Country Mouse Goes to the City...

I would definitely characterize myself as a typical "country mouse," but I especially enjoy trips to New York City. Love that place! So much to see, so much to do, pardon the cliche. People moving fast, mammoth buildings, exceptional shopping--it all intrigues me. This being my third trip, I'm finally orientating myself with landmarks that serve as my compass point; I've figured out that as long as I can find Radio City Music Hall on 51st and 5th, then I can get anywhere in between Times Square on 42nd and Central Park at 59th, East or West. As for our Chicago Broadway show, the stagehand strike put a quick end to that. Instead, we saw The Rockettes 75th Anniversary Christmas Spectacular from the 8th row at Radio City, and I must say, I feel like we saw a first-rate show. The tree was also up in Rockefeller Plaza, and workers were starting to decorate it Friday as we passed by. Everyone was buzzing around Friday late night at our hotel and voila! Saturday morning the Marriott was Christmas central, complete with lavishly decorated trees, wreaths, and pine swags. Conspicuous efficiency at its best!

Oh yeah, I did work, too! The NCTE conference panels I attended were extremely informative, and Jonathan Kozol and Amy Tan as keynote speakers did a great job. Let's see, two extremely exciting/random things happened at the conference:

1.) After Amy Tan's book signing Friday morning, I attended a presentation concerning the AP Language test's new synthesis question. I had no clue when I walked in, but one of the presenters was Larry Scanlon, educator for 30 years at Brewster High in New York City (about four blocks from where we were), and the co-author of The Language of Composition, the "it" book for AP Language, and the one we use. It is the absolute authority on teaching rhetoric and I actually left several readings from it for 4th block while I was gone. Anyway, at the end of the presentation, I made my way to Mr. Scanlon and asked him a few questions and concerns we've been having in AP. He patiently answered every one of my inquiries, then I was on my way. What a nice man! I know I'm a nerd, but I was totally excited about meeting such a noted literary/rhetorical authority.

2.) After my session, I made my way to the vendor's booths. Let me rephrase that: over 12,000 square feet of more than 350 education-related vendors; everyone from EMC to MacDougall-Littell to Pearson to Everbind and Scholastic are there. Teachers turn to vultures during this time, and the mix of K-12 makes it even crazier. Within an hour we each rack up on free posters, flyers, catalogs, book excerpts, signed copies, stress balls, bookmarks, buttons--whatever we can get our hands on we take! Plus, the vendors are there all week, and the conference goes on for five days, so imagine how much damage you would do if you visited the vendors every day! I purposely took a carry-on bag that was empty; sure enough, I was FULL of books on the flight back. Anyway, I decided to purchase a few titles in the Penguin Publishers booth ($5 each for paperbacks), and as I'm backing up from the bookshelf in front of me, I back into and step on someone behind me. I turn around to discover I am standing on the foot of AMY TAN. (And NO, Robert, this is NOT funny and I did not break her foot!) Embarrassed, I apologize and hope I haven't hurt her, but she laughed and said she was fine. Being the bumbling idiot that I am, I'm still overwhelmed that I just stepped on AMY TAN, so I decide to mention how I love her books and that my honors and AP kids SOOO enjoy her novels (which is a bold-face lie!). We make a little more small talk and she sits down in her director's chair and calls her husband while I continue my little shopping spree. Kinda cool; not that many people can say they've stepped on a best-selling author's foot and struck up a random conversation. :p And for the record, I loved The Joy Luck Club, and no, I've not read A Hundred Secret Senses. So there.

As glad as I was to see my mountains when I returned home, I always feel a bit jaded when I leave New York. Ah, at least I have my knock-off Juicy Couture, Prada, and Burberry bags to remind me of my time in the Big Apple. Plus, I'll be back there in March. In the meantime, back to the real world and work again...for two days this week...