This and that in the morning

Here I am at a Saturday night potluck. I don't look too bored.

• The Big Wind Storm never showed, at least in our part of town. Good.
• Grunt work to do today but hope to do some writing, too.
• H pointed out that there are parts of the world, like the Middle East, where the loss of children is a daily tragedy. True enough. 
• Started reading the new Stone project, "The Untold History of the United States," which is really not untold but not widely known, especially in high school where apparently some teachers will hope to use it. It's about the American Empire and its various misguided adventures. Students of history know all of this but it's good to get it available in a form that might become popular. We need to own up to our history! We need to get rid of the mythology of our history. I'm not optimistic it will happen but it's always worth trying.
• I really do need to get back to the novel today. I think I can manage it.
• But I also want to start my syllabus, get it done this week, before the holidays really kick in.
• Obama gave a moving speech at the vigil last night. Especially when he read all the names of the kids and teachers. 
• Maybe from such personal tragedies we can realize what so many in the rest of the world go through much more often than we do.