Benjamin Love Introduce

School Halloween Pahty

Oh geese, how I hated Halloween when I was a middle school teacher!  The kids would be riled up with their plans for 2 weeks before-  nothing but talk about their costumes and the pranks they were planning.  The thing was, as an adult teacher, I was like a fixture in the room-  I could move about like Casper and nobody saw me so I could hear all the plans being made.  My own kids didn't get that everything I found out about them came from just being quiet and listening like I was thinking deep thoughts about something else.  Sigh.

I had a book of plans for days before a holiday or days like Halloween:  special one day no-brain projects that were interesting and fun but required no special effort to understand the lesson.  The regular lesson or whatever project they were working on was suspended for the day.  My favorite was doing Mobius strips.  Everybody would start out with a hunk of colored paper or two if they wanted placed back to back and glued.  I showed them how to do the flip of one edge and tape the two short edges together, and then we drew a line down the center and at some point some kid would see what was happening.  I'd give him scissors to cut on the line with no explanation.  The Mobius strips grew and grew.  When they got to be too thin to continue, we hung them all over the room like ticker tape.  by the end of the day you couldn't see the walls.  Kids happy, no candy consumed, no attitude, and off they went to wreck havoc in other arenas.

When I got home today someone had Skyped me this message (you really only need to read the first sentence or two):

Dear sandy,

I have been in search of someone with this last name "sandy", so when I saw your name I was pushed to contact you and see how best we can assist each other. I am Dr. Jerry Wood, I am the regional manager of United Bank for Africa GHANA(UBA). I believe it is the wish of God for me to come across you on skype now. I am having an important business discussion I wish to share with you which I believe will interest you because, it is in connection with your last name and you are going to benefit from it.
One Late Shafi sandy, a citizen of your country had a fixed deposit with my bank in 2004 for 36 calendar months, valued at US$18,400,000.00 (Eighteen Million, Four Hundred Thousand US Dollars) the due date for this deposit contract was this 16 of January 2007. Sadly Shafi was among the death victims in the May 26/ 2006 Earthquake disaster in Jawa, Indonesia that killed over 5,000 people. He was in Indonesia on a business trip and that was how he met his end.

So apparently I am now known as Mr. Sandy sandy, a member of the esteemed sandy family.  But for 18 million you can call me anything you want.  Guess I was surprised that Skype is used for these scams now.  I suppose by now nothing should surprise me but geesh!  I really must get my info up on ancestry.com and pursue the 'sandy' family name...   Another project outstanding, waiting for bed-ridden times, but until then, as long as I am on my feets, it has to wait.

Two more days of all day work and I'll have the quilt quilted.  I can do a half day tomorrow but have a trip to the airport at some point, then a half day again on Sunday- maybe more.  Both Monday and Tuesday are lost causes so it may be the end of the week before I can get it blocked.  I can't wait.  Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, I found this gorgeous piece on an Australian woman's site but have misplaced her name right now in spite of carefully documenting it when I encountered this quilt, will keep looking and add it in asap.  I LOVE this: