Hi everybody. You all have been on my mind lately; especially after I had happy birthday notes from Stacey and Christina on facebook yesterday and an email from Tim earlier this week. It was so great hearing from you! I figured maybe I'd let everyone know what's been going on with me this summer and hopefully hear what all of you have been up to. At the end of June I went to Creation (http://www.creationfest.com/ne/). I was there for five days and worked crazy hours but did get to see some of my favorite musicians at night including my very favorite Chris Tomlin!
My brother and sister-in-law asked me to be godmother to my youngest nephew and of course I jumped at the opportunity so I headed to their house Sunday July 27th only to get a phone call when I got there to learn my office at church had been broken into and about $200 of our Relay for Life money had been stolen. A couple of people at church made donations to replace the stolen money but it was an upsetting experience. After the baptism was over I headed home since the Vacation Bible School we had put together started that night. We had a great time with the kids that week. We gave them some items to collect for some mission projects and a challange to bring in a certain amount and if they met the challenge they would be able to "slime" me and the Pastor. Needless to say, they met their challange and our last evening together those sweet kids I had spent the week with were circled around me chanting, "Slime her" at the top of their lungs. It was incredibly gross but they enjoyed it. I've been planning several more activities for them in the near future. They managed to bring back some memories earlier this summer when I had the younger youth group in to spend the night at church and heard them playing truth or dare when they thought I was sleeping. I was transported back in time and was suddenly 12 again and spending the summer in WV...
My next "major event" is Relay for Life (to raise money for the American Cancer Society to fight cancer). Our Relay weekend is September 5-6th and quickly approaching. I've had a Relay team for several years now but this year it has taken on a more special meaning since the woman I called my second mom passed away from cancer this past December.
I think that covers most of the highlights for me this summer - I hope all of you had a wonderful summer. I'd love to hear all about it.
Tonya
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Summer reunion!!
Sounds like a great idea. I know that it would be very hard for our family to take a trip somewhere for a weekend, though not impossible. I could always go by myself. Since so many of us are located in the DC/Baltimore area (or work there on occaision like Alex), perhaps we can meet in either city for the day. I have a deck, grill, and backyard; so you are welcome to come to Rockville, MD.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Reunion?
Hey gang!
Summer is upon us. Would anyone be up for a weekend reunion in July/August?
Thoughts?
Cheers!
Alex
Summer is upon us. Would anyone be up for a weekend reunion in July/August?
Thoughts?
Cheers!
Alex
Friday, April 18, 2008
Follow up
1. The email I received from the blog on Mark's post got truncated. I only received the first few sentences. If this happened to you, please go directly to the blog to read Mark's excellent post and update on his life. Go to http://bronchojunction.blogspot.com/
2. Chris, loved the video on disco dancing. I remember a few things about dances. Back in '78 and maybe even '79 we actually had live music on occasion and dances were held outside in the gym. I am recalling Bluegrass and Country, formats I had yet to be introduced to. I guess that got too expensive. Later on, we danced in the cafeteria, where John France was often the BJ DJ. Songs that were usually played included Stairway to Heaven, Donna Summer (Last Dance and MacArthur Park), and Funkytown.
3. Alex, your letter/post regarding the food petition was excellent. On the one hand, anaphylactic food allergies are serious and scary. On the other, I think some parents may create neurotic children by being overly worried. Since bans are unlikely to be effective anyway (are you going to have teachers inspect lunches, looking at food labels to ensure no nut products were used?), I agree that education is likely better. However, the most effective option would be for all teachers to have an Epi-pen on hand, be trained how to use it, and be trained to recognize signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis. Many county school systems are uncomfortable with this, and there is limited data, but this is probably going to be your most effective method to save lives.
4. Need to hear from more of you. John, Tim, Cas, what have you been up to the last few decades?
2. Chris, loved the video on disco dancing. I remember a few things about dances. Back in '78 and maybe even '79 we actually had live music on occasion and dances were held outside in the gym. I am recalling Bluegrass and Country, formats I had yet to be introduced to. I guess that got too expensive. Later on, we danced in the cafeteria, where John France was often the BJ DJ. Songs that were usually played included Stairway to Heaven, Donna Summer (Last Dance and MacArthur Park), and Funkytown.
3. Alex, your letter/post regarding the food petition was excellent. On the one hand, anaphylactic food allergies are serious and scary. On the other, I think some parents may create neurotic children by being overly worried. Since bans are unlikely to be effective anyway (are you going to have teachers inspect lunches, looking at food labels to ensure no nut products were used?), I agree that education is likely better. However, the most effective option would be for all teachers to have an Epi-pen on hand, be trained how to use it, and be trained to recognize signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis. Many county school systems are uncomfortable with this, and there is limited data, but this is probably going to be your most effective method to save lives.
4. Need to hear from more of you. John, Tim, Cas, what have you been up to the last few decades?
Belated update from Mark Elenko
Hi everyone. I’m sorry that it has taken me over a month to finally post something; a delay that reflects both my current crazed schedule and the degree to which I was knocked for a loop by Matthew’s email. Part of that shock was going from my long held fond and fuzzy sense of my time at BJ as being the best part of my childhood to the realization that I don’t really retain many concrete memories, and that the people whom I remember as children had instantaneously gained a quarter century. Whew. In any case, I’ll try for an update somewhere between Tanya’s concision and Chris’s full-bore narrative.
This post turned out to be longer than I planned, but I’ve been typing in between steps of an experiment which is taking awhile. I’ve really enjoyed reading other people’s updates and I look forward to more.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Who is responsible?
Recently a group of parents, in an attempt to make their children feel better, have decided the best course of action is to ban foods from the schools and classrooms. I have written a response (below). I would love an email from each of you with respect to how you feel on this issue (even if you don't agree with me). Especially you Dr. Mintz!
Best Regards,
Alex
---
Dear AFN Members,
With a Petition entitled: "Petition to Revise Acton Public Schools' Wellness Policy" you might think it harmless to endorse such a petition. I do not. The people who have endorsed this letter do not.
The petition asserts in the first two paragraphs:
I appreciate the earnest efforts of these committed parents who are doing what they think is best. Unfortunately, I think their efforts also constitute an unreasonable intrusion into the lives of children who are not their own. From the tone of these paragraphs it would seem the petitioners are under the impression that many of us in the community are either (a) uninformed; or (b) not able to help our children make good food choices when they are outside of our direct supervision.
On the issue of protection of children with life-threatening food allergies. I am very sympathetic to the issue. I had asthma and allergies as a child and that put me at the highest risk for death from anaphylaxis.
Not being able to breath is, from my own experience, one of the most terrifying experiences you can have. It is scary when it is happening to you, and from the looks in my parent's eyes, it was just as scary for them when they realize they could do very little for me other than seek medical attention. It is also scary for the other children around you.
That being said, outside of the youngest grades (daycare and preschool) where children are prone to put things in their mouths unexpectedly, eliminating the source of anaphylaxis does not make sense. Education as opposed to elimination is the best defense for children against death from anaphylaxis. From my earliest memories, I always knew I was allergic to eggs and milk. I also always knew I should not eat things that could not be guaranteed to be free of eggs and milk.
My parents helped me take responsibility for my own safety no matter what environment I happened to be in. It is the same reason that my wife and I taught our children to swim at a very early age. We will not be able to control where they go in life, but we can make sure that it is very unlikely they will drown in a pool.
The story of the last child to die in Massachusetts of an anaphylactic reaction to food is especially sad. As reported on CNN, Brenton Schivley was always very careful about what he ate -- until September 1, 2007. On that day he was at a friend's house and took a cookie from a bowl on the kitchen table.
He took a bite of the cookie and he said to his friend, 'I shouldn't have eaten that.'
Severely allergic to peanuts, the 16-year-old from western Massachusetts made the dire mistake of not asking about the ingredients. Within minutes he developed a severe allergic reaction to the cookie, which contained peanuts. Within an hour, he was dead.
"He should have asked [about the ingredients] but he didn't," his mother Caryl Schivley reported.
Experts say people with severe food allergies should always carry self-injectable epinephrine, a form of adrenaline usually carried in a small device called an Epipen, in case of accidental ingestion of an offending food. However, the study found that the majority of those who died did not have epinephrine administered in a timely manner.
After eating the cookie, Brenton took an over-the-counter antihistamine but that didn't help. His mother said the Epipen that Brenton normally carried in his backpack was not with him.
Knowing he was in danger, Brenton called his mom. She raced to him with his injectable epinephrine within four minutes, but she estimates at least half an hour had elapsed since he had eaten the cookie. He had collapsed on the sidewalk by the time she was able to administer the epinephrine. "We called the ambulance and they could never revive him," his mom said.
The "sooner these reactions can be treated with epinephrine, the more likely you are to have a good outcome," said Dr. Hugh Sampson, director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a study co-author. Sampson likens an allergic reaction to a "snowball coming down a mountain." At the top of mountain it's small "but by the time it gets to the bottom of the mountain it becomes huge."
For those with food allergies, vigilance about food preparation is essential to staying safe.
