What to say? Other than life is grand and I now know what it feels like to finally have everything you ever wanted, I haven’t much more to say. So, what is it like having everything you always wanted? It’s too foreign an experience to quantify… I feel like at any moment now this will end like a vacation and I’ll have to go “home” to whatever ghetto I belong in. Below you will see a photo of the SAW gang on the back porch of the house I live in: from left to right: Sally, Me (in back), Anna (on ground), co-founder Leela Corman, Adrian, Our fearless leader Tom Hart, and Eric, (student Mike not pictured):
(By the way, contrary to how this looks, we were all happy, but this picture was taken while we were Skyping with a graduation keynote speaker so the moment was more ceremonial and educational than celebratory.)

Beautiful place, beautiful people. We held our graduation party out here yesterday, and it was lovely and made even more lovely by the fact that it was not an end. I’m here for good, Tom and Leela of course live here, Anna lives here, and now Eric and Sally are here to stay in Gainesville, too. Soon, thanks to SAW, Gainesville will be the city comic book artists from all over will call home, where they will settle down and be happy. I’m proud of my students and have given them endless credit for their growth and dedication, but last night, for the first time, I realized that we teachers had a big hand in that, too. Their growth belongs to all of us, we did this together, and does it ever feel good to be in the business of changing lives. What a day, sun, amazing food, and perhaps the most relaxed and tension-free gathering I’ve ever been to. There was magic at SAW this year, an auspicious gathering of talents and warm-heartedness that rarely comes along. Funny, but usually the day after an event like that I feel drained and sort of saddened that it’s over, but today I’m all smiles and joy. You know something was good when you still feel good the day after the BIG DAY.

Here are a couple other pics from our day, one of Lake Newnan (which is what I’m staring off at in the pic above), and the alligator that lives in our pond.