Whenever I have a lot to do, and I finally muster the resolve to do it, I’ll say “time to get down to it.” This always reminds me of that Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song, which makes me think of Kent State, which reminds me of the time I interviewed for a political science job with some of their professors at a convention in Chicago. The position was funded by an endowment they’d received from some donor or another who wanted the money to fund research and teaching about peace, whatever such an endeavor looks like.
I told them my research and teaching wasn’t focused on the topic of peace, but on the politics of cities and organizations. That was no matter, they assured me, they could finesse my resume to make it look like I was doing what the donor wanted.
I didn’t get the job, and I didn’t want the job, so I suppose that worked out well for everyone. I did decide, however, never to endow a university with a large amount of money. And so far I’ve stuck with that resolution.
