On Being Late
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15 (NRSV) Thursday late afternoon, headed northbound on route 151, I waited six cars back from the attendant holding a Stop/Slow flip sign. Streams of...
Models, Mentors, and Mercy
Mothers Day. Fathers Day. Mothers and Fathers, models and mentors. Model: example, replica, ideal Mentor: adviser, guide, coach Although I wrote here about my mother as one of my mentors, I think by definition she was more of a model to me. In some ways, I...
Observation
The instructor’s house nestled on a woodsy hill overlooking an expanse of lawn. Eight students gathered in her cozy family room, and she opened with an introduction game. Names and details changed—except mine. “Say your first name and something you like to do,” our...
Friendship and Forgiveness
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Valentine and Proteus, are best friends. At the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, they bid each other a loving farewell. Valentine then leaves for Milan to seek his fortune, while Proteus stays behind to woo Julia. When his father orders...
Shadowboxing with a Bear
Driving home from class last Thursday night, I berated myself for being too little a “pantser” (writing by the seat of your pants) and too much a “plotter”—more accurately a plodder—when responding to in-class writing prompts. Though distracted, I approached the...
Backward Mapping
So. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Two plays within a back-to-the-future play at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. Seat B3. In the opening scene, the protagonist, university assistant professor Constance Ledbelly, is writing...