Holiday Haiku

A foggy night driving in,
Christmas lights shine bright.
Holidays hug warmly.

Superior Tom

You strut away, your feathers held high
Subservient lady friends giving the eye.
And as you preen we surely know
That you're the star of this little show.

Monarch of the barn, stud of the walk
You flap your wings, you talk the talk.
A snobby gobble, beard raised in distain,
You turn your back, your intent is plain.

Your posture assumes the best of you
With arrogance as it's only clue.
Today you rock! Tomorrow you roll...
I'm sure you'll taste good with a cranberry mold.

Homecoming or Dancing Thru Chaos

It's all in good fun. Homecoming that is. Homecoming at my school is like walking into an insane asylum on the day the caretakers lock themselves into a padded cell. Classes of this year and of next year, and so on, chant and cheer their way thru the halls and the school day. Dressed in each day's designated apparel they appear to be united in appearance as well as in their lunacy.
It's all good fun. Teaching is not necessarily put on the back-burner; it's just made more difficult as the students hyper their way from one class period to the next. Lunchtime is filled with cheers, chants, skits and acrobatics not normally tolerated in the staid cafetorium.
It's all in good fun. Competition to win the 'spirit stick', a dowel rod dressed up in the school colors with a image of the school mascot on top, is ferocious. Paper flags are made and waved. Cloth banners are decorated. Flyers are posted on walls and lockers. Classroom doors are garbed with each day's character symbols. The doors become portals of sweet academic interludes to be interchanged with crowded halls of pep.
It's all in good fun. For five days the festivities ensue. Focus is on Friday's Homecoming Game; those games played on Tuesday and Wednesday are forgotten. Focus is on which class can show the most school spirit - all by itself. Focus is on the anticipation of the BIG GAME. All other games are forgotten. All academia is replaced with a single minded goal.
The goal? To stay awake and alert until the very end. Until the stroke of midnight at the Homecoming Dance after the BIG GAME. To remain spirited to the very end.
What do we learn during Homecoming Week? Brotherhood? Cooperation? How to raise our voices in unison? How to march together or put on an entertaining skit? How to paint a flag or a banner? How to survive the chaos?
It's all in good fun. We learn to have fun. Together. We cheer, we chant, we skit, we pep rally, we elect queens and we play a game. Then we dance.
After it's all over, the next week, the next year and the years after we realize. We danced thru the chaos. And it was all in good fun.