"Ha, ha. Please, I need to borrow this! Very cute."

"LOVEEEEEE it! As a member of the NWP WILDLIFE SOCIETY, I salute you (although our members in Nebraska are not quite so shy :-) !!"

"Okay, I am sharing this with EVERY writing teacher (with whom) I have an e-mail address. free writing=real writing=things the writer knows a lot about=best writing=_____ ________ (fill in your own blank here--free write!)"

"Okay! Will send... Joy and Gaeton are right--modelling is crucial. Also, you can start with your "top" group (tho I like to mix them up, too, about a third of the time and let them have choices as to which book they pick) and let the top…"

"I love that book, too! Thanks, Jason, for giving it space (and don't you love the mouse scene for voice!)!"

"Dear Roland, Loved your story! I, too, would go back for visits and see my granny. My mom has often talked about the old time mystery tours the bus and rail (?) system had. My mother immigrated from Scotland. Once here, she found several other…"

"My favorite line to anyone walking past me as I am reading a "pleasure" book is "I am doing research." :-) Has anyone read Sheridan Blau's The Writing Workshop? He has a lot of craft suggestions, ideas and thoughts. We are…"

"My favorite all-time lead comes from a former second grade student of mine: "Cannonball Carson was the only flying gecko in the world. He just didn't know it yet." --Jacob"

"Bad Day at Black Rock (or how I spend every Monday afternoon after school) The writers were walking all over the room, Carrying pencils, pens, paper and backpacks all strewn. The noise was atrocious, the feeling was mad, The kids were all roving,…"

"What lucky kindergartners! Mud season--love it. Maybe our 5th season here in Nebraska is the wind season. It's happening right now, too. :-)"

"What happened to my other comment on this issue? Who is going to be objective about doling out the merit pay and how many more hoops are we going to have to jump through? I love my job but I feel so sorry for the teachers just starting out. V"

"No, I've not been to any Nationals but hear that they're great. The sad thing is that the one this year is in my home-town of Louisville, sigh. Wish I was there!! Lozenge=pill as I was doing a take-off on Alice, Thru the Looking…"

"MERIT PAY? No, there is no such thing as "merit" pay. It's divisive, distracting and detrimental to teaching. Reward those teachers that are in the trenches every day, but merit pay isn't it. When I taught in Houston, there was a…"

"Welcome Valdosta, Glad to have you with us!"