Josh Renaud's weblog detailing the exploits of his family in Ferguson, MO, USA. Starring Yoli, Jadzia, Ludi, Josie, and Joseph Renaud.
Front row: Sharon Reus, Michelle McMurray, Kathleen Riddler
In November 1966, UMSL’s student newspaper published its first issue under the name “Current.” That means The Current turns 50 this year!
To celebrate, this year’s editor-in-chief, Kat Riddler, put together a fantastic banquet for the current Current staff, alumni and other interested folks.
Higher education had a term for folks like Benjamin Israel: “nontraditional student.” That applied to him in so many ways.
Benjamin died Monday morning. I wanted to share a little bit about his impact.
I first met Benjamin when I worked at UMSL’s student newspaper, The Current. Unlike the rest of us, he was older, with many years of journalism experience under his belt.
Ten years and two days ago, while I was the editor-in-chief of The Current, I published the following issue of The Stagnant (our annual April Fool’s Day insert).
There is a lot of goose-related humor throughout. Geese have always been a mainstay of UMSL, a problem shared by many other business and school campuses … including McCluer High School.
Today the geese had their revenge on me for poking fun at their expense. As I was returning to McCluer to pick up Jadzia from her preschool class, two geese loomed ahead of me on the sidewalk. I tried to give them a wide berth, but one began hissing. I moved farther away, but I guess it wasn’t enough space. One of the geese ran at me, and then began flying after me.
I high-pedaled it out of there, and took a circuitous route through the muddy grass to go around them. All the teachers and people inside were wondering what was going on.
Thankfully no harm came to either me or the geese.
Yoli told me later I should have used a slingshot and fought back ala Angry Birds (our latest iPad craze).
Ten years ago I was swept away by the current.
Make that The Current.
Time’s swift flow always catches me off-guard. Was it that long ago that I was using a wax machine to paste strips of paper onto pageboards? “Coffee and donuts with your paper” at the MSC? Zip disks? Blanche? The bowling nights? The Ecchers? Coming in second at College Bowl? Was it all that long ago?
Well, yes. It really has been a decade since perhaps the pivotal year of my life. During the 2000-01 academic year, I was editor-in-chief of UMSL’s student newspaper, The Current.
I remember a time in my office at The Current when I was looking at the “editor’s mug.” It was a metal drinking vessel inscribed with the names of editors of The Current, going back to Michelle McMurray, who had been editor exactly 10 years before me. I thought at the time, “Wow. Ten years. That’s really long.”
And now it’s been ten years for me!
Saturday night was Yoli’s annual appreciation dinner for employees of the Ferguson Municipal Library. It was held at the Thyme Table, as usual, and the food was pretty good. This year they had a beef roast, with an egg/potato layered thing, and veggies. There was also a very nice chocolate mousse cake with an oreo crust. It all tasted even finer because it was FREE.
As were planning for the dinner, we decided to use a babysitter again and make an evening of it. I tried to come up for ideas of stuff to do afterward (art museum? history museum? some sort of concert?). I came up with something different — we should go to The Blanche.
(The Blanche, for those who don’t know, is what I call the “Touhill Performing Arts Center” at UMSL)
UMSL music students were holding end-of-the-semester recitals. There was a violin and piano performance scheduled for 7:00 p.m. This seemed right up our alley, since we are a somewhat musical family… (Yoli is the one who can actually play instruments. I just sing) Anyway, Yoli and I showed up. I think we were the only ones there who were not fellow music students. But still it was a lovely hour of FREE classical music. It doesn’t get much better than that!
After the concert we watched a movie called “Once” which I really, really enjoyed. It’s about two brokenhearted people in Dublin — a street musician guy and a Czech immigrant girl — who hang out, sort of fall in love, and make really great music together. That description doesn’t do the movie justice. Suffice it to say that it is probably one of the best films I have seen in the last year. Making it even sweeter? The fact that we checked it out for FREE from the aforementioned Ferguson Municipal Library.
On Thursday evening, I went to UMSL to visit an open house at the offices of The Current, the student newspaper. I was once the editor-in-chief, and that place will always have a special place in my heart. In fact, I was the one who presided over the paper’s move into this particular office.
Anyway, it was a fun short visit. Dave and Brian, other former Currenteers, were also there. As I walked out to the parking lot with Dave, I was confronted by a yellow envelope under my windshield.