Flashback 2/18 - Invent Iowa Regionals & Concert

Harrison's "Fishing Bow" invention made it to regionals - along with 3 other 6th grade inventions and one by a pair of 7th graders. They got out of school to attend the competition, which was held at Westdale Mall here in Cedar Rapids. It was an exciting day - his invention got excellent scores and advanced to State!

No time to celebrate after school; he had a fine arts concert that evening - played harp in orchestra and sang in the choir.

The tale in pictures:

Invent Iowa Entry - The Fishing Bow

Harrison's weekend project was to make a prototype of his invention for the Invent Iowa fair. This is one of the options offered through the PACT (Program for Academic & Creative Talent) program at Franklin. Apparently, the student misses class for an hour a week and talks about what to invent, then the weekend before the competition, he and his parents are responsible for putting the entire project and presentation together.

Luckily we had the weekend free (yay no more North Cedar commitments!) and G-Boy was available to offer expertise. The final result: The Fishing Bow! This is a handy tool for any outdoorsman who wants the flexibility to bow hunt or fish at a moment's notice, as prey makes itself available. We are very lucky to have our particular backyard, which made the promo photo shoot much more convenient.

Here are some of the photos Harrison used in his display:

Harrison's Honorable Harping

I am impressed by how many student harp players there are in Cedar Rapids. Last Saturday, Harrison performed with an "Honor Harp Ensemble" as part of the Metro Youth Orchestra festival. The ensemble pictured below is made up strictly of 6th and 7th graders from Franklin and McKinley Middle Schools (and there are four members who did not show up for the concert). Amazing.

Mr. Clancey, the Franklin Orchestra Director, was able to secure HD a spot taking lessons with the same Harp teacher he (Mr. Clancey) studies with - so hopefully I can find a way to pay for them! After seeing the difference between the skills of the private study students and the ones who take lessons at school, I think it would be worth it if we can afford it.

We Shall Overcome

We are such activists. Julio, Harrison and I attended our very first demonstration last night. The hate-oriented cult that goes by the name of Westboro Baptist Church had made threats to picket opening night of "The Laramie Project", being performed at TCR Lindale. "The Laramie Project" is a play that was written to explore the dynamics of the repercussions of the brutal 1998 slaying of Matthew Shepard, a young man who was killed because he was gay.

Fred Phelps, the founder and self-proclaimed "reverend" of WBC, and a small band of followers picketed Matthew's funeral, shouting hate slogans and bearing signs that said things like "God Hates Fags". They make a point to harrass any organization that shows support for or tolerance of homosexuals, Jews, and pretty much anything or anybody not part of his church.

In anticipation of their possible picketing, several groups organized counter-protests. The TCR group was asked to dress in as much white as possible and form a "Wall of Angels" in silence. While the wall of angels were the majority, in our silence we were easily "upstaged" by the loud high school and college students who brought signs and leapt up and down screaming at cars to honk.

No matter. The WBC group never showed up, and we had a fun time seeing fellow theater people and church friends. It was a hugely diverse group - from young children to senior citizens, all races and creeds, gathered to protest hate, and it was a great deal of fun. It was also incredibly moving to be part of that kind of fellowship.

Over 300 people stood along 1st Avenue

Recognize my "daughter" - Marian Paroo?

Savannah and her mom, Hillerie

Karen from Church, Jen & Lindsay from TCR

Julio with Kate, Trish and a friend
victims of Steph's hurried snapshot taking

The crowd extended from here clear down to
the road leading into our neighborhood

TCR buddy Alisabeth poses with Julio

The center part of the group

Waiting for G-Boy to bring HD over

Posted behind one of the larger TCR groupings

Harrison Arrives!

One of the counter-protest organizers

"Stragglers" overflowed to the other side of a drive way

TCR buddy AC is interviewed

Julio looking at the newspaper photographer
taking pictures from atop a snowbank

Christmas Letter 2009

The odds of this actually getting mailed out are slim, me being me, so I'm going to post on this blog so at least my closest friends and family will have it. Love you all - Merry Christmas!

*****

Happy Holidays! (She types, optimistically believing that THIS will be the year the letter gets printed and mailed - maybe even when that phrase might still apply) To put this year in a nutshell will challenge my editing skills, but I’ll try:

We are still actively involved with Westminster Presbyterian Church; Julio helps with the computer lab and with projection during our 9am services, Harrison is enjoying being in the older group of Sunday school students, and I sing with the praise band and give the occasional children’s sermon. In the summers, we try to host at least two of the neighborhood association parties, this year we again coordinated the July 4th parade/potluck and the Kid’s Carnival.

