 Saturday, August 19, 2006
Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last entry; I just got moved into college and the past few weeks have been a flurry of packing and unpacking boxes and getting my new room situated. I'm taking my first Creative Writing class -- Intro to Fiction -- this semester, and I'm excited to share my experiences with all of you!
Summer always makes me think of kids' lemonade stands. Just last week we drove by a lemonade stand -- and my dad bought out their whole inventory. He's always supported youngsters who dream. And he's taught my brother and I to do the same. Granted, I'm only a sophomore in college, and my brother is just a junior in high school -- but to elementary school students, we are Role Models. I write notes of congratulations and encouragement to young writers I read about in the newspaper who have won writing contests, and I teach writing camps for kids during the summer. My brother, a cross-country runner, cheers on kids at youth track meets.
In the same spirit, I want to tell you about a book I just read by young writer Baxter Graham. I met Baxter when he contacted me through my website, and he sent me a copy of his children's book, Old King Stinky  Toes. I was blown away! Every so often you discover one of those rare books that really speaks to you, that rejuvenates you, that you finish reading and promptly turn back to page one and start reading again because you loved it so much. For me, Old King Stinky Toes is one of those books.
Baxter is only eleven years old, but he already has figured out how to tell a great story! This picture book, written in rhyme, is about a "good and kind king" ... except for one thing: his toes stink! His subjects make fun of him, which upsets the king. This story of Old King Stinky Toes is a humorous tale with a bigger life lesson: embracing all of yourself – even your "stink" – and turning disadvantages into advantages. Combined with beautiful illustrations by Baxter's teacher James R. Martin, this is a gem of a book that will have you smiling from ear to ear.
Think about it: who can you be a mentor to? Oh, and before summer ends, don't forget to stop by a lemonade stand or two -- I promise you'll make a kid's day!
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The following is a piece of my catalog of travels from the great state of Virginia to the great state of California, up the coast to Washington (also great), and then back east, back home. Nothing in this account has been embellished and/or fabricated. It all really and truly happened. For real. Seriously. I would not lie to you.
Monday, June 19, 2006 (cont.)
SOUTH DAKOTA
Feelin' Presidential
South Dakota is known as "The Mount Rushmore State" and they promote it EVERYWHERE! There's really no need for advertising. I don't know why you would come to this state and not see the presidents.
This thing is wicked impressive, man. "It's probably the most impressive man-made thing I've ever seen." Dan said. And I agreed. I mean, I'm always impressed when I think about major bridges and skyscrapers and how humans can conceive of such things, let alone build them.
They had a museum at Mount Rushmore that was very informative. The artist, Borglum, came up with the idea to permanently pay tribute to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt by exploding their faces into a mountain. They started work on the massive project in 1923. You should see the pictures of the guys who worked on this thing. Dangerous stuff.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
MINNESOTA
We've got a lot of time and miles to make up today and tomorrow so we're kind of blowing through a couple states. Sorry Minnesota. Hey, I really like your windmills.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
WISCONSIN
Cows. Lots of cows.
ILLINOIS
Traffic through Chicago. It was bad.
OHIO
I bought a tee shirt bearing the state's name at a rest stop. Nothing else to report.
PENNSYLVANIA
The road has made me weary (can you tell?) and I'm looking forward to hitting the last few stops on the way home.
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Thursday, August 17, 2006
Poem by Misha Agunos, Grade 8
Portals
acquired from various shops,
as gifts,
ordered
it matters not where they came from
but where they take me
some oft used
others, roads less traveled
All my favorite
Exploring the countless realms
since before my public education
leading me to another world
not only telling,
but showing
Narration
accompanied by continuous acting
stripping away all earthly ties
with but a few sentences
spiriting me away
past the worries of man
to a benign, alien haven
past the simple,
day-to-day commonness
making me ride
side-by-side the characters
on the very same
rollercoaster of emotions
in the park of the story
each event a curve
or loop
or stomach-wrenching drop
every phrase painting a new scene
through the brushes of suspense, romance, horror and countless others every setting whole, fully thorough down to the individual grains of sand or single blades of grass devouring chapters in the light of the midnight oil with the same curious passion that compels astronomers, archaeologists,
and treasure hunters
to make the planetarium their dwelling for days on end
to spend weeks in the depths of the middle of nowhere
to endure months in sweltering jungles swarming with exotic, deadly beings satisfying my voracious hunger for complexity pure ecstasy nourishing my exhausted mind as it dives into the sea of words feeling waves of content as its waters gently lap at the shores of my |
intellect
and become immersed in the ocean between its covers
engulfed in fires of is pages
enveloped in the pockets of temporary, fictional bliss
THIS
is my ode
my thanks
to the indulgence
of books 
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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
 When Phoebe Rusch, 17, submitted her play "3/4 of a Mass for St. Vivian" for consideration in the VSA Playwright Discovery Award last year, she probably never dreamed that she would be selected as a top winner or that she'd find herself in Washington DC this summer ... overseeing the production of her play at the venerable Kennedy Center.
All things are possible, especially if you have talent on your side.
A soon-to-be senior at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Phoebe's play is based upon the stories her mother told her about her youth and friendships. It is a true story about "two wildly different and tenacious young women fighting to answer the most infinite of life's questions: How do you explain why we love? Why we die? Why we need to believe? Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous early 1970's, their philosophies unite and collide as they develop a lifelong friendship."
Critics and audiences are saying "wow." In an article published in last week's Washington Post, Phoebe's director, Paul-Douglas Michnewicz, was quoted as saying "I should say that I think Phoebe will be one of the great playwrights of the next generation."
And, a review in today's Post calls "3/4 of a Mass" a "fully realized new work."
If you're in Washington DC, try to check out the production at Theater Alliance at the H Street Playhouse 866-811-4111 Through Sept. 3
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