It's Saturday Night

The Mississippi Association for Gifted Children conference was excellent; I came back excited and full of new ideas for teaching my students; it is the best thing I do for myself as a teacher all year. Wish I could go to the national conference; it is in Charlotte this year.

bown chicka bown bown

Pinch-hitting this cool Tuesday evening for Mom is Kaite. And that's all the sports metaphors that I can squeeze out. I've decided that the odds of my meeting a famous person in an awkward situation are high... most likely a stuck elevator or closing him/her in on a plane. You know, him/her having the window seat, me being in the middle. Yeah. It's likely.

I depart now. To soften the blow, I leave you with a nice quote. If you've never heard it before, shame.

I know a lot of people without brains who do an awful lot of talking. - The Wizard of Oz

The Many Faces of New Orleans

New Orleans

Katrina did not wipe out cafe au lait and beignes!


Marianna took a class last spring entitled "Tennessee Williams' Women". As a part of that class, she traveled down to New Orleans for the Tennessee Williams Festival. These pictures show the New Orleans that she saw.

Another Mag Photo

Mag Chain

Marianna at the W's Mag Chain ceremony...a graduating senior at last! There is a W tradition known as the Mag Chain...Mag for Magnolia; here's an explanation:
Mag Chain, one of the university's most treasured traditions, has taken place in some form since 1890. In the early years, it was made of daisies and other flowers, but it was decided in 1905 that the state flower was the most appropriate choice.
Constructed by the sophomores, the magnolia chain is carried by the seniors singing the "Magnolia Chain Song" from the steps of Poindexter Hall to Shattuck Lawn where the ceremony is held. The procession is led by the senior class president who carries a bouquet of daisies in honor of the graduates who began the ceremony years ago.
After the magnolia chain is laid on the ground, the seniors sing the alma mater and other special songs, pass down their offices to the rising senior officers and present the class gift to the university. This year also will include the announcement of Faculty Member of the Year.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the seniors form a circle around the magnolia chain, lock arms and sing the "Friendship Circle" song. After the song is completed, the seniors make a mad dash for a magnolia blossom, which symbolizes the purity of achievement. The green leaves represent the growing experiences of the graduates over the past four years.
Tradition holds that graduates who are able to walk away with a magnolia blossom will find good fortune and romance!

Traditionally, Mag chain was done at graduation; however, somebody decided to do it during the homecoming festivities in April, so there were no real magnolias blooming out for the chain...so they used real magnolia leaves and silk blooms....which is kinda nice; one lady was sharing on an alumni listserve...somebody who graduated in the '50's! and she still had her magnolia blossom...brown and dried up...but she still had it!

Mississippi

The Family

Some pictures of the family. Marianna, Terry, Kaite, Lydia, and Dave. This was last fall at the Lockheart get together. We had a ball, eating crawfish and visiting with everybody's family.

Daughter Number Two

This is Lydia at her Birthday Party; 19 years old.

Lydia's 19th birthday at Profitt's Porch.

Here's Kaite!

It's Thursday and I'm Creating a Family Blog

This is Thursday September 14, 2006, and all of us Coffey's are gonna have a family blog. David, Terry, Marianna, Kaite, and Lydia.