About Me

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e. l . wood is a native of birmingham, alabama. he grew up on the urban streets of dallas, texas before attending college at houston baptist university where he earned a b. a. in english and psychology. after a year of teaching high school english in the public schools of houston, e. l. wood attended sam houston state university where he earned a master’s degree in english. after bouncing around the deep south for several years, he finished his ph. d. in american literature before 1900 at the university of southern mississippi. e. l. wood has been teaching in some capacity since 1992 and has taught for a local community college since 1995. in his spare time, e.l. wood enjoys reading, movies, and the outdoors. he is personally acquainted with several search and rescue teams around the southeast. he is married to the lovely and gracious a. c. they have a daughter (special k), and one dog. They reside in h'burg, deep south. in addition to being the sole proprietor of the gandy dancer billiard parlor, e. l. wood dabbles in folk art and the occasional cultivation of a handlebar mustache.

Sunday, April 05, 2020

COVID19, 2020

Nothing like a pandemic to provide time and focus enough to get back to neglected pursuits.  So - along with jumping back into the blogging world, here is a bit of photo journalism of some things we have witnessed in recent days. 

What started off as a laid back spring break . . . 





 . . . has turned into four weeks of questions and learning.     

What exactly is Corona virus? I thought I had already discovered a vaccine in the mid-nineties; make sure to only have two while eating Mexican food and you will never get sick.

Where the heck is Wuhan, China?

What is social distancing?


What is the future of Dollar Stores, Dollar Generals, Dollar Trees, and Hobby Lobby's everywhere? How do I teach online?  What is Zoom?  How much water should I buy?  Where is all the toilet paper?  How do I use my knowledge of baseball and football to help continue to train my 14-year-old up and coming soccer scholar athlete?  Do masks work?
Do gloves work?  How long is this going to last?  Will the NBA finish?  Will MLB start?  Will there be SEC football in the fall?  Do dorm students have to pay for room and board for the whole spring semester?  Who do I know that is in jeopardy of losing their jobs?  How do I help them?  How do we have church without going to church?  Will we be able to worship together on Easter Sunday?

      

Why the heck are people obsessed with Tiger King? 

Do I have enough ammunition?


Nothing like a pandemic to make me feel like a four-year-old again.  Full of questions, some of which have answers I can understand, some of which I think I understand, and some still flummox me four weeks in.


What started off as a lot of unexpected extra time has turned into four weeks of heeding Ben Franklin's admonition to not put off for tomorrow what can be done today.

I sanded and painted a bathroom ceiling.  I changed a battery in an old watch.  I fixed the transmission on my self-propelled mower.  I fixed my riding lawn mower that would not crank despite having a new battery and new solenoid.  I washed not one, not two, but all three vehicles in our fleet.  I don't know that any of those cars have been washed three times total in their collective lives, but they all got a bath in the span of one day.  I learned how to transition from face-to-face teaching to 100% on-line teaching.  We have deep cleaned the house.  We have begun to have our devotions together as a family.  I bought a litter grabber and have been picking up trash on our afternoon walks.  We have been cooking everyday.  We've been washing and putting away dishes - everyday.  We have been reading separate books in large chunks of time, all of us on the back porch, while listening to records and the birds.




Nothing like a pandemic to deliver a knock-out punch to the excuse of not having time.

 So - along with whatever else you are experiencing out there . . . remember Paul's words to Timothy:  "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound, sound mind."  Stay safe, stay strong.