What made you smile today?

I'm getting closure on something that has been a pain in my ass for awhile now. I'm not sure of the outcome, but that's secondary to the smile the closure puts on my face.

Heard from a former student of mine who is just starting college. He has been offered a regular column in a magazine out of Savannah, Georgia, as a result of winning a journalism award last spring. (I entered his writing without telling him, and he took first place! Wow, that was fun telling him!!)

And here's the best part. This student has a learning disability. The magazine is for parents of children with disabilities. He will use his column to answer questions from parents and children and encourage them. As he has learned, just because you're awful at one thing doesn't mean you can't be exceptional at another.

Big smiles here today.

Aw, that's wonderful!

Oh, wow! That is fabulous!

Absolutely smileworthy.

Awesome

Well, it just makes me feel tingly all over!

This evening he decided to contact the editor of the college newspaper and see if he could write for them. He sent them an e-mail and mentioned the journalism award AND the magazine column. They got back to him in 10 minutes (!), asking him to their editorial meeting tomorrow night and promising him a sports story. And this college paper PAYS for articles! I just sent him a writing checklist I developed for sportswriting.

This kid has been on campus for less than 48 hours, and he's already managed to get himself on the college newspaper staff.

This is the best part of teaching--watching somebody catch the ball and run with it. Even better when it’s someone who doesn’t get many balls passed to them.

Yep, Eva. That is the best part of teaching.

This made me smile; Watching Gene Kelly dance to the Beatles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkynd0oi0YI

The welcoming committee. I may bitch and complain about house-sitting 4 dogs, but they sure are happy to see me. (Can't say that about many people).

listening to radio god Ron Bennington

while discussing Glenn Beck's dog and pony show this weekend

"i don't care much about this rally, i'm waiting to watch his performance from the Memphis balcony on April 4th"

My friend telling me about watching this American police reality show in which this cop stops a woman who is wearing sunglasses and he says to her, 'Ma'am please remove your eyeware.'
She refuses to do it so he says again, 'Ma'am, I have to insist you remove your eyeware.'
She still refuses to do it and then my friend says in this very convincing American cop type voice that the guy says something like, 'Ma'am if you don't remove your eyeware I will be forced to shoot you.'

And because I wasn't really listening, I say, 'Oh my god - he really said he'd shoot her if she didn't remove her eyeware?'
And then my friend starts laughing and says, 'No, I made that up to see if you were listening. The funny thing is, you actually believed a cop in America would say he'd shoot a woman for not removing her eyeware.

The use of the word 'eyeware' is what made it sound so real I think.
Anyway - I'm laughing at myself for falling for it.

My fans on travelpod.com now includes Iran. It's now Australia, Singapore, India, Oman, Tunisia, England, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Iran. I love travelpod!

This probably does not quite fit on the "What made you smile? thread. Perhaps, instead, it belongs on something like "anecdotes."
My brother, Jim, is 17 years younger than me. He was born in 1963. I headed off to college before he learned to crawl. I went to VN when he was still riding a tricycle.
Our mom was in the hospital for a week or so after Jim was born and, even after she came home, she needed several months to regain her health.
The family needed help around the house with cooking and cleaning.

Jim called me this morning to tell me that Dorothy W, the lady who came to help and stayed for 10 years, died yesterday at the age of 93.
He said he would be flying into Cville, VA, from San Antonio for her funeral on Monday. He wants to come because Dorothy was an important person in his life.

Dorothy was a black lady. My mom discovered her own social voice as a civil rights activist in those turbulent times of grudging desegregation and then integration in Virginia.

I used to hitch-hike home from William and Mary where I was in college. Not often, though. But on at least a couple of times I would arrive and enter through the kitchen door. There would be Dorothy and my mom at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Talking. Judging from the number of butts in the ash tray, they had been talking a lot.

Dorothy was an important person in our mom's life.

I dunno, Johnboy. That made me smile a little smile!

Forget the ball - he got you!

and if JoeNation's writing is any hint of what you can bring out of a writer, we're going to be hearing about your protege

<applause for Eva>

Getting this Able2Know update. I havn't been receiving updates for a very long time--except for this thread. So, I smiled.

Eva taught JoeNation to write? I'm well impressed and smiling all over.

What ehBeth said is so true, Eva. That is a smile to last a lifetime.

After my aunt died I was going through her things and spent lots of time reading letters to her written by her students and the parents of children in her class. Tears were rolling down my face as I realized just what a wonderful impact she had on their lives.

We so need teachers who leave their students with knowledge and a love of learning. You are right at the top of the list.

Dorothy sounds like she could be in a novel. And your mother sounds like she was quite a thoughtful woman, maybe even ahead of her time.

Both are reasons for nostalgic smiles.

Was questioned yesterday by Immigration, what the purpose of my visit was (like always, and a lot more). When I responded, the officer wanted to know - "that's a more personal question, sir!" - where I would go .... He really liked the tour, dys has planned for me.

And the lady at the car rental osed a similar question.

Both wished me a good time in their lovely sate .... to which I always responded that I would stay a couple of more days in a really enchanted one