The last child to die in Acton (1997) was a teenager who was allergic to milk and ate something she shouldn't in her own home and then went to practice without her epipen.
In my opinion people urge us to make accommodations around food, only because it seems like something we can actually accomplish. What about the Acton children who have anaphylaxis when stung by bees? I don't see this mentioned anywhere in the proposed wellness policy changes. Is animal induced anaphylaxis any less deadly? Why not simply get rid of bees and wasps in and around the school zones.
The bottom line is that you can't control what your child will be exposed to over their lifetime. You can start early and often to reinforce how they should deal with their own allergy. The good news about Anaphylaxis is that it is highly treatable - [ see http://alexhorovitz.com/Anaphylaxis.pdf ]. The risk that a parent looses a child to allergy induced anaphylaxis approaches zero as long as we as a community know how to spot the symptoms and provide prompt medical care.
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network - the most vocal advocacy group for food allergy sufferers - actually recommends against food bans because they lead to a false sense of security. If eating a particular food can kill you, you should simply be taught that you shouldn't eat anything given to you by others until you are old enough to sort these things out yourself.
As for the supposed "Culture of food" you cite as exclusionary, what evidence do you have that this is actually causing children to feel excluded? I know, from first hand experience growing up, at events where food was involved I could not eat foods that contained eggs or milk. As it turns out, if you've never had cake (or insert any food here) you don't actually miss it. How could you? Could it be that you are projecting your own feelings of exclusion onto your children unnecessarily?
Wouldn't it be better to help your child cope with these feelings of exclusion? Afterall, there is a high likelihood they will be stuck with their allergy for the rest of their life. In my opinion, as a parent of an allergic child, you should be encouraging your child not to place a great deal of emotion in not being able to eat something they are allergic to.
Why do you want to deprive other children of their ability to enjoy something they are not allergic to? Put another way, why shouldn't we assign the lowest grade on a test to every student? In this way, no child would feel excluded simply because they could not do something (say math or english) as well as the other children in the class.
I think your proposal is a slap in the face to all of the School personnel who work tirelessly to provide the best educational environment for our children. Trusting our schools and teachers to make good decisions about the day to day education of our children, even when we might not personally agree with every individual action, is something we as parents who choose the public schooling option must learn to live with.
Life is about choices. There is no such thing as a universally bad food. For different people different foods can lead to different outcomes. AND, as you might recall, what we learn about food is constantly changing. Do you remember how surprised researchers were to find out that transfats were a much bigger problem than the actual fats they were engineered to replace (again because we felt those fats were harmful).
In so much as we are all trying to raise healthy children, I think that your petition is unnecessary. In so much as allergic children need to take responsibility as early as practicable for the implications of their particular allergy, your petition is counter productive. Perhaps a greater level of trust in our children's natural ability to do the right things is all that is needed.
I think most parents in this town are responsible enough to handle their own children's dietary needs without additional rules foisted upon them. If you are someone who still feels that your child needs this type of monitoring with respect to food and nutrition, I would highly encourage you to consider the excellent home schooling options available here in Acton ( http://www.voyagersinc.org ).
I would ask AFN members not to sign onto this seriously flawed petition to revise our wellness policy.
Best regards,
Alex Horovitz
7 Jefferson Drive
Acton, MA 01720
Best Regards,
Alex
---
Dear AFN Members,
With a Petition entitled: "Petition to Revise Acton Public Schools' Wellness Policy" you might think it harmless to endorse such a petition. I do not. The people who have endorsed this letter do not.
The petition asserts in the first two paragraphs:
In order to protect our children with life-threatening food allergies, juvenile diabetes, celiac disease and to address the overall health of all students, we ask the administration and Acton School Committee to make changes to the current Wellness Policy.
As it stands, policies regarding the use of food in classrooms are determined by individual principals, teachers and PTO’s. In addition, the culture of food in the Acton schools excludes many children, while putting their health at serious risk.
I appreciate the earnest efforts of these committed parents who are doing what they think is best. Unfortunately, I think their efforts also constitute an unreasonable intrusion into the lives of children who are not their own. From the tone of these paragraphs it would seem the petitioners are under the impression that many of us in the community are either (a) uninformed; or (b) not able to help our children make good food choices when they are outside of our direct supervision.
On the issue of protection of children with life-threatening food allergies. I am very sympathetic to the issue. I had asthma and allergies as a child and that put me at the highest risk for death from anaphylaxis.
Not being able to breath is, from my own experience, one of the most terrifying experiences you can have. It is scary when it is happening to you, and from the looks in my parent's eyes, it was just as scary for them when they realize they could do very little for me other than seek medical attention. It is also scary for the other children around you.
That being said, outside of the youngest grades (daycare and preschool) where children are prone to put things in their mouths unexpectedly, eliminating the source of anaphylaxis does not make sense. Education as opposed to elimination is the best defense for children against death from anaphylaxis. From my earliest memories, I always knew I was allergic to eggs and milk. I also always knew I should not eat things that could not be guaranteed to be free of eggs and milk.
My parents helped me take responsibility for my own safety no matter what environment I happened to be in. It is the same reason that my wife and I taught our children to swim at a very early age. We will not be able to control where they go in life, but we can make sure that it is very unlikely they will drown in a pool.
The story of the last child to die in Massachusetts of an anaphylactic reaction to food is especially sad. As reported on CNN, Brenton Schivley was always very careful about what he ate -- until September 1, 2007. On that day he was at a friend's house and took a cookie from a bowl on the kitchen table.
He took a bite of the cookie and he said to his friend, 'I shouldn't have eaten that.'
Severely allergic to peanuts, the 16-year-old from western Massachusetts made the dire mistake of not asking about the ingredients. Within minutes he developed a severe allergic reaction to the cookie, which contained peanuts. Within an hour, he was dead.
"He should have asked [about the ingredients] but he didn't," his mother Caryl Schivley reported.
Experts say people with severe food allergies should always carry self-injectable epinephrine, a form of adrenaline usually carried in a small device called an Epipen, in case of accidental ingestion of an offending food. However, the study found that the majority of those who died did not have epinephrine administered in a timely manner.
After eating the cookie, Brenton took an over-the-counter antihistamine but that didn't help. His mother said the Epipen that Brenton normally carried in his backpack was not with him.
Knowing he was in danger, Brenton called his mom. She raced to him with his injectable epinephrine within four minutes, but she estimates at least half an hour had elapsed since he had eaten the cookie. He had collapsed on the sidewalk by the time she was able to administer the epinephrine. "We called the ambulance and they could never revive him," his mom said.
The "sooner these reactions can be treated with epinephrine, the more likely you are to have a good outcome," said Dr. Hugh Sampson, director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a study co-author. Sampson likens an allergic reaction to a "snowball coming down a mountain." At the top of mountain it's small "but by the time it gets to the bottom of the mountain it becomes huge."
For those with food allergies, vigilance about food preparation is essential to staying safe.
The last child to die in Acton (1997) was a teenager who was allergic to milk and ate something she shouldn't in her own home and then went to practice without her epipen.
In my opinion people urge us to make accommodations around food, only because it seems like something we can actually accomplish. What about the Acton children who have anaphylaxis when stung by bees? I don't see this mentioned anywhere in the proposed wellness policy changes. Is animal induced anaphylaxis any less deadly? Why not simply get rid of bees and wasps in and around the school zones.
The bottom line is that you can't control what your child will be exposed to over their lifetime. You can start early and often to reinforce how they should deal with their own allergy. The good news about Anaphylaxis is that it is highly treatable - [ see http://alexhorovitz.com/Anaphylaxis.pdf ]. The risk that a parent looses a child to allergy induced anaphylaxis approaches zero as long as we as a community know how to spot the symptoms and provide prompt medical care.
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network - the most vocal advocacy group for food allergy sufferers - actually recommends against food bans because they lead to a false sense of security. If eating a particular food can kill you, you should simply be taught that you shouldn't eat anything given to you by others until you are old enough to sort these things out yourself.
As for the supposed "Culture of food" you cite as exclusionary, what evidence do you have that this is actually causing children to feel excluded? I know, from first hand experience growing up, at events where food was involved I could not eat foods that contained eggs or milk. As it turns out, if you've never had cake (or insert any food here) you don't actually miss it. How could you? Could it be that you are projecting your own feelings of exclusion onto your children unnecessarily?
Wouldn't it be better to help your child cope with these feelings of exclusion? Afterall, there is a high likelihood they will be stuck with their allergy for the rest of their life. In my opinion, as a parent of an allergic child, you should be encouraging your child not to place a great deal of emotion in not being able to eat something they are allergic to.
Why do you want to deprive other children of their ability to enjoy something they are not allergic to? Put another way, why shouldn't we assign the lowest grade on a test to every student? In this way, no child would feel excluded simply because they could not do something (say math or english) as well as the other children in the class.
I think your proposal is a slap in the face to all of the School personnel who work tirelessly to provide the best educational environment for our children. Trusting our schools and teachers to make good decisions about the day to day education of our children, even when we might not personally agree with every individual action, is something we as parents who choose the public schooling option must learn to live with.
