Adeola, me, Sandra, Brendan, Benita, Kwame, Janet, Dolores
Last Wednesday at 5:30, I had a very bittersweet feeling. The eighth and final class had ended. Sure, it was a great beginning to a model that I hope will spread. But I realized that I would miss everyone present. Who knows when I would see them again?
But enough with the depressing talk! The last class was amazingly awesome, and so was the project as a whole.
From the preparation to the execution, I loved every minute of working on this project. The last day was a tremendous send off to the “little sister” class.
Let me break down how it went for all of you who weren’t there: Read more »
Earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, oh my! What a wild week we had. The earthquake was a day previous to last week’s class, so the details were fresh in Dolores’ mind (surprisingly the only one who wrote about it!)
Dolores Frank
Earthquake in Philadelphia
8/24/2011
During a meeting, the evening the day of the earthquake, I asked my colleagues for their experiences of “the event.”
- I was sitting at my computer and I swore there was a big semi truck with some issues—then the building swayed for less than a minute. Our office was evacuated!
- I looked at the (moving) couch, then the window, then I thought I was having a stroke! In an instant, the movement stopped. Whew!
- I was reaching for the remote and everything started to move. My 3-year-old granddaughter was so amused that she giggled. But not me!
- As for my reaction—I had just dozed off—sitting on the sofa (presumably) watching “All My Children” when I felt that my arm was tingling. I moved off the sofa, just as I realized that it was moving. Art that I had propped up against the wall fell. In all of the confusion, I thought it was the end of time. Then a neighbor called to ask, “What just happened?”
A personal note: By the end of August 2011, there will not be any atheists on the east coast of America.
I really appreciated Dolores’ story because no one else wrote about it, but she still included others’ accounts of the quake.
Stay tuned for the next blog post, I am sure it will include some tales of hurricane Irene!
P.S. This Wednesday marks the final installment of our class, so both new members and existing members are welcome to join our potluck wrap party!
"Kisses for Long Life"
Adeola and new member Dolores
Mary and Amy
New member Laura, Brendan, and Kwame
Last class most of the participants wrote about a city many of us call home: Philadelphia. Although the stories were mixed–some proclaiming love for the city of brotherly love, others much more negative–there was no shortage of words to describe this town. It’s the city where I was born and spent my toddler-hood. Although recently there has been a lot of craziness, (the flash mobs! the earthquake!) it’s a city I will never stop calling home. Read more »
We are approaching our sixth class, and it is remarkable how much the class has grown since day one. We have grown as writers. We have grown in members. But most importantly, we have grown to be like a family.
Every time I come into class, I notice such a distinct familiarity–and joviality–to which each member contributes. So, this week I am going to share with you a story about one of our members’ own family. Read more »
At the end of our third class, Brendan asked everyone present to write “three-word stories.” The first word an adjective describing the writer’s emotions at the moment. The second an item that the writer would rescue if their house were to burn down. The third, the writer’s favorite type of weather. What was most surprising was what each person wrote for the first word. As I saw the page reading “frustrated, overwhelmed, nostalgic, optimistic, disoriented, joyful, fear, frustrated (again), and confused” I was a little overwhelmed and disoriented myself! Why were there so many words with negative connotations? Brendan stated the same concerns, but we went to writing anyway.
Janet, Sandra, Kemar, and Brendan writing
Last Wednesday marked the third class of eight for Our Best Day So Far. It was such a unique class, because not only were there the regular mix of teens and seniors, there were other age groups represented as well! We had Amy’s grandson, Caleb, the youngest of the bunch, two teens, two twenty-somethings, and of course, the seniors!
I am going to share with you a hefty amount of stories today, one from each of the aforementioned groups.
In my last post I said stay tuned for more stories… and here they are!
Janet has been coming since the first class and she has added so much to Our Best Day So Far with her positive attitude.
The stories she has written so far helped all of us learn so much about her even though we have only been together for two classes!
On this passing Wednesday, we had the second Our Best Day So Far class. It was smaller in attendance, probably due to the heat, but that didn’t damper the spirits of those who did attend.
At the end of our second class, I noticed something wonderful.
During the typing portion of the class, Kwame, a new teen to the class, and Mary, a returning member, really enjoyed themselves.
What I saw was Mary and Kwame sitting in front of one of the laptops. Kwame was typing up Mary’s story, Mary conferring with him about which wording to use and just having a good time!
Here are both of their “I am” writings. Read more »
Adeola, Me, Sandra, and Bruce
So last Wednesday we had the first Our Best Day So Far class! It was a nice afternoon spent with some pretty cool people.
After everyone entered, we all introduced ourselves and got to know each other better. Later, Brendan, co-leader extraordinaire, announced the topic for this week’s class: I am… Read more »
There are only two days (TWO DAYS!) remaining until the first Our Best Day So Far Class! Come out of the heat into the cool (in more than one sense of the word) Free Library of Philadelphia. Room 108! Be there!
Okay, so now I that have gotten the exclamation points out of my system… Read more »
