Thinking About A May 2nd Party, and I'll Tell You Why (Insert Derby Horns Here) #WalkMyWorld @fairfieldu

I teach on the preppiest campus in the United States. I'm not sure if that is true, but when I was investigating my post-doctoral relocation and reading about available National Writing Project jobs, I remember reading that about Fairfield County (I also read about Super Super Wiener, too, and I have yet to try their famous hotdogs).

Truth is, I came to Fairfield University so I would have close proximity to Bridgeport and New Haven Public Schools. I am an urban educator and I feel the most alive when I am in K-12 schools vibrant with diversity.  I will forever long for my Kentucky teaching days and working in a school that had pastiche and multiculturalism as its mission and shared values - every other environment I've ever worked in has been stale in comparison.

Perhaps that is why the Kentucky Derby Run For the Roses sign in the lobby of the Barone Campus Center caught my attention - the 56th Annual Dogwood Dance on Fairfield University's campus has a Kentucky Derby theme! It made me nostalgic for my Louisville life, the students I was fortunate to work with while there.

And it made me look forward to May, especially the first Saturday when everything stops in Kentucky and everyone embraces mint juleps, Barnstable parties, the potential of tornados, and horse racing. Simply seeing the sign put a spark in my heart!

Of course, I'm not sure how far I am supposed to be walking, but I walked to the campus center to get fresh air. I did well on the walk, too, and was pleased by the pace I was keeping (no thoroughbred, granted, but a little faster than you're average donkey).

That's when I decided that a perfect time for a post-Henry the Hernia Mt. Pleasant House-Warming Party might be Derby weekend. It may be when the porch can be debuted and the home can be opened up to guests.

Time to place some bets....