Today I gave a talk at my school’s weekly seminar—my swan song of sorts. The title of the talk suggested that I would talk openly about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Which is what I did. Many people came to hear what I would say. And a few came to hear what I would not say.

Addendum (June 1, 2003)

So far, only a few people have responded to this piece, which I sent around as an electronic postcard only yesterday. After all, it is still weekend. But one of the responses touched me deeply. It came from Will Hughes. Here it is in its entirety:

And it was a joy to be listening. It made me realize that it was a while since I had heard you orate. The points you made were good ones, and I appreciated the strong foundations that you have laid for the likes of me to build upon. You have made many things possible here, simply by demonstrating what can be achieved through speaking one’s mind, with no hidden agendas.

I often send around my friends’ responses to my missives, but this time I felt embarrassed even by the thought of doing it. Good bourgeois upbringing, this. However, my embarrassment is far from sufficient not to include Will’s words in my Residua.