november
Columbia/Augusta/Aiken Augusta, Aiken & Columbia
free!
skirt!is
www.skirt.com
November is the month we crave community and culinary togetherness. We buy a too-big turkey just to have sandwiches and leftover gravy the day after Thanksgiving. We cut out recipes for dinner from scratch, but deep-down we yearn for jellied cranberry sauce and pumpkin filling from a can. We hunger for a seat at a dining-room table filled
with Extended Family, eccentric friends and occasional strangers. We cross our fingers that this will be the year everyone behaves and no one leaves the table in tears. We binge on blessings and green-bean casserole,
Cornbread Dressing and cornucopias, feasts and football. And when it’s done, we’ll fold up the crepe-paper turkeys and blow out the Pilgrim candles and swear on the wishbone that next year we’ll eat out. Until it’s time to do it again. Cover copy by Nikki Hardin, art by Ali Douglass
“Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody.” Samuel Pepys
FALL 2 0 1 2 NANETTE
“Stylish South Carolina ladies come here for runway favorites ranging from Tibi dresses to necklaces from boho-rocker line Dannijo, Melissa Blanchard and her staff are pros at helping shoppers build dream wardrobes.” — Southern Living, September 2012 Loeffler Randall
Parker
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D a n n i j o J ewe l r y
Milly
Rag & Bone
White + Warren
Belle by Sigerson Morrison Tucker
Vince
Helmut Lang
Hunter Dixon
Notte by Marchesa
T h e o d o s i a J ewe l r y Tory Burch
Tibi
3.1 Phillip Lim
J Brand
Rebecca Taylor
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about skirt!
Publisher Nikki Hardin publisher@skirt.com
november
National Art Director Caitilin McPhillips caitilin.mcphillips@skirt.com National Editor Margaret Pilarski margaret.pilarski@skirt.com Market Manager (Augusta/Aiken/Columbia) Kate Cooper Metts kate.metts@skirt.com Contributing Editor Columbia Jenny Maxwell jennymaxwell@mindspring.com Editor Augusta/Aiken Gracie Shepherd gracie.shepherd@skirt.com Sales Executive Columbia/Aiken Libby Salvador libby.salvador@skirt.com Sales Executive Augusta/North Augusta Doressa Hawes doressa.hawes@ augustamagazine.com Graphic Designer
skirt! is all about women... their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. skirt! is an attitude...spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate.
The Crave Issue
sheMAIL skirt! 127-A 7th Street Augusta, GA 30901 Sales: 706.823.3373 Sales Toll-Free: 800.622.6358 FAX: 706.823.6083 www.skirt.com
Cher Wheeler Meaghan Pafford
Essays
Um.Yum.
Stacy Appel.................................................................................... 13 Paper Weight
Kim Todd ........................................................................................ 14
Photography Molly Harrell Sara Caldwell
Jump Start
Stephanie Hunt .......................................................................... 22 skirt.com skirt! is published monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Augusta/Aiken/ Columbia area. skirt! reserves the right to refuse to sell space for any advertisement the staff deems inappropriate for the publication. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Letters to the editor are welcome, but may be edited due to space limitations. Press releases must be received by the 1st of the month for the following month’s issue. All content of this magazine, including without limitation the design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination and arrangement thereof, is Copyright © 2010, Morris Publishing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher. SKIRT!® is a registered trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC.
Summer Love Women make more than 80% of all purchasing decisions.
Lisa Evans ....................................................................................... 36 The Bowls
Laura Templeton ........................................................................ 32 Women spend almost 2 of every 3 healthcare dollars.
Women control 2/3 of the nation’s disposable income.
Features
Letter from the Publisher.......................................................... 6
Letter from the Editor................................................................ 6
Women influence 80% of all car sales.
