STUDENTS MAKE MERRY WHILE PROFS COME UP FLAT

JIGS, REELS, AND ROADSIDE BREAKDOWNS

STUDENTS TOOK A WEEKEND OUTING to the small nearby town of Coalisland for traditional dancing and music, returning to Armagh fresh-faced and with a noticeable spring in their step. Coalisland, so-named due to its association with coal mining, was this weekend the home of the regional trials for an all-Ireland song and dance competition.

Along the way to Coalisland, students were able to learn a bit of the history of the area thanks to impromptu minibus lectures from Irish culture professor Margaret McAliskey. Stops were made at the Moygashel Linen Centre for scarves and scones, and the Tyrone Crystal factory so students could get a sense of some of the local artisan traditions.

The minibus pulled into Coalisland to the sound of accordion and tin whistles as youngsters carted musical instruments into the competition hall.

"I watched a fiddle competition, and then some Gaelic-language singing," said Randolph-Macon Woman's Collage student Laura McKean-Peraza. "The doorman said we couldn't film, due to the Child Privacy Act, but I did meet one of the judges who was an Irish dancer."

And not just any dancer-- a "Lord of the Dance," according to McKean-Peraza. "He danced with Michael Flatley, the world's greatest Irish dancer!"

Did he show any of his fancy footwork to the Chapel Hill, NC native? "Not right then and there," she explained. "But he'll be dancing next Thursday night in Dublin, and we'll be there!"

Meanwhile, an adventure of another sort was taking place mere miles away as a group of professors found themselves in a rut-- quite literally.

The group of five had been following the student minibus in a rented Vauxhall until their chauffeur, communications professor John Caputo, lost control of the vehicle and careened into a roadside ditch.

"I was scared for my life," claimed videography professor Dustin Morrow of Temple University.

But within minutes, Caputo and his two sons had sprung into action changing the punctured tire. "The Caputo pit team?" Morrow asked. "I had complete confidence in them."

Within an hour, the spare tire had been successfully attached and the group was ready to regain the highway. Only one problem remained: John Caputo's greasy, oily hands.

IEI Media director Andy Ciofalo rushed to the rescue, drawing from his bag of tricks (a black satchel) a packet of "Cottonelle" moist towelettes which he handed to a grateful Caputo, who vigorously toweled off his soiled fingers with a joyful grin.

The profs took to the road again just in time to see the student bus going back to town in the opposite direction. Professor Morrow, however, was satisfied with his day out.

"It was an adventure in history, culture, and Caputo," he smiled.