Trip to Hattiesburg, MS

I had one of my most rewarding experiences travelling to give a talk yesterday in Hattiesburg, MS. First, I was blessed with beautiful weather for my four hour drive from Oxford. Next, I had a great time with a warm reception at WDAM TV’s studio, where I got to speak with the lovely Miranda Beard about my book, Uniting Mississippi.

Here’s that interview:

That was around noon. Ms. Beard announced my talk at the University of Southern Mississippi, which was then at 2pm, as well as the book signing I held at Main Street Books.

At the University of Southern Mississippi, I had the chance to see the new Liberal Arts Building, where my talk was held:

The most rewarding and loveliest aspects of the trip was the wonderful reception I received both before and after my talk. One reader came to let me know that she had seen me on WDAM and had read my Clarion Ledger interview earlier in January. In the audience, there were people both from the university and from the wider community. There were quite a few community members who came to talk with me after my presentation. They had just the kindest and sweetest things to say. I was truly taken aback.

The experience showed me that people are reading my newspaper articles and do indeed want to hear some optimism and proposals for Mississippi’s future. I also got some excellent questions from faculty and students in attendance. It’s sometimes the case that at an event like this few faculty show up, let alone students. The room was large and wasn’t packed, but given its size, the turn out was still quite a few people, which was great.

All in all, I feel very much encouraged by this trip. A number of people at the talk came to Main Street Books for the book signing and more conversation afterwards. To top it all off, I had a lovely dinner with three members of the faculty, who were a great deal of fun to talk with and get to know better.

Wow. There are ups and downs in life. This was a pretty big up. Thanks to all who made it happen!

P.S. They videoed my talk! When it’s online, I’ll share it too.