4 Days Left

I find it somehow hard to see
A day that’s sure to come
When kids no longer grace our halls
And my mind’s no longer numb

They’re funny, but they’re also hard
These truths our minds conceive
Sometimes we each get truly sad
When students finally leave

NO! That was just a giant joke
You’ll soon have tears of joy
We’ll hug, and wave and gently kick
Each small rump out the door

Today can be a happy day
If we decide it will
Just grab your giant happy drink
And take your happy pill

And once you have a happy grin
Then dance and skip around
And show all of your students
This new joy that you have found

Of course they’ll think your crazy
But they think that anyway
So why not make the best of it
And have some fun today

No matter how your day turns out
Go dance until you’re sore
There’s one thing that I know is true
Our days left are just four

5 Days Left

If you’re counting our days
Then you're down to one hand
And I know that’s some math
We can all understand

So stretch out your fingers
And look at each one
Then imagine a day
You can lie in the sun

Your feet are propped up
With your sunglasses on
You look over and find
That your drink’s almost gone

You raise those same fingers
And order one more
It’s not time to stop
Cause you’ve only had four

You’ll think back to the days
When you hadn’t a clue
Of the very high toll
End of year has for you

There are kids who are hyper
And dull chores you must do
Like that huge Check-off list
From Mr. You Know Who

And all that you want
Is to hop on your Harley
Cause it’s hard to find words
That rhyme with Ms. Farley

But you sit back and wait
For your drink to arrive
Then your face gets a smile
Cause we’re now down to five

6 Days Left...

Somehow I missed posting the 7 Days Left poem. But that kind of thing happens sometimes. When it does, you just pick up where you left off.

That being said...here's 6 Days Left

It’s funny how wearing jeans
Makes us so happy
Cause it’s not that our other clothes
Make us feel crappy

I think that it’s just what
Our jeans symbolize
That we do a good job
And that we won the prize

See, the sweat that has poured
From each TAKS beaten head
Has somehow caused us
To wish that we were dead

But as we get ready
To come back to school
And our thoughts turn to parents
And kids who are cruel

We remember our jeans
And our eyes start to glow
And you think the day may be okay
Don’t you know…

So you put on your jeans
And you saddle your horse
Then you have a great day!
Cause there’s six left…of course

8 Days Left

I’m glad that you’re back,
Cause I got stuff to say
Plant you buns in your seat,
And do not go away

Some things that I’m seeing,
Have got me concerned
I may just be a poet,
But there’s things I have learned

I spoke some about balance,
Way back last Monday
But some of us here,
Didn’t hear me that day

So please set a time limit,
And try hard to take heed
Then go home at that time,
Because rest’s what you need

I know what you’re thinking,
“Hugh, it’s different for me!”
But no balance means danger,
I hope you can see.

But that’s all about that,
I’ve said all that I will
I’m changing the subject,
So my tush you don’t kill

As far as TAKS goes,
I say, “Damn-it! We ROCK!”
And those students of ours,
Are smart like Mr. Spock

Mr. Spock is a Vulcan,
On original Star Trek
He had points on his ears,
And he’s smarter than heck

If you’re younger than 35,
You won’t have a clue
Just nod a smile sweetly,
Cause I’m almost all through

See what Spock had was logic,
To figure things out
He had zero emotions
And never did shout

Lauren, try to stay focused,
For I promise my friend
That I’m nearly all finished,
I’m almost to the end

For what I have to say,
Is this hear has been great!
You can hold your head high,
Cause our days left are eight

9 Days Left...

This urge to scream
We all must fight
Cause tunnel’s end
Has got some light

I know that it’s only
One small glow
And that its brilliance
Does not yet show

But soon its light
Will be quite gnarly
If you don’t believe me
Just ask Mrs. Farley

I know this time
Of year’s not easy
Your head it hurts
Your stomach’s queasy

But stand up straight
Hold high your head
Take pride in the fact
That you ain’t dead

We’ve made it, you see
Almost to the end
So look around
And find a friend

A friend that made it
Just like you
To the day when digits
Are no longer two

To me one digit
Is sounding fine
Cause baby,
We are down to nine

10 Days Left

You see it on faces
Around school these days
A strange look that I call
“The End of School Gaze”

What does this gaze mean?
Some non-teachers may ask
Does it mean that their meals
All come from a flask?

Let’s put drinking aside
At least for a bit
I know that it’s hard
Please don’t get in a snit

For the End of year Gaze
It comes round every year
And it’s just about due
So do not shed a tear

On the face of a teacher
It’s a far away look
And a dream of a day
With late sleep and a book

It’s a mythical land
Where life isn’t a bummer
It has many names
But most call it summer

For teachers, this gaze
Is a most happy thing
Its arrival make some of us
Burst out and sing

This gaze is quite different
On parents it seems
For it means end of
Their easy-day dreams

Cause they know that their days
Of late sleeping are through
And they’ll have to work hard
Just like me and you

So look in the mirror
And say “Hi!” to your gaze
Then have a great time
Cause there’s just ten more days

End of Year Poems...11 Days Left

Well, the school year is winding down and I have a little tradition this time of year.

I think it was six or seven years ago that I started a kind of a poetry countdown of the year. I write a poem for each day in the end of year countdown. Most of them are funny and all are a bit on the bizarre side. All of the poems are filled with words of wisdom and inspiring thoughts. Each cleverly disguised in my twisted ramblings.

I have no idea how many teachers at my school actually read them, but I email them to the entire campus all the same.

Monday, May 18 will be day 12, but that means there are actually 11 more days. So the poem I’m sending out today will be the “11 Days Left” poem.

