Interstitiality

BCP Gift

As part of a lunch celebration, the interim dean, David Bowman, presented me with a gift. It was a leather bound Book of Common Prayer and hymnal with my name on the cover. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was signed by my colleagues. The inscription reads:

"October 2004

To Frank Yamada -

scholar, colleague, and freind--in celebration of the successful defense of your dissertation.

Your Seabury Colleagues"

Of course, after the inscription, each of my colleagues signed it. This is truly great gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

A little background to this gift...I had made a decision a couple years back that I would not purchase any of my chapel books until I knew that I was staying at Seabury. The board of trustees voted a couple years back to move me to tenure track, making this a possibility. I decided that I would not allow myself to purchase my own set of chapel books--something that I have wanted to do for a long time--until I defended.

I had told this story to a couple of my colleagues. This is why a leather bound BCP has special significance. That it comes from my colleagues and is signed by all of them makes this gift special.

Posted by Frank Yamada at October 12, 2004 02:10 PM