I had such a blast this morning. I’d arraigned to do a ‘Jolts and Volts’ electricity show at Edmonds Middle School in Burlington. Normally when I do these shows it’s for 30-50 kids. I got to the school and found out this show was for more than 400 kids. The schools staff was great to work with and we quickly transformed the Gym into a laboratory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids started shuffling in around 10:30 . By 10: 45 the room was packed. Before I started, I said a few words about Sam and how he loved to build and invent.. and dedicated the show to him.. Everyone clapped !.. I was so surprised by that reaction… I’m not sure what I was expecting.. but it felt great..  and I immediately launched into the show.  I had to rush a little bit due to the short time slot, but all in all it was a good show. As I went through my shtick I kept thinking about how much I enjoyed doing this sort of thing. There’s nothing that is more rewarding for me than getting up on stage in front of a bunch of kids, acting like a total nutcase and blowing things up.. all in the name of science. If life is supposed to be about following your bliss.. this is mine.  I was pretty ‘on’ today.. when the final spark died off  all the kids jumped to their feet  and started clapping and whistling.. now that’s what science is supposed to be about !

 

The moment the show was over, I had to scoot to make my lunch meeting. A bunch of the kids helped me park the van.. which only took a few minutes. Many hands makes light work. I met my buddy Jason for a working lunch then took the rest of the afternoon off. I spent the next few hours driving around trying to find parts to finish plumbing our pool.. 2.5 hours and I still don’t think I have the right pieces.   By the time I got home it was time for Diane and Deb to take Gabe and several of his friends to see ‘Pirates of the Caribbean III’. There were 10 kids in all.. and most of them were dressed as pirates. Sorry I didn’t get a picture.   After dropping the kids, Diane Deb and I hung out at the house, ate sushi and sanded the calluses on our feet. It was weird, but fun. We had talked about going to the Cabaret at MMU.. but I didn’t really have the energy/. Max went though…

   At about 9 Deb. Diane and I drove in to pick the kids up at Mexacali… we all wolfed down  some nachos and basically enjoyed the outside breeze.  

   Gabe had a nice day to.. Scott jsut pointe me at these pictures of Gabe in the sand pit..

Speaking of nice days. I’d like to take this chance to send my love and congratulations to my wonderful parents. Judy and Hugh on their anniversary. They will have been married 50 years tomorrow.   !! That’s and an incredible  accomplishment !I love you both so much !!!!!

   The next couple of days we’ll be hanging out gardening, going to Gabe’s Lacrosse games .. and getting ready for Sam’s Birthday bash in the park on Monday.   Speaking of that.. please spread the work.. we’d love to have folks help us mark  Sam’s birthday. We’ll be there thinking of you Sam !

-me

 

Remember:

Ultimate Frisbee Party

What:   Come celebrate Sam Cohn’s birthday with friends and family

When:   Monday May 28, 2007

Noon – Clinic to learn rules and              form teams

1:00-3:00 – games

3:00 –  cake and music at                                bandstand

Where:  Richmond Volunteers Green

 

Home again home again.. I just got home after a 32 hour trip to Fishkill New York. It’s so nice to be back home. It was a lonnnnng day .. These full day meetings can really tire you  out..

I can only still and think about one thing for so long. As my mind began to wonder and I started to fidget,

I started thinking about how differently I tend to view people since Sam died. I was looking around the room thinking about all the people in the room.. wondering about how they were doing, how happy they were. what they were trying to get out of the meeting, what they might rather have been doing on this sunny day. I’ve always been interested in people. and been a people watcher. . it’s just that now it feels like I can ‘feel’ how people are feeling . Sometimes I get more interested n that than in the subject of the meeting..  This meeting was full of folks I really love.. so t was fun tuning into their vibe.

   The ride down and back was one of the best part of the trip. I hitched  a ride with my buddy Sue from work. It was a good chance for us to scheme about work.. compare notes on technical stuff, business directions, work politics,  and people stuff.. Sue also is tied into MMU music and lacrosse.. so we know lots of the same people in the community. Again  we did lots of talking about all our kids on the trip back up. I like talking about my kids..On the way down, we stopped in to day hi to Homer.. it’s my mission to make siure everyonme gets to meet Homer

   Speaking of kids, were several of them in the house when I got home  around 10:30 . Max’s friends Sean and Jeremy were there as was Scott. It was nice to come home to a busy house. Gabe had gotten a new haircut while I was gone.. looks good..   

   My bed is looking good to me.. I only got 4 hours of sleep last night.. I started working after I finished blogging last night’s.. and next thing I knew it was after 2. Tonight I’ve got to get a good night sleep. I have a science show in Burlington tomorrow morning.. Should be fun !.. Right now I must get my mad scientist’s beauty sleep.. Gnite All , Gnite Sam..

 

-me

 

ps This is a picture Sam drew of himself in 4^th grade.. check out his crown chakra !

 

 

Ultimate Frisbee Party

What:   Come celebrate Sam Cohn’s birthday with friends and family

When:   Monday May 28, 2007

Noon – Clinic to learn rules and              form teams

1:00-3:00 – games

3:00 –  cake and music at                                bandstand

Where:  Richmond Volunteers Green

Ahhhh… I’m lying down in Sam’s room after a really good day. Today was a million  times better than yesterday… or I should say I was million times better.. I guess the days are all the same. Yesterday was really tough for me..  Today I felt good, light and relatively carefree. This is another strange aspect of our new life. I never know what any day will bring until after its passed I never know how much energy or resiliency I’ll have… I’ve never had these kind of swings. I do see the positive in what I’m saying here.. having these swings means that I’m having some significantly good days.. and that’s real progress.

The approach of the six month anniversary of Sam’s passing had loomed pretty large in my head for a few weeks. The passing of the half year mark seemed somehow significant to me.. in the end.. there was nothing extraordinary  about the day   still it was hard.. Diane suggested that  these anniversary days.. and days like mother’s or fathers day are in one  way no different than every other day. There are good times and bad times in each… It’s just that other folks recognize those marker days and that how amplifies things…. Dunno…

    Anyway… today was splendidly unremarkable.. I had a big phone meeting with some of my superiors at work that had me pretty nervous and worked up yesterday… it went fine.. as it generally does.. Which reminds me of Sam’s questions to me about why I spent so much time working and worrying about work.. I guess the working is ok.. it’s the worrying about work that I don’t want to ramp back up to….  Here I am talking during the meeting..wearign my good luck light up headband..

   After work Diane and I went to meet our friends at the Inn at Essex. In the lobby, we spotted this sign.. At first I thought it was a calming drink.. the I realized it was a seminar. 

Max, Sam Jessie and Gabe joined us all  bit later at Tiny Thai in Essex for dinner. 

 Larry. Leah and Hannah who are up visiting from Pittsburgh . Larry and I went to grad school together… now he’s a big famous professor… Larry and his family have been coming up to see us for the last couple of years.. This is the first time we’ve seen them since Sam died.  They knew and loved Sam. Larry is a very open and spiritual guy.  We had a great time sharing experiences and thoughts about our own spiritual journey. He’s also knows everyone and everything about the folks in our industry.. so he’s a great source of corporate and academic gossip. I just love hanging out  with him and his family…

   Oh man.. it’s already past midnight.. I’ve got to get some sleep..  It’s nice being in your room again Sam…

-jc