Feel Good....................................................................................... 10
Meet.................................................................................................... 31
He’s So Original........................................................................... 26
Skirt of the Month..................................................................... 39
Planet Nikki..................................................................................... 42 4 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Illustration by BerinMade Illustrated Paper Goods. berinmade.com
NOVEMBER
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2012 5
The UniTed SkirTS of AmericA
The United Skirts of America was founded on the blood, sweat and estrogen of our foremothers, who won us the freedom
Ali Douglass Ali Douglass was born in Muncie, Indiana, and after
from The PUbliSher
The Crave Issue For months now, my soul has been craving a change of scenery, a complete 180 from where I’ve been living, a cutting away of all the usual props I
to choose...to break
depend on for security and safety. So in October I used my vacation time to
The Rules, to wear
go on a solo journey to New York City for a few weeks, about as far as I
combat boots or high
could travel from Charleston, SC, in psychic miles. I wasn’t even sure what
heels, to run for office or run a marathon,
I was looking for there. It wasn’t comfort—I stayed in a run-of-the-mill shoebox of an apartment that didn’t take long to have me bouncing off the walls. It wasn’t glamour—nothing stylish about the clanking radiator,
enjoying life in Boston, Kansas
to form our own
the lack of water pressure in the shower and the overflowing bins in the
City, New York City, and San
rock groups instead
trash room. It wasn’t convenience—getting around meant deciphering the
Francisco, she is happy to be living in Asheville, NC. She has
of being groupies, to
subway system and walking everywhere when I couldn’t because cabbing wasn’t in my budget. When I was going through it, I couldn’t explain to
been working as an illustrator
shatter Glass Ceilings
for more than 13 years, illus-
and Glass Slippers, to
very predictable routine, to be uncomfortable, to prove I could do this on
shoot hoops instead
my own. I only knew that the craving was there, so strong that I couldn’t
more than 25 books.
of settling for hoop
ignore it, even when I got cold feet and wanted to call off the whole trip.
Her work has been recognized
skirts. The ones who
trating magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, advertising, and
by American Illustration,
myself or anyone else why it was so important to me to venture outside my
It was a nudge from the inside out, pushing me where I needed to be right then, whether I understood it or not. Whenever I regretted the financial
came before us made
splurge and the urge to escape or felt lost and unanchored in the vast ocean
of Illustrators, readymade.com,
it possible for our
of Manhattan, I tried to remember the quote from Whitman that I had
sfgirlbybay.com, and
daughters to dream
copied in my journal a few weeks before: “Now, Voyager, sail thou forth,
Step Inside Design, L.A. Society
apartmenttherapy.com. Books she has illustrated
bigger, to have the
for American Girl have
chance to grow up to
been winners of the 2008
be President and turn
Children’s Choice Award, International Reading
to seek and find.” And maybe that’s a craving that has to be satisfied over and over again, as long as we live.
Nikki
publisher@skirt.com
the Oval Office into
Association and Children’s
the Ovary Office. In
from The ediTor
Book Council, and winner of
the United Skirts of
Hard as it is to beat summertime standbys, this time of year is my favorite when it comes to food.
America, every day is
From Thanksgiving turkey to apple cider, fall treats give summer barbecue and popsicles a run for their
the 2007 Excellence in Financial Literacy Award (EIFLE), Institute for Financial Literacy.
Independence Day! Visit us on skirt.com
money. I think one reason is because the foods from this time of year more often than not come with memories, like making pralines with my mother to deliver before the holidays or watching my grandmother hand mix her cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving dinner. What would a hay ride be without hot chocolate afterwards, and isn’t the Thanksgiving spread what we’re all truly grateful for? We’re calling this The Crave Issue, and we want to give you permission to relish the good stuff this holiday season. Whether you’re on the paleo diet, trying to give vegan a go or are just counting calories, I think taking a brief hiatus might be good for us all. Make all the bad things you love so much, and maybe take the time to teach your tricks to someone new this year.
Dish
6 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Gracie
gracie.shepherd@skirt.com
Marioluca Giusti Pitcher mariolucagiusti.com
What’s Cooking?
The Gourmet Shop
Mish Mash Interiors
724 Saluda Avenue Columbia 803.799.9463
4090 Washington Road Evans 706.814.7380
3 Monkeys Fine Gifts 141 Laurens Street SW Aiken 803.648.7592
www.skirt.com november
2012 9
FEEL GOOD NOVEMBER
2/3 of Americans over the age of 20 are obese and by 2030, 336 million people worldwide will be diabetic.
Feel good about breakfast. The NutriBullet by Magic Bullet is portable, easy to use and effortlessly pulverizes fruits, vegetables, superfoods and protein powders into a smooth, drinkable texture. The NutriBullet’s blade design and cyclonic action combine to extract all of the nutrients from your food, helping you get more vegetables and fruit into your daily diet. One of our favorite features of this blender, especially compared to higher-priced options, is that the individual container you mix your smoothie in can go straight from blender base to breakfast on your way to work, thanks to a resealable lid. Available at Target and Amazon.com.
10 november
2012 www.skirt.com
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2012 11
12 november
2012 www.skirt.com
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14 november
2012 www.skirt.com
SKIRT! SAYS: Take a leap of faith when logic lets you down.
82 august w2012 2012 charleston.skirt.com 16 september www.skirt.com
www.skirt.com november
2012 17
DONALD J. PLINER: IN SCULPTURED STEPS
Let’s have an arm party!
contemporary p y jewelry jewellry y • southern s south hern art ar t and jumble of artful gifts
137 laurens st sw • downtown Aiken M-F 10-5:30, Sat 10-5 • closed Sunday alexis bittar
803.649.9663
RefreshAiken@gmail.com
Andrew Hamilton Crawford
I LOVE IT HERE. BUT THE KIDS DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT.
When you need a place to live, choose a place where you can really live. A place that cultivates friendship and inspires an adventurous spirit, where caring isn’t only what’s done for you, but something we all do for each other.
F u r n i t u re
Consignment
Senior Living | Memory Care Call to schedule your visit today!
706.855.6565 Now accepting new consignments! 139-D Davis Rd, Martinez Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm www.designedforchangeaugusta.com
706.922.5106
Newly expanded parking lot in the back. Back door will be open for easy access.
515 The Pass | Martinez, GA 30907 | elmcroft.com
18 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Like us on facebook to see our new arrivals
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2012 19
20 november
2012 www.skirt.com
A perfect gift of good taste and health: pecans of all varieties can be found at Pecans Unlimited.
For the pinnacle of authentic Chinese cuisine in an elegant setting, stop in for lunch or dinner at Shagri-La in Augusta.
Fresh produce, seasonal plants and Christmas trees can be found in the outdoor setting of Good Earth Produce and Garden Center located in Aiken and Augusta.
Shop for fine olive oils and vinegars at The Crescent Olive on Devine Street in Columbia.
Come experience the taste of Red Bowl Asian Bistro located in Aiken & Columbia, SC
Elegant to fanciful: we can help set your table for any occasion.Visit Westend in Columbia.
it’s All
so yummy!
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2012 21
“Guess what I can do?”
Stephanie Hunt
22 september
2012 www.skirt.com
Jump Start
I
am at my desk bouncing from screen to screen, window to window, website to website to blog to inbox, getting dizzy and distracted while trying to convince myself this passes for “work,” and my daughter comes in, her face flushed and glowing from being outside, a halo of sweat beading on her upper lip. “Guess what I can do?” she asks, breathless and excited. “A back double flip? One of those twisty seat-to-seat moves?” I venture, my foggy midlife brain unable to find the term “swivel hips.” Claire’s been jumping on her friend’s trampoline, and her double-gainer grin suggests she’s reached heights approaching cloud nine. “No, a handstand into a backbend!” she announces, triumphantly. We spent endless hours all summer, me as spotter, she kicking up to catch my waiting arm extended like a traffic cop, then I braced her as she flopped over, sometimes more successfully and more gracefully than others. She practiced front-overs on the beach, in my bedroom, in the front yard, in the ocean. Relentlessly. Religiously. She was determined; she was dying to do it. Her arms would ache from hours of trying. She mastered kicking up into a balanced handstand—a marvel in itself in my opinion—and once she came really, really close to tumbling into a backbend without my support, but poor kid, Gabby Douglas she will never be. As my patient yoga teachers can attest, there is not a flexible, gymnastics-prone muscle in my body, and I’m afraid my daughter’s orthopedic inheritance ain’t doing her any favors. But the trampoline did. It gave Claire just the right amount of cushion and confidence to let herself freefall into a backbend. Along with my nonlimber musculature, Claire also inherited my love of trampolines. As a kid, I lived to jump. I adored it. I craved the ping-ponging of my body off those coiled springs; I loved being launched into the sky, the forgiving landing, the slow-learning of, eventually, training my mind and my body into a back flip. I first fell head over heels, literally, for jumping at summer camp, back in the pre-litigious 1970s when our YMCA camp not only offered trampoline as an activity, but encouraged kids to soar, twist and flip on trampolines built into a pit framed by cement block. The camp tramps had fabulous super-duper springy springs, but if you mis-jumped, your skull or other body parts had a high probability of encountering concrete. A scene from the first season of Mad Men, when little daughter Sally Draper runs into the living room with a plastic dry cleaning bag over her head and no adult is remotely interested or concerned reminded me of the oblivious days of those camp death-traps that were my first love. We didn’t have a trampoline at our house, but I made myself at home in my cousin’s backyard, and down the street at the Marlowes’, where their bouncy turf became my playground and training ground and my escape from the ups and downs of life at home amidst a turbulent divorce. I loved the feeling of flying, of being suspended ever so briefly in the air, then on landing the promise of ricocheting back up there again. I loved trying new tricks, finetuning balance with power and height, figuring out how to move and control an adolescent body that otherwise was more or less out of my control. In time I could even do a one-and-a-half front flip—not exactly Olympian gold medal material, but good enough for me. These days when Claire asks, no—begs, for a trampoline, I’m tempted to go against my better, safer judgment and dreams of a decent landscaped yard and let her have the joy of jumping to her heart’s content. Because I know that desire. I know that joy, that compulsion almost, to soar and levitate and rebound against gravity, against all that holds you down, up into the air again. Because it’s what I still long to do. Because now, in the mire of midlife as I feel stuck and motionless in many aspects of work and life, I want nothing more than to bound upward, to jump dangerously high—and when I sink down, to know I’ll bounce back again. Maybe even turn a flip. George Nissen, the inventor of the modern trampoline, supposedly enjoyed jumping until he died at age 96, and at his 80th birthday party the spry athlete sprung into a handstand right on the dining room table. Claire, my little handstand queen, got a kick out of that bit of trivia, although she doesn’t want to wait 70 years to follow suit. “Mom, a front-over was so easy on the trampoline,” she says, with an unspoken please? shining clearly in her eyes. “Claire, that’s great!” I reply, my heart feeling like a tight spring, holding energy and desire in as reason prevails. I pretend I don’t see her look of longing.
Stephanie Hunt is a Charleston-based freelance writer whose work appears in skirt!, Charleston Magazine, Literary Mama and other publications and blogs. Her tramping days are over, thanks to iffy knees and old-lady bladder, but once upon a time she had an impressive back layout. www.skirt.com november
2012 23
We are thankful for soft yarns, warm colors, and the
Fall for Aiken!
A Silver Store and So Much More!
time to knit for the ones we love.
409 Hayne Avenue (at Pendleton)
Aiken, SC 803.642.9524 yorkcottage@att.net
345 HAYNE AVE. SW | AIKEN, SC | 803.644.0990 MON-FRI 11-5 , SAT 11-3 W W W. B A R B A R A S U E B R O D I E . C O M
Ba lay OF NO ag FE W e a RI nd NG Om br e!
20 0 th 9 Sa e Y lo ea n o r f
[
[
GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE!
Our goal is to provide a superior experience for every client; with brilliant color services, distinguished cutting techniques, stunning styling results, and luxurious hair treatments.
1202 Town Park Lane | Suite 103 | Evans, GA 30809 706.922.HAIR (4247) STYLING | COLOR BAR | HAIR SPA
24 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Book your appointments online
tanglesofevans.com
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2012 25
26 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Monday - Friday 10:00am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10:00am - 5:00pm
443 Highland Avenue • Augusta, GA 738-8386 • www.sweetbrierfair.com
Alison W. Lockhart, DMD 5107 Trenholm Road Columbia, SC 29206 803-782-9030
Surrey Center
Shivani A. Patel, DMD 121 Wildewood Park Drive Columbia, SC 29223 803-736-5300
Botox - Third Molar Extractions Teeth Whitening - Implants General, Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry We are Now Welcoming New Patients in Both Locations
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Cosmetology or Massage Therapy find out more at
Miller-Motte.edu or call
866-394-7019 Changing Futures. Changing Lives.® 621 nw frontage road, augusta, ga 30907 MMT.AUG.02458.C.101 • MMTCASM1201 • ©DCE 2012 • Authorized by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Act of 1990. For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed this program, and other important information, please visit our website at: disclosure.miller-mottle.edu
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2012 27
The Junior League of Augusta, Georgia presents
Kick Off the Christmas Season at the CSRA’s Largest Premier Shopping Event. Over 40 Boutiques & Specialty Gift Vendors.
