time warp

I yelled at a man in the street yesterday.  That in and of itself is unusual, but what was really strange was my sudden Caribbean accent: “Yuh can see the light is RED?”  I shamed that male driver who nearly ran me down, and crossed the street with my own cheeks burning…raising my voice at men in the street was not part of my home training; generally I ignore whatever’s being said or done, or suck my teeth at most.  But I’ve been reading Marina Budhos’ The Professor of Light, and at times she perfectly captures the cadence of Caribbean speech—her Guyanese characters seem very familiar to me, and so I’m plodding on despite the absence of a discernible plot.  That’s how life is sometimes.  You just have to keep pressing forward whether you can see a destination or not.  A former student posted this great quote by Lewis Carroll on Facebook this morning: “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  You just have to be open to the possibilities…I head to Toronto in a couple of days, and am trying to prepare myself; going “home” often feels like falling between time…you sort of act like your present self, but you’re inevitably drawn into past roles and routines.  And you aren’t really allowed to put your own interests first b/c people are counting on you.  And there’s almost no alone time—which is the scariest part of all.  But it’s my cousin’s wedding, and I’m looking forward to seeing most of my gigantic extended family in one place at one time.  And I’m getting tested first thing Friday morning; we’re all participating in a study to figure out why dystonia (a movement disorder) seems to run in our family.  And I’m seeing my older sister for the first time in nearly two years…that should be interesting.  My mother’s coming along, so hopefully that will ensure big sis doesn’t burst into a screaming fit…

Emily just sent me this audio interview we conducted during the Hudson Children’s Book Festival last month.   I think I’m getting better at speaking off the cuff…