Storytelling and Identity Cooking

Henry David Thoreau said that "An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." My walk this morning certainly was. It's not only the fact I'm out and about, moving my feet, enjoying a perfect Michigan morning, but it's also what I'm listening to. Today, I tried out two new podcasts and wanted to share them with you.

Terrible, Thanks for Asking

Without a doubt, I subscribed to this podcast because of its name. The first episode I listened to today was episode #41 and it's called The Stories We Tell. As a fundraiser, my work is based on relationships and storytelling is an important part of that, so I'm always looking to hear stories from all walks of life. This particular episode had me tearing up for a number of reasons: it was a story of a daughter's relationship with her parents, how memory fails us, how stories change and family myths are born. However, when I really got emotional was when the father started talking about how important HIS father found education. In Laos, in the early 20th century, a man felt as passionate about educating his kid because he knew it was a way out of abject poverty. He was right. I learned a little bit about the "Secret War" that was happening concurrently with the Vietnam War in that part of the world. Finally, I was so delighted to hear that the matriarch of the family, after being on the podcast, wrote and sang a song about her family's experience.  So cool! It is a haunting song. I think this podcasts has some interesting surprises, so this is about as detailed as I get, but I highly recommend this podcast and this episode. I think Nora McInerny is great. She describes her podcast as "a funny/sad/uncomfortable podcast about talking honestly about our pain, our awkwardness, and our humanness, which is not an actual word." Definitely my jam.

To the Best of Our Knowledge

Closely following Terrible, Thanks for Asking, I took in my first episode of the Wisconsin Public Radio's To the Best of Our Knowledge. I browsed some of the episode topics and felt that there was quite a potpourri of knowledge to sift through. Since I am trying to expose myself to more random bits of knowledge lately, this was exactly what I sought in a podcast. It did not disappoint. The episode was In Search of "Real" Food. First, Simran Sethi talked all about chocolate and how there are actually 14 gene clusters of chocolate across the world. At first I didn't get her point, but by the end of the segment, I knew that it was to savor and truly appreciate the food that we love, like excellent chocolate. REAL chocolate. Then I discovered the author Michael Twitty, who wrote The Cooking Gene: A Journey through African-American Culinary History in the Old South. He was fascinating because his cooking is at the cross-section of African American, Jewish and gay culture. He is so connected to his ancestors through his cooking. It's amazing. This entire episode made me really think about how flavors tell stories.

So my walk this morning was great because I got to discover and listen to two new, excellent podcasts. I hope you get a chance to enjoy one of these. Never stop telling stories! And never stop listening to them.

Year of Gratitude - Day 102 - Parents. Funny parents.

Parenthood and paternal behavior is such a glorious example of love. It is so selfless and incredible, and I am in awe of those wonderful, loving beings. Parents, you are better than I am. I am grateful for people like you. Thanks for taking care of all of us.I really appreciate when parents can laugh at the absurdity of parenthood. 

Also, some of you are hilarious. Please refer to the Instagram account @A**holeParents. The reason I say that this post might not sit well with some is that many do not approve of online child shaming. I understand that, but I really appreciate when parents can laugh at the absurdity of parenthood. It is nuts! You make a human and then you flippin' raise it!

Go check out that Instagram account and try not to laugh. I think you will have trouble getting through five pictures before you start chuckling, then possibly snorting. 

Thank you, funny parents. You are extra wonderful. Keep the smiles coming and hang in there.

Dealing with death in the last months of my twenties

The following was written by me on April 1, 2012, but I never got to publishing it. For me, 2012 was one of the worst ever. My family experienced some pretty serious deaths by that point - my grandmother at the beginning of the year and then my wonderful niece just two weeks after her third birthday. 

As I went through my some writing drafts on the first of this new year, I found this piece of writing and it inspired me. I'm so happy that I took down my feelings and my thoughts after a number of pretty awful events, because even though I didn't feel I was thinking clearly then, I wrote a few things that were quite clear. I'm so glad that I made a plan on how to focus my sadness. I didn't accomplish everything below, but that's the beauty of writing it down. I can rediscover it and continue on a path to being better.

