T.I.L.T. spring decadence

i love that everywhere i turn,
surfaces are covered with
pink fluff.
it is like the whole city
is getting married
and the trees are the
flowergirls.

sidewalks and streets
covered in candy-colored dust.

beauty.

at a loss

ms. emily,
my colleague,
posted this yesterday
after finding out about
a shooting of one of our
student's brother.
her words sum
up the hope
and fear that our
shorties have.
they wrap around
the hope and fear that
we, as teachers, parents,
and good people have.

these are the kids you are
writing and calling for.
please...
don't give up the fight.
now,
more than ever,
we need your
support .

so please....
write.
call.
fax.
send the same letter you wrote last time, even!

the parents thank you.
the shorties thank you.
i am eternally grateful.

lovin' easter hair on thursday

this one is for ms. emily.


easter hair is the best!
you only get to see it
once a year.

the saturday before,
all the girls
get the killer-dos
for easter service.
the curls,
and twists,
and flips are astounding.
the glittery, rhinestone
clips galore and
jewel-crusted
hairpins
hold perfect
spirals.

all just a tad bit
disheveled after a
night of careful sleeping
so as not to muss the
glamour-of-it-all.

and by thursday...
well...it is just plain admirable.
a whole week of
trying to keep it all together
along with the sugar high
of too many peeps,
peanut-butter eggs,
and cadbury eggs.

click here to see
the glamour girls up close.

more love here.

hear ye, hear ye!

Yesterday, Congressman Elijah Cummings came to our school.
He was sincere.
concerned.
real.
He actually advocates for
our children!
The cameras were there.
See the shorties on t.v.

NPR was there, too.
Grab a box of kleenex and hear
the shorties on the radio, too.

this is why i teach.
this is why my heart is so full.

spt 4.18.06 enchanted reality

new mexico was stellar.
it was overwhelmingly beautiful.
the land of enchantment lived up to its name.



the first two days, i spent staring at the mountains,
stoking the fire in the adobe fireplace,
staring at the white clouds and
dripping stars, and
alternating between
wrapping up in the down comforter
or kicking it to the bottom of the couch.
i breathed deeply and relaxed.

then, doris came to angel fire and we played.

we danced around in the shadows of
the sun and the moon
and opened our hearts to adventure.

april's challenge
for self-portrait tuesday
is about showing
our foolish side.
i haven't felt much foolishness lately
(which i know surprises those
that are near and dear to me).

i am trying to remember to breathe deeply.
trying to keep the spirit of the sage-brush
and sunsets in my heart.
deep breath...
let the anger for the school board go...
deep breath...
remember the hawk you saw in red river...
deep breath...
bring the sense of peace to the shorties...
deep breath...

i am back in baltimore.
instead of hawks, i see helicopters.
the stars are faded and very far away.
but the charm is here,
the shorties are here,
and my heart is here.

palms pressed together

please help!

see how by clicking here.

i know that many of you have helped.
many of you have written.
you have called.
you have read our pleas
and responded
in a BIG way.
i have been overwhelmed at the amount
of love and encouragement that we have
recieved from total strangers.

now it is coming down to the
real nitty gritty.
now is our last chance to be heard
by our city.

this is not just a fight for our
sweet babies at our school anymore.
this is bigger than that.



write for our kids.
then, send the same letter to your
school system's board of commissioners
to ensure the same future for your children
(or your future children)
(or just for the future of our nation!)

i feel like a beggar.
i feel badly asking more from people
that have already given so much.

call.
write.
get angry.

as one of our parents said in a recent email,
"please and thank you."

thursday love: our lady, who art in new mexico...

i love our lady de guadelupe.
i always have.
i am not catholic.
religion is something i am still exploring
and finding my way to...or away from.

i am drawn to her.
she is quietly powerful.
she is beautiful.
she is the protector.
she makes sure that everyone has
good health and is safe from harm.

she is the bombdiggity.

i  have a plastic
glow-in-the-dark
statue of her
that i brought in for
the shorties to see last year
when i returned from vegas, baby.

i recently spent 9 days in the land
where her image is
everywhere.
and i cannot get enough of her.


i want to go back.
and stay.

miles and miles away and to go...

today i visited las vegas, new mexico,
where my great grandparents used to live.

there, i ate my last chile rellenos.
i savored my last bowl of posole.

as i sit looking out over angel fire,
tears stream down my angry face
as i read my school's blog.

my principal had emailed me
early this morning,
"the school system continues
to support failure and not success.
are you home yet?"

no. i am not home.
i am far away. too far away.

my heart was full as i drove today
over the dry, orange-dirt, mountains.
i thought of the staff meeting,
years ago, where
we all had tears in our eyes
as we brainstormed how
to stay true to our mission and
still help the shorties pass
the test without
teaching-to-the-test.

as each mile of sage-brush
passed by, i fantasized about
scooping up all of sandtown and
bringing the families to this
magical place
where the school system can't
shove their greed and lies
down our poor, urban families'
throats any longer.
the shorties could fly free,
like hawks, with their wings
open and trusting.

after you read
the article in the sun,
take action
for the shorties.
FOR ALL CHILDREN
who are left behind!

if you are experiencing
writer's block, maybe
this and this
will help.

equal education FOR ALL.
isn't that what it is supposed to be?

much love and peace to you all.

self-portrait tuesday 4/12/06 angel fire

i have eaten
green chile
and red chile
(the locals call it "christmas")
each day since i have been here
in the land of enchantment.

tamales, enchiladas,
posole and beans
all smothered with the
spicy goodness of chile.

i have seen snow and rain
blow across the sangre de cristo mountains.
i have watched the sun rise and set
across the cimarron range...
the light breaking across the peaks.

and the stars.
i have almost touched them i swear.

i feel different.
calmer.
wiser even.

my beautiful friend, doris,
drove the many miles from
boulder to angel fire
bearing gifts: root beer, vanilla ice cream,
a yummy luna bar,
information on talismans, daffodils,
her wonderful spirit, and sense of adventure!

and what an adventure we had!
we drove on the high road from taos,
after eating the best pizza
in the world,
to santa fe.

my entry for april's self portrait challenge
was taken in las trampas.


i have two more days here.
my plans for today are to
eat pancakes,
get a massage at 5:00,
and eat green chile stew for dinner.
otherwise, i will go wherever
the sky tells me.

waiting loudly

along with our supporters,
we have been fighting
a good fight.

we held a rally.
we have spoken.
we have written.
we have prayed.


and until we are truly heard,
we will speak out a little more.

and write more.

and pray
more.



i left yesterday and flew west.
i am in angel fire, new mexico
population: tiny.
it is 25 miles east of taos.

one local lovingly and accurately
refferred to the stars here as
"dripping from the sky".

last night, i slept in front of a roaring fire
wrapped in a down comforter,
with a clear view of the constellations.
as i fell asleep, i knew that i was
connected with the shorties
via this vast skyscape.

i am holding them in my heart
and hoping that
we have good news for them
when we come back from
spring break.

thank you all for your support.
it is appreciated.

if you have any energy left,
please continue with the phone calls and emails.
we cannot give up this
fight to stop the injustice.

if not new song...then what?

please help our school.

we are spending the morning of our first day of spring break
in the classroom.
instead of being home and sleeping in,
the shorties of New Song, their parents,
their teachers, administrators,
and members of the community
are making phone calls,
writing letters and making our VOICES HEARD!

if you have a free moment
today.
pleasepleaseplease
email, call, or fax
(peacefully).

click on the link above and
you will find all the information you need
including a message model.

thank you for the love.