The DN
2 Ever have that happen?
3 It's rare.
4 I felt vigorous and in control.
5 The school year spent two weeks nipping at me like a spunky Rottweiler. Snappy. Nippy. Relentless.
6 I spent my Labor Day weekend surrounded by various stacks of papers, some neat, some right out of The Cat in the Hat.
7 At times I had to push by them and get out. I made excuses for getting out. Once in the car I put my hands on the wheel, breathed in, and repeated this mantra: "Same day."
8 Madness.
9 It didn't help that my second week began with a trip to emergency. Circulation stuff. Hospital staffs. EKG stickers. And finally out. Some sort of rash, but unrelated to circulation. A bottle of green anti-biotics. Out the door into night storms, thunder, lightning and driving rain.
10 I taught that morning.
11 Stress doesn't stop for emergencies.
12 I adapted, and got things done.
13 Yesterday I awakened from a nightmare that I got rushed to the hospital again. Scared, then calm.
14 Within seconds something came over me. I felt alive. I looked around and everything rocked. I moved like a rocket, got ready, and zipped toward the freeway.
15 I didn't CARE about all the stresses of work. They weren't a bit important.
16 I looked around at other drivers. Most looked stressed. They were, after all, on their way to work. We inched to a stoplight. Women fixed their eyelashes while their cars inched forward. A motorcyclist did an uncontrolled lane split and almost hit me. The guy in front of me didn't move when the light turned green.
17 Didn't matter. I smiled. I blinked.
18 I had swag.
15
16 Ever hop in your car and you have swag?
17 I decided that if everyone else could do other things at the stoplight, I could too.
18 I popped in a CD. Shine a Light. Rolling Stones live at the Beacon. LOUD. A Scorsese film. Martin Scorsese insisted on double billing. Little kid in a big store. So be it.
19 Cost of CD: $20.
Say cheese.
20 Live With Me (live), entering the freeway: Priceless.
21 <opening riffs under. LOUD.>
22 Mick: I tellya! <sings>
I got nasty habits,
I take tea at three
Yes, and the meat I eat for dinner
Must be hung up for a week.
My best friend he shoots water rats
And feeds them to his geese
Don'cha think there's a place for you...
23 I BLASTED that song with fear that my doors might blow out. I felt THAT good.
24 The best part is: I didn't CARE.
25 I was ALIVE!!! Why turn it down? I kept my eyes and head moving, well aware of my surroundings.
26 That song is a rocker, with fun, suggestive lyrics that made me laugh. I thought, "This is the greatest poem in the history of English!"
<music rocking, sax, bass, backbeat all solid>
Mick:
There's a score of harebrained children
They're all locked in the nursery
They got earphone heads they got dirty necks
They're so 21st century
Well they queue up for the bathroom
Round about 7:35
Don'cha think we need a woman's touch to make it come alive?
You'd look good pram pushing
Down the high street
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
They're all locked in the nursery
They got earphone heads they got dirty necks
They're so 21st century
Well they queue up for the bathroom
Round about 7:35
Don'cha think we need a woman's touch to make it come alive?
You'd look good pram pushing
Down the high street
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
Whoa, the servants they're so helpful, dear
The cook she is a whore
Yes, the butler has a place for her
Behind the pantry door
The maid, she's French, she's got no sense
She's wild for Crazy Horse
And when she strips, the chauffeur flips
The footman's eyes get crossed...
27 The Rolling Stones live. Loud. Rocking me to work. I tried to hold back but couldn't.
28 Ever have that happen?
29 You're rocking to work to your favorite tunes and then hit a traffic light. You have to turn it all down and act normal.
30 You don't of course. If you're even semi-normal you know to turn down the music, even if your entire being is still vibrating with joy and LOUD rock.
31 You look around and everyone looks miserable. They're going to work. They're annoyed by the traffic. Nobody is having fun. All business.
32 I was SO happy to be alive, my heart pumping healthily and actively enjoying solid rock, that I almost got shaky. I put my thumb and forefinger on the volume, and the second the light turned green I cranked it up!
33 I couldn't care less care if anyone was looking. The CD knew this. It HAD to. The crowd screamed for a second, and then...
34 The opening riff to Start Me Up blew my doors out! I amped it up. Start Me Up. Classic perfection.
35 ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???
36
Mick:
Mick:
If you start me up I'll never stop never stop never never never stop...you make a grown man craaaaaaah...
♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬
♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬♩ ♫♪ ♬
37 I look around. Nobody is looking at me. The faces are those of serious cave men. Craggy. Serious. Hating where they were headed.
38 I rocked to Start Me Up. I LOVE my job. I was WAY alive and appreciating every millisecond.
39 The song ended: START ME UP! I knew the exact drumbeat and hit it on my steering wheel. Yes.
40 <Crowd up. Pause. Screaming fans.>
41 Mick: Good NAAAHHHHHHHHHHT!!!
42 I knew they weren't going anywhere.
43 Opening riff to Brown Sugar. C'mon beeeeebuh!!!
44 Such a TREMENDOUS encore. I say YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! How come ya, how com ya taste so good...
