What's Next?

I relish my introverted life. I love the hours I spend by myself, reading, writing, planning, staring out the window, or "piddling," as my late husband's sister calls it. Some of us are "do-ers" and some of us are "be-ers," and I am a little of both. When called upon to share my skills, I can do what's needed. Teach a class? Run a campaign? Babysit? Sing in the choir? Write about anything under the sun? I am there. But I am only there for as long as I can stand it, and then I am gone. Usually my body tells me when to retreat: I get sick, I can't stay awake, or I overeat. These signs tell me that it's time to say "no" for a while. I have honed this process over the years, so that I no longer have to worry about being knocked down by illness; by body gives me fair warning. I retreat to that small corner or my world and do whatever is necessary to re-balance the delicate scale that is my psyche. Getting away and being alone is t...

Any time I go to Erie I do everything I can to get a day at Presque Isle. Sometimes I just have to "misappear" to get away, but friends and family understand that I am drawn to Lake Erie like seagulls to potato chips! On my last Saturday in Erie, I did a "memory" thing: I had coffee with my sister-in-law and her husband. Herbie and I used to love doing that, so I tried to relive it, and I enjoyed visiting in the old way (but missed Herbie). When I left them, I headed to Presque Isle for a walk, some photos, and a Lake Erie tour on the Lady Kate , Denny Macaluso's tour boat. Like morning coffee, it wasn't quite what I remembered. I arrived at the Lady Kate landing at one p.m., just in time to hear its engines roar off for the one p.m. tour. I hollered for it to wait, but it didn't. The cute little high school girl that was selling tickets explained that I would have to wait until the three o'clock tour, and she informed me that because it was wind...

I really enjoyed my month-long vacation, but I've learned one thing. Writing and vacationing do not go well together. Writing is solitary, vacationing involves other people, and I know this. I keep thinking vacations should be for writing, but for me, that doesn't work. So now I am at home sitting at the computer, fending off Bella the cat, who thinks she should be on my lap at all times ( how could you leave me for so long? she meowed ) and thinking about all the good feelings and questions I've had over the last month. My first task was to read my previous post about Chautauqua. I was really high on the place the first few days, wasn't I? But in retrospect, I am thinking differently about the experience. Chautauqua is definitely a place trying to move forward, but still falling behind. Let me explain. Of the thousands of people at Chautauqua Institution (CI) during Week One--and that's five or six thousand, maybe more--I saw one or two Middle Eastern faces, ...

When my friend Mary Anne called earlier this year and asked me if I ever might like to join her for a week at Chautauqua, a river of "yes" tumbled from my tongue faster than you can say Ogeechee (or for my northern readers, French Creek). She had offered me an opportunity so perfect that I didn't even have to consider the cost or consequences. Had I ever longed to go to Chautauqua for a week? I never really thought about it. But now that I'm here, I realize that this might be my spiritual home. Originated by the Methodist Church in 1874, Chautauqua is a community of scholars, religious, literary, and scientific, who gather for a nine-week season every summer to learn, teach, worship, and enjoy a life of the mind and, I think, the heart. The collection of homes in the community varies from painted ladies of the early 1900s to more modern homes, from places like to Athenaeum Hotel (which holds hundreds), to small places that hold one or two.  Many houses have been tu...

Over a 40-year career, I have been affiliated with five universities, three since 1990. The World Wide Web originated in 1990, and during my last five years at Gannon University, I watched with frustration as we slowly came online, learned how to operate listservs and websites, and determined policies and guidelines that would control our online work. In 1995, I moved to Penn State. Larger and better-funded, Penn State worked constantly to upgrade its online presence, both as a tool for its employees and a public face of the University. Higher-ups in higher ed began to see the Web's effectiveness as an admissions device, as a reputation-builder, as a replacement for the thousands of printed directories produced annually, and for instant, low-cost communication with colleagues and students around the world. Realizing that its reputation required a sharp, polished, and professional  look, Penn State hired a company to create its online "brand." Each of the 22 locations ...