This week is shaping up as a big one for me. I am very much looking forward to it.

First, I want to mention again that Sue Silverstein desperately needs discarded jewelry, jewelry fittings, broken ceramics, and beads.

The students are going wild for all three, especially the idea of putting old jewelry together for them to wear as bracelets and necklaces. The boys are into it too. Sue has opened her excellent new art rooms to everybody at the school, and many students are taking her up on her offer to help them make art for their own lives.

She says she couldn’t do any of this without our support, which makes me very happy and proud. We are doing a lot of good.

If you have any old, broken, or discarded jewelry,  please send it to Sue Silverstein, Bishop Gibbons High School, 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, N.Y., 12304. And thanks.

The English Department at Bishop Gibbons is looking for ESL (English learning books) for the refugee students coming into the school; many have language problems.

I found some online and in used bookstores, and Alys in Alaska may also be able to help us.

But if you have any used (or new) activity books that help with learning English and English vocabulary, please send them to Tricia White, English Department, Bishop Gibbons High School, 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, N.Y., 12304.

I’ve found some good teacher activity guides; we need help finding good ESL learning books for children. Alys of the Bright Lights Book Project in Alaska is a human pitbull regarding getting books, she’s on the case, and I suspect she will help us out. I know there are a lot of teachers out there who read the blog. If you have any of those activity books in your attic, please send them along.

If you have any ELS activity books for kids lying around, that would be great. I’m also looking; I’ve gotten to be a whiz as trawling through the lost quarters of the Internet—many thanks. I’ve sent some along already.

(Bulletin: 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Alys Culhane, the book angel from Bright Lights Books, just messaged me; she has three full boxes of activity books for learning English and was about to toss them out for lack of space. She is sending them directly to Tricia White at Bishop Gibbons.)

At 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) this coming Wednesday,  October 5th, I’ll be hosting our fourth Zoom Meeting, “Let’s Talk.” I consider it a booming success and one of the best things I’ve ever tried. We are only accepting a small number of people, and the meeting will not be recorded to keep trolls and nasties away from this very human project.

To get on, all you have to do is click on the hyperlink below. If you need it, I’ve also added the passcode and ID.

How to join my Zoom Meeting “Let’s Talk” (and listen):

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87822862552?pwd=V2U0SnNyejFJZlNNazZ1d3RLVUFSQT09

Meeting ID: 878 2286 2552
Passcode: 712821

This is a safe, informal exchange of ideas, stories, and life experiences between the people who read my blog and me. It isn’t all about me; it’s about all of us. And some amazing people have already shown up. If you wish to be admitted, sign up no later than 9:50 on Wednesday morning. I know it’s Yom Kippur, but I don’t observe the Jewish holidays.

I respect the people who do.

 

 

This week, I’ll be conducting my meditation and spiritual class at the Mansion Tuesday, and at the end of the week, Sue Silverstein with launch her annual Amazon Winter Relief Wish List, which I plan on supporting on the blog. I will also be working with Bishop Gibbons students on their writing.

This new Amazon Wish List will be a modest list to help children and families in the refugee community and Bishop Gibbons community who might need help with clothing, blankets, shoes, and boots for the winter. Many of the Bishop Gibbons students are in families with money; we want to help those who aren’t.

This is one of our most essential Wish Lists of the year, and this way, people can choose how they wish to help and what they can spend and be sure it is going where it is supposed to go.

Sue knows these kids and families well, what they need, and all the items purchased will automatically go to her for distribution.

Sue prepares the list, and for the past several years, it has been generously supported by the Army Of Good and anyone reading my blog. Sue is canvassing people this week to get a sense of what is needed and will put the list together according. I expect we’ll be linking to it by the end of the week.

The week ends on an important note; I’ll be getting an essential visit. My daughter Emma and her daughter Robin will visit the farm for the first time since the pandemic. And I shouldn’t forget to mention my Ukelele lesson, scheduled for Monday morning with musician Bob Warren, the co-owner of the wonderful French Crepes cart, “A Little Paris.” It can be a small world up here.

I haven’t spent time with either of them for years now. We have to get to know each other again, especially Robin.

Emma and I have stayed close.

One tradition in our family is support for the New York Yankees. Emma is a baseball editor in New York City, and Robin is now a big fan of Aaron Judge, the Yankee hitter who has surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record and is on track to pass the one set by Roger Maris.

I just bought Robin an Aaron Judge jersey, and we are going apple-picking and animal feeding; and we will also assemble a new robot I got for her together. I got her a neat bunch of books.

These two lead very different lives than I do, the Brooklyn culture is very different from upstate New York; I respect them and will do everything I can to make them comfortable.  And I will be patient.

Maria will be a big help; she gets along well with everybody.

Maria is anxious to show Robin the farm and has asked her to help feed the chickens and the donkeys.

I’ll also be getting a first look at the short story my creative writing student Killian is writing. I think it’s going to be special. Trish says it’s time I took on another student to mentor. I’m game.