What Emma González Said Without Words at the March for Our Lives Rally
Ms. González, a survivor of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., used her time onstage at Saturday’s rally in Washington to convey the length of the attack.
nytimes.com
This young woman, these young people, these heroes, have demonstrated that they are indeed the heroes needed by America and the world. March For Their Lives
This was originally written in 1998 … I haven’t changed much, other than punctuation.
Teachers from three of Surabaya’s largest schools met a few months ago. This wasn’t a summit on education, or on international relations, just early parole.
For many of us, it was our first night out in a week. The early part of May in Indonesia had been marred by riots, and rumours of riots. The streets were not safe. Many people had left. (A Husband’s Perspective)
We met, as we had met so many times before, in The Tavern. The Tavern is a small, fairly intimate pub in the Hyatt Hotel(Now the Hotel Bumi). At that time Thursday nights were half price, and affordable. The week before the meeting had been spent incognito and effectively isolated. Ten teachers, a visiting friend, two girlfriends and Emily, my wife. Also present, in an unsupporting role, was a motley assortment of Bules (foreigners)
In the back of the Tavern, where the more clandestine meetings usually take place, a group of young Chinese were enjoying a night of freedom. Perhaps enjoying isn’t the right word. They were almost motionless.
The Bules gained motion as soon as the next group appeared. A television crew from one of the local stations had entered the bar. Suharto had resigned the day before and they were looking for reaction shots. Pak Suharto Keluar (Suharto has left)…. Where were you?
The reaction was forthcoming. One Bule pried himself up from his barstool and stormed over to the crew. His basic problem was a belief that this was a foreigner’s bar and these guys weren’t allowed in here. Well, their presence was unusual, but the presence of a number of local ladies would seem to dispute The Tavern’s Foreigners Only status.
The ladies are a permanent fixture of the Tavern. You can’t go into any bar, disco, or nightclub without seeing a few Chickens. Locals call them Ayam Kampung, Ayam Kampus, or Ayam Malam, or village chickens, high-class chickens, and night chickens. The number of young women making themselves available has increased since the crisis.
As for the Bule’s reaction: his statements were loud, laced with profanity and mercifully brief. The television crew left, the Bule fumed for a bit then resumed his chair and his conversation. His gathering of four had increased by one. One of the previously mentioned ladies had added herself to the group.
For everyone, it was business as usual. A quiet couple of hours, a few beers, some excellent hot pretzels, and a few rounds of cards. As I am perhaps the world’s worst card player, I sat out the game. Most of the conversation was about the previous week. Who had stayed, who had left, who was about to leave – three more teachers left that weekend – and what was going to happen.
Most of the people that stayed have been here for awhile. I’ve been here for nearly two years. Geoff has been here for three years, and Chris a bit longer than that.
There are no absolutes in this situation. John Koeman, a teacher from Holland, had been in Surabaya for seven years. He decided it was time to go. He’s in Taiwan now, as are Marcus and Allison, and Jo and Paul.
Probably the main reason that teachers stay is that they become integrated into the community. Unlike the engineers and hotel managers who come here and are effectively isolated, a teacher is effectively mixed with the population. Some teachers are more mixed than others.
People react positively or negatively to the mixing. Their reaction may be based on their reason for being here. If they’ve come for the money, they’re just here to do a job – and then leave. Anything that interferes with that purpose is a nuisance.
Many teachers are here for the experience. They’re geared up to live in another country, to experience a different culture, to try new foods, or just to learn the language. They’re generally disposed to mixing.
Mixers and non-mixers alike come from every social, ethnic and geographical grouping. The experience we all shared was the temporary release from the unique blend of cabin fever and stress that is Surabaya.
For me; a good remedy for stress is stepping away, physically and mentally. When I take a few moments to relax with friends and family I can then re-enter the fray with a clearer, calmer perspective.
I should note that this was originally posted in 1998.
It’s good to be home.
Emily had gone to Bali a few days earlier, as she had some business and both my son and I still had school. On Christmas Eve we got to the airport and boarded our flight to Bali.
Like the song goes … “the weather started getting rough. The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew …” We made three passes over the Island of the Gods, but it wasn’t meant to happen.
The rain was buffeting our sturdy craft. It was impossible to see anything, and then the peanuts ran out.
Well, next thing you know … ol’ Wayne’s back in Surabaya. And Boy howdy, was I ever happy about that. I peppered the air with cries of gosh golly and dad burn it. I’m not happy.
Emily is waiting at the airport for me and her handphone is obviously not working. My handphone has previously given up the ghost. Now I’m using a phone card and trying to find a compatible phone. I find one, but unfortunately, it’s sandwiched between two phones occupied by men talking louder than seems necessary.
I can’t hear a bloody thing. I’m trying to explain the situation to my mother-in-law. She’s a nice lady who I communicate quite well with in person, yet her English doesn’t exist, my Indonesian is poor, the connection sucks and the surrounding noise is unbearable.
Well, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas at the top of my lungs, I compliment their country and their courtesy and I wish them on their way. My son thinks dear old Dad is ready for a new sports coat in that lovely wrap-around style.
Finally, I get through. Everybody’s okay on that side. We waited in Surabaya’s Juanda airport for an hour and a half. Finally, the plane boarded again. It was now 10:00 pm. The flight to Bali is about 35 to 45 minutes. Bali is an hour ahead of Surabaya.
We arrive in Bali at 11:40 p.m. Bali time. It’s drizzling. The taxi driver asks for Rp 40,000. I decline. We walk out to the taxi booth and buy a voucher. We pay Rp 26,000. Christmas Eve passes in the back of a taxi. We arrive.
My wife is at work preparing a shipment of fruit to Hong Kong. I am now a fruit packer. By 12:00 p.m. Christmas day the fruit is packed and on its way. We shower, eat and almost everyone sleeps.
Me, … I’m wired. The rest of our merry band has fallen asleep. The nanny and the cook are watching the kids. The next day the lost sleep will catch up with me. I take a long walk. We were in Denpasar, Bali and it’s hot. I walk for an hour and come back drenched in sweat.
Christmas night we head to Jimbaran.
Jimbaran beach is a long strip of seafood restaurants. You order your food fresh. You pick a table. On the beach, if it’s not raining, under the tents if it is. On a clear night the sound of the surf, the smell of barbecued fish and the majesty of a star-filled sky conspire to bewitch even the most cynical traveler.
The day after Christmas I sleep until 11:00 a.m. I’m still tired when my two nephews and my niece wake me. Chinese-Indonesian children do not play outside and are generally spoiled. I’ve brought some cartoons with me. The VCDs keep them occupied for half an hour.
We head to Kuta that afternoon. We don’t go to the bars or the shopping malls. We find a relatively quiet beach and play in the surf. My son, who’s eighteen, seems more interested in the spectacle of topless women frolicking close by. My head may have turned one or two times. The surf-kissed sand has been rendered almost mirror-like. The sky is a rich blue with traces of white clouds. Gradually the blue becomes purple and the sun is a descending red ball. Pale pinks and rich oranges dominate the fading palate. A tropical sunset is beautiful and abbreviated.
In fifteen minutes, it is dark. The stars are brilliant. Aside from a few moments of temper, the week passes uneventfully. We watch videos on New Years’ Eve. Two days later, we hop in the car and head to Lovina. We’re going to see the Dolphins.
Last episode we left for Lovina to see the dolphins.
Along the way, we pass the site of Gunung Agung’s 1963 eruption. The devastation was massive and thousands died. The Balinese believe that this was because prayers had been interrupted. Now the boulders, once part of Gunung Agung’s crown, are strewn about, but they are covered with lush vegetation. It was another example of nature’s power to repair itself.
I was reminded of a walk along the trails of Canada’s Algonquin Park.
