Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 72

Wordless Wednesday

 


Barred Island, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

November Events

 


Gunn Brook, Greenfield, Massachusetts. Photo by my husband, John


Friday, November 4, School visit, Tremont School, Bass Harbor, Maine.

Tuesday, November 8, Library visit, Jackson Library, Tenants Harbor, Maine.

Tuesday, November 15, School visit, Rye Middle School, Rye, New York.

Wednesday, November 16, School visit, H C Crittenden Middle School, Armonk, New York.
 
Monday, November 21, School visit, Whisconier Middle School, Brookfield, Connecticut.

Happy Halloween!

 

Have a great night!

Surprise!

Fryeburg, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

This photo was taken a few years ago, but it certainly captures the strange contrast of snow in October.  It's so surprising to have snow this early! 

Milo and Me

[image error]
Androscoggin River and Cabot Mill, Brunswick, Maine

I managed to catch a cold somewhere on my travels.  But if I had to come down with one, at least this was a good time!  My next school visit isn't until Friday. So Milo and I are having a quiet couch day, anticipating the snow in our forecast tonight and early tomorrow. 

Speaking of Milo, I did an interview with author Bobbie Pyron (A Dog's Way Home)  for her Fido and Friends in Five blog, where she interviews authors about their dogs.  She asked me to send some photos of Milo to go with my interview. It was sweet to look back through photos of him when he first came to us.

[image error]    Here's a blog entry from that summer, soon after he joined our family in July 2007: Seven things I had forgotten about puppies.

Five Things on A Friday--Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

1.  I've done lots of school visits, so it's unusual to get a question I've never been asked before.  But at Liberty Park Middle School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, one of the eighth graders asked me, "What college football team do you cheer for?"  

 

Alabama and Auburn Universities have a huge rivalry. I told that student that college hockey is bigger in Maine than college football, but their librarian and PTO had given me these two candy bars.

"Which one do you think I should eat first?" I asked, and the gym exploded with opinions! 

2.  This was the view outside my hotel. 

[image error]  Yes, that is a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Alabama!

According to the "Birmingham Attractions" website: This is the largest replica of the Statue of Liberty, standing 31 feet and weighing 10 tons.  It was cast in the same foundry in France that the original Statue of Liberty was cast in.

3.  I've never been to a place where so many strangers talked to me--the ladies sitting near me in the airport, other guests at the hotel, people on the streets in Birmingham.  They would just smile and start a conversation. It was really lovely. And I could listen to their accents all day!  When I told the ladies at the airport where I was from, they startled and said, "MAY-in?! Good Lord!" 

4.  After my school visit, I had some time before my flight home. Jean kindly took me out to lunch and then she gave me a quick tour of the area.  I saw beautiful hills and homes and trees. . . .and my first Piggly-Wiggly!



5.  Jean asked me if I'd like to see the 16th Street Baptist Church.  It brought a lump to my throat.



I have another school visit in Alabama in February. I'm already looking forward to going back.

Sweet Home Alabama

Where the skies are so blue!  And yes, they were blue--I had beautiful weather for my trip to Alabama. 

It's a rainy day in Maine today (and we might even get a dusting of snow tonight), so it's good that I brought some Alabama warmth and sunshine home inside me.  This was my first trip to Alabama, and it couldn't have been nicer. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and kind.  

[image error]

All the students at Liberty Park Middle School had read one of my novels. The 6th and 7th graders read Rules and the 8th grade read Touch Blue.  So when I arrived at my hotel, I had boxes of books to sign!

  Some of the kids left messages for me. Some of the messages were funny and some touched me.

 

That evening, the school held a dinner for the community and for me.  It was lovely!  I got to see my friends Carol and Claudia, who had read Rules and Touch Blue as beginning manuscripts years ago. Librarians came from neighboring schools. And lots of families were there.  The evening started with the school jazz band serenading us during supper, and then I spoke.

  The event was catered by Miss Myra's Bar-B-Q, a great local restaurant!  And the decorations on the tables included live goldfish that were given away to the kids (if they were able to talk their parent into it!) at the end of the evening.



I met so many wonderful people, but one mom really touched my heart.  She had two children with her: a daughter who wants to be a writer and a younger daughter who reminded me a little of Jason from Rules. The mom told me her older daughter wanted badly to come and if the younger one started making noises, she'd take her out in the hallway.

