Olive at the Beach
Due to the wonderful generosity of my brother and sister-in-law, we are back at the beach in South Carolina. This is Olive’s first visit to the ocean.
She took to it like a champ. Full blast, right into the water and ran like the wind. Here she is during her first encounter with a horseshoe crab. Initially she was cautious, but after a minute she just barked at it until we lured her away with biscuits. She is really becoming a great dog.
Willard Suitcases / Josephine S
A few days ago I started getting a great deal of email from people who had seen the project somewhere online. I am not really sure of the source, but am always pleased to hear from folks. I think I tracked down the article, but it did have some really glaring errors, and attributed some things to me that I never would have said. I hesitate to post a link, as it is one of those conglomeration sites with some tacky ads and links.
But the good part is that I am hearing from some wonderful people who are sharing their stories with me. I really appreciate it, and am grateful that the project is reaching new viewers.
Flowering Plant
As you can tell from the title of this post, I am clueless about the names of plants that we have.
And our method for taking care of them is quite simple; inside in the winter with not too much watering, outside in the summer to let nature take its course.
At the end of last winter this plant was showing no signs of life. We put it outside anyway and it came back with a vengeance. It is now flowering like a champ.
Kalamazoo Asylum for the Insane
After my fantastic visit to Wittenberg University I drove up to Kalamazoo, Michigan to visit my great friend Ken Schaefer. We were taking a tour of Western Michigan University, where he works, and I looked to the south and saw this. Amazing. The State Hospital has an interesting history, and dates back to the earliest of New York State’s asylums. The only building that remains from the original Kirkbride plan buildings is the water tower, and it is huge.
Driving back home tomorrow. It is about 14 hours and I might break it up back in Erie. We’ll see.
Heritage Center of Clark County
This ⇧ model (made out of corn kernels) is of the building in my previous post. It is displayed at the Heritage Center of Clark County. Incredible Richardsonian Romanesque architecture which houses one of the most interesting local museums that I have ever seen. Really, go check it out if you are ever in this part of Ohio.
So much of downtown Springfield is gone by way of the wrecking ball, which is really sad to me. But the Heritage Center has a fantastic recreation of downtown streets as the were decades ago. When I first came to Wittenberg, my friends and I used to stop in to Sons bar for a beer or two.
Off to the Wescott House now. I can’t wait to see it.
Springfield, Ohio
Much of the time when I stay in hotels, I get crap views out the window. This is a bit of an exception. The black streaks in the sky are crows, which came out in droves as the sun was going down. (Is that what a shitload of crows would be called? A drove? Hold on, I’ll look it up. Oh dear, it is a “murder” of crows.). There were hundreds of them, all making quite a ruckus. AND, when I was walking around town before dark, I heard what I was sure was a very loud hawk. It turns out it is a recording (!) of a very loud hawk, probably in an attempt to scare off the crows. What a world.
Hallway 2
I made it to Springfield. Off for a beer and then to work on my presentations.
Hallway / Suitcases
I am in a motel in Erie, PA on my way to Wittenberg University where I will be spending the next few days talking to faculty and students about the suitcase project. I am really excited about this and owe a debt of thanks to my friend Peter Wray for reconnecting me to Witt.
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