bring the noyz

during the middle of this afternoon. I see from the caller ID it's my school. Curious. My Principal would be the only person calling from there on a Sunday afternoon. I wonder what's up? My hunch is she's putting in a couple hours working on assignments and issues for the upcoming school year, now less than a month away and she had a question or something to discuss.

I could tell from her tone when I answered that wasn't the reason.

Hello! What's going on?

- Lamiria died.

Wait. Who? What?

- Lamiria died, sometime during the night Friday. They found her Saturday morning. They think she died in her sleep.

Oh fuck.

She was only 12 years old.

As is typical of the students I work with, she had significant chronic complex health issues. I mean, that's the reason these kids come to my school.

She had been hospitalized a few weeks back, but by all appearances she was on the mend, on the upside of getting over another serious issue. She was back in class last week full of smiles and beginning to act like her music-loving happy wheelchair dancing self again.

Guess she wasn't over it.

She had only been in town and a student at my school for the past couple of years. Because she was younger and for the past several years I have been working with high school age students she wasn't one of my regular students during the school year. She was a student in my summer school class.

So I knew her, but I didn't know her all that well.

I was really just getting to know her, just beginning to understand the nuance of her expressions and her gestures, just starting to truly admire and appreciate all the gentle subtleties of her personality.

I was impressed with her spirit, her joy that shown so brightly despite her physical and cognitive obstacles.

She loved music. That was evident when I met her a couple of years back. It was a common thread that cut through disabilities and connected us as people, as human beings.

Just play something with a good rhythm, whether me on a guitar or some top-40 song on the radio. Play anything with a beat, and when she was feeling well it was like you wound her up just to watch her go, rocking and bopping in her wheelchair.


Ah cripes man, will it ever end? Three students in the past six months. So far this has been a tough year for me, my coworkers, my students, my school.

Tonight I just sat on the couch, hugging and cradling The Boy in my arms, counting my blessings. Yes, feeling the loss sorrow and sadness, but also feeling an almost numb hollowness because I did not know her better and some guilt at my selfishly thinking "there but for the Grace of God. . . " as I looked at The Boy.

Ah sweet little Lamiria, I hardly knew ye. . .

So please my dear reader, by now you know the drill. Raise your glass high and join me in a toast to another sista who ain't here.

Here's to another fallen angel sent to test our compassion.
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"I got a letter today from Tokyo
A little Japanese girl that I'll never know
She's eating pizza and singing 'Let My People Go'
On the other side of the world"

- The Rainmakers

Wow.

I got kind of the equivalent of that moments ago.

Really I did.

And oh, what a crazy feeling.

I logged into this humble ranthole a few minutes ago. I had been watching Olbermann, and Lordy can he sometimes get me riled up, for good or ill. My perspective seems to strangely shift at times.

But that is not the point of this. At least it is not the point of this anymore. It originally was going to be an arrow-shot accurate analysis of some current event as seen through the filter of a somewhat satirical if certainly cynical eye.

I mean, most likely.

I no longer remember the original intent, but I'm sure my dear reader, you will agree, that is typical of the type of thing you generally see on this humble page.

I logged in (blogged in?), and I saw this:

1 Follower

I have a follower? What is this?

Who?

Wow.

Please my dear reader, join me in welcoming another soul sharing a

Small Portion of a Life's Journey
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So I'm justa sitting on the couch, bidin' my time, ya know; because I gotsta turn the kid in about 30 minutes. Then to bed.

Channel surfing with chicken salad, a small midnight snack.

I sees this here thing come on the tube:

The Fox Nation

Freaky. What's that saying about repeating a lie so much it gets repeated as true?

Scary. What choir are they preaching to?

Well, the ad that followed answered the second question.

Hoveround.
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I mourn the loss of a friend. . .

Rebecca L. Craig

Death Notice

CRAIG, Rebecca L., 52, auditor, of Austin died Thursday. Survived by husband Steven. Visitation 5 p.m. Saturday, Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home, Pflugerville.

Published in the Austin American-Statesman on 7/6/2009

She was the mother of a former student.

I first met the Craigs in the summer of '94. Their son was a student in my summer school class. His younger brother was in a class down the hall.

I worked with their eldest every year since, just in the summers at first, but then year around from Fall '99 until he graduated in what was it, 2004?

They are a truly remarkable family. Their two sons both shared the same undiagnosed syndrome causing significant physical and cognitive disabilities, leaving them nonverbal, mostly non-ambulatory and for the most part forever unable to individually meet their basic daily needs.

You couldn't tell it by looking at 'em.

The boys were both amazing. I have never seen such spirit, such enthusiasm, such zest for exploration and living.

Well it was easy to see where the boys got it.

Steve and Becky Craig are quite honestly the most amazing parents I have encountered thus far in my 17 year career. They bubble with positive energy and enthusiasm and are 110% balls-out committed to their two wonderful boys. At the same time, they possess a laid-back old-school Austin hippie vibe that at times seems almost zen. There wasn't a damn thing wrong with those boys, don't try to tell them otherwise. Anything you could do, they could do. They just did some things a little differently than most folks. This simply made them more unique and truly fascinating to be around.

They were and remain my role models for how to best parent a child with significant disabilities. They probably are not yet aware of this, but the Craigs persuaded me to take the plunge and try my hand as a parent. I saw the love they all shared for each other, I was blessed to be allowed a window into the world of an amazing family, awestruck and inspired by what I saw.

The moment came. I looked at the Not Yet Wife. I looked at the Not Yet Our Boy. The choice was clear.

And five years later here we are.

Sadly, this family has known grief before.

A few years back the youngest son suddenly got very ill and passed. Again I was awestruck and inspired by the strength of the family and the things that were said that day.

Sigh. . .

Here's to another fallen friend. . .

And to one helluv'an amazing mom.
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