Listening

The lovely ladies are out of town this week (remember?), so it has been eerily quiet in the house. I moved Huck out of Suzanna's bedroom into the kitchen so that (a) I'll remember to feed him and (b) I can have someone at home to talk to once in a while. He doesn't say much, but he's an excellent listener.

Speaking of listening, I got to hear from some notable persons yesterday when I attended an event on campus that celebrated the progress made thus far in digitizing President Theodore Roosevelt's papers for our library's Theodore Roosevelt Center (more details here). I was on campus anyway for the university's start-of-the-year faculty orientation, so I had time to stop in and listen to some words from Senator Byron Dorgan and Dr. James Hutson from the Library of Congress. I believe that Lieutenant Governor Jack Dalrymple and humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson spoke, too, after I had stepped out.

I heard preliminary reports from Susan indicating that our nephew Davis is indeed as cute as photos and video clips have led us to believe in the months since his birth. I'm eager to meet the little bugger myself this weekend!

P.S. Tuesday night I enjoyed a delicious supper in the back yard of our university president and his wife. It's a tradition that begins each school year, and last year Susan was my date. She was out of town this year, of course, so I attended on my own but ate enough for two, so there's that. I also visited with lots of friendly colleagues, so I had a good time. Highlights from the many tables of food: one of the appetizers consisted of slices of apple and cheese wrapped in bacon; two of the entrées were a steak casserole with stuffing and gravy and chicken breasts in a Mediterranean broth; there were plenty of savory salads and other side dishes; and I chose a huge portion of crème brûlée for dessert. More about President McCallum and video of his State of the University address from yesterday's orientation are available here.

P.P.S. Dear Reader, do you use Facebook? If so, you'll find this article amusing . . . in either a that-is-so-true-and-i'm-not-alone kind of way or wow-i'm-embarrassed-because-i-do-that kind of way.