What is the deal? It's like pole dancing at the Lyric.

What a wacky group of people to come to Barnes tonight...and here I am talking about needing to be appreciative of life because of the people of Sudan in What is the What? But seriously, as Susan would say...the Friday Night Specials were out tonight.

The teens were moronic tonight. The thing that I don't understand is that they are wonderful in the classroom. Everyone always asks me how I taught middle and high school. It is simple. You respect them for who they are and they will love and respect you. They are human and need attention and love. Simple as that. Put them in public and they become monkeys...well monkeys don't need this much attention or guidance. Tonight, they acted as if they had never ridden escalators. One girl, the type of girl whose hair you want to pull out, was riding up and down them. I know her type. She is around 15 and is the one who sits in choir and talks behind the music folder thinking you don't know what she is doing. What a dummy. Then, they were just screaming in general. Wow.

Then, thank you Eileen, sends me a guy who is a Friday Night Special and is "Well duh"ing me at the end of sentences. He could not believe we did not have Bridwell's Clifford's First Valentine's Day in any other format than board. He was a piece of work that ended up buying a Little Mermaid book. Oiy.

THEN, a rather beastly woman comes up to me and says I need a math book for a third grader. Well, me being congested and clogged did not understand. She said Can anyone hear me? No one can ever hear me? You can't hear! Let me say it again. I NEED A MATH WORKBOOK FOR A THIRD GRADER. She then proceeds to sign it to me and hold up three fingers. Does she think I am a monkey? I told her I can't hear because I have an infection (I was a little rude, but I was not going to put up with some gargantuan woman signing to me). She then lightened and said I can't ever hear. That is probably why no one can hear me. I talk to people all day and no one hears me. I tried to buy a plane ticket today and they couldn't hear me. I am trying to go to California because everyone out there is loopy like me, they probably can't hear either. Then, I was laughing. She was making it a fun situation. So, we parted laughing and having a good time bantering. She will probably be back.

AND LAST. A guy came up to me. Do you have any maldkfjth books? I said Excuse me, what books? He said Maldakvth. All I could hear was M and the th in the word. Then, the letter y started coming out. MYTH books! So, I took him to Mythology/Folklore. I then found out I heard wrong. Meth books. Meth books? Can you repeat that? -Meth like Math. Thanks Midwest. I am glad I can still understand the accent. When did Meth become Math. Drugs and math are not the same. Apparently drugs are supposed to be fun.

So, onto Eggers and the whole purpose of the blog.

Valentino is still struggling to get through to Michael. He is silently telling him of stories in Marial Bai and his struggles with hundreds of boys fleeing and walking. They walk for days at a time being led by Dut, a Dinka schoolteacher. Dut leads them to villages. Some villages want to feed and help them, others turn them away thinking they are affiliated with the rebels of the SPLA. One village throws spears at them injuring several boys. These boys have to deal with a lot of crap in order to survive. Many are starving and many are tired. The walking is endless. Along the path, a few boys are eaten by lions.

Along the way, we hear the story of one boy, a Dinka, named Deng. He lost everything he knew and is on the run as the rest are. Of course, we don't get to hear the rest of the story, but it is full of a lot of dreadful turns as the rest of the book is.

It amazes me the drive these kids have. The further they walk, the more villages release their kids to the group. Soon the group goes from 30 boys to 250. Many villagers believe that if they send their children off, they have a chance of surviving. No one really knows what to expect and no one really knows where they are going. They do know that Ethiopia is the projected path. The rebels are based there, the government of Sudan has made everyone want to flee. The government was responsible for the uprising. Southern Sudan was given the ability to self-govern for a while. To keep them in check, the government sent the Arab Baggara (meaning shepherd...they refer to it as the shepherd of men basically grazing the villagers and pushing them out of villages) to do their dirty work. They formed the army, told the Arabs to take all they want when they take the villages and kill anyone in the way. The Arabs are given guns, horses and free will to destroy, rape and conquer land. The Dinka are forced into slavery and forced to take care of the land they once owned and the property and cattle that were once their dowries for the Arabs.

I simply could not imagine this happening. I don't know how it happens. And to think, this is recent history and this is going on now. Societies are destroying themselves and each other. I guess it is how we develop? Man, could you imagine if this were happening in America. I know we have had a Civil War here. What would happen if this is us? I guess we wouldn't know until we were amidst the devastation.

The kids being herded around know nothing of the world and Dut has to teach them that other places other than Sudan exist. They never knew of Ethiopia, their neighbor. What would it be like for them to see a city like Chicago for the first time? They barely ever see cars and only some buildings are made of brick. Our metal and concrete jungle would bewilder them. There are people out there who know nothing of the existence in which we live.

So, back to the story...the boys run into a group of rebels who have killed an elephant and let them all eat. A lot of them eat the elephant raw. This part was honestly disgusting. I don't get sick, but the description was intense and getting me there. Wow. But, nonetheless, the elephant is something to eat. Deng and Valentino take an interest in the rebels and their guns. They want to be a part of this Red Army. They want to use guns to get revenge. This is the point where you can feel blood heating in the book. Hatred is beginning to protrude and invade hearts.

Overnight, after eating the elephant, Deng dies. This is where I left off.

Human nature is quite amazing. We just don't know how we will survive until we have to do it. I am sure not many of us in America, Europe, Australia and well-populated areas of Asia, South America and Central America could handle these struggles this intensely. It is a lot to fathom and contemplate.

Time for bed. I have to be at work in less than 8 hours. Night.