Ryan Patient, honest, industrious, dependable Son of Thomas and Linda, brother of Erin (who’d be 45 if she were still alive) Lover of life, family, and the changing of New England seasons Who feels thankful at the start and end of every day, comfortable in his own skin, and blessed to be doing what he … Continue reading Bio-Poem: Mr. Jockers
The summer going into seventh grade, on my birthday, I walked up the stairs of our small Cape after a baseball game, turned left into my room and stopped, astounded. Propped against the wall, beside my desk, was one of the coolest bikes I’d ever seen: a blue Dyno Detour with white mag wheels. It … Continue reading Being Careless with Really Nice Things
The bubonic plague killed one-third of Europe’s 75 million people in the mid-fourteenth century. Yet, revolutionary technologies starting with the printing press soon emerged from the continent, propelling humanity forward for centuries. In the past year, COVID-19 has killed 540,000 people in the United States, 0.1 percent of the population. If Europe (where 1 in … Continue reading Emergency’s Over: Time to Move On
I woke up the morning of the storm and did what I always do: I read and drank coffee. And because I was at our beach cottage, I did so outside, listening to the birds and taking in the sea breeze. All was calm. It was early August in the turbulent year of 2020, a … Continue reading Feeling Powerless Amidst the Storm of a Pandemic
The year of 2020 hands down has been one of the worst years in history. Other years could never live up to this. 2020 is like 4 years all tied into one. We have never seen so many celebrities die and so many people. Just top it off we are going to be “celebrating” Coronaviruses … Continue reading Free Write: Tyler
One of my favorite animes is My Hero Academia. It is about these kids who go to school to become superheroes. There’s the main character, Izuku Midoriya. His superpower is super strength. His hero name is Deku. This is his hero name because that’s what his childhood best friend used to call him and it … Continue reading Free Write: Violet
As I have told my students, prior to being a teacher I was a journalist. I wrote for weekly and daily newspapers in Connecticut for eight years, covering national scandals, significant state rulings, and issues that mattered to people living in neighborhoods. For a while, I believed in the work, and was thus passionate about … Continue reading Free-Write: The Demise of the Fourth Estate
Ryan Patient, honest, industrious, dependable Son of Thomas and Linda, brother of Erin Lover of life, family, and the changing of New England seasons Who feels thankful at the start and end of every day, comfortable in his own skin, and blessed to be doing what he loves to do Who finds happiness in his … Continue reading Bio-Poem: Mr. Jockers
This morning, after posting my daily video lesson, I opened my email. The first email I read was a message from Mrs. Kaplan, who was passing along to the teachers of her building a message from HKMS parents and students and the PTO, along with the video below. It made me cry. I miss you … Continue reading Appreciation
It was sunny and dry on the Merritt Parkway. Approaching traffic, I slowed to a stop. Then: brakes squealing, metal crashing. The car behind me lurched forward. I accelerated. Fortunately, the car in front had moved, and I escaped with just a bump to my bumper. I didn’t get hurt. But someone probably did. In … Continue reading Require Distracted-Driving Courses for License Renewals
The juxtaposition between my life these past two weeks and the world very much around me is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. I thank God for that. And, currently, I think that is all I can do. To begin with, my wife and I are still employed. In the past two … Continue reading Counting My Blessings
The first week of Distance Learning has ended. People ask: How’s it going? It is hard to say. “Good, I guess,” is my default response. “Good” because it has not been “bad.” A “bad” week would have been terribly stressful and confusing and fearful; I have felt none of that. But the guesswork involved in … Continue reading How’s Distance Learning Going? Good, I Guess
I approached the back door knowing two things: I had at least a 30-minute wait ahead of me, so I had brought a book, and my wife had once met the owner of this music studio and did not like him. After he opened the door, I could see why. But I’d see a whole … Continue reading Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover
I approached the back door knowing two things: I had at least a 30-minute wait ahead of me, so I had brought a book, and my wife had once met the owner of this music studio and did not like him. After he opened the door, I could see why. But I’d see a whole … Continue reading Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover