May Day!

I am a day late with this, but I thought my time out would be even longer. No... I am not well. But I can't resist sharing some of the riches that came my way when I was down and out. As awful as I felt on Friday morning, I couldn't resist my son's invitation to lunch.

Vanja (pronounced Vanya) has been a teacher since teaching for a year in Japan in 2001, and is now employed in the learning lab of Jackson County Junior College. He was pretty excited as we ate our salads and French fries at Wendy's. He has never been entirely conventional in his teaching methods. His marvelous imagination and sense of humor would never allow it. When teaching high school students he had them dress up as mythological characters to interest them in learning Greek mythology. Now, in the learning lab, he is mostly one on one with the students. These students come to him when they are not adapting well in their classes, if interest is lagging...and grades. He is there as helper and inspirer. I can't imagine anyone more suited to seeing the best in individuals and sparking the interest they need to develop their own talents. The students he sees are varied in background...from older women going back to school after raising children to black youths who all too frequently drop out of school early for various reasons. This latter group was spoken of in a recent meeting by the vice-president of Vanja's college. Vanja's communication skills had been brought to her attention , and he was asked to liason with the high school he last worked at and recruit students. He was thrilled by this chance to make a difference. Before we left Wendy's, he cited a young man who - at his second session with Vanja, brought along a poem he had written. Vanja read it out loud and pointed out the rhythm that had been achieved naturally. Since then he has been working with this young man who has "caught fire" with belief in his own poetic voice.

As my handsome son, who I can still see as a silky-haired four year old playing in Audubon Park with Kendall's little Seth, told me of the amazing opportunities opening up before him, he seemed to catch fire himself, and my elderly ailing body forgot all but the flame that still longs to be ignited in all of us. Whatever our age...

I have included three extra photos, and I have noticed that, along with Vanja's flame-colored shirt, every image includes a touch or more of flame-red. The little bird is a Cedar Waxwing; I got lucky during the magic hour. He was eating mulberries.