Letters from Lisa

Click here to support me in my race for the cure for breast cancer!

I last participated in this race several years ago and it is really overdue that I participate again.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my outrage at the recent comments made by Michael “Savage”, a radio host on Talk Radio Networks, targeting young children with autism and their families. We live in a society and age in which there are plenty of legitimate grievances and issues about which to express one’s anger; there is no need to blast the innocent and defenseless and to spread misinformation about medical and educational issues.

I am a teacher, learning specialist, and adjunct professor. I have worked with autistic children and their families; I have never once encountered a child whose problems could be fixed by verbal abuse such as Savage advocates. Telling a nonverbal three year old, who barely responds to his own name, that he is a “brat” and to “cut the act out” accomplishes nothing. There is no act involved. These children are not brats. Their parents are not lax. In many cases they have spent thousands of dollars (in some cases, hundreds of thousands) of their own money on lawyers, medical treatments, and private schools in a desperate effort to get their children help. Furthermore, I have never met any parent eager to convince me that a child is more disabled than s/he actually is.

While I advocate free speech (I am an educator, after all) I don’t see any reason why companies such as yours would choose willingly to financially support an individual whose hatred for innocent children and families and prejudice towards people in general is so evident. Is this the sort of message that your company endorses?

Finally, I would not underestimate the power and determination of the autistic community. These people have fought long and hard for their children and, in the case of autistic adults, for themselves. They are not about to stand by while they are slandered and verbally abused on national radio, or in the mainstream media as a result of these comments.

I urge you to take immediate action and pull your financial support from Talk Radio Networks and The Savage Nation Radio Show in response to these hateful comments.

Sincerely,
Lisa Fischler

For a list of Savage’s sponsors, visit this page on the Autism Self Advocacy Network.

New Year’s Eve! about 7:45 new Argentina time - We switched over to daylight savings.

It got a bit rocky last night as we entered the Drake Passage. We have breakfast at 8, and then I don’t know what’s planned for the day. I anticipate taking things VERY easy today. We are sailing right into a 20-knot headwind.

about 7 pm I’ve been a bit miserable today from the rockiness of the boat as well as my stomach feeling rather weak. I do not think this patch is working all that well. I did get to one presentation in the morning and then saw the DVD of the trip in the afternoon. Otherwise I’ve been in bed. I listened to a good part of the History of Rome, two astronomy lectures, and the whole of the Persuasion recording. I read maybe one chapter of The Crystal Desert as well. I have to admit I am feeling tired of all this and it is not comforting to think that we have a whole second day and night of it. Of course, it could even be still worse. I have a feeling this New Year’s Eve is going to be spent very quietly.

The Fram saga continues. We have been asked to escort them back to Ushuaia, to be standins for the lifeboat that was crushed in the accident. So they are tagging along with us to Elephant Island. We are supposed to try to land there this morning - our last stop before the Drake Passage back to South America. Right now it’s very foggy and windy - not a great hope of landing under those circumstances. There is also supposed to be an enormous tabular iceberg that is 30 miles long. At the very least, we’ll try to cruise around it.

later still cruising. I can see an island outside my window - perhaps Elephant Island. I would honestly be fine if we just drove around it and didn’t leave the boat anymore. I’m tired of suiting up in all those layers - I like being able to lounge around in my regular clothes. I may feel differently when we are getting bounced around in the Drake Passage, but for now I’m totally content to just stay in my room and read a book or lie down listening to the iPod. I finished Pride & Prejudice and started on Northanger Abbey, but I really didn’t like it, so I switched over to the History of Rome, which I like but I find I’ve been falling asleep and missing information here and there.

after lunch I tried to burn a DVD with the stuff on the first 4GB card, with no luck. The computer in the presentation room seems quite feeble. Another passenger offered me the use of his computer and i think I am going to take him up on it. I just don’t trust the “multimedia center”.

I was up on the bridge just now and heard several pieces of news. One - the Fram has left us and is returning to Ushuaia on its own. Apparently there is another medical emergency. It’s terrible for all those people on board. Coach said that when the staff went over there for a visit, he thought the average age of the passengers was about 75. These big, fancy ships attract travelers who are fragile and who may not have any business being down in these conditions.

The other news was the prognosis for the Drake Passage - similar to conditions today but in higher wind. I think I have let the Drake Passage take on exaggerated status in my imagination.

Right now we are headed to a “secret” spot - Gibbs Island - where we might see macaroni penguins. But only if the weather is right for us to land. (or even zodiac cruise) We are following the coordinates that the Fram gave us.

If it turns out that Penguin Island was our last landing, I’d be fine with that. That was a very pleasant excursion and we got to see seals up close, which up to this point I hadn’t really gotten to do. I’m starting to anticipate coming home, and with that, all of the tasks/chores I have to do.

• scheduling field trips
• grading and commenting for Bank St
• preparing for my new semester - updating the syllabus
• putting together Antarctica presentations

It still feels far away, but not so far that I can push it wholly from my mind.

11:04 pm Apparently Argentina has switched to daylight savings time - and now, so have we.

We did our excursion to Gibbs Island and saw some pretty dramatic scenery. Chinstrap penguins and other birds nesting on high cliffs. Supposedly there were macaroni penguins too, but we didn’t see any. We did see two skuas tearing at a dead penguin and a gigantic wave washing some penguins into the water. Hopefully they were OK. Another boat saw a leopard seal with a penguin in its mouth, but I didn’t see that. Yikes. This is how the food chain works, but it’s still a little sad.

We did see a number of seals of various types resting on the beach - elephant and Weddell. I think Weddell seals have a very Teddy Roosevelt look about them. I have some very good closeups from yesterday at Penguin Island.

Eventually it began to rain pretty hard and we packed it in. In a way it was nice that the last excursion was a bit rough in the conditions - giving us a taste of what, perhaps, Antarctica is more typically like.

After dinner the ship cruised around Elephant Island, where survivors of the Endurance lived for four months of winter before being rescued. It was very dramatic scenery - mountains, sunlight, fog, and tabular icebergs generating their own chilly clouds. We think they may be the remnants of that supermassive tabular iceberg that we were searching for this morning, without success.

4:50 pm  Quite a lot to catch up on. Last night we had a very enjoyable “two truths and a lie” competition between Hayley, Jacques and Ray - lots of insults flying around, and the whole thing ended with Hayley informing the packed house of how she came to fall overboard. I went to bed shortly after that. There were a number of announcements over the loudspeaker, but I ignored them. As it turns out there was some high drama up on the bridge last night.

