Because the girls will soon be leaving; they have been forced to deal with our overly maudlin displays of affection and devotion, including an unholy number of movie nights... together; family meals... together; and other various and sundry displays of love and fidelity... together!
In our adventures together; we enjoyed a trip to Asheville, including whitewater rafting near Hot Springs, NC, and a brief, but challenging, hike off of the Blue Ridge Trail. In another excursion; we went to Charleston, NC, where we enjoyed some shows from the Picolo Spoleto festival; and we did a little kayaking, shopping, dining, and sight seeing around the city.
In a trip to New York City; we stayed at a hotel in Brooklyn, and we saw a college in the Bronx; so we saw a few of the outer boroughs. Nevertheless; we returned to the ultimate borough, Manhattan, to revisit Times Square and the theater district. We all saw Harvey, featuring Jim Parsons (from The Big Bang); but we split up for showings of the revival of Anything Goes (Jasmine and Samantha), and the comic book spectacle, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark (Steve and Dianne). For some new experiences, we went to Harlem for dinner and culture; and we went to the Warehouse District for a walk on the High Line.
With what seems to be the inevitable dissolution of the 'great and terrible' Gallup family bubble; it seemed prudent, this year, that Dianne and I should also become reacquainted. We took a trip, without the girls, to New Orleans; where we enjoyed some great Jazz performances, on Frenchman's Street, by John Butte', and by Kermit Ruffins; and some slightly less polished, but also less crowded, street performances on Royal Street. This was an awesome chance for us to spend more time together; and to spend some time with Lisa and Andre.
Back at home, Dianne and I have been looking at the prospects of preventing 'empty nest syndrome' by biking ourselves into oblivion! This past year we started biking on a regular, and fairly serious, basis. I decided to throw my lot in with a group of riders that have been departing from the parking lot of my office (and My Way Tavern!) every Thursday. I found that I had more energy (and less agony) after a bike ride, then I did after 90 minutes of full court basketball.
On Sundays; we have joined, from time to time, a group called Team CBC. We've upgraded our bikes and our gear so we can ride 15 to 30 miles a week. Personally, I've made some more ambitious rides of 50 miles and 60 miles, from which I barely returned; but I've become a stronger (but not obsessive) rider.
So, hopefully, when the weather warms up again; Dianne and I can get out there, and do something together that we both enjoy; knowing that even if our kids are super smart academically, or super talented artistically; we can still kick their butts, athletically.
What happens next has yet to be seen. Will Samantha be a concert flautist, a pit orchestra woodwind impresario, or a deadbeat jazz musician playing for tips? Will Jasmine write the next Doctor Who alternative universe spinoff, become a movie critic for Newsweek online, or write the operating instructions for the new kitchen blender model? Can Steve and Dianne live together in peace and equanimity... with their pets; or will Snickers and Orion be ruthlessly exiled from the domicile? Stay tuned. God only knows what will happen when the bubble bursts.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Leaving the Bubble
The writing is on the wall. It's only a matter of time before Jasmine and Samantha leave the Gallup family bubble to join another bubbly institution (hopefully, an institution of higher learning). Both girls have received offers of admission to college; and they will soon hear from other schools of interest.
It won't be long before those hypothetical plans, those virtual tours, and those academic application essays; turn into real bricks and mortar dorm rooms, real room mates, real textbooks, real college food... real exhiliration, and real insecurity.
I remember the feeling.
Maybe you remember it too.
As for me; I left my own family bubble, my hometown, and my childhood friends back in 1980, in 11th grade, when I left Broughton high school in Raleigh, to attend the School of Science and Math in Durham. This year, 30 years later, I attended the reunion of both of those schools.
Before the Broughton reunion; I decided to contact some of the friends that I had from childhood; kids... now adults... that I knew from the Five Points neighborhood, from Sherwood Bates Elementary, and from Daniels Middle School. Ultimately, I was able to reach a lot of them by e-mail, and see a few of them in person. These were essentially friends from my 'youth'; friends that share my experience in the Southern suburban culture of Raleigh in the 70s.
Although I share the same heritage and experience as my peers from Broughton; I still have a more unbreakable... a more cohesive connection with my cohorts from the School of Science and Math; my first home away from home. Whereas I could mingle, reminisce, and recollect things with my friends from Broughton; it was hard to step outside of that bubble of time and of place. Perhaps, if I continue to keep in touch with my earlier friends, then that ease and candor will develop; but I fear that those childhood connections, at the moment, are still somewhat eclipsed by the connections that I made as a young (but aspiring) adult.
And so... I imagine, things might develop in a similar fashion for Jasmine and Samantha. They are already making connections of their own, in high school; and they will go on to make even stronger bonds in college.