NOVEMBER 16,17,18
at The Legends Club on Washington Road 'SJEBZ /PPO UP QN t 4BUVSEBZ BN UP QN 4VOEBZ /PPO UP QN
Choose from Designer Fabrics, Exclusive Furniture & Accessories Exclusive dealer of Highland House Furniture
$7 FOR ALL 3 DAYS! JOIN US FOR THESE SPECIAL EVENTS!
LADIES NIGHT OUT NOVEMBER 16 t 7PM-10PM
*/ "%7"/$& t "5 5)& %003
Augusta’s Showcase Dealer
This fun event is for all the ladies in the CSRA! Includes live music, hors d’oeuvres provided by the area’s top restaurants and caterers, beverages, and exclusive shopping at the Holiday Market.
t t t t t t t
Your life Your style Your home
320 Baston Road Augusta, GA 30907 | 706.868.5757 www.CurtainCallFabrics.com
Cynthia F. Catts, RD, LD Nutrition Therapy • Weight Reduction • Metabolism Measurement • Menopause Issues • Cholestrol Lowering • Blood Pressure Management • Diabetes Management/Prevention • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
PHOTOS WITH SANTA NOVEMBER 17 & 18
4"563%": ". 1. t 46/%": /00/ 1. Bring your little ones for a photo with Santa in his workshop beautifully decorated by Cudos. $15 includes a visit with Santa, photo session, picture CD, activities and a special treat.
Purchase your tickets now at jlaugusta.org, CZ DBMMJOH or at the Junior League OfďŹ ce )JHIMBOE "WFOVF JO 4VSSFZ $FOUFS Every ticket purchased supports the Junior League of Augusta, Georgia’s mission to improve the lives of women and children. Feel great about the gifts you share this holiday season knowing that a portion of that gift is making a difference in the life of someone in Augusta. 4VQQPSU :PVS $PNNVOJUZ 4IPQ BU UIF )PMJEBZ .BSLFU SPONSORED BY
5160 Woodside Executive Ct. • Aiken, SC 803-642-9360 • cattfood@bellsouth.net 28  november
2012  www.skirt.com
DayBreak Services Include: Companionship | Meal Preparation | Grocery Shopping Household Chores | Laundry Errands | Pet Care Respite Care | Transportation Hospital Sitting | Nursing Home Sitting Assisted Living Sitting Alzheimer’s Care Bathing/Dressing Assistance Medication Reminders
Call for a Free Consultation
1028 Hayne Avenue SW, Aiken, SC 29801 | (803) 226-0288 123 Library Hill Lane, Lexington, SC 29072 | (803) 356-4451 www.daybreakcare.com
AS04-535888
Ask us about Alzheimer’s/LSCOG Vouchers Daybreak is a provider for DOL/EEOICPA
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2012 29
WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THE MANY BLESSINGS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ESPECIALLY OUR GREAT PATIENTS!!!!
2012 CROP PECANS Custom Gift Tins • Gourmet Foods • Unique Gifts
---- Surgical placement of implants ------- Comprehensive gum disease treatments ------- Bone grafts, soft tissue grafts, and deep cleanings ------- Extractions (including wisdom teeth) ------- Regular checkups, x-rays, and cleanings ----
Most insurance accepted. Our staff will gladly file your insurance. *CareCredit Available DR. JUDSON S. HICKEY PERIODONTIST 2315-B Central Avenue | Augusta, GA
706-739-0071
Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm
We Ship Anywhere 706-736-1800 • 877-732-2671 • Fax: 706-364-6888 www.pecansunlimited.com 1704 Central Ave. • Augusta, GA November 10am-6pm (Monday - Saturday)
Capture the colors of fall - On your table
Trees arriving Nov. 16th Frazier Furs • Garland & Wreaths Flocked Trees • Tree Stands Free Cutting and netting
GIFT REGISTRY Calaisio • Pickard • Skyros Designs • Julia Knight Le Cadeaux • Anna Weatherley • Match Pewter Michael Aram • Spode • Simon Pearce
141 Laurens Street, SW | Aiken, SC 803.648.7592
150 Davis Road • Augusta, GA 30907 • 706-550-0227 (Look for the green and white tent!)
Mon-Sat 8 to 8 • Sun 10-8
2300 Whiskey Road • Aiken, SC
(location will be available for all Fall & Christmas items)
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2012 31
32 november
2012 www.skirt.com
Augusta’s Favorite Place for Authentic Chinese Cuisine Ladies Apparel
VOTED BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT FOR 15 YEARS!
