Keith Mastrion is haunting me!

Well, probably not. He's the 1998 National Teacher of the Year, so he's probably still alive. Semantics.

Every single Starbucks latte I've had this month has had The Way I See It #181 by Keith Mastrion on it. EVERY SINGLE LATTE. And as wise as The Way I See It #181 is, it's starting to freak me out. I fear the only thing that will end the madness is the November 1 transition to the red holiday cups (and thus, my transition from Pumpkin Spice lattes to Gingerbread lattes or Peppermint hot chocolates).

Now, you all know how often I go to Starbucks. That's a lot of lattes. AND THEY'VE ALL HAD THE SAME THE WAY I SEE IT ON THEM. And every time I go with a friend, they get a different one. So it's not like there are only 3 or something. There are at least a dozen, and I end up with the same one EVERY TIME. Different times of day. Different Starbucks in different boroughs.

Apparently the universe wants me to use better metaphors, help kids read, or stop drinking so much damn espresso. I'm going to go home and burn incense to get rid of these evil spirits.

Oh who am I kidding? Incense is for hippies.

The Way I See It #181
A child's mind isn't a blank slate; it's more of a jungle. Each time a parent helps a toddler read, the child is walked through this jungle from one side to the other. Trip after trip, a seemingly impossible passage becomes a well-worn path. Children sent to kindergarten skipping merrily along this path to literacy fare far better than those sent to school with machetes.

– Keith Mastrion
"Reading Man" and 1998 National Teacher of the Year