April 1, 2012 

Dealing with death is not exactly how I expected to spend the last months of my twenties. Two of the most amazing people I've ever known I've lost this year, my Babcia Wanda and my little niece Audrey. I don't think I can get much on the page right now that makes too much sense, but I do want to get something down.

First, the deaths of Babcia and Audrey have made me want to live life to the very fullest, whether I have a week to live or another five decades. And it has made me so much more keenly aware that my time to spend with other people maybe shortened because they're time is limited on earth. So what if I live to be a 100 and don't have great experiences with every person I can? It is not that I haven't given it my all in the past, but I haven't been a positive force on those around me. Negativity has had a way of controlling me in the past and I want to live better each day.

I want to write more. I want to write about my family more and about my husband. I want to write about libraries and in support of them. I want to respond to foolishness with the written word. I want to write poetry. I want to write foolishness and make people laugh. 

I want to read, because the only way to get better at writing is to read it first. I really want to make the hour of 10-11pm my reading hour. I want to turn off all the screen in my life and read. I want to read so I can write. I want to volunteer to read books to children and help illiterate adults learn to read.

I want to serve. It is important to enjoy and take care of myself, but I have been fortunate and I need to give back in many ways. I'm still feeling out how to do this, but Audrey's passing has given me focus on pediatrics and children.

Help support the “Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries Act” (SKILLs Act)

From the American Library Association:

Please call both of your U.S. senators at the capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121, and ask them to co-sponsor S. 1328 the “Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries Act” or the SKILLs Act.

The SKILLs Act was introduced on July 6 by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and will amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by:

• Ensuring that funds will serve school libraries in elementary, middle, and high schools;
• Improving literacy and college and career readiness through effective school library programs;
• Encouraging coordination and shared planning time among school librarians and classroom teachers;
• Expanding professional development to include digital literacy instruction that is appropriate for all grade levels, an assessment of student literacy needs, the coordination of reading and writing instruction across content areas, and training in literacy strategies in all content areas;
• Requiring books and materials to be appropriate for students in all grade levels and students with special learning needs, including English language learners;
• Providing grants on a competitive basis for a period of three years;
• Targeting funding to school districts with 20% or greater levels of students in poverty;
• Ensuring an equitable distribution of funds among the different geographic regions of the country and among urban and rural areas; and
• Requiring greater coordination among other literacy, technology, and professional development funds and activities.

This legislation is very important for the future of school libraries within the federal government. So please call today and encourage your colleagues, neighbors, friends, family, and others to do the same.

To find out who your two senators are please refer to the ALA Legislation Action Center http://capwiz.com/ala/home/.

Be sure to post a comment to your member’s Facebook page and/or Twitter account (if they have them) asking them to co-sponsor the SKILLs Act.

Just take the book, kid.

Generally, I don't like to discuss patrons on this blog, but recently I was just pushed over the edge. The two patrons that I helped were not rude or inappropriate and they didn't make me upset, but the experience was a rather sad one. Allow me to tell you the story.

A woman and her teenage son approached the desk. The boy said, "Yeah, I need 'Cat's Cradle.'" I nodded approvingly and just before I turned to grab a copy for him, he added, "I need the audio book." Oh. Okay. I checked the catalog to see if we had an audio copy of Cat's Cradle. We didn't. In fact, there's no CD audio book in the cooperative where we could order it from, only tapes. The boy was determined not to read and said, "Cassettes are fine." I said okay. As I entered the mother's information to order the material from who-knows-where, they asked how long it would take. I said it's generally a week, give or take few days. The boy quietly mumbled to his mom that it wasn't worth it, because he needed it by the end of the week.

I said, "You know, we have a lot of copies of the book." He scoffed at the idea. His mother looked at her little baby with pity. "Do you want the book?" she asked carefully. "Yeah, I guess," he pouted. I walked over to the shelf, got a copy of Cat's Cradle and handed it to the disgruntled young man. I watched him tell his sad tale to his friend later. You would've thought I just kicked his dog or something. He was really bummed because he might actually have to read a book. As a librarian, it really made me sad.

Hopefully he reads it. Kurt Vonnegut is awesome.