The illustrious Lodgers of 2009 began by literally stretching themselves on UR's high ropes course.Watching safely from the ground, I was immediately impressed by their easy collaboration and mutual encouragement in such a challenging and stressful situation hovering 40 feet above the ground.
In class, their creative collaboration led to several interesting and insightful class exercises that explored some of the themes in our readings. George Stewart's 1949 novel Earth Abides provided their inspiration to examine group dynamics, value formation, authority and leadership. In the novel, a survivor of a deadly global pandemic named Ish is working to gather a reliable community as he dreams of rebuilding civilization and negotiates the rules and customs of his small tribe. Stewart's narrative is punctuated by italicized passages that encourage to shift our perspective and reflect upon the place of our species in the larger ecosystem - a most relevant exercise.
This year it seemed as if rain was predicted for every weekend we considered camping, so we just decided to toughen up and go for the trip regardless of the weather. Though it was cold, foggy and rainy all weekend, we had an advance crew head up early to get the tents set up - and what an advantage that was! The rest of us arrived in a couple of shifts, but we got a fire started (no small feat in the wet) and good cheer shone through all weekend. And then there was the entertainment...just ask a Lodger about the creepy bear hunters or the amazing mountain runner marathon. And then there was that creepy outhouse....
Our semester concluded with the Richmond Riverside Safari, a 7-mile loop hike that takes in some great views of Richmond and passes through several historic spots. That hike ended up at Forest Hill Park where we had lunch, a fire and a birthday pie!
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