Strange

I intended to post to my teaching blog--thought that was the page I was on--but when I posted, it came up on Denise's page. This is strange because I've had Denise on my mind a lot lately (not like I don't always have her in mind, but more prominently than usual). I can't think of anything specific to say, just a sense of her presence and lost of memories cropping up. She's always there in one way or another. There is still a huge hole in my life where she was, our day-to-day interactions, but I'm more aware of all the ways she will always be with me, as long as I have any memory left.

Lightening the load

I know you're all dying of curiosity, so here's what I've decided: I am not going to rush to get first versions of papers back to the 101 students. I'm still on the fence about whether to make revisions optional; at the moment I still think I'll require them but will give the students a time extension so they have at least a week after I return the graded first versions. Not only does doing this ease the pressure on me, it lets the students focus on starting their final projects. The sense of relief is huge--and I no longer feel the ferocious resistance to facing those papers that I've felt since they came in. I don't need to rebel any more, as the repressive regime has been overthrown in a bloodless coup. (All inside my own psyche. I think most of us tend to be much harder on ourselves than the outside world is on us.) Interesting on a psychosomatic level that as soon as I made that decision, the headache that had been plaguing me all day eased up. It's not altogether gone, but has receded to a dull murmur instead of an insistent scream. I'm chipping away at that pile of unmarked homework (still, again), interspersing a paper or two as I go along.

Making this decision also means I don't feel compelled to cancel class, which also feels better. In a way, it's nice to have a stolen day at home to work, but I actually do enjoy being in the classroom, and in 229 as well as the 101s, they have reading due this week that I do want to have time to go over with them. And I have some homework assignments ready to go--which I may or may not actually assign. Many of the 101 students are still far from understanding MLA documentation--not that MLA is the be-all and end-all of document styles, but I feel I only have time to teach one (and one is confusing enough), and since MLA is specific to my discipline.... Anyway, I have an assignment in which I provide them with 5 different kinds of sources and have them use their style guides to create a works cited page. The ones who get it have no problem; the ones who don't may not be served very well by the assignment. I may do better simply having them rework their own pages from their papers, over and over until they get them right. I don't mind if there are some errors, but I'd like them to have at least the basics right, and a lot of them are far, far from that understanding. We'll see.

I also realized I have to take a look at the final paper assignment for 229 and make any necessary adjustments to it; I should give it to the students this week, again, so they can start thinking about it. I'll be very interested to see how they do with the first pages of Ceremony. Many of them were getting the first few paragraphs much better than I expected when we went over them in class last week; I hope that holds up.

I hope for an early collapse tonight and a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed start to the week tomorrow morning....

Upcoming performances

On Sunday, December 13, at 4 PM, Denise's choral work, "The Peace of Wild Things", will be performed by the Nassau Community College Vocal Ensemble.

Also on the concert are works by Brahms, including the first and last movement of "Ein Deutsches Requiem", with the NCC Orchestra, and will be dedicated to Denise's memory.

The concert will take place on the campus of Nassau Community College, in the Q Building Recital Hall.

Upcoming performances

On Tuesday, December 15, at 8 PM, the Nassau Community College Orchestra will be performing Denise's 1992 work, "Movement for Orchestra", which was commissioned and debuted by the Golden Valley Community Orchestra.

The concert, titled "Remembrance", will include Ravel's "Pavane pour une Infante Defunte" and the first and last movement from Brahm's "Ein Deutsches Requiem", featuring the NCC Chorus under the direction of R. Daniel Hughes.

The concert will take place on the campus of Nassau Community College in the Building Q recital hall. General admission is $4. Students are admitted free.

Denise's piece being played by MN Orchestra

Denise's short piece for orchestra entitled "Slipstream" will be performed by the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday, November 14, 2009, at Sundin Hall on the campus of Hamline University in Saint Paul. The program begins at 7:30PM. For more details see the MPO Web site, http://www.mnphil.org.

Rat Pack

I'm transferring a bunch of data from computer to computer, and I came across this gag picture I threw together after we shot a game on Queens Boulevard. Thought it might be worth a smile...

Today

Thinking of all of the people who felt the loss of such a wonderful person, Denise we miss you. You touched our lives and added to them in a way that we will never truly be without you.
Broadhursts we love you and are thinking of you... Big hugs. xxx

mark on your calendars!

A memorial concert will be at for Denise at Naussau Community College on

Sept. 24th, 2009, we think this concert will start at 8pm.  (I will try and re-confirm the start time as we get closer to the date. ) 

It was so lovely to see so many people at the concert at Hoffstra, I hope to see you again on the 24th.

