This just in: I finally made the news. No, I was not arrested for public urination on one of my daily walks. (You can see that post, here.) Nor was I hauled away from a Gaza War protest encampment at a major university, but you’re getting warmer. (See recent news from my Alma Mater, here.) No, the fact of the matter is, I made the UChicago Class of 1980 news in my college’s alumni magazine – be it ever so humble.
But wait, there’s more. Or less, as the case may be. The blurb in question reveals nothing at all about me. It only mentions that I “keep in pretty close contact” with three fellow-alums, each of whom has a bio much more interesting than my own. “Which three?” I hear you ask? And where are those bios? Well, if you’re also a UChicago alum, you’ll just have to go read the class notes for yourself. Hey, you can’t expect little old me to do ALL your homework for you, right?
The Spring Issue of the UofC magazine is notable also for reporting on annual faculty awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching, a very big deal where I come from. There’s even an interview in there from Paris, site of the upcoming Summer Olympics, with John MacAloon, an old anthropology prof of mine. Back in the day, he – along with Rick Schweder – co-taught a wonderful course called “Image, Convention, and Reality in Sports.” I forget if it was John or Rick who was the marathoner, but their teaching was excellent, and it kept us all on the edge of our seats. I guess maybe that’s why MacAloon won a Norman Maclean Faculty Award this year.
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I’m probably not submitting anything else for the alumni news any time soon. I mean, nobody needs to hear a blow-by-blow account of an old retired guy getting arrested for public urination. Maybe after my upcoming overseas trips to see my kids? Now there’s something to write home about. Just don’t expect a lot of tedious personal details from me. It’s a great big wide wonderful world out there. And the best news reporting is ever and always outward-focused. Oh, you can quote me on that too.
