The Geekly Reader

It is Sunday 9/27/2020......I am exhausted today. I expected to be exhausted on this day. You see, last night I should have hosted the 2020 Carlson High School Homecoming Dance. It would have been the culminating activity celebrating our homecoming week at Oscar A. Carlson High School. It would have been my thirteenth homecoming week as student council advisor. When I accepted the advisor position in 2008 I never expected the event to grow into the grand event we celebrate each fall in Gibraltar. I have a love-hate relationship with homecoming week. I know it is coming every year. I know it is a great deal of stress, work, and time. I know I will be cranky, I know I will be exhausted. However, I also know that all of the hard work by my student council members brings so much joy to the students, staff, and community members of the Gibraltar School District. While I may be the advisor, I try to make sure the kids get all the credit, that is the way it should be, as I try and give them m

 To be honest, my first week of school with students was exhausting, I have never been so tired. I wanted to search for something new to read, but I just did not have time. So what is my best option (because I have to read something each month)? I went with a "go to" for me when it comes to authors. I found Harlan Coben's Don't Let Go  in a pile on my home office floor. This may have been a "Book of the Month" before To be honest, I bought this book a few years ago before a spring break trip to Europe, but I had no time to read the book on the trip. I am also a terrible flight reader, especially now that all these planes have screens for movies and tv. I just can't get into reading with so many people sitting around me, I'm not sure what it is. So I will give the book another try right now. I always love Coben's works, so I'm sure I will probably enjoy the book. I will provide a review later this month. I also look forward to providing an upd

 I have been going back and forth with how I was going to write about heading back to work tomorrow. I thought about a long, rambling Facebook post...but then I realized most people are like me and lose interest by the time you have to click "read more." Then I though about maybe just writing a private journal entry....which I have been doing on and off for the past month. I decided to take a lot of those thoughts from my journal and write this entry to summarize my thoughts about returning to work for in person education on Tuesday 9/8/2020.  Before I begin with my thoughts I think it is important to explain my personal feelings on the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. First, I am honestly disgusted that the issue became political and citizens starting picking "sides" from day one. I tend to take the word of scientists and medical professionals over politicians or random Facebook posts from "experts" on my friends list when making decisions in my ow

 I complete my  August 2020 Read of the Month,   The Brothers The Road to an American Tragedy  by Masha Gessen. Here are some thoughts: This is a very well-written, well researched book that puts much of the focus on the Tsarnaev brothers, their family members, and friends/associates. It is difficult to keep straight the individuals involved, even with nearly three pages of a "Cast of Characters" provided at the start of the book.  Since the book focuses more on the Tsarnaev brothers and their friends and family there seems to be less focus on the crime itself. I really thought I would learn more about how the bombing was organized and executed. The same goes for the manhunt that takes place after the bombing. Much of this information was covered, but not with the depth of covering the individuals involved. Much of the book deals with Chechen culture, which I have no problem learning and reading about, I just wish there was more on the actual crime/man-hunt. I did appreciate