Jasmine has shared in the crucible of a drama production, with her friends at Raleigh Charter, for Antigone and for The Importance of Being Earnest. In Antigone, she was a part of the (Greek) Chorus... a literal, and figurative, cog in the machinery of the supporting ensemble. In Earnest, she played a more central role; for which we give much thanks and credit to the drama teacher, Ms. Rasnick, and to Jasmine's own persistence and talent.
Samantha's connections seem inevitably to be associated with music. For example; her pre-audition flute recordings were made with the help of a friend from the Davidson Summer Experience who is an amateur sound engineer; all of her parties and gatherings are attended by friends from the school band and from the jazz band club; and (to her great credit) she was accepted to the Triangle Youth Philharmonic orchestra, for the first time, this year.
Samantha is also a member of the RCHS volleyball team which exceeded expectations this year, and set a high bar for all of the Phoenix teams to come. In her senior year, the team advanced to the state finals; winning difficult games against arch-rival, NCSS&M, and against Riverside, at home; and winning a semi-final game against Princeton, on the road; before losing to a perennial contender, Hendersonville HS, at Reynold Coliseum (at NCSU).
Now the time is coming to count down those days at Raleigh Charter; take those senior photos; buy class rings; send out graduation invitations; and prepare to leave for a new school and new endeavors. Soon we'll be making new friends, taking new classes, trying new things, and learning to do things we never did before. Like the Enterprise; we're setting out "to explore strange new worlds... to boldly go..." beyond our childhood bubble.
It won't be long before those hypothetical plans, those virtual tours, and those academic application essays; turn into real bricks and mortar dorm rooms, real room mates, real textbooks, real college food... real exhiliration, and real insecurity.
I remember the feeling.
Maybe you remember it too.
As for me; I left my own family bubble, my hometown, and my childhood friends back in 1980, in 11th grade, when I left Broughton high school in Raleigh, to attend the School of Science and Math in Durham. This year, 30 years later, I attended the reunion of both of those schools.
Before the Broughton reunion; I decided to contact some of the friends that I had from childhood; kids... now adults... that I knew from the Five Points neighborhood, from Sherwood Bates Elementary, and from Daniels Middle School. Ultimately, I was able to reach a lot of them by e-mail, and see a few of them in person. These were essentially friends from my 'youth'; friends that share my experience in the Southern suburban culture of Raleigh in the 70s.
Although I share the same heritage and experience as my peers from Broughton; I still have a more unbreakable... a more cohesive connection with my cohorts from the School of Science and Math; my first home away from home. Whereas I could mingle, reminisce, and recollect things with my friends from Broughton; it was hard to step outside of that bubble of time and of place. Perhaps, if I continue to keep in touch with my earlier friends, then that ease and candor will develop; but I fear that those childhood connections, at the moment, are still somewhat eclipsed by the connections that I made as a young (but aspiring) adult.
And so... I imagine, things might develop in a similar fashion for Jasmine and Samantha. They are already making connections of their own, in high school; and they will go on to make even stronger bonds in college.
Jasmine has shared in the crucible of a drama production, with her friends at Raleigh Charter, for Antigone and for The Importance of Being Earnest. In Antigone, she was a part of the (Greek) Chorus... a literal, and figurative, cog in the machinery of the supporting ensemble. In Earnest, she played a more central role; for which we give much thanks and credit to the drama teacher, Ms. Rasnick, and to Jasmine's own persistence and talent.
Samantha's connections seem inevitably to be associated with music. For example; her pre-audition flute recordings were made with the help of a friend from the Davidson Summer Experience who is an amateur sound engineer; all of her parties and gatherings are attended by friends from the school band and from the jazz band club; and (to her great credit) she was accepted to the Triangle Youth Philharmonic orchestra, for the first time, this year.
Samantha is also a member of the RCHS volleyball team which exceeded expectations this year, and set a high bar for all of the Phoenix teams to come. In her senior year, the team advanced to the state finals; winning difficult games against arch-rival, NCSS&M, and against Riverside, at home; and winning a semi-final game against Princeton, on the road; before losing to a perennial contender, Hendersonville HS, at Reynold Coliseum (at NCSU).
Now the time is coming to count down those days at Raleigh Charter; take those senior photos; buy class rings; send out graduation invitations; and prepare to leave for a new school and new endeavors. Soon we'll be making new friends, taking new classes, trying new things, and learning to do things we never did before. Like the Enterprise; we're setting out "to explore strange new worlds... to boldly go..." beyond our childhood bubble.
On the Bubble
Bubbles are fascinating phenomena. Frequently they are formed when soap molecules surround dirt and oils, separating them from our clothes or skin, to be washed away by water. Physically, bubbles represent a small volume of gas within a liquid or a solid, like the air within the translucent liquid membrane of a bath bubble.
In medical school, I learned that cells, in the human body, are somewhat like bubbles. Cell membranes are composed of a phospholipid bilayer, which separate the liquid inside the cell from the substance and elements outside. Proteins within the cell membrane allow molecules or ions to move from one side to the other. Our bodies are composed of millions of self-replicating 'bubbles', with amazing properties that depend, in part, upon their ability to create a unique inner cellular milieau.
In 2012, we were less concerned with physical bubbles (or cells) then with the 'bubbles' of higher institutions. In the deluge of college propaganda, we read about the "Haverford bubble", encompassing students at that institution, and allowing them unlimited creativity. And, on a visit to Davidson, we heard about the "Davidson bubble" separating the students at Davidson College from the ideologically different residents of the outside community. In fact, it seems that every college community has a sort of effervescent semi-permeable membrane separating them from the world at large.
Metaphorically, bubbles represent things without permanence or substance. Merriam Webster defines a bubble as, among other things, "something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality". So... it seems that, for the last couple of years, Dianne and I, and Jasmine and Samantha, have been looking around for a place that will provide an unsteady, fluid, and unreal experience that will ultimately make them more qualified to live and work in the 'real' world!
In our search for the perfect 'bubble', we took a trip to see some colleges of interest in North Carolina; ultimately visiting Duke, UNC - Asheville, Western Carolina University, Davidson, Wake Forest, and Elon. We learned that Duke has the best stand up comedy routine by an admissions counselor; Elon has an audiovisual docudrama presentation that will make you cry; UNC Asheville is only a wise choice if you are physically fit; but the downtown area is chock full of restaurants of every kind. Are these the factors that we should use to find a school?
In truth... we've learned a lot about the schools in our home state, and about schools from other states that we visited; like Fordham in the Bronx, and Sarah Lawrence in Bronxville. and the College of Charleston in it's namesake city. But it doesn't really matter what we (as in, the royal 'we' of parents,) think about the school. What really matters is what they (as in, Jasmine and Samantha,) think; since they will be the ones who have to live and breath the academic air, of their own academic 'bubble', for the next four years.
What I (speaking only for myself) have really learned; is that I was pretty naive when I made my own college applications; and even more naive and... yes... arbitrary when I made my college decisions. I'm not as smart as I think I am (and according to Jasmine, I'm not as funny as I think I am). In short, I've been living in a bubble of delusion for 30 years. Well... I say we should embrace the bubble...embrace the crazy... and enjoy our time in the bubble of self deception as long as possible!
In medical school, I learned that cells, in the human body, are somewhat like bubbles. Cell membranes are composed of a phospholipid bilayer, which separate the liquid inside the cell from the substance and elements outside. Proteins within the cell membrane allow molecules or ions to move from one side to the other. Our bodies are composed of millions of self-replicating 'bubbles', with amazing properties that depend, in part, upon their ability to create a unique inner cellular milieau.
In 2012, we were less concerned with physical bubbles (or cells) then with the 'bubbles' of higher institutions. In the deluge of college propaganda, we read about the "Haverford bubble", encompassing students at that institution, and allowing them unlimited creativity. And, on a visit to Davidson, we heard about the "Davidson bubble" separating the students at Davidson College from the ideologically different residents of the outside community. In fact, it seems that every college community has a sort of effervescent semi-permeable membrane separating them from the world at large.
Metaphorically, bubbles represent things without permanence or substance. Merriam Webster defines a bubble as, among other things, "something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality". So... it seems that, for the last couple of years, Dianne and I, and Jasmine and Samantha, have been looking around for a place that will provide an unsteady, fluid, and unreal experience that will ultimately make them more qualified to live and work in the 'real' world!
In our search for the perfect 'bubble', we took a trip to see some colleges of interest in North Carolina; ultimately visiting Duke, UNC - Asheville, Western Carolina University, Davidson, Wake Forest, and Elon. We learned that Duke has the best stand up comedy routine by an admissions counselor; Elon has an audiovisual docudrama presentation that will make you cry; UNC Asheville is only a wise choice if you are physically fit; but the downtown area is chock full of restaurants of every kind. Are these the factors that we should use to find a school?
In truth... we've learned a lot about the schools in our home state, and about schools from other states that we visited; like Fordham in the Bronx, and Sarah Lawrence in Bronxville. and the College of Charleston in it's namesake city. But it doesn't really matter what we (as in, the royal 'we' of parents,) think about the school. What really matters is what they (as in, Jasmine and Samantha,) think; since they will be the ones who have to live and breath the academic air, of their own academic 'bubble', for the next four years.
What I (speaking only for myself) have really learned; is that I was pretty naive when I made my own college applications; and even more naive and... yes... arbitrary when I made my college decisions. I'm not as smart as I think I am (and according to Jasmine, I'm not as funny as I think I am). In short, I've been living in a bubble of delusion for 30 years. Well... I say we should embrace the bubble...embrace the crazy... and enjoy our time in the bubble of self deception as long as possible!
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