Thoughts and Interesting Stories---Jeff Clark

Some shallow reflections on my most recent trip to Washington DC. The public heritage (memorials, museums, mall) are nicely set up for a tourist. The hours were accessible and the trains served us very well. I do not like memorials that are all about look-at-me, such as the Washington and Jefferson Memorials. I love the Lincoln Memorial because in addition to the (huge) statue the memorial was about his views on slavery in a land that prizes freedom. At 61 years of age, getting around is nontrivial, particularly in the summer sun. We used Lyft much more than I would have in my younger and poorer days. It is wonderful being surrounded by folk speaking an array of languages. Our heritage draws people from other places and we should cherish not just the marble but the principles that it memorializes for that is in large part what draws others to us. DuPont Circle has really nice restaurants. I have been mostly to that area on MAA (Mathematical Association of America) business, for confere...

My wife and I will take a trip next week to DC to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary (which will occur in October when I am busy with my classes). I went to DC with my marching band once in high school to play for the president at some event that I have long-since forgotten. Not surprisingly the president was called away to deal the Shah of Iran coming to the US for exile but we played anyway. I do remember visiting the Air and Space museum but the rest of the trip is lost in a hazy memory. I've been to DC a handful of times since then professionally. Five times I've gone for conferences, once for a training workshop for new mathematics department chairs, and once as webmaster for the Mathematical Association of America's Southeastern Section for a focus group on the MAA's website. I've enjoyed visiting the Asian Art collection of the Smithsonian and returned there each time. One time I was at a conference at the same time my son was at a university student conf...

I've been taking yoga classes off and on since I was in graduate school. I have a really good teacher now in Durham; my wife and I faithfully went to classes in her studio until our kids arrived and our lives became less controlled. Now we are empty-nesters but are careful re COVID (I'm high-risk and my wife works in a hospital geriatric ward) so the prospect of working out together in a crowded studio even with masks isn't appealing. I also have a prosthetic knee which is a hindrance for many yoga activities. A few months after my surgery back in the summer of 2021 I took private lessons from our teacher specifically addressing flexibility and strength issues for that knee. My school year feels very full with my hour commute each way and I stopped with the beginning of the academic year. Last summer it did not seem like an issue but this summer I have started again with the private lessons. Yoga attracted me in and of itself because of the discipline and mental and physica...