Arts & Sciences by Mort Laitner
I opened my mailbox and pulled out the Fall addition of the University of Miami’s College of Arts (CAS) and Sciences quarterly magazine.
As a graduate of the CAS, I read the magazine from cover to cover. I remembered my glorious days as an undergraduate.
Days of self exploration.
Days of trying to map out my future.
Days of asking why am I here?
At UM—I learned the meaning of commitment.
At UM—I made my commitment— to make a difference in the lives of others.
At UM—I taught inner-city six graders to read.
At UM—I experienced different cultures—I praying in a Overtown church and drinking in a Liberty City bar.
At UM—I attended a pauper’s funeral and heard a county-jail prisoner evoke words of love to a dead man he never met.
At UM—I helped hand out free cheese to the less fortune.
I never questioned the value of a liberal arts education.
Where else can you learn the meaning of love and commitment.
On the back pages of the magazine, I found Class Notes. A section divided by decades, in which graduates submit updates on their lives.
I scanned the 70s, there was my name and a blurb about my movie “The Stairs”.
Below my blurb, I saw a photo of Gloria Estefan. She graduated the College of Arts and Sciences in 1978. Now she is receiving the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime of contributions to American culture through the performing arts.
I thought, “What do I and Gloria have in common?
Well, we both went to UM’s College of Arts and Sciences and graduated with a degree in love and commitment.
What the readers are saying;
WOW!—Patrick
Cool.—Avi
Thumbs up.— Elaine
Love it, Mort You have made a diff— a big diff. Ricki
Me too! English major plus Journalism.—Eva
Hi, Teresa. Please consider for January’s ‘Authors Voice.”—Evelyn
Good one.— Barbara
Awww! Touching. Thanks for sharing. — Sue
