Deep Thoughts – Page 13 – Gemma D. Alexander

ByGD

Bend in the Road

I named this blog Crooked Road after a line from one of my favorite movies, Joe vs. the Volcano.

It’s been a long time coming here to meet you – a long time, on a crooked road.

The line is delivered while floating on a steamer trunk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s hardly what most people would call a destination. It’s almost the perfect opposite of having ‘arrived.’ Joe and Patricia are floating on that trunk after having been ejected from a sinking volcano – as unexpected a turn of events as one could probably imagine. The scenario certainly qualifies as a sharp bend in a crooked road. The scene is a wonderful illustration of the philosophy that life is a journey we can’t quite plan. As long as it continues, each step of the way is as much a destination as any other.

All this is a convoluted and referential way to announce that against all logic, I have quit my day job. Read More

ByGD

achievement, late bloomer

Late Bloomers

I was a precocious, Type-A, perfectionist, high-achiever child with the GPA and SAT scores to prove it. Measuring achievement in real life has proven more challenging.

Just figuring out what I wanted to achieve had me stymied for decades. And that is why I always appreciate late-bloomer pep talks like this one.

ByGD

childbirth, global health, infant mortality, malaria, PATH

Finding the PATH

I drove to the dog park every day when my border collie was young, passing by a nondescript building with this logo on it. Like Charlie Bucket in Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, I wondered what went on inside the mysterious industrial building near my house. Finally I got the brilliant idea of googling it, and discovered that the building housed something more wonderful than Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

What the Steadfast Reader Said About Clean Reading

Last month I tried “reblogging” for the first time. Although the whole point of having a blog is to share your own thoughts, sometimes you run across something that you just want to share. Mostly, I use Twitter for that, but lately I’ve seen a few blog posts that really seemed to fit my blog more than my Twitter, and that didn’t really need much commentary from me.

The Problem

This blogger isn’t on WordPress, {2018 update: or anywhere else on the web anymore} so I can’t link to it. It’s the first I’ve heard of “clean reading” and I think she did a pretty good job of explaining and debunking the practice. I especially appreciate this statement

I do think that every now and then we should make an effort step outside our own echo chambers and explore things that make us a little uncomfortable or that we find a little bit ugly. Those are the places where we will learn the most, where we will grow the most.

I’m a big fan of the blog No Clean Singing. After this, I’m tempted to rename my blog No Clean Reading. Would you read it?

ByGD

adoption, Angel Island, Gateway to Gold Mountain, Nicola I Campbell, racism, Russell Freedman, Shi-shi-etko

The Children’s Book Coincidence

It’s a beautiful world.

Whether one believes coincidences are actually meaningful messages from a higher power, or are merely coinciding incidents, it’s hard to deny the impact they can have. In my life, impactful coincidences tend to happen at the library.

Category Archive Deep Thoughts

Bend in the Road

Like this:

Late Bloomers

Like this:

Finding the PATH

Like this:

What the Steadfast Reader Said About Clean Reading

The Problem

Like this:

The Children’s Book Coincidence

Read More

Like this:

Publications

Follow Blog via Email

Categories

Category Archive Deep Thoughts

Bend in the Road

Share this:

Like this:

Late Bloomers

Share this:

Like this:

Finding the PATH

Share this:

Like this:

What the Steadfast Reader Said About Clean Reading

The Problem

Share this:

Like this:

The Children’s Book Coincidence

Read More

Share this:

Like this:

Publications

Follow Blog via Email

Categories