Homespun and Spinning of All Sorts

My writing time is about out--but happily, I've written a rough draft of Sunday's sermon.  And I didn't have a unified blog post in mind.  Let me just collect some fragments.

--I've now had two days of commutes back home with construction and 2 days of commutes back home without construction.  The days without construction feel like I fly home.

--The local (Anderson, SC) classic rock radio station, 101.1, has a promo going from Nov. 17-21, where they are playing classic rock, A-Z, with songs from each letter of the alphabet, along with an obligatory contest (each time the alphabet letter changes, one can text for a chance to win tickets to a concert).  So on my Monday commute home, I heard Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues," and on yesterday's, we were to the G's, with the Who's "Getting in Tune."  These are songs that I haven't heard in decades, and yet I can still sing along.

--I realize that radio stations these days have programming done from a central location, but it still makes me happy to listen to a list like this one.  It makes me happy to have a d.j. who says, "This one is my favorite Steely Dan song" and goes on to give some human sounding reasons and memories.  I am guessing that in the future I'll be hearing a chatbot pretending to be a human in the not too distant future, if there are any radios with d.j.s at all.

--We've been watching the new Ken Burns documentary about the Revolutionary War; we've finished the second episode.  It's not all brand new to me; I went to K-12 schools that spent a lot of our time in history classes studying this time period.  But it's put together in interesting ways with intriguing synthesis and analysis of what it means to us today.  

--As we've been watching, I've been sewing by hand, putting scraps together into log cabin patterns.  I have numb finger tips because I've been sewing a lot more this week.

--As I listened to the segment on the resistance of colonial women who decided to weave their own cloth (homespun!) and take themselves out of the King's economy, I thought about the gorgeous fabrics moving through my hands.  I feel like there should be a poem there, but I'm not sure, so let me record it.

--Today is an easier day at work--it's a writing day for my students, which can be done in class or outside of class.  I'm available in my office.  It's an approach that I've adopted from my colleagues, so I'm not going to be seen as slacking off.  Most places where I have worked would not have approved of the need for this kind of "let's get caught up" kind of day.  I'm glad to be here.

--And there's a Town Hall in the middle of it, the monthly update from the president, the meeting that has coffee and food beforehand.  I am so happy to be at a place that keeps us updated and keeps us fed and caffeinated along the way.  I'm so happy to be at a place that trusts faculty members.