Harrison bid farewell to 5th grade and elementary school and kicked off his summer by taking a video game programming class at Kirkwood College with his friend Avery. When not at his class, he worked as a counselor for my daycare, leading our students in various activities and giving me much-needed assistance, while earning a substantial supplement to his allowance. He also spent several weeks taking daily cello lessons in preparation for joining the 6th grade orchestra at Franklin Middle School in the fall.

Our entire family had the privilege of being cast in Starlighters II Theater’s summer musical, The Music Man. It was an enormously rewarding family project, and we made some wonderful new friends. The show closed just in time for school to start, and Harrison jumped into Middle School with both feet. He plays harp and cello in orchestra, and sings tenor in the show choir, FLaPCo (Franklin Light and Power Company). He also participates in PACT (Program for Academic and Creative Talent), and made his Franklin theater debut as a Phantom in their fall play, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Soccer practice and weekend soccer games ensure he doesn’t spend too much time playing his beloved video games, and he’s been able to juggle his schedule well enough to make the honor roll at school.

In the spring, I did my final “tour of duty” as the speech coach at North Cedar High School, and directed my final Spring Play, You Can’t Take it With You. I had the pleasure of once again working with my Dad, who came on board to be tech director for the Spring Play, last year’s memorial benefit (when Harrison joined the tech crew and ran the curtain), and this year’s fall musical, Anything Goes. The students absolutely love working with Dad, and his expertise and connections really reduced the pressure of putting those shows together – it was a great way to end my time at North Cedar. We have some loose ends to tie up yet, and hopefully I’ll still be able to pull together one final Debbie Harms Memorial Benefit, as there are a number of family members and alumni who plan to perform, and we hope to kick off the Debbie Harms Scholarship and officially christen the “Debbie Harms Auditorium” at this year’s benefit.

Julio continues his daily commute to his job at Pearson in Coralville, and helps Harrison’s soccer coaches by refereeing their weekend games. His 25th high school reunion was held in Kearney, Nebraska this summer, so we took the opportunity to visit his collegiate alma mater while we were there. It was a treat to share that experience with him, and I even coerced a nice young man into letting us take pictures of his dorm room; the one that Julio once occupied. We had a super time at the reunion itself, and were thrilled that Julio’s dearest high school friend, Amy, was there, so I could finally put a face with the name. Julio’s host parents, Lloyd and Lael Vauthrin, drove from Franklin to meet us for dinner, and the four of us got to visit their daughter Christine’s new home before it was time to head back to Iowa.

In September, our family had the honor of singing for the wedding of our cousins, Kate & Trish Varnum. Their victory in winning the legal right to marry was one of the highlights of the year, and it was thrilling to be a witness to, and participant in, that historic event. It was a proud time to be their cousin, and a proud time to be an Iowan.

As I was packing up the props from our annual haunted garage (Grammy & G-Boy joined several of Harrison’s friends in making this the creepiest Halloween yet), it struck me that Harrison is nearly 12 years old, and hasn’t been to Disneyland since he was about 5. Julio immediately kicked into emergency vacation planning mode, and come November 14, we were Florida-bound, for Harrison’s (and my) first visit to the World that is Disney. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and had a “Savannah-view” room, meaning there were animals (giraffes, zebras and wildebeests, to name just a few) in the courtyard right outside our room – we were able to stand on the balcony and feel like we had our own private zoo.

After a heady week in that stepfordian utopia where everyone is so cheerful and kind you don’t even notice that you could feed a third world country with what you pay for one small meal, we returned home to have a brief but fun Thanksgiving celebration with the Shaffer family at Mom and Dad’s house. Then we headed back to Nebraska to reunite with Julio’s host family in Franklin. Harrison loves it there – he was just as excited to spend all day in a car to get to Nebraska as he was to fly for just a couple hours to go to Florida and Disney World. It was very grounding and centering, especially to hear all the stories that the Vauthrins have to share after being married for over 50 years.

Now, as we scramble with last minute Christmas and New Year preparations, we wish you and yours a very fulfilling holiday season and a new year filled with wonder and blessings.