Ripples of People

I just learned on Saturday that my AP English teacher from high school has lost her long-fought battle with breast cancer. I had to hear about it from my sister, who's in Chicago, while I'm here about 50 miles away from my alma mater. 

The word "dedicated" didn't even scratch the surface with Carolyn Dowd. She was one of the hardest teachers my old high school will ever see... but she wasn't a tyrant. She didn't let the answers come easy. She was meticulous. She graded hard. Her red pen was like Raphael's brush on the Sistine Chapel, except not quite that pretty. The class discussions didn't end with simple answers. She kept pressing and pushing us beyond our usual yes's and no's. She pretty much forced us to dig deep, because she knew each one of us had the ability to think, to achieve, to doubt, to wonder.

My sister told me about the Facebook group a fellow high school alum set up dedicated to Mrs. Dowd. Almost 200 people joined it, and the comments left on the forum were all fond memories of how she was either a great educator, or a great person. I'm very certain that there are former students of Mrs. Dowd who didn't have such fond memories of her. That's a given to anyone who's been a student. However, as I scrolled through the memories I realized that her ripple effect was tremendous. 

Mrs. Dowd's life was driven by a passion that I believe is dying a slow death in our country's education system. She wanted students to be successful, but not as a grade point average. She wanted us to set a precedence in out life. She desired that through her passion and teaching, we would find something that fills us with passion; something we have an opinion about, something we will fight for, something that drives us to the brink of our limit. As I look back on how hard Mrs. Dowd pushed me, the dumbest person in the class by far, I realize that before she had a say in it, I didn't like writing, or reading, and anything of literary meaning. I don't want to be an English teacher, but those aspects formed my psyche, my personal beliefs, and how I would pursue those beliefs.

Teachers like Mrs. Dowd are to be valued. To remember her, I hope that everyone I meet will have a ripple effect and influence the way I live, just as she did.

We'll miss you, Mrs. Dowd. I know you're waiting for us.

Mmmm... Powder

I saw the new Warren Miller ski film, "Playground," at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland on Saturday night...
Whooooo!!!! Winter's here!... Bring it, snow! Bring it!
Nothing better than speeding down a mountain of silence, gliding over fresh powder (a rare breed in the NW), with a fat, frozen smile across my face.
I feel free when I'm skiing. I think it's the thin air. In high school, everyone thought they everyone else was a totally different person when it came to that cold mountain air....
Go Shred.

War

Some friends of mine were recently talking about how some children's books are being geared as anti-war/anti-fighting literature. I guess the seeding of ideas and beliefs do start at a young age; even political issues.
I am actually still on the fence about the whole issue of war. Are some of the wars this country has fought in more heroic and meaningful than others? Are our present wars more gray areas between right and wrong than the black & white 'we must bring evil to justice' wars of the past? Is it right to kill an enemy who is only an enemy because your leaders said so, or are they your enemy because they directly threaten you and you alone? Are they your enemy because they simply don't like you specifically, or they just don't believe what you believe?
Personally, I used to be all gungho about war. Action movies do that to you. Yet war takes on a whole new meaning when your closest cousin and one of your best friends both get shipped out, not knowing whether they will return sane and/or uninjured.
One of my favorite singers, Derek Webb, has a song called 'My Enemies Are Men Like Me.' Interpret it how you think DW is writing this song:

i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life

(chorus)
how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me

peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution

(bridge)
when justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor

At a Bible study, one of my friends talked about a pastor who had just recently returned from Iraq. Since democracy has been installed, a revival of sorts has sprung out amongst the people of Iraq and the soldiers occupying the country. There is still persecution for the people of Iraq, but at least it isn't illegal to say Jesus anymore. I'm not saying democracy was the savior of Iraq, but God has a funny way of using anything, whether we agree with it or not (which doesn't matter in the first place), to bring God's name to anyone, anywhere. Period.
I will always support our troops, no matter if I like any war or not. Peace is something we all strive for, but our world is evil, therefore war is still a fact of life. It won't stop. I'm not saying we should try to mute our attempts to stop it. I'm just saying it will always be there.
The Bible, namely the Old Testament, is filled with war and bloodshed. I remember reading an interview with Mel Gibson (I'm not a big fan, just reading) about the amount of detail going into the visual depiction of Christ's death in "The Passion." Though the movie was very graphic in nature, is it still considered "mild" by many experts who have studied the act of crucifixion. Since the Fall, man has been at war, whether with each other or with ourselves. The way I see it, all events in history are just interesting and provocative ways God has brought people to God. We might not like it, but then again, we can't exactly put God in human terms.
Thoughts? I thought so.

Beginning

Hello, one and all. If you could not tell already, my name is Win Tse, and I am a Blogger band-wagoner. The purpose of me hopping on to the wagon is so the ministry God has so gracefully placed me in can log on and dive a little deeper into the complex that is me.