Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Brenda Shoffner column

Aug 20, 2012 (Northwest Florida Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The realization blindsided me one recent Saturday morning in Walmart.

There was the tower of school supply lists prominently situated so parents would see it as they entered the store.

But, for the first time in 17 years, I didn't need a list from that display or anywhere else because, for the first time in 17 years, my sons won't need school supplies. By the time you read this, they both will have graduated from college.

Andrew received his bachelor's degree in April, and Kevin will receive his this month.

Wow. Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it Where did those years go My brother thinks I should be celebrating this milestone and, of course, I see his point. My sister-in-law, however, understands why I'm a little sad about it, too.

"It's a mom thing," she said when I shared my revelation with them. Because she's also a teacher, she joked that I could buy supplies for her classroom and, actually, I have donated items to various drives designed to help less fortunate students.

Picking out the necessities and accessories for another school year was mostly a fun tradition: finding the list for your school, grade and teacher, then choosing backpacks (as needed, not every year) and folders, pencils, pens, notebook paper, etc., finally, taking it all home, labeling what you could and carefully arranging it for the first day of school.

Oh, yes, it definitely added up some years, especially in high school (Will they ever use those graphing calculators again ) and later college, but it was worth it. I feel blessed that we could afford it, with the help of Bright Futures scholarships these last four years.

Still, I had to resist the urge to help another mother locate an elusive item, from pointing out the utilitarian plastic pencil boxes on the bottom shelf she was looking for while her daughter was eyeing fancier ones higher up.

Maybe I'll get just one package of new gel pens for work ...

While classes start in earnest on Monday for public schools in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties, band students already have been hitting the books, so to speak.

I was reminded of that during a drive through Niceville when I spotted a tuba player carrying his instrument up the hill along John Sims Parkway in front of the football stadium. I hope there was some cool water waiting at his destination, which seemed to be a practice field.

Pensacola State College is offering a new class this fall that I wouldn't mind taking myself. Special Topics in Communication (SPC 2933) will examine diversity in films, a press release says. Students will view about a dozen films and discuss their portrayal of diverse groups of people over the past 75 years or so.

"This is the first film course we have offered in quite a while. I'm excited about it," said Thom Botsford, head of the English and Communications Department.

Professor Stacey Albaugh was commissioned to design and teach the course as part of a grant at the college, the release says.

Films on the syllabus include "Giant," "Gran Torino," "The Grapes of Wrath," "Fight Club," "Crash," "Brokeback Mountain" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." There's also "Pleasantville," "The Breakfast Club," "Chasing Amy" and "Secondhand Lions" among others.

For more information about the course, call Botsford at 850-484-1447.

___ (c)2012 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) Visit the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) at www.nwfdailynews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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