Located in Historic Miracle Body promises Summerville their jeans will flatten your tummy, shape your 1502 Monte Sano Ave. hips and thighs, retain Augusta, GA their shape and help you feel good all day 706.738.4888 long! We also carry jeans Mon–Fri 10–5:30 by Simon Chang and French Dressing Jeans. Sat 11-4
BOOK YOUR OFFICE OR FAMILY PARTY TODAY! PRIVATE CATERING FOR ALL EVENTS Shangri-La Chinese Cuisine 2933 Washington Road (Washington Road at I-20)
(706) 667-9362 (706) 364-9222
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Dishes prepared to order, with high quality fresh ingredients for a superb dining experience.
www.skirt.com november
2012 33
5)& .033*4 .64&6. 0' "35 PRESENTS
, 34.6:=D 69:- .3=4>?8,>
Friday, Dec. 7 — Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012
PER RESERVATION
Includes Overnight Stay, Activities and Breakfast for up to 2 Adults
( kids stay and eat breakfast free ) PACKAGE FEATURES
J Overnight stay in a lodge room J Friday night movie J Saturday breakfast with Santa Plus 3 Fun Activities on Saturday Morning: Gingerbread houses with Mrs. Claus Picture with Santa Story time
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Friday, November 16 • 7:30 p.m.
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34  november
2012  www.skirt.com
McCormick, SC
Call 800.491.1764 to make reservations.
For more information visit HickoryKnobResort.com or email jwheatley@scprt.com.
LOVE Of all the guys in this room, I had to lay my eyes on the one who was giving me my grade.
I
Lisa Evans
knew I was falling for him the day I walked into the lecture hall and saw him sitting in the front row. Hunched over a book, he pulled out a black ballpoint pen and scribbled a note in the margin. His eyes, hidden behind his dark-rimmed glasses, didn’t waver even as the noise level of the room rose. The room hushed as a tall man with broad shoulders and messy white hair entered. He introduced himself as Professor Thompson and asked the boy in the front row to stand. This was Tim, our teaching assistant—the one who would lead our tutorials and grade our papers. Of all the guys in this room, I had to lay my eyes on the one who was giving me my grade. Throughout the semester, I enjoyed Tim’s tutorials. The subject matter, political data, could put me to sleep, but Tim made it exciting. He regurgitated Marxist quotes and dressed like a rocker, with a metal chain connecting his wallet to his pants, and he had a thin beard that framed his small, boyish face. He made nerdy look cool. Two months later, I answered an email from Tim, requesting an office assistant. Although he was brilliant, organization wasn’t his strong suit. His tiny home office was cluttered with thousands of articles and newspaper clippings and he offered to pay me $50 for a few hours of work every Friday morning to organize them into binders. Fridays were now my favorite days and I leaped out of bed earlier than my alarm clock and hopped on the long subway ride downtown. We went for lunch at the bar down the street and talked about school, then ourselves—our lives, our friends, our hobbies...and his girlfriend. I knew she existed. I’d seen her stuff around the house. It didn’t bother me. A girlfriend put some distance between what I wanted to happen and what could never happen. That summer, Tim announced that he and his girlfriend were splitting up. She’d moved out and after a weekend of wallowing, he realized he was happy about the change. They weren’t the most compatible couple—she a Sex and the City shopaholic who barged into his office to debate whether Carrie should finally break up with Big while he immersed himself in the political teachings of Gramsci. We met at a bar one sunny afternoon in June. The course was now over and the upbeat atmosphere of the outdoor patio filled with nearby office workers indulging in after-hours drinks got to me, so I indulged in some red wine. It was getting late, but the warm summer air whispered to me to stay out and enjoy myself, so we headed back to his house. As I sipped the last of a bottle of red wine, I felt his hands cup around my shoulders, massaging my sore back. His hands stopped moving and I felt his breath beside my ear, hot and panting. I turned my head and met his mouth. His warm lips tasted better than the full-bodied wine. He pulled me up, our lips still intertwined, and wrapped his arms around my body.
