Normally, noise of any kind was unwelcome in the Texas University's private library, but somehow that same mellow voice was allowed to croon on by the hour.
It was also normal for Byron Fitch to be annoyed by even the slightest rustle of a page while he was studying, but today was different. The odd medley of sacred hymns and pop songs came across as ridiculously soothing when hummed by Kris Kemper's low voice.
American education is becoming more and more dependent on standardized exams. We are testing students in younger and younger grades, in as many subjects as we possibly can. Teaching for the test is often the result, with “proficiency” defined as “acceptable.” “Acceptable” can be defined in one of two ways: (1) as a pass or (2) as a grade permissible to that student and/or his parents. But is this truly the best possible way to educate?
Today, doctors treat infections and diseases almost exclusively with antibiotics. However, bacteria have two big ways of fighting back: they can pass around genes for antibiotic resistance, and they can coat themselves under biofilms to keep antibiotics at bay. In this ongoing chess game, the move is now ours. What strategies should we take as we continue the fight for health among communicating superbugs?
LoriAnn invited me here back in 2009 after we 'met' on a fantasy website, and I was fairly active through 2011 or so, when my college classes started to take up more of my time.
I graduated college with a BA in writing and literature in December 2013 and promptly moved back home. I eventually found a job working for our local newspaper (circulation under 1,000); covering high school sports and local meetings means I'm working 2-3 evenings a week on average, sometimes more. Writing up sports and meetings leaves me with little inclination to write for fun.
She swims laps around the perimeter of the bowl, face beaming a magnified grin—bulbous eyes, wide mouth—upon every turn into a curve.
“Her name?”
“Lazy Susan.” The cashier leans on his forearms. His own mouth twists up at me, a washrag, wrenching out everything aloof about him. The second thing to smile at me today.
CHAPTER EIGHT: A Beacon
I chewed on the corner of the pen in my hands and squinted at the print on the pink sheet of paper in front of me. My neat handwriting, filling the blanks on the page, showed signs of my trembling hand.
I sighed and got up.
Ding. Hesitatingly, I tapped the bell on the counter. The secretary’s smiling face appeared.
“All finished there?” At my nod, she went on. “Nicole will be with you shortly.” She smiled again.
“Ah, okay,” I stuttered, faintly.
I see a bride
She stands in white
Golden hair surrounds her face
I see a bride
Her richness found
In heart and hand
With love and grace
I see a bride
Her joy abounds
Her groom smiles brightly
His love is bound
For love binds easy
Yielded hearts
Such bondage welcome
Cheered by all
I see a bride
Her heart unfolding
Petals soft and pure and right
I see a bride
Her vows beginning
She stands tall
Tender
Bright
I see a bride
Her love unending
In the last essay, we covered how bacteria share helpful genes with each other, and what that means for the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (“superbugs”).
Another aspect of the bacterial world is that of chemicals and molecules. When you live in the world as a single cell, you cannot eat the kind of food we do, and you cannot interact with your environment the way we do.
***watch video in comments to better understand this poem.
Alone in a storm
Lost in my thoughts
Wishing for you and
For what we had fought
The price was too high
My tears running red
We lost every war
With so many dead
For all we had spoken
The promises made
We lie here still broken
The price yet to pay