Little Isabel

Question of the Day:  Imagine you are old, and your dear little grandchild (let's call the child Jamie) crawls onto your lap and asks if you were alive during the pandemic.  You say you were.  "What was it like?" Jamie asks.  And you say . . .

My mother lived through the Spanish flu in 1918 (she was only four so she didn't remember it).  We had a photograph in our house of a very pretty little girl with a flowered dress and a big bow in her hair and her chubby little hands clasped next to her face.  (That was a popular pose in those days.)  Her name was Isabel.  My mother's uncle Dave was in the war and he was coming home, but of course, there were no passenger planes, so he had a long trip on a ship and a train.  He also had to stay in England after the war for a bit because he had been gassed and had developed difficulties breathing and pains and discomfort in his stomach.  He was very anxious to see his family and little Isabel was his daughter.  But before he could get home, poor little Isabel had contracted the flu and died.   Of course, he was devastated.  A number of years later, the little town decided that they had to move the cemetery where little Isabel had been buried.  So the citizens of the town went to help.  My mother's uncle Dave was there and they dug up little Isabel's grave and he said to the other men, "I have to see her".  They were concerned but they did open the casket and apparently, she was there almost as if she had just fallen asleep.  She looked as sweet as she ever had.  But a breeze blew by and she shuddered and collapsed -- she was just ashes.  That was a family story my mother told about the Spanish flu.  I don't know if I have told it properly or if I have made mistakes, but this is how I remember it.  That is why it's important to write down your family stories or they get lost or changed somehow.

I was at school today.  We had a socially distanced retirement picnic for Mr. Akselrod and Ms. Shigeno who are both retiring.  It was very nice and we Fine Arts department teachers (me, Mr. Mikulin, Ms. Leung, and Mr. Thompson) acted out a scene based on "All the world's a stage" which was lots of fun.  I adapted it so it was more about Mr. Akselrod.

Tomorrow we have our last staff meeting and say goodbye to teachers who are leaving for other jobs, so that is not as sad as saying goodbye to people who are retiring.  The pandemic lockdown made me sure that I don't want to retire any time soon, because I really missed school!

This will be my last regular post of the school year of the pandemic!  I will continue to post over the summer, but probably not every day like I have while we were in school.

I look forward to seeing you all back in class in September, except those of you who have graduated.  (You can be sure we will miss you terribly and that we hope you are doing well, no matter what you choose to do!)  We are not sure if it will be normal or what it will look like, but we will all do our best, won't we?  Have a wonderful summer, everyone!  May you enjoy many sunny days, a little rain, lots of birds singing, and flowers blooming.  Read a good book.  Listen to some music (and dance maybe!)  Learn to make a couple of nice meals.  Go swimming and for long walks in pretty places.  Write a letter to someone.  Paint a landscape.  Watch a play ("Hamilton" is going to be shown on the Disney Channel they say.)  Make lists of things you want to do!  Try the Pomodoro technique when you want to accomplish a task.

Wash your hands.  Wear a mask when you can't physically distance yourself.  Treat other people with kindness and patience.  See you in September!