We were heading through the Bransfield Strait but turned back upon receiving a distress signal from the Fram, a posh Norwegian cruise ship with 500 passengers, chandeliers in the dining room, expresso machines, and other luxuries to be sure. They had been pulling up anchor from Brown Bluff (we were there recently) and suffered a double engine failure. The wind drove them toward the cliffs, which they narrowly missed, and they then sideswiped the glacier, breaking a window and crushing one of their lifeboats. Fortunately, they were able to get both engines up and running shortly thereafter, so we were able to un-divert ourselves. Otherwise we might have had to take on all those passengers! We had already started calculating how much food we had and where to move the zodiacs to make more room on the deck.

This morning we actually saw the Fram because in addition to their engine troubles, they also had some sort of medical emergency and they needed to use the Chilean airstrip on King George Island to med-evac the person out. We ourselves visited the Bellingshausen Station, the Chilean station, and got a look over the hills at the Chinese station. I decided to join the hike to the Chinese base but very stupidly wore too many layers, and I ended up absolutely roasting. King George Island has eight different stations on it. Crowded!

I came back sapped of energy and feeling rather dehydrated. I didn’t think I would even want to go on the afternoon outing. I was relieved to learn it would be later in the afternoon. I got into bed and a while later was roused by an announcement that there were humpback whales nearby! We watched them for a while, diverting our course to follow them. I was not able to get any good video or photos this time. Then we headed around King George Island intending to land at Turret Point. The water around King George Island felt deceptively calm - there were swells of water that crashed onto the beach as waves, making it difficult to land there. Instead we landed on the island next door, Penguin Island.

This turned out to be a great excursion. I was most excited about the Weddell and elephant seals, all sprawled on the beach, some in great heaps for increased warmth. They are undergoing a “catastrophic molt” meaning that they completely shed their skin in one go. Some of them made funny burping and gargling sounds, which I hope I got on video. There were also gigantic petrels nesting on the rocks, and of course the ubiquitous penguins. We didn’t get out on the zodiacs until at least 5:30 and I didn’t get back to the ship until around 8.

Everyone’s been asking me what my big adventure for the summer is going to be - and I’ve had to break it to them that I am not traveling anywhere. At least not out of the country - I’m going camping with Christine and Joseph in a few weeks. But I’ve already taken my big trip for the year, and I’m satisfied with that.

It IS a bit strange that my summer is so local - since most of my traveling is done during summers and I’ve been taking some time almost every summer to travel around. This is a departure from the regular pattern. But it’s good to be at home and at work, too.

Six months ago, I experienced the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. Six months later, here it is in the Northern. Here’s to sunlight!

8:00 am  Just returned to the room after breakfast. We are going to Esperanza this morning to have a tour of the station. It is an Argentine base where whole families live, including children. I can’t imagine bringing my kids to live here, or teaching at a school here. I could see getting very tired of this environment fairly quickly. As it is, I personally have almost had my fill. I think this trip was just the right length of time fo rme. I couldn’t have handled too much longer.

Of course, part of the problem may be that we’ve been going around in circles. We’ve been in Antarctic Sound for a number of days. Ice is preventing us from going further south. But we couldn’t go north either, because we were expected here this morning (or originally this afternoon). So we couldn’t really go anywhere else because of this appointment. I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be a nice change of pace.

upon return  That visit was very enjoyable. We landed on the dock to be welcomed by the head of the base and took a walking tour around the buildings, ending up in their “community hall” where we were served churros, strong coffee, and other drinks. They set up a little souvenir stand selling stickers, patches, stamps for mailing, sweatshirts, etc. and they had a post office box set up for those who wanted to mail postcards home. I didn’t bother - I will be home way faster than the postcards can get there. I didn’t buy nearly as much as I thought I might. I guess I still have in my mind that I will have a day in Ushuaia upon completion of the cruise to do shopping.

Esperanza Base is an Argentine political outpost staffed with a mix of Army, scientist, and civilian family units. There are currently 73 people living there, completing their year at the base, and a new group is arriving on January 11th. There is a massive Adelie penguin colony on the peninsula - 300,000 adults (150,000 breeding pairs) plus chicks.

The site is rather cute with little orange and yellow boxes for buildings - from a distance it looks like it was constructed from pieces of a children’s train set. They have a small hospital, a radio station, a Catholic chapel, a sewage treatment facility, and buildings for the transportation and equipment. As well, there is a small open air museum featuring defunct equipment left behind by the British Antarctic Survey.

They even have a stone reconstruction of the hut stayed in by the Nordensjold expedition that was stranded here over a winter. The three men erected the stone structure, placed their tents inside, and killed seals to line the floor of the dwelling for increased warmth. They survived by hunting seals and penguins. The idea of ever eating a penguin is absolutely disgusting!

Being at the base was fun. They invited us to speak on their radio program and seemed happy to show us around. There were some children gathered in the community hall selling handmade dolls and pencil drawings. I would imagine it is a challenge for a kid to find enough to do there. They did have soccer goalposts set up - but it looks like penguins regularly travel through the area. I wonder how the penguins and humans coexist there. If it is the largest colony of Adelies in the world, even if it weren’t, I would hope that the residents there took special care.

At the base they must abide by the terms of the Antarctic Treaty. That means they cannot grow exotic species or hunt for their food by fishing. All of their provisions are sent down during the summer in five installments. During the winter, nothing comes through. They only get 3 hrs of daylight during winter (and, I’d imagine, only 3 hrs of nighttime during summer). When asked what food he missed, our guide said “green” - “Argentina has the best meat in the world, but I’ve had enough of it!” The Ioffe brought some boxes of fresh fruit along to give them a bit of a break.

While in the community hall I noticed that Graham, one of the guides, had a huge pile with everyone’s passport and he was giving them all a special stamp. Kind of like the stamp from the Galapagos Islands, perhaps. I liked that. But I just overheard our neighbors complaining about it. I guess they might need the blank space for something else? I’m not sure. They seem sort of sour people anyway.

about 12:30 pm We are pulling up anchor from Esperanza Base. I can see the base out of our window. I’ve taken a number of layers off and have been relaxing in the room. I think the cheap sweatshirt from Target may actually be warmer than the Polartec! It’s warm outside, as well. The whole visit I had my blue jacket stuffed in my backpack and the black head liner as my hat. (Someone jokingly termed it an “Antarctic burqa”!)

about 6 pm After lunch we had a bit of time to spare, so I washed some more clothes in the sink. I now have more than enough clean clothes for the rest of the trip and I shortly hope to have enough dry clean clothes as well.

It was announced that we would be doing a zodiac cruise around Hope Bay, the area around Esperanza Base, and again I was down to the mud room to get my boots and lifejacket on before almost anyone. I enjoy getting the equipment on when it’s emptier, and i was again among the first on line. We watched the zodiacs being lowered into the water via the crane and then circling around in the bay, perhaps testing to see what it was like in the waves. James, the videographer, was steering a zodiac around with Hayley sitting in the back. When he aimed towards the gangway stairs, the boat struck the side in an odd way, and Hayley fell off the back into the water! It took James a second to realize what had happened and he turned off the engine and helped her climb back into the boat, getting significantly wet himself. Graham drove over in his zodiac to make sure all was well. When Hayley climbed back in, she made sure she was the one to drive back to the gangway. Then she had the kayak guide take over James’ boat and went inside to change out of her wet clothes.

