Current Events

TigerBlog spent his weekend in the Baltimore area and got a first-hand look at the massive thunderstorm that blew through, leaving behind it 18 deaths, billions of dollars in damage and power outages that left two million people without lights - and air conditioning.

TB was actually in his car as the storm came through, and he had a two-word thought as he drove along: "Auntie Em?"

It seemed like any second his car would be flipped or a tree would fall into the road or something like that. As it turned out, those things were happening all over the general area.

The rest of the weekend saw lanes closed by trees, unpassable roads, closed restaurants, no open gas stations and all of it.

Then there was the corner of Northern Parkway and Roland Ave. in Baltimore, where the traffic lights were out as late as Sunday afternoon (and who knows if they're even on now).

With no lights, the major intersection became the Wild West, with drivers who would fly through and hope for the best or those who would stop, unsure of what to do next. TB did the stop, look and go method, assuming that people would yield, which they did.

There was also the really weird dynamic that the light at Northern Parkway just before getting onto I-83 was on the entire time. In fact, this played out all over the area, with some neighborhoods in total darkness - and heat - while the next block had all the lights and AC blaring.

Forgetting the elements for a minute, TB is always struck by the proximity of so many colleges to each other in that little piece of Baltimore.

Within no time - well, a little time when trees litter the roads - you can go from Johns Hopkins to Loyola to Towson to a bunch of smaller schools. And this doesn't even include the prep schools like Boys' Latin or Gilman or St. Paul's or Roland Park that are all right there too, all with campuses that would make most colleges envious.

TB was asked by the people he was with about Princeton's campus, and the word one of them used was pizzazz. It's a good word, pizzazz.

Does Princeton's campus have pizzazz? Or is it the history and tradition that makes it so appealing? Or the pace of the campus, which doesn't have cars flying through it or a lot of noise or gaudy buildings built in the 1970s.

TB's view of the campus is as it always is, out over the track to the football stadium. And every day that he looks out his window, he thinks about how lucky he is to work on this campus.

Today is the first work day of July, and TB and the rest of the department were greeted by the "Current Events" email that is sent fairly close to the first of the month by Kim Meszaros, the assistant to Gary Walters.

It's an email that makes a spread out department seem a bit close to each other, with new hires, news about the people who work here, updates on weddings and babies, upcoming meetings and events, some pictures, a trivia question and a list of that month's birthdays.

Depending on how busy Kim is, the email comes out later and later, which could mean that the people who were born on the first or second or whatever don't have the email come out until after their birthdays.

Today's "current events" includes a picture of Walters and Steve Carell from Class Day and a picture of equipment manager Clif Perry as he accepts an award.

There are also announcements of 13 new hires.

Thirteen hires? In one month? That's a very, very busy month.

Princeton Athletics goes back to 1864. The administering and coaching of the department has grown through the years, and over time, the entire department turns over.

It's just that when you're in the middle of it, you don't notice it as much.

But if you look closely, you see how it's always changing. If you don't believe the current events email, then you can go down to Phyllis Chase's office and see the collages she makes from the Christmas party every year, see how many faces from one year aren't in the picture the next.

Oh wait. You can't.

Phyllis just retired.