Lakers in Guatemala

Dear Parents and students,
Last Saturday the local newspaper published an article about tourism in Guatemala. The newspaper used a picture of four lakers walking from the Central Park to the bank or MacDonald
http://www.elquetzalteco.com.gt/24.07.2010/?q=locales/disponen_q4_millones_para_impulsar_turismo
It was a wonderful experience to have your children here in Xelaju. They got 100+ and they deserve five pounds of ICE CREAM.
GO Lakers.
Julio E. Batres

Education importance

August is now the month of the primary election. This is important always but especially when the Governor position is at stake.

What is the importance of education to the candidates. Perhaps more important - how important is education to the people of Minnesota.

The vast majority of the population wont to a free public school. In most cases is because that Is what our families could afford. We went to learn about this country and the heritage of a free people. We went to learn the language and how to figure out numbest. We went to be better informed through reading and thinking.

Where is pre-k through college education in the matters of importance for our candidates. You decide the party or non-party, but ask the questions. Will we be a better state, be a better people if that person is elected. Free public education must return as the number one priority of it's people for this state.

At the moment it would appear that none - regardless of party or independent have clearly addressed the needs of the future of education in Minnesota. They have not done so because w. An informed, educated populace have not asked the question nor placed it before the politicians.

We frequently get what we deserve.

Optional readings-thoughts and possibilities

Moving through July rapidly. No doubt many have exhausted the reading list at this point and looking for some other options. I would like to offer a few. I encourage others to add to the list.

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
A true story with fictional additions about a serial killer and the building of the World's Exhibition in Chicago. A story of mystery and marvel.
A murder mystery and a story of the creation of the Ferris Wheel. Good read and definitely worth the time.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
A non fiction that you want to believe is fiction about the aftermath in New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane. At points a feel good read and many times sad and shameful. This is not a book about a faraway country but here in our country in purr time.

Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead
Civil war novel about a boy's search for his father. In some ways a "war is hell" book and others of a boy coming of age and times of the bad and good of people. Violence is a part of it because of what is the subject matter.

Happy reading. May your visits to the library create dreams.

Men, Mission and Machines -- Five Skies a Novel

Five Skies by Ron Carlson is a story about work, personal worth and heart break. Three men on a useless construction project to satisfy a reality TV show try to resolve their lives and get back to the next thing.

Carlson's fame is of a short story rider. Many of his chapters in this book could easily be a complete short story with some minor modifications. He loves the mountains and the skies and so does his characters.

The story moves along well. The majority of the writing is about the lives, thoughts and hurts of three men -- One older, one in the middle and the young one. It is a man's story of power tools and big machinery and few words. It is written from the male point of view.

Interesting to have read After River (female point of view) and then Five Skies (male point of view). Could be an interesting paper just from those two books (both written in last couple years). Yes, one could find the differences but one could also find how alike the sexes are in pain and heart break and how each deals with it.

The other interesting paper could be considering a female (or male) author writing fiction trying to "feel" the other sex. As a male is it possible to completing understand being a mother? As a female is it possible to feel that sense of responsibility society has dumped on the male role? In both books the main characters are of the same sex as the author but there other characters who have a role in the story.

Good summer read - a bit on the depressing side but not horrible. The good guys win the long run and life moves through its struggles and then moves to the next thing.

Have fun and visit a library or museum today.

School Supplies

One of the questions from many new families is about school supplies for high school. Well, the simple response is - none.

But that really is not the complete answer. Every course will have its own requirements for class work and turn-in material. Some may have journals in spiral notebooks or composition books. Others may requirements for ink or may accept computer emails and attachments. Math classes have their own equipment requirements.

Improved technology continues to be an interesting problem. Notebooks and computers can do most of the duties needed for class and normally even more. The best suggestion is to talk with the teacher with what is allowed in the class and particularly during tests. This is an area of challenge for all of us.

