Trying to catch up after meeting Debby for a sister weekend. I hadn’t even unpacked my camera before tonight, so I don’t have any “today” photos, but what’s making me happy right now is looking through the ones I took on my trip. I made a side visit to the true greatest city in Alabama, Tuscaloosa, so let’s start with Manly Hall.
When I was an undergraduate, I had a work study job with an instructor on the first floor. The entire building was in disrepair (it was built in 1885–so it’s even older than I am!). There was an ancient window unit air conditioner in her office that wheezed and leaked, so the place always smelled faintly of mildew and her cigarette smoke, but I loved working with her. She’d been there forever and studied under some of the same teachers my father had, so her stories always had a familiarity to me. She was also instrumental in helping me find my voice as an essayist and gain confidence in my writing when I took a class from her.
A few years later, when I went back to Alabama as a graduate student with a teaching assistantship, I shared a huge office in Manly with other TAs–behind those corner windows–I think probably on the second floor. It looked out at the library, and I loved to sit in my desk next to the window, reading, writing, grading papers, and meeting with students. By then the building had been renovated, so there were no more wheezing air conditioners. Manly retained its charm, however.
I began my graduate studies with so much excitement and enthusiasm. And then, as happens to many young people, the absolute wreck I made of my personal life took over everything else. Love is a dangerous thing. Despite all that, I have lots of good memories, and this building is part of them.