Satisfaction

 

Satisfaction

 

 

I can't get no...satisfaction

 

Society tells me to want more

Be more, do more, have more

 

'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try

 

Chasing the next best thing

Keeping up with the Joneses

 

About some useless information

Supposed to drive my imagination

 

Satisfaction and happiness...mutually inclusive?

Am I really contented, fulfilled, pleasured?

 

'Cause I'm riding around the world

And I'm doing this and I'm signing that

 

I feel good, then I don't

It's not enough

 

'Cause you see that I'm on a losing streak

 

When is enough, enough?

I have enough...don't I?

 

 

Shout out and credit to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the Satisfaction lyrics.

Each Beat

She laces up pointe shoes

Apprehensive for audition

Motivation steels and psyches

Muscles warmed and willowy

 

Oh the anxiety

Oh the comparison

Oh the athleticism

 

The dancer feels the music from within translating each note

Each beat

For the director

She laces up pointe shoes

Ready for rehearsal

Sweat dripping and drenching

Spirits worn and weary

Oh the monotony

Oh the frustration

Oh the blisters

The dancer feels the music from within translating each note

Each beat

For herself

 

She laces up pointe shoes

Perfection in performance

 

Toes twirling and whirling

Tutu’s flowing and flying 

Oh the beauty

Oh the strength

Oh the grace

The dancer feels the music from within translating each note

Each beat

For the audience

 

 

The Great Divide

The Great Divide

 

The anger rises up in me and then I feel ashamed

Fearful for the future and hopeful all the same

This dichotomy of feelings is giving me a ride

‘Why can’t we just all get along?’ I so naively chide.

 

The anger swells from history, not a mere fifty years it’s been

When racial tensions, distrust, and conflict were so commonly seen

Assassinations of Kennedy and King had us reeling with despair

And riots, assault and murder were seemingly everywhere.

 

It’s 1968 – the seas of violence and political turbulence scar

Electing a new president amidst the controversy of civil rights and war

Labels divide, ideas collide

Damn, our pride.

 

Today the names have changed, but the story remains old

Opinions flood social media sites – our public black mold

Arguments ensue on the TV networks each night

Negativity contaminates like a virus – it’s rampant and it’s ripe.

 

Sadly, the anger, hurt and divide

Whether outwardly expressed or bottled up inside

Didn’t start with the present conditions or even in ‘68

For as long as humans have existed, we’ve been sowing seeds of hate.

 

History repeats until we get it righted.

History repeats until we stop being so short-sighted.

Labels divide, ideas collide

Damn, our pride.

 

What will it take to get us United?

 

We are called to action

Ash Wednesday, 2016.  Blogging for Lent, yet again.

On the advent of Ash Wednesday and Lent, I try to find something to add to my life to help me walk closer with God during the 40 days of Lent.  Last year, I started this blog to provide one positive on the Internet each day.  Tonight, I've 'dusted' off the blog because I am just aching to write about several signs I've received today that I can't sit by and ignore anymore, and I think they lend themselves to a pretty good challenge for Lent, 2016.

Over the course of the day, here's what I saw/read/heard:

Sign #1:  Driving by a church today, the church sign says "Pray.  Vote.  Pray again."
Sign #2:  Ash Wednesday service at my church.  Lenten theme:  "We make the path by walking"
Sign #3:  Part of an article I read today on CatholicVote: "Catholic Social Teaching tells us that we as Christians have an obligation to help those less fortunate, it states that it should be done through good will by faith, not by government action."

As I retype my signs of today, the refrain from "We Are Called" by David Haas plays through my mind,
"We are called to act with justice.
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God."

So, I listen to the song and I reread these signs and one word keeps repeating in my head (think mantra here...) "ACTION".  As Christians (ok, as HUMANS - regardless of religious affiliation here), we are called to action.  We must not sit passively by and let others (or governments) do what we are called to do.  It is each individual (you, me) who must love, serve, assist, feed, pray for the poor, hungry, sick and marginalized.  In the action of our doing, it changes us to be more compassionate and loving human beings.  

It is in our ACTION that is what changes the world.  During these 40 days of Lent, I challenge you to rise out of your comfort zone and do something to assist those that need you.  Be mindful about your actions, but be action-able!  We must stop the "I want to appear good without actually doing anything" attitude of our world. 

So, I've set the challenge for myself.  I encourage you to do the same.  I'll be blogging about this journey for Lent - I'd like you to let me know how you're doing on yours.

In fact, if you want a good role model who is called to ACTION, view this:  http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/9-Who-Care-Paul-Rehn-A-Legacy-of-Serving-368176281.html

Thanks, Paul Rehn.

Thank a Teacher

This week around the nation is known as "Teacher Appreciation Week" - and specifically on Tuesday, May 5th (besides Cinco de Mayo) is also Teacher Appreciation Day.

This is not a self-serving blog post.  While I realize I do teach and am a teacher by profession, I'm not writing this post for my readers to thank me and my efforts.

However, I am asking you to thank a teacher who has made a difference in your life.  Even those of you who may not have particularly liked school - I'm sure there was at least one adult in the thirteen years of K-12 that made some positive impact on you.  I ask you to please look them up and thank them.

