While my preparations for the Full Monty shot on the 26th continue (getting more buff, setting up the lights), I want to focus on the memories and meanings of today’s retrospective PaD.
As the die indicates, it represents the Fourth Decade of my time here on earth (1968 – 1977). This was on of the most idyllic times of my life. I was living in Mount Vernon, Iowa working as an Associate Dean of Students at Cornell College. The “Hilltop” as the image of King Chapel shows is a truly lovely setting, and the entire campus is now on the National Register of Historic places! I loved working and living there. It was and is a great little liberal arts College.
I coordinated student activities for nine years during a time when the Country and the Campus were full of activism related to Civil Rights, the Woman’s Movement, and the Viet Nam war. It was an exciting and growthful period for me, and I became much more liberal in my attitudes as a result. Nixon gets his mug here to remind us of that incredible period of intense passions and lively learning.
Sue Titus, who was on the Cornell faculty, and I were married during our years there and we enjoyed being part of a small faculty and administration community that was fairly tight. Ah, the joys and challenges of small town living (3,000 people counting the students.)
I have such great memories of those years you might I wonder why I left? Good question! And the answer is that Sue and I each went separate ways in our careers; she into law and I into human relations consulting. I moved from academia into the business world. Sue became a Professor of Law and then Criminology, and is now a renowned author of crime and criminology textbooks.
My subsequent years in California (30 years this August) have been immensely challenging and different. I feel like I’ve been in adult education and have had major impact on people’s lives, skills, and self-worth. This may not be as idyllic as working on a cozy little campus, but certainly it has been more real in terms of what living is all about. No regrets about the move but lots of sweet nostalgia.