Slice of Life – Page 5

Slice of Life 1 – Jury Duty #sol24

01/Mar/202401/Mar/2024 Denise Krebs10 Comments

The last two days I’ve had jury duty. In our state, there is a one day or one trial jury process. If the first day you are not put in a courtroom for jury selection, you are finished with your service. I was chosen to go through the jury selection process; this process took two days. It was so very fascinating. I wrote about it here. There was something so amazing about being a mostly anonymous community member (we were called by numbers in the courtroom, never our names), gathered together for only one purpose–to provide a fair trial for one of our peers. We weren’t supposed to use our phones in the courtroom, so I was texting my husband on a break:

I thought he might read that last comment sarcastically. But I truly meant it–“I love sitting here with all my peers waiting…”

Not that it wasn’t boring, but it was satisfying to be a significant part of providing justice. Bonus: I did have a chance to read about 20% of my really long book, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers in the many breaks we were given. For me, jury duty only lasted two days, for the jury was confirmed by the end of the second day, and the rest of us were excused, while they will continue with a three-week trial.

Slice of Life – A Name Joke Lost in Translation

27/Feb/202427/Feb/2024 Denise Krebs8 Comments

“Minha sobrinha é Denise.”

I recognized Muriel’s Portuguese. We had just been talking about my name. The difference in the way it sounds in Brazil and America. Dee-nee-zee in Brazil. Slow and lyrical. (I think I like it better.)

Then I heard Muriel say sobrinha…and I knew in Spanish sobrina means niece, so I recognized what she was saying. It was such a funny surprise to be discussing in another language Denise and niece. I can’t count the many times in my life I’ve heard the conversation-starting, unrealistic joke about the one who had to name his sister’s twins because she was unconscious after childbirth. When she came around, he told her the names he picked. Denise for the girl. “Okay, that’s not so bad,” she said. “And what did you name my son?” Denephew. Haha.

But in Portuguese there is no rhyming of sobrinha and Dee-nee-zee. This was a true niece named Denise. I should have just appreciated the bit of communication that we were able to have without knowing each other’s languages. Instead, I attempted to tell her that sobrinha in English is niece and sounds like Denise. (But it doesn’t sound like Dee-nee-zee.) At that point, someone came by and was able to translate my little word play. Muriel laughed and we hugged and said tchau tchau, both off to our next activities.

I was reminded again from this exchange how important and complicated and beautiful language is in all its varieties. And how often the heart comes through even without words.

sobrinha or niece
some things lost in translation
but sweet love comes through

Spanish was very helpful while reading and trying to communicate in Portuguese. However, the pronunciations were so different, and there is more new vocabulary in Portuguese than familiar Spanish cognates, so I quickly learned that Spanish speakers and Portuguese speakers do not naturally understand each other. Like this word no in Portuguese. It means in (and a lot of other important prepositions). It’s pronounced nu. (The English no is não and pronounced more like English and Spanish.)

In my father’s house are many dwelling places – (Na is the feminine “in” here.)

Slice of Life in Brazil

20/Feb/202420/Feb/2024 Denise Krebs8 Comments

Since I was in sixth grade, I have had an interest in Brazil. It was the year we studied South America, and I chose Brazil for the country I wanted to focus on. I had never been there before last week, so when I got the opportunity to go, I jumped at it. As a fascinated tween, I remembered the built-from-scratch capital city of Brasilia, the Amazon, the cattle ranches, the rain forests. (I don’t think the southern cattle ranches had dangerously encroached into the rain forests at that time.)

After 55 years since studying Brazil, last week I helped to lead a Simply the Story workshop in São Paulo with young people from all over Brazil. The people of São Paulo are called Paulistanos. We felt warmly welcomed in this huge city. Here is an elfchen I wrote with Ethical ELA and Margaret Simon on Saturday about the Paulistanos we got to see each day in São Paulo.

Paulistanos
Greet kindly
Pursue life audaciously
Drink deeply of Amor
Vivacious

Here are a few photos. But really, where do I start with all the amazing experiences I had?

One of many neighborhood Carnaval celebration.

Barbecued tilapia with rice and tapioca bread.

Do you see the VW in the garage? There were many on the roads, and lots of graffiti. Not too many stray dogs, though.

One of the lanes in the neighborhood where we stayed.

Did you know they eat mashed potatoes on hotdogs in Sao Paulo?

Brigadeiro is a sweet I saw in a few places. A young man made and sold these ones to help him earn support.

Tereré was a very interesting discovery. It has been “a social beverage for centuries…an important ritual signifying trust and communion.” Two of the participants came from the place in Brazil that practices this gentle tradition.

Now, as we look ahead to a daily Slice of Life in March, would you like to continue in April joining us at Ethical ELA for writing poetry during National Poetry Month? Click here to sign up.