I’m not exactly sure why, but I decided to post them here for your enjoyment/bewilderment. Who knows, there may be a teacher out there who stumbles across my words and not only feels inspired, but who now has the strength to face his or her final few days.

Or more likely you’ll read these and think, “Man, he really is strange!”



11 Days Left

We’re down to the wire,
And it’s getting quite short
So it’s time for some words,
And a rhyme...of a sort

To our MHE nubies,
Let me give some advice
But listen up now,
Cause I aint’ talkin’ twice!

At this time of year,
The kids start to get crazy
And for teachers the world,
Starts to spin and get hazy

Now don’t get all worried,
No, don’t get too stressed
Just get up each morning,
Take shower...get dressed

For what you are feeling,
Is normal you see,
And you’re sure to get through,
If you listen to me

Each day I’ll write poems,
With some sanity clues
They’re hints and ideas,
To help fight the blues

And while I’m not a doctor,
It will become crystal clear
That the drug I prescribe,
Looks and smells much like beer!

But forget about beer,
I sure know I will
Lest we follow the path,
Of that sub from Parkhill

I can hear you all saying,
“Hugh, stop being a goon!”
But please keep on reading,
I’ll make my point soon

Life is much, much too short,
So what I have to say,
Is you’ve got to find balance
And then keep it that way

Without proper balance,
Of life and of school
You may start to loose focus
And begin to get cruel

Please heed these odd words,
For they help in odd ways
But there’s one thing for sure,
Just eleven more days!

How NOT to Write a Note

I think it got handed to someone, who handed it to someone else, who handed it to me. I’m not really sure. However, here’s some background.

Bob is a very likable boy, everyone’s buddy. He’s always talking, even when he doesn’t have all that much to say.

Jane is very sweet, well behaved and VERY smart.

It’s has been more than a little obvious that Bob likes Jane for quite some time now.

The note started from Bob to Jane. I intercepted the note somewhere between Jane writing back to Bob.

The note went like this:


To Jane,

Your rily stewpit!

Form, Bob

----------------------------------------


Dear Bob,

Thanks for letting me know.
By the way, you’re really stupid.

Sincerely,

Jane

First I laughed out loud. Next, I went ahead and delivered the note to Bob. I just wanted to see if he would laugh too.

I gave Jane a 100 in Language Arts for extra credit...not that she needs it.

Something I’ve Noticed & Something Cool I’ve Seen...

Something I've noticed...

I’ve written before about the accident I was in back in September of 1990. I’ve discussed everything from how it happened and some of the problems it caused, to how I’m doing now.

In the months directly after the coma and throughout my first year of life as a closed head injury survivor, it seemed like everyday I discovered some new deficit I was going to be forced to live with. Most were minor at best, but deficits all the same.

As weeks became months, and months became years the frequency of new deficit discoveries became smaller and smaller. Eventually I got to the point that I rarely if ever think of it anymore.

That is until last Friday.

The teachers on my grade level, Intermediate we’re called, put an afternoon of bowling, pizza and fun up for bid at the school’s auction this year. This kind of thing usually goes for about $150.00 to $200.00 per teacher and we have six teachers. If you do the math, you can see our auction item brings in a pretty nice little chunk of change for our school. Plus, it’s really fun for the kids...and us too!

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but after being in a coma for a month back in 1990 my right side was paralyzed. I only had limited use of my right side for several weeks. The doctor told me that, with use, I should get most of my use back in time. However, he also said that some of the fine motor skills would possibly be gone forever. At that time there was just no way to know what or how much of the use would or would not come back.

To date the only lasting problem I’ve ever been aware of is the loss of my throwing arm.

While I was never the starting pitcher, of first-string quarterback I did have a pretty good arm. I could throw a baseball with power and accuracy and I could get a football to the right receiver, most of the time with a spiral.

Not so anymore.

The best I can tell, the problem lies primarily with my release. I can get the arm movement, but I can’t seem to release the ball at the right point to get it to project in the desired direction. This skill, which used to happen so automatically, now works about as well as trying to shuffle cards with my toes. I know what’s supposed to happen, I just can’t seem to make it work.

And while I haven’t tried a lot, I’ve tried enough with both baseballs and footballs to know that my throwing arm, it ain’t coming back. At least not without a good deal more practice than I’m willing to commit at this point in my life. I mean I’ve lived 18 years without it being an issue, so it’s not that big of a deal.

However, at last Friday’s pizza-bowl, I discovered a similar release issue with bowling. Now, I’m not a big bowler and I can count the number of times I’ve been bowling since the accident on one hand. However, in the few times I have bowled I didn’t make the connection to the throwing arm/head injury thing. I just assumed that it me being a bad bowler.

While I’m the first to admit that I am a bad bowler, this time my inability to control the release of the ball was more that a wee bit noticeable.

So now, at least in my mind, I am living with two head injury related, sports deficits. (Really three, if you count throwing baseballs and throwing footballs as two different deficits)

I wonder what I’ll notice tomorrow?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Now for something cool I’ve seen...

My father-in-law, Melissa, Macy and I went to see Rain, The Beatles Experience at the Fair Park Music Hall last Sunday.

I knew it was about the Beatles, but that’s all I knew. Melissa told me it was going to be like going to a Beatles concert. I was intrigued, but still not overly enthusiastic about going.

All I can say is the show was great! It wasn’t only like going to a Beatles concert, it was like going to several decades of Beatles concerts all rolled into one.

These four guys, who only kind of look like the Beatles, but really sounded like them started with the Beatles from the 1960’s and then transitioned to Sgt. Pepper era and then into Abby Road years. It was quite amazing.

Take a look here to check them out... http://www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com/ and if you have the chance to check them out in person, I highly recommend it.