Granted, it probably doesn’t need to be said that it certainly wasn’t similar terrain. A picture from the early years of the last century showed a devastated mountain.Trees, and earth torn away to run a rail line through. Then in the fall 0f 1995, I walked down that same path and tall, healthy trees shaded me. Waist high grass surrounded me. I was shaded by mature pines. Nature will right itself, once given a chance.
Now I stood in the lushness of Gunung Agung’s revival. Gunung is the Indonesian word for mountain, and the center of Bali is a spine of mountains. Many of them are still active volcanoes. As late as 1994 there have been eruptions. They don’t call the Indonesian archipelago the Ring of Fire because of the hot food. We arrived in Lovina. We looked at one place. They wanted RP 300,000 a night. That’s the price of a luxury hotel in Surabaya.
We found the Hotel Padma. We paid Rp 120,000 for each of two rooms, barely enough for myself, Emily, her sister Suzy, our son Adryan, Suzy’s three kids and a family friend. So, it’s guys in one room, and women in the other. The pool was clean large and warmed by the sun. We ate a large dinner and turned in. At 5:00 a.m. we were up and by six o’clock, we were in two traditional boats heading out to see the dolphins. We were about 20 minutes out when the first small pod appeared.
They surfaced, played about and were gone – only to reappear in another area. This went on for half an hour or so. Then a larger group appeared. The two groups surfaced, dived, disappeared, raced the boats and delighted their audience. It is impossible not to feel a little like an alien watcher, privileged to witness a very personal kinship with nature.
The surrounding mountains were mist-cloaked shadows at the water’s edge. The water was black in the pale early morning light, briefly disturbed by our bright-coloured boats and the sleek gray bodies that danced and dived around us.
Then it ended. We had spent almost two hours watching. It was impossible to tell who was more excited, the adults or the children.
After breakfast, Adryan and I went snorkeling. A reef lay about halfway between the shore and where we watched the dolphins. Again, we were in a traditional boat. A narrow canoe like craft with twin outriggers, a small (5.5 horsepower) outboard motor and an inverted, triangular-shaped, lateen sail that also serves to shade our driver/guide as he naps. We don masks and flippers and enter the now blue waters. Colors explode around us. Angelfish, rainbow-hued fish, blue neon tetras and unfortunately a few too many jelly fish. We moved location twice. Adryan managed to find a French coin. Once cleaned, it was revealed as a 1995 coin, but still a find. I had to rescue it from the pool bottom later that evening, so the excitement of discovery was obviously short-lived. We stayed two days then headed back to Denpasar.
We flew home that Saturday.
This is the Carrie Fisher I knew, which is to say I never knew her.
She had a substantial contribution to the creation of characters that were part of the magic of movies which my younger brother and I enjoyed. I never crushed on Carrie fisher or Princess Leia. My heart was already divided between Tina Turner and Yvonne Craig. I loved Star Wars, and I greatly admired the courage and humour of Carrie Fisher, the author, and the woman. She struggled and she lived fiercely, on her terms. The world has lost a fighter, an actress, a writer, a comedian and an advocate for mental health. I have nothing to add but my admiration for the choices she made. Thank You, Carrie Fisher, for your smile and your courage.
CSR: Good morning. Pay Now Fly Whenever Airlines
Customer: Oh yes. Good morning.
CSR: Can I help you?
Customer: I’d like to …. I need to reschedule my flight.
CSR: When is it?
Customer: At 5:30.
CSR: Where are you going?
Customer: I’m going to Jamaica.
CSR: What airline are you traveling with?
Customer: Jamaica Air.
CSR: When do you want to reschedule for?
Customer: For later this afternoon, if that’s possible?
CSR: Okay do you have your ticket?
Customer: Yes, Ah here it is.
CSR: Okay …. That’s Jamaica Air from New York. Uh oh …Okay. No flights this afternoon.
Customer: No flights?
CSR: Not until Tuesday.
Customer: Tuesday!?!
CSR: Problem?
Customer: My vacation isn’t that long.
CSR: That’ll be two thousand, one hundred and thirty-four dollars.
Customer: What?
