wasn’t what i thought, i thought it was you slamming into me, me slamming into you, but that wasn’t it at all. it was a river, the current pulsating with human motion, spontaneous stage diving, swaying of limbs, giving into the chaotic whole, bodies tributed to the thumping drumbeat, electric guitar, ska/punk vocals. and those who knew, went with the flow, those who didn’t, they got moshed.
Tag: Virginia
Remembering Mr. DeLong: 1946-2023
I attended Taylor Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia during the late 1970’s into the mid-1980’s. I had some incredible teachers at Taylor. Very high on that list was Mr. DeLong (Mr. D). He was my physical education teacher and had played college basketball and baseball at George Washington University. His approach to PE was methodical; he was so dedicated to the Presidential Fitness Test, Field Day competitions, and all of the details that went into games like dodgeball and earth ball. I remember his deep love of basketball and can still picture his smooth jump shot. After I graduated from college, I came back to visit with Mr. D. We shot hoops for part of an afternoon, and I enjoyed just being near his calm energy. A couple of years later I taught my very first class of students at Malcolm X Elementary School in San Francisco. With those 4th graders I went by Mr. D, in honor of Mr. DeLong.
You can read his obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/arlington-va/jeffery-delong-11255200?utm_source=obit_alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=obit_detail&utm_content=decedent_name
The Old House: 1978-2023
this is the place
where i once lived
basement tv, saturday sugar
cereal, endless ping pong
mowing the lawn and
shooting driveway basketball hoops
sledding as a child
reading by the fireplace
blasting the beasties upstairs
on the old stereo
ice cream birthday cakes
hide and go seek
learning how to shave
and juggle bean bags
talent shows with sunglasses
and the elvis moves
staring at jumping squirrels
outside my bedroom window
a home once ours
now is no more
Mini-Taylor Elementary Reunion
My New License Plate
This is kind of a random post, but I was pretty excited to find this vintage license plate. My home state is Virginia, 1972 is my birth year, and 2010 is my son’s. E is also the first initial of my wife’s name.
With Heather
With Sheahan
Potomac River
Donaldson Run
This is the creek that I could walk to from my childhood home. I would regularly hike it down to the Potomac River.
With Stephen: 1978
