Inspiration and Perspiration

Over a week ago I attended the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in New Orleans. On the last day I attended a workshop called "The Writing Marathon" led by Dr. Richard Louth who happened to be from Cranston, RI. I surmised that he wasn't from New Orleans due to his accent and when I asked, he heartily affirmed that he was not only from New England but in the town over from Providence. During this workshop he took us to his favorite place to write and there we wrote under whirring ceiling fans and "old school" music from the jukebox.

Dr. Louth told us that authors like Hemingway were inspired by the heat, humidity and, yes, diversity of the city of New Orleans or aka "NOLA." I have to admit that me and my colleagues were definitely inspired while we perspired in the warmth of an early June day.

What I'm excited about is how much I was able to write and share of myself with, frankly, a group of strangers. By the end we felt like we were closer to being friends. I kept thinking how much students at PC would value such an opportunity to reflect, write and share.

Here's some of what I wrote in 15 minutes word for word without editing:
"There is something about this place - - the city of New Orleans -- that evokes memories that I don't even have. I didn't grow up in the South but the feel of the place reminds me of what I don't know -- yet so very familiar. Perhaps it's my childhood of hot and humid summer days when there is no burden to living life. Children simply live and take in life moment-t0-moment. Embrace, enjoy. Still, I observe my nieces who are now 8 and 11, and it's beginning to change. I can see it in their words, eyes, actions. Life has become tentative, hedging bets, holding back, seeking approval.

So what can I learn from NOLA to take back with me as I return to a place of frenetic activity -- much of it external and some of it certainly of my own making. Although this is not a new idea or truth, as we get older we revert to childhood in some ways. Having turned 50 in March, I long for that childhood way of being - unburdened,, joyful, creative, at peace. This moment I think of a photo of myself at the age of perhaps 3 or 4 and I'm kneeling and sticking my tongue out. Somehow that moment captured by my mom (or dad) embodies what it means to simply be..."

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