You're Invited to Ron's Retirement Party! |
At Good Contrivance Farm! |
When: Saturday, September 5
Where: Good Contrivance Farm,
2015 Emory Rd., Reisterstown MD
Time: 6:00 PM-midnight
This is my bucket-list event! It will include a brief reunion concert of Indiscreet, the rock band I played with in San Francisco many years ago. For info. on the band, click here: Indiscreet.
We will provide ample food but could use side dishes or drinks (see below, RSVP form).
Please fill out the RSVP form below. Deadline: April 15.
If you’re coming from out of town, please read special arrangements for out-of-towners. <click here
FAQs
Dress: very casual. Please no high-heels. Sensible shoes only. This is a farm! At some point you’ll be walking through a field.
Children: No children under 14, please. This is a grown-up, night-time party.
Parking: follow the signs. You will park in the rearmost field: click here to see.
Parking 2: if you need to park close to the barn (reserved spaces for older folk etc.), let us know ASAP, as these spaces are limited.
Directions: warning–GPS often takes people on a short cut (Glenn Falls Rd). Don’t do it. You’ll end up on a one-lane road in the woods. Follow the major roads. Look at this map.
What’s the schedule of events? Supper from 6-8:00 PM; entertainment 8-10:00; bonfire from 10:00–midnight.
RSVP: deadline is April 15. We’ll send you two more reminders before that time. Due to logistical challenges, limited seating, etc. we may not be able to accommodate late RSVPs.
To learn more about Good Contrivance Farm, click here.
RSVP Here
A Few Words on Retirement from Teaching
For more than 30 years, I’ve taught kids in college. From an early age (circa 10) this is what I most wanted to do. I’m not sure what put the idea into my head, though I was always an instructive personality (i.e., “bossy”): I like showing people how to do stuff and, we hope, do it better.
While in college, I considered becoming an elementary school teacher. I was good with children and have always gravitated to a kid’s view of the world, where possibilities are numerous and limits are few. But I knew myself well enough to understand that elementary ed would consume every other aspiration I had. (I had so many aspirations!)
Are college kids today different than they were a generation ago? Sure. They may be more cautious and anxious but they are also the most progressive and forgiving. They may be staying home longer and waiting longer to get married, but what’s wrong with that? Their parents like having them nearby. One thing that hasn’t changed: they are as smart now as they have ever been and, at the same time, surprisingly sheltered from a global perspective.
I’ve always said to the kids I taught: “Stop thinking like a student.” In the main, American education is the worst thing that has happened to them. As students entering college, they know mostly how to get by, get over, cut corners, side-step, procrastinate, equivocate, and bullshit. I worried about them every semester, exhorted them to take control of their lives, question authority, take risks, and so on. If they heard nothing else, they heard me applaud their successes, however minor, and wish them well, always. I will miss them mightily.
A Brief Pictorial History of Ron (in no particular order)
