July 14, 2020 - Back to School, Reed Edition -

I got a Dear Neighbor letter from Reed, which isn’t exactly like a Dear John letter, but isn’t all that different, it turns out. In happier days, Reed knew my name, and wrote to me about upcoming events. So seeing "Dear Neighbor" was a bit jarring, and I squeaked, “Hey, Reed, it’s ME!” when I saw the greeting.

But then it turned out that Reed was sending that letter to a whole bunch of neighbors, letting us know that as of August 3, campus will be closed to everyone except students, faculty, and staff. And waterfowl. They didn't mention the waterfowl, but I figure that goes without saying.

When I think about it, Reed has been darn generous, all these years, letting the public come on over and enjoy the grounds, the library, the gorgeous canyon, wonderful music, and a whole bunch of lectures, art shows, and other events. 

And when I think about it, if I’m not letting anyone into my house these days,* there’s no reason they should be letting anybody into theirs. Not only that, but Reed is going to have some rules of the road for everyone who IS on campus, a signed agreement about safety precautions, which they can enforce for all those signers, but who in their right mind would want to engage with the public on any of that, these days? Nobody, right? So. Fair’s fair.

I haven’t heard about other colleges deciding to close campus instead of going online. And I’m not really interested in debating the merits. I wish everybody all the luck in the world.

(Meanwhile, seventeen states were suing the Trump administration for trying to revoke visas for foreign students taking online-only college classes. Go, states! God speed.)

After reading the Dear Neighbor letter, I biked on over and walked the canyon, before it becomes one more inaccessible beloved spot. 

Gorgeous day, lovely walk, maybe eight people there, in all. I felt nostalgic, even though there are three weeks left before campus closes, so it didn’t have to be my last visit. I stopped at the little fruit stand on 28^th on my way home, and got some of the best cherries ever.

*Honestly compels me to say that our friend S. has come into the house twice in the past month or so, to use the bathroom. I consider S. (who doesn’t even go to the store, thanks to the ministrations of a loving niece) using the bathroom to be a magical exception.  Everybody else is making magical exceptions, and I want one too.