A coinkydink

Today is the anniversary of the second moon landing, by Apollo 12, in 1969. The mission ' s commander was Charles " Pete " Conrad. It so happens that Conrad attended Haverford prep school in Pennsylvania and was a classmate of my father. Haverford expelled him after the 11th grade, whereupon he attended and graduated from the Darrow School in New Lebanon New York which happens to be the same school from which I graduated after being expelled from Andover.According to his Wikipedia page, Haverford expelled him because he was dyslexic and flunked his exams. According to my father, however, they expelled him because he stole the chaplain ' s car and drove it into a pond. That would presumably be the Duck Pond on the Haverford College campus next door.  (Don ' t sue me for libel, I acknowledge that is second hand.) Conrad went on to graduate from Princeton and then to the moon. I went on to graduate from Swarthmore and then to Providence. Oh well.I tell this tale mainly because it reminds us that our fates don ' t necessarily get locked in by youthful indiscretions -- at least not if we meet certain criteria. I always tell my undergraduate advisees not to lose sleep over small stuff, including a B, which some of them seem to think is a life-ending event. But there are lots of kids who end up in juvenile detention if they steal a car, and their lives really are over. What ' s the difference between them and Conrad? You know.Just something to think about.Update: If you read th...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs