Updates, 4.12
April 12, 2024
At Last! The Learning Center Brings a Welcome Flood
A flood of new classes, that is. Yes, the Fall Schedule has landed! See details here.
June 1st: Volunteer registration opens at 7am.
June 15th: General registration opens at 7am.
Classes go fast, so consider VOLUNTEERING. Volunteers receive a 27% tuition discount and a scholarship. See details here.
Find out more about registration here.
P.S. I apologize to anyone who I have triggered by using the “f” word (“flood”). Perhaps it’s precipitous to speak of precipitation with anything approaching a dry sense of humor. We had waded through the worst of it—winter—and no one seems to have heard it murmur, “Après moi, le déluge …” as it drifted away.
What fools we were, mesmerized by the mirage of spring, drunk with the scent of the lilacs and blinded by the indigos of our irises! Little did we know that all our exclamatory “ohs!” would be merged with pairs of diabolical H’s to rain on our parade.
But admit it: we have no one to blame but ourselves. How could we forget that if there is one ironclad fact about Nebraska, it is that our weather can brew any number of climatic cocktails designed to flatten even the most effervescent of seasons?
Previously, I have tried to cheer myself up by reflecting that it’s better to have tempestuous weather and calm people than the reverse. But even I have to admit that this rationalization is inadequate in a place where the most commonly googled question of the past fortnight was “How big is a cubit?”
But there is a tide in the affairs of men, and sooner or later this one will turn. Today I offer you this olive branch: put down your wet/dry vac, step out of your wellies, read over our new schedule, and dream about a beautiful autumn filled with wonderful classes for your kids. Take a breath, be calm, and let your mind fill with visions of fall: the leaves are turning, the air is crisp with a hint of smoke in it, you have a pumpkin latte in your hand…. What could go wrong?
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• “Après moi, le déluge …” Attributed to King Louis XV of France, foretelling the French Revolution after his extravagant reign.
• “How big is a cubit?” An ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, used in God’s instructions to Noah to construct the Ark.
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS BUSY WHILE YOU GET THINGS DONE?
Have them tally every allusion to water/liquid found above, including nautical references, aphorisms, puns, and word origins. According to my count, they should be able to find
Paragraph one: (“P.S. I apologize…”) FIVE, excluding the too obvious “flood”
Paragraph two: (“What fools we were...”) FIVE, with extra credit for finding a non-liquid pun
Paragraph three: (“But admit it...”) FOUR
Paragraph four: (“Previously, I have…) TWO not counting cubit since it’s explained in the endnotes.
Paragraph five: (“But there is a…”) EIGHT, plus extra credit for spotting the phrase from Shakespeare; double extra credit for naming the play.
Footnotes: ONE excluding deluge
Answers can be found by scrolling way down...
1. precipitous (word origin), precipitation, dry humor, waded, deluge
2. mirage, spring, drunk, “ohs!” merged with H’s, rain on our parade. Extra credit for irises.
3. ironclad (think Civil War), brew, cocktails, effervescent
4. tempestuous, calm
5. tide, turn, olive branch (think Noah), wet/dry vac (too obvious?), wellies, filled, be calm (read as one word), pumpkin latte
“But there is a tide in the affairs of men…” Julius Caesar
Footnotes: reign
At Last! The Learning Center Brings a Welcome Flood
A flood of new classes, that is. Yes, the Fall Schedule has landed! See details here.
June 1st: Volunteer registration opens at 7am.
June 15th: General registration opens at 7am.
Classes go fast, so consider VOLUNTEERING. Volunteers receive a 27% tuition discount and a scholarship. See details here.
Find out more about registration here.
P.S. I apologize to anyone who I have triggered by using the “f” word (“flood”). Perhaps it’s precipitous to speak of precipitation with anything approaching a dry sense of humor. We had waded through the worst of it—winter—and no one seems to have heard it murmur, “Après moi, le déluge …” as it drifted away.
What fools we were, mesmerized by the mirage of spring, drunk with the scent of the lilacs and blinded by the indigos of our irises! Little did we know that all our exclamatory “ohs!” would be merged with pairs of diabolical H’s to rain on our parade.
But admit it: we have no one to blame but ourselves. How could we forget that if there is one ironclad fact about Nebraska, it is that our weather can brew any number of climatic cocktails designed to flatten even the most effervescent of seasons?
Previously, I have tried to cheer myself up by reflecting that it’s better to have tempestuous weather and calm people than the reverse. But even I have to admit that this rationalization is inadequate in a place where the most commonly googled question of the past fortnight was “How big is a cubit?”
But there is a tide in the affairs of men, and sooner or later this one will turn. Today I offer you this olive branch: put down your wet/dry vac, step out of your wellies, read over our new schedule, and dream about a beautiful autumn filled with wonderful classes for your kids. Take a breath, be calm, and let your mind fill with visions of fall: the leaves are turning, the air is crisp with a hint of smoke in it, you have a pumpkin latte in your hand…. What could go wrong?
• “Après moi, le déluge …” Attributed to King Louis XV of France, foretelling the French Revolution after his extravagant reign.
• “How big is a cubit?” An ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, used in God’s instructions to Noah to construct the Ark.
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS BUSY WHILE YOU GET THINGS DONE?
Have them tally every allusion to water/liquid found in the postscript, including nautical references, aphorisms, puns, and word origins. According to my count, they should be able to find
Paragraph one: (“P.S. I apologize…”) FIVE, excluding the too obvious “flood”
Paragraph two: (“What fools we were…”) FIVE, with extra credit for finding a non-liquid pun
Paragraph three: (“But admit it…”) FOUR
Paragraph four: (“Previously, I have…) TWO not counting cubit since it’s explained in the endnotes.
Paragraph five: (“But there is a…”) EIGHT, plus extra credit for spotting the phrase from Shakespeare; double extra credit for naming the play.
Footnotes: ONE excluding deluge
Answers can be found by scrolling way down…
1. precipitous (word origin), precipitation, dry humor, waded, deluge
2. mirage, spring, drunk, “ohs!” merged with H’s, rain on our parade. Extra credit for irises.
3. ironclad (think Civil War), brew, cocktails, effervescent
4. tempestuous, calm
5. tide, turn, olive branch (think Noah), wet/dry vac (too obvious?), wellies, filled, be calm (read as one word), pumpkin latte
“But there is a tide in the affairs of men…” Julius Caesar
Footnotes: reign
