It took about thirteen hours and four minutes for my Honda and me to reach Boone, North Carolina. The first eleven or so hours of that were fairly normal -- horizontal -- driving. I've never thought of driving as something one does either horizontally or vertically, but the last couple of hours of this journey to Boone were just that -- vertical. As in 3266 feet up. The approach to Boone started out as breathtakingly beautiful. Then, State Road 321 started to take on that curvy, switch back form that roads do to make it up mountains. At that point, I held on to the wheel and contemplated whether or not the driver of a car could get carsick. I didn’t, but I could’ve.
I am here. So are forty-three others, referred to in the opening address as people soon to be “in the top 5% of the nation in their knowledge of developmental education.” Also here are Hunter Boylan and Barbara Bonham, both super duper rock stars of my dissertation research – and both remembered me and Edison State College. Barbara asked me to have lunch with her next week to talk about Edison and our program evaluation. Patrick Saxon, NCDE's lead researcher, is here; Pat and I have a little history dating back to Hunter's research conference in San Juan. He owes me a couple of beers from back then, and he actually remembered that.
My home for the next month is in Newland Residence Hall, and my dorm room is quite exactly as Dr. Joseph Kaye described last year at this time. Something like a minimum security penitentiary cell. I have spruced it, a bit, thanks to IKEA, but it is what it is.
Boone is gorgeous. The breeze is cool, and it smells like green grass and green leaves. I am exhausted. I have not managed to chronicle anything particularly academic this evening, but I will certainly make up for it as the week progresses.
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