Life is about choices. There is no such thing as a universally bad food. For different people different foods can lead to different outcomes. AND, as you might recall, what we learn about food is constantly changing. Do you remember how surprised researchers were to find out that transfats were a much bigger problem than the actual fats they were engineered to replace (again because we felt those fats were harmful).
In so much as we are all trying to raise healthy children, I think that your petition is unnecessary. In so much as allergic children need to take responsibility as early as practicable for the implications of their particular allergy, your petition is counter productive. Perhaps a greater level of trust in our children's natural ability to do the right things is all that is needed.
I think most parents in this town are responsible enough to handle their own children's dietary needs without additional rules foisted upon them. If you are someone who still feels that your child needs this type of monitoring with respect to food and nutrition, I would highly encourage you to consider the excellent home schooling options available here in Acton ( http://www.voyagersinc.org ).
I would ask AFN members not to sign onto this seriously flawed petition to revise our wellness policy.
Best regards,
Alex Horovitz
7 Jefferson Drive
Acton, MA 01720
Monday, April 7, 2008
Thursday night dances!
Dance lessons for those in need. Remember thursday night dances? Or were they wednesday nights? I can't remember.
christina
christina
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Bad Voodoo's War
My friend Deborah Scranton has another one of her movies out this week. You can watch it Tuesday night (April 1) on Frontline...
She also made The War Tapes. A fascinating look the front lines from the people who are there.
If you have the chance to watch, Deborah's stuff is always good for the mind...
She also made The War Tapes. A fascinating look the front lines from the people who are there.
If you have the chance to watch, Deborah's stuff is always good for the mind...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Good News
Here's my update as to what's going on with me lately. The big news is that I have a new nephew!! He was born Friday March 14th and his name is Nathan Edward. (Edward was my grandfather who passed away when my brother and I were in middle school.) He is absolutely adorable. My older nephew, Jack, is enjoying being a big brother (so far) and loves telling me stories about the baby. My other big news is that my church had advertised for a part time Christian Education and Youth Director and I am very happy to tell you all that I got the job. It will make my schedule slightly more interesting but well worth it. Our next big project with the kids is that on April 18 - 19th we will be doing World Vision's 30 hour famine program to help raise money for hungry children around the world. So for 30 hours me, some other leaders, and a group of teenagers, will have only juice and water - I'm starting to fear a revolt half way through. This is the first year our youth group has participated and it will be interesting to see how it goes.
I think that covers my news for now. I hope all of you are doing well and I hope to hear from you soon.
I think that covers my news for now. I hope all of you are doing well and I hope to hear from you soon.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Median Isn't the Message (by Stephen Jay Gould)
Prologue: I am getting to be of the age, aren't we all, where friends and others I know are getting the diagnosis of cancer. When confronted with Cancer, there is no way to not be scared.
I remember a couple of years back a routine ultrasound tagged me with an enlarged spleen. At the time, My doctor told me that she wanted me to see a specialist. She failed to explain to me that I was going to see an oncologist.
I'll always remember the palpable fear as I read the entry door to the waiting room. Oncology/Hematology. Wow. Cancer.
I will always remember the relief I experienced when the doctor saw me and uttered these words:
Test proved him right. Phew.
So, for the people out there who are confronted with a diagnosis of cancer or have friends who face this disease, I hope you will refer them to this entry. It is a wonderful essay by Stephen Jay Gould and it brings an important perspective to the statistics of the disease.
My life has recently intersected, in a most personal way, two of Mark Twain's famous quips. One I shall defer to the end of this essay. The other (sometimes attributed to Disraeli) identifies three species of deceit, each worse than the one before - lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Consider the standard example of stretching the truth with numbers - a case quite relevant to my story. Statistics recognizes different measures of an "average," or central tendency. The mean is our usual concept of an overall average - add up the items and divide them by the number of sharers (100 candy bars collected for five kids next Halloween will yield 20 for each in a just world). The median, a different measure of central tendency, is the halfway point. If I line up five kids by height, the median child is shorter than two and taller than the other two (who might have trouble getting their mean share of the candy).
A politician in power might say with pride, "The mean income of our citizens is $15,000 per year." The leader of the opposition might retort, "But half our citizens make less than $10,000 per year." Both are right, but neither cites a statistic with impassive objectivity. The first invokes a mean, the second a median. (Means are higher than medians in such cases because one millionaire may outweigh hundreds of poor people in setting a mean; but he can balance only one mendicant in calculating a median).
The larger issue that creates a common distrust or contempt for statistics is more troubling. Many people make an unfortunate and invalid separation between heart and mind, or feeling and intellect. In some contemporary traditions, assisted by attitudes stereotypically centered on Southern California, feelings are exalted as more "real" and the only proper basis for action - if it feels good, do it - while intellect gets short shift as a hang-up of outmoded elitism. Statistics, in this absurd dichotomy, often become the symbol of the enemy. As Hilaire Belloc wrote, "Statistics are the triumph of the quantitative method, and the quantitative method is the victory of sterility and death."
This is a personal story of statistics, properly interpreted, as profoundly nurturing and life giving. It declares holy war on the downgrading of intellect by telling a small story about the utility of dry, academic knowledge about science. Heart and head are focal points of one body, one personality.
In July 1982, I learned that I was suffering from abdominal mesothelioma, a rare and serious cancer usually associated with exposure to asbestos. When I revived after surgery, I asked my first question of my doctor and chemotherapist: "What is the best technical literature about mesothelioma?" She replied, with a touch of diplomacy (the only departure she has ever made from direct frankness), that the medical literature contained nothing really worth reading.
Of course, trying to keep an intellectual away from literature works about as well as recommending chastity to Homo sapiens, the sexiest primate of all. As soon as I could walk, I made a beeline for Harvard's Countway medical library and punched mesothelioma into the computer's bibliographic search program. An hour later, surrounded by the latest literature on abdominal mesothelioma, I realized with a gulp why my doctor had offered that humane advice. The literature couldn't have been more brutally clear: mesothelioma is incurable, with a median mortality of only eight months after discovery. I sat stunned for about fifteen minutes, then smiled and said to myself: so that's why they didn't give me anything to read. Then my mind started to work again, thank goodness.
If a little learning could ever be a dangerous thing, I had encountered a classic example. Attitude clearly matters in fighting cancer. We don't know why (from my old-style materialistic perspective, I suspect that mental states feed back upon the immune system). But match people with the same cancer for age, class, health, socioeconomic status, and, in general, those with positive attitudes, with a strong will and purpose for living, with commitment to struggle, with an active response to aiding their own treatment and not just a passive acceptance of anything doctors say, tend to live longer. A few months later I asked Sir Peter Medawar, my personal scientific guru and a Nobelist in immunology, what the best prescription for success against cancer might be. "A sanguine personality," he replied. Fortunately (since one can't reconstruct oneself at short notice and for a definite purpose), I am, if anything, even-tempered and confident in just this manner.
Hence the dilemma for humane doctors: since attitude matters so critically, should such a somber conclusion be advertised, especially since few people have sufficient understanding of statistics to evaluate what the statements really mean? From years of experience with the small-scale evolution of Bahamian land snails treated quantitatively, I have developed this technical knowledge - and I am convinced that it played a major role in saving my life. Knowledge is indeed power, in Bacon's proverb.
The problem may be briefly stated: What does "median mortality of eight months" signify in our language? I suspect that most people, without training in statistics, would read such a statement as "I will probably be dead in eight months" - the very conclusion that must be avoided, since it isn't so, and since attitude matters so much.
I was not, of course, overjoyed, but I didn't read the statement in this vernacular way either. My technical training enjoined a different perspective on "eight months median mortality." The point is a subtle one, but profound - for it embodies the distinctive way of thinking in my own field of evolutionary biology and natural history.
We still carry the historical baggage of a Platonic heritage that seeks sharp essences and definite boundaries. (Thus we hope to find a definite "beginning of life" or "definition of death," although nature often comes to us as irreducible continua.) This Platonic heritage, with its emphasis in clear distinctions and separated indisputable entities, leads us to view statistical measures of central tendency wrongly, indeed opposite to the appropriate interpretation in our actual world of variation, shadings, and continua. In short, we view means and medians as the hard "realities," and the variation that permits their calculation as a set of transient and imperfect measurements of this hidden essence. If the median is the reality and variation around the median just a device for its calculation, the "I will probably be dead in eight months" may pass as a reasonable interpretation.
But all evolutionary biologists know that variation itself is nature's only irreducible essence. Variation is the hard reality, not a set of imperfect measures for a central tendency. Means and medians are the abstractions. Therefore, I looked at the mesothelioma statistics quite differently - and not only because I am an optimist who tends to see the doughnut instead of the hole, but primarily because I know that variation itself is the reality. I had to place myself amidst the variation.
