Back to it today. This, I tell myself every year, is the work week that demonstrates I’m not as young as I used to be. Because I’m young enough — and obtuse enough, I suppose — that it takes a particular week to get the point across. After getting home on Saturday night and doing laundry and a frozen pizza in time to be asleep by 9 p.m. and then Sunday of doing only what is required of a Sunday, it was time to return to the action this morning.
At least, this year, we only had to go to Atlanta. Last year I did this week after a trip to Lafayette, Louisiana. Next year we can look forward to going to Austin Peay, which means almost four hours back to campus on a Saturday before the most abbreviated of weekends and … I feel tired already.
In class today we discussed story ideas, and that is always magical. You ask a group “What makes you happy? What makes you angry?” and you get a half-dozen story ideas right away. What are people talking about? What part of that do they have wrong? What do they need to know? There are all kind of little tricks to help you create story ideas. I always tell classes that there are two kinds of people: those who can spout off a handful of ideas like they were reciting their address and those that can’t. If you can’t, you can learn. And I was in that latter category. But anyone can do it, and here are some ways how.
I sent them off with an assignment sheet, a come up with ideas based on these things, arrangement. Turn in a copy for a grade, keep a copy to start that new idea book you’re about to create. Story ideas are fun. I used to dread them, until I learned how to dream up four or five angles off of one simple idea. And if I can, anyone can.
I had vegetables for dinner. Comfort food of the healthiest order. Now this.
Entre Nous is Samford’s yearbook and this is the 1979 pageant. The winner received the Hypalia Cup. I’m not sure of the origins of that. One of these ladies is a homemaker, I think. Another is an educator. No idea about the third. Also, this, from the accompanying story:
Things to read … because we need something from this century to wrap this up.
You would think this would be a conspicuous choice … and that people wouldn’t do it. Travis Kvapil’s NASCAR racecar stolen from outside hotel, won’t race at Atlanta this weekend:
Getting your car stolen in a major American city is not that unusual an occurrence.
However, getting a professional racecar inside a trailer and attached to a heavy-duty hauling truck stolen is a new one. But that’s exactly what happened to NASCAR veteran Travis Kvapil and his No. 44 Chevrolet Sprint Cup car overnight Friday.
NASCAR comfirmed Friday afternoon that Kvapil had withdrawn from Sunday’s QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Oh. They were caught on tape. And the car has been found, sans trailer or truck, which was discovered later in the day. If LoJack isn’t sponsoring that guy by the end of the month there’s something wrong with America.
Following up on the earlier Bentley-Holtzclaw story, Gov. Robert Bentley says Holtzclaw billboard ‘irresponsible,’ projects will be resumed at some point:
The governor was asked this morning if Cooper’s move should serve as a warning to legislators as they consider whether to support the governor’s $541 million tax increase proposal announced today.
“I wouldn’t say a warning,” Bentley said. “I would say that it is irresponsible to act irresponsibly.”
Bentley said he did not know Cooper had stopped the projects until Cooper informed him, but that he had given Cooper “the green light” to do so.
Asked if there were other “green lights” coming, Bentley said, “It’s on yellow.”
So be careful what you say at the capitol, I guess.
I read this a few days ago and found myself full of wonder and awe and I want to share it with you now, a newspaper editor I know wrote this about a guy he knew once upon a time. It defies excerpting, but it is worth reading: The legacy we leave behind.
And, finally, I don’t always link to all of the stuff the Crimson produces, because that would be a lot of links, but there are some good things in this week’s issue, including this look back to the 1930s, specifically, how the students felt about FDR in 1939:
Down with Roosevelt! Roosevelt for King! FDR should be shot! I love Roosevelt!
These are typical reactions to the question: are you in favor of Roosevelt for a third term as president of the United States. Delving further into complicated statistics and graphs collected by the Crimson staff, we find more than a dozen highly exciting opinions on the most exciting question of the day. (The war in Europe and the Cincinnati-St. Louis baseball feud are of course a great deal more interesting and important, but if a feature writer can’t claim exciting interest for his subject, he might as well not write the article.)
It is a fine read.
