Song of Haiti

I think the good multimedia projects stay in your thoughts long after you've viewed them. That's certainly been the case with this one. Hope you enjoy this one from the New York Times.

Ice Racing

I found this great piece on ice racing in New England from the New York Times in their Lens blog. Great story, it pulled me right in and had me cheering.

Preparing For Impact

Math and Science Night for Heritage School was last week. Organized by the Heritage PTO and run by Rob Walker (pictured in the last photo with Allison) it offered the kids in attendance some hands-on experience with science that supplements what they might experience in the classroom.

The big event for the evening was the egg drop. Kids could use pipecleaners and straws to create a design that would help their egg survive the impact of a 15-foot drop. I wandered over to the area as my traffic at the table to help kids make a hovercraft out of a balloon, CD and a little hot glue had slowed down. I found Ally trying to develop her design (see first photo). And had learned no one had yet produced a successful design.

Her idea was simple: to surround the egg with straws gathered at the ends so as to not let the egg fall out. Her first model fell apart right after the pre-requisite weigh in. We could tell the straws weren't evenly distributed around the egg and the ends were gathered too tightly, making the straws fold on the thin side. So we reassembled the design by evenly distributing the straws and using less tension on the ends.

It survived the second weigh-in and everyone who saw her design would stop, look and kind of half smile wondering if it would work. Ally of course was just so excited to see if her design would work she was beside herself. The last thing to decide was how to drop it. We discussed it and because I didn't think that the straws were thick enough to withstand a side impact, she decided to drop it vertically.

It was dropped and gravity did it's work. Landing on end at a slight angle it bounced off to one side. When the volunteer picked it up it had yellow egg on it and I was sure it had broke. But on closer examination, it had just landed in a pool of yolk and had not even cracked. Success!

I have never witnessed my daughter so excited by learning. As a parent, it was beautiful thing to witness. Even if the egg had broken she still had an infectious energy about her from problem solving and learning through trial and error. She was in her element.

This event comes at a time when we, as a district, will create our own design to prepare for the impact that 9.4 million dollars worth of cuts to our school district's budget will have. As parents we can no longer afford to sit idle, criticize others and hope the education that our kids will be good enough in the face of these tough times. It is time to take action and get involved. Our children's education and the budget cut design that is being created for the 2010-2011 school year is too important to crack and break upon impact.

Thank you Heritage PTO and Rob Walker and your numerous volunteers for hosting such a great and well attended event as Math and Science Night. I applaud these parent volunteers who know that their efforts can make a difference in education of our children.

I'm so inspired that I'm joining PACE as I am able, a district-wide parent advisory team that works to secure for all Medina students the highest advantages in education while continuing to focus on fostering educational opportunities that challenge highly motivated students. http://medinapaceteam.blogspot.com/

And what of Allison and providing her the element in which she will thrive as she enters her tough middle school (now junior high) years? It's hard facing the uncertainty that all of this creates. But the one thing I do know is that she needs me now more than ever. She needs me as her advocate. But how much more will she learn if, in my advocacy, I can lead by example and be even more of her role model too?

Dawes

I heard this band called Dawes on the World Cafe Words and Music podcast that I listen to. That was more than a month ago and the music has been stuck in my head ever since. If the music had that much staying power, I though I'd share it with you here.

North Hills is the debut album of the band from Los Angeles. I marveled at how a group so young could produce music so powerful and transcendent, and have so much to say lyrically. "I took what I wanted and put it out of my reach. I wanted to pay for my success with all of my defeats." I hear at once laid-back California and the urgent yearning for a deeper truth.

Go here and click "Listen Now" to launch the NPR stand-alone player and hear the entire podcast with a great interview and three great songs recorded in studio.

D Turns Seven

Danny actually had two parties for his seventh birthday. He had this bowling party that you see here with a few of his friends, and then a small family party later that day. Thanks to our friends the Gladdens for suggesting the idea of a bowling party at "Ghost Alley" formerly "Kolony Lanes" in Wadsworth, which is where this was held.

Apparently the building and bowling alley have been in Wadsworth for quite some time. I found it well run in better shape than Wadsworth Lanes. The owner and staff bent over backwards for us and our party. We had a great experience overall and I recommend "Ghost Alley" to anyone interested.

