Nobody leaves here without singing the blues.

The other day, I was watching the movie "Cadillac Records" and something came over me, we live in a blue world and the blues is our oxygen. Listening to Muddy Waters and Little Walter brought home. In the words of Leroi Jones ( Amiri Baraka ) we are blues people. Whether we like it or not the lifeblood of every American is the blues.
The blues accounts our struggles and triumphs and tells us that today is not so good but tomorrow may be worst next week on the other hand may be alright.
Traditionally thought of as the music of Black America ( and it is) but it is also the music of the people who make this country good and bad. The blues was born of the sweat and toil of all Americans and Black America lent it's voice.
If the blues is the mother of all America, jazz is the father. I listen to the blues at work, at play, when I work out or just sit. I don't use drugs except for the blues, it is my high and my low. The blues keeps me company, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, KoKo Taylor and Little Walter are my house guests and accompany me to the gym . They make my workout smooth and ease the pain make me peddle faster and lift harder.
Buddy Guy is my muse along with Etta James and B.B. King.
Anyone who seeks inspiration should go no further than the nearest juke joint. Some hip hop artists are inspired by the blues and the good ones understand why. Hip hop is just the continuance of the blues, an expansion of the story. Hip hop is blues with an attitude and a business manager. Most great blues men from Leadbelly on have died with nothing more than the clothes on their backs . Some made it big but most met the fate of most blues men shot or stabbed over bad dice.
With all of that, the blues is still my anthem and always will be. In the words of Albert Collins, "Nobody Leaves Here without Singing the Blues." I think he meant nobody leaves life without singing the blues.

Chill Out

When someone rants and raves about how uncomfortable they are when people are speaking a language other English around them, I say "chill out" with a capital C.
The other day I listened to someone who got into a big argument with someone who felt in this person's words made them "very uncomfortable" about about three people were speaking Spanish to each other. That is so rude is one of the utterances that came out of this person's mouth followed by an experience that this person had before where they felt uncomfortable when other people felt comfort in speaking their own language.I have heard this before. In a class I was taking once, a woman felt comfortable in saying that she felt uncomfortable when Latino men spoke Spanish around her because she felt they were planning to do something to her.
I say again, "chill out" people speak other languages because they feel comfortable speaking in that language for a variety of reasons: It may be their first language and their speaking ability is better, they speak it with others because it gives the speakers a sense of comradery that other get by talking shop, jive or any of the things we talk about to create a circle of friends.
I am sure that people who speak languages other than English also feel uncomfortable in America especially Spanish and Arabic speakers but I rarely hear them rant about being uncomfortable around all of the English speakers.
Chill out and learn that this is not our world, we just live in it and whatever others choose to speak, so be it . It is easy to be the ugly American, we have been doing it for decades . Chill out, calm down and enjoy the ride.

Email You Fail

What happened to to the good old reliable email of years past. You know what I am talking about, when email was email.
I can remember opening my first email account with yahoo 9 years ago and it became my door to a new world, a world that I rarely visited,the world of cyberspace. It really was like going to a new world literally. The same day that I opened my email account was also the day that I got my first cell phone through Sprint. I was beginning my adventure through cyberspace.
That aside, what has happened to the email that I knew and trusted, I remember it well, you sent email, you received email and that was it. Things have changed quite a bit since 1999 when I first began email.
Today email is sometimes more of a hindrance than a help. Each day I get over 100 unsolicited emails . Some are just junk mail trying to sell you a good or a service others are just plain annoying.
For instance, how many times am I going to get an email from someone in Nigeria who wants me to help them withdraw thousands of dollars in frozen assets and they would be more than willing to split the money with me.
Are these Nigerian con-men stupid or do they think everyone else in the world is dumber than them. Either way, I wish they would stop wasting every one's time and realize that we in America have all heard of the pigeon drop .
If that were all I had to deal with in the email category it would be fine but every cheap scam and product is hawked on email. Everything from online degrees to timeshares and everything in-between.
Email used to be a nice refuge in the Cyber world from the conventionality of the real world. Now it's just the infomercial from hell that you meet every time you check your email. I remember when AOL would beckon to me, "you've got mail" and there were only a few messages in your box and they were from people you knew, not some Nigerian con-man who want a favor.

