2011.01.30: January 30, 2011: Jamaica RPCV Melinda Robins and Korea RPCV Gordon Ruesch go out on a blind date
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2011.01.30: January 30, 2011: Jamaica RPCV Melinda Robins and Korea RPCV Gordon Ruesch go out on a blind date
Jamaica RPCV Melinda Robins and Korea RPCV Gordon Ruesch go out on a blind date
I felt comfortable with Melinda. [There was] a spookily serendipitous string of correspondences. I asked if she'd seen the New Yorker piece on Saddam's statue – she [had] just been reading it, producing the very article from her pocket. We were both Peace Corps volunteers – she in Jamaica, me in Korea. We both are Noam Chomsky fans.
Jamaica RPCV Melinda Robins and Korea RPCV Gordon Ruesch go out on a blind date
Collegial connection
Will these two academics end up professing their passion?
January 30, 2011
Gordon Ruesch, 58, lecturer in composition
Who plays you in the movie of your life? The Woody Allen, Gary Cooper, Al Pacino tri-clone
What do people notice when they walk into your home? Oy. Books. Books. Pictures. Art. Books. And later, dust.
Melinda Robins, 57, journalism professor
Name three things you couldn't live without on a desert island: Music, chocolate, my dog Lucy
Who plays you in the movie of your life? Bette Davis
7 p.m. blu, Boston
Prep work
Melinda: I was thinking of wearing a dress, but it was snowing out, and I said, what the heck, go with the tight jeans.
Gordon: Before the date, I tried to put a crease in my pants and Googled directions. So I ended up leaving a bit late.
Melinda: I told a couple at the bar I was there for a Dinner With Cupid. My back was to the reception area, and they told me, "I'll bet that's him!" They were right.
Gordon: Melinda struck me as very attractive. Lovely eyes.
Melinda: He was dressed simply: white shirt, dark sports jacket. And a ponytail!
Gordon: She said she thought a ponytail on a man was cute.
Melinda: He looked a little rumpled, but it was a snowy night, after all.
Extra credit
Gordon: Melinda revealed that she taught journalism at a Boston college, and my eyes popped a bit because I, too, teach writing at a Boston-area university. From there we fell into conversation that made me forget about the dinner.
Melinda: I don't think either of us wanted to talk about work, but it was an obvious point of connection.
Gordon: I felt comfortable with Melinda. [There was] a spookily serendipitous string of correspondences. I asked if she'd seen the New Yorker piece on Saddam's statue – she [had] just been reading it, producing the very article from her pocket. We were both Peace Corps volunteers – she in Jamaica, me in Korea. We both are Noam Chomsky fans.
Melinda: We also talked about music we liked. Him: folk-rock. Me: anything that makes me tap my toes.
Gordon: We both like African contemporary music, both know Taj Mahal, both think white audiences need to get up and shake it.
Melinda: When we sat next to each other for the photo, he put his hand on my waist – then thought better of it.
Gordon: I put my arm around her. ("Watch where you put that hand.")
Finals
Melinda: We were at the restaurant for three hours, and I felt talked out.
Gordon: We'd been talking a long time, food was gone, last coffee signaling "go."
Melinda: We exchanged phone numbers and each of us said we'd call.
Gordon: I was so rapt, I was surprised to find myself standing in the street, cold.
Melinda: [He gave me a] sweet little peck on the lips.
Gordon: I kissed her – was she surprised? The kid in me pronounced, aloud, "Oh, sweet!"
Post-mortem
Melinda: A-
Gordon: A-
A second date?
Melinda: We said we would. We'll see.
Gordon: I said I hoped we might meet again. Lightning strikes but once with correspondences like these!
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2011; Peace Corps Jamaica; Directory of Jamaica RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Jamaica RPCVs; Peace Corps Korea; Directory of Korea RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Korea RPCVs; Massachusetts
When this story was posted in May 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest. |
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
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Story Source: Boston Globe
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Jamaica; COS - Korea
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