"From our ashes springs the phoenix of celestial hope . . . " (p. 136) The Book of Tea

Yes, flowers, woods, mountains, and snow melt greater than it has been for more than 50 years so the water falls in Yosemite are spectacular. My family lived near here one summer when I was about 10. My brother closest in age to me is coming to visit and we plan to drive through the town. They had a peach cannery and we would take a wagon and get free peaches (the rejects). People here are quite open ,friendly and white. I've been making inquiries about the whiteness and don't yet have a satisfactory understanding of the absence of diversity. Evenings are quite cool and days have gotten to 100 but of course its a dry heat so much more bearable. Jazzie has many new friends and listens for the woman next door to come home from work as they have a routine of playing ball in the yard before dinner. There's a school across the street that reminds me I am here to write, not simply play. I've been off caffeine for two weeks and developing new strategies to get me engaged. These include meditating twice a day, keeping a journal and working toward a set number of hours of writing each day with the willingness for it to be good or bad. Working on completing several incomplete projects: an article started about 8 yrs ago with Hopi and Navajo students who have since become teachers and we write about how they define teacher professionalism within a context of indigenous sovereignty. Working on the textbook with Guy Senese called The Teacher's Conscience. Working on an article about the neoconservative agenda nationally and how it is being fostered by Booker and Christy juxtaposed the agenda at Central High School with Ras Baraka. Part of it will also be woven into the textbook, as will the other article, as we know the importance of including inspirational stories about powerful educators! I was asked to make my dissertation into a book when I completed it all those many years ago and I resisted. I've been re-reading it and searching out the people who were involved in the research to explore the possibility of adding more longitudinal information and turning it into a book. So far I have located two of the people on Facebook and we are back in communication. I am confident I can find at least six more and may take a trip to the Navajo reservation this fall. Several projects at once will keep me writing and fortunately they all feed into a central focus about radical democracy. Hope life for you is fabulous!