When I learned about the eight-month median, my first intellectual reaction was: fine, half the people will live longer; now what are my chances of being in that half. I read for a furious and nervous hour and concluded, with relief: damned good. I possessed every one of the characteristics conferring a probability of longer life: I was young; my disease had been recognized in a relatively early stage; I would receive the nation's best medical treatment; I had the world to live for; I knew how to read the data properly and not despair.
Another technical point then added even more solace. I immediately recognized that the distribution of variation about the eight-month median would almost surely be what statisticians call "right skewed." (In a symmetrical distribution, the profile of variation to the left of the central tendency is a mirror image of variation to the right. In skewed distributions, variation to one side of the central tendency is more stretched out - left skewed if extended to the left, right skewed if stretched out to the right.) The distribution of variation had to be right skewed, I reasoned. After all, the left of the distribution contains an irrevocable lower boundary of zero (since mesothelioma can only be identified at death or before). Thus, there isn't much room for the distributions lower (or left) half - it must be scrunched up between zero and eight months. But the upper (or right) half can extend out for years and years, even if nobody ultimately survives. The distribution must be right skewed, and I needed to know how long the extended tail ran - for I had already concluded that my favorable profile made me a good candidate for that part of the curve.
The distribution was indeed, strongly right skewed, with a long tail (however small) that extended for several years above the eight month median. I saw no reason why I shouldn't be in that small tail, and I breathed a very long sigh of relief. My technical knowledge had helped. I had read the graph correctly. I had asked the right question and found the answers. I had obtained, in all probability, the most precious of all possible gifts in the circumstances - substantial time. I didn't have to stop and immediately follow Isaiah's injunction to Hezekiah - set thine house in order for thou shalt die, and not live. I would have time to think, to plan, and to fight.
One final point about statistical distributions; they apply only to a prescribed set of circumstances - in this case to survive with mesothelioma under conventional modes of treatment. If circumstances change, the distribution may alter. I was placed on an experimental protocol of treatment and, if fortune holds, will be in the first cohort of a new distribution with high median and a right tail extending to death by natural causes at advanced old age.
It has become, in my view, a bit too trendy to regard the acceptance of death as something equivalent to basic dignity. Of course I agree with the preacher of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to love and a time to die - and when my skein runs out I hope to face the end calmly and in my own way. For most situations, however, I prefer the more martial view that death is the ultimate enemy - and I find nothing reproachable in those who rage mightily against the dying of the light.
The swords of battle are numerous, and none more effective than humor. My death was announced at a meeting of my colleagues in Scotland, and I almost experienced the delicious pleasure of reading my obituary penned by one of my best friends (the so-and-so got suspicious and checked; he too is a statistician, and didn't expect to find me so far out on the right tail). Still, the incident provided my first good laugh after the diagnosis. Just think, I almost got to repeat Mark Twain's most famous line of all: the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
Epilogue: Stephen Jay Gould died on May 20, 2002 from a metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung, a form of cancer which had spread to his brain. This cancer was unrelated to his abdominal cancer, from which he had fully recovered twenty years earlier. He died in his home "in a bed set up in the library of his SoHo loft, surrounded by his wife Rhonda, his mother Eleanor, and the many books he loved.
I remember a couple of years back a routine ultrasound tagged me with an enlarged spleen. At the time, My doctor told me that she wanted me to see a specialist. She failed to explain to me that I was going to see an oncologist.
I'll always remember the palpable fear as I read the entry door to the waiting room. Oncology/Hematology. Wow. Cancer.
I will always remember the relief I experienced when the doctor saw me and uttered these words:
Well, to tell you the truth Alex you don't look to me like a person who has cancer...
Test proved him right. Phew.
So, for the people out there who are confronted with a diagnosis of cancer or have friends who face this disease, I hope you will refer them to this entry. It is a wonderful essay by Stephen Jay Gould and it brings an important perspective to the statistics of the disease.
My life has recently intersected, in a most personal way, two of Mark Twain's famous quips. One I shall defer to the end of this essay. The other (sometimes attributed to Disraeli) identifies three species of deceit, each worse than the one before - lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Consider the standard example of stretching the truth with numbers - a case quite relevant to my story. Statistics recognizes different measures of an "average," or central tendency. The mean is our usual concept of an overall average - add up the items and divide them by the number of sharers (100 candy bars collected for five kids next Halloween will yield 20 for each in a just world). The median, a different measure of central tendency, is the halfway point. If I line up five kids by height, the median child is shorter than two and taller than the other two (who might have trouble getting their mean share of the candy).
A politician in power might say with pride, "The mean income of our citizens is $15,000 per year." The leader of the opposition might retort, "But half our citizens make less than $10,000 per year." Both are right, but neither cites a statistic with impassive objectivity. The first invokes a mean, the second a median. (Means are higher than medians in such cases because one millionaire may outweigh hundreds of poor people in setting a mean; but he can balance only one mendicant in calculating a median).
The larger issue that creates a common distrust or contempt for statistics is more troubling. Many people make an unfortunate and invalid separation between heart and mind, or feeling and intellect. In some contemporary traditions, assisted by attitudes stereotypically centered on Southern California, feelings are exalted as more "real" and the only proper basis for action - if it feels good, do it - while intellect gets short shift as a hang-up of outmoded elitism. Statistics, in this absurd dichotomy, often become the symbol of the enemy. As Hilaire Belloc wrote, "Statistics are the triumph of the quantitative method, and the quantitative method is the victory of sterility and death."
This is a personal story of statistics, properly interpreted, as profoundly nurturing and life giving. It declares holy war on the downgrading of intellect by telling a small story about the utility of dry, academic knowledge about science. Heart and head are focal points of one body, one personality.
In July 1982, I learned that I was suffering from abdominal mesothelioma, a rare and serious cancer usually associated with exposure to asbestos. When I revived after surgery, I asked my first question of my doctor and chemotherapist: "What is the best technical literature about mesothelioma?" She replied, with a touch of diplomacy (the only departure she has ever made from direct frankness), that the medical literature contained nothing really worth reading.
Of course, trying to keep an intellectual away from literature works about as well as recommending chastity to Homo sapiens, the sexiest primate of all. As soon as I could walk, I made a beeline for Harvard's Countway medical library and punched mesothelioma into the computer's bibliographic search program. An hour later, surrounded by the latest literature on abdominal mesothelioma, I realized with a gulp why my doctor had offered that humane advice. The literature couldn't have been more brutally clear: mesothelioma is incurable, with a median mortality of only eight months after discovery. I sat stunned for about fifteen minutes, then smiled and said to myself: so that's why they didn't give me anything to read. Then my mind started to work again, thank goodness.
If a little learning could ever be a dangerous thing, I had encountered a classic example. Attitude clearly matters in fighting cancer. We don't know why (from my old-style materialistic perspective, I suspect that mental states feed back upon the immune system). But match people with the same cancer for age, class, health, socioeconomic status, and, in general, those with positive attitudes, with a strong will and purpose for living, with commitment to struggle, with an active response to aiding their own treatment and not just a passive acceptance of anything doctors say, tend to live longer. A few months later I asked Sir Peter Medawar, my personal scientific guru and a Nobelist in immunology, what the best prescription for success against cancer might be. "A sanguine personality," he replied. Fortunately (since one can't reconstruct oneself at short notice and for a definite purpose), I am, if anything, even-tempered and confident in just this manner.
Hence the dilemma for humane doctors: since attitude matters so critically, should such a somber conclusion be advertised, especially since few people have sufficient understanding of statistics to evaluate what the statements really mean? From years of experience with the small-scale evolution of Bahamian land snails treated quantitatively, I have developed this technical knowledge - and I am convinced that it played a major role in saving my life. Knowledge is indeed power, in Bacon's proverb.
The problem may be briefly stated: What does "median mortality of eight months" signify in our language? I suspect that most people, without training in statistics, would read such a statement as "I will probably be dead in eight months" - the very conclusion that must be avoided, since it isn't so, and since attitude matters so much.
I was not, of course, overjoyed, but I didn't read the statement in this vernacular way either. My technical training enjoined a different perspective on "eight months median mortality." The point is a subtle one, but profound - for it embodies the distinctive way of thinking in my own field of evolutionary biology and natural history.
We still carry the historical baggage of a Platonic heritage that seeks sharp essences and definite boundaries. (Thus we hope to find a definite "beginning of life" or "definition of death," although nature often comes to us as irreducible continua.) This Platonic heritage, with its emphasis in clear distinctions and separated indisputable entities, leads us to view statistical measures of central tendency wrongly, indeed opposite to the appropriate interpretation in our actual world of variation, shadings, and continua. In short, we view means and medians as the hard "realities," and the variation that permits their calculation as a set of transient and imperfect measurements of this hidden essence. If the median is the reality and variation around the median just a device for its calculation, the "I will probably be dead in eight months" may pass as a reasonable interpretation.
But all evolutionary biologists know that variation itself is nature's only irreducible essence. Variation is the hard reality, not a set of imperfect measures for a central tendency. Means and medians are the abstractions. Therefore, I looked at the mesothelioma statistics quite differently - and not only because I am an optimist who tends to see the doughnut instead of the hole, but primarily because I know that variation itself is the reality. I had to place myself amidst the variation.
