Edible Arrangement

In collaboration with numerous corporative entities, our third grade is doing a research program designed to educate children and families regarding healthy eating, which in Buffalo is very difficult. So much temptation. So many family restaurants. So many famous items we have built a reputation on. It turns out that in most schools, thirty percent of students are overweight. Here in the city, forty-five percent meet that criteria. Oof.

Tonight was the introductory meeting for participating teachers, meaning me. Held at a local hospital, we were given dinner: salad, breaded chicken with melted mozzarella; pasta, broccoli, and garlic floating in butter; white bread and more butter, and sub sandwiches. It was enormous food and stuck to your ribs. Your choice of Pepsi or water.

The other non-healthy issue is the only one supermarket in the inner city where most of our families live. Where the heck are they to shop? And anyways, food that is bad for you is cheaper in the short term; you understand if you've seen the price of produce lately, compared with a pack of store brand bologna slices or bags of chips. Who the hell can afford grapes when you have one parent and two to four to eight kids?
I can't even get some of my parents to get their children glasses or dental care.

If you see me on the news at eleven, you will know that I took the guitar the manchild below me is playing and whanged he daid. He's not playing a tune, just, well, this riff, this echo, this bass, this strum, this twang, this finger slide, this reverberation. He'll pause later to effing cuss out his effing girlfriend/wife because she effing don't effing appreciate all he effing does for her on earth. Eff. Ooh! There he goes!! "DON'T. EFFING. KNOCK. ON. MY. DOOR!!" Nasty.

In my dreams I aim Voice of the Theater speakers at the floor and turn up Sammy Davis Jr. Hey There, You Asshole. Love never made a fool of you, you goddam rockstupid hillbilly pink sausage tootsieroll. Sammy would sing that for me, I know he would.

Few things to do before turning in, tomorrow is another late night as I have to attend the school's Ice Cream Social as a teacher representative for the English Language Arts portion of the curriculum.

It is cold here, snow predicted south of the city in the foothills of the Alleghany mountains. A good night for sound sleep, for dreams of the last leaves and of geese flying in formation. Wind will lull you, will sail you to Nod.