spartanburg

For the last two weeks I've been seeing the monarchs migrating through. No, I don't mean that convoys of kings and queens have been trucking down the interstate. I'm talking about the most royal of butterflies, the orange, black, and white monarch.

I'm a Wofford College English professor, and most of my classes are traditional, me in the front of the room, or at the head of a seminar table, writing on a blackboard, with students in rows of desks taking notes. The discussion is about books, and the issues rise from reading sentences, paragraphs, pages.

This week has seen the release of a flow of master planning like the City of Spartanburg has never seen before. Parks and Recreation and the city have both made substantial commitments of funds and resources to shaping the future of our community through citizen-driven planning. Both organizations are holding forums and "charettes," or "idea-shaping sessions," as they are called. I salute planning and have hopes the process will yield great results for our future.