I have never been one who enjoys being a student. I find it very hard to care about information people are sharing with me if it is not something that interests me. If it is something that interests me, I have usually spent my waking hours already learning about it on the internet, so I find the class an unnecessary waste of time.
On Thursday, all Springfield Diocese elementary and middle school teachers had to attend an afternoon ‘retreat.’ They called it a retreat, but it was more of a ‘sit and listen to some lady talk REALLY slowly.’ I very quickly found myself in a familiar position, bored out of my gourd.
The host school had been kind enough to provide us with some cookies (which were bad!) and candy to keep us sugared and awake. I ate a few Tootsie Rolls and twisted the wrappers into long, thin sticks. After a small pile had collected on the table, I realized the similarities between these sticks and Lincoln Logs! So I began to build. Two Mr. Goodbar wrappers later, the roof was on and my house was complete.
If this had been a half hour meeting, I would have ended there. But this was no short tryst; this was a full afternoon, three hour endeavor. I made a smoking chimney and fence out of wrappers, then turned to the actual Tootsie Rolls for my medium. Using them like clay, I created a well, an outhouse, and a pig (which was eating out of a wrapper trough). Wrapper hay bales were soon followed by a Hershey Crunch tractor.
As part of the retreat, they sent us ‘out’ for half an hour. On my walk, I found some small weeds that served well as rows of cut alfalfa, waiting patiently in the field for the tractor. I then added a wrapper windmill, which looked even better than it had in my mind on the walk. Thinking of destroying my creating with a giant exhalation, I realized I needed to some tiny people running for the shelter of a Tootsie Roll cellar. That created, I added the finishing touches . . . the eminent demise of the tiny farm looming in the distance!
As a keepsake from my wasted afternoon, I made a short video of the farm. The quality is poor (as is the reception on the phone that recorded it), but it gives an interesting fly-by view of my artistic marauding. Please enjoy! Link to Wrapper Farm on YouTube
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They say that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In the blogging world, that is not true. The greatest validation you can give a blogger's mindless ramblings is to leave a comment. Your comment not only shouts to the world that you bothered to show up, but more importantly that what you read exuded some response! There can be no greater compliment!