April 26, 2013

Humanities class agitated by the bible, almost no use trying to present a unified thesis. Though it is safe in a classroom (at least among the students who self-select into my classes) to scorn ideas like the inerrancy of scripture, equally misty and phantasmagorical concepts, like “white privilege” or “the patriarchy,” are held up as facts which must not be discussed except to honor. Every generation has its faith.

Lunch with Dalton and Jon. One never knows why one is chosen. I was happy listening to them. So much gossip, so much perspective never comes into the doors of the faculty without liaisons like this.

Covered the new plants against the possibility of frost last night, or rather this morning, right at this moment. The back yard is studded with buckets and planters and various kitchen implements turned upside down over tender greenery.

Dining Out for AIDS last night– the $150 dinner.


Evening: Drinking blisteringly cold tea and feeling the sweat of heroic gardening dry on my back.

Angels in America in class today. One girl was clearly disturbed (it was R, so she showed her upset by turning pages loudly and heaving long sighs); another ran out of the room sobbing-- clearly tributes to the power of theater. I’m on record as saying that Angels is, ultimately, a failed play, but its opening fanfares are epic, and so far as we were able to view the DVD in one class period, I was deeply moved.

A girl on assignment from the Hendersonville paper interviewed me about Wiley Cash and his book in the afternoon. I’m happy to talk about him, but she wanted more evidence of genius-revealing eccentricity than I could supply. I remember Wiley (in part) precisely for his lack of difficult temperament, for his steadfast and un-dramatic craving after skill and knowledge. It was warm to have that conversation. I hope Wiley can find his way back here before too long.

Two huge crates arrived from Plant Delights in Raleigh, and it turned out I had just enough time between the interview and the gathering of dusk to put most of them into the ground. Left are two climbing dicentria, which will need more finesse and bed-preparing than time allowed. If I can remember all: two different kinds of giant elephant ears, a native marsh hibiscus and a scarlet hibiscus with blackened (on purpose) leaves; three golden hollyhocks, a multi-hued-leaved substantial plant that I didn’t recognize the Latin name of (leaves shaped like holly); a knotty lady fern; two prickly aloes that promise to be giants, a pied-leaved acanthus; an arisaema; a flower with “blue” in the name which, again, I didn’t recognize. The sky is a gathering darkness, more of cloud than of night, and I figured I could let God do the watering.

Exhausted to the bone.