move-in, eating crow, and fanatics

Today is overcast. It has been for awhile. Students have been moving in for the past two days, and S.C. has exploded, population-wise, especially when you count all the parents either overnighting or making a weekend of it with the game and all, plus classes not starting until Tuesday.

I'm impressed every time. Things change so suddenly around here. I moved from a village that doubles in the summer to a small city that doubles whenever it's not summer. And they bring wonder to town, the students, as do their parents, oftentimes.

I'm trying to have a slow lunch after the bustle of the rest of my day--slowly sipping my jasmine tea until it cools enough to drink, writing this old school with the tiny pad and pen that fits into my wallet--an extremely useful gift from J.

I have to say I'm awfully fond of the colleague who stopped in my door yesterday to inform me that "I'm here to eat crow." There's little in my book that's more endearing than having the cajones to admit you're wrong.

He came down earlier that day to chastise me for making the incorrect call on a deferral and to correct the letter I'd had sent out that hadn't escaped our mail room yet. I told him that I thought I knew the policy and followed it, to the point of looking it up as I was doing it, but if I was wrong, I'd correct it. He had come back to let me know I'd done it all right in the first place, and he would have to correct his own incorrect call on the matter.

And he technically outranks me in this: both in which team he's on here (Admissions Services and Evaluation Team vs. me in the Communication and Customer Service Team), rank and title, and of course years of experience. I can't deny it feels good to be right here.

Circling around campus is a plane dragging a huge banner that reads "10 week abortion," with a phone number and accompanying graphic photo, in a size too big to mention. This is the first time I've seen this, though it may have been up before. The unfortunate bit is that from afar, I'd thought it read "10 week audition" and I couldn't see the photo, and then I'd craned to figure out what the auditions were for. The other unfortunate bit is that though I certainly can guess, it's not clear if it's an ad for a clinic that provides those services, or a protest against such.

There's a commonly-repeated saying to the effect that fanatics of any stripe make the reasonable members of the group look bad. On the other hand, I would argue, there are also fanatics that make the human race look bad.

Not that this is the worst offender. But even so.

But even despite that view, and despite the overcast sky, I'll likely drive home tonight with the sunroof open, as I have pretty much every day it hasn't rained since I re-discovered the beauty of having one.