The big reveal

So, in case you were curious, the name of the person who traveled from Seattle to Denver using a ticket that was purchased fraudulently with our credit card was Anthony Minnis.

If you know this person, I know a fraud investigator who would like to speak with him.

Beauty tips for people who don't care

I am not a girly sort of girl. I think I am plenty feminine, but I have never cared much for makeup, lotions and potions, eyelash curlers, hair curlers, curling irons, flat irons, and the like. Until recently (when my hair got long enough to cause a chill if I leave it wet), I didn't even own a hair dryer, having long since donated my old dusty one to MJ.

But I do have some little tricks that I have learned/developed/adopted over the years. Here are a few of them.

• Quickie hair defrizzing. I have a tendency to get hangnails, so I put body butter on my hands most mornings. When I'm done, I run my hands over the top of my hair. It flattens down most of those flyaway strands.
• Quickie moisturizing. I have had brief periods where I faithfully moisturized my bod each day. It is kind of a pain. Lately, what I've discovered is that exfoliation does more to smooth and moisturize my skin than any of the goop I've tried. Instead of soap or shower gel or body wash, I use a sudsing body scrub on one of those poofy scrub thingies (what the heck are those called?). It's time I would spend getting clean anyway, and my skin gets a quick buffing in the process.
• Freebie flossing. Maybe you don't think of flossing as a beauty routine, but it really is. Pink gums are ever so much more attractive than red ones! I keep a pack of those dental-floss-on-a-toothpick dealies in the car. I can floss one handed while sitting in traffic. And as a special treat, I get to tell the dentist that I floss four or five times a week. (At least I could until my need to commute went away. Replacing that routine with regular flossing is being a little hit or miss.)
• Inner glow. It's a little hokey, and Sam Levenson said it way better than I can, but being happy, smiling, having sparkling eyes, saying nice things, and just generally reflecting out the joy you have found in your life—those are the best beauty tips of all.

The Doings Report

Early in the week was mostly about trip prep, especially once Frank and MJ decided they were going to hit the road. But we made time to have Aaron over for a visit on Monday. He and Chloe baked cookies and oatmeal bars. He took the latter home at the end of the day, and Chloe took the remains of the former with her as munchies for her Tuesday flights.

Frank and MJ got on the road Thursday morning. After an impromptu visit with Grandma and Papa in Yuma and the long haul across Texas, today they arrived safely in New Orleans (Mandeville, technically), and are resting up by watching TV at Judy's house. Gort is still on the hard but there are indicators that the relaunching will happen soon enough to give Frank some time on the water. Nephew-in-law Bobby will probably do the tuneup on the dink motor, since it has no doubt suffered for being stored for more than three years, and then Bob will have a very cool little dinghy.

Chloe is having a very busy week at the Traaseths in Gainesville, Georgia. The weather is not as nice as we had hoped, but she doesn't seem to care. The Gavins (including my Live and Learn drumming buddy Austin) came over for a couple days, so it was a festive crowd. Steph picks her up tomorrow for a couple of days of exploring the river and shopping and sightseeing in Athens, and then Chloe flies home Thursday.

As for me, I'm keeping busy. Last Thursday night, I helped out again at Belle Provence and really enjoyed it. Friday, I went into work one last time (this time) to close that chapter. Friday night, my work pal Lori came over and we ate and drank and talked. It was really fun!

Saturday was Getting Things Done Day, and boy howdy, did I! I puttered productively for about 12 hours, most of it devoted to laundry and paperwork. I got TONS of exercise, adding about 7,000 trips up and down the stairs to my now daily aerobic walk.

Sunday, I kept at the laundry and actually conquered the pile. Amazing! It's all folded even. Now the big challenge will be finding places for everything. (I am having a similar challenge with the dish cupboards: we usually do not have everything clean at once.) Later on, my grandma came over for dinner and a nice visit. We watched "Secondhand Lions," which I love and she seemed to really enjoy. After I took her home, I watched "Wanted," which MJ loves and I mostly enjoyed.