45 The entire place screaming WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! on demand of the Glimmer Twins.
46 I turned up Tully with a grin that caused the sun to put on shades. Rockin' rockin' rockin' livin' lovin' EVERYTHING.
47 'Cuz I was alive. 'Cuz I didn't care. 'Cuz I was livin'.
48 'Cuz I appreciated life. And all my friends. And my family. And craggy, serious cave men. Same day.
49 A commercial just said this to me: "Live in the moment."
50 Smell the roses.
51 Something.
52 I feel just as good this morning.
53 Clarity.
54 I'm going in.
55 Love everything you have.
56 And always keep this one:
57 Live life.
58 Love life.
59 Peace.
~H~
22 Hey, get off me!
23 <dusting off suit.>
24 That's better.
25 Now where WAS I?
26 Oh yeah. Swag. On the phone, he asked if I would want to come in for an interview. I actually pushed back. Go figure. I had been through the search, and had just about decided to go into another profession.
27 I actually said into the phone, "Well, I've recently decided that perhaps teaching isn't for me..." I was about to go on when he interrupted.
28 "It's a career."
29 Wise man.
30 The mind forgets, but my recollection is that I got down there within forty-five minutes. I still went in with swag, but also with a huge sense of excitement.
31 When I did the four shows at Mills, I wanted to prove to people that I had a HUGE work ethic. I also had to fill the shoes of a legend, Mr. Allen Knight.
32 I had subbed in the San Mateo Union High School District for a few months when Mills called me up, noticing that I had put "Drama" on resume. It was under the heading, "Hobbies."
33 Mills had been a similar sitch. Allen had just finished a successful go of it with Stop the World, I Want to Get Off and had decided to take a sabbatical.
34 Their principal was under a lot of pressure to get somebody in there quickly. I interviewed, and must have impressed him. He wanted to see me work, so he let me audition for drama teacher.
35 I taught one class, houselights on, stage lights on behind me, and taught my first drama class ever, an audition that lasted one period.
36 I threw a little swag into that one too.
37 It's amazing how much swag you could taut when you are young.
38 He hired me that very day. I'll save the details for another time. Bottom line: I had the experience Dr. Hernandez needed.
39 Back to YB: The interview went well. At one point I began talking like I already had the job, so I asked what my schedule would be.
40 He took me into the APED office, where I stood before the master calendar. I saw that my prep period came early. I said, "I would need to change my prep period to the last period of the day, because if I am going to have a show, I might need that after school time to run together."
41 Words to that effect.
42 I was hired. The rest is history. I walked out with lots of swag, got in my car and drove down the street to a gas station.
43 I gave the clerk my money, and then said, "I just got hired as a teacher at YB!"
44 No swag. Excitement. Career. Life-Altering stuff. Benefits.
"Live With Me"
I got nasty habits, I take tea at three
Yes, and the meat I eat for dinner
Must be hung up for a week
My best friend, he shoots water rats
And feeds them to his geese
Don'cha think there's a place for you
In between the sheets?
Come on now, honey
We can build a home for three
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
And there's a score of harebrained children
They're all locked in the nursery
They got earphone heads they got dirty necks
They're so 20th century
Well they queue up for the bathroom
Round about 7:35
Don'cha think we need a woman's touch to make it come alive?
You'd look good pram pushing
Down the high street
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
Whoa, the servants they're so helpful, dear
The cook she is a whore
Yes, the butler has a place for her
Behind the pantry door
The maid, she's French, she's got no sense
She's wild for Crazy Horse
And when she strips, the chauffeur flips
The footman's eyes get crossed
Don'cha think there's a place for us
Right across the street
Don'cha think there's a place for you,
In between the sheets?
Yes, and the meat I eat for dinner
Must be hung up for a week
My best friend, he shoots water rats
And feeds them to his geese
Don'cha think there's a place for you
In between the sheets?
Come on now, honey
We can build a home for three
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
And there's a score of harebrained children
They're all locked in the nursery
They got earphone heads they got dirty necks
They're so 20th century
Well they queue up for the bathroom
Round about 7:35
Don'cha think we need a woman's touch to make it come alive?
You'd look good pram pushing
Down the high street
Come on now, honey
Don't you wanna live with me?
Whoa, the servants they're so helpful, dear
The cook she is a whore
Yes, the butler has a place for her
Behind the pantry door
The maid, she's French, she's got no sense
She's wild for Crazy Horse
And when she strips, the chauffeur flips
The footman's eyes get crossed
Don'cha think there's a place for us
Right across the street
Don'cha think there's a place for you,
In between the sheets?
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