CSR: Two thousand, one hundred and thirty-four dollars for a return ticket.
Customer: What. I only paid One thousand, four hundred for the package.
CSR: Ah, you had a package.
Customer: Yes.
CSR: Well then …nothing I can do.
Customer: What do you mean?
CSR: You need to call your travel agent.
Customer: Aren’t you a travel agent?
CSR: We wholesale tickets. The agent is listed at the bottom of your ticket.
Customer: Hmmm, yes. Now I see it. Dodgy Destinations. Wow … how did I not see that name?
CSR: Call them and they should be able to reschedule things.
Mechanic: Hello
Customer: Oh, did I wake you?
Mechanic: Did you wake me? Who is this?
Customer: You’re fixing my car.
Mechanic: Do you know what time it is?
Customer: It’s late
Mechanic: Or early – depending on how you look at it.
Customer: I’m sorry. I didn’t know …
Mechanic: Okay. What do you want?
Customer: I’m at the airport and I don’t have a passport.
Mechanic: What?
Customer: It’s in my car.
Mechanic: What?
Customer: My passport. I left it in my car.
Mechanic: And …
Customer: I need it. Can you bring it to me?
Mechanic: Are you insane? I’m a mechanic, not a courier.
Customer: Could you have it sent here?
Mechanic: What time does your flight leave?
Customer: At 5:30.
Mechanic: It’s – it’s 4:40. I don’t have enough time to get to the garage and get your passport to the airport.
Customer: But I’ll miss my flight.
Mechanic: Why don’t you take a later flight?
Customer: I don’t know? …
Mechanic: You’re not going to make it. It’s too far.
Customer: Why is it too far?
Mechanic: First I have to get to the garage; then I have to open up, and then I have to find your passport in your car. Next, I have to call a courier and wait for him to arrive. Finally, the courier has to get to the airport. The fastest that’s going to happen is two hours.
Customer: Two hours?
Mechanic: I think we’re really looking at three or four hours …even if I can find a 24-hour courier.
Customer: What should I do?
Mechanic: I think you should reschedule your flight.
Customer: Reschedule? … for when?
Mechanic: If I were you I’d reschedule for later in the afternoon.
This is a good chance to try an activity on intent and inflection. Call a student aside and tell them to be happy when they read, tell the other to be angry. Next time try one sad and one happy. Try energetic and really tired. Ask the audience to judge how effectively the speakers communicated. Don’t let the audience in on what the subtext is all about. With time, they can identify things for themselves.
In the years and centuries to come we will explore our solar system and reach beyond the incandescent majesty of our home star. We will stretch out with our will and our curiosity.
At our best we will be, at once innovative, steady and resourceful. As always, we will be prone to self-doubt and introspection.
It will be our disembodied intellects that will stride across alien deserts and sail the glittering seas of distant moons. While we propel ourselves infinitely across an inky void we cannot be oblivious to the needs and protection of our own fragile sphere.
We will need to enrich, renew, heal and listen to our home even as we seek to communicate with her counterparts.
A short unfinished story using the numbered words.
It’s a class assignment for grade five.
See what you can do with it.
Continue the story.
Use the words and create a new story.
Use the words and write sentences.
1) Polite
2) Knife
3) Pleasant
4) Tablecloth
5) Unhappily
6) Business
7) Thick
8) Hurried
9) Scrambling
10) Chiefly
11) Kindness
12) Sympathize
13) Handkerchief
14) Streaming
15) Odd
16) Cooking
17) Eating
18) Smiling
19) Stopping
20) Trying
21) Counting
22) Lying
23) Hitting
24) Working
25) Preparing
26) Driving
27) Using
28) Reading
29) Swimming
30) Raining
31) … could cut the tension with a knife
32) … in concert with
Café Collision
Raining outside and stormy inside. Linda and Marcus had been making polite conversation for about twenty minutes, but you could cut the tension with a knife. Linda seemed outwardly pleasant even as she folded the edges of the tablecloth in an attempt to control her anger. Their relationship had ended unhappily, and this lunch had been a hurried attempt to finish any outstanding business between them. Her temper was something he never understood. It was also the thing he seemed to provoke most often.
