Tracy Revels

Spring Break Ramblings

Happy Spring Break everybody!  

While many of our students are making like pagans and worshipping the sun gods on the beaches, you might be curious as to what we professorial types are up to.  Some people are being very industrious, working on papers, grading tests, reading ahead and preparing themselves for the final month of instruction.  One scientist of my acquaintance is heading to Birmingham, to a conference where he'll present the results of the research he and a student conducted during the Community of Scholars last summer.  (At least that's what he claims---I suspect a bar-b-que safari might actually be afoot!)  Other proffs are mowing their lawns, doing their taxes, and playing with their kids. At least three Wofford families are making the pilgrimage to see Mickey at the mouse house in Orlando.

This is the first Spring Break ever that I didn't go home to Florida.  It's strange not to be on the road, but it's also nice to be able to do some reading and relaxing, and hopefully get my head around all the things that the month of April will be crammed with.  I was a bit under the weather the last two weeks, so I appreciate having a few stress-free days to myself.

How Napoleon REALLY Crossed The Alps

 

Thanks to my former student Matt Nimmich for finding this terrific image of an extreme sports-obsessed Bonaparte! 

Daughters And Dames

This academic year I was asked to give talks to two Spartanburg chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and one chapter of the Colonial Dames.  Today was the final presentation.  I have to say that I'm sorry it's done because I really looked forward to going to these groups to talk about my book and the lives of women in Civil War Florida.  It sounds like an unusual topic for ladies committed to honoring the memories of Revolutionary heroes, but with all three groups I learned that these women are interested in far more than merely memorializing the deeds of their ancestors.  They are also eager to study civic questions, participate in educational activities and charitable work, and simply learn more about the American past.  I really enjoyed the meetings and especially the tasty lunches served afterward.  This morning, I was asked whether I had Revolutionary era ancestors.  I do, but I suspect that the Zipperers of Ebenezer, Georgia were probably the type of backwoods people who kept their heads down and just hoped the 'fuss' of the War for Independence would pass them by!

Most professors, from time to time, get asked to give a presentation to a civic or church group.  I've always considered it an honor, a chance to meet people I wouldn't meet otherwise, all while carrying the banner for Wofford.  Not everyone enjoys public speaking; maybe I'm a bit odd because I do, but I find that an audience eager to listen and learn is a special treat.  Let's face it, Western Civilization classes aren't always thrilled to see me!  Everyone's had that day when even the most brilliant lecture dies a slow, agonizing death.  But Daughters, Dames, Sons, Woodmen, Rotarians, Lions, etc. are generally pretty intrigued by someone from outside their orbit.  A little bit of 'town and gown' can be good for the professorial soul, not to mention the ego.

Historical Dance Class?

We really enjoyed studying the world of Ancient Egypt!  So, just for fun, we pretended to be tomb paintings and 'walked like Egyptians'---to quote the Bangles.

At least, I think that's what we were trying to do.

I wonder if I can convince them to stage gladiatorial contests when we get to Rome?  Or to engage in philosophical debate as we study the Greeks?

Probably not.  But I feel good that at least, for a little bit, I got them to dance!

(Thanks to Emily and Hilary Phillips and Shelby Bayliss for being willing to be silly for the good of the blog!)

Sherlock Holmes And The Mysterious Student-Devouring Chair

Lacking anything really coherent to write about today (I've been grading Western Civilization exams, so my brain is pretty rattled at best!) I thought I'd post a picture of one of the corners of my office.  This is the Sherlockian bookshelf---everything on it relates in some way to Sherlock Homes, whether collections of the canon, pastiches, parodies, scholarship, pictures, trinkets, and even an action figure complete with magnifying glass and pipe.  The stuffed rabbit was designed and constructed by my mother.  His name is Sherlock Hares.  Needless to say, he's a student favorite.

In this picture you also see a very mysterious bit of furniture.  I have my great-grandfather's rocking chair in my office.  It's covered with a quilt made from scraps of my summer clothing.  No comments about my bad taste in wild Hawaiian prints, please.  What's the mystery of this chair?  Where the seat is!  Inevitably, students come in, drop down, and find the seat about six inches from where they think it will be.  Feet and sometimes books go flying.  I try to warn them (most of the time) but they rarely believe me.  And thus the chair eats another student.

