Due to an overwhelming amount of work, I’ve neglected my blog for a couple of days. I’ll try to not be so remiss in the future. To my friends and blog readers: Happy Valentine’s Day! I had my ENG 101 class at Delta last night study the history of the day, we shared our favorite quotes on “luv” and talked about the logic and illogic of love. To help with that focus, we discussed examples logical fallacies, and discussed how frequently those fallacies are seen and heard in current political adds. We then ended class with a reading of “Love is a Fallacy” by Max Shulman, a short story that if you haven’t read, you should. It is a hoot! Students love to read it too. You can read that story here: http://www1.asknlearn.com/ri_Ilearning/English/631/elang-ilearning/page3a.htm
Book News:
Today I travel to Fort Worth to prepare for a very busy weekend. Tomorrow is my big day at the Region XI Library and Media Service Center. This will be the third Texas Regional Service Center I’ve worked with. Saturday I’ll be at the Texas Civil War Museum. This is one of the finest Civil War museum’s I’ve ever visited. Here is the museum’s homepage: http://www.texascivilwarmuseum.com/
Saturday night, I’m to meet with some friends and Texas writers. I’ll likely post a blog entry both on Friday and Saturday nights as I’ll have Internet access. Here is a original poem for Valentine’s Day:
The Seventh Eve
The Chinese remember
Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden,
On their Valentine’s Day,
A day dedicated to Love,
Celebrated on the seventh
Day of the seventh lunar month,
Called “The Seventh Eve.”
She spent all her days
Spinning beautiful silk robes and
Lacey garments for the heavenly host,
Weaving gossamer clouds,
Shaping a tapestry of constellations.
When she fell in love, she fell behind
In her domestic duties to the Jade Emperor,
And she and her lover, Niu Lang, were
Separated by the Milky Way.
It’s said that if you stand under
A grapevine arbor you can
Hear the lovers talk.
Only a goddess can love this deeply.
On this day, Chinese lovers spend
Time together looking at stars,
Their stories are not as intense or passionate
As Romeo and Juliet’s, or Tristan and Iseult,
Complications and barriers don’t vanish,
Love doesn’t kill or scar them
As they wait patiently on
The banks of the Silver River,
For their one meeting a year,
Believing that their love can
Withstand their time apart.
How do such lovers find each other?
Much like we did, by chance, by fate,
Binding me to you with a single glance,
Like them, we’re weaving our lives together
Into a beautiful tapestry that will tell our story.
Till then, we look wistfully at the stars
And wait.