Look for the sales. Very quickly, retail stores are going to attempt to attract your back-to-school dollars. Go for the sales. If you start early you can pick up the various notebooks, pens and papers as they are on sale at the different stores.

There are lots of goodies for lockers. New students may want to talk with older students about what is the most necessary. The student may want to wait until the first few days to check out what is really needed. Some of those that appear the "coolest" may not have any function except to get in the road.

Back to school shopping can be fun.

Don't forget to use your red Target card. Southwest does receive a percentage rebate on all your purchases - everything, not just school supplies. Office Depot also provides a rebate to Southwest. School codes are available at the point of sale. At Office Depot you have to declare your school and wish to credit the school at the cash register.

Have fun. Shop early. Take advantage of the sales.

For the Civil War reader

No Certain Rest: a Novel by Jim Lehrer is a modern day adventure story about the Civil Was and very specifically about the battle at Antietam. Jim Lehrer in the host of PBS Newshour and has written several books.

Set in the present day, two history relic hunters field the skeletal remains of what appears to be a Union Officer. And the mystery begins. It is a human story about dedication, determination and "the hunt." The main character is a fictitious archaeologist from the National Park Service out of Washington D.C. The modern day characters and the specific story is the creative work of Lehrer. The Civil War battle for Antietam (the bloodiest battle of America) and the battle for what is now known as Burnside Bridge are factual.

The book traces the events of the battle and tries to discover the mystery of the remains. A good back stage look at the world of forensic science and people trying to do a good job. It honors the memories of men who fought there and tries to provide some understanding of how wars are fought by ordinary people.

Good adventure story - lots of opportunity for discussions about the consequences of decisions and should we really "correct" history. If you like a good mystery - but not the scary in your face kind - or you like the Civil War books - you should enjoy this one. A good summer read.

Don't forget we are in the Middle of July, get those readings done. And have some summer fun.

Tragic family story & Mother Daughter book

After River is the first book by author Donna Milner. The book is set is Canada and is necessary for some of the plot but the story could have been anywhere. It is the late sixty's. There is Vietnam, the death of both of the Kennedy's and Civil Rights.

The book is not about those historical events but about that time which was about all those events.

It is a book about family and secrets. It is the growing up of a daughter in a loving and kind farm family. The book needed a simple setting for all the complications that arrived.

I guess we will continue to see more and more books using the 60's as the backdrop. First it was an interesting and important point in our history, second it the time of our grandparents and the youth of our parents. In many cases it was at that point that many young people stepped outside the family traditions and went to college or moved to other parts of the country. America became mobile.

The book Help is about a young writer returning home trying to find herself among the stories and her childhood. After River is about a young writer returning home trying to find forgiveness and finds truth.

A great summer read and study in characters. The book could generate lots of discussion and would be a natural for a book club or class assignment. Strong female characters and I think women can identify with both Mother and Daughter. Children, babies, family, life choices, what if's are all part of the plot and the discoveries. Good book, several twist along the way.

More than one trumps common sense.

The morning paper announced another tragedy of youth being killed. What a sad stay of affairs when one almost says that at least it was not another gun related murder. The death of a young person is sad regardless of the cause. Preventable deaths produce the tragedy. Car accidents would fall in that category of preventable.

Dave Barry is my favorite humorous columnist. He wrote once and I will not even try to quote. Your teenage boy by himself is a reasonable, responsible, generally bright young man. Bur if you have two teenage boys together you need to add their mental powers divide by two and cut that in half. If you add a third then it is reduce by another half and so on instill you get the brain power of your ordinary dog who normally still maintains his/her survival responses which is more than you say for a pack of teenage boys.

High schoolers and frequently middle school age teens do spend more unstructured time during the summer. 90% of the time that is great and part of growing up and enjoying being young. But we still need to caution our children about too much goofy around and making unsafe choices. They get tired of hearing it and you get tried of saying. But it would be better to continue to be annoying then to say it one too few times.

