A message from Rafe
After the Summer Schools of Alsace and Bruges, the 60-years-old retired mathematician Rafe Donahue writes a message to the Round Table. A wonderful display of gratitude and enthusiasm after his experience with us. Polemicarc is proud to publish it, and here it is:
 
I keep telling people that I meet (and I have mentioned this in conversations with many of you) that TRA captured lightning in a bottle this summer.
Nadia and Noé, through the selection of the students, the curriculum, and the instructors, put together one of the great adventures of my life. I continue be deeply moved when telling the stories of my summer when I discuss what transpired during July and August.  Yes, the wonderous artwork i saw —in stone, in wood, in plaster and clay and tile and paint and fresco and so many more media— was breath-taking; the talent displayed by my fellow students (please allow me to be considered a "fellow student", although I am humbled by the thought) leaves me without words for description, yet it was shared so openly and graciously that it seemed otherworldly; the assistance, knowledge, and wisdom passed along freely by the faculty (and the most dear miss Audity Haider) was like a continual rain of beauty brought into every day. Yet, all of these things were simply the framework within which the real truth, beauty, and goodness of my summer were housed.
The part of the grand package that was my summer 2024 that I keep raving about is the people that I met and how the simple thought of each one of them still continues to make me smile.
Every one of you has impacted me; you have all made my life richer; quoting the psalmist: "my cup overflows".
Some of you know that I see each and every one of you as unique manifestations of Imago Dei, of the image and likeness of God.  You are beautiful human faberge eggs, each with distinct and special facets and sparkles that radiate the soul that lives in you —all exquisite, all special, all beautiful, all manifestations of Love.  And it is this collection of the pictures of these eggs in my mind —these beautiful and fragile and wonderful and divinely-created eggs— that I get to carry with me and share with others.  
 
And if I can share with others even a fraction of this bounty I lived this summer via telling the story of my time with all of you, then every difficultly can be overcome, every stressor can be eased, and I have begun to share the Love you brought to me with the outside world.  
 
So, thank you.  You mean the world to me.
 
 
The Bruges' 2024 Class
Great Estival Celebration featuring INTBAU Chapters and other Summer Schools
 
The first podcast episode describing my 2024 summer school(s) adventures was released this morning and is available for download (also available on Apple and Spotify):
More episodes will be forthcoming in the weeks that follow.  (New episodes drop on Tuesdays.  Subscribe [it's free] to be sure to get all the Bufnaglely content you deserve.)
 
 
Previous episodes from the Spring of 2024 related to ASSAC and BSSAC include:

* Ep 187: The Joy of Summer School — And a Big Announcement!  (APRIL 23, 2024)
* Ep 189: Acronyms, Army, and Architecture — The Buf Takes Listener Questions (MAY 07, 2024)
* Ep 202: Great Cathedrals — What Are Their Bells Calling Us To Do? (AUGUST 06, 2024)
* Ep 204: Covid-24, Fiber Optics, and Summer School — A Rambling Conversation About Upcoming Topics (AUGUST 27, 2024)
 
Here the complete list, updated at each episode:
 
EPISODE 205 - Pt. 1 "I fell in love with Barr"
EPISODE 206 - Pt. 2 "I am at peace"
 
If you personally have an interesting story to tell of your time with ASSAC or BSSAC this summer, we would be honored to host you for an episode(s) to tell your story.  Personal stories make the best episodes so send me a note.
 
Rafe Donahue
 
 
Posted: 06/09/2024 10:37 — Author(s): Rafe Donahue

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