Happy weekend, Readers.
Here are your weekly, Lamp Post highlights.
This mop of hair is getting long,
and in dire need of some highlights.
Becky.....
Allison......
Cora.....
I've got one .......
I'm pulling the trigger soon
and placing my confidence in daughter Ellen
since she gave her brother a snazzy new haircut
by watching a youtube video.
It's been another cold, home-bound week
at the Lamp Post,
but I am happy to report we are doing well.
I'm steadily improving at my online teaching delivery.
The kids are getting used to it, too.
As always,
my students send me all kinds of ideas.
This week we were talking about owls.
A grandparent of one of my students
took these photos of owls last week
at Presque Isle
then sent me a map
to where to find them!
I love something to look for!
and finding something lost is the ultimate victory.
So, to highlight my students' fourth quarter of the school year
I'm sharing with them my novel The Key.
My novel was written in 2011 and 2012,
edited in 2013,
and published on this blog,
chapter by chapter
throughout the month of March in 2014.
The story was written for my children,
and aside from my trio and a few of their friends,
they were the only children to read the story
intended for elementary school aged readers.
The Key was well received by my friends and family,
as I expected it to be.
I mean,
really,
who is going to tell you
that your story stunk?
That's all I ever wanted to do with it--
give it to my kids,
as well as the Lamp Post Readers
a chance to see what it was about,
and that was that.
Every so often as Ellen got older,
she would tell me to pursue a publisher.
I told her she could pursue it after I was gone from the earth,
it would be worth more $.
So,
along comes a time,
when I had to find some reading material
that NONE of my very advanced students had read,
yet still had access to,
for free.
Well,
what do you know?
I had a little story,
lying in wait,
for just the right time.
So, my students will be my toughest critics.
They've already pointed out some confusing parts,
and when I read them back,
I completely agree.
This afternoon,
Grandma,
the comic relief of my story,
who still lives 50 yards east,
popped her head in to see what a Google Meet looked like.
When I introduced her to my students
as Grandma from the book,
they squealed with delight!
Another literary highlight from my week was purchasing
this 2004 Newberry Honor winning book.
For those of you unfamiliar with children's lit,
the Newberry is awarded each year to the best book
in children's literature by an American Author.
It's that metallic seal with the raised lettering
you see on the covers of some the best books for children.
One winner is selected each year
and several Honor books.
This book was honored in 2004.
It is a work of non-fiction
about the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.
The parallels in this story are stunning.
A book written 16 years ago,
about an epidemic in the Great State of Pennsylvania
227 years ago,
is really worth checking out.
Added bonus--
it's written on a fifth grade level,
so it's not too challenging to get through.
Here are some sneak peeks.
Remember,
this is back in the day when men ran the government,
and our nation's capital was Philadelphia.
Guys wore these get ups--
wool knickers,
buckle shoes,
long sleeved ruffled shirts,
wigs,
and hats...
all in the 90 degree humidity
of August in Philly.
Do you remember him from history?
in case it's been a few years
since high school history.
Here is how yellow fever presented itself.
The leaders met when they realized there was a real problem
not fake news.
Disagreements began.
Not sure of the origin?
Blame the 
Quarantines,
as well as disagreements
arisen from "free communications of sentiment"
became more prevalent as
the weeks of August 1793 went on.
They were discussed in pubs and in town meetings,
because facebook didn't exist yet.
Lists of recommendations
from the federal government
to the Governor
to the Mayor
were passed around.
No one could agree on the best practice.
Masks were worn,
but they soaked theirs in vinegar--
no Lysol injections sprays yet.
Social distancing, closure of businesses,
and schools shutting down.
Sound a bit familiar?
A now,
an important lesson from Winston--
With that in mind,
I'll make the last stop of this blog,
the true highlight of my week.
If there is one go-to reading spot each week
it's the First Stop every Sunday morning.
Yes, Eloise still receives a daily newspaper,
and I get up extra early on Sundays to read that edition thoroughly.
Some weeks are extra busy at the Lamp Post and I miss things,
so I check out the death dates,
and birth dates,
There is a section for This Day in History,
which I love.
There is also an invitation
to send your thoughts to the newspaper staff.
I find it fitting that the photo above posted sideways
for some unknown reason.
It directs you to some effective ways
a citizen can share his or her perspective.
Can anyone do that straightforwardly anymore--
without attaching hate and hurt to the message?
This week's article by Pat Howard,
How We're All Getting Through This
(Erie Times News, Sunday, April 19, 2020)
was one of his best.
I had been watching for his work,
and was informed at the start of his piece
that he was on furlough.
I learned the news staff must follow strict protocol
to remove themselves from seeking all news
while away from work while on furlough.
His experience with the vacuum he experienced,
written in the first part of his article,
was very interesting to read.
Then he used some space to share sentiments of my own
that I don't have the ability to state so well.
Describing social media as a fever swamp
made me almost spit out my coffee.
It certainly does resemble that at times.
I've become an expert at scrolling past.
If your post is too long,
and appears to be a rant,
it never reaches my eyes,
instead just a quick swipe of my thumb--
even if I agree with you.
Because eventually,
down that comment strand
meanness,
ignorance,
and free form anger will emerge.
When the proverbial know-it-all-loudmouth at the end of the bar
is someone you really like otherwise,
things get sticky.
Scrolling past
doesn't give the megaphone
enough time to reach their lips.
Yes, Pat,
I agree,
crisis brings out the critics.
that the light shines more brightly
on people of good character.
And finally,
the most important History lesson from Mr. Rogers:
Look for the helpers, Readers.
Be the one standing in the spotlight.
Scroll past the rest.
Eloise
