Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thinking of my Fiddler Kin today and hoping that all of you have safe travels, good visits, and full bellies.

Trent and I are having a quiet Thanksgiving today. We've got the turkey breast in the oven (Cajun again this year ... last year, I got the Cajun breast on accident; this year, that's all they had left. Oh well, it will still be tasty). I've made my mom's cranberry sauce, and we'll peel some potatoes soon. We'll also have green beans, sweet potatoes, dressing, and rolls. And, of course, Trent picked out a French Silk pie. Mmmmm. We started off the day by sleeping in and going for a run around the neighborhood. During our cool down walk afterward, we visited with several of our neighbors, including a family who was frying a turkey in the street. It smelled GOOOOD.

I actually just got back from the NCTE (English teachers) Convention Philadelphia on Tuesday night. I departed on Thursday amidst all the air traffic control glitches (or whatever was going on that day), and my flight was canceled and then my new flight was delayed several hours, so I sat in the airport for about 6 hours before departing for Philly. The conference itself was good, and my presentation went well. I also introduced a young adult author, Maureen Johnson, in front of a crowd of about 400 on Monday, and although I was nervous, my delivery was amazingly good (thanks, Betty McDonald -- 7th grade speech teacher), and afterward Maureen told me it was the best introduction she'd ever gotten. So I asked her to sign not just my copy of her book but also my speech. :-)

In between sessions, I had time to explore Philly a bit (I'll send pictures after we've returned from our Savannah trip). Here's what I enjoyed:

1. Reading Terminal Market. Oh Mylanta. Every city needs a place like this. It's a huge indoor market place with butchers, flower shops, chocolates, bakeries, diners, and all kinds of other restaurants -- Middle Eastern, Asian, Italian, sandwich shops, traditional Philly meals, etc. I had my first cheesesteak there. First and last, probably. I also had fabulous pretzels, lamb pita sandwiches, lo mein, chocolate covered marshmallows, and baklava. Actually, the baklava was total crap compared to my mom's, but everything else was fabulous. Plus, there were so many people to watch and listen to -- so many languages, dialects, etc. On my first stop there, I ate my cheesesteak across from a man named Santos, and he told me his life story. With mayonnaise on his cheek.

2. Liberty Bell. Pretty cool.

3. Chinatown. I went for a stroll around the city by myself on Sunday afternoon (there were tons of people out and about -- the Philly Marathon took place that morning), and I spent some time in Chinatown looking at shops. I stopped in a bakery and enjoyed a Taiwan Pineapple sweet bread of some sort. A young women who was obviously high on something sat down next to me in the bakery and promptly fell asleep in her egg drop soup.

4. The architecture and the feel of the city. There are some amazing buildings in city center. Lots of sculptures and statues and murals too. The city feels a little old, a little dirty, but also really cool. I loved listening to the car horns (a little like NYC, but not as incessant), and I stopped to watch about 50 skateboarders work their magic in a dry fountain in a square near city hall. Suddenly, they all began running toward and past me like a flock of birds. A few moments later a single police officer appeared strolling toward the park.

5. Good food. We also ate outside of the Reading Terminal Market, and we were never disappointed. On Sunday evening, I attended a publishers dinner at a kind of classy restaurant that served all of our meals family style, so I got to sample everything ... shrimp, sea bass, steak, chicken, and fabulous desserts. Monday night my colleagues and I ate at Portfino's, an Italian restaurant, where I had my old standby, fettuccine Alfredo. Mmmmmm.

I would definitely go back to Philly for a visit, and I'd recommend it as a destination for all of you, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I love you!

Swing dancing at KSU

Hey, y'all! At the 1940s Jump, Jive, and Wail Dance last weekend, they had a photographer on hand who snapped pictures and then sent them out (for free) via e-mail. How cool is that? There was also a live orchestra and free dance lessons. Next year, if we attend, we might find some 1940s clothing/hairstyles and get in the spirit like everyone else. We had a fun time even without the costumes. Hope everyone has a great week!

Inspiration

I thought I would share this inspiration story with you guys. The following link will take you to an ESPN story about an Emporia High School football player who is blind. It's a great story & you may need some tissues.

'E:60' -- Charlie Wilks Q&A about being blind and playing football - ESPN

Peter was supposed to have Charlie in his class this semester but didn't. Maybe he's in next sememster's group.

Birmingham, AL

Hey, everyone! Happy November!! I hope you all had a festive Halloween -- where are the photos of the munchkins in their costumes? Please post soon!!!

I thought I'd share some photos from our trip to Birmingham a couple of weeks ago. We had a delightful time. When we arrived, we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and then took a walk into Five Points South in downtown Birmingham (our hotel was smack dab in between north downtown and south downtown).

Then we ate at a BBQ joint called Jim 'n Nick's. We thought it was local until we got back to Atlanta and Trent saw one down by his surgeon's office. Oh well, the food was yummy -- pulled pork and brisket -- and our server was very nice.

We also walked all around the University of Alabama--Birmingham campus.













Did you know that Birmingham is home to the world's largest statue made of steel? It's also the second largest statue in the U.S. behind the Statue of Liberty.




His name: Vulcan, Roman god of Iron.








We also toured the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which was phenomenal -- very multimodal with images, texts, audio, etc. from the 1950s and 60s. It was also very moving.

Here's the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church which the Klan bombed in 1963, killing 4 young black girls.
The church was also the stage for planning many civil rights protests.

We had a great time in Alabama -- learned a lot. Tonight we're heading to a free swing dance at KSU. There will be a live band and free dance lessons. Woo woo!

In three weeks, after I get back from the NCTE Convention in Philadelphia, we're planning another short weekend trip to Savannah. Carol, didn't you and Tom go to Savannah recently? What do you recommend?