The excursion toured the edge of the giant penguin colony on the peninsula. We couldn’t get too close, but we encountered a large number of penguins in the water, as well as a predator - a leopard seal. The wave action was very rough and we were all frequently splashed, so I put away my digital camera and made do with the little blue waterproof. (I went through 39 exposures in about an hour!)

The wind was quite high, churning up waves. So we proceeded to a more sheltered area where a glacier was settled, and we were able to see active erosion - dripping water and rockslides, combined with tide action on the bottom. We continued along the glacial edge and admired the ice formations. Then we observed dramatic dark clouds moving in to the area in front of us at a rapid pace. The wind had picked up to 38 knots, and all zodiacs were called in. It was a relief to get back and out of the salt spray.

We spent the next hour or so cruising among some massive and beautiful icebergs. They were able to steer the ship among them so that we could get remarkably close. It was hysterical watching everyone race back & forth across the bridge trying for that National Geographic shot. I took photo after photo and video after video!

about 7:15 am - You need sunglasses just to look out the window here. We’re weaving among huge icebergs, heading for a landing on the Antarctic continent at Brown Bluff. I guess we have given up the plan to sail through the Active Strait. I feel that whatever we end up doing will be great, so it doesn’t signify to me where our exact destination is. We’re supposed to reach Brown Bluff at 11:00.

Another bright, sunny day. It’s sort of Antarctic Lite out here. I don’t think we have been at all exposed to the typical conditions - which is fine with me, of course.

During dinner last night one of the staff (Jacques, the bird guy) told us that because we are having a late spring down here, it has disrupted the breeding cycle of those Adelie penguins we saw on Devil Island. There were eggs, newly hatched chicks, and chicks up to a week or two old. Normally the colony would be synchronized and everyone’s chicks would be the same age. That way when the chicks are old enough, they form creches - basically, penguin day care - and the adults can go out hunting for food. The point of being in a colony is to have safety in numbers.

after breakfast  This morning’s landing is going to be at Brown Bluff - a landing on the continent itself. It’s at 9:00 (first gangway, anyway). I’m not going right at the beginning because I’m not planning on hiking. I had thought about it, but then read in my guidebooks that there are frequent rockslides and that there is a lot of erosion. So I think we’ll skip that one.

Anytime I’m in this room, I feel like falling asleep. I feel like I’ve been very lazy on this trip. I come in from the excursions feeling ravenous, but I haven’t done anything to become so hungry. And then right after that my eyelids start drooping, and I feel I must lie down for a few minutes - which turns into falling quite asleep.

after lunch  Our tour of Esperanza Base has been rescheduled for tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to it and hoping, though not expecting, there to be souvenirs or some way of commemorating our visit. This afternoon we are cruising toward the entrance of Active Sound and then doing a zodiac cruise among the icebergs.

Brown Bluff is an amazing place. It’s a volcanic area where the other half of the volcano has been eroded away by ice, meaning we were standing in the middle of the extinct volcano. You could see the layers of ash and the pumice stones with holes, which indicates where lava had been flowing. There were groups of Gentoo penguins around big rocks, with each individual sitting on a pile. There was also a big colony of Adelie penguins with chicks - many a bit older and fluffier than the ones I saw yesterday. Some of the nests had two chicks. I don’t think they’re quite as cute as emperor penguin chicks, but I enjoyed seeing them. There were also cracked eggs on the ground and some skeletons - so there is death as well as life.

What actually amazed me most was the moss growth. The peninsular ground was very green. I tried to avoid stepping on it, but it was almost impossible, especially if you tried to keep 15 ft distant from all wildlife. That was nearly impossible too since there were so many individual penguins running around. I love watching groups of them clump together by the water and then, squawking up a storm and fluttering their wings, all plunging in at once.

I think the gentoos have a very Chewbacca-like sound.

about 6:30 pm - Our plans for the rest of the day became completely muddled due to the first real weather of the trip - very high winds. We sailed out to the opening of Active Sound in wind 30-50 knots or even above, way too high to go out in the zodiacs. And we could not at all proceed through the sound due to extensive ice cover. So we cruised around in the ship - more accurately we have been driving in circles. We can’t go anywhere now because we are due to visit Esperanza Station tomorrow. So we don’t have sufficient time to drive anywhere else and then return. I was up on the bridge for a while, and also out on the deck in the wind itself, then came back up to the bridge, then back up to the room to rest. I feel as lazy as a seal. Perhaps it’s the cold causing me to want to hibernate.

I figure we must have three more days of active cruising, and then the last two or so days of sailing back through the Drake Passage. Part of me is already anxious to get back. I feel like I’ve had the essence of the experience - have seen everything I wanted, except perhaps for a research station. I don’t need too much more. I’m satisfied, and eager to get home so I can talk about it!

after dinner - Feeling better, health wise. I think all that rest this afternoon must have helped. It rather reminds me of my days in the rainforest, when we would go out first thing in the morning and then rest after lunch during the hottest part of the day. I remember always feeling the most lonely and lost right before dinner, when everyone would gather and I would have an excuse to be among people again. I can be chatty and social when the opportunity presents itself.

around 9:30 pm (I think) The sun is sinking lower and lower in the sky and spreading a warm, distant orange glow over the swirling water and the icebergs. It’s been sunrise so early in the morning, and sunset so late in the evening, that I haven’t really had the chance to see it. It’s lovely.

I’ve just washed a few items in our sink and I’m waiting until they dry off a bit so I can hang them outside the bathroom. It was valuable to see just how much water the Polartec fleece can hold. Remind me to never, ever get wet while wearing it.

They screened an installment of “Life in the Freezer” down in the presentation room and I went just to have something to do. It was uncanny watching scenes that I had witnessed live just this morning, or at most a few days ago. But it also reminded me how little of Antarctica I’ve actually seen. Only glimpses - bits and pieces. Not that that isn’t enough - it’s just valuable to realize the limits of your own experience. Some of our guides have been coming down here for years and have done much crazier things that just drive zodiacs around. My life is a lot tamer. I have made different choices.

