![The End of Days](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/welton-street-school-150x150.jpg)
The End of Days
The month of April was a bit unsettled in Connecticut this year. First, we had the earthquake that no one…
![Things That Disappear](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/roller-skates-150x150.jpg)
Things That Disappear
The pale yellow “favorite blanket” that you had as a child. The hair dryer that covered your head like a…
![A Member of the Club](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/member-of-the-club-150x150.jpg)
A Member of the Club
Another one gone. Another law that was trying to help people. We knew that they were going to do it….
![Do Not Ask Why the Sea Has Forsaken You](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Ocean-Surface-150x120.jpg)
Do Not Ask Why the Sea Has Forsaken You
It was a rough five days on and under the seas last week. On June 14th, an overloaded fishing boat…
![Blue Skies](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/blue-skies-blog-150x150.jpg)
Blue Skies
In the mid-nineteen-nineties, I lived for a summer on Deer Isle, Maine. It was a pretty typical Maine summer. Foggy…
![Devon is Dry](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Devon-Cliffs-150x150.jpg)
Devon is Dry
The rains came after a week of heat. Finally. Thank God. Prior to their arrival it was baking and Devon,…
![Virtually Anything](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Masked-Learning-150x150.jpg)
Virtually Anything
So Omicron has arrived with a vengeance and people have started using the dreaded “R” and “D” words again. They…
![The Last of the Best](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Calverton-Yes-150x120.jpg)
The Last of the Best
Watch a video of this blob by going to my You Tube Channel. The text came when we were in…
![Blue Skies](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/blue-skies-150x150.jpg)
Blue Skies
I didn’t get back up into the hills again for several months. The repeated storms of January and February had…
![For the Kids](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Vaccine-Injection-150x150.jpg)
For the Kids
So they want all the schools to be open again. In 100 days. Or sooner. Get those kids back in…
![The Dead Branch](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/the-broken-branch-150x150.jpg)
The Dead Branch
I took a walk up into the hills yesterday. It was a leaden sunless day, but the temperature had risen…
![In the Virtual Trenches](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/child-on-computer-150x150.jpg)
In the Virtual Trenches
At 10:45 every morning, one of my elementary ESL classes meets for half an hour online. There are five students…
![The Stones of Summer](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Hope-stone-150x150.jpg)
The Stones of Summer
The painted stones began to appear in late April along the unpaved road that ran past the house that had…
![We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/school-crossing-150x150.jpg)
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties
“Are we still going to do Google Meets over the summer?” one of my fifth-grade students asked me at eleven…
![Corona in Connecticut, and Italy, and the UK, and California...](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/corona.jpg)
Corona in Connecticut, and Italy, and the UK, and California…
The Venetians have gotten their city back. Certainly not the way they wanted to get it back, not as the…
![Fear and Trembling](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mitch-Mcconnell-150x150.jpg)
Fear and Trembling
It’s that time of year again, Black History Month, the month when I once again try to explain to nine…
![Don't Send Her Back](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/statue-of-liberty-150x150.jpg)
Don’t Send Her Back
The defining chant of Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign is almost certainly going to be “send her back.”
![Socialism in America?](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/socialism-150x150.jpg)
Socialism in America?
That’s right, you heard me, SOCIALISM. It seems that these days some people actually stand up and announce that they…
![The Wall I Knew](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/berlin-wall-fall-25th-anniversary-150x150.jpg)
The Wall I Knew
Want to watch a video of me reading this blog? Go to my You Tube Channel. On a cold Sunday…
![My Cousin in California](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/california-wildfires-ten-150x150.jpg)
My Cousin in California
On November 9th, two weeks after my cousin in Pittsburgh, in her post-shooting gloom, bowed out of all social media,…
![My Cousin in Pittsburgh](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cathedral-of-Learning-150x150.jpg)
My Cousin in Pittsburgh
On October 29th, two days after a gunman burst into a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa. and shot eleven people dead,…
![Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/191_1pants_on_fire_version_2-150x150.jpg)
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
If you’d asked me before the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings how I felt about them, I’d probably have told you I…
![Hot, Hot, Hot](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/drought-crop-field-uk-e1444387912431-150x150.jpg)
Hot, Hot, Hot
You knew it before you got there, knew it if you’re one of those people who checks weather.com before you…
![Fathers, Sheisters, and Other New Yorkers Who Shall Not Remain Blameless](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/new-york-city-150x150.jpg)
Fathers, Sheisters, and Other New Yorkers Who Shall Not Remain Blameless
A look at the calendar tells me that Father’s Day is here again. Father’s Day these days, other than being…
![The Future is Now](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/flashgordon-150x150.jpg)
The Future is Now
If you’d asked me a few years ago, only a few, whether or not I ever read dystopian fiction, I…
![Merit Pay, Anyone?](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/school-house-150x150.jpg)
Merit Pay, Anyone?
