Pomp and circumcision
So last weekend was my commencement. Already a bit of a farce, since I don't defend for a week and I don't file the dissertation for a couple months, but it meant a lot to me to be able to walk across a stage with my longsuffering and infinitely supportive dissertation director, HD. So I bought my regalia, knowing that it'll come in handy for the rest of my life. And the tasselled floppy hat is actually quite becoming. I welcome the chance to dress medieval at any opportunity.
My parents came up with one of my sisters, and another sister came in from Minneapolis, toddler in tow. My out-of-town friends put them all up, which was a mercy. Now, the family is very sweet, but everyone's a little slow for various reasons, so it can be trying to be around them. Waitresses have to be interpreted, since my mom's deaf, my sister L has a baby, Dad's in his own world much of the time, and my sister D is, well, D. So there's lots of "She asks 'what would you like to drink?'" And then they have a tendency to talk over each other, Dad reads road signs aloud in lieu of having conversations that require his brain, and Mom has amusingly honed passive aggression into a valid theatrical subgenre. In short, it was good to see them but I'm glad they're gone.
Friday before the ceremony we went to HD's to lift a glass of champagne. Any fears of embarassment were unfounded, since HD is gracious enough to direct conversation in such a way that makes even my dad sound interesting, and she can find common ground with these people with whom she has as much in common as a sea snail has with a mountain goat.
We went to HD's in two cars, because D didn't want to be squished into the van, and thereby hangs a tale. There was one parking spot, so while dad drove around to find another, I ran the ladies up to HD's, and returned to help him out. We finally parked at a metered spot and got to the party a half hour late, but niether I, nor uncharacteristically my Dad, noticed the signage near the parking spot which indicated that after 4:00 pm it became a tow away zone.
So a half hour before my graduation ceremony, the cap, gown, and hood that we had spent the morning de-wrinkling (and whose symbolism we proudly smiled over), was towed away. Dad felt horrible. I just felt frazzled. Well, I thought, I'll be easy to spot; I'll be the one without the gown. In retrospect, it's pretty funny.
Especially because HD didn't let me panic and I got a loaner at the last minute. Huzzah. So I walked and shook the chancellor's hand and posed for pictures, and made my family and a very supportive senior academic colleague very proud.
And the ceremony wasn't even boring: an honorary degree went to Florence Howe, a pioneer in women's studies, and during her speech when she dared to imply that perhaps the reputation of the US might be sullied for the next few decades, some jackass booed her and shouted "Go home!" To which she responded, "right on!" and kept on trucking. We gave her a standing ovation.
My parents came up with one of my sisters, and another sister came in from Minneapolis, toddler in tow. My out-of-town friends put them all up, which was a mercy. Now, the family is very sweet, but everyone's a little slow for various reasons, so it can be trying to be around them. Waitresses have to be interpreted, since my mom's deaf, my sister L has a baby, Dad's in his own world much of the time, and my sister D is, well, D. So there's lots of "She asks 'what would you like to drink?'" And then they have a tendency to talk over each other, Dad reads road signs aloud in lieu of having conversations that require his brain, and Mom has amusingly honed passive aggression into a valid theatrical subgenre. In short, it was good to see them but I'm glad they're gone.
Friday before the ceremony we went to HD's to lift a glass of champagne. Any fears of embarassment were unfounded, since HD is gracious enough to direct conversation in such a way that makes even my dad sound interesting, and she can find common ground with these people with whom she has as much in common as a sea snail has with a mountain goat.
We went to HD's in two cars, because D didn't want to be squished into the van, and thereby hangs a tale. There was one parking spot, so while dad drove around to find another, I ran the ladies up to HD's, and returned to help him out. We finally parked at a metered spot and got to the party a half hour late, but niether I, nor uncharacteristically my Dad, noticed the signage near the parking spot which indicated that after 4:00 pm it became a tow away zone.
So a half hour before my graduation ceremony, the cap, gown, and hood that we had spent the morning de-wrinkling (and whose symbolism we proudly smiled over), was towed away. Dad felt horrible. I just felt frazzled. Well, I thought, I'll be easy to spot; I'll be the one without the gown. In retrospect, it's pretty funny.
Especially because HD didn't let me panic and I got a loaner at the last minute. Huzzah. So I walked and shook the chancellor's hand and posed for pictures, and made my family and a very supportive senior academic colleague very proud.
And the ceremony wasn't even boring: an honorary degree went to Florence Howe, a pioneer in women's studies, and during her speech when she dared to imply that perhaps the reputation of the US might be sullied for the next few decades, some jackass booed her and shouted "Go home!" To which she responded, "right on!" and kept on trucking. We gave her a standing ovation.
posted by James at 10:41 AM
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