Restless Clouds

One of the reasons it was a relief to finally start classes on Sunday is that I know students. No matter who or where you are, if you’re 18 to 23 years old, ringing and humming like a wild swinging bell in an ivory tower, you’re going to do and say pretty much the same things. That confused look on your face? I’ve seen it. And the skeptical one, and the amused one, the shy, the wily, the eager, the nervous, yes, you… I’ve seen it, and you’re okay. We’ll get through this semester with a bit of trust and laughter.

Yesterday I went poking around the back hallways looking for a working teakettle in the staff kitchen. No tea resulted, but I found this dingy stairwell with some classic graffiti. My camera is bad, but I think you can see that there are some hearts and + es, and one that’s been scribbled out. There’s the inspirational “If you can make anyone happy don’t thinking more / Just do it” and the resolute “We can’t leave with Pain / but we can attacked it.” You can’t see it in the photo, but another student has corrected the spelling and grammar. This is the English department, after all.