Okay, a little back story. Lorna and I moved here in ’92. The idea behind it was for me to follow a dream of being a potter. Lorna had been laid off from her job of 14 yrs or so and I disliked my job (read: burnout). We looked into various colleges and programs (which is another story, too long for right now) and eventually settled on the Haywood Community College and their Production Craft Program. And I loved it. I excelled in it. As good a writer as I am, I was an even better potter. While I was studying pottery, learning not just the craft but the business behind it, we learned of other programs and schools. One was the John C. Campbell Folk School. They had a yearly wood fired pottery class that I wanted to take. Unlike HCC that offered year round classes and a degree, John C. Campbell offered classes that ranged from either a weekend to all the way up to a three week course. I never got the chance to go take it, though. Real life stepped in and after a series of events, I found myself on disability, unable to be much of anything and certainly not the physically demanding art of pottery.
Fast forward to tonight. I had heard of a newish WNC writers literary online thingybob so I looked it up. I’m not sure how far off the ground it is though. Anyway, as I wandered the rather unorganized website, I came across a link to a place offering writing classes. Guess where? John C. Campbell Folks School. One or two of them I am kinda interested in. But could I actually go there? Could I actually take a class there? I’ve never looked to see if HCC offered anything. Don’t think I could go there either. Losing pottery was like losing a large chunk of me. I’ve never forgiven my body for letting me down, for falling apart and making me limp away from that.
The answer is no. I can’t. The classes may be the best thing since literary sliced bread but I can’t do it. I won’t even put myself in that position. The good news is that the classes don’t appear to be the best thing since literary sliced bread. Another community college (A-B Tech), one much closer than HCC and certainly closer than John C. Campbell, offers some good classes. Maybe I’ll go there.