Rather than pictures this week, I have fragmented thoughts

All of the young surfers are buzzing this morning at Laguna over the shark attack that occurred on the central coast this weekend. One young man proclaimed, "I'm going to get a pet shark and train it not to eat people, then take it out to Trestles so that I can scare everyone else away." His friend guffawed, but this particular friend is in a shiny, spandex police uniform with thigh-high shorts. Halloween or not, high school students (boys, namely) are weird. I feel justified in holding this conviction even seven years ago, for I doubt that maturity has slipped even further since then.

People who are afraid of germs and sickness have a particularly uneasy disposition.

In ballet on Thursday I was never more aware of the insecurity that women hold tightly for their entire lives, and how this eats a hole so deeply into their identity. I've taken ballet as a child, teenager, college student, and now as an adult; this is by far the most difficult group because the element of fun is, for the majority of these women, completely absent! I talked to a few whose stern faces and twitching glance into one of the mirrored side-walls every few seconds made friendly conversation impossible. They dance religiously, competitively, and compulsively, with an intolerance of their imperfection, even down to an extra ounce on their thighs.

"Dress was the one unfailing talisman and charm used for keeping all things in their places." I appreciate this quote from A Tale of Two Cities, though I think that the emphasis on class has mellowed somewhat, but dress as an indication of identity is certainly still apparent. I remember reading a student essay two years ago that talked about one young man's decision, after his brother's death, to abandon the gang that he belonged to. He began the transformation by putting his entire wardrobe in a garbage bag, taking it to Goodwill, and going to the mall for "clothes that fit," rather than the baggy, branded articles that he had previously worn. For him this was more significant than changing the friends who he associated with.

I write quotes on my white board, and students laugh at them. I guess I'm that teacher. For some reason I still remember a few from my teacher's classrooms such as, "There is no I in team." Here is the one that I have written: "Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." -Samuel Johnson.