminded us through her photos and words that wherever you find them, people are people. And in so doing, she brought with her a wiff of spring, 'cause if people are people wherever they are, whoever they are, they, too, seek peace and a sense that the quality of destruction and loss is not with them, but over there.

So here's to the quality of being able to perceive events as other than near. Scientists may call it objectivity. I prefer the concept of over there. Not to say, I'm heartless. Quite the contrary. I care. Deeply. But being able to deal with things with a certain quality of over-thereness permits me to stay calm, take care of loved-ones at home, do my job, and arrange things in priority order. Like asking questions related to what can I do for those over there? What should I do? And since I can do so little, what should I make my priorities?

But before I can set priorities, first I have to check out me and us, 'cause if we're not okay, I might as well forget about over there. And then I ask, is there anything I can do for them who are not near in the short-term. Quickly. Make a call? Send and email? Express concern? Donate money? Send coats? Write a letter?

After I've done what I could in the moment, I return to baseline. I ask myself if I am keeping informed? What's new on the political scene? Should I engage in the politics of approval or disapproval? Or the politics of agreement and disagreement? Who then do I want to represent me in government? Should I communicate with Washington? Talk to a neighbor about how we need a national health care plan? A jobs plan that supports going green while putting the economy back to work? And I do what I can.

Right now, I'm blogging. It's what I have to offer.

Beats nothing.

Roberta in Po-Town, Lookin' toward spring

9:00 am est Comments

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thinking Spring

Ever notice how as soon as a hankering toward spring occurs warmer seems colder? The temperature rises; you shed a layer prematurely, freeze, and complain that spring is never coming. Meantime, secretly, you harbor the belief it will.

Take me. I live in a high rise. (I like to think it's only temporary.) So to balance out the lack of green outside my window, a large peace plant spreads its leaves in the corner of my dining area. Above it all day shines a standing lamp. I leave it on days to ensure photosynthesis occurs in the green below. So far so good. It is even flowering. Each bloom I celebrate and worry over the meaning of any browning leaf, cutting it swiftly low on its stalk so as to never have to look on it again.

Also the doorsill to the balcony is lined the eight pots planted by my grandsons and nieces. Each day I water and inspect them, wondering in which the soil will split first to reveal the new sprouting of one of the bulbs planted there beneath the surface. Which will win? Which may never sprout? All very important. More a sign of the relentless optimism of people than of the scientific truth that whether it feels like it or not just now, each year, spring does return.

Roberta in Po-Town, Waiting

11:19 am est Comments

Monday, February 15, 2010

Here and There on Valentine's Day

It's a big place, the world. Consider Valentine's Day. For starters, as an American, I'm fond of it.

And recently I started following Buzzintown on Facebook. I'd like to say Buzzintown represent the arts and events in India, but then, in delving further, there is more to it. First of all, it is steeped with pictures of beautiful people from India and representations of Indian art. Second, it is absolutely upbeat, posing no more weighty questions than do you think this actress or this one portrays a favorite character better? And then came Valentine's Day.

I have never seen more love in the air than one senses browzing Buzzintown. But when I use the word browzing, I mean just that. Not much reading, just looking--hearts, smiling faces, lovers in love, more hearts, more art.

In other, I wrote to a friend in Spain to wish him a Happy Valentine's Day. Whoops. (In Spain Valentine's Day is just for lovers and according to my colleague, the Spanish in Spain see Valentine's Day in America as just one more reason to sell-sell-sell and buy-buy-buy.)

Hmm. Well, maybe he's right, and I say this because I looked up the sponsor of Buzzintown and found it to be Wortal Inc, a technology company founded in 2006 and funded by Silicon-Valley-based investors with operations in India and US.

As for me, I sent out a few Happy Valentine's Day greetings over the net to family and friends in California, New York, and North Carolina. And tonight I will probably make a few calls to friends in North Country.

As for purchases, I know I spent about one hundred dollars, most of which when for practical things like puzzles, wallets, and socks for my grandsons; sweet-smelling soap for my nieces and sisters; and a wallet to replace my son's old beat-up one. And my son took some roses to his wife while she made a cake and had us over for dessert.

As for my three grandsons, under the able supervision of the nine year old, they decorated an apron with hearts, their names, drawings, and love for me. And my youngest grandson made piles of cards with individualized drawings inside for about a dozen people in the family. The cards included pull-out strings with hearts on them that said, "I love you." As he is still in kindergarten and age five, he was probably proud that by the time he was done he'd learned to spell and write 'I love you' independently.

Roberta in Po-town, With hugs and love

9:25 am est Comments

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Champlain Bridge Update

Yesterday they met for an update on progress in rebuilding the Champlain Bridge between Crown Point, Essex, NY, and Chimney Point, Addison, VT. What's so fascinating for me is the feeling of being up so close and front that the details land with a bounce.

What's of interest areThe Ferry (Now), bridge debris clean up (For a While), and the New Crown Point Bridge (To Come).