We moved from the patio, through his office and into the kitchen and then down the stairs into his bedroom. He removed my clothes slowly, yet with confidence, and made love to me as though he’d wanted to do this for as long as I had. In the months after, we saw each other infrequently. I had a trip to Europe planned with a girlfriend and the start of the new school year made seeing each other difficult. I didn’t worry—I knew he was the type who needed his space. On one of those infrequent dates, the warm summer air now a cool breeze that made my nose cold, we went to a movie and then for drinks. He hadn’t kissed me all night, and as we sat in the dark bar lit only by candles sticking out of beer bottles, wax of different colors floating down them creating colorful and unusual shapes, he finally brought up the subject of us. “What we shared was beautiful, but I’m not in a place right now where I can be a good boyfriend,” he said. I was crushed, but I understood and didn’t let on how hurt I was. We promised to stay in touch, to be friends and maybe in the future, we could be more. For the next year, I dated on and off, but never seriously, always holding out hope that Tim and I could re-visit our summer romance. We met for drinks the following summer and I was sure this would be our time. “I want to be with you,” I said. He sighed. “I’m sorry, Lis. We’ll always be friends, but it just isn’t right for me.” He talked about the papers he was working on, his PhD, and a conference he was speaking at in October. He’s too busy, I thought. Of course he doesn’t have time to date. Two weeks later, I strolled into the student lounge and there he was. His thick dark-rimmed glasses fell to the tip of his nose while he stared intensely into a book. I took the table near the back of the room—facing him, studying him. Just watching him at work inspired me to study harder, to read more, to do more. Then, my heart stopped. A tall, skinny girl with straight blonde hair that fell down to her waist strolled in. Wearing cargo pants and a t-shirt, she walked up to his table and sweetly brushed his lips with hers. She took the seat in front of him and they talked briefly before she pulled a book out from her backpack and they sat in silence, reading together, their knees touching under the table. I knew her. She was in my class. She was intelligent and said things that made the professor cup his chin with his index finger and say “hmm.” I liked her, and yet here she was sitting with my Tim. I needed to hate her, but I couldn’t. It should have been me, I thought as I buried my head in my book, underlining incomprehensible passages with my blue pen, my mind wandering back to that hot summer night, wishing I could have it all again—the hot humid air, the fruity wine and him—his curly black hair tickling my breasts, the half-empty glasses of wine sitting outside on the patio awaiting our return.
Lisa Evans is a freelance writer from Toronto, Canada. Please visit her website lisa-m-evans.weebly.com. 36 november
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planetnikki [ a visual journal ]
Just this once, I’ll risk getting lost. Just this once,
look around the corner of Now and try to get a glimpse of Just Ahead. I won’t
Just this once, I won’t wish I looked younger, smoother, tauter.
Just this once, I’ll finish something before it’s due instead of dreading the deadline.
Just this once, I’ll pretend to be the expert in the room.
intuition despite warnings from my intellect. Just this once, I’ll assume I’ll have a good time at the party. Just this once again and again, Just this once I’ll trust my
and maybe it will become
a
All I want for Christmas is the smell of flowers when you get off the plane in Honolulu, a hike through a bamboo forest and hours of watching the soul-soothing Pacific. Maybe next year.
habit.
Anyone who reads this page knows I’m a huge Jack Kerouac fan, and I’m rereading In the Night Café by Joyce Johnson, briefly one of his lovers. It’s a beautiful little novel that made a huge impression on me when I first found it years ago. I heard “Look Me Up” from Julien Funk & The Painted Thief on a funny, explicit (yes, full frontal nudity) web series called Hunting Season about the sexual exploits of a group of gay men in Manhattan. Think Queer as Folk meets Sex and the City. The EP is a free download at julienfunk.com.
“Maybe next year.”
A recent surprise package from my London friend included this silk scarf printed with Cecil Beaton’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth on her Coronation Day in 1953.
Nikki Hardin is the founder and publisher of skirt! magazine. She blogs at fridaville.com.
94 augustw2012 charleston.skirt.com 42 november 2012 www.skirt.com
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