Deputy in Charge Part 2

When your teacher is a genius shaman then you better take notice.  Of everything.  Time is short.  If he leaves too soon then do not panic.  Your anguish will be alleviated because he has secretly left his deputy in charge, also a genius, a shaman who will wow you.

You are ready to take an oath but you don't know what you're pledging besides undying love and admiration, loyalty.  Fool--the shaman already senses this.  The seedier sorts of voices speak to you as well and most of the plant and animal kingdom.  Be thankful for these small things.
 But, if you begin speaking of yourself in the third person, it is time for someone to put you out of your misery.  They take care of this at the school.  In a special meeting. Just because you teach English doesn't mean the others are like you.  Well, don't forget, you are undercover.  Or, did you forget for just a moment?  The moment you used your name in the third person even though you detest anybody who would do this, speaks like this. A detective takes note of this. I, detective.  I, robot. 

Deputy in Charge

When your teacher turns out to be a genius shaman then take notice.  Of everything.  Time is short and this will be the case for a long time.

When your teacher is no longer around, do not despair, no matter how enticing the anguish.  He has deputized another.  This is the way of the genius shaman and as it turns out, the deputy one may be just as important as the genius one, sort of like a twin genius shaman.

Listen to the rattle.  It is not especially rattling for you.  Smell the sage, not necessarily prepared just for you.  It turns out to be the case that just in case, your teacher knew this all along.  You were supposed to be listening but missed something.

Kickshaw Teacher This and That

If you've ever had a genius as your teacher you realize that there is a point beyond which you begin forgetting yourself, your life, and what you had in mind.  You become what you really were meant to be all along because someone else notices some part of the universe that you concentrate on, admire, or remember.  When this happens laughing and crying are not enough.  Something must be made, fashioned.  Hopefully, it is not a weapon but, o.k., it could be a dream that is made real, material, and left for others to study.  Now, you have been lugged out of isolation for a bit, even if that's where you really dwell.  Your teacher points to the path.  Yes, it is lonely.  Lovely.  Your teacher will walk with you there for awhile.  You may be noticing nuts, berries, but there are other things too that your teacher points out like the present as well as the past that suddenly ran up ahead and beckons to be caught up with.  It calls on a telephone from Vancouver Island and has the patience of a silverback gorilla shopping for kickshaws in a crowded, dusty fair.

Longer

Although I had long dismissed it as a cold case, I realized that my Nome files may have to be re-opened, dusted off.  Even on summer break from my "day job" as "teacher" it would only be in my favor to revisit the eyeblink that was Nome, a place known for its Nugget, melting summer streets, and visitors from worlds away.  Yes, I would have to give the Eskimo yo-yo a whirl and unroll the blanket for some light tossing.  The Olympics were in sight now and there was no reason to not get in shape. This all involved sheer mental preparation.  Two weeks of Professional Development (courtesy of Race To The Top) would commence in approximately ten days' time.

Some quick backtrack thinking produced the results of the summer break:  taking care of an new eye exam, glasses, and removing an unwanted cyst from my back.  Plus, that scant trail of evidence left on Tom Clark/Beyond the Pale.  O.K., more than that.  Let's just call it the summer of the wonderful garden and eyeblinks about my other life.