It seems a bit silly, and definitely belated, but the thing I am super excited about right now is vegetables. Prepping for Lori's visit, I picked up a selection of veggies, chopped them up, and put them in this slick 7-compartment Tupperware serving platter we have. Well, folks, I am LOVING having on-demand veggies in the fridge. It takes very little time to restock the compartments, and then I can munch veggies whenever I want, and quickly and easily add them to whatever I'm cooking. It's hardly an original idea, but it is very cool.

Earth hours, veggie platters, clean laundry and dishes... Frank and the girls are in for a few surprises when they get home. :-)

Tales from the dark

aka "Notes from Ronnie's Earth Hour"

My neighborhood stayed all lit up. I had to close all the blinds to experience any sort of dark at all. :-)

I read by candlelight and gained huge appreciation for the convenience of a headlamp.

Scrounging for food (without the candle), I pulled from the fridge a jar of what I thought was the yummy Harry & David mustard dip Lori brought me last night. Fortunately, I moved back into candle range to check the label before dipping my pretzels in boullion.

Label mishaps aside, I think I need far less light than I normally use. Maybe I won't be so quick to flip the lights on after this.

The dark was very peaceful. I wonder if Frank and the girls would go for making Earth Hour a regular event in our house...?

Boom boom, out go the lights

I will be participating in Earth Hour tonight from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

How about you?

Friday fill-in

Better late than never...

In case you're interested, Janet took this batch from her favorite six books.

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived more bugs than most people want to think about."

2. "I'm unemployed, but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, and after dawn, it fell some more."

4. "I wouldn't mind having some of what they took from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and an arm attached to it, because anything else is just too creepy to contemplate."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, and they happen to everybody else, too."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm last night I was looking forward to Girls' Night In with Lori, tomorrow today my plans include laundry and paperwork and reveling in my aloneness, oh my! and Sunday, I want to do more of those!

Last/first day

Today is my official termination date, so I am now officially a contractor again. Or I am gainfully unemployed, as I always say between contracting jobs.

I went in to turn in my cardkey and such. I thought I might feel sad, but mostly it's just a little strange. It would be interesting to do a graphical representation of my employment there: a long, jagged line of connections and separations. Since this is just one more separation and there are good prospects for future connections, the only thing I find to grieve about really is losing "my" laptop. We'll have to see if Frank and I can readjust to sharing one computer. :-)

Be careful what you wish for

This morning, MJ and I delivered Chloe to the airport so she could catch her flight to Georgia. (She will be visiting the Traaseths and Steph and Rick.)

Me: Hey, MJ, can you think of anyplace you and your dad could go so I could have the house to myself for a few days?

Result: Frank and MJ might be taking a trip to deliver our dinghy to Cap'n Blacktoes in New Orleans. By car. For three weeks. Without me.

Hmmm.

Weekend snapshots

Craig has some actual snapshots from our weekend, but here are word-snapshots of some of my favorite moments:

- Team ChloEffie: These two were practically inseparable. They did art together, played chess together, made a giant sidewalk-chalk gameboard (with sharks and piranhas and a move-ahead-three-spaces current) plus the giant six-sided paper die to go with it, read together, and finished off the weekend by making a "just one more minute, Dad" paper chessboard and pieces.

- Feasting with Frank: Frank went heavy into his "to let a guest feel a moment's hunger is a sin" mode and kept us supplied with a succession of tasty treats. At various times, we had spaghetti, grilled sandwiches, chicken and smashed potatoes, pancakes, bacon and cheesy eggs, and shrimp and veggie kabobs. This morning, his offer to cook again was met with a round of groans.

