Reflections from Hog Mountain Road

As I was making a hard right this morning onto HOG MOUNTAIN ROAD on my way to Winder-Barrow Middle School--in Winder, Georgia, population about 100?--, I was reflecting on my life and two things came to mind:

first, I'm really glad I don't live on or near a road beginning with the word HOG.

Second, how do some people get those HUMONGOUS blow-up Santa Clauses, Mrs. Clauses and Snowmen in their yards? I mean, these suckers were over twenty feet high and they were all over the damned yard! In truth, the snow man was larger than the little white house he perched in front of, smiling at me with his very large pipe drooping out of the side of his mouth a little too low, due to lack of enough air to bring his pipe up a bit further, I'm sure.

I'm serious: these were my two reflections as I made sure I turned left at the Piggly Wiggly to get on the right road. Okay, so it wasn't a Piggly Wiggly, but wouldn't that have been a perfect next line for this tale? For those of you who aren't familiar with Piggly Wiggly...you'll just have to imagine...

My further reflection on the way back from Winder-population-100-plus-several-Piggly-Wiggly-like-stores, rested on my first semester here in Athens, GA. I can't believe I've already completed my first semester of college. :) Okay, so my classes ended last night, but I still have a few (three--so would that be "a few" or "a couple"? Louann? ) papers due this week and next week. One of which I sent a beginning rough draft of to my professor yesterday asking her where to go from what I had...her only response was five pages into my beginning twelve pages...where she wrote, "This is your beginning. Start here.Save the other stuff for something later." I wondered to myself...SAVE THE OTHER STUFF? Does she KNOW how long those measly five simple pages took me to write? Does she KNOW that it took me sixteen pages to get to those first five which led into the next seven? Probably, I continued to answer to myself, probably.

So as I sit here, writing to all of you, listening to Louis Armstrong sing about What a Wonderful World we live in, I'd like to talk to him. I'd like Louis to come sit in MY chair and re-read for the seventeenth time this draft of synthesized work that WAS twelve pages, but in an instant became seven. This paper that I've written and re-written and I can't even add my own freaking thoughts. This twelve pages of "beginning" ideas (because I've only just begun...) from other people. You probably wouldn't think the world was so wonderful if you had to do that, now would you, Louis...so you just keep singing about the "blue skies" and "keep thinking to yourself," but do me a favor and do just that: keep it to yourself.

Okay, those of you who usually get worried about me during this portion of my essay, don't bother. I'm JUST KIDDING. I'm FINE (do yo all remember what F.I.N.E. stands for?). I'm just using Louis as a writing prompt to help my paper-writing aggression.

Actually, I like what I'm writing; I like my topic and I really enjoyed reading what those other thirteen people had to say about it. Research is funny. (Not funny..haha...as much as funny...what the?....) You read and read and read to look for a "gap" in the literature. And that's your moment of glory. Whatever you find what others haven't is your rise to fame. When really, EVERYONE has thought about the gap--they're just probably too damned busy re-writing their freaking drafts of the other stuff they found for their professors or editors (sorry Louann), so they don't have TIME to write about the gap too! ...it could happen...

Would anyone like to share right now about why you think I'm still writing to you right now when that paper is due tomorrow? No, Duncan, you're NOT ALLOWED to hit "respond all" and make some dumb ass comment. And no one's allowed to hit "respond all" and comment on the cute boy I've told some of you about because he's now on this list....so shhhhhhh... sorry, Gerard. You can just keep skimming or even hit delete if you want...

My last point before I close for the Christmas holiday (sorry to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas...just play along here, okay? Jesus! ) Some of you have sent responses saying, "I hope you're saving these emails to one day put them together." That is a really good idea. Well, it Would have been a good idea. But I haven't. Not one. So, I'm writing you all these essays in hopes that my words will float loosely into the cyber world and touch the hearts and minds of some creepy old men who are pretending I'm a child and soon will be arrested by one of those Dateline guys who get their joys on the weekend by pretending to be young girls online so they can "catch the predators." Freaks. They need to get a life!

Who can tell Hilary's out of Ritalin? Hope my doctors come through while I'm in Colorado or you all will be receiving emails more random than this one.

So funny....when I originally decided to write this to you all, my hopes were to describe how pretty Georgia is--I've been writing it in my head for a few weeks now--since I was up in north Georgia last week. Oh well. Just go to Google Images and type in north Georgia. Maybe you can see how pretty it is then. :)

Love to you all! Happy Holidays and I'll be in touch next semester with some new information....my question is, what will I do with all of this other information I just got this semester? Where do it go?
HEH