An affair to remember

I remember the York University commencement in the spring of 2000, when I was given my Ph.D. in history, for a dissertation on the Chinese treaty port of Chongqing and its foreign community in the early 20th century.  Since this was a doctorate, I got a round red cap to wear instead of the regular mortarboard.  Elaine and Fabio, whom I'd been in class with years before but hadn't seen in quite a while, were also getting doctorates.  Opera singer Teresa Stratas got an honorary degree and gave a memorable speech.

Writing the thesis had been a difficult experience for me.  By the time it was over, I felt like a mother who'd given birth to a handicapped child. (My apologies to any real-life mothers of handicapped children who feel offended by the comparison.) It felt like the scene in Easy Rider where Dennis Hopper says "We did it!" but Peter Fonda says "We blew it."

At the commencement I met Marilyn Zivian, York's assistant dean for graduate studies, who'd attended my final examination.  She now mentioned that she'd loved my dissertation.  I'm glad someone did.  And yet, for all the grief I went through, I wish I could do something like that again.