The non-work related highlight of my week was last Monday night. Having successfully bid on two tickets at the Lombardi Gala for the Monday Night Football game between the Redskins and my beloved Eagles, I took one of my sons to the game. We left my house at 6:30 pm, got to Route 202 by about 7:15 pm, and then crawled for about 90 minutes, getting to the FedEx Field parking lot just in time for the kickoff at 8:40. It could have been a more frustrating experience, but I don’t see how. By the time we made it into the stadium the Eagles were up by 14 points, and I was sure that they would be shut out the rest of the game. Little did I know what was in store for us. As luck would have it we were surrounded by Eagles fans, so it felt like a home game, but without the brawls. Plus, the seats were very good! The points just poured down, as did the rain. By halftime the score was 45-14, we were soaked through and through, and even though we were very happy with the outcome, we decided we’d had enough fun for one evening. We got back to the house in time to watch the fourth quarter. I should be dry any day now.
So, you might think that nothing at work could possibly compare with the chance to see this once-in-a-lifetime performance by my boys in green. However, we have a lot of good things going on in my lab, and I am so pleased that I had the good sense to continue doing the things I love—doing research and seeing patients—when I accepted the job as cancer center director. My days can be so incredibly interesting and rewarding. For example, yesterday started with a meeting that was led by Marc Schwartz and attended by the Hematology/Oncology fellows. This was followed by a meeting with one of my graduate students to review her research progress. I then met with Bob Clarke, where we talked about a few administrative things, but then had an actual discussion about collaboration that centered on new research directions. After that, I saw patients in clinic; this humbling experience always reminds me of the ultimate targets of everything we do.
I hurried from clinic to a late afternoon meeting regarding my expanding responsibilities over Lombardi’s clinical activities. Finally, Harriet and I drove to a restaurant for a dinner recognizing the remarkable contributions of the Fisher Foundation over the years to so many of our efforts. This Foundation has supported a research professorship for Anna Riegel, the Jess and Mildred Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research and the Georgetown Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program. Having reviewed the progress report we recently sent to the Foundation’s trustees, I can assure you that, not only have we abided by and exceeded the donors’ intent, but we have truly leveraged these gifts to promote many important Lombardi activities. We should all be grateful to Carol Pribulka of the Office of Advancement for her attentive and expert stewardship of the Foundation, and I certainly look forward to the continuation of all the great work that is supported by these gifts.
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend. I hope that both the Eagles and ‘Skins win their games.
