Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 56

Courtesy Laughs

Apparently, I have no sense of humor. Or timing. Fortunately, I do get courtesy laughs every once in a while. I am thankful for that.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching high school students. They want to learn. At least for the most part. Unfortunately for me, they also want to be entertained. It is unfortunate because I cannot tell a joke to save my life.

I am not sure how it all started, but I have not been able to tell a joke since I was a child. To this day I can either only tell the setup or t...

Just Quit

Anatoli Skurikhin: Worker at Kuzbass, 1933
This image is in the public domain.

Sometimes I just feel like quitting. I just feel like I need to put down the pen and stop writing. Right in the middle of the current project. Right in the middle of whatever I am writing. Right in the middle of the current sentence. The feeling usually goes away, but there are times when it looms.

During those times when I feel like quitting, I think about the proverbial miner.

This miner just knows he is going t...

A Reset Button

Sometimes life needs a reset button.

Maybe I am just feeling sorry for myself, but I need a reset right now. I want to start over. Right here in the middle of life. It is like I am midway through the toughest quest in a game and I just realized I made a wrong turn somewhere. So it is time to reset.

Of course, life is not like that. Real life, not the board game. In the board game, you can just take all the people out of the car and move the car back to the beginning. You can decide whether t...

I Aspire to Be Mediocre

One of my dear friends and faithful readers says that my moniker, MediocreMan, is really a misnomer. At best a stretch. He is convinced that even after all these years, I should continue to aspire to become mediocre some day.

I must admit that I agree with my unnamed friend, Marc. (Oops. Did I write that out loud. (I guess that phrase does not really work with the written word. (I wonder if you can use nested parentheses in a piece of prose?))) At any rate, Marc is right. I ought to aspire t...

I Do Not Want to Write

Even when you love your job, there are times when you just do not want to go. That is how I feel right now about writing.

I love to write. It is one of those things that defines me. My wife says that I am crazy to get up early just to write. And maybe she is right. Maybe I am crazy. But if I do not write, I am not right.

Even so, I do not feel like writing today. Which is why I am writing about not writing.

My writing is very personal. I write about myself, my family, my beliefs, and whatever...

How Can I Say, "Goodbye"?

I would like someone to tell me
How I can say, “Goodbye”
To the man who’s been my hero
My whole entire life
To the man who’s wiped my tears away
When things don’t go my way
To the man who’s been there for me
Every single day
To the man who’s shown me right from wrong
And how to shine God’s light
To the man who told me to turn a cheek
But always end the fight
To the man who showed me servanthood
And modeled Jesus’ love
To the man who’s shown me how to honor
The good Lord up abo...

Just a Few Regrets

Photo courtesy Margie Miyoshi

I wish that I had called more
Just to say, “Hello”
I wish that I had visited more
Though there were miles to go
I wish that I had been more
Of a devoted son
I wish that I had prayed more
That God’s will would be done

I wish that I could tell you
That no regrets have I
But if I said it, we both know
That it would be a lie
So instead I’ll do my best
To live my life like you
But I am sure I’ll still have regrets
Before my life is through

But you have been my witn...

Death Is Not Natural

After thinking about my own earthly father’s mortality, I have come to the conclusion that death is not natural.

We have been convinced through countless generations of living and dying that dying is just a natural part of life. I would contend that it is a lie. Death was never part of the plan. God told the original people to be fruitful and multiply. In the beginning, He never said anything about going back to being the dust of the earth. He just said to be fruitful.

Oh. And he told them n...

Tests, Tests, and More Tests

Dear Legislators and Policy Makers:

So called “New Matura” (original size 600 369 pixels)
by Marcin Otorowski licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Thank you for the wonderful job you are doing reforming education, especially the way you have placed high-stakes testing in its rightful place on our list of priorities.

I have been an educator for twenty years and in all that time, I have not come across anything that makes more sense than giving students more high-stakes tests. I am sure all the stakeh...

I Won!

Fantasy football is over. And I won!

I know that fantasy football does not mean anything in the big scheme of things. But this year, it does mean that I get bragging rights for a year. Not that I will brag. Much. After all, even though I won in a nail-biting finale (if watching statistics can have nail-biting moments), I was very lucky.

In reality, I ought to brag lots. That my team was third highest average scoring in the league. That I beat all the higher seeds in the tournament. That I ac...