As one of my good friends never tires of telling me, I am easily amused!

Trying To Beat The Recession Depression

Every time I turn on the television, or read a newspaper, I find myself getting depressed.  Obviously, with our global economic woes, it's hard to find much to be happy about.  Closer to home, departmental budget cuts and salary freezes aren't fun either.

I know I get 'down in the dumps' very quickly; that's always been a part of my nature.  And I hate being helpless.  There's nothing I can do about the stock market or the stimulus plan, the best I can do is manage my own pocketbook wisely.

But I have been telling myself that there are ways to beat this recession depression before it gets any worse.  Being grateful for what I do have helps.  Every day I try to remind myself that even if things get tough at Wofford, it's still better to be here than anywhere else I can think of.  I've heard far too many horror stories from friends at other colleges and universities.  I have faith that we will come out of this OK, and that when good economic years return we will be compensated for the lean ones.  Maybe that's optimistic---maybe that's even Pollyanna-ish---but I know there have been times when Wofford has shown faith in me (via research grants and Community of Scholars) and so I'm going to choose to have faith in Wofford as a living institution.

I also remind myself that I've got great students.  Not every one of them is Phi Beta Kappa material, but there's a curiosity and a spark and a joy of life that I see in Wofford students that I didn't see, to the same degree, in students at Georgia Southern or FSU.  I don't know how many times I've heard colleagues say that the students are what make this job worth doing, and I think that's true.  In the summer, as much as I might enjoy research and writing, I find that before a month is out I miss the routine and I miss the kids.  Im pretty sure that the majority of academics in the world wouldn't say that.

I'm also very thankful for the people at Wofford who make our lives easier and our days more pleasant.  I'd have to be a hard-hearted person if I couldn't return the many smiles and waves that I receive every morning from our custodians and groundskeepers.  It goes without saying that our support staff is excellent and will help out the absent-minded professor when she gets in a jam with photocopying.  Our public safety officers and our maintenance people help us feel secure here, inside our little bubble. Our faculty dining room is marvelous; the food is great and the desserts are downright sinful!  And the people who feed us aren't just putting down pans of rice and chicken, they're always talking to us, teasing us, making sure that we feel like we're eating at home.

I'm grateful that my grandmother is finally at peace, and after so many long years of caring for her my mother can make some time for herself.  Of course, I might like it better if my mom came up to see me more, but I kinda understand what it's like to be a workaholic.

I'm happy that I have good departmental colleagues---including a new colleague who'll be here in the Fall---and so many friends in the faculty at Wofford.  I'm thrilled for the people who have had new additions to their lives, who've had babies and romances and marriages and major career advances.  And how cool is it that at Wofford I can sit down and talk to a professor of religion or math or finance or government or even (gasp!) biology?  That doesn't happen everywhere, especially not in big universities where everyone divides up by disciplines into hostile, we-need-more-money-than-you-do tribes. 

Don't misunderstand me, not everything here is perfect.  There's plenty to be worried about.  But thinking about what IS good here, trying (no matter how old fashioned it sounds) to count blessing and be grateful, and smile a bit more often...that's worked for me in the past, and I hope it will continue to work in the future. 

Snow? Oh No!

As you've seen if you've looked at the Wofford web-page, we had a rather large snowfall here on Sunday night.  While the college remained open (Wofford NEVER closes) quite a large number of students and faculty got stuck at home or off-campus.

I have to confess that I am not a big fan of snow.  Maybe it's my Florida upbringing and 'thin blood' but after I saw my first South Carolina snowfall back in the early 1990s, the thrill was gone.  To me, snow means having trouble getting into work, the threat of power outages, and the loss of beautiful old trees---not to mention hair that looks like it was styled by aliens and a raw, chapped face.  Give me heat and humidity any day!  Especially after I fell on the way out this morning, bruising my knees so badly I could barely climb stairs.

I suppose I am happy for the students, who rushed to put their snow pictures up on Facebook.  For them, snow is exciting and unusual.  Plus, they didn't have to make a milk and bread run!  It must be great to be 19 and living at Wofford.

Here's Why Time Travel Would Be A Very BAD Idea!

Hmmm, maybe it would be better to stay safely in the 21st century and just use the good old historical imagination for trips to the past....