This will start with some personal musings, then below the fold offer some thoughts on the possibility of Oprah Winfrey running for President, and close with a few more personal thoughts.
I live 22 miles from the school at which i teach, which is in Temple Hills MD, Prince George’s County. I live across the Potomac in Arlington VA. It is not a difficult drive, particularly when I normally leave my home, between 5:30-5:45 in the morning. I am usually one of the first couple of people other than the custodial staff to be in the building, which is unlocked for the rest of us by 6:15.
Last night we could see that a number of local school systems were going to open two hours late. Ours was not among them. We had some icing yesterday, which lead to most systems closing 2 to 3 hours early. I thought we might, so I slept in an extra 30 minutes, having stayed up to watch Michael Wolff on Lawrence last night. I got up at 4:30 — we were still not listed, even as more and more systems were announcing delays. By 5 AM, most of the systems around Prince George’s, had announced, but not us. DC Public Schools were on time, although most private schools were closed. Alexandria was also on time. But even Arlington, where I live, had announced delays — there were places with some ice, and there was some fog.
I left the house at 5:30, and Prince George’s was still open on time. In theory all announcements are supposed to be made by the.l. I drove in the direction of school, stopping at a Starbucks to get a large cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich, deciding to treat myself, because even if we were open on time, I knew we would have a high absentee rate, and I have 1st period planning this morning, with a limited amount of tasks to do before I teach 90 minutes into the day (we have 4 periods a day, each with 90 minutes of instruction). Just for the heck of it, I decided to check school closings at WTOP radio’s website, and lo and behold, we were now on a two hour delay. I could have turned around and gone home, but I had my food and drink, I was fully dressed, so I decided to drive to school at a leisurely pace, something that on the way clearly was necessary because of the fog.
And as I expected, because we are on a two-hour delay, I cannot yet get into the building, so I sit at a nearby McDonald’s with another cup of coffee (my 3rd so far today) and browse online, listen to Morning Joe on my phone, and reflect.
If you are still with me I have some thoughts to share — on what I experienced this morning, on the reaction of the political world to Oprah, on some of my thoughts about Oprah, about the school environment in which I teach, and maybe morel.