ZTF: Freedom’s Orbit
Second chances and renewal came to mind when I learned that the comet “ZTF” will become visible soon, after a cosmically brief 50,000 years. It’s never too early … Read more
Howard R. Wolf
Some Bomb Cyclone Lessons
Here are some “bomb cyclone” lessons many of us learned during the recent episode. Bomb cyclone lessons learned: Most of us turn out to be more self-reliant and … Read more
A New Year’s Tribute to the No. 2 Pencil
The author began writing with a No. 2 Pencil and ink pen whose nib could be dipped into an inkwell set into a desk. As we age, Robert … Read more
A Cup – If Not a Tankard – O’Kindness
A friend in Peterborough, New Hampshire (Thornton Wilder’s model for Our Town), just taught her last class after sixty years of pedagogy during which time she devoted herself … Read more
A Maxi-Holiday for a Mini-Herd
Wilma the bison has been alone too long. At twenty-nine, advanced age for a bison, she now will be part of a mini-herd. I was pleased to learn … Read more
‘Clarity, Mr. Wolf, Clarity!’
A nationally known professor returned my first paper with a devastating “C –” intoning, “Clarity, Mr. Wolf, clarity!” I took a wanderjahre between my sophomore and junior college … Read more
Lady Liberty Sings the Blues
Lady Liberty still beckons as she sings the blues. “Behold! I do not give lectures…” (Walt Whitman) A marketable Parisian-style literary critic who taught in SUNY-Buffalo’s English Department … Read more
Gnawing Through Academe: The Beavers
The Beavers saw themselves as academic royalty, gnawing their way to the upper branches of the university money-tree. Far from burning the midnight oil or scholarly tallow (with … Read more
The Particle Poet’s Inflammatory Smoking Jacket
One colleague’s smoking jacket was rumored to be the same one he had worn for twenty years without being dry-cleaned. Most faculty dressed casually in the once upon … Read more
A Professor Learns that Every Man Is an Island… For Better and Worse
Bubble-Wrapped Professor Arriving at SUNY-Buffalo in the midst of the anti-war movement and counter-cultural atmosphere (festive and communal), I assumed I would be joining a department in which … Read more