- Concoctions with Fergus: I'm not sure which of us was looking forward to this more, but our blender certainly got a healthy workout. I liked the fruity ones, but Fergus' favorite was Darth Malts, and they are very tasty indeed: Whoppers, vanilla ice cream, and a splash of milk. When the Whoppers ran out, we switched to Corvallis Ovaltine. Slurp!

- Concoctions with Craig: Craig was our designated evening mixologist, producing a steady stream of seemingly increasingly potent strawberry margaritas. At one point, I was driven to say, "Geez, Craig, what did you do to these things?!" Let's just say the kids found us by turns irritating or amusing.

- Story hours: Last night, Effie and I sat down to read a couple of books together. Before long, I was surrounded by Effie, Fergus, MJ, and Chloe, with some irritating or amusing adults in the peanut gallery. MJ and Chloe kept returning to their rooms for stashes of childrens books that I didn't even know they still had. With various readers taking turns, we probably read 25 books and some of those more than once.

Name that childrens book:
"...little, warm and tasty, fast asleep."
"Oops."
"The trouble was, They wanted more!"
"Do you like my hat?"

- Ronnie discovers Fergus-style wrestling: Fergus and I wrestled on the couch a lot. Fergus' wrestling style is very physical and involves lots of headlocks and giggly sharing of body odors. But it was neat to watch how he regulated the intensity all on his own. He would launch himself at me, we'd wrestle, and then he'd switch to cuddling or back off completely for a minute, before starting the whole cycle again. And it was also cool how my willingness to wrestle seemed to put a lock on our concoction-inspired friendship. I got lots of hugs and easy conversation all weekend, a big improvement from last year's, "You weren't so good, but now you are."

- Fergus and Frank have the place to themselves: While the rest of us made a run to Trader Joe's and Target, Frank and Fergus hung out at home. Gillian and I both suffered a jolt of anxiety when my cellphone rang, but Frank was only calling to request additional vanilla ice cream for concoctions. In other words, the boys were well occupied.

- Ronnie and Effie hang out: Effie and I had a lovely couple of hours together yesterday afternoon. We did some art, talked about how different people learn to read at different ages, played the piranha game, and walked the neighborhood, and then I timed her while she did her very best to wear herself out running up and down our front steps. (I got worn out just watching her, so I didn't need to do any actual running.)

It was a really special weekend, as our weekends with unschoolers so often are. Thanks, Mayers, for making the trek across the ferry and over the border! We're so glad you came!

The Doings Report

I think I'm feeling better. Yay! At five days' duration, it seems like I had a lighter case of this bug than most of my friends around the country. Lucky me!

Chloe finished up her school stint Saturday night by taking her sister to a school dance. They met up with cousin Chelsea there and had a fine time, by all accounts.

Fergus and Effie are coming to see us! And Craig and Gillian, too! A variety of concoctions are planned.

Chloe has made arrangements to go to Georgia at the end of the month. She will first visit the Traaseths in Gainesville and then Steph and Rick in Athens. The rest of us are envious.

And I think that's about it. Quiet doings are good doings. :-)

Schools of one possible future

Here is an article about schools that provide each of their students with a laptop, including one school that's funded by Microsoft, which means I can clearly imagine the glossy environment they've created. It's ... interesting, I'll say that much.

But this quote from a Norwegian student teacher made me laugh. She's talking about why she has her students put their laptops away some of the time.

Just clicking on Windows is more interesting nine times out of 10 than the teacher.

It makes me wonder just who needs help with their learning.

Drumroll please

Chloe is a pure unschooler again!!!!

She has completed the first grading period of semester 2, got what she wanted out of the whole deal, and is ready to return to unschooling. We are so glad to have her home again!

That damn alarm clock is going in the trash now.

Did you know...

...it takes two hours to do a full sweep of all my Internet haunts?

I'm going to do some pondering on whether the rewards (which are substantial) are worth the investment.

