I Read Banned Books

As some of you may have noticed, I have had difficulty posting lately.  What you do not know is that I am still writing … snippets … here and there … mostly for myself.  Without going into all the hurtful details, let’s just say that someone who I once looked up to as a blogger and aspiring writer has been acting maliciously … possibly unknowingly, but I have come to believe that she knows exactly what she is doing and does not give a flying fuck whose feelings get hurt because she is right in her own little narrow-minded world.  Due to things she has openly said to me and to others, I have often second guessed myself as a writer, and I have considered taking down this blog several times over the last six to nine months.  This same person has unknowingly alienated herself from most of my social networking and blogging friends because of her inappropriate and insensitive comments.  This begs the question:  Where do I go from here?  Do I allow her to control my destiny?

The short answer is HELL NO!  I WON’T GO! It pleases me.  Through this blog I have learned so much about myself and how others view me.  I cannot tell you how many relationships I have built and/or repaired via blogging.  Blogging has totally enhanced the way I communicate with others in the real world.  The blogging community, overall, has strengthened my trust in the inherent good nature of people.   Blogging has enabled me to collaborate better with others … even when we agree to disagree.  Blogging has enhanced the creator and innovator within me.  It has permitted me to gain greater alignment with writers who inspire me to aspire before I expire.  In brief, blogging has allowed me to engage and be to be engaged by other writers.

What has blogging done for you lately?

The Cajun people are resolute in their love and worship of the crawfish.

Look at this motherfuckin' crawfish, bitches!

Marinate on this one. If a woman hires someone to kill her estranged husband  and his new girlfriend, it is acceptable; she can just rest at home for three years. On the other hand, if a man steals crawfish, he can bet his thieving ass that he will sit in a jail cell for two years.

Even without me, there is never a dull moment in my hometown, folks.

Are you new here?  This one isn’t about you.  The best posts on this blog are always about me.

Today was one of the most positive first days of work I have ever had as a school administrator.   Yeah, I know.  I’m shocked too.  Personally, I think I deserve it after the toxicity from which I just rid myself.

Being new to an existing building has its advantages and disadvantages.   While I am basking in the glow of all the positivity around me, I do not know the building very well which can be a huge disadvantage (even though I have a school map and an app for that).   This is where you, I Read Banned Books visitors, come in.  I want you to send me on a scavenger hunt.

Who: My lovers, lurkers, twisties, and stalkers

What:  The Psycho Hose Beast Goes on a Scavenger Hunt

When: 8/17/10 – 8/22/10

Where: Higher Ground School (Yes, this is what I’m calling the new work location.)

Why: Because y’all worship me and know that I will go voodoo on all y’all’s asses!

How: Leave a comment here naming the item you would like me to find.  I will post pictures of the found items in a follow-up post on Monday, August 23, 2010.

Disclaimer:  I reserve the right to edit requests and/or photos and be a creative bitch in order to keep both my own and also my employer’s identities private.  In other words, think before you order me to … I don’t know … just challenge me.

With that said, you are now cordially invited to challenge my superior intellect and sarcastic attitude. 

My summer break is essentially OVER.  Tomorrow is the first contracted day for ten-month administrators.  I will spend at least half of the day at the annual administrative kick-off Fashion Show.  I went shopping in my own closet for something new to wear.  Yes, I have power suits from last year that were never worn because they did not fit.  Yes, that means what you think it means.  I lost weight this summer … over 20 pounds as of today.  It’s amazing what being away from a toxic environment can do to your physical and mental health.

I have spent the last 67 days in what I refer to as D & R (detox and recovery).  While I have not been around I Read Banned Books much, I have been planning for the upcoming school year and moving on from the House of Horrors.  I mentioned a little while back that I movin’ on up to the East side.  There was a slight change of plans and location due to the budget crisis in our state and school district.  I am still migrating to a high school, but this one is extremely close to home.  I will be working with a fantastic team, and I am optimistic about my future as a school administrator for the first time in a very long time.  The last two years have been a long and winding road, but I finally feel like I have made it to higher ground.

Yes, I am up to something lately.  No, I am not going to tell you about it.

Feel free to speculate in my comments.   Go ahead; you know you want to try to match my superior intellect and sarcastic attitude.

Visit restorethegulf.com to add your name to the petition demanding complete restoration of America’s Gulf.

Sign it.  Share it.  Be the one.

Join the Celebration

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee!

This heart-wrenching, coming-of-age tale set in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country.

As the self-proclaimed reader of banned books, I am often asked to name my favorite banned book and explain why I love it so.  Longtime readers of this blog know that Harper Lee’s coming of age novel To Kill a Mockingbird has impacted me not only as a woman, a parent, and an educator but more so as a human being.  Lee’s powerful words resonate with me each time I read the novel and long afterward.  I learned as many lessons about courage, compassion, and self-awareness from Atticus Finch as his children Jem and Scout did.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

This simple yet crucial bit of advice should govern all of our lives.  I try to live my life by taking time to see things from every perspective.  We all struggle with trying to live with sympathy and understanding toward others.  If you have never read To Kill a Mockingbird, there is no better time than the present.  It is a timeless reminder that tolerance and compassion for all is just as clear today as it was 50 years ago.

Thank you, Miss Nelle Harper Lee, for enriching our lives.