A Change of Plans

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Saturday February 24, 2024 · 3:29 PM PST

2024/02/24 · 15:29

This is how you enter where we are going

Last September, in a piece titled Where We Expect To Retire, I informed folks that we were planning to move to Kendal Crosslands Communities, the Crosslands campus, in the early summer. This was built around a number of issues, including my wife wanting to retire by then. Since then a number of things have happened, and relevant to this issue was we did things a bit out of order. Most folks who are moving to a CCRC or LifeCare community do not put their houses on the market until they have commitment and date for when they will move into the community — it usually possible to get a bridge loan and little or no interest to cover most of the cost of the (substantial) entrance fee. But we knew when we wanted to move, there was a great deal of demand for houses in Arlington VA(because of Amazon II and Raytheon having come in) with little inventory and we were advised we might get a good deal putting the house on the market early. We spoke and met with several realtors, and picked a husband and wife in early January. Our house was built in 1937 (it has been upgraded several times), has very old plumbing that probably needs replacing, lacks a master bedroom suite, but has soje desirable features. It is also on a large enough piece of land that a tear down and a replacement with a very expensive new house was possible. The realtor couple never listed the house — they talked with builders, some of whom walked the property to see about the possibilities for a tear down, and one who walked through the house to consider upgrading it. That builder decided to buy it, and after some back and forth, less than two weeks after we signed with the realtors, we had a deal at an acceptable price, with the closing April 30, with the right to stay in the house for two months rent free (the equivalent of a purchase price thousands actually more). But that meant we would need a new home by June 30th.

That created a major problem for us, which I will describe below the fold.

Kendal Crosslands Community (KCC) is almost fully filled. KCC will, unlike most such communities, allow to move into a smaller unit (for lower entrance and monthly fees) until the size you want becomes available. We were prepared to do that, and were going through the processes t0 enable us to have that option, when the only residence that would have met our needs was taken by someone ahead of us on the priority list. There was no guarantee when ANY suitable residence, even one much smaller than our needs, would be available, and we might have to rent in the nearby community for several years, which would have meant we would NOT have the medical coverage one gets by being part of such a community.

We explored several other communities. One we had never officially registered for and they would not qualify us for the size residence we wanted. Two others, both run by Sunrise but owned by their communities, we were already on the lists and had suitable apartments available. The Colonnades, in Charlottesville on land owned by the University of Virginia foundation, was lovely with an apartment whose layout we loved. But it was 5 hours away from her family, which is mainly in Delaware the NJ suburbs of Philadelphia. So we once again last Saturday visited the Quadrangle, in Haverford PA.

entrance to the community of the Quadrangle

On Sunday my wife decided she wanted to move there, so today we went back, signed the paperwork to enter and to take out an interest fee promissary note for one year for ¾ of the entrance fee. We now have our final home — 2 BR with 2 BA, 1,000 square feet, in an intellectually vibrant community. We know that from experience — the father of my beloved Leaves on the Current, who was a retired Swarthmore College Math professor as well as a serious post-retirement naturalist, spent the last five years of his life in that community and was very happy there.

There are several retired faculty members from both Haverford College, where I did my undergrad and from the music department at Penn, where I did some doctoral studies 5 decades ago.There are two superb hospitals nearby. My wife notes that there is a center for research and greatment of multiple myeloma, the blood cancer she has. It is about 2 miles from the Haverford campus, and perhaps and equal distance from her high school alma mater, the Shipley School.

She is an hour or less from 3 of her four siblings (the other teaches African Art at Middlebury College in VT) as well as nieces and nephews. I hae a Quaker Meeting a 5 pimute drive away. There is nice Greek Orthodox Church about 4 miles away, and she is an hour away from the Orthodox Church near one of her sisters that she has attended off and on when visiting family over perhaps more than a dozen years. Oh, and my best man now attends the Greek Orthodox Church I just mentioned.

There is one other MAJOR factor that influenced our decision. PA does not out state tax on pensions, IRAs and equivalent. That include my wife’s federal thrift savings, which is the bulk of our assets. In VA we would pay 5.75% on both (neither state taxes Social Security).

We are happy with our decision, relieved that we know where and when we will move. I can on weekends once we have access begin to move clothes and books in.

So our plans have changed, but we are more than happy how things have worked out. Now we are starting tell people, and hence this post.

Peace.

