Harry Potter

For the longest time I have hated Harry Potter.  Now, I'm not one to disparage the book, or its author.  J.K. Rowling is quite frankly a genius in her art, but frankly these books make JRR Tolkein look quite tame.  I don't understand how a children's book can be marketed with such a high character death count.  Tolkien highly discouraged anyone from thinking any of his books were for children, including The Hobbit.  This fact surprised me when I first heard it, but when you really look at all these books they aren't appropriate for children.  War and death abound in Tolkein, who took a great deal of inspiration from fighting in World War I.  In fact, the Dead Marshes in Lord of the Rings are a direct impact of him seeing dead soldiers in the trenches.  For a child to see such images of wanton destruction was probably more than Tolkien could have imagined.  Even in the Hobbit there's a great deal of nasty things, not the least of which is the terrible battle at the end, yet still many consider this a children's book.

Which brings me back to Harry Potter.  From book one, there's a high death count, and it seems that from the start Albus Dumbuldore has a pretty good idea what is going to happen to this poor kid.  He seeks to protect Harry from the dangers he will face, but at the same time he also catapults him into them.  I remember sitting in maybe the third or fourth movie, Goblet of Fire and wondering why the heck Dumbledor would put Harry into such brazen danger all the time.   It was reckless...almost heartless.  In the end Harry essentially has to lose EVERYTHING and everyone to finally find peace, much like Frodo in Lord of the Rings.   Gandalf is no less to blame than Albus is for putting Frodo in such danger, but there seems a greater reluctance on his part at least from my perspective.

There's other things that get to me too.  Some of the plot points of the book seem obvious, at least from an Author stand point.  I'm not going to spoil things for those who haven't read the whole series, but I had a pretty good idea what was happening and how things would end when I first heard about book one's plot.  Ironically enough, however, I think in large part my dislike of the books is a bit of jealousy.  Just before book one came out I was in High school and toying with an idea for a book about a school for magicians.  Its a very neat concept, and frankly Rowling's take on it far exceed's my preliminary notes and sketches.  I guess the fact she got to it before I could was a lesson in, write it while you can.

Summer Dreams

I can hardly wait for summer.  Every year I say it, but it's not until the last week that the desire really hits home.  Recently its been more so.  Technically last week should have been our last, but with a two week spring break (courtesy of the CTA) we're out next week.  I'm not complaining, but it feels long.  The kids are riled up, teachers are tired and cranky, and frankly so am I.  Part of my job, unfortunately being the night custodian, is to be the "old" guy who growls at the kids to keep in line.  Andy, the night custodian when I was in elementary school was somewhat this.  He's a nice guy, friendly enough, just kept to himself mostly.  After five years doing the kind of job he's done for longer than I've been alive I can see how one gets to be that way.

Its a lonely job.  Not many really know who you are or what you do.  Many times parents or kids simply see you as the hired help.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to find piles of messes not two feet from a trash can in a classroom.  Different teachers and kids require different needs and its tough keeping them all on track.  Above all them is my supervisor who is busy with her own thing.  She works hard and tries to help me learn to be a better worker and hopefully take over once she's gone.

In the end, I'll be glad to see summer come.  I'll work, cleaning things up, making the whole school sparkle like new.  Then when summer's over, the kids and teachers will come back and things will go back to the same old mess.   But I won't mind.  Summer will rejuvenate me, as it does with everyone else.  If my job, and life have told me anything, its to appreciate the little things. In the end, I've been there five years.  I've made a lot of friends, helped a lot of kids.  I'm recognized now and I'm appreciated for my hard work.  The positives outweigh the negatives, and there's room for more improvement.  So here's to summer.  Let's hope the kids will be safe, enjoy their time off, and come back refreshed as I will be.