Although I am mercilessly critical of New Englanders who complain about snow and cold weather, as if they just became aware that these sorts of things happen in New England in the winter, and find their reactions to snowflakes—“Whence cometh these strange and terrifying white particles from the sky?”—highly amusing, now that it is March I am ready for winter to be over. We have had a real winter this year, with several significant snow falls and frequent dips at... Read more
Jeanne and I are the living embodiments of the old adage that “opposites attract.” Quickly. We knew within a week or so of meeting each other that something serious was up. We are so different in so many ways, beginning with her extreme extroversion and my extreme introversion, that it caused a few people to pause when the two of us first set up shop together. My minister father, who had known Jeanne for ten years before I met her, violated... Read more
In my early years of teaching, I used to include one of Woody Allen’s insights in the syllabus for every one of my classes: “80% of success is showing up.” Although I’m far less anal about taking attendance than many of my colleagues, from semester to semester I tweak and fine tune my course offerings so that success is impossible without regular, indeed almost perfect, attendance as well as a commitment to daily preparation. Frequent unannounced reading quizzes (that can’t... Read more
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