Can I Sit with You?

Did you miss Wednesday’s Can I Sit With You? Live! in Redwood City performances? Never fear; now you can have a glimpse of what it was like to be at that fantastic show.

Jenifer Scharpen Reads “A First Grade Reader”

Elaine Park Reads “Forever Young”

Lea Cuniberti-Duran Reads “A Non-Catholic Upbringing”

Jackie Davis-Martin Reads “Lose and Win”

Judy McCrary Koeppen Reads “Men-Stru-A-Tion”

John Kim Reads “Spitting Image”

Jennifer Byde Myers Reads “Sorry, Charlie” (Apologies, this is a very brief excerpt from a charming performance. Stupid camera.)

Shannon Des Roches Rosa Reads “The Joker’s Wild” (and overacts quite a bit out of sheer nervousness)

—–

Again, audio from the Seattle show is coming soon.

Our very own Jen Myers reading her story Sorry, Charlie.

Last night’s reading at Angelica’s Bistro in Redwood City was a lot of fun, and quite a success. We filled the place, which was good for us though harrowing for the restaurant staff. We were thrilled to see so much support for the project, sell so many books, and have guests like Grace Davis and Left Coast Mom in the audience.

A few restaurant patrons who didn’t realize there was going to be a show but stayed to watch anyhow (we’re that mesmerizing!) came over afterwards and donated money to SEPTAR, the special ed PTA to which all of the Can I Sit With You? proceeds are directed. Very touching.

The show featured our scheduled readers, Jen Scharpen, Elaine Park, Lea Cuniberti-Duran, Judy McCrary Koeppen, Shannon Des Roches Rosa, and Jennifer Byde Myers. We were also lucky enough to be joined by CISWY authors Jackie Davis-Martin and John Kim

Go see photos of all the readers (except Shan, who took the pictures). Video excerpts to come.

Here’s Jen & Shan Getting Interviewed by the NPR Reporter:

And here’s the whole darn photoset:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23268879@N07/sets/72157604810989992/

Our show in Seattle was fantastic. We are exhilarated and exhausted. Photos and videos to come.

The reporter who interviewed us expressed surprise that none of the live stories were about special needs. So, while you wait for event news and media, here is a piece about what it is like to cope with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) in the classroom.

Lines
by James Penha

From the time he carefully
pulls the stool from beneath
the massive black slate
of the science laboratory table
    to align
    the outer edges
    of its rear legs
    perfectly
    against
    the line
    separating
    –looking
    backwards
    from the table
    –the black –the white
    imitation marble imitation marble
    tile tile
    from the white from the black
    imitation marble imitation marble
    tile tile
    on the left on the right
and arranges
the equipment required
for the experiment
to follow the set-up printed in the laboratory manual he stared at
so long last night at home
he fell asleep
before trying to revise his English homework
or reading consumer math,
Angel worries what he will do
forty-three minutes
and ten seconds from now
when Mr. Klepper
five minutes
before the bell
forty-two minutes
and fifty-five seconds from now
tells the class to clean up which means
Angel will be watched
forty-two minutes and forty-five seconds from now
to see if today he pushes the stool
back into the shadows
beneath the dark desk slab
where there is no line
to align
to its feet
so if Angel does push the chair
into chaos
his head will spin, stomach churn
and he will cough up what he didn’t
in preparation for the day
eat for breakfast or
he will be given one last chance by Mr. Klepper
again to cooperate
before being sent to the office and
two hours
forty one minutes
and five seconds from now
detention instead of home,
so there is no time
or space to think of science
and he’s falling
    per second per second
to earth

I have it on good authority that you Seattlites are the spontaneous kind, so we’ll see the rest of you at the door. You might want to get there a tad early to make sure you get a seat.

Can I Sit With You? Live in Seattle
TONIGHT 8:00 PM
Annex Theatre
1100 East Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98122

Sadly, Els Kusher will not be able to join us tonight. But we look forward to sitting with the rest of you.

We will be back with videos, pictures, and new stories on Monday.

CISWY Seattle is tomorrow. GASP!

If you’d like a guaranteed seat, please buy your will call tickets by 8 AM Friday:

Buy Tickets Now:

If seats are still available after will call cut off, we’ll post a notice in this space, and you can buy your tickets at the door. Cash only.

See you there!

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More CISWY Events, back here in The Bay Area:

MAY 7, 7:30 PM
Angelica’s Bistro, Redwood City
863 Main Street, Redwood City, CA
650.365.3226
No Cover, Donations Accepted, Reservations Recommended

This is a really exciting event for us, as several of our readers have never before agreed to perform their stories in public.

Angelica’s is a lively, versatile restaurant with a charming atmosphere and a considerable wine and beer selection. It is also family-friendly, but as usual please review the stories below before deciding to bring your children along.

Readers:
Jen Scharpen
Elaine Park
Lea Cuniberti-Duran
Judy McCrary Koeppen
Shannon Des Roches Rosa
and Jennifer Byde Myers

——-

We’re also going to be at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Saturday, August 9th, at 4 PM. I wonder if they’ll rotate our photos in the header alongside Mario Battali, Dave Barry, Isabel Allende, and Anne Lamott?

Sneak Eep: Lea Hernandez, cartoonist, manga sage extraordinaire, and artist for the Can I Sit With You? book cover, will be joining us.

You all know that Can I Sit With You? is going live at Seattle’s Annex Theatre on Friday, April 25th, at 8 PM.

You know that we’ve got a stellar lineup:

Michael Procopio

SJ Alexander

Liz Henry

Sarah Glover

Cindy Emch

Jason Kovacs

Els Kushner

Judy McCrary Koeppen

But did you know that we’re also going to include a new story and author? Here’s the deal if you think that author should be you:

We’re taking the contest route.