I have been very fortunate to have had several. Here is a listing of some of my amazing teachers whom I have fond memories of and truly made an impact on me:

Kindergarten - Mrs. Thompson
1st Grade - Miss Tomy
2nd Grade - Mrs. Houlihan
3rd Grade - Mrs. Sabotta
4th Grade - Mr. Kuepker
5th Grade - Ms. Lofton
6th Grade - Mrs. Parks
7th Grade - Mrs. Wick, Mr. Maloy
8th Grade - Mrs. Seyba, Mr. Carey, Mr. Pilcher
9th Grade - Mrs. Huffman, Mr. Knapp, Mr. Blake, Sra. Liu
10th Grade - Mr. Hakanson, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Colton
11th Grade - Mr. Nulle, Mr. Gatto, Mr. Finney
12th Grade - Mrs. Pantini, Mrs. Muehl, Mrs. Becker, Mr. Kahler, Mr. Harper

Oh, some of the names have changed - and I'm sure a few have passed on, but I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.  I feel in some way each of these teachers made enough of an impact on me that it made me want to be a teacher too.

Today (and this week), I wish you to thank a teacher too.

Fanatic Fan-dom

I don't even know if 'fan-dom' is a word, but it best describes me this week.

If you don't follow Fathom Events on Twitter or Facebook, it's a company that brings special events to local movie theaters.  Events can range from ballets, operas, art showings, concerts and classic movies. So a couple of weeks ago, I was notified that The Sound of Music was showing this week at our local theater.  It is MY.FAVORITE.MOVIE.OF.ALL.TIME.

So, I bought tickets and it turned into a girls night out for my birthday.  It was a great evening.  I think I cried through at least 50% of the movie…which if you figure is at least 90 minutes of a 3 hour movie.  No wonder my eyes hurt today.

But that's really not why I'm writing this post.  Back to the movie…

I first saw this in the theater when I was 5.  My parents took me.  I was so enamored with this film that when I was telling my best friend - her mom ended up taking us so she could see it.  From then on, we would "play" The Sound of Music in her backyard.  I was always Maria - she was Liesl.

My dad had the soundtrack - and I would play this a lot and sing and dance in the basement.  As I'm sure my mother is reading this, I think just that statement alone would evoke some laughter from her.  The neighbor lady a few houses down the street would also call me 'Maria' whenever she saw me.

Fast forward to my wedding in 1989.  The Processional that Maria walked down the aisle to in her wedding to the Captain, was the same Processional I walked down the aisle to my husband.  My veil was also required to be as long or longer than my train on my dress - because Maria had that as well.

The movie would usually play sometime around the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter.  For awhile, the TV stations would cut so much out of it that I could hardly watch it - even though I did.  Then came the VCR and VHS tapes, so I purchased the 25th Anniversary edition.  I also have the 35th Anniversary DVD…and am currently awaiting the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray edition.

A few years ago, I DVR'd the Oprah Winfrey Show when she had a reunion of the cast for the 45th Anniversary.  It's still on my DVR.  I refuse to let anyone delete it.

Ok, so I didn't 'sing-along' at the movie last night, nor did I dress in costume, but in my circle of friends and acquaintances, I am the biggest Sound of Music movie fanatic I know.  I even know people who have NEVER seen this movie (oh, the horror!)

So, I'm feeling like my blog post is my confessional this week.  Hello, my name is Karla and I am crazy about The Sound of Music.

And now you know too…

Today I wish you something to be fanatical about…and enjoy every moment and memory of it!

80s Movies

So, let me set the scene...

I'm sitting at the computer staring at this blank page of my blog post when I hear dialogue from the movie "Weird Science" coming from the living room and I'm smiling...grinning from ear to ear.

Why?

Because I love that movie.  I love 80's movies.  When something makes me grin...I guess that becomes my positive for today.

I adore 80's movies for lots of reasons, but I don't think it's just because I grew up in that decade.  I started 1980 as an 8th grader and ended the decade in my early 20's and married.  So, when I say I grew up in the 80's...I really did.

So, back to this movie thing.  There are movies that I vividly remember sitting in the movie theater watching...Stripes, Ghostbusters, An Officer and a Gentleman, Sixteen Candles, Karate Kid, Flashdance, The Breakfast Club, The Lost Boys, Top Gun, About Last Night, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mannequin and Beverly Hills Cop.

These movies (and countless others) evoke feelings and memories in me that reoccur every time I watch it - even now...30+ years later.  These movies became "classics", my kids watch them now and love them just as I did.  Some of the themes, plots and/or characters still resonate
with this generation today. 

80's movies have even infiltrated my work...last year during lunch, a few teachers started brainstorming all of the 80s movies we had ever seen.  The list was crazy long - and one teacher took it upon himself to bracket 64 movies (think March Madness NCAA tournament) and has been watching these movies in 'match ups' - so that eventually there will be a tournament winner.  (pssst...I picked Caddyshack to win it all!)

Today I wish you a good, classic 80s movie to watch.