Made in Carolina

I went to Charleston this weekend for less than forty-eight hours, as the result of an abrupt change of plans--originally we were going to the mountains for the whole weekend, but hey, I'm always up for a trip of any length to any destination. So we left on Saturday morning and made it to our hotel in the early afternoon. Lunch was kind of crappy--underdone roast beef on boring white bread with non-homemade potato chips (oh, listen to me, I'm so spoiled). We walked around on Market Street, weaving around crowds and looking at scarves, jewelry, pottery, and other wares. One booth had postcard-size photos of things that look like letters (you know, the crotch of a tree for a V and stuff like that), and you could buy your name or a word. Apparently the Charleston area has a strong tradition of basket-weaving, and there were some really cool and intricate designs. The people were even working on them right there. Then we headed to King Street, which is the opposite kind of shopping: Apple store, Lacoste, PUMA, Williams-Sonoma, and stuff I've never even heard of because it's so fine. No money spent, and surprisingly little yearning endured. I think my year of non-purchasing did me a lot of good (although the Junior League rummage sale is this weekend, so we'll see). We drove down to the Battery and gawked at the houses and took a picture in front of the water.

Our dinner was delicious and copious and my first sip of cider made me say "Aw damn." It's sort of freeing eating out in another city, because I don't have to take leftovers home. It was Lyndsay's birthday, and Lindsay (yes, we have three with different spellings) had the presence of mind to tell the waiter and to advise him not to make a production. If anyone would cringe in their seat because of the attention, it would be Lyndsay. So we got to share a free (BIG) piece of homemade Snickers pie.

At Wet Willie's, the whole back wall behind the bar is slushie machines with alcohol already in them. It's quite a sight. Lindsey had been there when she was nineteen and remembered it ever since, and rightly so. We had a lot of fun. After breakfast on Sunday we came on back. It was a really fun escape. Felt a lot longer than it was, in a good way.

Spring Break is in less than a month! If all goes according to plan, I can stay in Seagrove/Badin for about nine days! I plan to hunker down with my computer and only hit town a few times when I need to fill in gaps in the book. My draft is due the day break is over. It's going to feel so good. I'm even going to get a massage before going so I can be relaxed and stay relaxed. I wonder if I'll try to run in the lake area.

I did the most fun exercise with my students today. They've been acting from day one like poetry is some kind of rhyme-filled moon-man language, so I knew I had to do something different that would both relax them and really work on their perception. We wrote together a hopelessly cliche love poem (your smile, your eyes, I love you and you love me) and then went through line by line and improved it with non-cliches. It was hard to break some of the habits, but once I got the point across, they soared. We went from "The world revolves around you" to "When you're not here, I'm surrounded by empty ice-cream containers, wearing pajamas, watching The Notebook on repeat." These moments always come just when I'm surest I don't like teaching.