October 2 (Saturday) 6:40 pm
Not a lot of time lately. I arrived safely at my new home and have returned to retrieve the rest of my
belongings. I taught classes all four days (school meets only four days per week), and everything went
smoothly. I adopted Patrice out to a nice family. I shall miss her, but she needed a better home than I could
provide. The rest of the Willow Oak crew remains intact, and if all goes well they shall be moving with me to
our new home tomorrow.
October 14 (Thursday) 6:10 pm
The move is basically over, but it was filled with much strain and stress. I managed to move all inhabitants
of Willow Oak from Corinth, Mississippi, to their new venue in Columbia, Louisiana. Caldwell Parish is
located in the northeast corner of the state, just a 35 minute drive south of Monroe. The area is very rural,
covered in a canopy of willow and live oak trees and criss-crossed with deep, dark bayous, full of bass,
bream, and another of the famous Louisiana natives: carp.
Back home to Louisiana! I was born in Corinth, but our family moved to Louisiana when I was 3 years old,
and I grew up in that state. So, although I am not a "coon ass" in fact, I am one at heart [a coon-ass is
someone that was born in Louisiana].
Regarding the new job, the honeymoon is over. I have been on the job two and a half weeks, and already I
have been called into the office twice for private meetings with the principal, and had one faculty
delegation complaint that I am parking in someone else's spot.
It seems that the calculus students, who have sat with a non-calculus substitute since the beginning of the
school year, are concerned that now that I have arrived their grades will suffer. "I want those kids to like
you," the principal told me.
I didn't respond to that, but I have been thinking about it. Let's see, now: the head nurse says to the floor
nurse: "I want the patients to like you."
"But my job is to feed everybody a dose of castor oil each day, and then stick a needle up their wazoo! How
do I get them to like me?"
Anyway, the stupidity, the insanity, the political land mine that is the public education system is still there:
the same now as it was when I left more than 10 years ago.
October 19 (Tuesday) 6:30 am
Since relocating I have not yet acquired home internet access. The offshoot is that I cannot update my
journal as often as I would like, but that is only a minor inconvenience. In the meantime I am doing
something that I love: teaching. Sure, the profession has its shortcomings, but it is an honorable and
fulfilling way to make a living.
The Willow Oak crew is doing fine. All have settled into a new routine and none appear to be too
discomfited with the sudden and major move.
October 25 (Monday) 6:55 am
I am working from McDonald's this morning, using their Wi-Fi connection to access the internet. School
preparation takes up a lot of my time, but I am keeping up and beginning to settle in to my new
surroundings and a new routine.
The Willow Oak crew continue to be well. BKII needs a vet visit. He sits on the pot way too much and way
too long. He is a bit obese, and I am concerned that he might have a urinary infection. He does not act sick
in any way, but I shall get him to a vet today to have him checked out.
October 30 (Monday) 6:20 am
Saturday morning, and frost on the pumpkin. You would think that with as much time as I spend away from
the world wide web I would have a lot to say. I have a lot to say, but since I am still having to visit
McDonald's to access the web, I don't have as much battery time to devote to such pursuits. Besides, I am
tired and still adjusting to my new environment.
The teacher for whose position I was hired to temporarily fill will return to work next week. I shall continue
to teach half of his classes, and I shall be given some new classes. I have been promised work through the
end of the current school year, and the powers that be give strong consideration to keeping me around
past that.