Andrea, Josh, Angie, Reili
Warrior Dash — Angie Williams and her offspring (Reili Williams, Andrea Todd, and Josh Edwards) participated in the Warrior Dash in Huntersville this past weekend. This 5K run doubles as an obstacle course. The twelve obstacles include climbing a wall (Warrior Wall), wading through a muddy pond (Mud Mounds), crawling under barbed wire (Under the Wire), and jumping over live flames (Warrior Roast). This sounds like torture to me, and I am not at all sure I would survive. I would likely end up being a roasted chair. Angie and her crew, however, not only completed the Warrior Dash, but they all claim to have enjoyed the experience.
There is a scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in which the Queen of Hearts is having her own wild Warrior Dash of sorts, although she calls it a croquet game. I am not sure I would survive this chaotic experience either. I would likely end up being a behe
aded chair. Anyway, at one point Alice and the Duchess are watching the proceedings, and the Duchess insists on tacking on a moral to every comment that Alice makes about the game. At the risk of sounding like the Duchess, I can’t help tacking on a moral to the end of Angie’s Warrior Dash story. By supporting each other and finding the fun in overcoming obstacles, Angie and her crew turned something that sounds like an ordeal into something that they all sensed as an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning. And the moral to that, to quote the Duchess is–“Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.”
Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Paula Connolly delivered a public presentation titled “Issues of Invisibility: or, How to Read Slavery Where There Is No Slavery” at the Boston Athenaeum. She talked about the Confederate children’s books that she examined during her month-long research stay at the Boston Athenaeum.
Melissa Quitadamo, a master’s student in English, is the recipient of the 2015-16 John Paul Lucas, Jr. Scholarship for Educational Leadership. She is featured in the Summer 2015 issue of The Graduate Source, a publication produced by the Graduate School.
Alan Rauch delivered a presentation titled “Issues Facing Scholarly Journals in the U.S.” at the annual congress of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. This event took place in Ottawa, Canada.
Ralf Thiede delivered a paper on June 6 entitled “Story as the Brain’s Information Management System” at the inaugural Colloquium on the Linguistics of Children’s Literature. The colloquium was held at the University of Mainz, Germany, and went so well that international conferences on the topic are envisioned for the future.
Quirky Quiz Question — In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Queen’s croquet game is interrupted over a dispute involving the ordered beheading of the Cheshire Cat. Why does the executioner argue that he cannot behead the Cheshire Cat?
Last week’s answer: Darwen is an anagram for Andrew