References

"This is my life. It is my one time to be me. I want to experience every good thing" (Maya Angelou).

Ever since I was a little boy I have absolutely loved the experience of being alive--the warmth of sun on my face, the joy of eye contact, the thrill of new ideas. I used the term "carpe diem" before anyone had seen Dead Poets Society. And by the way, more than one student has compared me to Mr. Keating, which must mean that I'm much more of a romantic than a realist. And I, too, teach English and take my students on nature walks.

"Every good thing." Here are a few of those things, as I see it. If you think along the same lines, send me a note.

I feel that we are all part of a global community. As they say, "It takes a village to raise a child." My family is trying to turn that saying around a bit to discover another truism: "It takes a child to raise a village." We are currently saving money to buy a goat for a family in Africa (the plight of Botswana has particularly touched us). Perhaps my children will grow up and teach their kids to do similar acts ofcommunity service.

As far as my interests go and what makes me tick, just ask.Conversation is so much more satisfying than reading profiles, don't you think? (Right about here I'm tempted to cry out to the universe something like, "WHY CAN'T A LIKE-MINDED SOUL JUST WALK THROUGH MY DOOR and save us both the experience of heading to a site called, of all things, 'OkCupid'?!")

What kind of woman am I hoping will walk through that door? Hmmm. That's the thing. I seriously don't know. I used to think that I did. Now I've come to believe that "We'll just know" as they say. Attraction is a mysterious and unpredictable thing. I could very well be surprised. Most likely you are someone who will stop to help an elderly person cross the street--someone who practices random acts of kindness. I would also think that you are someone children gravitate toward because you are genuinely interested in them . Do art and ideas move you? I would hope so.
What I'm doing with my life:
I teach. I think that it's more important to say that "I teach" than to say, "I teach English" or "I teach Sophomore Honors English." I don't so much teach a subject as a way of viewing the world, hopefully. I want my students to be inquisitive and to discover more of the beauty of life.
I'm reall
I'm a pretty good conversationalist, I think, or at the least some of my most meaningful moments have been when I've connected with other people. I love to tell stories to my children and we tell stories together when we're on road trips and hikes.

I love to cook; I love to eat. I'm constantly on the quest for the best gelatteria (Vivoli in Florence), pastry shop (Pix and that place across from Chartres Cathedral), italian restaurant (still looking), as well as recipes.

I love photography. Most people think that some of my candids are very good. And candids say so much to me.

I'm a good gardener and have done a decent job of landscaping a very difficult yard, if I say so myself. Ok, in all honesty it's completely overgrown right now!

I also fixed up an 1886 Victorian house

Ok. That's enough!

This is the same approach I take to parenting. Life is an adventure. Life is beautiful. Being together is a gift.


Books--fiction: The Brothers Karamazov (I had to slip in a Russian novel to look impressive (but it really is my favorite); Le Petit Prince (in the original. The part with the fox is so touching); The Grapes of Wrath; The Catcher in the Rye;
Poetry: Pablo Neruda (the god of poetry), Mary Oliver,
ee cummings, Robert Frost, Jacques Prevert
Books--non-fiction: Freakonomics; 'Round Ireland with a Fridge; Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard. Loren Eiseley's naturalistic musings are amazing, too; Jeeves and Wooster (P.G. Wodehouse); Lies my Teacher Told me (I couldn't resist putting that on the list!)

Movies: Amélie, Dan in Real Life, You've Got Mail (appropriate for this forum!), Nottinghill (amazing script. So-so actors that pull it off); Moonstruck, Wings of Desire (wow. so poignant), Fanny and Alexander, Harold and Maude

Food. Wow. I could go on for a long time here. I love the simple: rhubarb pie, French artisan bread (not so simple, but it's just made of flour, ok?), experimenting with home-made pizza. Italian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese; creative cuisine