Wednesday, September 24, 2025

2100

24 September 2025: With apologies to Wallace Stevens, four ways of looking at my morning walk, from about 7:50 to 8:30 a.m., on this, the day my streak hit 2100 days.

One: Autumn is making its presence known, though summer still holds on. The sidewalk on the way down to the monument were thick with leaves, wet from yesterday's rain. I felt myself walking with the slightest bit of extra caution.

Two: At Rumsey Park, a woman was grooming a great big dog, who stood on a picnic table almost completely still, a model client. And a very "Shepherdstown" scene. 

Three: As I turned by the train station, I waved at a woman I had passed earlier. She came up behind me and said, "It's Heidi, right?" I have no idea how she knew me, but we started talking about her daughter, who took ENGL as a dual enrollment student and had a wonderful experience. The woman, Hillary, said she'd send me the instructor's name when she looked it up. "I will write you any testimonial you need!" she said. What a gift she gave me--making me feel good about our program, the work we do, and the extraordinary faculty in my program. We also talked about a colleague in a different department, her neighbor and friend. This woman is extraordinary and hearing about her from the perspective someone who knows her outside of Shepherd just made admire her more. 

Four: As Hillary ducked off to head to the post office, another colleague/friend walked by. As usual, her outfit was perfect. Just right for an early fall day in the Eastern Panhandle. 

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