Dear Searching,
I'd be detracting from life's beauty, mystery, and grandeur if I boiled its meaning down into one short answer.  But your quest for meaning is vitally important; it adds depth and compassion to everyday encounters as well as to those major turning points that prove unbearable without some degree of insight.  I encourage you to keep searching until you begin to find what's true for you, using whatever resources you value:  talks with friends, counseling, philosophy and religious texts, meditation and prayer, artistic creation, music, communion with nature, exploration of history, scientific discovery, love relationships, keeping a journal, service to other human beings. Through such avenues -- and most of all, through your own experience -- the meaning life has for you will begin to unfold.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Intrigued,
The current president and CEO of Harley-Davidson (but not the founder, so far as I've been able to determine) is a Cornell alum. Jeffrey L. Bleustein, 57, Class of '61, joined the company in 1975 as vice president-engineering, and during the next nine years made significant contributions to the revitalization and expansion of the company's product line, according to a press release issued by the company on June 27, 1997, announcing his appointment as CEO. Bleustein was one of 13 managers who purchased Harley-Davidson from AMF Inc. in 1981.  In addition to his BS from Cornell, Bleustein holds MS and PhD degrees in engineering mechanics from Columbia University.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Informative,
Thanks so much for this tip!  I checked with the Computer Science department staff and found out that CS100 is an "Intro to Computer Programming" course.  The course which teaches Web page design is CS130, which, alas, will not be taught this Spring '98 semester.  For more information on Computer Science course offerings, check the Web page at .

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Sad,
Your questions (and your tears) are profound ones.  Why people die suddenly or in great suffering is perplexing and mysterious; and when you have personal experience of this -- even if it's "personal" in the sense that your heart goes out to an Oklahoma City bombing victim you never met -- it can lead to a kind of crisis in your attempt to understand the meaning of life.  Perhaps you have read the book of Job in the Old Testament and remember how Job's friends tried to give him pat answers to his suffering, all to no avail:  Only an experience of God's presence and a chance to storm the heavens with his questions brought him some resolution.  So you're wise to be giving these matters the pondering they deserve.
        Because these questions have concerned people throughout history, you don't need to feel alone with your questions.  If you'd like someone to talk with in person, you can call the Cornell United Religious Works staff at 255-4214 and ask for an appointment to speak with a counselor, from your religion if you desire.  You can also avail yourself of the writings about death and suffering in scriptures:  your own (the Bible) and those of other traditions, like the Bhagavad-Gita, the Dhammapada, and the Tao Te Ching.  Beautiful contemporary writings approach the topics of suffering and death as well:  Mother Teresa's A SIMPLE PATH and A GIFT FOR GOD; Stephen Levine's WHO DIES? and HEALING INTO LIFE AND DEATH; C.S. Lewis's THE PROBLEM OF PAIN; the writings of Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross; and Sogyal Rinpoche's THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING ...to give just a few examples.
        As for how you should live with the imminence of these questions, Mother Theresa, from your own tradition, speaks eloquently:  "People die suddenly all the time, so it could happen to us too at any moment.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet come; we must live each day as if it were our last so that when God calls us we are ready, and prepared, to die with a clean heart."  This kind of preparation is crucial whether or not one is religious, because strangely enough, the eventuality of our death is one of the few things in life we can be sure of!  Preparation can take into account long-term goals -- like those for which you're studying -- but should never supercede them, because if you're not at peace with yourself in the present, when will you be at peace with yourself?

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Short on Ocean Spray,
When you've got your tastebuds all set for cranberry juice, it's frustrating to have your purchases curtailed!  According to Peggy Beach from Campus Life, there are a number of factors behind this rule -- including New York State tax laws -- but the bottom line is that meal-plan food items (including Cash-op purchases) are meant to provide for an individual's consumption at a meal.  This "two-item limit" maintains the tax-exempt status Dining has for meal plans and also discourages "grocery shopping" with Cash-op.
        Thanks, Peggy!  And happy holidays -- with unlimited Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice -- to you, too!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear MacInterested,
I passed your question along to Rick Cortright of the Technology Connection at Cornell Business Services (rc11@Cornell.edu).  He replies:  "Certification testing for Apple products is now conducted through Sylvan Pometric testing centers.  The closest center is in Rochester.  They offer testing on three different categories of Apple products:  the Mac desktop family, PowerBooks, and Laserwriter printers.  In order to take these tests, I believe, a person needs to first pass the A+ Certification core testing for the Mac platform. These tests are administered by the same organization.  I know Apple, through Repair, sold the self-pace kits to prepare you for the Mac tests.  These may now be available through the Apple Direct web page or other companies like Wave Technologies who prepares people for the A+ tests.  I hope this helps answer your questions."
        Thanks, Rick!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear American Wannabee,
I forwarded your letter to Jerry Wilcox, Director of the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO; B50 Caldwell Hall; 255-5243; jdw3@Cornell.edu), who replies: "Mis-information abounds about how one gets U.S. permanent residence.  One of the most pervasive myths is that if one stays in the United States for seven years, s/he qualifies for a green card.  This is not true.  Consult this site on the ISSO web page for the real information on how one obtains a green card:  .