The Space Between Us

Human tragedy is not unique to one culture or country. People suffer from poverty and the trials of living. The human condition is color blind -- the concern for brown or white or black or yellow is not important for love, hate, remorse, regret, joy, hope and despair.

Thrity Umrigar creates a universal world in the India setting of her novel The Space Between Us. It is a mixture of English, Hindu, Christian, Indian and just human. Two women (yes, I found my female author) live within blocks on one another and yet caste gulfs apart. One is of money and one is of poverty and misfortunes. Bhima is the domestic servant of Serabai. Even though separated by custom and ritual, they are bound by suffering and loss of love.

The two daughters, Dinaz from Serabai and Maya of Bhima are joined in the plight of their mothers although each mother makes an attempt to rescue the other's daughter. Several generations and years of tradition and history come together to yell loudly that we bleed and suffer and cry in the same manner.

Even though the setting is Bombay, India, it could have been any place and in any country. mothers, daughters, husbands, wives, children and dreams. Umrigan could have read Help in it's American story of servant and employer. Birth and Death are border less and are not confined to one culture or race.

The Space Between Us is a classic tragedy. The story is rich is India custom and tradition yet timeless and anywhere. The stories moves well through the eyes mainly of Bhima. About half the way through there is a growing suspension about the mystery and the end maybe bit too predictable. But it is a powerful story of trust and love and loyalty and friendship and of people.

The love of a mother is without comparison. It is something males will never fulling understand in my opinion. The author says that a dozen times in the book. It is a sad book. But the question is what are we going to do? What would we have done?

Good summer read. Good female author with other best sellers to her credit.

Detective story of sorts

More summer reading and great time to mix it up. Just finished The Camel Club by David Baldacci. According to the write up this is the first of four in the Camel Group group. Baldacci writes about government and spies and Washington DC. I suppose I was influenced by the recent news storied of Russian spies in our neighborhoods and then the trade. Reminded me of my youth. Haven't seen that kind of drama since the Wall went down.

Murder and mayhem are not my favorites. But once is a while need to take the jump and see what's selling in the market place. The basic story is about kidnapping the President. The subplots are about getting old and remembering past lives with secrets and mystery. The story moves along with good descriptions of DC landmarks. Being a commercial best seller I was surprised at the lack of strings of profanity and human lust. A couple romantic interests but private and off stage.

The book made use of the current Middle Eastern stereotypes and tried to point out why these were not true or at least the history of their origins. This is not the book to read to learn the inter workings of democracy but was an interesting Secret Services book. It was a decent summer read and would suggest wandering through his list of 17 books for something of fun and interest.

What are some the titles you have enjoyed this summer?

Here is a list of festivals this weekend. Just an example of the diverse and interesting things happening across state that brings real life into the heritage and tra



Winthrop Farm City Fun Fest

Winthrop, Minnesota, 55396

July 9th to 11th
Winthrop Farm City Fun Fest

The Farm City Fun Fest will start with Friday’s farmer’s market and music by Blurred Vision. The beer garden opens at 4pm,
and an evening meal of pork chops. Saturday’s events will take place in Winthrop City Park and will include a rock climbing
wall, a softball tournament, a National Guard obstacle course, T-ball and kickball tournaments and kids games. The day will
end with a street dance (until midnight). A lot of these activities will continue on the Sunday, with the addition of the Great
Parade, Wilhelmina and Thisnelda in the Park and the Larry Mages Band.


Prairie Pioneer Days

Morris, Minnesota, 56267

July 10th and 11th
Prairie Pioneer Days

Events start with Friday’s book sale at the public library, which is followed by a community supper and the finals of a Kiwanis
talent show. Saturday allows competitors to try their hand at a 2, 5 or 10K walk or run and a dog show. The Children’s
Olympics takes place while the book sale continues. The afternoon’s Stevens County Museum Agricultural Exhibit is entitled
‘Reaping What We Sow.’ A number of other events are concluded with the Eagles Club Fireworks, and weekends numerous
activities can be seen on http://www.morrismnchamber.org/archives/1877.