What amazes me is how much life there is, in such inhospitable places. Wherever it can gain any foothold, it pushes and grows as far as it can. And yet it can all be taken away so easily. Life needs more life to sustain itself. Most things eat one another, benefitting from misfortune and death. And to think what a narrow window the Earth provides - how much more extreme and inhospitable it could be, and indeed has been in the past, and will be again in the future. How privileged we are, how lucky and how fleeting it all is. It all seems so desperately important, for that short time that one is around to be conscious of it. Yet ultimately what becomes of it? Is there any value in experiencing and living beyond one’s own personal memories and those memories of the others whom one touches? It seems almost ridiculous that such living could be going on without any goal or point to it. But it doesn’t really need to have a goal, I guess. It could just be for its own sake, for however many moments it lasts. It just makes me want to appreciate things more. It’s quite easy to grow complacent and to only focus on what you haven’t got. And it’s easy to find ways to suffer and there are many legitimate sources of frustration and pain.

Coming to a place like this throws it all into stark relief. Life here teeters on the brink and is absolutely at the mercy of environmental conditions. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a worker who lives down here, especially over a winter. I think I wouldn’t be able to do it. I would become depressed. I would probably spend all day in bed. I feel like I’m practically doing that now! There is a lot of leisure time on board, which I actually like. You have time to process the experience that way. I don’t like the type of travel where you are constantly packing your suitcase to go someplace else. You are always on the go, always catching up to yourself. Here I feel I have been given the gift of time.

Early morning - around 6:45

I have that blasted “Twelve Days of Christmas” stuck in my head. I suppose it could be worse - it isn’t Britney Spears, at least.

I’m awake and dressed and nursing my first cup of coffee before the wakeup call over the loudspeaker even came on (I’m expecting it any minute). These wakeup calls in the morning are pretty funny - like “reveille” at Camp Starlight. Hayley wished everyone a Merry Christmas yesterday, pointing out that we were in fact in the Weddell Sea, thus living up to the tour’s name. We are going to spend New Year’s in the Drake Passage - not sure if that will be quite as festive!

The calm, easy weather has had some paradoxical effects. On one hand, it permits the ice to collect and clump around spots where we’d like to land, making them inaccessible. On the other hand, it allows us to go out in the small boats and have a lovely cruise, without it being too windy or rocking the boat much. Ideally it would be nice to land more often, since you can get up closer to wildlife and see more of the geology, but not at the expense of having a storm or becoming seasick.

It’s just 7 o’clock. Hayley sounded exhausted over the loudspeaker. She said that they were navigating through ice all last night and that we won’t be able to go as far south, to Seymour Island, as was originally intended. Instead we are going to try for Devil Island and Snow Hill Island. I don’t mind that the itinerary keeps changing. Better safe than sinking. I enjoy going anywhere and seeing anything.

Staff members

• Hayley - expedition leader - from New Zealand
• Don - assistant expedition leader - from Canada - is the one who did a lot of the safety briefings
• Graham - the photographer - drives zodiacs and gives presentations
• Maggie - hotel manager - is the one who organizes ship events and coordinates food
• Coach (Ray) - the Australian
• Scotty - gives a lot of historical talks
• Sean - pronounces his name “Shan”
• Mo - I was in her boat yesterday - from Alaska
• Jacques - “the bird man” - so enthusiastic about the wildlife that sometimes the others tease him about it
• Leo - the cook
• Russian captain - very friendly - has nicknamed me “New York”. Mostly up on the bridge, smokes pipes.

Then there’s someone in charge of the sea kayakers, a guy manning the bar, lots of staff who clean the rooms, wash linens and so on.

At the end of today will be the halfway point of our trip. This is as far south as we’re going to get. It’s a lot like visiting Miami and the Caribbean and then saying you’ve “been to North America”. Antarctica is vast. We went by a craggy volcanic island yesterday afternoon that barely would show up on a map, but it towered over us impressively. Maybe it’s because so many of the staff are New Zealanders and Australians, but the landscapes I’ve seen seem very Lord of the Rings. Stark and beautiful and forbidding.

upon return - Devil Island is beautiful. It’s an Adelie breeding colony and there were chicks! My first penguin chicks. I climbed up to a good vantage point where I could watch a little group the whole time. I saw one penguin feed its chick and then do an exchange with the returning mate. There were two more chick-adult pairs on the same little rocks.

notes written while on Devil Island — There are so many Adelie penguins toddling around and squawking at each other - flapping their wings, eyeing us with a turn of the neck. There’s a gentle breeze and my thermometer reads fifty degrees. No wonder there are a lot of little iceberg pieces. It’s starting to thaw.

I’m watching one pair that seems to be engaged in a mating ritual. They touch beaks and slowly circle around to the back, a subtle and graceful dance.

A brown sharp-beaked skua just landed among the penguins, with much squawking and flapping of wings.

I’ve climbed to a slightly higher vantage point to take a look at the penguins nursing chicks. There are 3 in this little rocky promontory that I’ve been particularly watching.

The wind has picked up a bit so the hat went back on, as well as the thicker gloves. When the sun is out, however, it’s nice and warm. Some folks have already gone back to the ship - probably from overdoing the mulled wine last night!

This is such a neat place. I’m glad we were able to weave in and out of the icebergs to get here.

after lunch We are setting course for a place called Vortex Island, where we will do a zodiac cruise - not a landing. We don’t have a “gangway time” yet, so we’re just hanging around waiting for the announcement. I am rather sleepy and might do a short nap. But first I have to scroll through my photo and video and weed out the less impressive clips. I’ve hit the end of my 4 gigabyte memory card. Four gigabytes! I have one more card, of the same size, to work with. Clearly I am plunging through memory at a breakneck speed. But when I take photographs my motto is Shoot first, ask questions later.

KILLER WHALE sighting - up to 15 of them! Tamarin Peninsula, Eagle Island area.

later We did an awesome zodiac cruise around Erebus & Terror Gulf. It was sunny and warm, and the water was extremely calm. We saw the same pod of killer whales that was spotted earlier, and one passed right alongside our boat. We also saw three different species of seal - Weddell, crabeater and leopard. Penguins and ice, too, of course. Always!

Today’s two excursions were absolutely stellar. Now I’m hungry and wondering when dinner is going to be!

Jacques kept calling over the loudspeaker exuberantly, in raptures about the Wilson’s storm petrel. Coach was driving my boat, and with typical Australian deadpan said, “My heart is quivering!” and “I almost wet myself!” He didn’t drive like a maniac today, probably because there were so many different things to see and there were so many other boats in close proximity.

So we never went off to Vortex Island, just looped around Erebus & Terror Gulf. I think that decision was made because of the killer whales here, and it was a good one. I even got some good photos in. Very satisfying.

about 9:30 pm Just attended a hysterically funny session of “the most profound questions asked on these trips” including

• Is that the same moon we have in Texas?
• When you did your circumnavigation, did you go all the way around?
• Do the mountains float on the water, or are they anchored to the bottom?
• How far is the ocean above sea level?
• Does the crew sleep on board the ship?
• How long is Happy Hour?
• Is the other side of the island surrounded by water too?

