Let it Rain

Don't you just love it when a day that starts out with horrible, torrential rain type weather? Yeah. Me neither, but that is just how the day started. As I stared out my car window waiting for my daughter's school bus I was treated to Mother nature's version of a light show. Huge bolts of lightening speared the morning sky, menacingly beautiful as they sliced through the charcoal colored clouds. And I thought, this day is gonna suck.

To add to the bright mood of the morning, I had an American Literature midterm exam first thing. I was not looking forward to it - even the thought of driving to the college agitated me. Naturally, it poured incessantly the entire trip. I was grateful for backroads and the ability to avoid the pitfalls of heavy traffic backups on the rain slickened main streets.

Part one of the midterm consisted of six questions to be answered in short essay form. Short meaning two to three hundred words. Part two required I choose to answer one of three questions in "standard" essay form. That is between five hundred and one thousand words. Thankfully, we have word processor capabilities in the test lab. I was able to get the whole thing done in under two hours. Our professor allowed us two and a half, so I felt satisfied that I finished early.

Still pouring when I left campus. When I got back to my office computer my English Literature professor had e-mailed me with my grades from our first test and essay in that class. I earned an "A" on both. The day was looking up. Only maniacs and English majors are fool enough to take two Literature classes simultaneously. I happen to be both.

So, anyway, my English Lit professor also e-mailed me regarding a discussion a few of us were having in our critical analysis group. The subject was Arthurian legends and what makes them appeal to the modern audience. I made several points and mentioned my admiration for the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. My professor wrote me that he had taken a 20th Century Literature class in grad school taught by Corbin Carnell; one of the few people at the time who wrote serious criticism on Tolkien. Then he worked with Corbin on an independent study examining the works of the Oxford mythmakers Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams.

How cool is that? Anyway, I let him know that I am officially envious.

After learning that bit of information, I was no longer bothered by the rain. I was too busy counting my blessings that I am fortunate enough to have an English Lit professor who has a keen understanding and appreciation of Tolkien, Lewis, Williams and the fantasy genre. Lucky me :)