Lawyers - how Trump is ripping off his political contributors

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday January 20, 2024 · 3:22 PM PST

2024/01/20 · 15:22

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 25: One of former President Donald Trump's lawyers, Alina Habba, watches as Trump speaks to the media moments after he was fined $10,000 for what Justice Arthur Engoron in New York says is his second violation of a partial gag order at his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 25, 2023 in New York City. The former president may be forced to sell off his properties after Justice Engoron canceled his business certificates and ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire after being sued by Attorney General Letitia James, seeking $250 million in damages. The trial will determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Offering the following without comment:

Jeannine-High Priestess of Defeating Boebert

reposted

Daniel Uhlfelder

@DWUhlfelderLaw

FEC records show that between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023, Donald Trump's Super PAC, SAVE AMERICA, made payments to the following law firms in these amounts:

BALLARD SPAHR LLP - $109,174.55

BEDELL, DITTMAR, DEVAULT, PILLANS & COXE, P.A. – $351,040.77

BINNALL LAW GROUP - $1,031,788.33BLANCHE LAW - $353,090.03

BRAND WOODWARD LAW – 201,948.00

BRITO PLLC - $68,194.50

CADWALADER, WICKERSHAM, & TAFT LLP - $344,950.21

CONTINENTAL PLLC - $1,929,207.90

DHILLON LAW GROUP INC. - $734,730.8

EARTH & WATER LAW, LLC - $347,820

HABBA MADAIO & ASSOCIATES LLP - $1,503,915.14

IFRAH LAW PLLC - $720,009.28

FINDLING LAW FIRM - $541,456.25

KELLOGG, HANSEN, TODD, FIGEL & FREDERICK PLLC - $1,042,479

CHRIS KISE & ASSOCIATES, P.A. - $2,148,536.58

JOHN F. LAURO, P.A. - $183,859.03

JPROWLEY LAW PLLC - $35,16

1LEVEL LAW LTD - $89,721.45

MCGLINCHEY STAFFORD - $290,179.17

MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS, GLOVSKY AND POPEO, P.C.- $269,424.39

NECHELESLAW LLP - $465,231.34

PARLATORE LAW GROUP, LLP - $136,325.1

ROBERT & ROBERT, PLLC - $1,355,631.17

SECIL LAW PLLC - $191,980.35

SILVERMAN THOMPSON SLUTKIN & WHITE, LLC – $2,183,578.73

SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS (US) LLP – $193,750

TACOPINA, SEIGEL & DEOREO -$ 1,773,126

WEBER, CRABB & WEIN, P.A. - $193,050

4:55 PM · Jan 20, 2024

·

Some weird experiences with LinkedIn

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 15, 2024 · 8:32 AM PST

2024/01/15 · 08:32

When I walked away from my teaching job in early October, I activated my LinkedIn account to Premium to look for possible other jobs. I am NOT inclined to go back into the classroom, although I might to finish the school year in the right setting. I was looking for something outside, preferably where I could be (at least largely) virtual (which might allow me to continue when we move in 5-6 months to a LifeCare community). I do NOT have a CV on LinkedIn. I do list my teaching, and also things like blogging, writing, project management, and sales. My most recent CV is all about teaching. I have another document which covers a lot of what I did before becoming a teacher, but that experience is 3 decades ago, and the CV itself makes clear I have been a teacher over the past 3 decades.

In early December it started. I got a LinkedIn message from a woman who claimed to be the assistant to the VP of a wine company. She said that they were recruiting for a virtual position and I seemed to fit what they were looking for. She asked for a CV, so I emailed it and the other info. She had a profile on LinkedIn which listed her at that company.

Shortly later I got an email from a woman who gave her name as a Latina and asked me to set uo a WhatsApp account to communicate, so I did. Turns out she is of Chinese background, at least as far as both her picture and the Chinese name she later gave me. She was recruiting me for a position that would pay at least 50% more than any salary I had ever had, and with job responsibilities beyond what I had done in any capacity (but all things I believe I could easily do). She told me that they paid in crypto (this will become relevant down thread). I said that in that case I was not interested. She then said well they might make an exception in her case. She had a linked in profile which identified her with that company. But I inquired of the company through their website, and they never heard of her and said they had complained to LinkedIn about people misrepresenting themselves as being part of the company and offering people jobs. Shortly thereafter I got a phone call from the woman who tentatively offered me the job, although I did not accept.