It is absolutely bright and sunny out as though it were the middle of the afternoon. We’re basically parked in the Erebus &Terror Gulf and we won’t pull out until it’s time to travel to our next destination, which at dinner was said to be Active Strait leading to one end of Joinville Island where we can land. We will not be heading any further south on this trip. In a day or so we’ll be landing on the continent itself.

If I ever come back to Antarctica, I would probably want to go way further south. I feel like - pardon the expression - I’m only seeing the tip of the iceberg. And yet we’ve seen quite a bit despite being in such a small area. Around the coasts is where most living things can survive, anyway. The only reason to go to the interior of the continent would be to visit a specific place, such as a research station or the South Pole.

Recently returned from the morning’s zodiac excursion and I’m warming up, as well as feeling increasingly sleepy.

Highlights - Joinville Is. - Madder Cliffs

• a HUGE colony of Adelie penguins - at least 100,000 breeding pairs
• watching penguins jumping out of the water - as though shot out of a gun
• being able to briefly land on sea ice
• monstrous-sized blue icebergs

The last half hour got cold & windy - but before that it felt great. It didn’t help that I switched boats after the ice landing and ended up with a driver who loves to gun the engine. Why get cold and wet on purpose? That was irritating.

But now I’m inside, warming up, and all’s well.

later  We navigated toward Paulet Island but when we were within 12 miles of it, it became clear that it was blockaded by sea ice and icebergs. So we steered away and we’re now looking for another place to land. The expedition leader, Hayley, got on the radio with a nearby ship and found out that they were able to land at Devil Island. She hasn’t announced it over the loudspeaker because I think she doesn’t want to promise anything. We could get there and find that it’s inaccessible because of ice, as well. Right now we’re sailing among large, beautiful icebergs, and that will probably continue for a while.

I’ve been sleepy since we got back from the zodiac cruise this morning. Part of it is probably the seasickness patch. Part of it is not sleeping enough at night, and taking too many naps during the day. It’s just like my sleep cycle during vacations at home. Except this time, it’s complicated due to the ship’s schedule. I’d really rather be alert when something important is going on. Otherwise, I don’t care when I sleep.

Earlier when I was on the bridge, Hayley called Esperanza Base to confirm that we are visiting on the 28th. She had to have one of the passengers translate between Spanish and English, and it was fairly comical. Even with the translation, they seemed to have a hard time understanding what we were saying.

They just announced that they have filled the plunge pool on Deck 5 and that people should get into their bathingsuits and jump in.

later  They had some takers! That is some hysterical video footage that I got.

As I was walking back inside, I noticed that there was a massive tabular iceberg right near us! I am about to get dressed to go on another zodiac cruise, which they said would be about an hour or an hour and a half, to Rosamel Island. This one would be focusing mainly on icebergs. Photography time. I’m not anxious to go back out in the cold. My feet were very uncomfortable this morning after the first cruise.

But I’ll persevere. You miss things when concern for comfort interferes with the sense of adventure. Also - there is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing!

still later - almost bedtime  I had a great afternoon and evening. We spent about one and a half hours touring the sea area around the icebergs and it was so calm and peaceful - no wind at all. I was very comfortable except for my feet, which as always were quite cold. Icebergs are beautiful. The guide pointed out areas that indicated something of the icebergs’ history - lines, scratches, holes, and so on, all indicating where there had been erosion, exposure to sea water, turning, etc. Towards the end we saw one massive iceberg beginning to totter back and forth.

After we got back, we had a lovely “happy hour” with free mulled wine (too spicy and strong for my taste, so I didn’t finish mine) and then a beautiful buffet dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and ice cream for dessert. A little while later, we did the singalong with me at the piano in the lounge.

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

On the first day of Christmas the Ioffe gave to me

An iceberg in the Weddell Sea

2nd day - Two tons of krill

3rd day - Three Russian sailors

4th day - Four calls from Hayley

FIVE HUMPBACK WHALES

6th day - Six dolphins playing

7th day - Seven zodiacs sinking (!)

8th day - Eight seals a milking

9th day - Nine penguins barfing

10th day - Ten toes are freezing!

11th day - Eleven crew a-boozing

12th day - Twelve cameras snapping

Deception Island

We were originally going to land and do a walk-around, but there were sheets of ice blocking the way. At first they tried to break through, but they only succeeded in pushing it around. (Another ship tried this and got stuck in the ice!) So we went out in Zodiacs instead.

What a great morning and a super introduction to Antarctica. We left the ship one little boat at a time and veered off in different directions. Our boat went to the interior first and cruised around, viewing the shipwreck, some penguins tottering around, a few seals (I have a photo of one yawning) and a lot of thick ice - the very ice that blocked our entrance.

By the luck of the draw, I ended up in Coach’s boat. Coach (whose real name is Ray) is a hardy gentleman from Australia who has a very colorful history. He led an Aussie expedition to Antarctica back in the 1960s and even has a mountain named for him. Also luckily, since I got on almost last, I ended up in front, which provided the best views and opportunity for photography. The island was stark white ice overlaying brown and red jagged rock - made by previous volcanic eruptions. Deception Island is a caldera, a collapsed volcano, but it is still active. There are seismic monitoring stations and they exepct activity again within the next few years.

My favorite parts were the swimming penguins, and being right up against the solid ice.

We’re now on our way to Half Moon Bay. We should be there in a few hours. They are going to announce our activities at afternoon tea. I’ve taken off some of my layers and it’s now time for a nap.

later about 7:30 pmThe afternoon’s landing was just brilliant. It was at least 50 degrees outside - I took off most of my layers and only put one of my jackets on when the wind picked up. The neat aspect to the island is getting so close to penguins.

later about 9:30 pm Far too early to go to bed, though I’m tired. I also want to take a shower before I go to sleep so my hair won’t be wet during our excursion tomorrow morning. We’re heading south toward the Antarctic peninsula tonight and will arrive in the Antarctic Sound early in the morning.

I loved being on Half Moon Island today. You could wander around at will and everywhere you went, there were penguins. I got great footage, both still photos and video clips. We also saw one lone seal and one macaroni penguin, which the staff said was pretty cool as well as unusual.

Since we are going to be in open water tonight and I could feel the waves picking up a bit, I broke down and put on a new seasickness patch. I figure that if I suddenly wake up feeling sickly, it will already be too late. The ship is starting to roll a little bit as I’m writing this.

It’s pretty noisy down here in the lounge. I’m going to finish my decaf coffee and get back up to the room. It’s very light out but that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t nighttime. We’re entering into just about a 24 hour daylight zone, and among the longest days of the year in the Southern hemisphere.

I think this is a good night to RELAX and rest up for tomorrow.

December 23rd about 9:40 am - Picked up our “wet weather gear” - a bright red jacket and pants with suspenders. I had not originally thought of renting because I have my ski pants and waterproof jacket, but at the last moment (as usual) I decided that it would be better to get their stuff wet and dirty, and wear my stuff underneath.