I wasn’t going to weigh in on this because, well, everyone else has, and what am I going to say…
![Gina](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/lily.jpg)
Gina
Rainer Maria Rilke was an Austro-Hungarian writer who was born, wrote, and died a long time ago. He was most…
![Wallis, This One's for You](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Wallis-Simpson-150x150.jpg)
Wallis, This One’s for You
Finally, some good news for a change. Amidst the debacle of “tax reform” and what appears to be rampant sexual…
![The End of the World](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/hurricane-maria-dominica-damage-sep-21-1634-696x464-150x150.jpg)
The End of the World
In the nearly twenty years I’ve been teaching in the US public schools, I’ve had quite a few kids walk…
![What They Remember](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/school-crossing-150x150.jpg)
What They Remember
It’s been the summer of meeting up with former students, students I haven’t seen in more than a decade, a…
![Where We Come From](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/family-tree-150x150.jpg)
Where We Come From
A family history is a collection of stories, stories told and retold and made old not so much by the…
![Persistence](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/zipped-mouth-150x150.jpg)
Persistence
In our elementary school, we start teaching children about character traits in the third grade. We teach them to recognize…
![To The Barricade](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Trump-Barricade-150x150.jpg)
To The Barricade
I never marched in a demonstration before yesterday. I don’t like crowds much, or noise, or commotion. I’m a stay-at-home-with-a-book…
![2017: Brace For Impact](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/impact-150x150.jpg)
2017: Brace For Impact
At the beginning of the Second World War in Europe, there was a period of time, eight months and one…
![Election Week 2016](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/edge-of-the-woods-150x150.jpg)
Election Week 2016
Last week didn’t begin well. On Monday afternoon, we had to hospitalize our cat, Socrates. He’d been battling pancreatitis at…
![Where You Can Put Your Putin](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Vladimir-Putin-150x150.jpg)
Where You Can Put Your Putin
No one could love Russia more than I do. You have to love a country where the cabbie taking you home…
![A Little History](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/stick-figure-of-little-girl-150x150.jpg)
A Little History
They say if you don’t know your history, you’re doomed to repeat it and this certainly seems to be what’s…
![De Ja Vu All Over Again](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ronald-reagan.jpg)
De Ja Vu All Over Again
There it was again. That feeling. The feeling that I hadn’t felt in a long time, but that I still…
![Madness](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/american-flag2-150x150.jpg)
Madness
And so it began yesterday upon the frozen fields of Iowa, that great democratic act of choosing. The Iowans have…
![Lists](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/doomsday-book-150x150.jpg)
Lists
As another year draws to its close and the next one edges near, there seems to be in both the…
![Living in America](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Newtown-150x150.jpg)
Living in America
There are many things I could write about as the dark and confusing year of 2015 draws to its close,…
![My Immigration Was Better Than Your Immigration](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/immigrant-family-150x150.jpg)
My Immigration Was Better Than Your Immigration
You have to feel sorry for the Republicans. They finally manage to field two candidates who speak fluent Spanish, who…
![The Neighborhood](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/the-neighborhood.jpg)
The Neighborhood
Can you believe it? The maple leaves are starting to turn. It seems like summer, while we’re still in the…
![The Color of Soul](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/jazz-150x150.jpg)
The Color of Soul
I can’t remember how long I’d known my first boyfriend before he told me he was Black. I was surprised,…
![Forty Days in the Wilderness](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/wilderness.jpg)
Forty Days in the Wilderness
And so…as the school year draws to its close and the frenzy of testing slows, (but does not yet completely…
![The Tattered Hem of Winter](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/early-spring-150x100.jpg)
The Tattered Hem of Winter
For me, there are three kinds of winters. The first kind is the rainy, gray, damp, but relatively mild winter…
![Testing Testing One-Two-Three](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/microphone-150x150.jpg)
Testing Testing One-Two-Three
On page 58 of the January 26th issue of The New Yorker, there is a cartoon showing a numb-looking teacher…
![January](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/january.jpg)
January
When I lived in Russia, my Russian friends used to try to get me to tell them all the things…
![Amerika 2015](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/statue-of-liberty.jpg)
Amerika 2015
There is a widening perception in the country that the American Dream is a tattered and fraying garment slipping quickly…
![November Anniversaries](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/world-war-one-veterans.jpg)
November Anniversaries
Americans, who tend to shun both the specific and the historical, are today celebrating Veteran’s Day in one great, glorious…
![What Makes Them Do IT?](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/alexander-berkman.jpg)
What Makes Them Do IT?
