Sara Jo 1995-2007

OTTAWA -- Sarah Jo, 12, of Ottawa, died Saturday, Nov. 24, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Funeral services will be at 4 p.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church in Ottawa with the Rev. John Walker officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ottawa Funeral Home.

Sarah Jo was born March 12, 1995, in Spring Valley, to Allan and Heather (McCandless) Treest.

She was a member of Friendly City Sound, Shepherd Middle School Student Council and Drama Club and Ottawa Girls Fast Pitch.

She is survived by her parents; a brother, Nicholas Treest; maternal grandparents, Dave and Jo McCandless; and paternal grandmother, Pamela Cannon.

She was preceded in death by her paternal grandfather, Martin Treest.

Pallbearers will be Mike Bates, Kyle and Craig Sokol, Mark and Jeff Treest, Brian and Dave McCandless and Mike Reynolds.

Memorials may be directed to the Red Stocking or the family.

Sarah was my student last year. I am truly at a loss when it comes to dealing with the death of such a vibrant and young little girl. My heart is with her family.

Teachher

And so the books says of the teacher, "I am going to teach-her."

I would do a word-of-the-day, but there are too many words and too few days. But it is so true that this book is schooling me.

Crepuscular is a term used to describe animals that are primarily active during the twilight. The word ultimately derives from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight".

tac·i·turn /ˈtæsɪˌtɜrn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tas-i-turn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
2. dour, stern, and silent in expression and manner.

ex·oph·thal·mic (ěk'səf-thāl'mĭk) Pronunciation Key adj.
1. Of or relating to exophthalmos.
2. Characterized by the prominence of the eyeballs. usually caused by sickness

mu·ci·lage /ˈmyusəlɪdʒ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[myoo-suh-lij] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation–noun
1. any of various, usually liquid, preparations of gum, glue, or the like, used as an adhesive.
2. any of various gummy secretions or gelatinous substances present in plants.

ver·i·si·mil·i·tude (věr'ə-sĭ-mĭl'ĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd') Pronunciation Key n.
1. The quality of appearing to be true or real. See Synonyms at truth.
2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real.

I came upon this "journal" and began to feel a little bit better about my lexicon. Davidd says it with a bit more vim and vigor then I would find necessary but the idea definitely seems very familiar.

Tell me honestly, do you guys know all these words? Are regular, real, non-Pulitzer-prize winning people familiar and comfortable with vocabulary like this? 'Cuz I swear to (insert humorously non-offensive deified something to which one might swear), if most people, or many people, or even any people other than writers with a T-1 hardwired connection to the Über-Ultra-Mondo-Mega-Thesaurus-Two-Trillion database honestly know this stuff, I must be way dumber than I previously believed, and believe me, that's pretty dumb, what with my low self-esteem that compels me to criticize talented, intelligent, and successful people only because I secretly envy them and all.

Rainbow Bright

I'm on a roll

In the words of Karin Bergquist:

Black flamenco shoes
Dahlias in my hair
Garters on my stockings
The sidewalk bends to stare
I’m on a roll

This ain’t no dress rehearsal
I’m a very lucky girl
I’m on a roll