DR. DENISE BROADHURST!!!!

Congratulations Denise, or I should say Dr. Broadhurst!!! Based on her thesis work, Denise was awarded her PhD posthumously on Sept 30th, 2008 by CUNY (City University of New York, Graduate Center).

She worked so hard to earn her degree and even when things got tough, she still maintained her sense of humour through it all, as demonstrated in this poem she wrote about it. It's just so her and it makes me smile.


Ode to the Ph.D.
Written by Denise Broadhurst

There once was a college co-ed,
who nearly went out of her head.
Trying to get her degree,
the cursed Ph.D.
and she went slightly batty instead.

She tried with all of her might,
an intelligent thesis to write.
But the harder she worked,
the more she got irked,
and alas, the page still remains white.

An original topic she sought,
but could muster nary a thought.
Copland plans came undone,
She was back at square one!
In a battle she’d already fought.

Her musical piece too did shrink,
requiring less and less ink.
From “full orch” to just string,
to quintet (of all things)
both ambition and high hopes did sink.

Support from her schoolmates was lacking,
what she craved was some obvious backing.
Though perhaps they weren’t real,
she had started to feel
that the odds against her were stacking.

So she sank in a pit of despair,
would she never escape out of there?
Dreams of teaching were slipping,
while hamburger flipping
took on a more probable air.

But determined to win in the end,
she enlisted the aid of a friend,
to keep her on track,
and to help nudge her back
when away from her schoolwork she’d bend.

So it’s here that we leave our young student,
with the hope she’ll become much more prudent.
That she’ll maybe, with luck
(and some help) get unstuck
and make in her thesis a new dent.

Join us in a celebration of Denise's life through her music

To honor Denise's memory, the Long Island Composers Alliance will present a concert of Denise's compositions on

September 13th, 2009, at 3:00 pm
at Monroe Hall
Hofstra University
Hempstead, Long Island, New York 11550
(516) 463-6654

All are welcome.

I was in Montana last week, with my family to mourn the passing of my father, but Denise was on my mind a lot, largely because hers was the first loss I experienced in my life that really, genuinely hurt, on a daily basis. But I also thought of her because the family told stories about their adventures at the Montana state fair, and I remember how much Denise used to love to go to the state fair in Minnesota. She'd come back for the first week of school and tell us about it, enjoying the ridiculousness of it all, with that warm, sweet humor she had. I have a photo of her beside my computer, so I look at her face every day, just to say hello. She and I were e-mail pals, and I miss those long, rambling discussions we had (and how amused we were that we worked across campus from each other but did most of our communication in cyberspace). She was wickedly smart, and completely unaware of how brilliant she was. She loved with a full and open heart. And there are times when I feel her presence as if she is still right there, at the other end of an e-mail. The only thing that's missing is her wonderful, insightful, funny reply. But all the love is still there, all around us.

Happy Birthday Denise!

Today many people are thinking of you, and while we are incredibly sad for our loss, we also celebrate the joy of your life...

I raise a toast in your honor: Happy Birthday Denise, you are greatly missed, dear friend.

Knowing that Denise's birthday is coming up, I thought it would be a good time to share this.

About a year ago, my wife, Dina- seven months pregnant at the time- and I threw a party that we called End of DINK (Double Income, No Kids), which was actually Dina's baby shower.
Happily for us, Denise was able to attend. We had a really great time. When we got home and opened gifts, Denise's was my favorite: a New York Mets outfit for a nine-month old, just in time for the next baseball season. It reminded me of just how sensitive Denise could be to her friends' interests and, at least in my case, obsessions.

The thing is, Denise had little or no interest whatsoever in baseball. As our colleague Kevin and I could spend half the day standing in front of her office dissecting the previous night's game, proposing trades, and discussing off-season deals that the Mets should make so as not to disappoint us yet again, Denise would dutifully stand by, looking politely interested, occasionally contributing an "uh-huh" so as not to be rude.

I'm sure Denise wondered in amusement just how we could spend so much time going over the minutae of a sports team, yet she never walked away from the conversation, put it down, or otherwise teased us about it. Denise just did what Denise always did: she quietly took it in, and thought of a way to use it as a way to do something nice.

I couldn't wait until our son, Simon, was big enough to wear this outfit. I look for any opportunity to put him in it. I love to see him wearing it, not because of my fanatic devotion to the Mets, but because it reminds me of Denise, and what a thoughtful friend she was.
Attached are two pictures - one from the party on June 28, 2008, and one of Simon is his Mets gear, compliments of his Aunt Denise.