When I learned about the eight-month median, my first intellectual reaction was: fine, half the people will live longer; now what are my chances of being in that half. I read for a furious and nervous hour and concluded, with relief: damned good. I possessed every one of the characteristics conferring a probability of longer life: I was young; my disease had been recognized in a relatively early stage; I would receive the nation's best medical treatment; I had the world to live for; I knew how to read the data properly and not despair.
Another technical point then added even more solace. I immediately recognized that the distribution of variation about the eight-month median would almost surely be what statisticians call "right skewed." (In a symmetrical distribution, the profile of variation to the left of the central tendency is a mirror image of variation to the right. In skewed distributions, variation to one side of the central tendency is more stretched out - left skewed if extended to the left, right skewed if stretched out to the right.) The distribution of variation had to be right skewed, I reasoned. After all, the left of the distribution contains an irrevocable lower boundary of zero (since mesothelioma can only be identified at death or before). Thus, there isn't much room for the distributions lower (or left) half - it must be scrunched up between zero and eight months. But the upper (or right) half can extend out for years and years, even if nobody ultimately survives. The distribution must be right skewed, and I needed to know how long the extended tail ran - for I had already concluded that my favorable profile made me a good candidate for that part of the curve.
The distribution was indeed, strongly right skewed, with a long tail (however small) that extended for several years above the eight month median. I saw no reason why I shouldn't be in that small tail, and I breathed a very long sigh of relief. My technical knowledge had helped. I had read the graph correctly. I had asked the right question and found the answers. I had obtained, in all probability, the most precious of all possible gifts in the circumstances - substantial time. I didn't have to stop and immediately follow Isaiah's injunction to Hezekiah - set thine house in order for thou shalt die, and not live. I would have time to think, to plan, and to fight.
One final point about statistical distributions; they apply only to a prescribed set of circumstances - in this case to survive with mesothelioma under conventional modes of treatment. If circumstances change, the distribution may alter. I was placed on an experimental protocol of treatment and, if fortune holds, will be in the first cohort of a new distribution with high median and a right tail extending to death by natural causes at advanced old age.
It has become, in my view, a bit too trendy to regard the acceptance of death as something equivalent to basic dignity. Of course I agree with the preacher of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to love and a time to die - and when my skein runs out I hope to face the end calmly and in my own way. For most situations, however, I prefer the more martial view that death is the ultimate enemy - and I find nothing reproachable in those who rage mightily against the dying of the light.
The swords of battle are numerous, and none more effective than humor. My death was announced at a meeting of my colleagues in Scotland, and I almost experienced the delicious pleasure of reading my obituary penned by one of my best friends (the so-and-so got suspicious and checked; he too is a statistician, and didn't expect to find me so far out on the right tail). Still, the incident provided my first good laugh after the diagnosis. Just think, I almost got to repeat Mark Twain's most famous line of all: the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
Epilogue: Stephen Jay Gould died on May 20, 2002 from a metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung, a form of cancer which had spread to his brain. This cancer was unrelated to his abdominal cancer, from which he had fully recovered twenty years earlier. He died in his home "in a bed set up in the library of his SoHo loft, surrounded by his wife Rhonda, his mother Eleanor, and the many books he loved.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Todd Clay
Hi folks,
A quick reminder, Todd Clay would love to hear from folks. Unfortunately he doesn't have email.
You can call or write to him here:
Todd Clay
549 Heather Dr.
Dayton, OH 45405
(937) 278-5454
Cheers!
Alex
A quick reminder, Todd Clay would love to hear from folks. Unfortunately he doesn't have email.
You can call or write to him here:
Todd Clay
549 Heather Dr.
Dayton, OH 45405
(937) 278-5454
Cheers!
Alex
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Tonya finds Jon Truemper on Classmates.com
Yes - you found me......I am working for QVC (TV Shopping Channel) - I run operational planning for our distributions centers and call centers. I got married about 5 years ago, and have a 7 month old daughter. I live in Lansdale, Pa
Tonya writes that she will send an email address when she gets one...
Excellent! Our Alumni group grows...
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jim Nieberding=cephjedi. Still playing with animals.
Hey Gang!
As I told Tonya, and the Blog through her proxy submission, the Bronco Junction gang finding me at this time is an amazing coincidence....
...My mother passed away on Christmas, and cleaning her house was like an archeological dig of memories for my Brother and Father! We recovered 16 copy-paper sized boxes of photographs- dating back before my parents met!
Anyhoo....Sunday afternoon's sorting session turned up a few photos from Bronco Junction.
...ahhhh. Memory lane. It's really not interesting stuff. As much as we'd like to relive moments like Boy's 4's hairspray-powered lake monster, "jamaican cliff diving" at the pool (how did we not kill ourselves?) the floating bedroom scene, or any of myriad memories that came flooding back...
but all my photos are: Dorky Jimmy on Big Ben. Dorky Jimmy in front of the bunk car. Dorky Jimmy near the cafeteria hall. Dorky Jimmy down by the lake...etc etc etc.... All the "mom's dropping her kid off at summer camp" photos.
...And of course when I find them again, I'll scan them and post them.
...So Alex..... Can you still solve the Rubik's Cube?
Quick bio:
- Jim
As I told Tonya, and the Blog through her proxy submission, the Bronco Junction gang finding me at this time is an amazing coincidence....
...My mother passed away on Christmas, and cleaning her house was like an archeological dig of memories for my Brother and Father! We recovered 16 copy-paper sized boxes of photographs- dating back before my parents met!
Anyhoo....Sunday afternoon's sorting session turned up a few photos from Bronco Junction.
...ahhhh. Memory lane. It's really not interesting stuff. As much as we'd like to relive moments like Boy's 4's hairspray-powered lake monster, "jamaican cliff diving" at the pool (how did we not kill ourselves?) the floating bedroom scene, or any of myriad memories that came flooding back...
but all my photos are: Dorky Jimmy on Big Ben. Dorky Jimmy in front of the bunk car. Dorky Jimmy near the cafeteria hall. Dorky Jimmy down by the lake...etc etc etc.... All the "mom's dropping her kid off at summer camp" photos.
...And of course when I find them again, I'll scan them and post them.
...So Alex..... Can you still solve the Rubik's Cube?
Quick bio:
- Still got asthma. boo, hiss.
- Paying job: AudioVisual Engineer for Uncle Sam. I live in Point of Rocks, MD, and work in Rockville.
- Non paying Jobs: Marine Biologist, Guitarist, Zoologist, Inventor.
- Just turned...ulp...39.
- Married, no kids.
- Jim
Tonya Found: Jim Nieberding
Hi Tonya!
What a weird coincidence! Yeah- I went to Camp Bronco Junction....I'm thinking 81-82. I just found some of the pictures from way back then at my mom's house. Boy did a string of memories come flooding back!
My office email is xxx@xxxx.xxx and at home I'm xxx@xxxx.xx. please pass it along to Alex and anyone else from the camp!
Thanks for getting in touch, and take care!
Cheers, Jim
Way to go Tonya!
-Alex
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Found: Mark Elenko
Begin forwarded message:
From: Mark Elenko <elenko@fas.harvard.edu>
Date: March 4, 2008 2:13:12 AM EST
To: Matthew Mintz <mmintz@mfa.gwu.edu>
Cc: ahorovitz@k12.com
Subject: Re: Did you go to an asthma camp in West Virginia
Matthew, Alex,
Wow. Yes, you have the right me. I'm thunderstruck by hearing from you and seeing the blog - it's wonderful. Years ago I reserved broncojunction.org and broncojunction.com to see if anyone would look them up and email me but was resigned to not hearing from anyone - I was practically speechless when I saw your name and subject line (I've just set both domains to forward to theblogspot page). I would love to join the blog - for google/blogger I use elenko@fas.harvard.edu.
Thank you for starting the blog and finding me. Regards -Mark
Good work Matthew! :-)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Lunch with Alex
Lunch with Alex was great today. I had not read his post yet and told me about his conversation with Tonya. I had totally forgotten about the David Saenz bed floating incident! I honestly don't remember what set me off, but I do remember being pretty mad. (In retrospect, I am not sure what I was thinking, given the guy was a black belt in some form of martial arts). The one thing I do remember, was that his bed was made perfectly:sheets, blanket, pillow,etc. I wanted the visual effect of his pefectly made bed in the middle of the lake.
Christina's post was great! Sounds like you have had some very interesting experiences. I am a little surprised about the children part, only because I remember Christina as being very maternal and never a harsh word out of her mouth. The first time I met Chris Hung was in 1978. She was fishing in the lake (They used to stock it with fish. No fishing poles; just a stick, string and hook.) I couldn't catch anything, but Chris just kept reeling them in (though not literally, because again there were no reels on the poles). However, she would immediately throw the fish back in, because she didn't want to be mean to the fish. Sounds like some things haven't changed.
I am so glad that Tonya kept everything, because I can't find a thing. It would be great to digitize and post! Would be happy to support this effort.
