Week Two at The National Writing Project

You'd think I'd have time to compose blog and that writing would just flow, me being a part of the National Writing Project and all. But let me tell you the first week was hard...on my butt! I'm not used to sitting for almost 8 hours a day and after day two my tail hurt. Now I bet you're wondering how that relates to my inability to write plethorically (I just made that word up, does it work, I'll take a simple 'yea' or 'nay').

Also, little brother #3, Scott (probably the only person who reads this blog) says I need more pictures. I'm finding this part very difficult. The first part of this difficulty is taking pictures of people. Can I put up their picture without their knowledge/permission?

For example, the other day I was taking the train home and noticed a very cute Asian tourist asking the person sitting next to me to take her and her companion's picture. That may not seem like such a big deal, but the girl with her was obviously some kind of guide and the man she asked to take her picture was some kind of, hmmm, how to put this...gangster? Wife beater, prison khakis, tattoos. I don't mean it in a judgemental way, he was certainly as sweet as can be. Took her picture, took another when she asked because she didn't like how the first one came out. So I took a picture of all three of them ('cause my little brother said I should post pictures!) after he had returned to his seat. I wanted to put their picture up because I was so struck by how strangers interact, how when we travel we take risks we wouldn't take at home. What if I just walked around asking people to take my picture, just for some random social experiment. See? I even need a reason to do this, why can't I just do it without having to explain it?



Anyway, while sitting on the train, contemplating the role of strangers in our lives I looked out the window and saw one of 8th grade students, who, as of September, will be a high-schooler. He was getting off the train with his little sister, he told me a few months again she was in 5th grade. This high school student - the coolest kid on campus last year, everyone loved him - had is arm around his little sister, then held her hand as they walked off the train platform. We don't have to learn things just from strangers, sometimes the people we know influence us, they don't even know they did. So...Brandon? You are an inspirational kid. Thanks for being my teacher too.