When I was in high school, a friend of mine presented me with a copy of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake…
![They Flew Through The Air](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/parachute-jumpers.jpg)
They Flew Through The Air
One of the things the new Common Core emphasizes is the ability to distinguish between serious and not-so-serious sources of…
![Westward Ho!](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/conestoga-wagons-150x150.jpg)
Westward Ho!
Keeping on the travel theme, my husband and I had reason to strike out for California last weekend, and if…
![Death in Venice . . . California](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DIVC-Cover-2-100x150.jpg)
Death in Venice . . . California
When you think of Venice in literature, what do you think of? John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice? The novels…
![Holiday Reading](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/thanksgiving-visitor-150x150.jpg)
Holiday Reading
As we sit in front of the television watching football and trying to digest our Thanksgiving dinners, or attempt to…
![The Devil is in the Details](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/thomas-more-150x150.jpg)
The Devil is in the Details
Well, there’s so much good news to choose from, I hardly know where to start. The Obamacare web site debacle?…
![The Girl in the Photo](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/the-girl-in-the-photo-150x150.jpg)
The Girl in the Photo
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are falling, my wormy quinces are lying under the trees waiting for…
![No Pain No Gain](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/high-school-students.jpg)
No Pain No Gain
I was watching PBS news the other night and saw an interview with Amanda Ripley, the author of the new…
![Native Son](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/native-son-117x150.jpg)
Native Son
It’s been a very bad week. First of all, Obama, he’s my guy, but he’s really made a mess of…
![College is Killing Us](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/college-campus-150x150.jpg)
College is Killing Us
Obama has finally figured out what a lot of us could have told him a long time ago: college is…
![Mother's Day](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/mothers-day-150x150.jpg)
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is now a trip to the cemetery for me, I’m afraid. A trip to the florist’s first, of…
![What's in a Name?](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Tamerlane-148x150.jpg)
What’s in a Name?
When Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of the alleged Boston bombers, said this last week that she was sorry the family…
![First Aid](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/George-Soros.jpg)
First Aid
On September 18th, the US government announced that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), after two decades of…
![September 11th](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/world-trade-globe-150x149.jpg)
September 11th
And so another anniversary of the September 11th bombing of the World Trade Center has come and gone replete with…
![The Pip Squeak Sikh](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sikh-child-150x145.jpg)
The Pip Squeak Sikh
Several years ago, on the first day of school, a young child was delivered by their mother to the class…
![Independence Days](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/independence-day-150x142.jpg)
Independence Days
Countries really don’t leave each other alone, do they? They are always bothering each other, invading, claiming sovereignty, imposing annoying…
![Summer Solstice](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Midsummer-Bonfire-150x141.jpg)
Summer Solstice
What do you mean the summer’s over? Why it just started didn’t it? I only got out of school last…
![Juneteenth](http://www.lindastrange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/East-germany-1953-150x150.jpg)
Juneteenth
Juneteenth is an African-American holiday officially celebrated in 41 states of the United States. It commemorates the final abolition of…