Back in my school days I sometimes wondered what my teachers did during their vacations. Be it the Christmas, Spring or Summer breaks. Sometimes a teacher might’ve shared about a warm weather trip a ball game or home project that they worked on but that was rare. So, here’s a rundown of what I was up to for my break from 3pm on 3/25 thru 4/3.
*I re-upped my swim Elmhurst Park District pool pass for this summer. We’re less than two months away from East End Pool opening and I can’t wait to see my ‘Summer Family’ again.
*I went to the huge and fun packed wedding reception of my pal Phil’s daughter Amanda. Lots of laughs, fantastic eats, drinks and love was in the air!
*I finally saw “The Batman” which I liked. Much darker than any other Batman film and as quick as the almost 3 hours went by, the producers could’ve easily knocked half an hour off this one.
*The NCAA Men’s basketball tournament was a great watch and I caught plenty of games and excitement.
*For the first time in decades, I skipped watching the Oscars live but yes, like everyone else in the world, I got caught up in the Will Smith/Chris Rock mess. Will, you screwed up big time and good luck getting your career back on track!
*On HBO I watched both episodes of the documentary “Phoenix Rising” which covers the story of actress Evan Rachel Wood and her complicated and dangerous relationship with shock rocker Marilyn Manson. I believe Ms. Wood and her claims 100%. Even if just half of what she presented were true, Marilyn Manson is a sick and twisted freak.
*Also on HBO, the latest edition of “On the Record with Bob Costas” brought out an in-depth interview with pitching ace Max Scherzer along with a funny and poignant visit with Bill Crystal. All this plus a good round table discussion on race in collegiate basketball and other current events issues in sports. Bob Costas remains a smart. insightful and on target interviewer.
*Netflix presented a good drama movie titled “Windfall.” Jason Segal plays a calm yet scary hostage taker. What takes place in the film was hard to predict and fun to see.
*Thanks to its Best Picture win at the Oscars, “CODA” finally made it to the local theaters (I don’t have Apple TV) and I loved this film. A touching and often times funny look at a young girl who is the only non-deaf person in her family. When I used to substitute teach, I did a few turns in hearing loss classes and this movie brought back fond memories of those days with some fine young students.
* I didn’t just watch TV all day. I saw a feature on and quickly ordered and read the new book “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” written by Mark Seal. This four hundred plus page book chronicles all the stories and details behind the writing and making of “The Godfather.” Real detailed stuff in this tome.
*Around the house I took care of some various chores. I switched out my glass front porch door window for the screen window. I also hit the hardware store to stock up on furnace filters and light bulbs along with household cleaning products.
*Two of my closets got purged of old ratty clothes and I straightened out my dresser drawers while dumping out more unworn junk.
*I also got in some spring cleaning of my house. Two months of neglect added up so I dusted, scrubbed, vacuumed and cleaned everything from top to bottom. Later this spring I’ll hire a maid service to give the house one of those semi-annual run throughs that make everything sparkle like my place was brand new.
*Finally, I met with a concrete contractor about some work that needs to be done on my front walk and stoop. His official estimate is fair and doable.
*Other than all this, I relaxed. It was a relief that for 10 days I was not on a specific clock to do things. I did stuff when I was ready to do them. (Save for the wedding reception, which was a blast)
Returning to school, we have just over 7 weeks left in the 4th grading period and then 20 days of summer school. Then it’s Summer Break time and there’s plenty to look forward to when that happens.
NEXT BLOG- Memories of the song “Chevy Van.”