Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Tom Levy or Jazzfest?

When I was a student at UCSD I had the privilege of working with Tom Levy. He supervised and co-supervised many archaeological excavations on which I worked, both in Israel and in Jordan. It was great working with him. Today I received in the mail an invitation for the inauguration of the Norma Kershaw Endowed Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands, and of course, Tom is the recipient of the chair. So I thought about going. I even went to Continental's website to purchase a ticket. It would be great to see my friends at UCSD. Plus the list of speakers is pretty damn impressive, and includes Jodi Magness, Bill Dever, Baruch Halpern, and Lawrence Stager, plus the UCSD Judaic Studies Faculty (Tom Levy, David Goodblatt, Bill Propp, Dick Friedman and David Noel Freedman). But then I checked my calendar and it turns out that the inauguration is the first weekend of Jazzfest. Damn! And this Jazzfest will be extra significant this year, very symbolic and emotional. So I can't decide what to do, but my dilemma revealed to me how much I have been changed by the whole experience of Katrina. In years past I would have gone to UCSD for sure, no hesitation. But now I sort of feel like being with my family and friends at Jazzfest that first weekend is where I am supposed to be. I'd wager that Siduri, the alewife in the Gilgamesh Epic, would advise me to go to Jazzfest. But then again the King of Uruk himself would probably go to UCSD. What to do?

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