Alex is on the money about supervision, or lack thereof. I think we were CIT's in both '81 and '82. Is it ever wise to put a 13 year old in charge of anything? Alex I were talking about the creek monster contest, and the year we built a floating monster that actually breathed fire. Who permitted the adolescent boys to use a butane lighter and an aersol spray to emit flames from something made of paper, sheets and sticks while waist deep in a creek?
Lastly, we need to expand this forum. We need updates from more of you, and need to find others that are out there. Where is Jeff McDade? Kathy Gross?
I remember Mark Elenko as being incredibly smart for his age, and always thought he would go to Harvard and do something in science or computers. Is this him?
That's all for now.
Dinner w/ Tonya
Tonya McClain and I met for dinner in DC last night and had a wonderful time. We dined at Sequoia (3000 K Street) where the food was ok, but the company was great. For me it brought back a flood of wonderful memories.
Tonya had all her stuff from 26 years ago and we poured over it.
The 1982 yearbook has the wonderfully original Stacey Moore artwork ( a collectors item to be sure). Tonya and I agreed that it was time to digitize these and she is going to endeavor to get that done. When finished she'll send me the results so I can put them online for all to see.
One of the topics of discussion that came up was how we were surprised at how (seemingly) little adult supervision we were subjected to. We marveled at the things we "got away with" at ages 12 & 13 respectively. Fellow campers, do you folks remember it that way too?
Tonya had all her stuff from 26 years ago and we poured over it.
The 1982 yearbook has the wonderfully original Stacey Moore artwork ( a collectors item to be sure). Tonya and I agreed that it was time to digitize these and she is going to endeavor to get that done. When finished she'll send me the results so I can put them online for all to see.
One of the topics of discussion that came up was how we were surprised at how (seemingly) little adult supervision we were subjected to. We marveled at the things we "got away with" at ages 12 & 13 respectively. Fellow campers, do you folks remember it that way too?
Perhaps some of the staff can respond? What were you guys doing when we were sneaking out at night?
We laughed and laughed at our collective memories. I must say, a huge grin appeared on my face when she reminded me of the time that Mattew Mintz sent all of David Saenz' possessions floating down the Buttlick on a mattress. Matthew, I can't remember why you did that, but I do
remember how mad you were. I seem to remember being an un-indicted co-conspirator. Can you tell the story?
I'm having lunch with Mattew at 11:30 today...
Hope to see others of you soon.
Cheers!
Alex
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Update from Chris
OK here goes: after camp closed :( I was lucky enough to get into an innovative, alternative high-school which allowed me to study art and photography in-depth. The schedule was like a college in that we didn't have the same classes every day. The totally revolutionary thing was that attendance was OPTIONAL! for real! that was both good and bad for me as you might imagine, it was for many. I managed to graduate with multiple piercings and a punk rock attitude.
After High School I slacked around DC working in a video store, renting regular and adult videos to many of Washington's powerful elite. (If you want names you have to meet me in person and buy me a beer). I had the privilege of removing Traci Lords's best renting adult videos from the shelves when it was discovered that she was underaged when she made many of her most popular films. I also watched the challenger disaster live, on 10 TVs at once and shook Stevie Wonder's hand.
After about three years of contemplating life in retail, I decided to go to college, art school to be exact. Like Dr Mintz, I needed to get far away from my overprotective mother so I opted for a small school in Atlanta, where I got serious about art and life. I got a dog, a little poodle named katy. I never gave Katy a stupid poodle haircut so most of the time people didn't realize she was a poodle at all. (No, this was not good for my physical health.) During my third year in college, I was diagnosed with Keratoconus, a thinning of the corneas that causes distortions (great for my painting) and possibly leading blindness. Just my luck to be developing a commitment to a career in visual arts while my eyes were going bad. Luckily, Emory Univ. has a good hospital. There I got both my corneas transplanted, each one, one year apart in '09 and '91. It wasn't easy taking notes in class with a sharpie and getting people to read my reading assignments to me, but painting was great fun!. My vision changed rapidly for years. I credit this experience with changing my approach to making art. I began making art as most do, by representing what I could see through fairly traditional figure painting, but because of my eye situation, I decided to take a more conceptual approach to making art, just to see if I could indeed make art more with my "brain" than my "eyes."
Sorry if I get a bit pointy headed now and then, but that is who I am now :)
After undergrad, I worked as a teaching assistant in a private, pre-school program and drove for take out taxi. It was about all I was qualified to do with my BFA in painting. The experience at the pre-school solidified my commitment to remaining childless. Sorry to be so blunt about it but pre-schoolers are just like any other group of people, only smaller and louder. Some of them I liked, but many I didn't. I decided to go to grad school for art. In hindsight, it was definitely the right thing to do, but I'm sure you can imagine that to invest so much money into an art education seemed like a crazy bet. I applied to many good schools but chose Carnegie Mellon because it gave me the best deal and they had an innovative curriculum with an emphasis on the arts in society.
I went into CMU a painter and came out an electronic artist. CMU does that to people. Along the way I met the love of my life, John Sturgeon. It was the classic love at first sight thing. The moment I saw him I kicked my friend under the table and said "that's him! that's the guy!" It took us a few years to get it together but we did. While at CMU, I went to Vietnam with my Dad and visited family sites in the north and south. Needless to say it was a life altering experience. It was also almost a life ending experience as well since I experience anaphylactic shock several times during the month I was there. The thing is, I didn't know what was happening to me. I only figured it out much later after reporting the incidents to my allergist.
Also while at CMU, my feminist consciousness was awakened and I helped found subRosa, an artist collective that critiques the effects of new bio and information technologies on the lives and bodies of women. We were very successful and though I left the collective in 2003, they live and work on.
In 2000 John and I moved to Baltimore so he could take a position as Chair of the Art Department at UMBC. I took a job as project manager at the Imaging Research Center at UMBC. There I taught myself project management and a little grant writing on the job, along with various technical and administrative skills. In 2001 I quit smoking (yep, "Drum" and I rolled my own) and we bought a 100 year-old row house near John's Hopkins. It was a fixer upper then, and is still a fixer-upper today. I managed not to fall off the smoking wagon after 9/11. I'm proud of that since I was quite sure, the world was ending at the time.
In 2004 John Sturgeon, the love of my life and I were married in a unique ceremony in the Palm House at the Baltimore conservatory and botanic gardens. A month later I moved to Charlottesville, VA for my first full-time teaching job as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the art department at UVA. I loved c'ville but the best part of that was meeting my friend, Artist Dragana Crnjak who was also a visiting Asst. Prof. She had just graduated with her MFA and was newly pregnant for the first time. Dragana is an incredible woman for many, many reasons but the thing that impressed me the most was that during the last week of the spring semester she told me she was ready to give birth. Then she finished her classes, turned in her grades and her water broke. I went to the hospital with her and ended up staying with her through the entire birth of her son Sava. We didn't plan that--maybe the birthing team thought I was a doula or something. By now you know I have no kids and that it is by choice. I will say that though I think not everyone needs to have children, everyone SHOULD be required to witness a birth. The world would be a different place if we could all appreciate the sheer labor, bravery and risk involved in our own births. it is humbling to say the least.
Moving right along, from fall of 05 through the spring of 07, I was an Assistant Prof. at the Art Department at UWF. The day I arrived on campus I walked into the Chair's office and she said, "hi! nice to see you again!" then she handed me a giant wad of plastic and said "could you unplug and wrap up the computers in the lab? We're evacuating!" And with that the reality of Katrina entered my life. Pensacola was spared as you may know but my days on the gulf coast were numbered after that. I couldn't take the stress of knowing all I worked for could be washed away at any moment and there was only so much I could do to protect my self and stuff from hurricanes. (I guess I'll never live along the west coast either.) For Katy, as for so many old beings, Florida was good place to live out her last days. Taking care of that little dog during her last year of life took a lot out of me. My hair started graying and her death forever changed me.
Now I am an Assistant Professor here at Clemson University. I am a city person so learning living a rural part of the country has been a challenge. Last weekend, in an an effort to embrace my new home, I went to my first rodeo at the Clemson livestock arena. John and I bought a cheap little 10 year-old house here in SC and we can tell you it's true, "they don't build them like they used to." We are still in a commuting marriage, full of love but short on time together. It's not all bad, but we are looking forward to this stage of our marriage ending soon. I love my job and the people here. My artwork, which by any standard, is not conventional, is thriving here and the country is beautiful. I am teaching digital art in the Art Department and "Visual Rhetorics" in the Ph.D program in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design. I'll be presenting my work at conferences in Richmond, VA and Singapore this year.
John has three artwork in a show which opens in March at the Getty Art Museum. We'll be in LA for the opening and visit his step-daughter, her husband and daughter, Coco. BTW, being a grandparent, even a step-grandparent, is GREAT!
