Have I Failed A Test?

The previous post was one that I wanted to keep up top for a while. But I can wait no more. My stat counter tells me that the Quinn Cummings interview did get more visitors than usual. I hope some of you will come back again. And I hope you buy Quinn's book. (We discussed an autographed copy give away. Quinn - formerly referred to in this space exclusively as Quinn Cummings - agreed as soon as I brought up the idea. I neglected to mention it in the initial post. If you read this one and comment or email me something that I deem as most worthy to win Quinn's book then she'll mail it to you personally.)
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We are in the midst of The Three Weeks, approaching the start of The Nine Days. It is a time of mourning, a time of reflection, a time for growth. Sigh. It's easy to talk a good game. It's so hard to truly be good - to go the distance.
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I spent five and a half years of my life in Israel (longer if you count six weeks here, three weeks there, ten days here, etc.) I don't know why I'm not there. I hear her calling for me. And let me be clear, when I say her I mean the land of Israel - specifically Jerusalem. j
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Zion cries for me

She knows my soul is with her

She wants my body

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Frank McCourt wrote one rare book. I'm talking about Teacher Man. It is rare in that it paints a full and fair picture of the teaching life. It is also rare in that he addresses head on the lack of appreciation that society has for teachers. I cited from this book here, asked what people thought about the sentiment, received fascinating responses. In another post I cited his answer to the question of what took him so long to write a book: "When you teach five high school classes a day, five days a week, you're not inclined to go home to clear your head and fashion deathless prose. After a day of five classes your head is filled with the clamor of the classroom." I am particularly thankful to RR and Shoshana who commented positively about teaching from the P.O.V. of a teacher and a student respectively.

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Dennis Hamill writes

He bent elbows with McCourt.

Today Frank has died

Will tell no more bar stories

Write no more Pulitzer books

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These words from an editorial in Saturday's NY Daily News caught my eye: "...People who live in Bayside, Queens, know what it means to live somewhere. Home is the place where you occupy a residence, go to and from work and abide with your family."

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I grew up in Bayside Queens. It's the only place my nuclear family ever lived. Mom and Dad, they should live and be well, are still there. It's funny (not ha-ha) to read these words about my little town.

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Have you considered this question? For the inevitable movie about Bernard Madoff, who do you see playing him. One actor is the obvious choice to me based on the pictures I've seen of Bernie. There often seems to be a smirk, and you can't know what to make of it. It might be saying "I seem a little goofy, but I also have plenty of charm, and tremendous drive, and a subtext of sadness, and it would be wise of you to be wary of me." I'm thinking of one popular actor that does that personality better than any other, and I see physical similarities as well. Care to name him?

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Good night and G-d bless

He said, not without unrest

Have we failed a test?