Today I rose with a surer sense of peace and control than I have had in several days. Getting back to simple rituals grounded us right when we needed it.
I have happily watched my former student Jaymee Thomas organize parades for kids during this pandemic and admired it from afar, but now I appreciate her efforts even more after, for the second time, joining Battle’s vehicular celebration of its highest academic achievers and chauffeuring Nicole from house to house. It struck me that, even after we emerge from this mess, it may be a ritual to retain. The third and final Battle High School valedictorian celebration is today, and we’re going.
The intense but intermittent reverberations and impacts of sudden loss have affected my concentration on any but the most urgent tasks. I tried to read (for comfort, edification, and escape), but as Lou Reed once sang, “I couldn’t get to page 17.”
The day ended with us sitting on the couch, looking into each other’s eyes and both reflecting and laying out a near-future path. We’re worried about each other, if only because it’s been powerfully demonstrated to us that tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Streaming for Shut-Ins:
Ken Shimamoto knows, and Reed surely did.
The Overeem Farewell Tour: Dispatches from the Public School Trenches 