Phelps Mill Festival

Underwood, Minnesota, 56586

July 10th and 11th
Phelps Mill Festival

The Phelps Mill Festival allows artists and artisans in a display their works. In addition to it being set in the Phelps Mill Park is
the possibility of there being a number of guest performers appearing on stage and around the grounds. The American and
ethnic foods that are served at the festival will compliment the festive atmosphere. Previous years have shown that around 130
artists from across the United States can be predicted to arrive, and that the visitors are likely to be around 20,000. The
schedule page will allow you to see this year’s events.

Check out weekend

Are you part of the stay at home crowd? Well, check the various festivals around the area. Great way to see other parts of the state and learn local history. Almost every city and village has a weekend festival. Most of them have some reference to heritage, culture or history. The are Nordic Days and German Fests and other local color events. Most come with an arts and craft fair. Many have carnivals and rides and tours of the area.

What a great to learn about people and the history of the state. This a hard working area with rich heritage and marvelous stories of survival. Towns that traveled, invention of mass bus transportation, and wonderful and sad stories of Native Americans. The stories of immigration and freedom and struggle against the elements are all right here.

Check out a village festival and make history come alive.

Where did you come from?

Immigration is a hot political topic. Maybe that is a bit odd. Unless I am incorrect - which does happen from time to time - there are very few of us with our family roots here in America. Thus, many of us are some number generation immigrant.

Leaving thought for a moment. I would suggest that many of us are not complete natives of this place. Our grandparents or great-grandparents came to some place, our family moved around and then landed here. Or another possibility is off to college we went, met the thrill of our heart and moved to the someplace of one of them. Then there is the migration for work. Bottom line we are not natives so that makes us immigrants.

The Latehomecome is about a.specific immigration of many Hmong families to the United States and the Minnesota. What is it like to be different? To be in a place that is not familiar? What is it like to be teased because we look, talk, act different? All of that is explored in the book. But the answer of how to react is left to your reflections.

Great book. Great summer read. She is going go talk about writing and h book Aug 4 - see earlier post.

Get reading time moves on and the opportunities wait.

The Stories of Your Families

What are the stories you want your children to tell?

The Latehomecomer is the story of a family the individuals in that family and the author. Some are her memories. Some are stories told to her by her family. Some are the traditional stories of culture and heritage. Some might have been true. Some might have been the way we want to remember them. This a good book and it reminds us that we were all immigrants at one time.

When you come together as a family do you not spend a good deal of time relating those past events or sharing secrets of what happened when. When friends gather do you not share memories that you would like to believe, the stories many times are more fun than the facts of the moment ten years ago or so. In the stories there are foundations and moments of real events. The years edit and add and thankfully subtract.

What are the stories your children will tell about today and yesterday?

The Latehomecomer

The Latehomecomer is by Kao Kalia Yang. The book is available at book shops and the library. The book is available at amazon is new and used conditions but is not digital.

Kao Kalia Yang will be at the Magers & Quinn Booksellers on August 4 th at 7:30 pm. The shop is located at 3038 Hennipen Ave. South. She is there to talked about the book, being an author and her experiences. Would be fun to read the book and meet her and listen to her own words of the experiences.

The book is a more serious read than the other books on the 10th grade summer reading list. Three Cups of Tea might a close second but this is different. Yang is a young woman sharing her thoughts,feelings and sights as she moves from the clouds (you need to read the book to understand that image) to America. The writing is straight forward. No attempt to "jazz" it up or build excitement. The words flow into images and descriptions. The read supplies the emotion and fears and concerns of a family and a young girl.

While the tone is quiet and reflective it moves along and fits the idea of a summer read. It is much like reading a diary which is an oral one as it should be for this young Hmong girl. It is filled with descriptions of the land particularly the mountains and the sights and sounds of war and refugee camps and human existence. And there are stories, stories of ancestors, legends, favorite stories and ones to learn from.