Cheap Eats , Good Treats

In today's tough economy, one has to find some financial relief. Since most of us are not Wall Street firms, values have to be found where you can find them. I have found my value oasis in Dinkytown, that enclave on the east bank of the University of Minnesota where bicycles outnumber cars and the diversity raises the diversity level throughout the state of Minnesota.
All of that aside if you want to eat cheap go to Dinkytown. I have made it my mission in life to sample every restaurant this area has to offer. Tonight I began with Binh and Duffy's Tavern.
Binh is a delightful pho restaurant behind the University technology center. What first struck me about this establishment was how clean and quiet it was. I did not do my bathroom test first but my server assured me that their bathroom was the cleanest. I sat down to a clean table near the window and began to peruse the menu. After a few moments, the server arrived. To start with I ordered what I always order when I have pho , crispy Vietnamese egg rolls , next I asked the server if they had grilled pork meatball bun alas, they did not. I asked why and she said it was on the menu but they removed it because it was not popular. At first, I was taken aback because grilled meatball is my favorite bun. She calmed my senses and assured me that the grilled pork bun was excellent.
When the egg rolls arrived they were as good and crispy as they always are and the bun was fantastic. It had plenty of well-grilled meat that was throughout the salad. In some bun you sometimes have to send out a search party to look for the scarce supply of meat. There was also an even distribution of veggies throughout the salad as well.
I was not just pleased with the meal but also with the price. For a little over $10 I had a good meal and ample change from my twenty.
Leaving Binh, I decided to go to Duffy's tavern for one reason, curiosity . I live in Saint Paul's Highland Park and there is a house on Fairview street that has a truck parked next to it with the sign Duffy's Tavern Dinkytown Pizza on the door. I have often said to myself while passing the truck that I was going to find Duffy's Tavern, tonight I did.
Duffy's is an unassuming place with pictures on the wall of what I assume is the owners many trips. I went up to the counter and ordered a slice of sausage pizza to go. The order came to $3.80 . When paying, I saw their late night special, a slice for 99 cents truly a value. When I brought the slice home and ate it it was New York heaven better than most in the cities and up there with Rays Pizza of New York.
So for roughly 14 dollars, I sampled two of Dinkytown's finest and have enough money left over to sample more. The journey continues.

I love the night

I am one of the people you might call "early risers" . I love to wake up early and watch television, go off to the gym and come back and work on my blogs, come up with ideas for school and find out the news before the rest of the world wakes up. That is easy to do in my house because I am at least up 3 to 4 hours before anyone else.

There is something mysterious about being up before dawn almost spiritual. You can't just get up however, you have to do something, run, walk, write study, something but you can't say you are up and continue to sleep while the t.v. is on. It is said that Thomas Jefferson did not let the sunrise catch him in bed. He began his day in the dark, reading, writing and planning our nation's future. He probably got more done before sunrise that most of us get done all day.

With the exception of owning 300 slaves, I try to pattern my life after Thomas Jefferson in the sense that I try to start my day early with purpose. As I write this, piece, I have already been up for 5 hours. See you tomorrow. Early!!!

It Feels good to be Done

Yesterday, I was done.
What dose this mean? It means that I did everything yesterday that I said I was going to do. I worked out, completed work assignments and attended my daughter's soccer game.
Accomplishment is the blood of life, frustration sets in when we cannot do all that we set out to do.
I have always been one that has tried to complete all of the goals that I set out to do. From graduating from high school and college to earning my latest graduate degree in technical communications. I have always tried to complete my tasks. I am not the greatest runner in the world but I completed the Twin Cities marathon and received a medal for it. I was tired toward the end but continued because I had made a commitment. I have not always been rewarded for my accomplishments by others but the self fulfillment that I receive from my accomplishments far outweighs what others think or do not think. These accomplishments have also made me always qualified for any job that I would want to take.
If you want real fulfillment start completing tasks start with little ones and then go to bigger ones. Do not blame other people because the task is not complete. The choice is up to you whether to work toward a goal and finish it or use excuses as to why you did not. Excuses have never and will never replace accomplishments.

