A most memorable day When my younger daughter asked me to
take her to see “our old house,” her birthplace, I had little time to decide
whether to trespass on the property that hadn’t belonged to us for almost
twenty years.
Minutes later, I turned onto the driveway of what had been the
360 Drive-In theater, now a church. On its left border of the driveway was the
property line that bordered our old home. Its new owners had allowed a ten-foot
lane of weeds and briars to grow among the giant mulberry and other trees that
lined that edge.
By the time I’d said, “We’ll have to find a path through
there,” my daughter had found one and was taking pictures of what had been our
side yard and its sizable magnolia, one I’d planted, the very one she’d loved to
climb.
Although we’d escaped without being caught, I have to admit
I wanted to see more; I’d loved that home, built in the early 1920’s, and its
18 acres. My daughter did too. But we didn’t have time for nostalgia; now that
she had a few pictures for her scrapbook, she barely had time to finish packing
for her yearlong trip to Jerusalem.
It seemed that she had quickly compartmentalized her wish to
see our former home; I hadn’t. Finding time to do the work to make it happen
was a problem; so many other tasks were more pressing. So I too set aside the
thought of a homecoming.
One bit of work required a huge chunk of time; I had to
prepare for my Fall semester classes. Rather than relying on notes from
previous semesters, I knew this one presented so many teachable opportunities
that I had to find a way to incorporate all of them. Titled Controversial
Issues, my class was designed to be a hotbed of controversy. Because my
students and I would be meeting before and after the presidential elections and
the anniversary of 9/11, I was thrilled with the possibilities to enhance
awareness on many levels.
Almost immediately, I planned to discuss bias and its
mean-spirited relative, the ad hominem attack. Now that the hope inspired by
the Arab spring had been squandered, I had a perfect example of both. More than
a year ago, in February 2011, there was this:
Out of Thin Air:
Robert Spencer's Loony Rants About the ...Imminent Take Over of Egypt by the Muslim
Brotherhood. Posted on 25 February 2011 by Rousseau
www.loonwatch.com/2011/02/out-of-thin-air-robert-spencer... -
That story would
lead to a discussion of Islam, its culture, and the role it plays in our
American culture as well as that of the rest of the world. Already, plans had
been made for a presentation by Dave Gaubatz, author of Muslim Mafia, a
fascinating and fact-filled book about CAIR and its intentions.
Following that,
we’d dive into politics, with a focus on leadership and its function as a
determinant of progress or the lack of it in the development of societies and
civilizations. That lesson would begin with an especially prescient piece written
almost a year ago:
New
evolutionary psychology claims are that physical stature affects our
preferences in political leadership. A paper published in Social Science
Quarterly ...
www.sciencecodex.com/read/has_our_violent_history_led_to...
Evolutionary psychology: Violent cavemen led to preference for
physically strong leaders now
posted on: october 18, 2011 [my emphasis] 7:07am
New evolutionary psychology claims are that physical
stature affects our preferences in political leadership. A paper published in Social
Science Quarterly says that a preference for physically formidable leaders,
or caveman politics, may have evolved to ensure survival in ancient human
history…
…The authors then carried out two studies, analyzing 467
students from both public and private universities in the United States. The
first study aimed to capture attitudes towards the preferred physical stature
of leaders by using a figure-drawing task…
…In the second test subjects were asked to answer a
questionnaire about their own leadership attributes to consider how height influences
personal perceptions of political leadership and attitudes toward running for
office.
…said Schmitz, "Culture and environment alone
cannot explain how a preference for taller leaders is a universal trait we see
in different cultures today, as well as in societies ranging from ancient
Mayans, to pre-classical Greeks, and even animals."
"Our research and the literature demonstrate that
there is a preference for physically formidable leaders that likely reflects an
evolved psychological trait, independent of any cultural conditioning,"
concluded Murray. "So while at 6'1" Barack Obama towered over the
5'8" John McCain in 2008, perhaps he'll meet his physical equal in one of
the 'big man' governors in the 6'1" Rick Perry or the 6'2" Mitt
Romney in November 2012." [my
emphasis]
During class, I’d planned to present that article for discussion…after
we’d resolved the issue about whether either the first cave man or cave woman
or Adam (as in Adam and Eve) realized they were the first persons on earth. So
much discussion followed after one student asked, “Are you saying that Adam
wasn’t the first man?”
His tone was edgy, as if he’d been threatened or his sphere of influences
had been rattled. “I really don’t know,” I answered, tossing the issue back to
him, as if to ask, “Do you?”
Near the end of our lively discussion, I knew I’d have to wait until the
next class to share both articles. At least that’s what I thought when, near
the end of class, a man in a shirt and tie approached the door.
“Is that him?” asked one of my students. I’d told them that the A-V
director had promised to come to our class to show me how to use its multi
media technology.
I knew the A-V person. That wasn’t him.
Timidly, the man entered. He asked whether he was in Humanities 165.
“Yes,” I answered, “please join us.”
He was older, wore glasses, sported a crew cut. Very thin with a
weathered face, he seemed interested in our discussion. After a few minutes, he
voiced his opinion. His tone was that of someone wise and compassionate.
Class ended. Following a quick meeting with the students who had entered
class for the first time, I walked to the door.
“May I talk to you?” It was the man with the crew cut.
“Yes,” I said, as I motioned for him to follow me as I walked to my car.
He explained that he is a disabled Vet, then mentioned a few of the
complications that presented. “They’re still sorting through my financial aid,”
he said. “I decided to come anyway. Hope you don’t mind.”
I didn’t. He had a lot to offer. At least that’s how it seemed to me.
“I use to be a truck driver. Before that, a landscaper,” he said. Due to
his injuries, he said that could no longer do either. “But I know someone who
knows you.”
I couldn’t imagine who that might be. He seemed to see that.
“I lived in the little house below the main house, the one with concrete
curbing all around it. I heard the sisters say that a Koplen used to own it.”
When he spoke of the curbing, immediately images from my time at the
house near the Drive-In returned. I remembered a few barns I had renovated, and
a two-car garage I never used. Any of them could be homes, meager homes at
best, I supposed.
“Are you that Koplen?” he asked. “I thought you might be.”
“Yes,” I said, without telling him that both of my daughters were born
there. “Yes,” I said again, overcome with thoughts of the many memories I’d
left there.
“Do you think the owners would mind if I visited?” I asked. I’m sure I
sounded humble.
“Sure,” he said, so brightly that I wanted to fetch my children and take
them with me. “They’d love to see you. I’m sure of it,” he said, knowingly.
“Good,” I said, fighting back tears I hadn’t anticipated.
Suddenly I knew of one more thing that would make this semester
unforgettable.
B.
Koplen 9/1/12
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