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Like Hun-e-B, I still hunt for Blueduke entries every time I come to Diaryland. I especially missed him last Wednesday, on my birthday. He always made me feel like a fresh young maiden, even though I am a grizzled middle-aged lady. I thought of him again when one of my favorite students bounded up to me with a gleam in his cornflower eyes and announced proudly that he had discovered something cool! I had to know, so I asked. He told me that he had discovered that "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (aka "A Visit From St. Nicholas") have the same meter--both are anapestic! Oh, the IRONY, Missus EduCait! Isn't it KEWL? (yes, he actually said "kewl.") I was so proud. One of my sweet monkeys thought for himself! The coolest part is that I taught them meter and scansion the same way the Blueduke taught it to me, in a University of Atlantia class. (fondly known as the "dee-dum" method.) I do this every year, and the kids love it. Little do they know that they carry a little piece of our beloved Blueduke with them. I reflected last night, while holding the sweetly sleeping baby boychild of our friends Dom and Kat (we were babysitting), that this has been a good year, despite loss and sadness. A year ago, I had just had heart surgery. Five years of fatigue, fear and confusion ended. Since then, we've found a church home and a real home. Our house promises to be our refuge, in time, but I'm capable now of the labors of home ownership. A little over a year ago, I feared a catastrophic stroke and the possibility of living out my days in a nursing facility. Now I'm whole and strong. I can think clearly, hold a baby securely, and sing to him softly. I am profoundly grateful for the time I had with those I've lost, and mindful that the Lord still has work for me to do. There are, after all, still eighth graders out there who can't scan the "Gilligan's Island" theme song. |
 
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Bluedukes and Grinches