I've been in that heart-wrenching position. As a mom, it's brutal to feel torn between the needs of your children--especially when one child has special needs which make an event hard for them, but the sibling already has to be so understanding so often.  When I was in those moments, it felt like the best I could possibly do was a C+ job for each child--and no mom ever wants to feel that way.

So the apologetic look on her face wrung my heart. Most people probably don't know how much bravery that takes to approach a stranger and explain.  But I know. 

"Do whatever feels right to you. But please don't take her out for ME," I said. "I have a microphone. I can talk loud, and I'm not easily distracted. Believe me, if there's anyone who understands, it's me."

[image error]
Thank you to Claudia for this photo!

I was so proud of her and of everyone there. Because the truth is that everyone has to give a little if we're truly inclusive. It's easy to say we're inclusive and to sing "All God's Children Got a Place in the Choir."  But sometimes we have to do more than say it and sing it.  We have to show it. 

It was a great evening.  Thank you so much to Jean Deal, the librarian at Liberty Park, and to the PTO that sponsored my visit, and to every one of the 150 people who came!  It was a huge honor to meet y'all.   :-)

And it was only the beginning.  

Sweet Home, Alabama.

Where the skies are so blue!  And yes, they were blue--I had beautiful weather for my trip to Alabama. 

It's a rainy day in Maine today (and we might even get a dusting of snow tonight), so it's good that I brought some Alabama warmth and sunshine home inside me.  This was my first trip to Alabama, and it couldn't have been nicer. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and kind.  

[image error]

All the students at Liberty Park Middle School had read one of my novels. The 6th and 7th graders read Rules and the 8th grade read Touch Blue.  So when I arrived at my hotel, I had boxes of books to sign!

  Some of the kids left messages for me. Some of the messages were funny and some touched me.

 

That evening, the school held a dinner for the community and for me.  It was lovely!  I got to see my friends Carol and Claudia, who had read Rules and Touch Blue as beginning manuscripts years ago. Librarians came from neighboring schools. And lots of families were there.  The evening started with the school jazz band serenading us during supper, and then I spoke.

  The event was catered by Miss Myra's Bar-B-Q, a great local restaurant!  And the decorations on the tables included live goldfish that were given away to the kids (if they were able to talk their parent into it!) at the end of the evening.



I met so many wonderful people, but one mom really touched my heart.  She had two children with her: a daughter who wants to be a writer and a younger daughter who reminded me a little of Jason from Rules. The mom told me her older daughter wanted badly to come and if the younger one started making noises, she'd take her out in the hallway.

I've been in that heart-wrenching position. As a mom, it's brutal to feel torn between the needs of your children--especially when one child has special needs which make an event hard for them, but the sibling has to be understanding about that so often.  When I was in those moments, it felt like the best I could possibly do was a C+ job for each child--and no mom ever wants to feel that way.

So the apologetic look on her face wrung my heart.

"Do whatever feels right to you. But please don't take her out for ME," I said. "I have a microphone. I can talk loud, and I'm not easily distracted. Believe me, if there's anyone who understands, it's me."

[image error]
Thank you to Claudia for this photo!

It was a great evening.  Thank you so much to Jean Deal, the librarian at Liberty Park, and to the PTO that sponsored my visit, and to every one of the 150 people who came!  It was a huge honor to meet y'all.   :-)

And it was only the beginning. :-) 

Wordless Wednesday

16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama

Off to Alabama!

[image error]
Sabattus River, Llsbon, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

I'm winding down my 2011 school visits. Tomorrow I leave for Vestavia Hills, Alabama. 

From the town's website:  

In the foothills of the Appalachian Chain, the City of Vestavia Hills is charmingly situated atop Shades Mountain. From this unique vantage point, Vestavia Hills overlooks beautiful Shades Valley to the north and has a breathtaking vista of the remaining Appalachian foothills to the south.

Doesn't that sound pretty?!  At the Liberty Park Middle School, the 6th and 7th graders read Rules and the 8th graders read Touch Blue.  I'm so looking forward to meeting them all. 

And I'm excited to see Alabama for the first time. Every time Sweet Home, Alabama comes on the radio, I say, "Soon!"