Obviously I took some time to craft this post. I feel I should say that I blog like a meteor: it may be a rather substantial event, but it will happen rarely and erratically, with long stretches of mute silence in between sightings/postings. I just want to be up front about this so no one is offended or disappointed if I seem unresponsive. I eagerly look forward to receiving news from all of you and will do my best to check in as often as I can. i know I have pictures from camp but they're in Baltimore now, along with most things I love. On my next trip home I'll dig them up, scan and post them.
Christina
PS I was engaged to some other guy for 8 years from just after HS an on into grad school, and it gives me GREAT PLEASURE to relegate that entire relationship to a footnote here ;)
After High School I slacked around DC working in a video store, renting regular and adult videos to many of Washington's powerful elite. (If you want names you have to meet me in person and buy me a beer). I had the privilege of removing Traci Lords's best renting adult videos from the shelves when it was discovered that she was underaged when she made many of her most popular films. I also watched the challenger disaster live, on 10 TVs at once and shook Stevie Wonder's hand.
After about three years of contemplating life in retail, I decided to go to college, art school to be exact. Like Dr Mintz, I needed to get far away from my overprotective mother so I opted for a small school in Atlanta, where I got serious about art and life. I got a dog, a little poodle named katy. I never gave Katy a stupid poodle haircut so most of the time people didn't realize she was a poodle at all. (No, this was not good for my physical health.) During my third year in college, I was diagnosed with Keratoconus, a thinning of the corneas that causes distortions (great for my painting) and possibly leading blindness. Just my luck to be developing a commitment to a career in visual arts while my eyes were going bad. Luckily, Emory Univ. has a good hospital. There I got both my corneas transplanted, each one, one year apart in '09 and '91. It wasn't easy taking notes in class with a sharpie and getting people to read my reading assignments to me, but painting was great fun!. My vision changed rapidly for years. I credit this experience with changing my approach to making art. I began making art as most do, by representing what I could see through fairly traditional figure painting, but because of my eye situation, I decided to take a more conceptual approach to making art, just to see if I could indeed make art more with my "brain" than my "eyes."
Sorry if I get a bit pointy headed now and then, but that is who I am now :)
After undergrad, I worked as a teaching assistant in a private, pre-school program and drove for take out taxi. It was about all I was qualified to do with my BFA in painting. The experience at the pre-school solidified my commitment to remaining childless. Sorry to be so blunt about it but pre-schoolers are just like any other group of people, only smaller and louder. Some of them I liked, but many I didn't. I decided to go to grad school for art. In hindsight, it was definitely the right thing to do, but I'm sure you can imagine that to invest so much money into an art education seemed like a crazy bet. I applied to many good schools but chose Carnegie Mellon because it gave me the best deal and they had an innovative curriculum with an emphasis on the arts in society.
I went into CMU a painter and came out an electronic artist. CMU does that to people. Along the way I met the love of my life, John Sturgeon. It was the classic love at first sight thing. The moment I saw him I kicked my friend under the table and said "that's him! that's the guy!" It took us a few years to get it together but we did. While at CMU, I went to Vietnam with my Dad and visited family sites in the north and south. Needless to say it was a life altering experience. It was also almost a life ending experience as well since I experience anaphylactic shock several times during the month I was there. The thing is, I didn't know what was happening to me. I only figured it out much later after reporting the incidents to my allergist.
Also while at CMU, my feminist consciousness was awakened and I helped found subRosa, an artist collective that critiques the effects of new bio and information technologies on the lives and bodies of women. We were very successful and though I left the collective in 2003, they live and work on.
In 2000 John and I moved to Baltimore so he could take a position as Chair of the Art Department at UMBC. I took a job as project manager at the Imaging Research Center at UMBC. There I taught myself project management and a little grant writing on the job, along with various technical and administrative skills. In 2001 I quit smoking (yep, "Drum" and I rolled my own) and we bought a 100 year-old row house near John's Hopkins. It was a fixer upper then, and is still a fixer-upper today. I managed not to fall off the smoking wagon after 9/11. I'm proud of that since I was quite sure, the world was ending at the time.
In 2004 John Sturgeon, the love of my life and I were married in a unique ceremony in the Palm House at the Baltimore conservatory and botanic gardens. A month later I moved to Charlottesville, VA for my first full-time teaching job as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the art department at UVA. I loved c'ville but the best part of that was meeting my friend, Artist Dragana Crnjak who was also a visiting Asst. Prof. She had just graduated with her MFA and was newly pregnant for the first time. Dragana is an incredible woman for many, many reasons but the thing that impressed me the most was that during the last week of the spring semester she told me she was ready to give birth. Then she finished her classes, turned in her grades and her water broke. I went to the hospital with her and ended up staying with her through the entire birth of her son Sava. We didn't plan that--maybe the birthing team thought I was a doula or something. By now you know I have no kids and that it is by choice. I will say that though I think not everyone needs to have children, everyone SHOULD be required to witness a birth. The world would be a different place if we could all appreciate the sheer labor, bravery and risk involved in our own births. it is humbling to say the least.
Moving right along, from fall of 05 through the spring of 07, I was an Assistant Prof. at the Art Department at UWF. The day I arrived on campus I walked into the Chair's office and she said, "hi! nice to see you again!" then she handed me a giant wad of plastic and said "could you unplug and wrap up the computers in the lab? We're evacuating!" And with that the reality of Katrina entered my life. Pensacola was spared as you may know but my days on the gulf coast were numbered after that. I couldn't take the stress of knowing all I worked for could be washed away at any moment and there was only so much I could do to protect my self and stuff from hurricanes. (I guess I'll never live along the west coast either.) For Katy, as for so many old beings, Florida was good place to live out her last days. Taking care of that little dog during her last year of life took a lot out of me. My hair started graying and her death forever changed me.
Now I am an Assistant Professor here at Clemson University. I am a city person so learning living a rural part of the country has been a challenge. Last weekend, in an an effort to embrace my new home, I went to my first rodeo at the Clemson livestock arena. John and I bought a cheap little 10 year-old house here in SC and we can tell you it's true, "they don't build them like they used to." We are still in a commuting marriage, full of love but short on time together. It's not all bad, but we are looking forward to this stage of our marriage ending soon. I love my job and the people here. My artwork, which by any standard, is not conventional, is thriving here and the country is beautiful. I am teaching digital art in the Art Department and "Visual Rhetorics" in the Ph.D program in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design. I'll be presenting my work at conferences in Richmond, VA and Singapore this year.
John has three artwork in a show which opens in March at the Getty Art Museum. We'll be in LA for the opening and visit his step-daughter, her husband and daughter, Coco. BTW, being a grandparent, even a step-grandparent, is GREAT!
Obviously I took some time to craft this post. I feel I should say that I blog like a meteor: it may be a rather substantial event, but it will happen rarely and erratically, with long stretches of mute silence in between sightings/postings. I just want to be up front about this so no one is offended or disappointed if I seem unresponsive. I eagerly look forward to receiving news from all of you and will do my best to check in as often as I can. i know I have pictures from camp but they're in Baltimore now, along with most things I love. On my next trip home I'll dig them up, scan and post them.
Christina
PS I was engaged to some other guy for 8 years from just after HS an on into grad school, and it gives me GREAT PLEASURE to relegate that entire relationship to a footnote here ;)
FW: Did we find you?
From: Tim Truemper [mailto:tim.truemper@ncmail.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 4:30 PM
To: Alex Horovitz
Subject: Re: Did we find you?
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 4:30 PM
To: Alex Horovitz
Subject: Re: Did we find you?
Yes you found me! I've been out with a back injury and just got back on
the computer. Will communicate much more later. Will hopefully have
pictures and all plus some ideas for a web site for BJ alumni. Has
anybody reached Betsy Birkhead. I think I have an e-mail for her. Take
care Alex! Tim ( the Head)
Alex Horovitz wrote:
>
> The Campers of Camp Broncho Junction want to know…
>
> How are you?
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Alex
>
Stacey's Update...
Hi Everybody,
Here is a time line and in a nutshell, what I have been up to since camp...
1980-1982: Attended Bronco Junction.
Here is a time line and in a nutshell, what I have been up to since camp...
1980-1982: Attended Bronco Junction.
1982 - Present Day: Visited Geralyn (Geri) McDonough after camp, and never stopped!
1985: Graduated HS
1985-1987: Attended Community College in Md.
1988-1990: Graduated from college with a degree in Visual Communications
1988-1990: Graduated from college with a degree in Visual Communications
1990-1998: Worked for a variety of companies in the Md/DC area in printing, graphics, direct mail, publishing, etc.
1998: Transferred with my company to NYC
2001: 9/11 was the craziest day of my life.
2003: Moved to Boston
2004: Moved back to NYC
My Asthma is pretty much gone, thank God! I work hard and hang out with my friends and family. I am single and have no kids. I am definitely a summer person, and like to go boating or hang at the beach. I love going to concerts and sporting events. I have friends all over the country, and I travel to Green Bay, WI every year for an annual Packer game, which is a blast! I still have family in Md, and try to visit at least once a year. I get to the gym 3-5 days a week in spite of my busy work and social schedule. I also have done some extra work on shows like Law & Order and Cashmere Mafia. I got my start in this by being an extra in Forrest Gump. I also work with my dog, Reggie, as a trained Therapy Pet team and volunteer at a local hospital once a week as well as visit a local Veteran's hospital once a month.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Catching Up
As Tonya suggests, it would be a great idea if everyone could let us all know what you have been up to for the last 26 years or so. If Alex's implementation of my suggestion worked (boy you act fast Alex!), then you should all receive this as an email.
