How trigger happy have we become?
Back when I was a kid, when we had to ride grumpy dinosaurs to school through molten lava flows in the winter we never had “pre-emptive strike” school cancellations! For the second time this year Akron and St. Sebastian cancelled school because we THOUGHT there was going to be a lot of snow and for the second time there wasn’t. Lucky kids. (To be fair we are still expecting about a foot today.)
A
few Sundays ago we were having a particularly wintery weekend. Now, to understand the rest of this story you need to know that we have a church mouse named Junior that likes to play little games now and then. Just down the street there is a synagogue that supposedly has a synagogue mouse named Yoseph. Whether this is fact or if Junior was just playing a joke I do not know, but Yoseph sent Junior this memo concerning Sunday mornings (our Jewish friends worship on Saturdays) that was stuffed into the bulletins of our choir.The Nine O’clock Mass
The snow was blowing out of doors,
The snow was piled high.
And I could see pedestrians
As they were passing by.
The faces of my Catholic friends
Came dimly through the glass,
As they trudged the snowy streets
To worship at their Mass.
I watched awhile, then went back to bed.
And cuddled safe and sound.
I watched as they braved the icy blasts,
On their sacred duty bound.
I envy their strength of heart;
Their faith that they renew,
But on this icy-cold Sunday morn,
I’m glad to be a Jew.
Keep warm,
Yoseph
Your Jewish cousin
7 comments:
Those of us that teach in schools on the east side of Cleveland, don't get snow days unless we are literally buried in the stuff!!!
So I will have my cup of coffee and listen to the students complain about "why are we here today?" Don't have an answer to that one. Always seems brilliant to me to put teenagers on the road on days like today!!!!
Both of my girls' schools sent out cancellation calls/emails before the first snowflake even fell last night. Now it did snow enough here to warrant the cancellation of school, but it really irks me when they cancel school before it even snows.
I expect the need to cancel-ahead is due to the major changes in childcare and transportation plans. When I was a kid, nearly all kids either walked or took the bus; your mom stayed home until you were old enough to stay home alone. With those arrangements, you can cancel, delay and send-home at the last minute: Everything you need is on standby already: mothers, sidewalks, bus drivers.
Today, not so at all. Back-up childcare must be arranged, back-up transportation to go with. Hard to do on hour-by-hour notice.
Jen <-- fond memories of listening to the radio from 7AM on, hoping for another of hour delay, and another, and finally, the whole day off!
oh my god--i'm here to report that this "little church mouse" really gets around---i swear to you i saw him in Stow at the church of new hope--Busted--you little church hopper--however. i have to come completely clean, and tell you his motives were completely pure---he was disguised as a Master singer---no he wasn't there to be "saved", rather he was there to just sing his little heart out AND to once againg bring joy to the hearts of others---monday night the little mouse had another singer present a stunning gift to a young asian woman in the soprano section--it was clear she was deeply touched---i don't know her story, but her english is alittle broken--i can only speculate that her little heart might reveal more of the same---but thanks to St. Sebastian's little church mouse--this possibly broken heart was alittle less broken and a glimmer of GOD's light shown on us all---n.
p.s. thanks little church mouse, you make the world a better place---p.s.s. now, if you could just give me some spelling lessons so i could at least spell you name!!!
Wow, the Church has mysteries I wasn't even aware of! And I hope Junior will write back and say, "Yoseph, I'm wounded! We are more than cousins, nu?"
Here in the usual Snowpocalypse region of New England, snow- (/sleet/hail/thunder/iceberg/spring-thaw flood) days are built into the school calendar. Some years have seen us go well past the summer vacation's guestimated start of June 19 or so in makeup days, but usually it works out just about right.
Akron Public held out and did have school today. My kids (St. Sebas) were happy, my wife (APS teacher) not so much.
I love the little mice who scurry about on top of and around the wall clock in the St. Sebastian choir loft. R.
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