What Happened to Fern Sherman?

Did you ever go about your day and then all of a sudden a very strange thought creeps into your brain's mindless chatter? While we were walking from DS#2's baseball game towards the parking lot, I got this question in my head: Whatever happened to Fern Sherman? Where did that come from? Why did I think of this person? That's when I decided that this would make a good blog entry.

When I was around 7 years old and my sister was 4, our parents decided that they had to get us out of the Bronx and up to the Catskills for the summer. The first year we went only for the month of August to Lebanon Country Club. It was about an hour away and we lived in a little 3 room bungalow. My sister and I went to camp Wed. through Monday. We had Tuesdays off. This gave the parents time together over the weekends. That' when most of the Dads came up from the city. Think Dirty Dancing type of place.

We ended up going there until I was 17 years old! We made tons of friends but most of all tons of memories. There were so many kids but you were mostly friendly with kids from your camp group. I remember I was in the Intermediate girls group with my friends. I was a year ahead of them in school so I could have been in the Senior girls group but I chose to stay with my friends. The girls in the older group were a bit cliquish. There was Michele, Terri, Evie, Suzanne, and others I can't remember. They weren't the nicest to us "younger" ones. Then there was Fern. There was something wrong with Fern. Looking back with the eyes of an experienced special education teacher, I would hazard a guess that she had some form of cerebral palsy. She had an unsteady gait and some speech impediment. Sometimes it was hard to understand her. Fern had a brother, Scott. He wanted nothing to do with his sister. In his efforts to be cool, which he really wasn't, he was pretty mean to her in public. Fern did not fit in with anyone...us younger girls or the girls her age.

I remember once she came calling for me at my bungalow to walk to the red roof where everyone hung out after dinner. I'm not embarrassed to say that I wasn't thrilled. No, I wasn't trying to be cool but I really didn't have much to say to her. We walked there together and I went to my friends and she just stood there, not joining any group. It must have been very painful for her.

There was an older girl whose name escapes me. She was a bit "fast". She wore lots of eyeshadow and was probably more knowledgeable about certain things than the other girls. Well, this girl decided to take Fern under her wing. Maybe she thought she was doing something nice but it didn't work. We were all hanging out at the roof when this girl and Fern walked over to us. Everyone stopped talking. There was Fern with her frizzy hair blown out, her eyes covered in green eyeshadow, and some pink lipstick. We were in a state of shock. Thank God no one said anything mean, even her brother. I believe the plan backfired. It was like all dressed up and nowhere to go.

So, what happened to Fern Sherman? I looked on Zabasearch but there were more than one listing for that name. No, I don't want to call around to see if she's out there but there is this small piece of me that wants to know if she turned out okay. Does she speak better? Did she get married and/or have kids? Does she hate all of us from her past? Does she get along with her brother better? Does she have fond memories of Lebanon Country Club like my family and I have? Thinking of you, Fern. Green eyeshadow has come back in style.

Not A Daily Thing

I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to post everyday. I was just too busy and tired to do so over the weekend. Soccer and the knitting workshop gave me very little time. Now DS#2 has to do his required reading so while I am listening to him read to himself I decided this would be a great time to write.

It's funny how as I was driving to work this morning, it was as if I didn't have the summer off. It's as if I was there just yesterday. Our classroom has become an oasis because with the school in total chaos, we can just do what we do, help the kids. We are all experienced and are able to get the kids to work right away. I just can't stand one teacher I work with. Wait, that's too strong. She should retire because she is an emotional cripple. For a woman in her 50's, she has absolutely no self-esteem. She is meek and yet I believe she is a bit passive-aggressive. I feel sorry for the kids who have her. She just doesn't stop talking to them. She feels the need to keep up a dialogue with them and doesn't allow them to have any quiet time to do their work. She tried to embarrass me a bit in front of the class but it didn't work. SIGH!

I was able to fit a little knitting in yesterday during the meeting at temple. We had congregants come in to talk for about 5 minutes about their feelings about a new rabbi since ours is retiring in June. I didn't knit when they were there; only when there was down time between speakers and believe me, there was a lot of down time. I had to open my 4th skein of Supermerino. The scarf has to be longer for me. I was thinking of putting some fringes, maybe ones that look like tassels in the corners of the scarf. I love the way it's coming out. I just have to buy a denim jacket for it because that's how I envision wearing it. What can I make next?

My mother informed me how knitting helped her while she waited for DF at the doctor's. He needed a special test to determine if he has a clot in his lung. He can take deep breaths but the oxygen is not reaching his blood. If there's no clot then he has to have the heart checked. She knitting for about 2 hours. Would I be allowed to write this on the knitlist? I don't think so. Now I title all my entries: Knitting Only. I want to make a snotty remark within the paragraph but I'm afraid they'll ban me. Like what would happen to me if they did? Would I be able to live without the list? Probably.

The story behind the picture? I liked the cow's rear because it was much bigger than mine.

A Funny Coincidence

Today I decided to tell DH that I had a message banned from the KnitList and that I started my own blog. The man didn't know what a blog was but he was a bit surprised that my message wasn't allowed. He thought I wrote something really bad. I explained about going a bit off topic but you know what? I always wrote a narration of some kind that led to the knitting content. I had people e-mailing me telling me how much they enjoy my posts and look forward to hearing about my kids, my students, my life, etc. But now the KnitList wants knitting content only. I can definitely understand that some of us do ramble and some do go into great detail about diseases and stuff but that's how we got to know each other. There is one woman who I know who is chronically ill and when she mentions a few lines about her illness, I send her a message asking about her health. We have become "friends" in cyberspace. There are others whose names I would recognize and look for when I scroll through the digests because I enjoy their posts. Heck, I remember winning the prize for the Most Unusual Place You Have Knitted In on the list. (Locked in a bathroom at a Weight Watchers Center!) Even my parents were proud of that dubious honor!

Today I got an invitation to join another knitting-related list called Knit Talk. They want to be a community of knitters the way the KnitList use to be. I think it's a coincidence considering I just started this blog because I felt I coiuldn't express myself on the KnitList the way I use to. I think I'll join because it's a bit rebellious. If I don't like it, I'll just unsubscribe!

I decided to start a blog because I realized I had things to say that wasn't allowed on the Yahoo lists I belong to. I can understand the listmoms' point of view. The last warning I received, and it wasn't anything bad, just a bit off topic, got me thinking that I can write this stuff on a blog. So...here I am.

As the name of this blog implies, I am a knitter. I love to knit. Sometimes I knit so much my arm hurts a bit! There's something about knitting and the world of fiber that just centers me and I am sure a lot of other knitters/crocheters or yarn artists agree. I take my knitting everywhere. I feel naked if I don't have a project with me just in case an opportunity arises where I can knit. I don't mind waiting for doctors because I have my knitting. Meetings are more bearable if I have my knitting. Driving in the car with me as a passenger is great because I have my knitting. Baseball, soccer and basketball practices are more bearable because I bring my knititng. I believe you get the idea.

My family, DH and 2 sons, 7 & 11, have come to understand my obsession and I believe they are proud of it. They are the recipients of a lot of my knitting except for DH. I really have to make him something but he keeps telling me to wait until he loses weight. I'm still waiting (weighting).

I work full time as a resource teacher in an urban high school. I reluctantly started work again on Tuesday but I had my knitting. I sat through faculty and department conferences and knitted and listened. I make myself participate so that people see that I can multitask. Can't most people do that?

I'm going to end here. My first blog entry. Goodnight!