What the World Needs. Another Ipod

The other day, I received an email from apple that the new ipods have just come out . The new nano, touch and classic. I say to the people form Apple this is great, but do we really need a new ones?
Apple says that these new ipods are the best ever. That is what they said last fall when they came out with a new device. Apple, in many ways takes advantage of the consumer by dangling new things over their noses every three months.
It seems to me that Apple had the technology for all of the things they are presented this fall last fall. Don't you feel like a real smuck that you brought last year's ipod instead this years and because you want an ipod that records video, does voice-overs and has the ultimate in mp3 players the coveted FM tuner.
You now want to go out and but this new ipod and give to old one to your nephew for a graduation present( hey that's a good idea) he'll never know.
I love apple products and have had very little trouble with any of them but enough is enough. Do us a favor apple only present new ipods every two years to give us time to save up the money to buy it. Or not.

Don't Disect the Check

How many of you go out to dinner with cheap friends who practice one of the most annoying things known to the population of us who dine out. Check surgery.
What might you ask is check surgery. It is when you go out with your friends and everyone orders pretty much the same thing and enjoys it until the bill comes. When the bill comes your fellow diners sink deep into what I call check denial.
Check denial takes place in 3 steps: 1. Viewing the bill and thinking"how did we spend that much". 2. The other person or couple ate more than their share. 3. Separating what you purchased from what everyone else purchased and proclaiming loudly, " my portion of the bill comes to $35.00."
This is called bill dissection. You can always spot the would-be check surgeon because they always grab the bill first and begin the process. Those who are better in math figure out their portion secretly in their heads and then pass the bill on to their unsuspecting companions.
Even though everyone ordered entrees similar in price the rest of the group is always stuck with paying more. The other annoying thing about check surgeons is that they never claim the appetizer. Even if they eat half or most of it. If they did not say at the beginning, "lets order chicken wings," they do not want to split the cost of them so the rest of the group is forced to pay for an appetizer and most of the cost of wine. I end up paying for wine at dinner and I don't even drink.
You might ask, " how does a dinner party defend itself from these butchers. Here is a good tip. At the start of the meal, all diners create a pot. As in poker, everyone contributes the same to the pot. $20 is a good standard for this pot. This will cover appetizers and wine. Four people $80. Five people $100. This may sound silly but it may help you being stuck with a large bill that you are only partly responsible for.
So if the bill comes to $200 and there are 4 people, even if check the ripper wants to pay for their portion they have already paid $20 and this relieves the burden for the rest of the group.
The easiest way to deal with this of course is to simply split the check in even portions and not nickel and dime your fellow diners with the game of who bought what.
Even Steven as they used to say it works and everyone usually leaves with a sense that justice was done. The check cut and paste specialist may not like this and their argument usually goes like this " you guys ate more that me." If you eat out with the same people all the time, it balances itself out . Of course the person who is worse than the check surgeon is the one who loudly proclaims at the start of the meal the often used phrase,"separate checks." This type is worst than the check surgeon because they from the beginning have no sense of fairness or justice.
For both of these types , I say if you can't work it out exclude them from your dinner lists. Dining should be a pleasant experience not a math lesson.

A modest Proposal

I am sitting in a classroom where it is 80 degrees outside and about 95 degrees inside. At the end of the day around 6th hour it is miserable. I have never been to hell but i suspect that it is something like Central high school at 6th hour during the month of September.
The air is still and so thick that one could cut it with a knife. As I look at the bottle of hand sanitizer on my desk it reminds me of the air in my class room. What makes matters worse is that the 9th graders, innocent children that they are, who have done nothing to anyone have to suffer this fate worse than death daily. As I teach, they sit lifeless on the brink of collapse but good troopers that they are fight everything to stay alert.
If we really want improve education as a nation, the first thing we should do is improve the environment and make it as conducive to learning as possible. Air conditioning would be a start. Adequate computers and cold water fountains would finish it.
Students want to learn but it is hard when they have to struggle to stay comfortable in this tropical rain forest we call high school.

