Well, the letters are out, to welcome incoming William and Mary students who have indicated “Lutheran” as their religious preference. This was not as easy to do as it has been in past years.
A week ago yesterday, when I returned from vacation, I did not find the list of names waiting for me in my e-mail in-box, which is usually the case. But, I figured, the Dean of Students office might be running late. No need for artificial anxiety. I wasn’t too concerned.
After waiting several days, I e-mailed a campus ministry colleague who said, “Oh, I received my names a couple of weeks ago.” So I e-mailed the president of the Campus Ministries United, and he e-mailed the Dean of Students office (copying me on that e-mail), informing them of my problem. Good. I was sure that would solve the problem.
But, by yesterday, the names had still not come into my e-mail in-box. And the freshmen arrive on Friday! So here’s what I did. I resorted to old technology. I picked up the telephone.
I called the Dean of Students office and explained my predicament, and was transferred to a very helpful and competent guy named Jeremy who had sent the names out weeks earlier. He said, “I got the earlier e-mail, and just sent the names to you again.” I said, “Well, I haven’t received them.” He said, “What’s your e-mail address?” That identified the problem. Jeremy had an invalid address. I gave him my accurate address, and seconds later, the e-mail arrived in my in-box, with the attachment containing the names.
I couldn’t open the attachment.
I telephoned Jeremy again. I explained that my software couldn’t open the attachment. He said, “Oh, don’t you have the new XL software?” I said, “No” (having no idea what he was talking about, but knowing that our software is ANCIENT — it’s several years old). I said to Jeremy, “Tell you what. If you will print out the list, I’ll come down to get it.” (Jeremy’s office is in the Campus Center, only a half-mile down Jamestown Road.)
So. Let down by new technology, I turned to old technology.
I hung up the telephone (invented in 1876), got on my bicycle (invented also in 1876, at least the machine that is a direct ancestor to modern bicycles), and rode to the Dean of Students office. Jeremy had made a copy of the list on the photocopy machine (invented in 1937, commercially available in 1950). I rode my bicycle back to the office, ran off the letters on my printer (the first high speed printer was invented in 1953), addressed the envelopes with my ball point pen (invented in 1938), and took them to the Post Office (the first regular postal deliveries in America took place in 1683, between Philadelphia and my home town of Wilmington, DE).
I hope they’ll arrive at the students’ homes before they leave for Williamsburg on Thursday night or Friday morning!
