A tender moment there in your caress

Too many nights staying up late
Too much powder and too much paint
No you can't hide from the turning of the tide
--- Richard Thompson, "Turning Of the Tide"

I was late to work this morning because of staying up so late with Spooky last night.

Worked only until noon, then home to eat lunch, then to H Elementary. I sat in on a fourth grade class presenting the experiments they'd done for a science fair and then a second grade class writing papers on good character. What a waste so much of public school is. I see good, average, competent, willing teachers, but no one exceptional, no one really engaged or engaging. I hear a lot of correction and redirection but hardly any praise for effort or interest.

One of the teachers asked something about "the color spectrum" (whatever that's supposed to mean). A fourth grader raised his hand and started explaining, in a fumbling but coherent way, about primary and secondary colors. He called primary colors "colors you can't mix." She stopped him and said that wasn't what she was talking about. "He didn't know," she remarked with a smirk to another teacher in the room, "so he thought he'd answer by telling me what he did know." She wasn't being horribly mean or condescending --- she has a sort of friendly, sarcastic, bantering tone --- but I felt very bad that she didn't know or care enough to encourage this kid's interest in color at all. If I had been up there I would have smiled and thanked him for sharing, and given him the terms "primary" and "secondary." Instead, this teacher dismissed him and then ended up saying something about how the color spectrum is from white to black. And H is supposed to be one of the better schools in D District.

Speaking of dismissing, the Maddening Angel called me in the midst of another migraine. I said I'd pick her up if she needed me. I called back a bit later, but no answer. I also texted her. Finally, about two hours later, she wrote back, "Sorry, ok now, can't talk." In many ways she's really just a kid.

I finished watching Batman Begins. Best. Bat. Movie. Ever. I may go so far as to call it Bateriffic. As realistic as a movie about Batman could be, great characters, great motivations, great acting.

This evening I picked up Spooky and we went to the bookstore together and then to the Hangout, where the father of one of The Job's babies was playing. He's pretty good. Spooky and I greeted the baby's mother together. Might that start tongues wagging at work? Don't know, or care much.

The plan was for Spooky to spend the night at my place, but around 2:30 or so she started feeling a lot of pain. She has a variety of health problems. So I drove her back home to her meds. She was apologetic and sad. I know it's beyond her control, so I don't feel anything but sorry for her, except I do wonder what kind of "couple" we could possibly make.

I bought the most hyped CD so far this year, the new Arctic Monkeys. For I am but a reed, that bends to whatever direction the prevailing wind is blowing. If it's the new "cool," I am on that bus like crabs on Paris Hilton. Or maybe not. Anyway, haven't listened yet much, so no verdict.