But this is just the start of the saga.

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 17, 2023 · 8:07 AM PDT

2023/10/17 · 08:07

Today is my last day, because I had already assigned work in a couple of classes, and I have an obligation to grade that work and enter it into the grading and attendance program.

I tried yesterday, but it was clear in my first two periods that the situation remained untenable. I resigned online during lunch yesterday, and emailed my administrators and my department chair.

Tne assistant principal who hired me came to my room during the final period and among other things (1) told me it definitely was NOT my fault, the administration totally understands why I am leaving; (2) she told the students they are likely to just have subs covering the class for the rest of the semester, because there are no social studies teachers available.

I was scheduled to teach one of the two teams of 7th graders each semester. This morning 8 of the students from the team I would have taught 2nd semester came up to me and asked me not to leave, because they wanted to have me as a teacher. It is a nice affirmation, but that is simply not possible.

I have no idea what I will do for income. I have been working on applications for one private school vacancy and two private school long term sub positions for part of the rest of this year, but with eye surgeries on Oct 24 and Nov 7, I am probably not available before Thanksgiving. I might just go to a mall and get a position for the holiday season to have a little income. We will see.

I feel sad that this might be my last time in a secondary classroom, but my conscience is clear about my decision.

I thank youthe many affirmations I received on my last posting here.

I am sad it had to end this way.

But I can now feel comfortable using my usual ending, because I feel it.

Peace.

Failing, and feeling broken

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 15, 2023 · 11:40 AM PDT

2023/10/15 · 11:40

I am not quite sure how to write this. Perhaps a little background first.

For the four school years 2019-2022 I taught at a well-known Catholic high school where I was given complete freedom to teach as I saw fit. I was respected by the community. I looked forward to it being my final job as a teacher.

My wife wants to retire to a Continuing Care Retirement Community (also known as a life-care community) and as we explored possibilities, she got to pick where and in theory I got to pick when since I am almost 11 years older. We had agreed on Kendal Crosslands, about which I wrote here in September of 2022. Our target date was to be around Christmas or a little bit later this winter. That would mean I could not even teach one semester, so I gave notice at my school shortly after last Thanksgiving in order to give them as much time as possible to find my replacement, which they did.

In late February my wife informed me that for a variety of reasons she thought she wanted to work around another 6 months or perhaps a bit more. That meant I could teach another school year. It was tough going as I turned 77 last May to find a one year job in an independent school. One did offer me a job, but really could not pay sufficiently (I was willing to take a pay cut). I therefore explored going back to the school system (Prince George’s MD County Public Schools ( from which I had retired in 2012, but where I had returned for two years (2017-2019) before moving to the Catholic High School. They were delighted to get me back, and when I went to a hiring fair, I talked to six schools all of whom immediately offered me a job — in some cases the hiring administrator was someone with whom I had worked, in one case it was a former student of mine. I was well known and still respected in that system. I instead chose a school with a number of staff members with whom I had worked previously, one of whom had shared my CV with his principal, who had been impressed. When I met with the hiring administrator, the first words out of her mouth were “If I offer you a job will you accept it today?” I did. I chose to teach a 7th grade course called Deliberative Talk, which is a semester course during which students learn how to research a topic about which they care deeply then give a persuasive speech on it, then in the 2nd quarter learn how to work towards building peace. I felt it was a very good fit for my final year of teaching. And for what it is worth, the salary is 34K more than I was making at the Catholic High School.

It has not been a good fit

It is clear I have failed, and as a result, I feel broken. I do not expect that I will even finish the first semester with my current students.

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday September 10, 2023 · 3:07 PM PDT

2023/09/10 · 15:07

The Oscar statuette is the copyrighted property of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the statuette and the phrases "Academy Award(s)" and "Oscar(s)" are registered trademarks under the laws of the United States and other countries. All published representations of the Award of Merit statuette, including photographs, drawings and other likenesses, must include the legend ©A.M.P.A.S.® to provide notice of copyright, trademark and service mark registration. Permission is hereby granted for use of the representation of the statuette in newspapers, periodicals and on television only in legitimate news articles or feature stories which refer to the annual Academy Awards as an event, or in stories or articles which refer to the Academy as an organization or to specific achievements for which the Academy Award has been given. Its use and any other use is subject to the "Legal Regulations for Using Intellectual Properties of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" published by the Academy. A copy of the "Legal Regulations" may be obtained from: Legal Rights Coordinator, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90211; (310) 247-3000; or ©A.M.P.A.S.http://www.oscars.org/legal/preamble.html.

