January 26

I think some days are delectable, others not so much.

1965

Biology was miserable - I don't think I did very well. Geometry was better, but very uncomfortable. It was in the cafeteria - yech! I am so stiff from those hard seats...

I haven't seen V yet. I want to - I like him! Tomorrow is my last test - Spanish. It won't be bad. I get all Thursday off. Yippeeeeeeeeee! The next time we get off is Feb. 19, I think.

1978 (Graduate school)

Now I’ve been to all my classes, and I have a fair idea what I’m looking at this semester. Mainly, good courses! But I waited too long to start writing in my journal this morning. Time to go to class. Pooh.

 1984

First classes today. I have gotten so much accomplished in the last month. It seems like a long time since the fall semester ended. Not that everything on my list is crossed off. I keep adding things to it, of course.

Now if I can only get my research back on track. Actually, I am working on a couple of things. The Eagles paper co-authored with C. The “men and boys” book. (Really)

Comment 2024

I think the men and boys book eventually turned in to “Pink and Blue”, about 35 years later.

1997

It was a lovely church board retreat, and a lovely kidless evening. We had dinner at the Alamo, I came home and took a relaxing bath, and then we watched “The Big Easy” and ****** (redacted because it’s too personal; use your imaginations.)  Jim was up early this morning to sing in the choir, and I stayed home and exercised with Jane Fonda. Kiddo 2 is still across the street, Kiddo 1 is asleep. So the weekend has been wonderful and restful so far.

I hope I can find time to spend in solitude every day this semester, even for half an hour.

2017

My last first day of classes

And so my last semester begins. I am retiring at the end of the term, after over forty-two years in the classroom, all but a year and half at the university of Maryland. Yes, I have mixed feelings, but mostly I am looking forward to my next chapter, which I hope involves more writing and fewer citations, more teaching and less grading, and more community and collaboration but fewer formal meetings.

I want to take this semester slowly and savor it. I want to compare it with my beginnings (which I reflected on obsessively in my written journals long ago). The “slow" part has taken care of itself — a case of bronchitis turned into pneumonia a few days ago, so I am under doctor’s orders to take it easy for the next several weeks. That should give me time to think, and the physical demands of writing are light. I will take the diagnosis as a gift, and settle in.

2023

In Maryland we have an official state dessert called the Smith Island Cake. It features nine (or more!) thin layers of yellow cake alternating with even thinner layers of chocolate frosting. I have described this project as a Smith Island Cake because it is starting to feel like one. Seventeen years ago, there was Blogger version of 23 Sherwood. It was a two-layer cake -just my 1965 diary and my 2006 commentary. Now I’m adding a 2022-2023 layer. A few weeks ago I added an excerpt from my 1985 scribblings, and today I added an entry from 2017. I have an entire shelf of paper journals, running from 1973 through the present. I had a LiveJournal for a couple of years, and joined Twitter in 2008, and have downloaded both of those, along with another blog I used to maintain. I still post updates on my personal website. 

See where this is going? You can expect many more layers. Whether is turns out to be disastrous or delectable is anyone’s guess. Thanks for keeping me company.

Comment 2024

What’s the verdict, friends? I think some days are delectable, others not so much.

Speaking of delectable, enjoy this slideshow of the doors and windows I passed everyday on my way to Spanish class in Oaxaca. It’s ok to mute the music; I don’t like it, either. Boo on your music options, Apple Photos.