Changes

• The military dictatorship in Egypt, one that took power before I was born, may be over.  One of the texts under discussion in my early American lit course this week was the Declaration of Independence, and students were very aware that Egypt may be going through a similar revolutionary moment.  All are hopeful that Egypt's freedom will come without the years of bloodshed that marked our revolution, and probably most others.
• At the same time that there was jubilation in Egypt and hope in the halls of WVUP, a cherished colleague finally succumbed to the cancer that he'd fought for months. The next day, our department enjoyed a baby shower for a young colleague and his wife.
• In the back yard, the downy woodpeckers have found their way to our tail-prop suet feeder.
• The robins are back.  Did they ever leave, or were they in hiding?
• Will the crocuses be next?