May 11, 2017 LOST BOY

There are several reasons I love being a teacher--in addition to getting the summers off. What I love most is that I get to have fun--I get to act like a kid. I get to be GOOFY!!  Some days I sing--preferably operatic -- other times I dance--ever try the WHIRLING DERVISH dance--you might even find me STANDING on my head if I can get it to fit into the curriculum.  You really have to put yourself out there and be willing to make a FOOL  out of yourself to be effective and keep kids' attention these days. I don't mind at all, in fact I think it's fun.  I really DO enjoy being with my students. They are intelligent and funny--they've EVEN taught me a thing or two over the years--and that's really cool. Being with kids keeps me young TOO--at least in spirit.  That's one of the things I love about running too. I get to be a kid when I'm running. Kids run around all the time right--it's the nature of being a kid. I would look like a nut if I did that unless I made it look like exercise right? So, I get to  goof around, have a few good laughs--much like a kid--under the guise of exercise. I even get to play in the rain sometimes--a dream come true for anyone under the age of 10!  It really is fun to be out in the rain--STOMP through puddles--and get DRENCHED to the bone. Seriously. This grown-up thing is SO overrated. Not sure Philomena Lee had any fun in life. It was actually a very sad, difficult life as documented in Martin Sixsmith's touching account of a mother and her 50 year search for her son in The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.

Imagine living in Ireland in  1952--CATHOLIC--pregnant and unwed. This was Philomena's reality. Because she was a "fallen woman",  She was sent to a convent in Tipperary to be looked after by the nuns. While at the convent, Philomena gave birth to a son and actually took care of him until he was 3 years old. At this point, the nuns sold her child to America for adoption--a practice that was common during this time period as thousands of children came to America this way. Philomena kept her secret for 50 years before she began openly searching for her son. Meanwhile, Michael Hess, her son, was living in Washington D. C. He was  a top lawyer for the Bush administration and an important member of the Republican party. He also had a secret that threatened to end his career--he was gay. Hess had been searching for his mother for years to no avail.  After being diagnosed with AIDS, Hess decided to make one last effort to find his mother. He traveled back to Ireland, to the convent in Tipperary hoping to find leads that would reunite him with  his mother. Find out if mother and son ever see each other again, when you read this riveting, true story. I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. It's a story I will never forget and unfortunately another black spot on the Catholic Church. It's about 450 pages or a 6 mile run that is worth every minute. Guaranteed.