A surprise visitor

29 August 2016: As I was grading English 101 homework in my office this afternoon, I was delighted to get interrupted by a former student, Ashley, who was back in town to visit campus and say hello to her former teachers. It was really wonderful catching up with her--and not just because I got a temporary break from that grading.

"Nate Parker's Past, His Present, And The Future of Birth Of A Nation"

28 August 2016: Today's good thing is this fantastic episode of Code Switch about the Nate Parker controversy. The panelists are so smart and thoughtful and, somewhat refreshingly, straightforward about their own attitudes towards seeing the film. I am still not sure if I'll see it...but this discussion gave me plenty to think about.

Twain and cats

27 August 2016: Slept in a bit today and when I finally went outside, I found a package on my doorstep. Inside was today's good thing: this amazing birthday present from Rita, Mikeee, and Ainsley.

It reads: "A home without a cat--and a well-fed, well-petted, and properly revered cat--may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove it's title?" --Mark Twain. 

 Bing approves.

Veronica likes the packaging.

Seventh inning hits...

26 August 2016: Friday evening was all kinds of awesome. Let me list some reasons...

First, I finally got around to using some free tickets I had for a Hagerstown Suns game, tickets I got last spring for volunteering to help with the "Brain Games" fundraiser. So yeah...free baseball game.

I had four tickets and my friend Amy had two. Amy couldn't go, but my friends Emily and Carrie could, along with Carrie's husband and their two kids. These are some of my favorite people, so that rocked.

Third, the Suns were playing my old hometown team, the Greensboro Grasshoppers. (Here's a post from when I last saw them play in 2009). I was a bit torn as to who to root for, but in the end, I cheered for the Suns. A bit of drama, right?

Fourth, this game was great...the Grasshopper's pitcher went six innings without a hit and had a 1-0 lead in the seventh. Then the Suns got their only two hits that inning, enough to put them ahead and ultimately win. This was Carrie's kids first baseball game ever and (understandably) they might have been a bit bored until that point. After all, the quiet tension of a close, low-offense game might be lost on a baseball novice. But when those hits came in the seventh, we all stood up and cheered our heads off.

The cherry on top? Fireworks when the game was over. A lovely evening.

Right before the big hit that brought in two runs.

The world's expert on Martha Washington and spam

25 August 2016: Thursday's good thing was another no-brainer: it was Jane's birthday and she is one of the good things in just about every day. But specifically, I am going to shout out the ridiculous idea in this post's title, since, as was revealed in our conversation on Thursday, this is one of her very many areas of expertise. Just try to think of another authority on Martha Washington and spam. See? You can't. It's Jane, clearly.

"Ring of Keys"

24 August 2016: Yet another Fun Home post! I was so charmed by this video when I saw it this morning. I actually tend to be charmed by lots of these "fan compilation" videos, but man...something about this one. What wonderful work this show has done in the world!

This guy...

23 August 2016: So this guy is 70 years old today. This picture is a bit old (from 2008), but it's one of my favorite ones of him.

Women record-breakers at Rio

22 August 2016: As I finish up my first day of the semester (heading home to mow the lawn!), I realize I've been thinking fondly all day about this post, listing just some of the awesome women who broke records at Rio. It's got to be today's good thing.

Sunday night gif trading...

21 August 2016: This evening, I've been trading messages with my grad school friends. Most of us have the first day of classes tomorrow so the conversation evolved (devolved?) into trading silly motivational gifs about how to walk onto campus and into classrooms.

Here's the favorite one I shared:

Here's the best one shared by a friend:

Yup: those (together) are today's good thing.

Tomato Fest

20 August 2016: This cute little town...always something unique going on. Today's good thing is one of those events: Tomato Fest. Check out all of these tomatoes!

You were to work your way down the row, taking a taste from each and vote on your favorite. I voted for something called "Old German." I hope it wasn't entirely because the name made me laugh.

Dinner with Anthony

19 August 2016: Anthony is a student from one of the first classes I taught at Shepherd. He took ENGL 204 with me--a special section for Honors students. He was in the group that went on this trip with me back in 2008. Even though it was the only class he took with me (he was a super-star business major who graduated early), we stayed in touch and he's become a friend. We had dinner last night and it was just really wonderful to catch up with him.

Ready for Monday (mostly)...

18 August 2016: Today's good thing? Having my syllabi copied, the first day's classes planned, all the readings for the entire semester scanned and posted, the website ready to go... In other words, in every way except emotionally, I am ready for Monday.

New old hat

17 August 2016: A week ago, I posted about finally deciding to get rid of this old hat. However, even after posting that, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. It sat in the house for another week. When I was in NY, though, hanging on the door of his old room, I found three of Ryan's old hats. They are all fishing-themed--not really my thing, but kind of perfect for sweaty yard work. So I asked my mom if I could take one. "Take all three!" she (and my dad) insisted. So I did. (I actually wore one to the game on Saturday night, just to kind of make it like a piece of him was there with us.)

So the old Roanoke hat hit the trash today and I mowed the lawn in this new one. A free replacement for an old possession and one that reminds me of my brother? I like that a lot.

Submitted!

16 August 2016: Today was a very busy day, but a good one. The highlight? Hitting submit on an email to a journal editor with a possible article attached. That was my last big goal for the summer and it feels great to have it done.

Summer rain

15 August 2016: I drove back down to WV on Monday, spending a lot of time worrying about how my flowers had done while I was gone. I knew it was even hotter here than in NY and my friend texted me that we had had no rain. So, as I made a mental list of things to do when I got home, I put "watering" at the top. How lovely, then, to arrive home and see a major rainstorm approaching. No need to water. Perfect timing.