Not necessarily for that picture.

I can think of two pictures in which the actors appearing during their careers won a total of 8 Oscars

Bad Day at Black Rock won no acting Oscars. Spencer Tracy had two Best Actor Oscars. Walter Brennan had 3 Best Supporting Actor Oscars. Dean Jagger had one Best Supporting, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine each had one Best Actor award.

Philadelphia saw Tom Hanks win one of his two Best Actor awards. Denzel Washington has one each for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Joanne Woodward has one Best Actress. Jason Robards has two Best Supporting Actor Awards. Mary Steenburgen has a Best Supporting Actress.

Close behind is Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with 7 awards. The aforementioned Spencer Tracy still has two, and Katherine Hepburn won one of her four Best Actress awards for her role. in his picture (winning her third one year later for A Lion in Winter). And of course Sidney Poitier has a Best Actor award.

Also close behind is the film with the fourth and final Best Actress for Heburn, On Golden Pond, which also had Jane Fonda who won two Best Actress Oscars and her father Henry Fonda winning his Best Actor Oscar, giving us another film with a total of 7.

I am doing this from memory, as a long-time film buff.

Off the top of my head these are the leaders, but I am sure others here can add films with actors in them with multiple Oscars, perhaps more, perhaps equaling these four films.

Yes I know Lincoln had 6 s- far — 3 Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis (who won for this film), two Best Actress for Sally Fields, and one Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Lee Jones, but I did not want to go lower than 7.

Feel free to add in the comments any films with the performers with more than 8, or with 8 or 7.

Peace.

So now I am a cancer survivor

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 16, 2023 · 4:57 PM PDT

2023/08/16 · 16:57

Sculpture by Charles Keck, electrolier, State Education Building, Albany, NY

and since the crab is the zodiac sign of cancer, hence that image.

But let me explain.

I noticed some blood in my urine. I note I have a somewhat enlarged prostate so I reached out to my urologist for a check. He decided to do a cytoscopy on me and found a tumor on my bladder wall. I was scheduled to have it removed, which happened on the afternoon of Tuesday August 8. He also scraped the adjacent bladder wall. It was sent for biopsy.

I had to wait until today to get the results, because they do not let other staff members communicate with patients, he had stuck me in for the surgery at the end of a busy surgical day and he was taking his daughter off to college in New Orleans (Tulane). He called me today.

The tumor was cancerous, but despite being quite capable of spreading into the bladder wall it had not as yet done so, and as of now he believes there is no further cancer in my body, I do not need radiation or chemo, and he will see me again in November (3 months). So I had cancer, now I do not, so I am a cancer survivor. So is my wife, but she is not free of her blood cancer, although it is currently in remission.

We are lucky because as a federal employee she has superb health insurance which covers us both. This was only one of a number of health issues this summer. I was having trouble with my vision, and for a while there was a worry I had had another perhaps small stroke — that led to an overnight hospitalization, CT scan, MRI of my brain, echocardiogram of my heart. There was evidence of my 2019 stroke and a subsequent minor TIA, but nothing since. I was referred to a retinal specialist who was able to determine that I had hardening of blood vessels in my left eye, but nothing recent.I had subsequent examination at the eye doctor’s and the determination is that I have cataracts in both eyes, somewhat worse in my left, and I will need to have them removed. On an email exchange with some college classmates I have found out that the surgery will be relatively quick, with the eyes being done roughly two weeks apart.

I am 77. I am starting to feel somewhat older. But I still look and act much younger than my chronological age. And as of next week I am in a new school to teach 7th graders for the forthcoming school year.

I had cancer. If caught early enough many cancers are very far from a terminal sentence, or even something that can radically reduce one’s quality of life.

I consider myself lucky.

Peace.

So I will be teaching at least one more year

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday July 23, 2023 · 12:05 PM PDT

2023/07/23 · 12:05

I thought that by now I would, at age 77, be completely retired, and by January we would make our planned move to the Life Care Community we have selected in Kennett Square PA, about which I wrote here

In February my wife informed me that she thought because of things at her place of employment she would probably need to work at least through next April, which made possible my teaching another year. Having given notice and my replacement having been hired, I began to explore other teaching opportunities. At first I restricted myself to independent schools, but they are very reluctant to hire someone for only one year — I even had one head of school tell me that if I were to commit for two he would hire me on the spot. I was offered one position but the compensation was ony 55% of what I had been making, so I declined.