Friday fill-in

1. When I look to the left, I see hope for our country.

2. The breakfast nook is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work to my advantage.

4. They're dirty deeds and they're not done dirt cheap!

5. Listening to their kids is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any flu cures, feel free to bring them by my place on the sofa.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a little celebration with Chloe, tomorrow my plans include feeling all better and helping the girls get ready for Sadie Hawkins, and Sunday, I want to get caught up on some stuff!

MPHS '83

Mine won't be as interesting as Frank's, but I'm doing it anyway. Joining Facebook has put me in touch with some former classmates, so I've had high school memories percolating up anyway.

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more the fun the answers will be!! REPOST with name of high school and graduating year in the title box. Tag all your friends.

The questions:

1. Did you date someone from your school?
In senior year, no. But in my junior year I went with a slightly bad boy, at least until his family moved back to Long Island.

2.Did you marry someone from your high school?
No.

3. Did you carpool to school?
I probably carpooled with my sister in senior year. My friends didn't live between my house and the school.

4. What kind of car did you have?
'72 Mercury Capri, black over yellow.

5. What kind of car do you have now?
2000 Honda Odyssey—our touring vehicle—and a dinged up but still fast 1989 Toyota MR2.

6. It's a Friday night....where are you now?
Home usually. Or maybe an unschooling gathering.

7. It's Friday night...where were you then?
At a game probably, at least during football season. My boyfriend and my best friend's boyfriend played ironman for South Whidbey High. We used to drive all over going to their games.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school?
I put in a couple of months at the local McDonalds, not an experience I'd care to repeat.

9. What kind of job do you have now?
None! Well, technically I'm employed as a tech writer for another couple of weeks. Then we'll see.

10. Were you a party animal?
Short answer: No. If one expands the definition of "party animal" to one who socializes a lot and enjoys it, then yes.

11. Were you considered a flirt?
Probably.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
No.

13. Were you a nerd?
I like Frank's answer: Define nerd.

Was I one of the "smart kids"? Yes. Did I wear a pocket protector? No.

14. Did you get suspended or expelled?
God no. I was too fearful of getting in trouble to do anything that would put me at risk of that. I think I only skipped class once, and even then, the friend I skipped with got her mom to write us a note. :-)

15. Can you sing the fight song?
Hmm. I don't remember that we even had a fight song. We must have, but I guess nobody used it.

16. Who was/were your favorite teachers?
Miss Westerling. She was my Aerobics teacher (hey, it was the 80s). Her whole deal was building us up, emotionally and physically. She was the most supportive teacher I'd ever had. I don't think she's teaching anymore, which is a real shame.

Mr. Niemi. He was one of the toughest teachers in the school, but he was a straight shooter. I had him for psychology and a history class. The psych class was really tightknit, so we all pitched in to get him a t-shirt at the end of term. He was a behavioralist, so we had the shirt printed up to say "I'm a Freudian Slip."

Mr. Stokes. He was never my teacher (he taught special ed), but he was a total fox. He played Santa one year, and all the girls lined up to sit on his knee.

17. Where did you sit during lunch?
With Linda or Colleen or Lynn. I don't remember who had the same lunch as me during senior year.

18. What was your school's full name?
Marysville Pilchuck High School.

19. When did you graduate?
1983.

20. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Not even. Best times of my life, my ass.

21. Did you have fun at Prom?
Yeah, I suppose. I mostly remember being tense.

22. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
Nah.

23. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
Planning, no. I leave these things to the last minute. I went to my 10th and didn't enjoy it much. I wasn't planning to go to my 20th, but Linda decided at the last minute to come into town for it (she's in Phoenix), so I went with her. I skipped my 25th last summer.

24. Do you still talk to people from school?
Before Facebook, I'd hear from somebody once in a blue moon. I'd like to find Colleen. (Does anybody know a surgeon who used to be Colleen Campbell?)

25. What were your school's colors?
Red and white.

26. What was your school mascot?
We were the Tomahawks, aka "Tommies."

27. What celebrities came from your high school?
None that I know of. I knew Timm Rosenbach very slightly, but maybe he went to Arlington, now that I stop and think about it.

