January s3s musings

Anthony returns with insightful reflections for the new year…

“And that over there, that over there is Georgia.”

For S3S, 2009 began as it should: with a party. The population of Six Mile, South Carolina (553) grew by almost 10% when Tharon and Wendy Howard graciously opened their home to children, students, faculty, and friends, ready to restart another academic cycle.

The numbers may have been twice that if so many had not been lost to the wilderness (It was only by the luck of GPS that I arrived).
If the town of Six Mile is, in fact, six miles long, then there must be a folding of time and space somewhere along its edges.

Of course, it was worth the journey, not only for the Howards’ hospitality and special BBQ sauce for mini-Franks, but also for the sprawling landscape that surrounds the home. It was dark, not much could be seen, but the vastness was felt, especially by those of us from the city. All that non-concrete breathes loudly.

Hand-crafted Howard

Anyone taking a tour of the Howard home must marvel at how much of it was actually made by them. They built the house. They cleared the land. They installed all those nice little lights that wind up the back driveway to the deck.

If you ask, you may even be allowed a glimpse of the Howards’ Other Vehicle, that which contractors envy and the brush fears. Gazing up at its wheels and down at its mulching blades, one has to redefine what is traditionally thought of as the realm of an academic.

Wii

Two points:

1) the Howards have one.

2) Alicia Hatter’s tennis serve is not to be messed with.

Previews

• Carolina Rhetoric Conference: it’s up and running and coming to Clemson February 20-21. Sergio, who plans on offering wholesale web design prices, has just launched the site.

• The Return of PRE/TEXT: chicken claw and all. Keep watch, true-believers. In the meantime, those who are game (sorry, couldn’t help myself), may want to clear a space in your bookshelf now for the just-announced special issue:

• S3S This Week! Elisa Sparks has sent out a far-reaching invitation, crossing departments, disciplines, programs, Second Lives, and party lines. The gathering this Friday should not be missed.

• More Pictures and other Facebook Delights: Pictures have been loaded to facebook, both on akb’s account (in order) and on our new Facebook s3s group page (inverted): s3s on facebook. Check us out, join in, leave comments, have fun.