Worth the time. Kao Kalia Yang will be at Magers & Quinn for a live experience with an author.

Summer reading required for 9th grade

Well, one month is out of the way. July is upon us and quiet reading time in the library, at the lake or in the shade of the big tree, now is the time to get the book. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a good summer time read. It is funny, contains action and is almost a biography for some realism.

Junior (the main character) plays out several of the situations that were part of Alexie's life growing up. Like Alexie, Junior decides to leave his Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school miles away. A big move for a young man without the support of his parents and friends (or bullies as the case may be). It is the story of a young boy going through his adolescent wanderings and in a new and different culture.

Some may have read S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. If you like that book you will enjoy this one. Good points of comparison and definite opportunities for discussions. What is it like to make a major shift in your life from one place you at least know to another unfamiliar and many times unfriendly.

Good summer read. Alexie is a poet and like to use the language. You can sense this is a personal book. The title includes "Diary" and you can believe that part of this might be from his. The book is a young person growing up and so there is some sex reference and some violence. Neither are the point of the book. Also contains great basketball action for those into sports.

57 days from now some 9th grade English teacher is going to ask questions about this book. This is a good time to check it out.

Cats, Snakes, Dogs and People

Vincent traveled the same route for fifteen years. He wandered through the lives of the people his route from births to deaths. He was an observer as well as the deliverer of bad and good news. It happened around him. Then he captures them in a series of short stories.

Beware of Cat is interesting option for the 10th graders. It is one of the summer reading options. A quick read and straight forward. It is about people and families and neighborhoods. No secret messages or special mystical powers. Average people living regular lives.

I've now read four of the 10th grade books. All from male point of view. I have to think about that. Two are young males growing up. Two are through the eyes of mature (older) males. All good summer reading. I think we need to find some female authors for options for next summer's reading list. The 9th grade book is about a young male growing up. I guess we introduce women in the 11th and 12th grades.

If you have suggestions for books, send them along. The 11 and 12 grade reading lists are long. We do read a great deal of literature during the school year. The summer is not meant to be a major pain.

Guard cat on watch

The Nokomis Post Office is over on 34th. Beware the Cat could be about some of our neighbors. The stories of a long time letter carrier are the chapters each is a short story with new characters and small bits of every day life. These are stories about living and dieing. The are the common and real struggles of just about the business of living.

If you ride the bus to work or need a short read waiting for an appointment, this is a book for you. Each chapter is independent and stands alone. Fun, sad, happy reading. High suspense, road chases and fantastic adventures make for good reading but so does a study of being human, of being part of a neighborhood. Stories about nice people doing nice things is a pleasant summer afternoon read.

Beware of Cat is one of the books on the 10th grade summer reading list. Good summer read. If you looking for shootings and lovings and wild mystery then you will want to read one of the others. Good stories and people and real living.

Once and Future Celt

Well that finishes three books on the 10th grade list - Color of Water, Three Cups of Tea and now Once and Future Celt.

If you have read Three Cups of Tea it might be interesting the match that with Once and Future Celt. I think is a challenge of how to respect one's culture and that of others. Being the change you want to see is different than putting that change on others. The task is to respect and work with the cultures not necessarily to drop kick your own view of the world into the middle of others.

As Americans. Have a proud history of charging right it and getting done. But there are parts of that history that suggests working with people has merit also. I appreciate the great work represented in Three Cups but think reflection is also necessary to balance what are the results of even the best and most caring actions.

Once and Future Celt is an easy read - moves right along. Jumps a bit and parts are a bit more preachy then really necessary. The chapters are little stories and trying too hard to fit them together can ruin the effect. I think the story is about culture and our own view of our own. How do we respect the rights and view of others? How do our actions reflect our beliefs? How do we play out what we want to become? Would be a great discussion book.

On to the cat book....