28. Did you play a sport?
No. I went out for track one year and actually managed to clear the (very low) high bar once. Needless to say, I did not letter.

29. What was your favorite club?
I think I was only in the Spanish Club, so the Spanish Club. I was never much of a joiner.

30. What class or teacher did you fear?
Hmm. I don't think I feared any of them exactly. But they all had a lot of power over me, and I was always very conscious of that.

25 albums

Linda tagged me for this on Facebook a while back. I resisted at first, because even thinking about it made me tense. But now Frank's done his list, and it was fun to read, and I'm ready to dive into the past. Briefly.

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.

In very rough life-chronological order:

1. Peter Frampton "Frampton Comes Alive" - This entry should not be interpreted as a sign that I am a Frampton fan. I like him okay. But this album - or rather, 8-track tape! - was significant because it came with my first stereo, handed down to me by my ol' dad. Thus began my speedy departure from the country music that was played in my house.

2. Billy Joel "The Stranger" - The first album I bought for myself. It is still one of my all time favorites. I bought it for the desperately romantic (to a teenage girl) "She's Always a Woman," but my lasting faves are "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Only the Good Die Young."

3. John Williams "Star Wars" soundtrack - This was one of the first things I listened to on a Walkman. A perfect choice! The electronic notes seemed to move right through the middle of my head.

4. Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Abbey Road" - Full disclosure: What I listened to first was the soundtrack to the mega-campy BeeGees movie. But it started my continuing love affair with the Beatles.

5. Pat Benatar "Crimes of Passion" - Girl power. We sang "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" on the spirit bus to away games.

6. AC/DC "Back in Black" - When I was in high school, there was this teen disco place in Everett, Studio 59. My visits to the disco were not complete until they played "You Shook Me All Night Long." When AC/DC came to town for their "For Those About to Rock" tour, I was there, and wearing that particular concert t-shirt to school the next day helped me step out of the "nerdy smart girl" niche I had been thrust into.

Years later, I saw a documentary about the making of this album, how Brian Johnson was brought in to nearly single-handedly compose the whole thing, working every minute under the shadow of Bon Scott's death. It made me appreciate the achievement this album represents, above and beyond the pounding, unapologetic ROCK that is its heart.

7. B-52s "The B-52s" - "Rock Lobster" was another of my favorites at the disco. Frenetic and fun. We didn't dance to it so much as jump up and down. And we'd all collapse on the floor during the "down, down, down" bit. Pure abandon.

8. Cheap Trick "Budokan" - Pure energy. This album made me realize how cool live music can be.

9. Eagles "The Long Run" - I just liked it, and it's definitely one where I played the whole album again and again. "Heartache Tonight" was and is my favorite cut.

10. Michael Jackson "Thriller" - I know he's a punchline now, but we weren't laughing at him back then. The entire album is great, but the title cut and it's accompanying music video rocked our world.

11. Phil Collins "Face Value" - This one is on here mostly for "In the Air Tonight." Oh. My. God. What a great song! And they used it in one of the first Miami Vice episodes, which blew us away, so it represents a whole neon era.

12. Various artists "Big Chill" soundtrack - The start of my love affair with R&B.

13. Prince "Purple Rain" - This one dominated my music world for about two years. You couldn't walk across the UW campus without hearing this music. We went to the movie a dozen times even though it was available on video. We went to the concert and felt like we were living the movie. It was a purple-gilded time.

14. Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" - I caught the tail of the wave of this phenomenon. Really wish I could have gone to this concert. "Well, how did I get here?" Slogan for a generation.

15. Tom Petty "Full Moon Fever" - Tom Petty is a god. This is the album that convinced me of that.

16. Traveling Wilburys Volume 3 - Pure fun. Musicians playing music for the sheer joy of it. And some damn fine songs.

17. Randy Newman "Good Old Boys" - A Frank-inspired rare departure from rock. "Marie" is hauntingly lovely. "Rednecks" is a powerful indictment of racism across the country. "A Wedding in Cherokee County" is just a crackup.

