Friday, November 30, 2007

Thanksgiving Leftovers

This week marked the beginning of the holiday craziness. Notice, I did not even mention Black Friday(I'm not crazy about that name). I did notice that in some stores, the Halloween, Thanksgiving AND Christmas stuff was on display simultaneously. This does not work well for me as a person who depends on store displays to remind her what season and holiday is currently occurring. I saw Christmas stuff in October and panicked...shit, where the hell did time go? I have not prepared (which by the way, apparently is my mantra) and again, thought I got caught with my pants down.

The nicest thing about the After-Thanksgiving school break is that the kids at my school have had ( and will continue to have until Dec 7th) the incredible opportunity to meet and work with a gentleman who in terms of a disability defies the odds and truly has inspired them to greatness. He is Sidiki Conde from Guinea, 46 years old and was struck by polio at the age of 14, rendering his legs useless. Instead of succumbing to the disability, he intensified his efforts to meet and surpass his own expectations. He performs with a group dancing, drumming and singing. He is amazing to watch and truly has the heart and patience I aspire to. I took some video of he and the kids during their rehearsal yesterday. They have been rehearsing this week and will continue next week in preparation for a Holiday Showcase at the Duncan Theatre on the Palm Beach Community college Campus, Saturday December 8th. Here is a video clip of their afternoon yesterday (look for more in the future!) and an audio clip of one of Sidiki's songs to his mother