Yankee in a Red State

The ramblings of an expatriate New Yorker in the South ~ formerly known as The Kudzu Kronikles ~

Go, Hillary!!!

At last!  "Women's Intuition" told me long before Hillary Clinton made it to the New York State Senate that she was going to be our first woman president.  Now that Senator Clinton has officially declared, I see that my "W.I" is bordering on ninety nine point nine percent accuracy.

Thank you, Hillary, for declaring your intention for running for President.  I can think of no one more qualified for the position than you.  I have watched from afar while you served my home state of New York.  I remember meeting you briefly in Seneca Falls before I left New York for warmer climes and graduate school.  Although I was just a face among many, I could tell by looking at yours that you were a woman of your word, that you had compassion and strength -- the two things necessary for a president of the United States to possess.  You have my vote.

posted by: willothwisp at 23:46 | link | comments |
politics, hillary clinton

Goodbye, Keely

I had the rare and shocking opportunity today to find out that a former student had died.  I don't mean "former student" from back when I first started teaching or even a year ago.  Keely Dorsey was my student last semester.  I saw him a short month ago.  Just the other day I put his portfolio to rest with the others that I do not keep as a matter of course.  He said he did not want it back and we both knew that it was not the best work in the class., It was passing work, however, and it brimmed with dreams of football.

Keely was a charming student who attended each and every one of the classes without fail except for when the football team was on the road.  He just came off a winning season that got USF into a bowl game which they won easily, with some outrageous spanking of 41-14 (pardon me if I get the score wrong, I have no head for numbers).  No, Keely was not one of my best students but he was an honest student, and a sincere student, who was passionate about football.  I urged him to write about football and to blog about his frustrations and joys with the team.  The last time I saw him, he had a smile on his face as he headed out the door of the classroom, relieved that the semester, and English Composition II, was over.  It was good having him be a regular contributor to the class.

I cannot imagine how his parents must feel.  I can guess, because I have a teenage son who had a football dream but genetic weak joints seem to have put that on hold.  He informs me right now that he is off to work out with his friend and I feel my heart sink because Keely was working out when he passed away.  But this sinking heart can not compare to a parent's grief over losing their child.

Life isn't fair.  And one more bright light has been forever dimmed.

posted by: willothwisp at 01:45 | link | comments (1) |
the academe

Attention Deficit Blog Entry

I have been submerged.  It is the winter hibernation season and no matter how long I live in the South, when the sun sets at five thirty post meridian eastern time, I go to sleep.  I have also been submerged in The Novel.  For the first time, I am happy to report, the first week of classes for the semester is less hectic, I am ever more sure of myself, and to the point where the transitions are less stressful.  This has to be in part because our English department has learned to run like a well-oiled machine and not like it used to be, all discombobulated, with rusting parts and a squeaky flywheel.  Its wheezing final gasps have been transformed into breaths of fresh air and I can see it: an academic department worthy of note, shining on the horizon. 

No? 

The novel is moving, shifting shape, becoming less cute and more cynical.  I'm not ready to talk about it much yet.  The first version was threatening to be a long prime-time soap opera script so I stopped writing it on the computer.  I have shifted to using a lovely leather-bound journal a perfect pen that lets the words come out through my fingertips. Approach means a lot.  Determination is a good thing.  Consistency and diligence expand it.  I'm almost ready to let someone see it and critique.

Sleep helps the menopause.  So does soy.  I learned to enjoy soy milk and I use lots of soy sauce since we eat Asian many nights a week along with the occasional foray to Ichiban for sushi lunch.  The last trip cost seventy five bucks since we took stepson before he had to go back to the Army. 

Don't get me started about the army.  I don't want to think about politics but I do sit with C-Span on all day, having tossed over the daytime courtroom shows for real-life drama in the House and Senate.  I still have to turn it off to write, however, as it tends to poison the novel. 

Novel, novella, nouveau.  New novel.  Keep going.

posted by: willothwisp at 23:44 | link | comments |
ramblings and rants

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