Raise your hands a little higher
The air conditioning in the Rotunda’s Multipurpose Room at the University of Virginia was set to sub-zero. New arrivals, refugees from last week’s steam bath in Charlottesville, might have welcomed the chill. But those of us who’d stayed from the previous workshop...
Try and Trophy
Last week, a rejection email showed up in my inbox. “Although I don't find your essay right for our needs, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to consider it,” the editor wrote. Nice Try but no Trophy. Submitting a piece for publication is like auditioning,...
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...