18. Neville Brothers "Fiyo on the Bayou" - My happy introduction to New Orleans sound.

19. Bob Marley "Legend" - Greatest reggae album ever. Nobody does it like Bob did it.

I'm also fond of "20 Reggae Classics," a compilation CD that provides a terrific sampler of reggae artists, including Simaryp's highly entertaining "Skinhead Moonstomp."

20. Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill" - With the advent of rap, I checked out of the popular music scene, tuning my radio to the classic rock station and leaving it there. And then one day, driving home, I somehow stumbled across "You Oughta Know." I was blown away by her sheer nerve and went directly to the music store to purchase my first new-music CD in about a decade.

21. Various artists "Gross Pointe Blank" soundtrack - This one let me catch up on some of what I missed when I was avoiding rap.

22. Everlast "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" - I really only listen to "What It's Like," but this album deserves inclusion because Whitey showed me that rap can be melodic and powerful and worth listening to.

23. Smash Mouth "Fush Yu Mung" - An energetic additional lure back into popular music. "Astro Lounge" is even better.

24. Various artists "Cool Yule" - A collection of very fun holiday songs by several R&B bright lights. Christmas isn't Christmas around here without "Christmas in the Jungle" and "Run, Run, Rudolph."

25. KT Tunstall "Eye to the Telescope" - I bought it for "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," of course, but the whole album is solid. She's a one-woman show.

Phew! Made it.

15 years ago this minute...

...Frank and I were welcoming Chloe into our lives!

Happy birthday, Chloe! I'm so happy you're my daughter.

Taking a poll

We have a blender. Is it worth it to:

1. Buy a juicer?

2. Buy a coffee grinder?

Thanks!

Privacy followup

From comments made here and on Facebook, I have realized that the mom I referred to in my last post may have been concerned that the adults befriending her daughter were potential predators. I confess, this possibility didn't even occur to me, perhaps partly because I'm female and not subject to the same level of suspicion that men unfortunately are.

But it's also because I left unspoken the context of my online friendships. So, let me be more clear: All of my online friends, of any age, know I am who I say I am. They've met me in real life, or they know someone I know, or they've been reading my contributions to the unschooling community for years.

Privacy statement

I was just reading comments from a woman who finds it odd when OKP (other kids' parents) befriend her daughter on Facebook.

Oops.

Here I am, odd again.

Surprise, surprise.

Yes, it's true: I have lots of friends, on FB and MySpace and in real life, who are kids. Unschoolers, nieces, nephews, younger cousins. I'm even friends with my own kids. Shocking, I know.

About Face(book)

Part two of her comments was the revelation that her daughter doesn't want her to join Facebook. She didn't seem to mind much, and, to her credit, she doesn't see that request for privacy as a Big Red Warning Flag to start monitoring her daughter's Internet interactions.

But I found it kind of sad.

I do understand the daughter's wish for privacy. I am, after all, a daughter myself, and a niece and a cousin and a granddaughter. I understand that knowing family members are reading what one writes can sometimes cause one to feel a need to temper one's writings. For example, out of respect for my dad and Uncle Morrie and a few others, I have let out a mere fraction of my frustration with the Bush administration (yes, really, you've seen only a fraction). And I usually find other outlets (Hi, Steph!) for the petty frustrations that come with most human relationships.

So, yeah, I understand. Awareness of your audience can have a dampening effect—sometimes good, sometimes bad—on what you write. And maybe this kid wants a place to flirt with boys without her mom watching, or maybe she wants to swear without being scolded, or maybe she just wants to be able to pretend her audience is limited to the people she is writing for. I understand that, too.

