Lonely as a Cloud

Hello at the end of a long day, I have been in my office most of the day working, and there is more to do, but my eyes are tired. Working to review student’s submitted work can be exhilarating and exasperating in the same moment. I am excited when I labor through a cover letterContinue reading “Lonely as a Cloud”

Another Year and Some New Thoughts

Hello from Panera Bread, While I am usually writing from home, I am banned from my home and the Acre for a bit because the house is being shown. There has been some genuine interest this week, or so it seems. I am to an expert at these things, so I am depending on myContinue reading “Another Year and Some New Thoughts”

The Shared Experience of Struggle Creates Equity, and perhaps Empathy

Hello from my kitchen on an early Monday morning, It is about 5:40 a.m. and I have decided it is time to get back to a productive schedule. I had actually set my alarm for 6:45, but I woke up about 5:00 and decided to get up. I am cooking oatmeal and decided to doContinue reading “The Shared Experience of Struggle Creates Equity, and perhaps Empathy”

Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought

Hello from my study on the acre, As I grew up in the early 6os and into the 70s, certainly our country was coming of age, so to speak. We were in a different world and the United States was understood quite differently than it had been certainly up through the First World War andContinue reading “Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought”

The Interconnectivity of Freedom

Hello on a hot September day from the Acre, It seems that the daily news has done a great deal to separate who we are as a society and it is easy to blame the news, and that goes across the spectrum. One of the things I tell my students regularly is simply this: allContinue reading “The Interconnectivity of Freedom”

Honest and Fragile

Hello on a late Friday night, It has been a bit of a crazy week, or more likely a crazy month. Our new academic year begins on Monday, in about 60 hours or so. A month ago I was trying to get my flexible schedule for the fall semester approved. It did not seem toContinue reading “Honest and Fragile”

Nobody Said it was Easy

Hello from the acre on a cloudy, but busy, day. This morning as I went to water the garden, which up until now my fence seemed effective, two of my tomato plants and a squash planted has served as sustenance for my roaming deer. I am not sure if the two tomato plants will recoverContinue reading “Nobody Said it was Easy”

“Are We Still of Any Use?”

Hello from my kitchen bar counter on a Thursday afternoon,  When I began writing this, we had just managed freezing weather, wind chills of the lower 20s in May, and then during a week of grading, yesterday felt like summer might actually be on the horizon (and even in my yard). It was a weekContinue reading ““Are We Still of Any Use?””

Empathy: A Necessary Component

Hello on the second day of May, There is little doubt that we are in a polarized environment. Daily, and I am guilty of falling into some of this behavior, though I generally try to remain respectful, the lack if willingness to listen to the other, when compassion seems to be merely a pipe dream,Continue reading “Empathy: A Necessary Component”

Words and the Ethical Dimension of Power

Hello from my study, Another day, more time in front of the computer. More time on the phone. More time on text messaging, and more time trying to manage the needs on both sides of this remote equation. It is sometimes comical and simultaneously touching. It is sometimes tiring and overwhelming; and sometimes it isContinue reading “Words and the Ethical Dimension of Power”