        "Each semester, the ISSO sponsors a seminar called Visas After Graduation.  An immigration attorney and others in attendance give a complete overview of the process for obtaining work authorization after graduation and also fully explain the different ways a green card can be obtained.  For more information, please call the ISSO staff at 255-5243."
        Thanks, Jerry!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Waiting,
I relayed your letter to Bob Gabriel, EZ-Remote Product Manager (rfg3@Cornell.edu), who responds:  "In order to support 56K bps modems we need to make some major changes to the infrastructure behind the

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Concerned Employee,
Thanks for drawing attention to this important safety concern. The lights should be working again now.  I relayed your letter to Jim Gibbs, Director of Maintenance Management, who asked the shift mechanic to repair them.
        For future reference, whenever you notice street lights out, you should immediately call Customer Service at 255-5322.  Never assume that someone else will call problems in.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Frightened,
I'm so sorry!  Can you tell me more?  "Dear Uncle Ezra" is
written by a small staff of people who call upon Cornell's amazing array of caring, knowledgeable faculty, staff, and alums to gather answers to any question anyone wants to ask.  The intent is never to scare anyone, but rather to help and inform.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Bored and Curious,
Sure does get you huffing and puffing, doesn't it?  You're right, calculating the distance of an Aerobie thrown to West Campus does require taking the hill's slope into account.  That's more nit-picky calculations than I want to load on to Professor Galik at the moment, but if anyone wants to do the math, you'll find information about the degree of slope in the 10/9/97 "Dear Uncle Ezra" posting,
Q06.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Non-violent and Disappointed,
Sadly, "hitting closer to home" does turn out to be one of the sources of "rule of thumb".  Nina Cummings, an educator at Gannett who specializes in sexual assault issues, looked up this reference in the 1976 edition of BATTERED WIVES by Del Martin (one of the classics in the domestic violence movement):  "In America, early settlers held European attitudes towards women.  Our law, based upon the old English common-law doctrines, explicitly permitted wife-beating for correctional purposes.  However, certain restrictions did exist and the general trend in the young states was toward declaring wife-beating illegal.  For instance, the common-law doctrine had been modified to allow the husband 'the right to whip his wife provided that he used a switch no bigger than his thumb' -- a rule of thumb, so to speak."  Martin's source is "Criminal and Civil Liability in Husband-Wife Assaults" by Robert Calvert, in VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY, Steinmetz, S., & Kraus, M., (eds), NY: 1975.
        Thanks, Nina!  It's horrifying to think that such a rule of thumb amounted to progress in the treatment of women.  Anyone who feels they are suffering from the vestiges of such attitudes should call the Task Force for Battered Women crisis line -- 277-5000 -- for help.  Calls are treated with utmost confidentiality to increase callers' safety.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Devoted Niece,
No, it's not illegal, though I can understand your feelings of protectiveness towards your space.  The room inspection section of the terms and conditions of the housing contract reserves the "right to inspect rooms to ensure proper maintenance of sanitation and life-safety standards, to take inventory...", and "periodic inspections are made at reasonable times with advance notice except in emergency situations." This information is also outlined in the Closing Notice distributed to all students.
        According to Peggy Beach in Campus Life, the inspection that is done at the end of the fall semester is a very basic safety/maintenance inspection.  "We check to make sure windows are closed and locked, drapes closed, appliances unplugged, refrigerators are empty and unplugged, lights off, no animals are left behind, etc. Many students are tired (from exams) and in a hurry to leave campus and overlook some of the basics we require to keep our buildings safe and secure during the break."
        Peggy will be happy to speak with you if you have other concerns.  You can reach her by e-mail (mjb15@Cornell.edu) or phone (255-0816).  Thanks, Peggy!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Poetic,
I checked with German Professor Herbert Deinert (hd11@Cornell.edu) and with Reference Librarian Bob Kibbee (rk14@Cornell.edu).  Both guess that the fragment is NOT from Novalis, who did spend a fair proportion of his life on the sickbed but also used strict meters and rhyme.  Neither of them found a source for the poem, even in VON WEM IST DAS GEDICHT?  EINE BIBLIOGRAPHISCHE ZUSAMMENSTELLUNG AUS 50 DEUTSCHSPRACHIGEN ANTHOLOGIEN, an index to German poetry somewhat like GRANGER'S INDEX TO POETRY (which only does English and American poems).  If you can provide some context as to where you came across this poem, I'll be happy to search further.
        Thanks Professor Deinert and Bob!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Tibet,
When you're a multi-faceted person, it can be hard to narrow down the many appealing options at Cornell.  I recommend that you write to the staff at Admissions_mailbox@Cornell.edu, describing a bit about your academic interests and aspirations and asking for guidance as to which school to choose.  They will either be able to help you clarify your choice or to steer you to someone else (for instance, a resource person within a particular school) who can.