With everyone chomping at the bit to once again touch land on the other shore, 1,700 vehicles crossed on the ferry in its first day of operation. This morning, I talked to a buddy of mine who lives on the Port Henry, NY, shore not far north of all the activity. He told me that due to the use of search lights to illuminate the area, his bedroom is no longer ever dark. And mornings he rises to watch two yellow backhoes dip their buckets off the back of cutter-boats down through ten or eleven inches of ice to come back up spilling water grabbedfrom the lake below as they cut a path for the ferries. Two cutters, two ferries. The cutters run each morning; the ferries 24/7 hourly. Free. At least for the time.

With the bridge closed, businesses in Ti dropped as much as 40%. But now it's hopping with Vermonters. As is Port Henry.

Bridge clean up lumbers forward and a second slip is to open in a few weeks that will permit an increase in the weight limit for bridge debris to be increased from the current fifteen tons to forty a day. Still the demolition cleanup will continue thru the end of February after which two of the seven piers will be removed by 4/15/10 and the remainder by 6/1/10.

Remember how I told you the new bridge design approval was granted on 2/4? Now, by mid April, the project will be ready to go to bid.

This new structure while gracious in appearance, will be larger. The old bridge was about 30' wide, but the new one will be nearer 50'. Five foot wide shoulders will line both sides of the bridge for use by bike traffic to be paralleled by a five-foot walkway for pedestrians. The placement for the entrance to the bridge will be the same on the New York side, but on the Vermont side, it will be about seven feet to the north of the old site. That will prevent the increase in width from impacting the Chimney Point historic site. The 'bump' on the New York side is to be eliminated while the grade will remain at 5.5%.

Pretty and safe are the by-words. Regarding lighting, they are looking for low level lighting to put in the handrails with the light directed downwards. Possibly with color. And in order to provide a system for protection against corrosion, steel with metalizing against weathering similar to that found on the Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls will be used. The additional cost of $1.0MM is expected to be offset by a prolonged reduction in maintenance costs. While it's easy to question that kind of money as offering a saving, they went so far as to say that with it, it would be fifty years before they would have to come back. Very encouraging words.

The meeting closed with reference to efforts to put a team together to plan some way to commemorate the old bridge. There's a lot of history there, so I suppose a small Crown Point Bridge Museum could be a good place to start.

Roberta in Po-Town, Cheering

6:14 pm est Comments

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Football Paradox

Life is filled with paradox. Once one understands and accepts that, it gets easier. This week, my son and his family lost their dog. She'd seemed fine but had been inexplicably rapidly losing weight. Then last Friday, she walked into the house, limped a bit and fell to the floor, her back legs paralyzed and insensitive to touch.

A trip to the vet offered little hope. They brought her home, gave her anti-inflammatories and pain killers and, as they had been told to do, watched her for improvement over the next forty-eight hours. If there was none, there would be nothing the doctor would be able to do. There was none.

When the boys returned from school on Monday, she was gone.

The mourning was intense. Just an extension of what had been going on all weekend. On Saturday, the oldest of my grandsons had refused to leave her side. He stroked his dear Rocksie and cried.

I saw him next on Monday at school where I found him running with the wind. We did some homework and he calmed, but he couldn't face his science project. I told him not to worry, we'd do it on Saturday. He and his brother were to sleep over. I love it when they do and it gives their parents a break.

Well, when my grandsons arrived on Saturday, the younger one seemed fine. But not the older one. He was not his usual self. He seemed grumpy and angry. Asked about it, he said he was sad and angry. About Rocksie.

My nieces came over. Together the four children planted bulbs in pots for spring, baked croissants, and generally had a great time. And after dinner my grandson and I, helped for a while by the younger of my nieces, worked on his science project. A bear of an assignment from his point of view. And now to be done in one weekend rather than two due to the difficulties with the dog last weekend. So he tried. We tried. But he was tired. It was too much. He started to cry.

I told him it was okay. We'd do it in the morning. So he looked for his Ipod. Not to be found! More tears. Then found, but with a double image! Satellite problems. Too much. Just too much. His heart broke. Once again he was angry and sad. In one week he had: Lost his dog. Had a science fair project to complete. Lost his Ipod. Found it. Lost a clear Satellite signal. What else could go wrong? Tired. He hid under the covers of his bed. Asleep in minutes.

Morning was better. The bulbs were lined up in their pots along the sill. The sun shone. He reported that the pots were properly moist. He'd checked.

We ate and worked on the science chart. It was afternoon when we finished. He left in better mood. Off to a birthday party.

Tonight I talked to his dad's dad. He'd been up for the Super Bowl. (I don't like football. On principle. Too high a risk of brain damage in it. Especially with the new head gear in which players feel invulnerable.) How was everything? Fine. My grandson. Fine. Played the piano. Happy. The Saints were winning; his team was winning. As for me? Happy.

Anti-football, but my grandson was happy--the Saints were winning.

Just another of life's paradoxes.

