“Conversations With Jeff Weeks” Airing on WSRE on April 21st 2016!
It was a pleasure to visit the set of “Conversations With Jeff Weeks” on WSRE in Pensacola, our local PBS affiliate.
O Captain! My Captain!

Photo Credit: Instagram @pen_mate.
One random topic of conversation always seems to lead strangely into another in the American History classes I am lucky enough to teach each year. I often find myself horribly off-subject as my almost-adult students and I slowly get to know one another and this week was no exception. Admiring from a safe distance how one of my female students boldly spoke up for another in a small spat of gossip, I commented to the young lady that she reminded me of Melanie Hamilton. The girl curled up her face as if I’d insulted her, although I was pleased that she even knew who I was talking about in the first place!
“But, she has no backbone, right?”
I laughed and explained that, in fact, Melanie Hamilton had quite the backbone and more courage and righteousness than any other character in literature, or in movies, or on television, that I could think of.
“She takes up for everyone,” I explained, “even people who have wronged her. She always looks for the good in others and she forgives effortlessly. She is even-tempered and never gets angry and she’s always wise to the situation and ready to offer a solid piece of advice.”
In my opinion, it was a high compliment to be compared to Miss Hamilton, and as I heard myself explaining what it is that I love about this timeless Gone With the Wind character, the patron saint of goodness from antebellum Atlanta, I made a note to myself to try harder to be more like her. Read more