Southern Gents...and a guy from Massachusetts

This past weekend with the 1st years was awesome. Or, as Hunter would say, “it was a blast.” I really think we had the best group of guys, ever (no offense to any of the other first year guys!) I’ve never been around such gentlemen. They went out of their way to make sure that Brooke and I knew how much they appreciated all that we did.

We (Ruth, Tiff, Hunter, Chris E., and Landon) went down to Yazoo on Friday. We kinda set up those boys for disappointment in their apartment/house search because our house really is a home. It feels sorta like gramma’s house. Add two cats, a guinea pig, a hamster, a fish, a polar bear, and the best little white-haired saucy 89-year-old neighbor, and there’s no competition. They loved it, and we loved to have a houseful of guests.

Saturday we went to Basil’s, then went on a housing search. Brooke directed me around all of Belhaven. We went down every single freaking street. Good thing we did, because at the dead end of St. Ann’s street they found a duplex that’s about as perfect as you can get in Jackson. While it’s not huge, it’s tucked away back from the street that is surrounded by trees. They were even able to see the house on Sunday…we’ll see how things pan out. In the evening, we all went to Keifer’s and Fenian’s to chill and eat. Oh how I miss Jackson.

So why do we love Jackson so much? I’m not sure…it’s not that pretty, and there’s not that much to do there. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with it being the location of my undergrad years, but there’s more than that. I think Dave Mo put it well when he said there’s not a lot of anything, but there’s one of everything- one art museum, one good Indian restaurant, one good pub, one good college.

So the trip was “a blast.” I got to know those guys in a way that I never would have had the chance to. They’ll make great teachers because they are doing it all for the right reasons. I know they're good guys after I got turned around and almost got us in a wreck and then got us a flat tire…and yet I never heard a word of complaint.