Alice the remarkable

One of the definitions for "quirky" is peculiar and far out. When my colleague and friend, Alice, sent me her recent chalk drawings I was blown away. Not only is Alice a remarkable and intimidating historian, not only is she a genius with photography, but she also is extremely talented with chalk. In the years I taught with her, she often did drawings on a square of blackboard paint and these welcomed you to her room until one nitwit or another would lean against it, accidentally, and wipe it away. Now Alice is working with giant, canvas podiums.

Her art work is far out, and the only thing peculiar about this knowledge, to me, is how so much talent can reside in just one individual. In my years of teaching with Alice, she always kept me inspired, on my toes and thoughtfully provoked. To this day, her genius never ceases to amaze me and I could never imagine life not knowing her.

Beyond tornados, Hitler, and serial killers, there's also Rembrandt Alice whose fingers have the capability to make the world a more beautiful place (and I'm including more than her two middle fingers -- I've also known them throughout the years of our friendship).