Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
When I Looked Out the Window
It was after six in the evening, and I
had been working almost since the crack of dawn.
After preparing for classes all morning, I had tried to inspire three groups of English 101 students to approach revision with enthusiasm--or at least without trepidation. In between classes, during office hours, I had discussed drafts with at least half a dozen students. One young woman, dressed all in black, underestimated her writing skills and was in tears at first, but she left the office with a plan for revision, and she even smiled. Another, who is facing pressure from her parents to get excellent grades, seemed optimistic after we discussed how she could add to her draft and relieved when I offered to extend the deadline. Fueled by those small successes and by the coffee I sipped during office hours, I had worked with another half a dozen students over the next two hours in the college's Writing Lab. I had explained comma splices and discussed the First Amendment.
By six o'clock, I was beat.
But before I could go home, I needed to revise a literature test for the next day. So I climbed the stairs back to my office. Just as I reached the top, I glanced out the window.
After preparing for classes all morning, I had tried to inspire three groups of English 101 students to approach revision with enthusiasm--or at least without trepidation. In between classes, during office hours, I had discussed drafts with at least half a dozen students. One young woman, dressed all in black, underestimated her writing skills and was in tears at first, but she left the office with a plan for revision, and she even smiled. Another, who is facing pressure from her parents to get excellent grades, seemed optimistic after we discussed how she could add to her draft and relieved when I offered to extend the deadline. Fueled by those small successes and by the coffee I sipped during office hours, I had worked with another half a dozen students over the next two hours in the college's Writing Lab. I had explained comma splices and discussed the First Amendment.
By six o'clock, I was beat.
But before I could go home, I needed to revise a literature test for the next day. So I climbed the stairs back to my office. Just as I reached the top, I glanced out the window.
Below me, in the sun shining from the
west, bushes of red roses whipped in the wind around golden prairie
grass. The petals were almost translucent in the light.
As I walked down the hall to my office, I smiled.
As I walked down the hall to my office, I smiled.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Chicago in September
I love this city.
That's all I could think as I walked along Michigan Avenue last night with Marilyn. And I kept saying it out loud, turning around, looking up and all about me, and grinning from ear to ear. I probably looked like the stereotypical tourist.
We had driven up after work on Friday, delighted and slightly surprised as always by the ease and speed of the trip. The bright lights of the buildings as we drove north along Lake Shore Drive were enchanting.
We went for a walk after we checked into our hotel near Water Tower, unable to resist the city though we were both exhausted.
The evening was cool and windy, the air refreshing. "Sweatshirt weather," we said simultaneously, and then we laughed. Most of the shops had closed, so we moved easily along the sidewalks, reaching familiar landmarks more quickly than we expected.
Today dawned sunny and crisp, and we walked around the city some more. These are some of the photos I took on this sunny Saturday in Chicago.
That's all I could think as I walked along Michigan Avenue last night with Marilyn. And I kept saying it out loud, turning around, looking up and all about me, and grinning from ear to ear. I probably looked like the stereotypical tourist.
We had driven up after work on Friday, delighted and slightly surprised as always by the ease and speed of the trip. The bright lights of the buildings as we drove north along Lake Shore Drive were enchanting.
We went for a walk after we checked into our hotel near Water Tower, unable to resist the city though we were both exhausted.
The evening was cool and windy, the air refreshing. "Sweatshirt weather," we said simultaneously, and then we laughed. Most of the shops had closed, so we moved easily along the sidewalks, reaching familiar landmarks more quickly than we expected.
Today dawned sunny and crisp, and we walked around the city some more. These are some of the photos I took on this sunny Saturday in Chicago.
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