The Other Men in Edna's Life

For 2/3 of the novella, we have heard of 2 men rattling around Edna's thoughts: Leonce and Robert. Surprise, surprise, Edna has two new gentleman visitors: her daddy and Alcee, or the stand-in Robert. While we did start class reviewing vocab for the quiz on Monday and finishing up the individual close reads (if you were absent during a close read, I will need to see your notes for Chapters 12-22 for credit), we wrapped up the hour looking at Edna as she became an "independent" woman living in a "pigeon house." For Monday, finish Edna's Awakening and start, resume, or finish your verbal presentation short story analysis -- it looks like we are starting on Tuesday!

Meanwhile, I have been fascinated with coverage of Hurricane Irma (and now the category 4 Hurricane Jose) as she begins her move toward Key West and Florida. As one who spent many of her childhood summers in Sarasota and Clearwater on the Gulf side and as one who now spends her summers in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and the Keys, it is beyond comprehensible the damage that may occur to these wonderful places and the loss of life that may be a result. And when I bring up life, don't forget to consider all the animals - pets, wild, zoos, aquariums - that will be displaced or harmed by this storm. If you have not been to Key West, you may not know that they have a wild chicken population (in the thousands) roaming through the streets. When we were there last year, we would watch chicken families wait at the crosswalk until the sign changed to cross. Surprisingly observant birds.

Since the evacuations began, I have been wondering what will happen to the Zoo Miami, Theatre of the Sea, and all the animal-centric places dotting Florida's coasts. This NPR article delineates methods in which these animals must face the storm:  http://www.npr.org/2017/09/07/548981618/flamingos-in-the-men-s-room-how-zoos-and-aquariums-handle-hurricanes?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170907.

In any case, Mother Nature has become a front page headline from fires, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes (here and in Mexico), and the best we can do is to recognize her power, prepare, and aid those in need.