Intermission, 2

Orientation for new teachers and teachers of basic studies courses at the university today. Temperatures in the mid-90s, heat index well over 100, a walk across campus in jeans and a black top (trying to look professional). But, then, slightly dark air conditioned rooms with projectors and white boards, the sleek glass-and-technology of the CIS building, a visit to the bookstore to make sure they had the anthologies for my courses. Sitting around with a group of people who all love literature and writing a bit too much for their own good, the feeling of having a real job. All the possibilities of school, the mentality of beginning and anything’s-possible. The homey feel of a college campus, the bricks, the frightened-looking freshmen walking with their parents, and the over-confident sophomores watching the freshmen, and I remember that feeling, of having arrived. Growing up without having to be an adult yet. And, then grad school, all the memories of being around that much talent, around so many people who knew exactly the value of a well-formed sentence. Ah, school. How have I stayed away from you so long?