Friday, October 22, 2004

On Being Rocky Top Brigaded More than a dozen things that make me feel welcome in Knoxville: The Gillian Welch concert at the Bijou while I was in town for the job interview. The two professors at UT who wrote textbooks I had used when teaching in Boston, not to mention having one of my best friends from 130 Beacon St. relocate to Circle Park Drive a year before me. Having another UT prof remember something I wrote in 1997. Finding WDVX.com, KnoxNews and MetroPulse online while I was back waiting for a job offer in Massachusetts. Discovering that the city's website is a pretty good one, and even has an RSS feed. The housing-search advice from SouthKnox Bubba and several kind folks he pointed me to. Flying from Boston and being met at McGee-Tyson Airport by the very friendly driver of a car marked "Fenway Taxi." (I bet he has a great weekend for tips!) The Wells Fargo mortgage consultant who drove me around to a dozen renovation projects just to give me ideas about putting down roots. The Maplehurst Inn, whose proprietor arranged to have a local apartment manager meet me for breakfast my first day in town. The neighbor who not only helped me park the moving truck, but came back to help unload it! He also turned out to work at a terrific restaurant, Tomato Head. The other neighbor who strolled by the window playing a fiddle and invited me to a Friday night jam session in South Knoxville. Hearing a charming Irish accent saying "good morning" from the next office cubicle. Finding Moon Pies in the vending machine outside my office door, a great reminder of Chapel Hill's Jim Shumaker, editorial model for the comic character Shoe. Being added to the Rocky Top Brigade today! (And I like being ambiguous with SKB about my "CYB" comment signature... short for either Connecticut Yankee or Carolina Yankee Bob.) revised 10/23 3:08:14 PM    comment []

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