Slice of Life – A Friends and Family Week

05/Feb/202406/Feb/2024 Denise Krebs10 Comments

We learned a few days before they arrived that some friends we haven’t seen in five years were coming to Palm Springs for a vacation. We made plans to spend a day with them visiting Joshua Tree National Park. Last Tuesday I had this text conversation with the friends:

We both made assumptions. First, I had thought that they were still in Michigan when I sent that message. (I guess the “road” I really meant was, “Are you up in the air already?”) I assumed they meant they were leaving in 30 minutes for the airport. I also made the assumption that their ETA was to get to the airport, either in Michigan or maybe in California. I thought it was odd, but I didn’t answer anything back.

However, they had arrived the day before in Palm Springs. They assumed they had the day wrong or that we had had to change the day, so when they saw my note, they changed plans and got ready to come to our house. (They did miss the “tomorrow” in my text.) We were still in our pajamas at their ETA of 9:25.

We all laughed, my hubby and I got dressed, and we spent a wonderful day together, a day early. The weather was perfect–the best of their cold and rainy week of vacation, so that was a bonus!

It was fun to see the park through the eyes of someone who had never been to the desert. They were so genuinely enthusiastic and loved the rocks!

We watched rock climbers. Do you see them?

Then on Saturday, my nephew from Pennsylvania came for the weekend before he went to Las Vegas for a business expo. Two more California nephews were able to join us. My siblings came too, and we spent many hours together over the weekend reminiscing and laughing We laughed over crazy stuff my nephews and brother did together, a brother who became an uncle at age four. He was a ringleader of mischief–swimming in desert lakes without adult supervision, spinning donuts in the sand with younger ones in the back of his pickup, crawling through culverts in out-of-the-way places and more. We marveled with gratitude that they all grew up without a tragic accident.

We have not kept in good touch with some family members who live far away (and who have far and away political views from ours). However, love prevailed, and this visit revitalized my resolve to stay in better touch with those I love.

Thank you for coming, A

Let us forget our differences for a moment.
Mutual affection wins this time, wins over false
love of unwavering political loyalties. Let’s
continue in humble love for one another.

Hebrews 13:1a “Let mutual love continue…”

Slice of Life – A Shortened Life of a Roadrunner

29/Jan/202405/Feb/2024 Denise Krebs15 Comments

Yesterday on the way home from church
I was sitting in the passenger seat.
From the left side of the road
I watched a roadrunner hurrying
toward us. It happened quickly.
Roadrunner, why didn’t you veer off
or stop? The cartoon Road Runner
has led me to believe you are invincible,
wildly wise, and never take a wrong turn.
But you ran right under our truck’s
front tire, and I was sickened.

Today my heart hurt when I rode by
the place where it happened.
There are too few of you, anyway,
and now there is one less. Who waited
for you to come home yesterday?
And you didn’t.

On a lighter note, we were hiking the other day, and this box of animals with some sort of electronic tracking devices was sitting by the side of the trail. There was a large group of middle schoolers in the parking lot hearing a talk by the park ranger, so I figured they were going to be something for them. It was a funny site.

The trail was tough, so I welcomed this break with my Thermos of hot tea…

and an oatmeal date bar.

I’m enjoying reading this beautiful book of poetry by Margaret Simon and artwork by her father, John Gibson. So lovely!

Slice of Life – Paying Attention this Year

23/Jan/202405/Feb/2024 Denise Krebs9 Comments

I’ve missed this community the last few weeks, and I am glad you are here faithfully each week. This year my special word of the year is cherish. (I wrote about it here and here.) I want to pay attention to the joys and sorrows and slices of life that I so often miss. Maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to write these Slice of Life posts on Tuesdays.

Anyway, I have joined The Stafford Challenge this year. Kim Stafford, poet and son of William Stafford, suggested a daily writing practice where you include the date, a diary (boring prose of the day), an aphorism, and a poem. Every single day. He said when people suggest his father was a genius and they couldn’t do what he did. (Write a poem every day for decades–he wrote over 20,000 poems from during WWII until his death.) Kim said he responds that maybe his father had a genius process that all of us can use. Look at all the healing with poetry that could happen if more people would take up this genius process. Anyway, that’s what I am trying in 2024.

Here’s today’s writing page. A mess, but that’s what they tend to look like for me.

Today’s poem…

The first thing I noticed about you is that
most of your words and actions show how
important and smart you seem to think you are…yet
part of me sees myself in you. I have a fear
of giving myself too. Being vulnerable in my/
(your need) is not easy for me (and you.) It’s been our
life. My fear
is masquerading as pride. You didn’t know just
ahead of you was something you needed help holding–a fear
of your son’s health–he was sick, living in his car, with guns–
you worried. Where is his dog? He’s
not well, you knew, but his next message was garbled. He’s
behind on his prescriptions. We let go.
You cried and we held each other and prayed.

