So, I haven't exactly been a completely reliable Blogger. No wonder the subscription revenues are down. :
Anyway... so last weekend, I went on the Fordham Alumni Retreat. It was definately an interesting mix of people... graduates from '49 to '02. Admittedly, it was about 2/3 older people, but I didn't really care. In fact, they had a lot to offer, and just seeing all of these people there, thinking of the life history they bring with them, was touching. A few younger people came... Veronica Dagher, Veronica Escobar, and Evelyn O'Hara. I dunno... Evenlyn, by all accounts, is one of those acquaintences that life usually shakes from you after a short period of time, but she has a knack for continuously popping up--either on retreats, dating Roberto... totally random. I don't get her, but... that's not what I came here to talk about.
One person struck me in particular. So picture dinner at the retreat house on Friday night. I'm sitting there with the Veronicas, this younger priest who is leading the retreat, and this other guy. The other guy is a bit scraggley, but not too bad. He starts talking, or, rather, rambling a bit. He does know what he's talking about though--religious history and the background of the church. In fact, he's quite knowledgeable about it. Then, he drops the bomb and just comes out with the fact that he's a "homeless former drug addict." Sitting next to Dahger, he then proceeds to tell her how pretty she is--naturally beautiful, not like how most women cover themselves up will all sorts of unnecessary crap. We're all mildly spooked at this point, but for some reason, I stuck with him, long after everyone else at the table had gotten up. I listened to him, asked him questions. I put myself in his shoes. He kept saying how glad he was to be "surrounded by his peers" on this retreat. Think of it. On this retreat, he gets a clean bed, his own room, and three square meals a day. On this retreat, he's a Fordham alumni surrounded by other alumni. In the rest of his life, he's surrounded by... by dregs, really. Certainly no one else who is college educated--and a double major at that (english and economics.) This is a guy who had a drug problem in his 30's, fell out of society, and just never got back. Now 50, he probably isn't going to amount to much, but on this retreat, he feels like a member of a community--probably something he doesn't feel on a regular basis. It really struck me.
Ok, in other news, I STILL can't find anyone remotely interested in my book from a publishing point of view. All the shit that gets published on a regular basis... and here I am actually believing in what I have to write and no one wants it. And its a meaningful message, too... everytime I talk to students, send them what I have, they really seem interested in it. Its just one more reason to spite Hilary Clinton, who doesn't even write her own stuff and she gets paid millions of dollars. What kind of a message does she have? She's got nothing... she's just an empty, hollow human being, and people were lining up in droves to hear what her ghost writer has to say. And Pete Rose? I'm sure his book will sell, too. Now, don't get me wrong... he should be in the Hall. No Question. But, he's still a pretty low quality person, and I seriously doubt he has anything the least be interesting to say. Its just that these aren't the qualifications for the Hall of Fame. Anyway... so frustrating. I've tried to tap the Fordham network, too... but Fordham itself only wants "academic" works to publish, and the alumni group doesn't have the tools to get me a list of people who are actually in publishing. In fact, the list they gave me had Deirdre and Brian in it. haha... oh well. Ok, back to the rest of my life.