The snark factor

In some ways, this whole Internet presence thing would be easier if we could pick and choose. I could say all the snarky things I want. I wouldn't have those wincing moments of discomfort for the snarky things I do let through the filters. "Oh, I read your blog all the time," a lurker reveals, and my instinctive reaction is, Oh, shit, what have I said on there lately?

The other day, I made a slightly snarky comment on Facebook about cops speeding down my street, kind of forgetting that my cop cousin's wife is one of my friends. "Should Bruce be offended?" she asked with a smile. Wince.

Hmm, yeah, sometimes it would be nice if the things I put out on the Internet got seen only by the audience I'm picturing when I write them.

But here's the thing. No, here are two things:

One: The Internet is not a private place. If you want privacy, this is not the place for you. You can't control the audience. For myself, for now, I'm choosing publicity over privacy.

Two: The Internet is not a private place! That's the point. It is all about community. Like it or not, that mom is part of that girl's community.

But if the girl doesn't like it, maybe the why not? is worth exploring.

One theory of Why Not
While sitting in the orthodontist's waiting room the other day, I read an article about parents spying on their kids. The "experts" in the article try to walk a line between "allowing" kids their privacy and keeping kids safe. "It's a given that you set limits on screen time, block offensive Web sites, and set up filters to block inappropriate spam," the author says. Really. That's a given? Says who? And it goes downhill from there, with commentary about checking kids' cell phone logs, reading their text messages and journals and e-mail, installing GPS tracking devices, and so on.

Let me tell you about my kids' privacy. They have it. Period.

MJ has kept a journal for years. It's a beautiful leather book she got from her Aunt Judy. Most days, it sits on our coffee table. It has no lock. Some days, the temptation to take a peek in there is HUGE. But I never have.

Do you know why? Because she leaves it on the coffee table. She trusts me not to snoop. I can't even imagine violating that trust. It hurts just to think about violating that trust.

If I did, maybe my kids would be asking me to stay off Facebook, too.

Predators and porno and monkeys! Oh, my!
So, what about safety? What about all the predators on the Internet? What about all the inappropriate content?

Well, folks, my kids do not live in a vaccuum. I could restrict them from the Internet completely and there would still be predators in their world. Kids were preyed upon before the Internet ever existed, people. There are predators in their neighborhoods, their schools, their churches, their workplaces, and sometimes even in their homes.

And the content? How ridiculous. If my kids want to look at pornography, do you really think they are too stupid to find a way to do it? In this culture? Give me a break. So, first off, I think it is pointless to even try to restrict what they see. And second off, whatever they see, I know they are equipped to handle it. They grew up in this culture. Their sensibilities are tuned to this culture. Words and images that cause me discomfort or disgust they can disregard with a quick eye roll.

When I was a kid, I was freaked out by the flying monkeys in "The Wizard of Oz." Those soaring simians saddled my psyche with scars. I mean, look at this thing:

(shudder)

I wouldn't let my kids watch "The Wizard of Oz" for years. And of course when they did they thought it was perfectly ridiculous and weren't scared at all. The Disney movies they had seen by then dealt with far scarier themes than monkeys with wings. Their culture is different from the one I grew up in, and I'm not talking about the unschooling culture here. The world is different than it was when I was growing up.

As with so many things, I trust my kids to handle themselves. I offer help, of course, and cautionary notes, and conversation, and the occasional—rare, really—hardly-worth-mentioning bit of unsolicited advice.

Beyond that, it's none of my business.

Poetry in motion

Timely excerpts from Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson

I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd...

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,--
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine...

Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.

An unschooler breakfast

What do intelligent design, string theory, Monk, and Dennis Franz' butt all have in common?

There ought to be a great punchline in there somewhere. The answer, though, is that they were all topics of conversation this morning as we finished off our fabulous Corvallis weekend with a quick last visit to Sunnyside Up.

Just don't ask me to explain how one topic led to another. All I can tell you is the transitions made perfect sense at the time. :-)