Send us your story, ASAP. We’ll start posting stories on Monday, March 31st, and will post the final story on Friday, April 11th. Voting (on this site) will run from April 11th through Wednesday, April 16th. If your story wins, you’ll get to join us on stage in Seattle!

If you’re serious about sending us a story, don’t forget to read our submission guidelines. If you need a refresher on what Can I Sit With You? is all about, read our mission statement. Basically, if you think your story of schoolyard social trauma or triumph could inspire current school kids and entertain an audience, Can I Sit With You? is the place for you.

Apologies, we cannot pay for travel or provide Seattle lodgings. But we will be able to provide you with media exposure, and will include your story in the second edition of Can I Sit With You?, to be published in October 2008.

(And don’t give us any crap about crazy deadlines, because this is exactly how we collected the stories in our book. Heh.)

A. A. Matin
10 yrs old at the time

Gym Class. Most people’s memories seem to revolve around dodgeball. While I have been hit with and pelted many a classmate with those red rubber balls, my most vivid memory is of another game: Capture the Flag.

In the fifth grade there was about fifty of us and the gym teacher set up the game on a huge soccer field. In order to compensate for the size of the field, both teams had three flags. Early in the class my friend Pasquale and I decided to run across together and capture one flag and then throw it back and forth to each other as we ran back.

We made a break for it. I snagged the flag and turned around. I looked over to Pasquale who was running with me. Then I looked ahead and saw a straight shot back to our side. I didn’t even think about tossing it. I just booked as fast as I could and we made it back. I apologized to Pasquale for not throwing it to him. He didn’t care because we got the flag and were not tagged.

Later on someone got the idea for a bunch of people to run over at once and have an ambush with the hopes that one person could break through. I didn’t think it was a good plan — but went with it. They were prepared and set up their defense to ambush the crowd and captured us all.

The “holding pen” was a pole on the edge of the playing field. And we were allowed to string ourselves together by holding hands to form a chain. So many of us were caught that we almost extended all the way onto our half of the field. Then one of our team mates could safely tag the person at the end and free us all. Some guys took their shirts off so that they and the next person in line could hold onto each end to make the chain longer.

I refused to take my shirt off. I was very skinny and very self-conscious about my body. I did not feel comfortable and knew I would be picked on and ridiculed. But it did not matter. My entire team turned against me for refusing to take off my shirt.

Everyone was upset and saying that I was not a team player and refusing to help. The fact that I had captured a flag was inconsequential to them.

I didn’t want to get insulted for being skinny. Instead I got insulted for not being a helpful team player by taking my shirt off. Most would call that a “no-win” scenario. But this is not the case. No one else was able to capture any flags. We won the game. And it was all because of me. It may have been lost on them — but I still remember it 25 years later.

by Kafte
17 years old at the time

I was an average student who enjoyed school most of the time, except for my problem of “shyness”. What brought about my being shy I still don’t really know, but in those special years at school, it was a thorn in my side and certainly kept me from fully expressing myself, as so many others did so very well.

We were blessed by a most gifted teacher in Grade 12, and it wasn’t until that year that I felt a teacher’s kindness in understanding and trying to lift me up.

One instance of her unique way of communicating with me was when she abruptly said “all right class, put everything away and write a 3000 word essay, you have half an hour.” Well, I knew this particular essay was an important one, but my head wouldn’t cooperate for a few minutes. Luckily I enjoyed fantasy books, so when I looked at the blackboard (Colin usually wiped it clean for the teacher, but it was still a chalky mess) I saw interesting formations and I had my story. Something about a moon-faced man with a scimitar of a grin, inviting me to enter and join him in an adventure. Sister gave me an A (unheard of for me) and we began a dialogue of little written notes in my Composition book.

Another instance of her kindness was when she read us the poem Chicago by Carl Sandburg, and asked the class, “Now class, what is the Poet actually saying”? Without thinking I half put up my hand (I had situated myself in the center of the middle row so I couldn’t be seen well by the teacher, and felt protected from her scrutiny). So when she noticed my half-hearted hand up, she ignored the flapping hands of her more promising students and quickly said, “Yes, Kathy, give us your opinion.” Well, in a low choking voice (I remember having to force myself to speak up properly, as this shyness manifested itself in total abject fear) I gave her my opinion.

And this is where my teacher won a medal — there was a pregnant silence, then she continued to say something like, “Class, every now and then there is a student who truly understands the deeper message of a poem, and Kathy has grasped the significance of the poet’s strong words in explaining the city that is Chicago.” Well, all my schoolmates made faces at me because of such an accolade, and they couldn’t know how much I would later dissect this day and see it as, perhaps, my only academic achievement in my full 12 years.

Today, as an adult of 67 years, I have overcome my shyness for the most part (there are those that actually think of me as ostentatious), and I have no trouble in expressing myself fully when required, but I will always remember my Grade 12 teacher, for being instrumental in promoting my fuller personality, with humor and kindness.

We can hardly believe it ourselves, but Can I Sit With You? is a real live book! We would be grateful if you could order (and tell your friends to order) copies for everyone on your holiday shopping list. The direct URL for purchase is:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1466612

Our experience has been that lulu.com prints and ships fairly quickly. Here is their information on holiday ordering deadlines:

http://www.lulu.com/en/help/shipping_faq#holiday_deadlines

We will start doing official promoting (press releases, website relaunch) on Thursday 11/29. We are also starting to plan Bay Area book readings and book release parties, so keep watching this space for more information (and for more stories).

Thanks once again to everyone who donated their time and talent to this project. All hail the Power of the Internet!