Of the people, for the people

Nov 18, 2012

On Friday, I spoke to the Knowledge4GlobalHealth Leadership Institute, a gathering of undergraduate, medical and law students. We explored social media and how it can be used by the students as they collaborate on various global health initiatives. Here’s my outline.

Later that day, I met the Duke communicators at Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery, for a happy hour — I drank Fullsteam lager and ate Chirba Chirba dumplings — while our newest colleague, Audra Ang, read from her new book about food and life in a changing China, To the People, Food is Heaven.

At home, I hugged my dad (and shook his hand, too), who’s in with Dorothy for a week of Thanksgiving family fun. So, Saturday was spent mostly at the stove, preparing turkey stock for Thursday’s gravy to come.

With grandparents here, Erin and I got out for a rare date night. We saw the new Spielberg film, Lincoln. With the opening scene and it’s creative recitation of the Gettysburg Address, I had tears in my eyes and I knew I was going to enjoy this story about our greatest president and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment. (I read Gary Wills’s book, Lincoln at Gettysburg, when I lived in Hawaii, and I recently took down my copy, which is still wrapped in the parchment paper I used on it 20 years ago.)

Today, Sunday, I actually went to mass at the Newman Center at UNC — dad thought I wanted him to attend, and I thought he wanted me to attend — the first time since the new wording. New wording or not, I wasn’t any more endeared to the mysteries of the Christian faith, but I was surprised by how nice it was to be among babies and seniors, athletes and the disabled, single students and families filled their own rows.

Anton Zuiker ☄