Old Alums

So D1 starts full time at Jackson Memorial on Tuesday, but yesterday she was asked to lecture to some 3rd year medical students. She called me excitedly to say it went great -- she loves teaching, as long as the students are smart (you don't get much smarter a bunch than med students -- especially those who still care about grades to get into good residencies). I was on the way to the U, to attend the grand opening of the new Student Center. Dana invited me --Dr. Eric couldn't get away from work, and Dana's good friend Pat is the long time Dean of Students -- the new center is her baby. So I arrived on campus, and parked near my beloved old apartment building -- 22. It's now just a well kept lawn. I walked over to the new center, and met Janet --Dr. Steve's wife. Her middle daughter is a UM med student. Janet told me she had spoke to her daughter, who went on happily about a great lecture she attended that day -- by D1! I asked Janet how this was possible. We met when her husband Steve was a first year med student, and I was a 1L. How can our kids now be older? Strange thing, this time is... I met Dana, and we attended the ceremony. The audience was about 500 mostly alums -- many OLDER than we were! The main gift was given by a fellow named Bruce Berkowitz. He's an odd duck. He sat quietly, with his wife, and didn't even speak when the crowd gave him a standing ovation. I guess when you give a university $20 million -- that talks enough. I'd read about huim. He 's a middle class Jewish kid from Boston, about my age, who started a hedge fund. It made him a billionaire. His best friend is a Cuban guy from Miami, who convinced him to move here about 7 years ago. Luckily for the U, his 3 kids all decided to go to college here, and he shyly asked the president if the U had any pressing needs. Well, she said, $20M might help a new Student Center get built. Done. I'd love to have that much money -- but just to give it away like that. I already have a big house, and no longer care about cars or clothes. Stuff doesn't do it for me -- I already like restaurants -- but I need to eat less. But to be able to give away LARGE amounts of money -- that would be fine. After the boring speeches, Dana and I toured the center. We saw the new student government rooms -- amazing. We met a freshman senator -- lovely girl from Connecticut. Dana told her Dr. Eric used to be speaker of the senate --and the rooms they met in were tiny. I told her I moved to Coral Gables from LI -- and never really left. The young lady said she already made her mind up -- she had sand in her shoes, too. We then saw the new Rathskellar -- 4 times the size of the old. We reminisced about our brother Barry's days working at the old one... Dana left for home, as I did. I told Wifey about our big shot D1 --lecturing to future docs about nutrition. Yes -- a strange thing, this passage of time.