The following excerpt has been taken from Roger Ebert's website.
Q. I couldn't let Marlon Brando's passing go by without telling this story. Over 20 years ago when I was just starting out as a teacher in Chicago, I had a student who loved Brando. As a writing assignment, I'd promised to find addresses for the stars the kids liked, so they could write to them and see who answered.
The kid was overjoyed. She told Brando they shared a birthday, and that she wanted to become a writer, but couldn't convince her parents she had the goods. The Brando fan received a hand-written letter -- one of the sweetest, most encouraging letters a teen could ever receive -- about dreams and what really matters in life. And a year later, she received, on her birthday, a hand-signed card, asking her if she was still writing, and for a sample of something she'd written. I've never forgotten it. Brando was and will always be one of my idols, too, and that's how I'll remember him: As I saw him in the eyes of that teenage girl, so many years ago.
Cynthia Dagnal Myron,Tucson, Ariz.
A. One of the reasons Brando was a great star was that he never followed the form book, but lived his life spontaneously, personally and sincerely.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Friday, July 16, 2004
The Great Divorce
The Prince. And the King. Separated. The Golden Child stays in Los Angeles with the prospect of having a franchise built around him. The Big Aristotle looks to revitalize his already cemented status as one of the game's most dominant players in his return to South Beach.
They were the dynamic duo. Batman and Superman. The greatest 1-2 punch the league had ever seen. But that's history.
The divorce was brought about by greed (i.e. the Diesel's unreasonable pay-me-the-maximum-extension-on-my-contract demand), unyielding egos (e.g. Bryant refusing to defer to O'neal in game 4 of the Finals in which Shaq ate the Pistons alive), and a tunnel-visioned owner named Buss who decided to hold on to Kobe no matter the cost.
There was also a conflict of personalities. Kobe disdained Shaq because of his childish need for attention. Shaq (and the rest of the team) despised Kobe for being selfish and unsocial.
I'm not a big fan of either Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'neal. But I acknowledge their supreme status as the top two players in the NBA.
Too bad they're not together anymore. The curtain has fallen on their brief dynasty.
They were the dynamic duo. Batman and Superman. The greatest 1-2 punch the league had ever seen. But that's history.
The divorce was brought about by greed (i.e. the Diesel's unreasonable pay-me-the-maximum-extension-on-my-contract demand), unyielding egos (e.g. Bryant refusing to defer to O'neal in game 4 of the Finals in which Shaq ate the Pistons alive), and a tunnel-visioned owner named Buss who decided to hold on to Kobe no matter the cost.
There was also a conflict of personalities. Kobe disdained Shaq because of his childish need for attention. Shaq (and the rest of the team) despised Kobe for being selfish and unsocial.
I'm not a big fan of either Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'neal. But I acknowledge their supreme status as the top two players in the NBA.
Too bad they're not together anymore. The curtain has fallen on their brief dynasty.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Wave Rebel
I caught my first wave today (since buying my bodyboard months ago) at Hermosa Beach. What a rush.
I paddled out into the ocean. And a moment later I saw a good-sized wave beginning to swell. I turned my board around and started kicking. Hard. The wave took me before I knew what was happening. I rode it out to the shore.
Last weekend I went bodyboarding and didn't catch a single wave. It was incredibly disappointing. But redemption came today.
I'm a beginner, but I think I made a huge leap. On May 6th, 2004 I wrote this in my blog:
"The other day, I was watching Step Into Liquid and I remember a guy in the film said, 'once you catch your first wave, that's it. You're in. You've caught the surfing bug. It's like the mafia. You can't get out.'"
I paddled out into the ocean. And a moment later I saw a good-sized wave beginning to swell. I turned my board around and started kicking. Hard. The wave took me before I knew what was happening. I rode it out to the shore.
Last weekend I went bodyboarding and didn't catch a single wave. It was incredibly disappointing. But redemption came today.
I'm a beginner, but I think I made a huge leap. On May 6th, 2004 I wrote this in my blog:
"The other day, I was watching Step Into Liquid and I remember a guy in the film said, 'once you catch your first wave, that's it. You're in. You've caught the surfing bug. It's like the mafia. You can't get out.'"
Monday, July 05, 2004
Former Students
The 10th graders I taught at La Quinta have recently graduated and many are probably moving on to 4-year universities. Some of my Pedro students will be seniors this upcoming fall.
Some of these kids did an admirable thing by taking their work seriously. And I made sure to validate them and give them from-the-gut feedback. But there's more to it than that. Kids don't forget those who had their best interests in mind.
I'm reminded of an old Twilight Zone episode in which an aging English teacher is on the verge of committing suicide because he feels his life has been meaningless. In a moment of despair, he reads an inscription on a monument in front of his school. It reads (to paraphrase) "don't consider yourself successful unless you've won at least one victory for mankind." Later on, he's in his classroom with a revolver in his hand and some of his former students, all of whom have died--fighting in World War II or what not--appear before him at their desks. One by one, each of them tells this teacher how much he meant to them. He's moved. And, subsequently, has a new outlook on life.
I think I'm like this English teacher. I have a deep need to be validated. I have to know that my life has made some type of difference.
Some of these kids did an admirable thing by taking their work seriously. And I made sure to validate them and give them from-the-gut feedback. But there's more to it than that. Kids don't forget those who had their best interests in mind.
I'm reminded of an old Twilight Zone episode in which an aging English teacher is on the verge of committing suicide because he feels his life has been meaningless. In a moment of despair, he reads an inscription on a monument in front of his school. It reads (to paraphrase) "don't consider yourself successful unless you've won at least one victory for mankind." Later on, he's in his classroom with a revolver in his hand and some of his former students, all of whom have died--fighting in World War II or what not--appear before him at their desks. One by one, each of them tells this teacher how much he meant to them. He's moved. And, subsequently, has a new outlook on life.
I think I'm like this English teacher. I have a deep need to be validated. I have to know that my life has made some type of difference.
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