To post to the blog, you simply need to go to http://bronchojunction.blogspot.com/
and sign in.
Earlier today, Alex sent the rest of you invitations to the blog. You will create your own password (your email is your log in). On the Dashboard, just click on New Post under the Camp Bronco Junction Alumni Blog, and type away!
For savy users, you are certainly welcome to add pictures, etc. (Below is a slide show of my family's winter trip to the Carribean.) However, just letting everyone know what you have been up to would be great.
My timeline.....
1982 Last summer at Bronco Junction (who knew it would be the last)
1986 Need to get away from overprotective parents who limit college choices to east of the Mississippi River. I attend the U. of Chicago
1990 Decide I want to be close to home (and that it's too freakin' cold in Chicago) so start medical school at The George Washington University
1994 Start my internal medicine and primary care residency at GW.
1997 Asked to stay an extra year as Chief Medical Resident
1998 Decide to stay at GW as full time faculty in the Department of Medicine, which is where I am now.
1999 Get married. My wife Julie is a teacher by training, though is currently staying at home with occaisional substitute work. Also, buy a house in Rockville, Maryland (10 minutes from my folks).
2001 Allison (now 6.5- though I suppose you can do the math) is born
2004 Natalie ( 4 next week) arrives
Currently, I split my time at GW between seeing patients and teaching the medical students. I direct several courses, including the primary care rotation for our 3rd year students. I have done some research/writing in several areas including asthma. (For those interested, I have two frequently cited articles on the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and have authored a book for priamry care physicians in treating respiratory disorders).
Recently, I started my own blog which is designed for my patients, friends and family; who are always asking me about the latest study or health item they heard about in the paper or on TV. The media can be confusing and scary, so hopeful people will find my blog helpful.
To post to the blog, you simply need to go to http://bronchojunction.blogspot.com/
and sign in.
Earlier today, Alex sent the rest of you invitations to the blog. You will create your own password (your email is your log in). On the Dashboard, just click on New Post under the Camp Bronco Junction Alumni Blog, and type away!
For savy users, you are certainly welcome to add pictures, etc. (Below is a slide show of my family's winter trip to the Carribean.) However, just letting everyone know what you have been up to would be great.
My timeline.....
1982 Last summer at Bronco Junction (who knew it would be the last)
1986 Need to get away from overprotective parents who limit college choices to east of the Mississippi River. I attend the U. of Chicago
1990 Decide I want to be close to home (and that it's too freakin' cold in Chicago) so start medical school at The George Washington University
1994 Start my internal medicine and primary care residency at GW.
1997 Asked to stay an extra year as Chief Medical Resident
1998 Decide to stay at GW as full time faculty in the Department of Medicine, which is where I am now.
1999 Get married. My wife Julie is a teacher by training, though is currently staying at home with occaisional substitute work. Also, buy a house in Rockville, Maryland (10 minutes from my folks).
2001 Allison (now 6.5- though I suppose you can do the math) is born
2004 Natalie ( 4 next week) arrives
Currently, I split my time at GW between seeing patients and teaching the medical students. I direct several courses, including the primary care rotation for our 3rd year students. I have done some research/writing in several areas including asthma. (For those interested, I have two frequently cited articles on the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and have authored a book for priamry care physicians in treating respiratory disorders).
Recently, I started my own blog which is designed for my patients, friends and family; who are always asking me about the latest study or health item they heard about in the paper or on TV. The media can be confusing and scary, so hopeful people will find my blog helpful.
Matthew Mintz has a very good idea...
I think the idea of using the blog vs. facebook is good, since it may be less confusing for the less internet savy. One problem with blogs is that unless you set up an RSS feed, you don't know about new postings (without checking the blog).
Blogspot has the ability to email new posts to one email account. One idea I had would be to set up an online group (yahoo, google, etc. ) behind the scenes and then email updates to the blog to that group.
Do you know of any online groups that don't require creating a separate email account like Yahoo?
Even if there aren't any, as long as we had a member's email, we could create an account for them and forward email to their real account. Is this something you think you could set up?
So, having your own domain(s) has advantages and one of them is the ability to set up email aliases...
broncojunction AT insanelygreat DOT com
(You all can use that as well rather than type in each of our email addresses...)
If you got a notification about this blog post then everything worked as Matthew envisioned.
Cheers!
Alex
Monday, February 25, 2008
A Trip Down Memory Lane
I have had too much fun in the past week and a half since Alex found me. I found my pictures and my box of camp stuff which had all 5 of my yearbooks, a few newsletters, and even some end of camp awards. There was so much I had forgotten but all came rushing back when I started going through the box. For those of you I haven't had a chance to email here's what I've been up to. I was a Revenue Officer for the IRS for 12 1/2 years and finally got tired and quit this past July. I took a job in the county government where I live on the Eastern Shore of MD - no more commuting!!!! It gives me a lot more time for the things I like to do and most of that time is spent at church working with with a youth group. I actually hope to be going to seminary to get my masters in Divinity and going into the ministry. I am not married and have no children; well except my yellow lab Benjamin. I have a wonderful nephew who will be three tommorow and a new neice or nephew that should be here in a few weeks. Now - I want to know what all of you have been up to so I hope to be reading about you soon. (It was really easy to do this post so no excuses!)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Bronco or Broncho
David Malech writes:
Now as far as Putnam County is concerned, the spelling is "Broncho" which makes sense to me as it was a camp for asthmatics. Especially in the face of the general clinical description of what happens during an asthma attack.
Yet, Stacey Moore has chastised me for the same thing when I complained that Putnam County has it as Broncho and likely the staff screwed up somewhere:
So, I'm willing to go with "Bronco" - afterall, if you can't beat 'em...
Now, on to another important naming convention that is sure to come up. Stacey reminded me about a certain creek that ran near the camp:
So, henceforth, I'd like agreement that we call the creek "buttlick" and not fight about that...
:-)
Hey Alex, I just noticed you keep spelling it Broncho Junction. I think the correct spelling is Bronco Junction, not "Broncho". I see on the map that it's spelled "Broncho" on the road that leads to the camp, but everybody knows it as Bronco Junction, and if people are doing some sort of web search, they may not find your Facebook group or Blog as easily.
Now as far as Putnam County is concerned, the spelling is "Broncho" which makes sense to me as it was a camp for asthmatics. Especially in the face of the general clinical description of what happens during an asthma attack.
The changes that take place in the lungs of asthmatic persons makes the airways (the "breathing tubes," or bronchi and the smaller bronchioles) hyper-reactive to many different types of stimuli that don't affect healthy lungs. In an asthma attack, the muscle tissue in the walls of bronchi go into spasm, and the cells lining the airways swell and secrete mucus into the air spaces. Both these actions cause the bronchi to become narrowed (bronchoconstriction). As a result, an asthmatic person has to make a much greater effort to breathe in air and to expel it.
Yet, Stacey Moore has chastised me for the same thing when I complained that Putnam County has it as Broncho and likely the staff screwed up somewhere:
lol! I know! But that's how they spelled it..I know my t-shirt was spelled "Bronco"
So, I'm willing to go with "Bronco" - afterall, if you can't beat 'em...
Now, on to another important naming convention that is sure to come up. Stacey reminded me about a certain creek that ran near the camp:
Do you remember that the other part of that road was called "Buck/Lick" and we called it "Butt/Lick' ha ha!!! I forgot all about that.
So, henceforth, I'd like agreement that we call the creek "buttlick" and not fight about that...
:-)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Hello Folks!
I'm asking you to join me on an adventure in staying in touch. It seems not everyone can see the Facebook site. Would you believe that some companies block access to it?
So, my thought is that we could use a common blog to keep each other informed about the goings on in our lives. To do this, I am inviting each person who we find to be an author of this blog. In other words, you each have the ability to create content here and it will be automagically shared with each of us.
(That and I know each of you secretly want to be authors of content on the web...)
If you already have a blog, we can trade links back and forth. Also, because this thing is indexed by Google, it will make us easier to find for any Alumni who might be looking for us in the future.
Also, Google's Blogger makes posting pathetically easy, so no excuses there...
Keep well and breathe easy!
Alex
So, my thought is that we could use a common blog to keep each other informed about the goings on in our lives. To do this, I am inviting each person who we find to be an author of this blog. In other words, you each have the ability to create content here and it will be automagically shared with each of us.
(That and I know each of you secretly want to be authors of content on the web...)
If you already have a blog, we can trade links back and forth. Also, because this thing is indexed by Google, it will make us easier to find for any Alumni who might be looking for us in the future.
Also, Google's Blogger makes posting pathetically easy, so no excuses there...
Keep well and breathe easy!
Alex
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