By Dr. Bruce Smith ——Bio and Archives--November 10, 2024

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It has taken me many years to arrive at the point where I can write this. For all my days I have wished that other people would share in my sense of wonder and my sense of joy at the things we learn and the beauty we see. I regret to say that it is time to acknowledge that the circle of people who share these things will likely be very limited.

As a student, teacher, and a professor, my enthusiasm and joy at having discovered so much to help us understand the world has brought me much personal satisfaction, but it is a rare thing to ever hear from former students or colleagues. They have their lives, I say silently, and so I console myself with the adage that in the classroom we never know whose life we may touch.

When no longer in the classroom, I pine for the days when I would see the light come into their eyes upon the discovery of an historical insight. When others are unaware, I still enjoy the memories of the journey and the satisfaction of learning in a personal way.

Part of this scarcity of people to share our joys is probably generational. Our parents had lifelong friends, many of whom they had met during the war and just after. They were a literate generation without cell phones or even answering machines. They wrote thank you notes after gifts. They wrote cards. I still remember the names of people my folks met in their hometown or worked with or met for a few weeks during the war that I never met or barely knew.........

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