School Days School Days

Today was the first day of school and it was great not just because it is a work day that I get paid for. I got paid for the previous week but I did not feel the same. The first day of school is unlike no other. Why, you might ask? because the week before even if it was filled with staff returning from their summer breaks with a number of stories about the trips they took and did not take. It's different with kids, they do not have complete control over their lives and school gives them what vacation does not semblance of order and an investment in the future.
When the students are tin the building, they breathe life into to . They perform CPR on an otherwise dying structure . If schools have a life's blood, it is the students that attend it. Over the years that I have been associated with Central high school, I have seen students come and go so full of life and hope. Many are still around and some are not .
As they breathe life into the school, they also breathe it into the staff. Our principal has been with the school district for 40 years and she does not seem to have missed a step. I think that secretly she has found the fountain of youth and it flows through the halls of Central high school.

Food Finds and Other Things: Chicago

Located in Chicago's south loop, a new restaurant has emerged in this tough economy and is surviving. When I describe the excellent ding experience, you will understand why. When I walked into the Gage yesterday, I thought it was going to be the typical of many of the fusion restaurants, overpriced and underfed but I was pleasantly surprised when it was neither.
Located just one door down from the Chicago Athletic Club, it is described by one of the clubs' members as a place to go when the 3 restaurants that the Chicago club runs are closed . So at 9:30 pm there were still a number of people seated and enjoying their meals. When I sat down, I ordered for appetizer 3 of the specialties of the house: chicken livers, Scotch Eggs and French Fries.
You can and should always judge a restaurant by their French fries for two reason: first it is the quintessential western side dish and frankly, if the french fries suck, you might as well order nothing else because the rest of the meal will probably stink too.
These French fries were heavenly and had a twist that set them above many of the fries that I have the pleasure to sample, they offered a curried gravy for dipping.
Chicken livers are an acquired taste but they happen to be one of my favorite foods. These livers were excellent, they were well seasoned and served on a bed of lettuce . They were crisp and tasted the way livers should, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Next, I tried another food on my top ten food list, Scotch eggs. If you do not know what Scotch Eggs are, I will try to explain them to you. They are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried ( as most things Scottish are) . With just the right amount sausage,bread crumbs fried to a crispy golden brown with grainy mustard on the side .
After the appetizers, I had their house burger, medium rare. As burgers go it was excellent, food of the gods and in my top 10 of great burgers.
With melted cheese, onions lettuce and tomatoes it was a basic burger, but in my humble opinion, that is what makes a burger good, when you add too much, you take away the flavor from the meat.
But that is for another discussion.
The other way to gauge (no pun intended ) a good restaurant is from the service that you receive and it was excellent . The server was not only attentive but had good knowledge and familiarity with the menu. Unlike some servers, the waiter actually likes food, wine and good service so he provides the same.
I left Gage last night with the sense that I would return soon and bring friends. I hope some of my readers will take the initiative, visit and see for themselves what a little oasis this is in the center of the south loop.

