Unfortunately, Kristie and I attended our 15th wake/funeral Sunday. The father of a good friend of Kristie’s family passed away in East Grand Forks. Her brothers, Brian and Eddie, drove up from Colorado. They stopped in Custer, SD and picked up her father.
We planned on visiting with them on Saturday, but they had other obligations, and we didn’t get to see them until late on Sunday. But that didn’t matter. Once we all started talking and visiting, it was a good time. We left the wake and went over to Whitey’s. Since Kristie is pregnant, she didn’t have anything to drink, but I nursed three Coronas over the course of a few hours and gobbled down appetizers.
This morning I paid for it. My stomach was declaring an all out rebellion. Whether I really wanted to get up at 4:45 or not, I had to.
Kristie said that she didn’t really sleep well all night. I would not have either except for the two Tylenol PM’s I downed prior to bed.
But this morning was treacherous. Around six, my stomach settled and I showered and got dressed. It rumbled some on the way to work but it was just a few tremors. Nothing serious.
That’s it. Our days of late nights and parties are over.
*****
Final quarter is underway.
First hour: Science Fiction. It has been awhile since I have taught this at the high school. I usually teach a session of it over at the ALC in the summers.
I’m always interested in the cast of characters that enroll since it is an elective that is open to all grades. So I never really know who I’ll get. I get a few who take it because they like my style and humor as a teacher. I also get a few whose older siblings took it and liked it. I get many who take it because sci-fi is their passion (and they know a whole lot more about the subject than I). I get others who take it just because we watch a lot of movies.
This year’s class is no exception. I have one sophomore whose older brother took it some years ago. I have others whose last names I recognized from previous classes too. All good kids.
In fact, I have several of my former College Comp students in there. I know they’re going to be good.
I also have several, though, whom I don’t recognize and have never had in class. We’ll see how this goes. This group tends to be the “I took sci-fi for the movies” section.
The good news is that I already had two students come up to me after class and ask if I’ve read a certain author or book. One even asked if she could start on her outside novel now. (Students will be reading a sci-fi/horror/fantasy novel of their own choosing and then create a two minute imovie trailer for their final project).
I’m really looking forward to this class. The first theme we’re exploring is “The Mad Scientist/The Dangers of Technology.” We read Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Disintegration Machine” – one of the most humorous sci-fi stories. Tomorrow we will read an all out horror story (and my sci-fi classes always come with a good bit of horror) in the guise of a sci-fi tale, “That Only a Mother” by Judith Merril.
After that we’ll read a great modern story on A.I. called “Clean Up Your Room” by Laura Anne Gilman. Then we will watch “Terminator 2.” After that we move on to one of the best horror stories (well, it’s a novella really) ever written. Arthur Machen’s “The Great God Pan.” It begins with a mad scientist and then it becomes a rip roaring horror story. But since it’s classic Machen, most of the horror is just hinted at and occurs off stage. He is one of Lovecraft’s biggest influences. If you’ve ever read Lovecraft, you will know what I mean (and by the way, we move on to Lovecraft’s classic “Herbert West – Reanimator” after “Pan.”).
This is one class where I never have to worry about having info to cover. I have way too much to try and cram in. I want to incorporate a great manga series called “Blue Submarine No. 6” that is a bit of cult classic. I saw it on the Tsunami on the Cartoon Network several years ago and thought it’d be perfect for sci-fi.
I’m going to miss my freshman, but this class looks to be a great one.
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