On Tuesday morning, I drove out to see a dear friend who lives about an hour away. To pass the time and to be proactive about my upcoming teaching gig, I listened to the CDs that accompany the textbook out of which I will soon teach Effective Communication, or public speaking. All told, I made it through nearly two full CDs, or about 5 chapters. While the information was concise, well organized and interesting, I wanted to bitch-slap the chick who intoned the titles of the various sections. She drew out her pronunciation to a ridiculous degree - idea became IDeeeEEeeeuh - no doubt in an misplaced effort to achieve the utmost
clarity. I know I am being persnickety, but I found it highly irritating. I was paying close attention to her delivery and found myself further irked by her pronunciation of such words as err, as in “to err is human…” She said UR, as in pURR, instead of what I consider correct, err, or AIR, as in ERRor. Am I nuts?
Ironically, the message that the producers clearly aim to promote is for the proposed speaker to minimize vocal quirks and mannerisms so as not to distract the listener, who must concentrate to stay focused on the speech. In this case, however, her exaggerated delivery only served to distract me from what she was saying. As a teacher preparing to tackle this relatively new material, the (however annoying) CDs are helping me focus on the specific issues pertinent to speech making, some of which I know and some I am just getting. I know I will learn a great deal with the two sections I’ll teach and I am excited to continue my teaching evolution in this way. Mrs. Chili has two section of speechifying of her own, so even better, we’ll collaborate.
Weather wise, Tuesday was a glorious spring day in New England, replete with warmish (50s) breezes and lovely sun. The snow is just about entirely melted. Nothing is blooming yet, but I’ve included yon purple flower as an image of good things to come. It’s not yet consistently warm enough for any growing things - we are still 
collecting sap for maple syrup production - but I am itching to get out there and plant flower seeds. Forsythia in bloom is my sign to get out there and get dirty as it portends workable soil for peas, beans, kale and a variety of other things, but that won’t be happening for another 3 weeks or so. I’m so ready.
In the meantime, I must cut down the weathered, dessicated stalks of previously vital flowers and grasses that were so the new shoots can get out of the ground. My flower beds were planted 3 years ago, so my 300 odd perennials have spread out to such a degree that I expect nothing short of gorgeous to grow of the ground. Stay tuned for photos!