I am Proud to be an American: So Should You

I believe in the United States of America right or wrong up or down and I respect its' leaders whether I agree with them or not . I criticize them and inject my opinion when ever I can but I respect the government and its' leaders from president Barack Obama to Larry the letter carrier who delivers my mail 6 days a week.
I have always been this way, from when I was in elementary school through high school during the war in Vietnam to today. Republican or Democrat, I respect that leadership is a difficult task in America and I take my hat off to anyone who has the fortitude to serve. As a teacher , I teach my students to respect our leader and support them. I always say that I leaders all believe in the United States of America and the great democracy that we have they just differ on how the nation should be run and how we reach our goals.
When it is all said and done our nation is a work in progress and those architects who shape it come from many perspectives and experiences. I was always taught to respect the job even if I did not respect the person. I usually respect the person and the job, because as easy as it seems from the outside looking in the mantle of leadership is a heavy one. That is why the events of the past few days have been upsetting.
President Barack Obama has decided to speak to American school children on the first day of school for many of them and it has caused a big uproar. There are parents who are threatening to keep their children at home if districts run his message and some Republican leaders, including Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty have criticized the speech calling it a distraction.
I do not think that Governor Pawlenty or any governor of any state in the United States has the right to pass on a speech by the president of the United States. He not have supported President Obama in the election but he is the president now and he represents not just Democrats or the people that voted for him he represents all Americans and our American ideal. My country right or wrong my leader agree or disagree. This is what our American democracy is all about . Governor Pawlenty who has presidential aspirations should know better.
He should realize that in America there is no right or left just right and wrong and as the governor of the state of Minnesota he is wrong to impose his personal feelings on his office and use it as a weapon and not what it was intended to be used as, an instrument of democracy.
All of us have to realize that we can disagree without being disagreeable . In the eyes of many, this is politics as usual, but in my eyes it is an erosion of the political values that this country is supposed to espouse, respect our leaders, respectfully criticize them but work with them to achieve the American ideal of liberty, justice, equality and above all understanding that this country belongs to us all and all must be respected.

Travel Tip of the Day: Tip!!!!

Those of you who like me love to travel here is a tip from me, take care of the people who take care of you. I am referring to the people in the service industry who work hard to serve our every needs when we are away.
As a union man and an advocate for working men and women, I think that it is imperative that we all understand that people in the service work for and need tips.
The tip, the gratuity, taking care and hooking up. Whatever you call it make sure that if you receive service give your gratitude in the form of financial compensation.
Here are some guidelines that will make all who read this expert tippers.
First and foremost, know what the prevailing tip amount is in the area that you are in. Some areas 15% is acceptable in other areas it is 20% still others 25% is the going rate. You can find this information through travel guides and by simply asking.
Next tip for all service no matter what it is. Some people only tip when they are being served at a table by a server. Any place that you receive service you should tip. If you pick up carryout at a restaurant, tip. Someone had to prepare your food and package it for take out tip appropriately .
Pizza delivery the driver is just like a mobile server tip the same as you would tip a restaurant server. Even if you eat at a buffet, tip the person who brings you drinks and takes away your plates.
When you stay at a hotel you should not just tip the bellman and the doorman, tip the housekeeper as well, those people are not paid well to clean your room and they also have families to feed. When you check out leave an envelope on the sink with a few dollars in it this will be greatly appreciated.
The golden rule with tipping is any service that you are given provide monetary compensation, even if the service is not good. We all have bad days so do servers in many cases they have no control over whether your food comes out on time. There are kitchen fires and other mishaps that cause these delays do not blame the server, they work hard for you.
In short as my father always told me, and he should know because he spent most of his youth working in the service industry, if you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out stay in until you do.

Tollbooth Etiquette

Today I drove from my home in Saint Paul Minnesota to Chicago. The highway is toll free until you get to Illinois for about one hour ( depending on where you exit) you pay about 4 tolls from the Illinois state line to the Chicago city limits.
What I have experience during this trek could make a book and I would call it tollbooth etiquette .
Since most of the toll roads have an e pass line there is not much contact with the tollbooth attendant and this leads to a culture that has become increasingly cold and distant. Attendants used to take your money with a smile and welcome to their section of the road . Many attendants barely give you a smile and seem impatient when you have to count out correct change and are not fast enough.
Today one attendant dared to boldly go where no attendant has gone before, he actually smiled and told me to have a nice day and a safe trip. He actually spoke more than two sentences, almost a paragraph.
The only other very positive tollbooth attendant experience occurred in July of 2007 When an attendant not only wished me a good day but she went above and beyond by giving me directions to downtown Evanston, Illinois.
These two experiences lead me to believe that there is hope for the tollbooth system in general and tollbooth attendants in particular. They are not all like the insensitive attendant in the movie, "The Godfather" that let Sonny Corleone meet his maker without any warning of preeminent danger . Many are like the attendant in 2007 that went above and beyond or the gentleman today who simply said hello and wished me a safe trip.
If tollbooth attendants can reform, maybe we all can just get along.

