Rrecollecting life in Anderson Hall: grieving and a sense of completion

For the past several days, I have been reading past blog postings as I consider whether or not to compile a selection in some sort of publication.  Even if this still nascent project does not bear fruit, the work is providing intrinsic rewards.  It brings back memories of days when I viewed the experience of dorm living with fresh eyes and more than a bit of trepidation. 

A sampling of titles recalled the diverse topics I wrote about:  my role as university teacher, university administrator and public policy commentator; the context of campus living, student-parent relationships and many more. 

Among the titles of my favorites, in the two year span have reviewed so far were these:

·      “Seizing the moment” – how finding a scholarship for a political refugee changed my life.

·      “Aging, death and dying in Sri Lanka” – describing how two old friends living in a developing nation are coping with the ravages of aging

·      “Reflections on social change evoked by my recycled shopping cart” – a critique of naively optimistic expectations on the part of US policy makers for effecting social change in Afghanistan and Iraq.

·       “I am chosen” – about my new granddaughter, recently adopted from India

·      “Gifts of love from parents to children” – about patience and good will during “moving-in” rigors at the beginning of the academic year.

·      “Is it a platonic date or an oo-oo date? – reflecting on a snippet of conversation heard on the Letts-Anderson Quad.

·      “Learning about “T” Ball in Hume Virginia” – How a fun, mutually affirming and non-competitive ball game for 7 and under children in rural Virginia contrasted with turgid, pretentious, deliberations of the National Commission on Electoral Reform held at AU (not to mention the current Presidential campaign!)

Reading the postings also made me sad.  I loved my life in Anderson hall and this experience has reminded me of how much I miss it:  the dinners, the teas, the many impromptu conversations with students, even handing out candy during fire alarm evacuations.  Had I not chosen to spend more that half the year in Singapore, I probably could have continued my active Dormgrandpop role, even if I was no longer teaching at AU.

But I was also reminded of one of my mother’s many aphorisms:  “always leave the stage while the audience was still applauding.”  Better to bid farewell at a time when I could easily have remained than, perhaps, to be asked to move out a few years later.

One of my favorite A.E. Houseman poems comes to mind, this evening.

Into my heart an air that kills, from yon far country blows

What are those oft remembered hills, what spires, what farms are those.

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain.

The happy highways where I went and never can go again.

Sabbatical Proposal, Part II - A ‘trade’ book describing my seven year experience as Anderson Hall’s Faculty Resident

I moved into 101 Anderson Hall in January 2002. In October 2004, I created my blog, Dormgrandpop and posted my first entry. Since then, I have written 508 additional posts. I have not tracked the number of hits, but I know from periodically checking Google links, that it has achieved a fairly wide readership. It is the subject of a Wikipedia entry. It has been mentioned in several AU Annual Reports and was the lead story in one of them.

In Fall 2006, the Style Channel chose Anderson Hall as the site for the ‘reality’ makeover program, ‘My Celebrity Home.’ The makeover was the Anderson Hall first floor lounge, which was recreated to resemble “Dolce,” a Los Angeles restaurant catering to the rich and famous. In December 2006 the program ran more than seven times on the Style Chanel, including four showings in ‘prime time.’ The makeover was the cover story in the Fall 2006 number of American.

In Spring 2007, Associated Press writer, Brian Westley, who had learned of AU’s Faculty Resident program from watching the Style Channel, decided to write a feature story about the program. He spent three hours with students and me, watching final meal preparations, enjoying a dinner and helping with cleanup, while interviewing and photographing participants. The feature story he subsequently wrote, ‘In some Dorms, Not all Residents are Students,’ appeared in more than 200 newspapers and numerous on-line sites. For one day (a slow news day, presumably), it was the most widely read story on Yahoo.com. As the result of Westley’s story, AU’s Faculty Resident program was the subject of short features on at least two (possibly three) Washington DC television stations.

These experiences motivated me to consider writing a ‘trade’ book that would chronicle my experiences. I have some experience in trade publishing. The book that I created and edited for the US Association for the Club of Rome, Making it Happen: A Positive Guide to the Future (1983) sold nearly 10,000 copies and was nominated for a major prize (though it did not win). The co-edited book that was the product of a project I co-led for the Hunger Project, Ending Hunger: An Idea Whose Time Has Come (1985), sold nearly 100,000 copies.

Through a close friend and successful author of trade books, I made contact with a New York literary agent. The agent reacted positively and is looking forward to receiving a proposal. Preparing a proposal and, then, a draft manuscript will be a priority in the fall. Much of the material will come from my blog, which should speed the manuscript preparation process.