On Wednesday, three neat things happened.
Bobby B
Junior year of high school, I took AP Chemistry with Mr. Becker. Mr. Becker is an enthusiastic little man. He put the periodic table on the ceiling, blew things up weekly, and instituted “early mornings” for AP Chem where we got to class at 6:55am three times a week. I was awful at Chemistry, and quite honestly that class convinced me to end the family trade (both my father and grandfather were Chemists). This man however was extraordinarily dedicated. He inspired many to go into the sciences. He came in early and stayed late after school helping students. While Chemistry was not my thing, every high school should have a Mr. Becker.
Mr. B got his well deserved props this week. He was named Missouri teacher of the Year. He will be nominated for National Teacher of the year. It is simply neat that he got the recognition he definitely deserved.
The Sunday Mail
Sophomore year of college, some friends of mine had a town house. Most of us lived in dorms, so having this venue was a gift. The F Street townhouse was where many parties happened. Before many of these parties, three guys in a band would play. They were good guys and called themselves the Sunday Mail. I was not great friends with them, but they were in my extended circle. They kept the band together (but changed the name to Jukebox the Ghost) after college and have made a living out of it. They opened for Ben’s Folds Five, are headlining a tour this fall to promote their second album. And tonight…well…watch.
Hands Tied
On Tuesday, I had a bit of a dissertation rant to my friend Deborah. As mentioned before, my advisers have pushed me to wander more. On Wednesday, I went into one of their offices. I returned a book I wandered in (it was actually pretty good). We talked about it some, and I brainstormed with him on another unrelated idea, which he liked. We talked about future readings, and I somewhat re-ranted my rant to Deborah to him. I do not quite remember how the events unfolded, but somewhere in the conversation I said that this process is “eating your vegetables,” to which he chuckled. Somewhere else he said: “Well, it is probably good to keep your hands tied for a couple more weeks.” I don’t know why, but it made me feel a little better. It made it seem like he understood a fair bit, which I appreciated.
Sorry…No video on that one.
