I'm Out There

Okay, plenty of you already knew that I'm out there. But now that I've started blogging, I'm out there, and it's both scary and exhilarating.

How do I know I'm being read by someone other than those who care about me or at least pretend to care because they're kind people? Because I just received a comment from Mars Hill College scolding me for hyperbole in my last post.

It was a really polite and not unwarranted comment. Although I wouldn't say I went as far as hyperbole. I am willing to own up to highlighting certain observations that I find amusing as I settle into life in WNC, as we folks tucked into hills where Tennessee and South Carolina sort of cuddle North Carolina call it. (Look at a map. I'm not hyperbolizing, just coming up with what I and perhaps one or two of your will find an amusing description.)

Here's the honest truth. Hubby and I pushed The Boy in his stroller from Main Street to campus and we really, truly couldn't find anything open. Maybe we missed a big chunk of downtown. Maybe there's more than one campus library. All I know is I would have liked to use the bathroom and I had a really difficult time finding someplace where I could do so. Luckily, "would have liked to use the bathroom" is different from "had to use the bathroom" so my failure did not achieve crisis proportions.

I point this out not to sound defensive, although no matter how assiduously I edit, I'm sure that's exactly how I sound. Rather, I made a promise to myself when I started blogging that I would find my humor in situations and my reaction to them but not in ridiculing particular people. Is that possible? Hardly, since people are frequently an integral part of any situation. But I try not to judge and I try not to feel bad when those I write about feel judged anyhow.

So was I judging Mars Hill College and the students who don't spend their Sundays as I did during my college days -- sprawled on a campus lawn with piles of books at my side and a highlighter in my hand pretending not to be distracted by the far more interesting sight of that cute guy from the hockey team in my Astronomy class and whether I should say hello to him because we had an actual conversation last week during our lab at the campus observatory but what if he doesn't remember me and I end up really embarrassed? Actually, my intent is to poke fun at myself for channeling two Ivy League degrees, years of postgraduate study, membership in the California Bar, and an invitation to apply for tenure at a respected midwestern law school into not doing any work in particular in big town in western North Carolina.

The heart of the joke, of course, is that Asheville isn't anything you'd expect from its size and location. In fact, I haven't seen a single person smoking a corn cob pipe and the folks on my block were as surprised as I when Audrey caught a chicken. The problem is, in poking fun at myself for half-expecting to turn into a hillbilly, I expect my fellow WNC residents to be in on the joke.

Still, I think it's cool that someone from Mars Hill College is reading my blog and has pointed out to me that others who might have a reason to visit Mars Hill College are too. And I think it's another lovely illustration of life here that they were so darned nice about it.