Another College Road Trip

My Andrew is graduating high school next month. He has decided to go to college in Georgia. He has also received an academic scholarship to go to school in Connecticut, far closer to home. No manner of coaxing or bribing would sway his decision but I thought it would be a good idea to at least SEE the school.

We left on the Sunday after his spring break, problem #1. We left on a Sunday, problem #2. We left 3 days after he spent several days in Georgia looking at the school of his choice, problem #3. It was raining, problem #4. It was the Sunday before finals so there wasn't a soul ANYWHERE on campus, problem #5.

After Andrew decided that he would rather see the rest of the school from the car window, I went into my favorite building of any college campus - the library. There they were, all the good children, cramming for finals. But my Andrew didn't get to see any of these scholarly while hip hipsters. We left after only 40 minutes! It took nearly 4 hours to get up there and 40 minutes for the child to decide. Actually, he was decided before we even loaded up the car the night before.

My pal Phyllis, who is a repository of great advice, suggested that we stop at the Mark Twain House after Andrew got bored (how did she know?)




In a constant drizzle we walked along the grounds of this lovely restored home. I got to see wisteria in full bloom

Why is this important? I nursed a wisteria vine for 8 years with visions of Monet's gardens at Giverny in my mind. 8 years! Not a bud, nada! So, whenever I see a vine in full bloom, I stand in awe.

Inside were various exhibits of Twain memorabilia and lots of facts about his life and work. Displayed were the many poignant quotes and irreverent views he published on just about everything.

Andrew is a huge baseball fan and he was excited to see an old time exhibit on display.

But there was this...

This note was posted on a screen you had to go around to see the full exhibit. Inside were sad pictorial depictions of how nasty white america perceived blacks -



















Well, it is looking backward after all and as long as we remember the history and are mindful of the odious signs, we can continue to move forward toward a better understanding

Moving forward while others prefer backwards...