1 We had Rat Guy come out and inspect our roof because we began hearing things that go Blam! in the night.
2 I heard cracks and things going on, but thought it might have been caused by ceiling fans, or settling oldness.
3 Nope.
4 This guy came in yesterday and had good news: we are not infested, just two recent uninvited guests. The bad news: One of them is huge. Really huge. Cringe.
5 The elimination begins today. This guy wants our business.
6 Of course, I believe anyone coming into my place and traveling up to the roof is the Man.
7 Hey, I watch The Blacklist. I know that dude is planting bugs so they can listen in to my radical stuff.
8 Ha. But I can make stuff up.
9 Just kidding.
10 It was funny though, because the guy told me that he had been in the Navy, and learned a lot while there. I immediately thought ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence. The ONI trains the CIA.
11 How do I know all this? I've spent years researching, and teaching about the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I've read all sides, and my conclusion is that one guy didn't do that. You don't have to go far to figure that one out. I also have taught it during our Fiction vs. Non-fiction unit.
12 I've told students, "You know I'm CIA, right?" They always blew it off with a dumb laugh.
13 I'd stare over my glasses, pause, and say in some form form of German accent, "Perfect disguise." I'd sometimes do that during a test, just to distract them. Or to ease the tension of taking a test. They always chuckled.
14 Pretty diabolical, if I do say so myself.
15 Moving On, Part One: I'll keep an eye on Rat Guy today, so fear not.
16 I always loved teaching the JFK unit, even though it challenged me. I love non-fiction, and I particularly love teaching something that has so many twists and turns.
17 I also find that I have utmost respect for history teachers. I had to practice my own sequencing. Also, that story continues to evolve, to this very minute. At the end of it all, I always enjoyed the responses I received from the students.
17 I also find that I have utmost respect for history teachers. I had to practice my own sequencing. Also, that story continues to evolve, to this very minute. At the end of it all, I always enjoyed the responses I received from the students.
18 Inevitably one student would ask, "Don't you get scared they might go after you, Mr. H?"
19 My answer: "Hey, I'm just a low-rent teacher doing a small unit at a small school. Do you really think they see me as any sort of threat?"
20 "And let's face it: I don't exactly look like James Bond."
21 That usually relaxed them and eased their minds.
22 Sometimes teachers are under the false impression that students go home and think about them all the time.
23 Uh...no?
24 I told Helene a few weeks ago that I wanted to get down to Evergreen Valley, where I taught for a while, because I had promised one class that got a little weepy not to worry, that I'd come down, maybe to help out at a school dance. I told Helene I felt bad that I hadn't done that.
25 She looked at me like I had ten heads. "Do you really think those kids are giving you a second thought?"
26
27 She's probably right.
28 I really loved all my classes last year. I felt pretty blessed, to be honest. Lots of really nice students.
29 I do hope to get down at some point.
30 I think it would be a class act.
31 Moving On, Part Two: I'll never do that again. <Mouths word. "NEV-er.">
32
33 Moving On, Part the Thoid: I really enjoyed doing yesterday's piece on Chuck Berry. So much so that I would like to present a second Chuck Berry song that is so easy and breezy that it could run right past you. It is arguably second only to Happy Birthday for most-performed-live song ever.
34 I am speaking of the quintessential rock anthem Johnny B. Goode.
35 The opening riff alone will bring any encore crowd to its feet. It is a great tune for any band. It's dynamic, witty, poetic powerful, and epic. There is a reason that every rock band on the planet has jammed to it's rockin' simplicity. So, here you are: the classic lyrics to Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode:
36
Johnny B. Goode
By Chuck Berry
Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood (I thought it was "...an old"...and "herbs.")
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like a' ringing a bell (one of the best rock similes ever.I did, however, think that the definite article "the" was "a" regarding said guitar!)
Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny Go
Go
Go Johnny Go
Go
Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythms that the drivers made
People passing by they would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny Go
Go
Go Johnny Go
Go
Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around (There is no space below this line. Laptops!)
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe some day your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight." (I thought it was "Singin' " and not "Saying.")
Go go
Go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go
37 Did you find that you knew them, or you thought you knew them, but that you didn't? Here is a link to the original. Sorry it is so dark; I wanted it to be yellow, but I find myself again at the mercy of artificial intelligence. That Cortana can be a stubborn sort, but I definitely want to keep her at my side:
38 The lyrics are from Google Play, so they are probably the way they published. Guitar lyrics are always suspect anyway. Sometimes the artists will add or subtract a line. Paul Simon's The Boxer, for example, omitted this verse from its Bridge Over Troubled Water album:
Now the years are rolling by me,
They are rocking evenly
I am older than I once was
Younger than I'll be; that's not unusual.
No, it isn't strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same.
Now the years are rolling by me,
They are rocking evenly
I am older than I once was
Younger than I'll be; that's not unusual.
No, it isn't strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same.
39 I'm not certain as to why that verse was omitted. I'll research it, and get back to you tomorrow. The history of The Boxer is an interesting one, with a great quote by one of the session guitarists. It puts you right in the studio. I'll share it.
40 Spoiler Alert: They did put it on a live album. Why all the mystery? It's a great stanza. I'll find out and get back to you tomorrow.
41 Having fun learning and sharing this week.
42 I'm cutting this DN short again, lots to do. I'd feel better if I already put this one in the can.
43 So. Johnny B. Goode. I hope to learn the opening lick to it as well. I never did learn that, and that should be an essential. And tomorrow The Boxer. Lie-la-lie.
44 So.
45 Gottago.
46 See you again.
47 Have a GREAT day.
48 Peace.
~H~
fin.
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