College Reunion Reflections and Time Warp

RantWoman is not clear that her adoring public is clamoring for more evidence of RantWoman's mind wandering back and forth between the 1980's and the present, but RantWoman did promise...

RantWoman has no plans physically to attend her 30th college reunion but will accept a brunch invitation from the new alumni of the Two Dickinson St. Co-op. RantWoman will attend electronically with offerings of recipes and reflections and references to options in hi-vis garments conveniently created in "Safety Orange," and not just because orange and black are the school colors.

 The 2 Dickinson St Co-op, RantWoman's college domicile for 2 of her 4 years. RantWoman senior year lived behind the third floor window on the upper right. RantWoman liked the word co-op partly because RantMom also lived in a co-op when she was in college. RantWoman thinks RantMom's single sex co-op with a house mother who invited her charges in to watch Lawrence Welk on Saturday nights was, um, another world compared to 2D. .

For just one example:

·       RantWoman, you know that sit-in you had during finals week about divestment from corporations doing business in S. Africa? What do you have to say 30 years on?

 

o   Umm, yeah. RantWoman has a life and visible roles in matters of public interest. And RantWoman is STILL gosh-dangit going to risk candor and reflection.

 

o   Maybe RantWoman’s oddest regret: RantWoman thinks it would have been decidedly on-point to be better informed about the Truth and Reconciliation process that occurred after Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The best RantWoman can report is having listened to S African Quakers talk about what a big deal it was sometimes for people of different races just to pray together.

 

o   Oh and RantWoman learned in the remembrances after Mandela’s death about Mandela’s diplomacy with other African countries

 

·       Closer to campus.

 

o   The sit-in occurred because President Bowen gave a statement after the Board of Trustees meeting. The Board again failed to do anything in response to a student petition. The Daily Princetonian (“The Prince”) reported that Pres. Bowen said the matter was closed. RantWoman does not remember the exact wording. Pres. Bowen told angry divestment movement leaders that he was misquoted. The campus divestment movement asked Pres. Bowen to clarify or ask for a correction.  Pres. Bowen refused; he said if he asked for a correction people would think all the times he did NOT ask for a correction that what the Prince prints is true. Well, NO. Most of the student activists also sometimes got misquoted by the Prince, but that time…

 

o   While preparing for the sit-in RantWoman fielded a call from a wonderful African-American student who cheered on the sit-in but said he could not participate. He went to college on an ROTC scholarship and did not want to do anything to endanger his commissioning.

 

o   RantWoman was astounded by the LARGE percentage of her 2 Dickinson St housemates who participated in the sit-in. RantWoman has sometimes just had to grab for whatever unconventional success indicator comes along, in this case “highest participation rate of any housing unit on campus…”

 

o   RantWoman thinks it is VERY surreal to have a sit-in first thing in the morning, get scooped up and transported to the borough police, processed and released in time to make a final at 1:00 pm.

 

o   RantWoman has absolutely no regrets that one of the people RantMom met on her first tour of campus was a proctor (campus security officer) who wanted to know whether RantWoman would be willing to deliver summons for a disciplinary hearing to her numerous housemates who participated. RantWoman does not remember whether or not she just let the proctor deliver the summonses.

 

o   RantWoman has absolutely no regrets that she sent RantMom off to see what there was to be seen on Nassau St. while said disciplinary hearing took place.

 

o   By the way, RantWoman was flattered actually earlier in the year when she and other noted campus political activists featured prominently in the editorial page of the campus newspaper’s annual joke issue. The RantDad school of media consulting would say “I don’t care what you say about me, just keep saying it!”

 

 

·       RantWoman, do you still go to protests?

 

o   Sometimes RantWoman finds protests incredibly exhilarating. The reasons for this vary. Sometimes RantWoman is grateful also to have words and wit in public meetings!

 

o   Nowadays as a result of DNA Lotto and midlife vision meltdown, RantWoman goes about with Ambassador Thwack, the Badly Behaved White Cane and Anger Management Consultant. RantWoman knows several people blinder than herself who do not appear to get as stressed out as RantWoman does. RantWoman has learned she is about average in terms of some vision actually being harder to deal with that less vision. RantWoman has no particular interest in being average but has learned not to add dodging tear gas and irritable people to the mix. So sometimes RantWoman stays home, sees what there is to see via Twitter, or tries to send peaceful constructive energy.

 

o   RantWoman has also become Protest Curmudgeon:

 

§  NO, you may NOT abuse your children while on peace marches.

 

§  Dude, that female officer probably did not need to pepper spray you in the face, but ya know, she was probably tired and cranky and you certainly could have asked whatever you needed to ask about of one of the other officers who is more your size.

 

§  NO, You may NOT protest capitalism with brand new projectiles. How about options that are organic, shade-grown, AT LEAST recycled????