A golden shovel from a David Brooks’ quote “The most important part of your life is ahead of you, not behind you.”

Slice of Life – NCTE Reflections

27/Nov/202328/Nov/2023 Denise Krebs9 Comments

I guess “Reflections” in my title is a bit of a stretch because I didn’t actually take time to reflect much yet. Instead, I wanted to get some thoughts down and share some photos. There is so much more to say about the whole NCTE experience, but for now here are some of my delighted, though surfacy, highlights.

Highlights

Having presentations to attend where I knew presenters, like fellow Slice of Life writers–Glenda, Sally, Margaret and Trish.

Sally and I with Glenda at her round table discussion on “Planning with Purpose”

Trish inspiring us at “English Language Arts and the Climate Crisis”

Presenting and rooming with Mo and Jennifer

Sarah Donovan was the lead presenter, but sadly we took no photos of her.

Hearing Jacqueline Woodson and Tom Hanks

Serendipities

This beautiful mural in the Convention Center with my favorite word

That yellow book on the top shelf is one I wrote with Gallit Zvi, and there it was on display in the exhibit hall.

I had several opportunities to write poetry. It is such a peaceful practice during a busy conference. I bought some new Poetry Spark cards–examples on lower left (moon, echo, distant)

We went to the Scholastic brunch and heard these four authors and received their books–Alan Gratz, Joanna Ho, Ali Terese, and Ann E. Burg.

My return flight was on Southwest, so I was able to check a bag and a suitcase full of books I received from the conference. Free books and free transport for them. They will do a lot of good in my community.

The fall leaves were gorgeous, as was the neighborhood Airbnb we stayed in together

New Connections

Meeting Victoria Pasquantonio, a fun and passionate educator who is now the education producer at PBS NewsHour Classroom.
Meeting Dr. Luz Carime Bersh from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Carime used a kaleidoscope as a beautiful metaphor for the multiple layers of identity.

Delicious Food

Restaurants at the Short North Arts District on High Street in Columbus were a definite high–but I didn’t take any photos! My favorite was Brassica, where we ate dinner two nights in a row.

Slice of Life – Open Write for November

21/Nov/202327/Nov/2023 Denise Krebs4 Comments

I had a wonderful time at NCTE, and I want to write more about it later. Here are a few pictures on Instagram, but my slice today are the poems I wrote for Open Write. My Sunday poem includes a strong feeling I had this week.

Saturday, 11/18/23 “Instructions on Being a Dragonfly” with Kim Johnson

Instructions on Healing with Witnesses: A Skinny Poem

Not on a journey. I’m alone.
healing
needed
fears
wounds
healing
occurring
witnesses
together
healing
I’m on a journey; not alone.

Sunday, 11/19/23 “Belonging” with Fran Haley

Kaleidoscopic Encounter

I met someone yesterday
At a conference–
We engaged in
conversation
standing in the exhibit hall.
She’s come here from a
South American country
Where she fled to the U.S.
as a refugee.
Her grandfather came there as
A refugee fleeing the Holocaust.
Her name came together,
a perfectly delightful mix of
Spanish, Arabic, and Jewish.
She is a kaleidoscope of
color and light and generosity,
And I am better for having met her.

I’ve come here from
a white-washed history,
a white-washed lineage,
and so much loss of
color and light and generosity.
I’ve come from who knows where,
Except the generic ‘Wales,’
as a child, it was all I was given
when I asked, evidence enough
that we were in the right pot,
melting into America.
I came from who knows when–
not in this century,
or the last,
maybe the one before.

We are all losers
in the myth of white supremacy.
We are not a melting pot,
We are a kaleidoscope.
We will all win, when
We all belong.

Monday, 11/20/23 “Give Me This” with Kim Johnson

On the airplane, Moon followed me home
last night. She wore a hefty grin–
face half full of bright white teeth,
gleaming, she smiled at me
as I peered out through
the darkness. Watched
her dance with
the plane’s
wing,

As
I view
her playful
moves, She reminds
me: we need the dance.
While the Sun brightens far
away, we are left here with
Moon. She transforms: new-, crescent-, half-,
full-faced, while dancing with obstacles.

Tuesday, 11/21/23 “Birdspiration” with Fran Haley

Quail families grow–
Eggs hatch, and precocial chicks
hit the ground running.
Soon, coveys are filled with teens.
How quickly we come of age!

Wednesday, 11/22/23 “Doggerel” with Fran and Kim

There once was a dog named Sonny
Whose lifelong goal was not money
All he wanted was rubs
Castle King he was dubbed
scritch-tingle-scratch of the tummy