Zodiac Briefing Notes

• up to 15 people
• cruising - stay on the zodiac the whole time - need to bundle up warm
• landing - transport to shore - will be walking around and getting exercise

Wear rubber boots when leaving the ship - leave them in the “mud room”.

Before leaving, feel how cold/windy it is and then dress accordingly (add in more wind)

1. Mealtime briefing - gangway time (time for loading - you have to be ready to go)
2. Go into mudroom for boots, lifejackets, etc.
3. Line up along gangway - checked off by a staff member
4. No more than 3 people on the stairs
5. Keep your hands free - put on backpack instead of carrying it
6. Step carefully into the zodiac and sit down right away
7. Unload only a few people at a time
8. Oneshore - staff member briefing
9. “Last zodiac time” - absolutely must be back

Ask the driver’s permission if you want to take a photo standing up (only if it’s moving slow)

Inside the zodiac, take backpack off.

Ship’s horn - heard from onshore - means time to head back.

Wash off boots & bottoms of pants upon returning- prevents contamination from one island to the next.

just before 3 pm - We have another briefing in a few minutes. This one is mandatory, but the other afternoon presentation is optional, and I might skip it. I have a bit of trouble in the presentation room because you can hear things sloshing around, and there aren’t any windows to re-orient yourself to the horizons. I like the room, the lounge, and the outdoors much better.

Briefing notes - IAATO - International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators

Regulations for visitors

• nothing overboard
• onshore - keep things secure - especially plastic that can be blown away
• no waste on Antarctica
• be mindful not to walk on plants
• decontaminate boots - not introducing any bacteria
• do not remove ANYTHING
• do not disturb wildlife - 15 ft distance
• try to stay in one spot and watch

We have spotted our first icebergs! (about 5:50 pm)

later - Planned out our holiday music for tomorrow since it’s Christmas Eve. Almost missed a really close pass with an iceberg. There are now at least 10 floating nearby, and the South Shetland islands have just come into view. I like to watch from the bridge - there were lots of people up there today.

I started to feel a little unsettled this afternoon, so I made sure to have a can of ginger ale at dinner and then another can of carbonation later.

Tomorrow is our first landing off the boat. It’s going to be Deception Island. I will have to start with a new memory card and probably new batteries too. From this point on, life is sure to get a lot busier. I intend to be out there as much as possible, seeing and doing all I can.

I knew my passport HAD to be in my house somewhere. I am always so careful to put it back in the same place (my long desk drawer) because I use it so often. I’ve been out of the country, on average, twice a year since I got that passport. It contains stamps from just about every place I’ve visited so far, from Australia to Norway to Peru - with the notable exceptions of Gibraltar and Morocco, which to my annoyance didn’t offer stamps. I do have stamps from places I wasn’t expecting - such as the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador, and two Antarctic research bases, Esperanza and Bellingshausen.

So you can imagine what I felt when I realized my passport was missing. I knew it couldn’t be stolen - I just couldn’t find it anywhere in the house. I feared that it had fallen in with some old papers that I’d thrown away. I’ll admit to shedding a number of tears over it, since I HATE losing things and especially things that are valuable and irreplacable, like my passport stamps. I put off applying for a new one for at least a month, hoping it would turn up. But eventually I caved and ordered the replacement - I leave the country too often, and on too short notice, not to have a passport available.

Since I lost the passport back in February, I really didn’t think I had a shot at finding it again. But it turned up today as I was emptying out my old desk, which is going to be thrown away - the passport had become lodged inside, and that is why I couldn’t see it when I opened the desk drawer to look.

I already have a new passport, so I don’t need this one except for its history. I think I’m going to scan pictures of all the pages, just in case it ever gets lodged in another drawer.

Sigh of relief!

We are officially out in open water winding our way through the Drake Passage. I had exceptionally poor sleep last night - I felt dirty from not showering, plus the room was hot. As a consequence I have massive circles under my eyes. Right now I’m in the lounge having coffee - they won’t be serving breakfast until 8 and my guess is it’s newly 7. So here I am. The waves don’t feel too fierce - it isn’t unlike the other boats I’ve been on. I was a little concerned about the seasickness patch dislodging while in the shower, but it seems to still be stuck on.

So this is it - we are on our way. I’m suddenly feeling like I could go back to bed! Maybe I’ll do that. I’m very tired and this is going to be an uninterrupted day of sailing - so it’s not like I’ll miss anything. Tomorrow, either.

later - I’ve spent most of the morning sleeping - I think it’s a combination of lack of lseep last night, the seasickness patch, and the tossing and turning of the boat itself. Last night they joked with us that this can be either the “Drake Shake” or “Drake Lake”. Luckily so far it seems to be the Lake. Still - I have to get used to it.

I’ve been outside a few times this morning. It feels good to be out in the fresh air, but there isn’t a lot to see now. So I came into the lounge and I’m having watery hot chocolate and cookies. Lunch is around 1 and then there are more presentations. I skipped the one on birds because as it was I was fighting to stay awake during the whale one. It’s very hard to get used to being on board.

This morning I took a shower, which was a feat in itself. You just close the curtain around yourself and huddle underneath the jet of water, trying not to have the wet curtain plaster itself against you. Every time the ship lurches a bit, the water rushes across the floor, eventually to slide dwon a circular grate underneath the sink. And I spent the whole time worrying that my clothes would fall to the floor of the bathroom, and then I’d have soaking wet clothes to put on.

My bed is fairly comfortable. It has a curtain that can be pulled closed around it too! There’s also a 2nd bed above me that is not pulled out, since the sofa converts into a bed at night (they come into our room and do that while we’re at dinner). It’s quite warm especially under the covers, and I have two pillows. There is also a drawer that pulls out from under the bed with blankets, but I really doubt we will need them.

The lounge & bar are at one end of the 3rd floor. Some people are watching a video about Shackleton, but I am studiously ignoring it - this is not a good story to watch while you’re heading for Antarctica. Why not just put on “Titanic” already?

It already feels like I’ve been on the boat for ages, although we only just got on and we haven’t been sailing for even 24 hrs yet. All of that flying, the hotel room, walking in Ushuaia - that seems very far away now.

almost 3 pm - I took another brief walk on the upper decks after lunch and took my binoculars this time to see if I could see anything else - but not much. A lot of waves and a very few birds. They opened the gift shop, warning us that there wasn’t much clothing inventory. I still managed to snag a t-shirt and a sweatshirt.

4:45 pm They offered “afternoon tea” in the lounge just now with chocolate chip cookies. In a few minutes there is (yet another) presentation, the last of today. The Drake Passage continues to feel relatively smooth, but of cousre we have the rest of tonight and all of tomorrow. I can’t sit or lie in my bed anymore - it will prevent me from sleeping tonight. I’ve been struggling to stay alert and it does feel better when I’m laying down. I am pretty convinced that this is the fault of the seasickness patch, making me drowsy. Still, better that than seasickness!

