I still teach, but I never cook, rarely eat, and have no social life. On the good days I comb my hair, drive on the right side of the road, and remember my name. October is indeed the cruelest month, and Ms. Mentor estimates that it starts, for academics, on or about September 17. After a bleak start, second semester gets cheery, with Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day and Easter eggies. The sun shines.
Life is good.
But October means dark days, dark clothes, and the year's longest chilly stretch without a break. Too many grant and paper proposals are due. Too many conferences are scheduled. Weary midterm graders jostle each other in O'Hare, DFW, and LaGuardia, where they're at the mercy of uncertain weather, overworked air-traffic controllers, and enraged fellow passengers. Instead of networking and sharing ideas, she found herself racing through airports, cramming her baggage into overhead bins, and starving.