Tag Archives: gun violence

#535: Melt the Guns (Elton’s Version)

A deep cut from the Caribou album, I bet few of us remember that Elton John and Bernie Taupin, in 1974, wrote a song about a massshooting. As a kid, ten years old, the song terrified me. Even thoughI may not have been able to singit to you, I remembered the lyricsto “Ticking” up toContinue reading “#535: Melt the Guns (Elton’s Version)”

#454: Let’s hear your argument that a civilian . . .

Okay, today all the rules for the sonnet, except for one, have been thrown completely under the bus. Desperate times require desperate measures. I don’t have a lot to say about this one, as I hope it speaks for itself, but I will give you a bit of a heads up about the subject matterContinue reading “#454: Let’s hear your argument that a civilian . . .”

#284: The American English Teacher Tries Not to Be Afraid While Doing His Job

Two nights ago I woke up at 3 a.m. and could not go back to sleep. It was not a nightmare that woke me. Just some disturbance in the force that momentarily stirred me from slumber. Immediately upon opening my eyes, though, a waking nightmare: I was thinking about those kids in Florida, and I wasContinue reading “#284: The American English Teacher Tries Not to Be Afraid While Doing His Job”

#226: Orlando, Florida

In my classroom, alone, my senior students out already and a small, manageable list of things to do to wrap up the school year, I’ve got more time than I’m used to having and I find myself often thinking of you, Orlando, and looking at photos in an article, “Thousands Attend Vigil to Prove ThatContinue reading “#226: Orlando, Florida”

Melt The Guns

For those of you who have been following my project of listening to my music collection from A to Z and writing reflections on each album: no, I am not jumping ahead from D to X.  Instead, inspired by a friend of mine posting this tune in Facebook on the day we learned of yetContinue reading “Melt The Guns”

Of Social Networks: Is Real Dialogue Possible?

First off, I offer my apologies, to anyone who’s actually following this blog, for my lengthy absence from the sphere. It was August the last time I penned anything for this venue, and that’s been weighing on me pretty heavily during this most difficult first few months of the school year—over 200 high school studentsContinue reading “Of Social Networks: Is Real Dialogue Possible?”