6:00 pm Just got out of the presentation - which was one of the expedition guides doing a powerpoint about his journey into the Antarctic for the Australian gov’t in 1963-4. I ended up clicking the Powerpoint slides for him. Colorful guy. Now I’m back in my room wondering what to do with myself…

I decided on coming down to the lounge, just for a change of scenery. There’s someone sitting right by the piano, de facto guarding it, otherwise I’d sit down to play a bit. [Note - I did, a little later.] All during my walks in Ushuaia I was trying to work out the last song for our show. Sometimes you just can’t help having work thoughts sink in.

and still later I am going to try to make this an early night. All today I was very tired and i can’t blame all that on the seasickness patch. Some of it must also fall on my own poor sleepihg habits.

We are going to cross 60 degrees latitude by tomorrow morning. That is when we’ll officially “be in Antarctica”.

4:43 pm Here on the ship in Room 406! The room is cozy and so far everything’s going great. They took us through the checkpoint where our bags were x-rayed (the sign read “do not bring guns, do not bring explosives, do not bring radioactive material”) and then piled us back on the bus to go to the actual ship - which was funny because the ship was not 200 feet away. We boarded and handed in our passports, then went right up to the rooms. I haven’t really unpacked - I figure I can always do that later if I find that my things are not accessible enough.

10:36 pm First night sleeping aboard and so far I love being here. Everyone is very friendly. I have a nice roommate named Diane, from Canada, who was originally going on the ship that unfortunately sank a while back. I have also been sitting with Lucy and her kids Abby and Josh. They’re from London. We were picked up from the same flight in Ushuaia and all stayed at the same hotel. And on the bus I met a professor who used to work at Brown.

Here I just got into bed thinking I was going to catch up on writing and go to sleep but they have just announced that they are dropping off the boat pilot and I think I want to tape that for the kids. THEN I’ll go to sleep. Breakfast is at 8 tomorrow and they’re waking up up at 7:30, but I might get up earlier and take a shower.

about 11 OK, the pilot is officially on his way back to Ushuaia and I am officially back in bed!

Tonight we are entering the Drake Passage, and it could get a little (or a lot) rough. Hopefully it won’t.

Ship decks:

• 6 - outermost - good view
• 5 - bridge (I went in earlier), library
• 4 - my room
• 3 dining hall, lounge
• 2 & 1 - have not been down there yet!

Earlier today we had a buffet afternoon snack to welcome us to the boat, and then after watching us take off, we had a lifeboat drill. They encouraged us to dress as though it were the real thing, and take anything with us that we would need, like medication. Climbing into the lifeboat was optional, but of course I did it. I took some pictures of the inside of the boat (as well as of the instruments on the bridge). I love all the little warning signs and little notices as you walk around. I am trying to keep track of all those little details, to present the realistic picture when I get back. It’s amazing how much has happened when we have only been on board for a few hours!

I’m so thankful for how everything has gone so far. I was so tense trying to make sure I connected all the dots. Now I can relax. Finally!

morning about 8:15, Friday the 21st (of December 2007)

I’m ridiculously thirsty despite the enormous bottle of water I began to guzzle last night…

HAB 22 - CHOQUEAR CORREO

This note was waiting for me at the front desk when I checked in yesterday. They had to re-do one of my flights and so now when I get into Buenos Aires on the night of the 2nd/morning of the 3rd, I won’t go to a hotel but right to the international airport. Then I get into Colombia rather earlier. Which - I guess that’s neither here nor there. The airport seemed pretty safe considering there were police swarming around checking everything.

So I’ve decided not to take the hike after all today. I woke up so tired and wanting to relax that I think it’s best not to push. I’ll take my time this morning and perhaps catch up on writing and even a little reading or drawing. I’d like to describe things a bit better.

And maybe I’ll go into town and mail a postcard or two. One to school and one to home? In a way I’d rather not mail them. It takes so long and is more expensive. On the other hand, when you do receive it, it’s neat to have the proof that the person was really there. Well, in this case, there’s no other way to get one of these postcards so it’s sufficient that I have them. They were 2 pesos each. I ended up changing probably about $60 altogether into pesos. I paid for breakfast at AEP Jorge Newbury [domestic airport in Buenos Aires] and dinner last night at the little mall in Ushuaia. Starting today, it’s back to dollars. The ship uses US dollars as its currency.

Did it ever get completely dark last night? I couldn’t say. When I peeked out of the curtains about 10:30 it was only twilight. When I opened them again at 7:45 this morning the sun was already full in the sky. What a contrast from the wintery shroud of night found back home. Actually I just remembered - today’s the 21st, the solstice. The longest day of the year here.

So today is the last half day before vacation at school. I checked my school email yesterday and saw that a growing number of kids and staff have been attritioning out. Like me. My morning class may be a bit underpopulated today. They had already lost several early in the week. I hope everything is going well there. I felt a bit guilty asking Laura to cover everything alone.

Only a little, though.

I’m alone in the breakfast room quite enjoying the quiet sunlit peacefulness. The room is warm and friendly with classical music floating in the background.

11:45 am I’m getting shaky again. Nervous about the ship. Getting my luggage, for one thing - any time people are picking up your bags and moving them for you, and you don’t personally watch it happen, that is unnerving. Also, the seasickness patch. I know I do need it - I just wish I didn’t. I don’t like side effects and I don’t like not knowing what it is doing to my body.

I’m eating lunch at a nice little place that has sandwiches and coffee. I wish I’d known this was here yesterday because I much prefer it to the mall food I had yesterday.

I’m not anxious to be on the move again. It started to rain. I’m not sorry I skipped the hike. It’s just too much all in one day. As it is I’m tired and grateful to be taking a break from walking. I walked all the way into the shopping area from the hotel - probably a few miles. Then I walked through the shops. Part of me could have just sat at the hotel all morning. But I was getting restless. I wanted to be closer to where I eventually needed to be.

What’s amazing to me about this little section of the city is the balance it strikes between tourist and regular shopper. A refreshing number of the shops are not tourist oriented. As a consequence, you see plenty of normal people walking around, not just folks with backpacks (of which I am one - though I am not carrying it on my back, since I need to be able to see where my valuables are at all times)

2:03 pm Continued my little stroll and found where all the souvenir shops had been hiding. All concentrated near the port (of course) as well as the restaurants. I got postcards, a few magnets, a hat for myself with earflaps and a drawstring closure, and a map. Now we’re down to the last few hours and I am going to apply the seasickness patch. Then I’ll walk down to the pier and take some photographs before it’s time to board. (Also, figure out where the meeting place even is!)

