Stormy Weather

Trying to set the rhythm for the new semester is always difficult.

Add to that a minor earthquake on the first day of classes (one so small I didn't actually realize what was happening until I ran into very frightened coworkers) and a hurricane that led to a (thankfully short but major) power outage, and things get a little rough.

But the hurricane has shown me an important aspect of my town: neighborliness.  We were fortunate to sustain only minor damage: our roof leaked into the kitchen and our sycamore tree lost a fair number of branches.  We were also fortunate to have many, many friends and neighbors willing to help us out during the power outage.  And we're trying to pay back in kind.

Lots of wind and rain: the cotton field near the house

To do this, we decided to encourage our CT 101 students to write thank-you notes to the senior staff members who made the decisions over the weekend -- the people who field the angry and frightened calls from parents and students, the people who make the important decisions that relate to the students' welfare, really the people who have to worry about the students even as they worry about their own homes and families.

Little birdies found shelter under the neighbor's porch

In doing all this, I hope that we help instill a sense of gratitude in our students -- and really a sense that it's important to tell people when you're thankful for the work that they did.  (I also admit that this wasn't my ideas, but in fact was Bradley's. I just explained to the students the format they ought to take when they emailed their thankfulness. My grandmother and mother instilled in me the need for a good thank you note.)

It was surprisingly beautiful the next morning

Our tree damage was minor

We're also incredibly conscious of the fact that many of our friends and neighbors in town still are without power.  We've offered up our own hospitality, though I'm not sure we've reached anything near the hospitality and sharing that we ourselves received in the storm.

I suppose, though, that's part of the point: we can simply do the best that we can.  We call one another, we stop by to make sure everything is okay.  We ask to see what we can help with, even though we've got work of our own to do.  While I hate the fact that we had this storm -- and I'm saddened that any lives at all were lost -- I'm reminded of the important things that we all share.