        I'm glad you associate beautiful aesthetics with the bridge, though I'm not sure which bridge you mean because, unfortunately, more than one campus bridge gets associated with suicide.  Strangely enough, the height which brings this association is also what gives the bridges such extraordinary views.  That shift -- from looking down at hard rocks to looking up to see the beauty that's right before our eyes -- can be the very shift needed to move from a life-threatening depression to restored hope.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Captain Happy,
So perhaps this risk you took in going against conventional wisdom is making you a bit remorseful...even so, don't let that squash your adventuresome spirit in the future!  It's often worth the risk to gain a potentially rewarding or special relationship.
        I can't, nor can anyone else, tell you what you "should" do, but I can help you consider some options so you can make a decision for yourself.  You can just wait a while longer to see if things begin to feel more comfortable:  Time does heal the heart and socially awkward situations.
        You can also consider having a talk with this woman to let her know how you're feeling and that you would like things to be more comfortable.  Prior to talking with her, think about what would make you more at ease around her -- is it a better understanding of why the two of you aren't involved anymore?  Is it her friendship that you'd like to have, and if so, how can you begin to talk about everyday things with her?  Is it planning your social time so that the two of you won't be at the same parties or hall events?  Tell her what you're thinking and give her the opportunity to talk about what she needs as well.  You can probably come up with some mutually agreeable, mutually comfortable ways to interact with each other.  Maybe, after you talk with her about this, you can even laugh together about the repercussions of "floorcest".
        And I bet a lot of people would love to see Roseanne Barr skinny dipping...beauty and body image are in the eye of the beholder!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Lovelorn,
The feelings are so precious AND so agonizing...I'm sure you not only want them to go away but also wish they could go on and on forever (especially if they were satisfied)!  Please don't think that you're ridiculous for falling in love with your TA.  First of all, the feeling of falling in love isn't anything we have any control over, and it's got a marvelous significance:  When we fall in love, we see in someone else the potentials for what we can become.  So your TA serves as a mirror for some of the amazing qualities unfolding in you.  And even more particularly, it's natural to fall in love with a teacher or TA because teaching is fundamentally erotic:  It's the transmission of love for a subject from one person to another. Without a little eros, academia is just dry facts blowing across the sands; get that love element in there, and the knowledge becomes rich and potent.
        What that all means for you on the practical plane of relationships is another matter.  As you know, romance needs to wait until your student-TA relationship is over, to guard against problems like favoritism or coercion.  Whether you actually WANT romance at that point sounds like another question for you:  Ten years is a big, but not impossible, age difference (and age differences do have a bearing on the feasibility of relationships:  see Q07 in the 11/6/97 "Dear Uncle Ezra" posting).
Since you have between now and winter break to avoid a relationship, why don't you take that time to sort through what the feelings really mean to you and whether or not you want to pursue them once the class ends?  You can do so by talking with an EARS (211 WSH; 255-EARS) or a CAPS (ground floor Gannett; 255-5208) counselor; by reading John Welwood's books on love relationships (CHALLENGE OF THE HEART and JOURNEY OF THE HEART); by talking with a trusted friend or relative; and/or by keeping a private journal in which you write about your feelings for your TA.
        If you find, through this process of introspection, that you don't want to pursue the relationship, then you can internalize the feelings by considering what you admire about this person and then exploring how you hold those same potentials in you.  The memory of your TA will then remain as an unsullied gem in your heart.  If you find you DO want to pursue romance, you can get creative about making contact next semester:  You have this person's name, so it's likely you can get a phone number or address, and then you're just one step away from extending an invitation for a walk or a cup of coffee.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear LARPer,
My guess is that you heard about ARRO:  Alternate Realities Roleplaying Organization.  Every month or so, ARRO members dress up as wizards, farmers, goblins, elves, clowns, and other members of an imaginary society and spend the day in an involved, spontaneous fantasy play with a medieval flair.  You can read more about it in the Fall, 1997 edition of ITHACA CHILD ("Who Is Lyla Nicheven, and Why Is She Always Making Faces?", pages 28-29) or you can call Alternate Realities at 277-0717 for more information.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Searching,
That would be the May 2, 1996 "Residential Communities Policy Statement".  You can contact Peggy Beach at Campus Life (255-0816) or Patty Ard in Student and Academic Services (255-9979); either of them will be happy to provide you with a hard copy of the document.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Rawlings Supporter,
Anyone can correspond with President Rawlings by e-mail through his assistant, Ann Huntzinger (akh2@Cornell.edu), or his appointments secretary, Pat Podufalski (pp28@Cornell.edu).  Ann and Pat print all correspondence and forward it to President Rawlings, who tries to respond as quickly as he can.  You can also deliver a tangible letter to his office in 300 Day Hall.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Concerned,
Your letter may well have done the trick, though there's no way of telling who else might have called about the lights.  It's good to know that you can be the one to get things fixed here!

Uncle Ezra