Adding to the family tree

I don’t think I’ve ever been so overwhelmed with inspiration and motivation. Everyone is so helpful and sincere that I don’t know what to do with all the kindness. Every time I think I know whom I want to write about, something reminds me of a previous session or a comment my writing coach made or a joke I shared with a fellow Chipster. Still, I find John Quinn (at left) standing out just a bit more than others. After I introduced myself at dinner on the first night, he asked what books I would be stealing from my father’s collection before I left for my internship. I was taken slightly off guard because I had forgotten that I’d written that in my profile. I didn’t expect to be asked about it. I also was touched that he would know such a seemingly insignificant detail and want to know more. I’m touched by him several times a day. I’m sure to be greeted by name and with a handshake or pat on the back. Other times, he chips off another block of knowledge about me as if questioning a nephew or close friend of his family. If someone joins our conversation, he shares what he knows about me as if to show me off. There’s a sincerity in these practices that I can say I’ve only seen when my family members introduce me to their friends and colleagues. So of course I feel like family, and isn’t that the point of being here? Who would have known I could add another branch to the family tree in three days?

-- David Lipscomb, University of Maryland, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y.