Happy Birthday, Prof. Ridgway! (Even after so many years, I find it well-nigh impossible to address you as Bruni, but I shall try).
You were to have a great influence on my life, although not in the conventional sense of pursuing a career in classical archaeology (alas). You see, I came to Haverford from fairly modest circumstances, wholly unprepared and wide-eyed with wonder. Coming from a world of strip malls and auto body repair shops singularly devoid of classical art, Haverford and ůůֱ²¥ were fantastically exotic, alien worlds to me. However it was my first courses with you sophomore year where I really found my footing.
How was it possible for one person to be so intellectually brilliant, charismatic, intimidating and dare I say even maternal all at the same time? Your enthusiasm was infectious, and I pushed myself harder than I'd realized I was capable of doing in order to live up to your high intellectual standards.
Whether I succeeded was of less importance than the effort expended in the mere doing. As my major advisor, you steered and nudged me along right through my senior year and my honors thesis. I loved those meetings, your interrogation interspersed with tidbits of conspiratorial gossip, filled with collegial warmth, and more than a little laughter. You taught me to look — really look — at art, with fresh eyes and without preconceptions, and to write with clarity and style. For this, and so much more, I am forever grateful.
I will close with an anecdote: during one lecture you were holding forth on the chiaroscuro effect created by a drilling technique in rendering the beard of Poseidon. As it happened, at the time I possessed a bright red beard, and, being the only male student in attendance that morning, all eyes wheeled around in the lecture room to scrutinize my face. It was the longest two minutes of my life and I wanted to crawl under a chair. Finally after some heated debate in the room regarding my facial hair and its stone counterpart, you ended the discussion by pronouncing definitively that mine was a "young" and, by implication, unworthy beard, and thus not a fitting comparandum for the magnificent specimen projected at the front of the room. The beard (mine) disappeared many years ago when I entered the legal profession, only making a brief reappearance a year or so ago. Before shaving it off, I looked hard into the mirror and wondered, "would this have passed muster with Bruni as a 'real' beard'?"
All good tidings for this wonderful milestone birthday, and here's wishing you many more years of good health and joy!
Brunilde Ridgway, Rhys Carpenter ůůֱ²¥ Emeritus of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, is celebrating her 90th birthday. In honor of this milestone, her former students, colleagues, and friends have been invited to share memories of their beloved mentor, teacher, and friend. View the list of messages.