Roberta in Po-Town, Celebrating the Saints

11:23 pm est Comments

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Live Space Interview, Revisited

Yesterday was my Life Space Interview (LSI) tutorial. I emailed R., the teacher, to tell him I'd feel more comfortable if we did it in my office (which has a window in the door), and he kindly said that would be fine. When he arrived I explained to him I don't meet in rooms without windows in the door. He was very understanding and confirmed that the door to his office was windowless.

As for the LSI, I turned out to probaly be among his weakest students. Why? Well, I was confused. I thought Explore meant Analyze. As a result what should have been a few simple questions related to what happened first, next and finally became an unwieldy interrogation as I searched for the 'real 'truth. Then, where we are supposed to say, "So you were feeling angry," or some such, I delved to get the child with his or her limited vocabulary to tell me how he or she felt (when I should have taken a happy guess and labeled the emotion). After which we would have gotten to the meat of the process, namely determining and practicing an alternate way to respond beyond, "So I punched him." Things like, "Well, when I'm mad I could just take a deep breath and go get a drink of water." Or call staff. Or listen to my Ipod.

But I think I got it now: Keep it simple. Let the child take the lead. Don't get hung up in emotions or complex responses. Have the child name a few other kinds of responses beside kicking, biting, and punching. Practice one of them. Then get the kid back in the program and get on with your day!

But, bless his heart, R. told the principal I did a beautiful job so I am off the hook for another year at which time I will have to go for re-certification.

Whoopee!

Roberta in Po-Town, Celebrating

10:29 pm est Comments

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Got Window?

Have I told you how I received a 'really high' grade on my final in TCI? They don't do it numerically, but I figure it must have been somewhere between and A and an A+ as the next category down is 'very high' and 80 is 'passing.' So I am done with that until next January when the re-cert is required. Not so however with the Life Space Interview.

At the exam, without previous warning, we were told that day we would have to conduct a Life Space Interview. They are designed to calm, heal, educate, and enter the child back into the program after a crisis. There are seven steps to them which I had memorized: Isolate the child/Identify the target behavior, Explore what happened, Summarize the event chronologically, Connect the feelings of the child to his or her targeted behavior, have the child list three Alternate ways he or she might have responded, Practice by role-playing the use of one of them, and Enter the child back into the program by confirming what is expected of him or her in terms of responding to others and participation, in short I-ESCAPE.

Well, I had it memorized, but before that day I had never actually done one. We role-played it once early in the morning that day and then as part of the exam, in the afternoon class, we had to role-play it again. Well, I hit all the elements, but I was disorganized and couldn't figure out if I should target one or more than one of the behaviors mentioned in the descriptions of the event that was read aloud to me-- getting in other people's space, name calling, or slapping. So as a compromise I think I picked space and slapping, but then in the actual role-play, got all hung up in identifying the child's feelings.

You see there is a place where you have to say something like, "So let me see, so-and-so made you (state feeling) so you" and I have an old bias against telling others what they feel and my partner didn't say how she felt so I kept digging. This threw off the beginning of the interview after which I kept trying to target first one and then the next behavior. Well, tomorrow I have to show I've since become clearer thinking, but I have to meet the program head in his office, and I am just afraid there will be no window in the door, and he might want the door closed, and I can't do that. (Also it doesn't help that he told me his office is in the basement.) So tomorrow morning I am going down early to see if the office has a window in the door - - a lot of them don't, or they are obstructed - - and if it does nott, I'm going to have to email him that I'd rather do it in my office, the gym, or the library.

A great way to start out an interview.

Except the school's by-words at this time are Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Safe.

Did I tell you I accepted my current position only if my stipulation that a window be put in my door was met? It took a bit of effort on the part of the principal to put that piece in place, but she did, and I do have the window.

Needless to say, it is not obstructed.

Roberta in Po-Town, Still tryna' figure it out

3:35 am est Comments

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Here you're suppose to learn about my personal life, my love of learning, the dog I don't have, my house that sits empty on a hill in Port Henry 'cause on the one hand I don't want to sell it, 'cause I love it too much, but on the other hand, I never seem to find the time to get there anymore but I haven't found a buyer. Of course I haven't been looking either. Too busy with Jolt. Also this site is still under construction so I probably won't get to selling it this month either. Well, that means, at least I can run up there over Labor Day and party with all my friends and neighbors there which is enough to make me want to hurry up and finish this so I can get ready to leave.

Here I am supposed to write more about myself and think about putting a picture of myself someplace below, except I put the picture in before I did anything else because I thought I was suppose to get rid of the butterfly but it didn't, which is probably just as well because I like the butterfly better. That's because it doesn't make me feel exposed like the black dress I'm wearing below does. The reason I chose that picture is because my sister C. thinks it's about the best picture of me I ever had taken. That's because I'm more mature now and most pictures look awful because they really look just like me. Of course C. thinks the one below does and all the other ones don't. Which a bit of a trip in itself. But what is there to say? And I'm glad she took it. R.