Happy Sunday! I have had a mostly non-vehicular, DC-based weekend following a pretty intense week. Harriet was involved in organizing, hanging and participating in an art show at Brookside Gardens this weekend, so I was on my own for half of Saturday and most of Sunday. I filled the hours with work, but stole a couple of hours on Saturday to play 9 holes of golf (poorly) with Harriet and our son David at East Potomac golf course in DC. And, on Saturday night Harriet and I grabbed a quick sandwich at Taylor Gourmet in Bethesda (which serves excellent Philly-style hoagies and similar fare) and then saw Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing at Bethesda Row Cinemas. It was a lot of fun, though I think that Hero (the woman wrongly accused of being a hussy) was a dope to accept Claudio’s apologies after he publicly humiliated her on the altar. It is not a great moment for gender equality, in my opinion. Nonetheless, it is always remarkable to witness the timelessness of great art, even after it is modified and reinterpreted for new generations, centuries and millenia.
I spent last Sunday and Monday at the GU Executive Committee Retreat at a hotel in Charlottesville, but had to leave at noon to drive back to DC to participate in the annual Men’s Event to benefit Lombardi at the Capital Grille in Chevy Chase. Paul Schweitzer led the effort, assisted by an able Organizing Committee and by Daphne Baker of the National Cancer Prevention Fund and our own Elena Jeannotte. It was very well attended. DeMaurice Smith filled in at the last minute as Master of Ceremonies for Leon Harris, who was ill and could not make the event. Beppe Giaccone and Sean Collins joined me in the Cancer Update for many of the attendees, one of whom was Oliver North.
The other highlight of the week was my visit to the Law Center to meet with Lawrence Gostin, Oscar Cabrera, and Benn McGrady from the O’Neill Institute. Larry is one of the world’s leading legal authorities on global health, and is currently working to emphasize non-communicable diseases such as cancer, obesity and diabetes as evolving threats in the developing world. He, Oscar and Benn all focus on tobacco control, and there are numerous potential synergies between their work, which focuses on how laws can influence health, with Lombardi’s efforts, many of which are in collaboration with the American Legacy Foundation and focus on providing an evidence basis for policy determinations. Benn was kind enough to give me an example of how policy and legal efforts can influence health related behaviors. The attached photo shows Benn with four Australian cigarette boxes, each of which graphically portrays a downside of smoking. He was kind enough to give me one of the boxes, which is now in my office. I have invited Larry, Oscar and Benn to give presentations at our Seminar Series, and to meet with individuals who may have intersecting interests. This is an example of how Lombardi might benefit from Georgetown’s unique strengths to increase its global impact. Stay tuned for more updates!
Have a great week.