I had retired from a large public system (Prince George’s County MD) in in 2012, and had actually been back in the system as a retired/rehired teacher 2017-2019 before going to the Catholic HS where I have been the past four years. I reached out to see if they might want me back in Prince George’s. Through friends in the system I had heard that they had a large number of vacancies. Once they determined I had left in good standing, I was invited to attend a hiring fair.

I will tell you about that experience if you continue reading;

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday June 09, 2023 · 4:09 AM PDT

2023/06/09 · 04:09

Watch the greatest athletic performance ever.

Really.

Watch:

YouTube Video

77

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 23, 2023 · 2:52 AM PDT

2023/05/23 · 02:52

It was May 23, 1946, when Sylvia Livingston Bernstein gave birth to her second child, a boy, about 2½ years younger than his older sister Judith.

Then the family lived in NY City, but within a few years bought a house in Larchmont NY where both children grew up and which was the family residence until after Sylvia died in 1963, less then a week after her son had graduated from Mamaroneck High School. Then her hysband Louis remarried for the first time to a Brazilian diplomat, and the son for the first of two times served as his father’s Best Man.

How many others can say that, having served twice as one’s father’s best man.

I can, because I am that son.

And this is a reflection on the more than three quarters of a century of a life that I know is now moving quickly on its downslope.

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday April 07, 2023 · 6:42 PM PDT

2023/04/07 · 18:42

cat seeing itself in a window reflection

at the end of of an extraordinary week full of of news on politics, law, and so much more. What I offer is from a personal perspective, so if you are not interested in the thoughts of an approaching (in 40 days) 77 year old of middle class Jewish background born in New York who is now a Quaker married to an Orthodox Christian and lives in Arlington VA and is still )at least until June) a classroom teacher whose primary course is government, I will understand if you stop reading right now.

If you are still here, welcome to the mental meanderings of a community member who used to be one of the most active and visible members of Daily Kos.

I will make clear — this WILL be a mental meandering: I make no claim that this posting is any way an organized and.or thoughtful essay. But I hope you find what I offer is at least thought provoking and perhaps even of value.

teacherken

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday March 05, 2023 · 5:55 AM PST

2023/03/05 · 05:55

I have been here long time. According to my profile, I joined on Dec.19, 2003 after first encountering the site while volunteering for Howard Dean in NH the day after Thanksgiving several weeks before. During that time I have written over 5,000 stories, well over 60,000 comments. I have never been a staff member even an official but unpaid frontpager, although I have in the long past had a number of my stories posted to the front page. There was a point when I was one of the most frequent posters here, and before the front pagers could get recommendations on their posts I was for a number of years the person whose stories had the greatest number of recommends. At each of the first three gatherings (originally called Yearly Kos, then Netroots Nation) in Las Vegas, Chicago, and then Austin, I led one or panel discussions and was a participant in others. I led a panel again in 2012 in Providence. In short, I have long been an active and I hope largely respected member of this community although in recent years my participation has fallen off, in part because of health and in part because of the demands of my (still continuing) employment as a full-time teacher of adolescents.

I have watched with increasing dismay the dispute between management of Daily Kos and the Guild. I cannot say that I know Will, having met him only once. But I have known Markos for years, have reviewed one of his books. I consider myself friends with several long-time front-pagers, especially Meteor Blades, Mark Sumner aka Devilstower, and Denise Oliver Velez, aka Deoliver47, perhaps because we are are roughly age contemporaries, and thus have something of a shared experience of what America has been through during our life-times. I will turn 77 on May 23, having lived through McCarthyism, the Civil Rights era, the advanced under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and Vietnam and Watergate, to say nothing of more recent events from Carter to the present (and remember Carter left office more than 4 decades ago). That is the context in which I write this post, immediately after reading this powerful post by Denise.

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A Change of Plans

Lawyers - how Trump is ripping off his political contributors

Some weird experiences with LinkedIn

It's Done. I resigned yesterday.

Failing, and feeling broken

Multiple acting Oscars in one picture

So now I am a cancer survivor

So I will be teaching at least one more year

50 years ago today

77

Miscellaneous thoughts

DAILY KOS,who I am, why I will remain