Redefining Rockel

You know I never discuss female thermodynamics - Lou; Rescue Me

Poll

Rockel Recipes

Untested Recipes (1)

All Recipes (6)

Peeps

Politics

News

Fake News

Stuff

The Film of the Week

The WORD of the Week

Matthew 3:7-10

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Stupid Fact of the Week

There was only one civilian casualty during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg

12 October, 2005

Ode to my Alma Mater

For the most part, I loathe my Alma Mater.

But when I feel that particularly bitter air wafting into my being, I think on something positive that occurred in my life by way of that institution of learning; a person; a friend; something that may have pained me at the time, but has since aided my growth.

To be sure it is a small university. To be sure the faculty is small. To be sure "insignificant" is synonymous with "small."

However, there were a handful of professors, if that, quite few and far between, who had a profound effect on me.

I shall share the words of one such professor. Small she was, to be sure - perhaps not even amounting to 5 feet, even in the earliest of morning hours - but quite significant, quite inspired, and quite inspiring.

Her name was Dr. Gina D. Peterman, and she taught in the English department of my beloved Alma Mater. I had the pleasure of attending one of her classes, American Literature II. She was an amazing teacher, and hers was one of those few classes where you seemed to have no control over how quickly you learned; it just came. She made it fun. She made it easy.

I will never forget the classroom experience I shared with, sadly, only 20 or so other students (more, I realize have come, and had come, into contact with her before and after my experience, but it still remains a shame), however, I will always remember her for something that I found to be much more profound in its effect on me.

That being her words at the start of class, on September Eleventh, 2002. They follow below:

"Today, I know that we are all probably distracted. It is a sorrowful day on the national level, but also at the local level with the funeral of T----- S----- (student, died 9/8/02) today. I feel compelled to say something wise; something soothing. But I can't think of anything, except, 'This is life.'"

posted by Rockel @ 8:13 PM

4 Comments:

At 13/10/05 9:20 AM, Anonymous said…

I had that class with Ms. Peterman as well. You're right, she was a good teacher. However, on September 11 I was in an environmental science lab with one of those crazy twins who was "waiting for all those old fossils in administration to die" so he could "get a real job." He had nothing insightful to say on that day. Weren't you in the Western Civ. class I took with Capt. Slattery? He was one of my favorite professors, did you like him? Your poem yesterday was breathtaking. This is a good example of a run-on paragraph lacking proper connecting phrases and words (and probably some comma splices as well)... Ms. Peterman would not approve.
~BotherMe (BethAMend)
At 13/10/05 12:58 PM, Rockel said…

Like oh my gosh. What a coincidence. And yes, I was in that West. Civ. with you and the captain as well. Coincidences galore. Although I didn't get very much out of his class (a testament to my mother and her ability to teach a high schooler "University"-level history material), I did enjoy him very much. I actually aced one of his tests, much to the chagrin of Candace (who was also in the class, and didn't ace the test, nor could she ever seem to score higher on any of the tests than I), and when the scantron (ooh, here come the memories) came back graded I saw a "B.Z." handwritten by my score. I asked him what it meant. Since I know all of you are waiting with bated breath to find out what "B.Z." means, I shall tell you: It's Navy-talk for "Well Done." (http://www.navy.mil/navydata/questions/bzulu.html)

So, there you have it. Thank you, BotherMe, and everyone, for the outpouring of comments as of late. They are much appreciated.
At 13/10/05 3:54 PM, Anonymous said…

I was sitting in Dr. Peterman's Amer. Lit II class at 8:00 am, September 11th, 2001. We had just discussed a story whose theme was the "glory" of war, and it's misconceptions. Minutes after I walked out, I heard the news. Interesting that you and Bethany were there one year later.
At 14/10/05 5:29 AM, Chuck Wade said…

I took Dr. Peterman too, she was one of the best teachers I have ever had. She was so amazing and really helped me learn.

Archives

Lyrics of the Week

ON THE NICKEL
by Tom Waits

("I'd like to do a new song here. This is eh, it's about downtown Los Angeles on 5th Street. And eh all the winos affectionately refer to it as The Nickel. So this is kind of a hobo's lullaby.")

sticks and stones will break my bones,
but i always will be true, and when
your mama is dead and gone,
i'll sing this lullabye just for you,
and what becomes of all the little boys,
who never comb their hair,
well they're lined up all around the block,
on the nickel over there.

so you better bring a bucket,
there is a hole in the pail,
and if you don't get my letter,
then you'll know that i'm in jail,
and what becomes of all the little boys,
who never say their prayers,
well they're sleepin' like a baby,
on the nickel over there.

and if you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star,
well you'll find out where the scarecrows sit,
just like punchlines between the cars,
and i know a place where a royal flush,
can never beat a pair, and even thomas jefferson,
is on the nickel over there.

so ring around the rosie, you're sleepin' in the rain,
and you're always late for supper,
and man you let me down again,
i thought i heard a mockingbird, roosevelt knows where,
you can skip the light, with grady tuck,
on the nickel over there.

so what becomes of all the little boys,
who run away from home,
well the world just keeps gettin' bigger,
once you get out on your own,
so here's to all the little boys,
the sandman takes you where,
you'll be sleepin' with a pillowman,
on the nickel over there.

so let's climb up through that button hole,
and we'll fall right up the stairs,
and i'll show you where the short dogs grow,
on the nickel over there.