She was trying to control herself. He could almost hear her counting to ten. They needed to focus on getting everything sorted and divided.
Marcus couldn’t really care what she did with house, but was here chiefly because he was trying to sympathize with a woman he still cared for, but couldn’t bear being in the same room with.
Kindness was proving costly. Linda had arrived with a thick bundle of bills that Marcus was thumbing through. He felt like grabbing his coat and scrambling for the door, but instead was working though this latest batch of paperwork from a marriage that had produced little else.
An invoice for cooking classes they had taken on their honeymoon. A memory of driving up the coast that clear spring day skittered in and sat on it’s haunches, unannounced, unwanted, and unashamedly mocked his attempts to remain detached. As he sat reading tears began rolling down his cheeks.
Seven years. Seven years had been reduced to photocopies, faxes and emails. The tears were streaming down his face in concert with the rain coursing down the misted windows.
Linda reached over and dabbed his cheeks with a handkerchief. He touched her hand without thinking. She smiled and drew her hand away.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Perhaps it’s too late to say I had something in my eye?” he managed a smile.
“You could, but you’d be lying. That would be new for you.” She smiled.
Of all the things he hadn’t done in the marriage, at least this one he could be proud of.
Top ten reasons to Teach English
1. You can’t sit on the couch all year
2. Eventually The Kardashians is going to be cancelled
3. There is no new Star Trek franchise
4. Somebody has to do it
5. We can’t all work in retail
6. How many times are you going to apply at McDonalds?
7. Mom and Dad need a life
8. The girl next door is not ‘playing hard to get’
9. Someone is your graduating class needs to get a job
10. If you lived here, you’d already be home
Top ten reasons to live in the tropics
1. You’ll be there when the first coconuts come off the line
2. You could get a real suntan
3. People still won’t understand you, but you won’t care
4. Seasons? Who needs ‘em!?!
5. Sand gets in some interesting places.
6. Tan lines are better than …
7. Do you like shoveling snow?
8. Because you can
9. You will believe a man can fry
10. Fresh fruit
Top ten reasons to work overseas
1. You could use a change of scenery
2. Telemarketers won’t call
3. Something to talk about to your grand kids
4. Something to talk about on your next date
5. Get a date
6. Get off the couch
7. Disneyland is the most exotic place you can imagine
8. You need to update Facebook
9. Indonesia is not just a menu selection
10. Experience three kinds of Java (coffee, the island, and coding language)
Top ten reasons to leave home
1. Mom needs to change your sheets
2. Dad wants to have that talk with you
3. Uncle Bill’s off the wagon again
4. It’s better to have a housekeeper
5. Walmart
6. Oprah’s going off the air
7. Even Dave is moving on.
8. Your passport needs love
9. The grass is greener on the other side
10. Get tagged in some interesting photos
Top ten reasons to be a teacher
1. Respect and some money
2. Sometimes you’ll actually feel like a star
3. You can make a difference
4. What are you saving all that language for?
5. You need some experience
6. Are you experienced?
7. You have to learn grammar someday
8. We can’t all be on American Idol
9. It’s a great way to meet people
10. You’ll enjoy it
Top ten reasons to see the world
1. It’s changing
2. It’s an interesting place
3. If you stand in one place the world will not come to you
4. It’s there
5. You’ll be amazed by what you see
6. You’ll be amazed by what you hear
7. You’ll be amazed by what you feel
8. You’ll be amazed by what you taste
9. You’ll be amazed by what you smell
10. People will be amazed by you
Joining the TEFL course in Indonesia, Surabaya
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Also indicate when you’ll be arriving so we can have accommodation prepared.
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Yours sincerely,Wayne Duplessis
Indonesia, Surabaya
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Java is one of the most beautiful places on the planet,
and still possesses a wealth of natural and cultural wonders.
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With a wide variety of social and cultural activities, water sports and other
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