I’m feeling nervous, more out of not knowing what is going to happen than fearing what might go wrong. You would think I’d never traveled before! I am probably riling myself up - focusing too much on my own anxiety. So I’ll stop. I’ll focus on something else. Of course, being here, there isn’t anything else naturally presenting itself. Everything here is geared to tourism. It’s all “Fin del Mundo” and “Pinguins” and “Antartida” in every store and on every sign.

Maybe this is my problem - all this “end of the world” stuff. Feels very biblical.

It’s fun to look around and guess who’s going to be on the boat. My ship was one of 6 or 7 parked at the dock, but I don’t know what was leaving or returning or hanging out for a day. There are about 100 people walking around this little town who will be on the boat with me. You can tell some people easier by the boots, waterproof pants, etc. I didn’t wear my “real” gear today figuring we were only going to be boarding and setting sail at night. We aren’t really going to be doing anything yet. Probably just the safety drill and getting settled in. And then there are some days at sea. I will have time to ease in.

3:45 pm I’ve loaded onto the bus in the parking lot by the pier, had my name checked off, and handed in my flight itinerary so they can reconfirm the flights. I’m not sure if this is the effects of the patch, but I’m definitely feeling a little sleepy. Maybe I’m only imagining it because of the psychosomatic effects of reading the packaging…

One of the coolest websites I’ve seen in a long time is dipity.com. You can create an interactive timeline by inputing your own events and (the genuis part) adding feeds from blogs or websites. You can include google maps, images, and video links to go along with what you’ve added.

Just to play around, I created one for myself:
http://www.dipity.com/user/lfischler/timeline/Lisa_F/list

It started, as these things often do, with a stray glance. Maybe not even that. But the teenage girl draped aggressively across her boyfriend’s lap, feet perched on the subway seat in front of her, thought she saw it, and straightened herself up to glare back.

“What are you staring at me for? What are you looking at, —–? You jealous of me and my man?”

The “man”, all of probably 17 years old, chuckled indulgently and pulled her back onto his lap, hoping to distract her into a public display of sensuality, but soon she jumped back up again. “Yes, you WERE looking at me, you fat —–! You ——- —–, don’t be looking at me! You wanna start something? Oh, you’re not scared of me? Tell me you’re not scared of me. Go on! Tell me you’re not scared at me. No. No! I wanna hear you say you’re not scared of me.”

The object of her rage muttered a reply. It hung in the air for several tense moments. Then she flung her paper cup across the subway car, splashing soda and eliciting sharp protests from the other passengers sitting around watching the spectacle.

That is when I jumped up, grabbed my bags, and ran to the conductor’s window to report that a fight was breaking out.

The conductor announced that the train was stalled in the station due to a “disturbance”, then came out to investigate. A crowd had gathered around the two combatants, trying to pull them apart. The instigator yanked her black Yankees baseball cap down over her face and her “man” escorted her quickly away, as the crowd zeroed in on the target to assess the damage. One man, whose leg was splashed with soda, leaned out from the train door to watch where the couple had gone.

The police were called over the loudspeaker, repeatedly. No one arrived.

After several minute ticked by, several officially dressed transit officers arrived and were shown the car where the assailant had tried to hide. She was taken away, while her target sat slumped on the bench on the platform and recovered her wits before walking away with the transit officers to report an assault.

A local train pulled in across the platform, and people raced to pile onto our train, having no knowledge of what had just occurred. The doors closed and we resumed our route, everyone avoiding eye contact with everyone else.

I took stock of the situation by the numbers.

One kindly middle aged lady had tried to signal the target of the rage to back down, get off the train, do something else other than respond, respond, respond and keep it going.

One brave young man, the man with the soda stain on his suit leg, stood in the middle of the car, trying to block the view, and ended up in the middle of the brief showdown.

Four or five people, all sitting right nearby, tried to pull the women apart and kept either from being seriously injured.

One person - me - reported the situation.

About 20-30 people sat there and did and said Nothing.

I’ve only ever seen, in all my years of commuting on the subway, one other fight. That one, many years ago already, was between a drug dealer and a client who owed him money. This one was different. This girl was spoiling for a fight. Of all the people on the train, she picked a target who was close in age to herself, same ethnicity, and most likely to respond to the verbal baiting. She was revving herself up, willing the altercation to happen. She needed to get into it with someone, and if it hadn’t been this target, it would have been somebody else. It felt dangerous to even sit nearby, even though I was well out of the line of fire (and out of soda-splashing range).

There is a lot of negative, scary energy out there. It wells up inside one angry person and then gets flung out into the world, free to infect others. It hung in the atmosphere of the subway car before a single curse was uttered or a single punch was thrown. People ready to “——- kill” someone over a glance.

After 9/11, New York City felt safer than this. You got the feeling that people were banding together, that if something went down, we would all rise up and handle it. Now it seems we can’t even handle ourselves.

Why have I been so quiet on this site? Maybe because I’ve been developing a new blog - with my kids! It’s called Crazy Mad Science (.org) and can be found here. They’re VERY proud of it. Twice so far we’ve devoted a class period to teaching them to use the site, so many of the comments posted there are from those sessions, but you’ll also see a significant number of comments posted from home, including over our recent spring break. One child went home from school, posted three comments that night, and then another two before getting on the school bus the next morning.

Since it’s a site for and by kids, you have to be a registered user at Edublogs to comment. This has been a great opportunity, besides working on science content and writing skills, to talk about internet safety with my students. I’ve made it clear from the beginning that our audience is primarily people who know and love us, but that what you post online is potentially viewable to anyone, and that it represents us to the world. The other day, as they were posting comments from their laptops, I turned on the smartboard screen in class so that they could watch me moderate the comments - I only had to delete two for being utterly off-topic. They giggled, but understood: we apply the “Kristy test”, which is “Would you want Kristy [the school’s director] to read this?” (If only the kids at Horace Mann had had me as a teacher when they were younger - all of the hoopla in the news could have been avoided.)

I also told my kiddos that I offer “free editing”, so if they try to post a comment that is hard to read because of spelling or punctuation, I will fix it. Some of them actually have better writing skills online than most stuff you see posted around the Internet, but of course, given their issues with reading and writing, some of it’s going to be a bit rough around the edges. I’ve done a bit of patching up here and there. Mostly, though, I leave well enough alone. I don’t consider their comments to be finished products worthy of editing and revision.

Posts directly to the blog or one of its pages, though, are a different story. Those get much more in-depth treatment. This group loves to come up with catchy titles and doesn’t mind mulling over revisions, like re-ordering sentences or substituting clearer vocabulary.

My other two classes in the same grade level are just starting out with their sites. It’s going to be a bit hairy trying to administer three separate sites all at once - next year we’ll bundle all three classes into one blog instead of giving each class its own. Live and learn!