Old School vs. New School

What does it mean to you when someone says that something is old school. To me it means that it is classic and still applies to today like being a sharp dresser or knowing how to treat people right. Old school also means someone who is not afraid to be themselves no matter what the room says. If you have ever seen the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" the character Demone says it is the "the attitude" that no matter what the house is doing you do your own thing and you do not let someone else' attitude influence yours.
If someone is old school they are not interested in the status quo. Status is not important. Respect and reputation is. When you deal with an old school person you have to come correct. What does this mean? It means that you have to come to them with respect and they will accept nothing less. An old school person is known by their rep and no one crosses them because they do first and say later . They don't say of you come at me in a certain way I will punch you in the mouth an old school person just punches them in the mouth. Old school does and does not threaten . New school is bluff, smoke and mirrors. Old schools says your word is everything. New school says your word can be changed as it suits your needs. Old school is the ultimate in cool. New school is the ultimate in flash and shallowness.
Examples of old school guys and dolls: Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Malcom X, Robert F Kennedy,Stevie Wonder, Alan Ginsberg, Amelia Earhart, Lena Horne and Dinah Washington. Fictional characters: Humphrey Bogart, Jethro Gibbs from NCIS , Ed Deline from Las Vegas.
Old school is not just an attitude it is a lifestyle where you live by your wits and by your standard. We need more old school guys and less weak, whinny dishonest new school manipulators. People of action not faction those who have a passion not a fashion.

Something Called High School

Tomorrow is the freshman orientation at Central high school. I can remember my first day at that thing called high school.
It was 1972 when I entered high school and it was a mystery to me . I have two older sisters and they went to high school before me but I really knew nothing of it . During the time that I was growing up younger brothers and sisters usually did not visit their older siblings schools plus what is there for a boy to learn from an all-girls school?
So I was in a fog when I entered high school, there were no websites, no touring groups and few opportunities to view your new school. Students today at least have that advantage but little else.
Many of the students tomorrow will come through the doors of Saint Paul Central high school with apprehension . They are coming from schools where they were student council presidents, team captains, band section leaders, newspaper editors etc. They are all coming to Central as freshmen, the low end of the pyramid, the bottom of the heap, the Rodney Dangerfields of the school in that they get no respect. But it has to be that way, for if it was not what would freshmen have to look forward to.
My request to all of you . As a father with a daughter entering high school I say go easy on them but let them know that it gets better each year.
When I entered high school the upperclassmen were not as hospitable . They were out to get you and they made that clear. Lets send a message to the class of 2013. Central is a cool place to be if you come correct.

Football for Life

I used to be an A number one football hater until I saw football for what it is a metaphor for life. As a high school teacher and ski coach one of the highlights of my year now is to sit in our stadium and watch high school football practice.
The other night, I was watching "Any Given Sunday" and the defensive coach played by Jim Brown said to the head coach played by Al Pacino that he was going to retire and coach high school football because kids play football for the sake of playing, money is not an issue only love.
I do not know if that is the case for all high school players particularly for the stars but it is the case for those who are near the top or closer to the bottom of the football hierarchy. Football for many young men is one of the only reasons they attend high school, the only reason they make passing grades , the only reason they get up in the morning.
Some people say this is wrong and young men should not be as focused on sports and more focused on academics. I say anything that keeps them in school and achieving is very important. Football if coached right builds character and creates in young men a work ethic and a sense of pride.
The football coach at the school that I teach at Saint Paul Central high school is Scott Howell. Coach Howell is a living example to these of the importance of character on both the playing fields, the classroom, the city and life itself. I have seen him bench star player with attitude problems, bad school behavior or players who do not take their academics seriously . Scott has a no pass no play policy that he extends not only to the worst players but the stars equally.
Often sports are criticized by society as not being a good example of what young men and women should focus on . I see it as a good way to build solid citizens who have goals and expectations. These students more often reach their goals when they are led by coaches like Scott Howell who understand that football as in life extends to many areas beyond the playing fields.