Out of the mouths -

Do you know what I love about this note Eve left for us on Monday night? (She had been at gymnastics, which is why she'd only seen a little bit.)

I love that an almost 9 year old is looking forward to Shakespeare!!

"The play's the thing."

For the last 5 years, we have taken the Clifton 8th graders to see a Shakespeare "sampler" at the Glendale Center Theater. It's a "play within a play" about a troupe of actors who are shipwrecked on an island. Prospero comes and tells them to prove the "virtue, civility and mystery of love" or else he will keep them forever on the island.

They start out with some sonnets, but Prospero is not satisfied. So they do scenes from Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet. In the end, Prospero tells them it's all been a dream - they have been home all the time.

It's a pretty lively performance - most of the kids enjoy it. Some do not - and some are even a bit rude - like the young lady behind me who kept repeating, "This is so boring." I finally turned around and told her I'd take her out if she didn't stop. She seemed to believe me, so she at least stopped saying it. I'm pretty sure she didn't appreciate it! After the show, the 8th grade chairman said, "This makes me think we need to start exposing kids to Shakespeare in Kindergarten!!"

We were not the only school in attendance, but the other schools were private schools. For a number of reasons, those kids were better behaved and more appreciative.

I have often noticed that many students have not been taught about appropriate behavior for different settings. We almost can't condemn them, since they may not know better.

But we did give them instructions before we left. Not following instructions may be something they learned at home however, so once again condemnation is not the answer.

So we keep instructing them at school - in lots of things!

"The play's the thing."

As I type this, it's still Nebeker's birthday. And we got a solicitation from the folks at Shakespeare by the Sea - a solicitation I was happy to respond to, by the way - and of course Harry and I have been discussing the upcoming production of Julius Cesar at our annual Ides of March party - which is rapidly approaching - beware!!!

So when I stumbled upon this old photo, I was taken with how much difference 20 years makes!!

Is this going to go on forever - me always harking back to past glories and wallowing in emotion over all that water under the bridge??

I like to think of it as family history!!

Everyone in the above photo is in a place they couldn't even imagine 20 years ago.

But maybe that's good. Who wants to know what's coming??