I've never seen boys so excited together. It was everything I had to keep them all off the lane surface at one time. And if one of them picked up a spare you'd think they just won the lottery. A cheer would rise up from their lane. They we so happy for one another.

The photos show the gift and cake segments of the party. Mostly because I don't like to use a flash and they were somewhat still. At first we see Danny in party hat and glasses opening a Game Stop gift card flashing a knowing smile, then his mouth open in shock at receiving a "20 Questions" electronic guessing game. Turning seven sure is sweet.

The End of an Era

Dad retired this fall after owning his own business for 47 years. He called a couple weeks before he closed the doors to see if I wanted any tools for around the house, drills and such. I didn't want any tools, but the only thing I kept thinking was that I wanted to take the photos you see above. Somebody needed to remember.

So here's how I choose to remember: A 2001 scene where lunch was midday break and so much more. And I could tell that Dad and his right-hand man Don Crano were happy to have me working for a couple months to liven the place up for a while.

Don and I were eating lunch today. That's not to say that we went someplace special but that we ate simultaneously in the same room. He reads the paper and eats his meal that comes in a microwaved box and I eat whatever is in my bag.

After a while Dad usually joins us. And the conversation swings one way or another. You can tell they have this down. Don’s been having conversations like this with Dad for 36 years. I suppose that one knows the others scope of knowledge enough to tailor what is said. The topic is whatever is of interest.

Generally it's something informative: local history, computer technology... whatever. Today Dad chimes up and says “Hey, I saw that PBS train show the other night.” Trains are an area of expertise for Don and his knowledge is deep as it is wide. He is a model railroader and has a great grasp on Akron history, which includes, of course, commerce by rail.

They immediately launch into a discussion that goes something like: “I didn't understand that the P1100 was so big. They said that the wheels are six and a half feet in diameter on those things.” “Yep, and the drive shafts were just as long. And they were configured this way because they needed a certain amount of clearance.” I love to hear them talk about things mechanical. They talk of principles that can be applied in a certain way that demystify the questions known and unknown in a plain way. Talking to them you believe that with a little engineering and know-how, you can improve upon anything.

But my ears didn't perk up until Dad started talking about his own railroad experiences. I've heard him talk of the fact that he laid railroad track before. But I never bothered to understand why, or how really.

He got the job because Mr. Beeching was an electrician for one of the railroads. Dad described himself as someone who was a bit small to be doing that kind of work. The other employees were foreigners and much larger in brawn and stature.

He laid the track from Akron to Kent and a stretch from Akron to Barberton. The Kent track included a stretch that went through a swamp. He could hardly pull a single railroad tie himself. As planned, a train had gone through previously and thrown the new ties off to the side for the crew. The same ties that along the Kent line that they had to now pull out of the swamp to lay.

Their stories always were littered with details like the fact that the rails that Dad laid were in 22-foot sections. That the rails needed to be drilled with three 7/8”-diameter holes on each end. There were six spots to drive railroad spikes on a tie but they only drove three. Dad's capacity to recall details after all these years was impressive.

In the end, they usually try to wow me. And sometimes I'm even wowed. Today it was that how Dad saw a train gets back on track with just a crew of 10 or so men. He tells the story just as amazed as when he saw it happen with Mr. Beeching one day. Giving credit where credit is due saying that he doesn't know if he could have figured out how to do that as quickly. It was obvious that Mr. Beeching took dad under his wing a bit and was displaying the spectacle that was his profession.

Don launched into five minutes about how its currently done. In a manner that would make you stand and sincerely say “No. Really?” again and again. Just shaking your head.

I read a John Gladden column last night. And if I can take some liberty, he reminded me that the building Dad owned and worked in has only whatever meaning we give it. So if right now it's a bit sad, it's only because he's not there and the equipment is gone.

It's good to remember all of this. I also think it's also good to move on. So I'll look forward to seeing Dad this weekend at home.

Slip and slide summer

Tales & Tails

Here's an oldie but goodie that was originally published on MedinaMultimedia.com. I'm posting it here to test out my ability to export video from soundslides, which seems the only way I can get this into blogger without paying for hosting. As always, many thanks to Allyson Voller for her contributions to this project. I really enjoy her photography, so please do check out her site.