Now Walkin' Home on These Streets in Tallahassee

Digest No. 35 / 36 - July & August 2026

This Summer has been unusually busy, especially since I started posting these monthly digests. This will partially explain why this digest volume is a bit different. I will note here that I anticipate shifting the digests to the beginning of the month going forward, with this August digest serving that transition (and marking three full years of these posts).

On Living

One of the biggest changes in my life this past few weeks has been the birth of our fifth child. This little girl is basically perfect, and all of her siblings agree (which is saying something given how they talk about each other). Having another child at 42 has reminded me of a few things that come with the territory of having a newborn in the house. It has impressed me that some habits are like riding a bicycle and come back quickly. Others, well . . .I am old.

Sabrina fair / Listen where thou art sitting . . .

But, in order to make sure that I didn’t become complacent, we also moved from Pensacola to Tallahassee three weeks after Girl #2 was born. The move went well, even though all moves are inherently stressful. We had fantastic help both with loading the truck (thanks to Providence Church and our family), but also when we unloaded in Tallahassee (thanks to the IGC and to Christ Classical). We’re almost unpacked at this stage, and every major piece of furniture has found its spot in the house.

It was perhaps most stressful for the dogs.

I still have a stack of books to get through, though right now that do little more than gather dust and make me feel guilty. But, once everything finds a rhythm here over the next few weeks, I’m sure I’ll be right back at it.

On Researching & Publishing

Between having a baby and moving, reading and researching have not been a plentiful as they might normally be for me in the Summer. I have done some work on a Hemingway essay, along with prepping for a seminar on the Declaration of Independence and another on commonplace journals. But the big news is that I have a new chapter out in a book published on July 30. Ray Bradbury: A Companion is edited by Kevin Wetmore, and it looks like a fantastic volume. I am fortunate to know a couple of the other contributors to this book, so I can promise you that it is worth your time even if you skip my essay!

The next immediate project on the horizon is my final paper for my final course at the University of Birmingham’s Character Education program. This last course is on leadership and character ed, and it is not what I would typically consider my cup of tea. But the readings have been interesting (much more so than I anticipated), and the seminars were great. After this, it is dissertations all the way down.

On Traveling & Laboring

Despite the many things going on at home, July and August were busy for traveling as well. I started off the month at a teacher training event hosted by the IGC. It was a whirlwind two-day event, wherein the speakers got very little down time. But it was full of good teachers interested in talking about ways to teach the Declaration of Independence. I did my part to help draw out connections between the Declaration and some of its classical sources, particularly Cicero.

I was supposed to next travel for a conference in Toronto, but ended up having to cancel the trip at the last minute. Between some health concerns for the baby and the general chaos of trying to pack / move, I just couldn’t pull away for the 48 hours I needed for the conference. Still, I do hope the paper will see the light of day in time.

This week, on Friday in fact, I will head to Raleigh for the third consecutive year to take part in the Southeastern Consortium Conference. It’s fun to be there with Josh Herring, Scott Postma, Robert M. Woods, and others. The theme for this year’s event is “Sources of Joy” and I will be leading a seminar on the joys of commonplacing. Like last year, I will do the same session two times. If you’re in the area and have an interest in classical education, you should definitely come join us! You can register at this link.

Fortunately, that is the only trip I have planned for the month of August, but the rest of the Fall is shaping up to be jam-packed.

On Listening

Sarah Hadley and I have been longtime fans of the Paradise shows on the BBC. Death in Paradise reminds us of our time in the Caribbean. Beyond Paradise actually reminds me of the surprising number of Australians I’ve called friends over the years. But only Beyond Paradise has a soundtrack that sticks in my brain for weeks after a watch. This one is from the most recent season, and is a lot of fun.