Director's Letter   

Dear RC Alums,

      Our Dell --and I hate the Dude ads-- wants to help me write this letter, but I said "no."  Machines are getting me down more than usual, though I must note that the e-mail has been very useful in keeping touch with family and friends lately.  We have had premature births of twins in Murray's family, and the hospital where the little girls stayed for three months set up journal/photo access for everyone to keep up with the news.  The children are home and doing well now.  And Emily, our daughter, who is expecting her first in July, enrolled me in "Your Pregnancy this week" so I could keep up with her.  I am always afraid some current RC student will see this on my computer screen and wonder what in the world is happening.  Also Murray had surgery May 1 for spinal disc problems, and he has been able to e-mail concerned people during what is turning out to be a long recovery.

       However, many hits are just ads or (for me) notices from the Animal Rescue and Foster Program.  We got a very convincing recorded phone message at nine this morning from a young man who sounded so hesitant that I listened for almost a minute before disconnecting.  The give-away is when the recording will not respond to questions and keeps talking on.  I notice that most of my New Yorker daily cartoons now feature some response to automated life.  Jeanne has one taped to her desk in which Tarzan is telling a salesman "Me no want your computer."  Thank Goodness!  Just imagine what grammar check would do to his speech.

      I realize this is not much about RC, but in a way it is.  We remain a stubbornly old-fashioned program with lots of time spent face to face, actually talking to one another.  Most of the technology is helpful, though when grade lists come in, Betty always has to correct "Fs" listed for folks who dropped courses and were not getting recorded as "Ws."  I like the time spent with people, looking at expressions, listening to silence, actually laughing together.  The computers do not record worry lines, or looks of confusion, or happiness that glows.  They are screens not faces.  I hope your faces are serene these days.