2018 Symposium

[Catch-up post #2]

3 March 2018: Shepherd was well represented at the Symposium. A good day.

Muriale's...

[Catch-up post #1]

2 March 2018: Friday found me on my way to Fairmont, WV with some of our best students to attend the WV Undergraduate Literary Symposium. (Previous posts about the Symposium here, here, and here.) I gotta be honest: I was (and am) feeling kind of rough--a nasty little cold came on starting on Thursday. So driving three hours both ways, sleeping in a hotel (which never works for me--especially when sick), and getting further behind on some work was/is...unsettling.

But...when we got to Fairmont on Friday night, I took the students to this restaurant we've been to before when we visited the town (Muriale's). And it was kind of lovely. Just a good time, you know? 

Back to Wheeling

18 March 2016: Friday found me on my way back to Wheeling, WV for the West Virginia Undergraduate English Symposium, along with my work husband Tim and six of our students. Wheeling is an interesting place, always making me think of Rebecca Harding Davis. I hadn't been there is several years (since the last time the symposium was there), so it was kind of cool to be back there. After we arrived, Tim and I took a walk through an old neighborhood with lots of lovely old homes. That night, we took the students to an Italian restaurant we went to the last time we were there. All in all, a good day.

"Going Viral" and "The Environmental Ethics of Coal Mining"

20 March 2014: I know I've posted before about the terrific opportunities I get living and working in a college town. Last night was no exception. I attended two events sponsored by our Common Reading Program: first, a talk by Eric Waggoner, who wrote this post that went viral on the Elk River spill, and then a panel discussion on the ethics of coal mining. Both were terrific events, making it quite clear that WV needs to stop accepting the devastation that coal companies bring to the environment. I was even lucky enough to have dinner with Waggoner that night. A most excellent evening!

How dry has it been?

Answer: bad enough in my county for our governor to declare a drought disaster. Just ask my lawn... But lawns aren't really that important. The effects on our poor farmers are much more dramatic. We got just a bit of rain on (really) early Sunday morning and it actually woke me up--even though the windows were closed. That's how unusual the sound of rainfall is around here.

RIP, Senator Byrd

One of the most interesting figures in the Senate has died and I could write (a lot) about his complicated legacy ("Senator Pork," the whole KKK past, his opposition to the Iraq War, real questions about just how long he should have served once his health declined), but what's struck me most today is how many of my WV-based Facebook friends are commenting on his death. And they are sad. ("West Virginia's Angel," "We'll never have a better senator," etc.) Simply put, this guy did a LOT for this state. This campus, for instance, features no less than three buildings bearing his family name. And right outside of town is the NCTC, a beautiful facility he brought here. I mention all of this quite objectively--no commenting on the appropriateness of it. It's just clear to me that this man really mattered to West Virginians, a state that has been so poor and so neglected for its entire history. Again--I'm not endorsing these appropriations or earmarks--just pointing out how much they affected people.

Also, here's a sweet little story I heard from a colleague at Shepherd: our most recent Shepherd Byrd-named building is the Erma Ora Byrd Nursing Building, named after the Senator's wife. who died in 2006. Anyway, Byrd showed up for the 2007 dedication. This colleague says that after the ceremony was over, she saw him sitting in his car, just staring at the building, a bit overcome with emotion. This image of an old, tired man, sitting in his car, missing his wife and proud of the building that bears her name, is a powerful one for me. So RIP, Senator Byrd.

UPDATE: Here's Shepherd's statement on Byrd's death, complete with lots of pictures of his legacy here.

Thinking of the miners...

The amazing Denise Giardina writes about the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. At least 25 people dead. This time, there had better be consequences for Massey Energy. If you want a little bit of background about this company, start with this movie.

Only in West Virginia?

So I just helped a grown man--a man I've never met before--fix the strap on his overalls. (He didn't know how to make the strap shorter).