THE MORNING NEWS

Well, we didn't have to call the EMTs

for the student who started hyperventilating when she realized how much work was going to be involved. The girl next to her calmed her.

Other than that, the first Advanced Comp class went well, I think.

*

Tomorrow my friend Bob Schuster and I are going on a road trip. We're heading north - somewhere north, destination not yet established - and we're going to have breakfast in a small town restaurant, we'll walk for a while about town, we'll go back to the restaurant for coffee when we see the old men start to gather, we'll have lunch there. And Bob will write a piece of creative nonfiction about the experience.

Schuster is the fellow who kicked us in the butt here in town to get the Fairwater Historical Society established seven or eight years ago. He had lived in Fairwater through the eighth grade, had moved to Madison then, and still lived and worked there until he retired this past July and moved back to Fairwater. He is a writer and historian, co-author of a wonderful book, Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities,editor of the Fairwater Historical Society Newsletter, and so on. Yet he admits that a career as the AV and computer "Tech Guy" at the UW-School of Nursing didn't help his prose style much. I think he'd like to recharge his writing, capture some of the wily verve he sees in mine, learn to tell the stories of our history rather than just recite the facts, woo the reader; and I have offered to be his guide.

So we off together on this little learning expedition. We'll take in the sights and sounds of a small town cafe; he'll write his piece of the experience; I'll write mine. And then we'll explore the where and why of the differences. If either or both of the pieces by chance turn interesting, I may post them here. We may follow up with another such trip later in spring or summer; or may do some "Frame/Movement/Meaning" work with a couple historic photographs from Fairwater. All in an effort to unbundle and open up Bob's prose style.

Oh, yeah, that's right: I gotta remember to call Bob and let him know I'll be downtown to pick him up tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. I'll be right back.

*

Early on Friday morning, Mary and I will head to Columbus, Ohio, for a visit with her brother and our niece. We may very well make a run to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati, and I have heard some talk of eating at a Cuban restaurant in Columbus. And other such adventures.

Alas, we do not have time this trip for a stop at Maria Stein High School to see the students who read my memoir Curlew: Home with their teacher, Charlie Mescher. I'm thinking I'll do that in February, on a Vagabond-related trip.

Lorianne at Hoarded Ordinaries is originally from Columbus, Ohio, and grew up not that far from The World's Best Ice Cream!!! [emphasis mine], which would be Graeter's. Yet I think she has NEVER had Graeter's ice cream. How sad is that? A life without ice cream is like no life at all. Hey, Lorianne, do you want me to UPS a pint of Graeter's coconut chocolate chip to you??

We'll be back sometime on Sunday. And you can bet that I'll probably have ice cream stains on a couple more T-shirts.

Comments

[Ross Fale]

I don't think it's the amount of work that made the girl hyperventilate, but rather the manner it was presented. Instead of giving us nine "assignments", maybe you could give us one assignment with nine questions? :) See you Tuesday...

[Lorianne]

A hyperventilating student? Wow, you run a tight ship, Mr. Montag. And here I thought *I* was a hard-ass for causing two students to get up & walk out of the class after seeing my Lit of the Open Road syllabus & realizing they'd have to read *six novels* this semester.

And yeah, I'll eat whatever you ship me...although I'm not typically a fan of coconut. But really, one of these days we should arrange to both visit Columbus at the same time, so we could meet-up...

[Tom Montag]

Hi, Ross. You might be right - that it was the way it was presented. Maybe I'll work my way towards one assignment with nine parts, but next week's I have prepared already this way. I'm hoping people will have found its not such a massive bunch of work as it looks on first glance. See you Tuesday.

[Marja-Leena]

Your little trips sound like fun. Wish I could be eavesdropping on the 'learning expedition' - how generous of you! Have a great time, and en extra icecream for me.

[Tom Montag]

Well, Lorianne, it's not THAT tight a ship.... Ross might be right - the way I presented it may have made it look overwhelming....

"You mean I have to READ 6 NOVELS? Read? That's not what I came to college for...."

[Tom Montag]

Hi, M-L - If I do it right, I'm thinking *I* will be your little fly on the wall, and will report about the experience here sometime next week.... If I do it right....