This summer has been a busy one for travel for me. I usually have a couple of trips during the season, but have had more than usual lately. Typical summer trips for me include drives across Georgia and Mississippi to visit family. I had those, and two more trips that I thought I would take a few minutes to recap.

The most recent was an opportunity to see one of my favorite artists in concert. As an early birthday present, I got tickets to see Norah Jones in Atlanta. I had never seen her live before, so that was a fun experience that I hope to have again soon.

I also took a long weekend and drove to South Carolina with my parents and brother. We spent two days in Myrtle Beach and a day and a half in Charleston. Both towns were nice, but Charleston was especially enjoyable. I definitely want to visit it again soon as there is much more I want to see there that I didn’t have time for this trip. I may write more about that trip in the future. But for now I want to switch to a different topic.

On the subject of South Carolina, the last book I read is “The Water Is Wide”- a book about the short teaching experience of native son, Pat Conroy. He is, of course, known for his fiction. But after deciding to read a Conroy book along with my friend, Tosha, this one caught my eye.

I was interested in his experiences as I am a teacher by education. One of the things that resonated deeply with me is his concern for the students in his class. My only experience so far teaching is as a student-teacher and substitute teacher. But even in those situations I found myself longing to be a positive influence in their lives, and to do my best to spark a love of learning in them.

I certainly cannot give a wholehearted endorsement of Conroy’s teaching methods and his tone with his students. But some of you who work with students might find something interesting about the book. As always, I hope you all are doing well and I look forward to hearing from you. Keep cool!