research topics

Overcome by a week of interviews, excitement and joy, Monday opens with a determination I have not experienced in some time.

Tonight I'm attending volunteer training at STAND. Are you a Chattanoogan? What do you want our city to look like in 20 years? Concerned about schools, intergrating communities, public transit? What the Volkswagen plant will change? How would you manage that? Give us your two cents in four easy questions. Then tell your friends, tell your barista, your bartender, your cousin, your former English teacher, your bus driver.

Pulled into the mix by Grace, plus hometown gusto and enthusiasm, I want to help reshape the community. I want to use my networking skills, my smile, my brains and writing for the greater good. And I want to hear about what you're doing. How you got started. Where you got published. Shall we collaborate?

Last week after bouncing around downtown I ran into said former English teacher, Marie Daly. Her low-lighted, comfortable classroom and creative writing influence during my stay at Notre Dame High School are unforgettable. When I recognized her, I dropped a phone call and started talking. She and her husband are behind the up-and-coming Ivy Academy of Chattanooga.
A charter school out in the North Chick watershed area, the school will cater to non-traditional learning styles. I need to know more, I will know more. It was so fortutious to run into her. I then sat at the board meeting, which is comprised of influential outdoor leaders including the folks at Reflection Riding and the Chattanooga Nature Center.

Shoo.