COMMENTARY: Continuing Education in 2017

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

― Abigail Adams, in a May 8, 1780 letter to her son, John Quincy Adams

I’ve been lucky to hear and learn from many great thinkers in 2017. Among the most thought-provoking:

Magician Eugene Burger. Our dear friend and greatest teacher. January 2017 opened with a performance and lecture by Eugene at Magic, Inc., Chicago’s oldest magic shop. In June, Robert Charles, Simone Marron and I were fortunate to travel again with Eugene to see his lecture at Tannen’s Magic Shop in New York City. Among the subjects Eugene emphasized: the value of kindness, the power of story.

Writers Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt, Robert N. Georgalas, Patricia Ann McNair, John McNally, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Alex Kotlowitz, Isabelle Allende and Luis Alberto Urrea. So many great new books released this year! Interesting to hear these authors discuss, among other topics, hope and truth. Coates noted plainly, “It’s not my job to give someone hope.”

Civil rights champions Cleve Jones, Kris Perry and Sandy Belzer Stier. Kris and Sandy also released their book, “Love on Trial,” describing their journey in successfully fighting for marriage equality in California. Plus, Robert and I were among the packed crowd at Sidetrack to hear Owen Keehnen’s smart, skillful interview with Cleve (“When We Rise”) Jones – the only time an author’s reading has turned into a tub-thumping rally … though I get the sense Cleve could order dinner off the a la carte menu and make it sound like Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day call to battle. 

Scholars Catherine Ayoub from Harvard, Patricia Kuhl from University of Washington, and Manuel Pastor from University of Southern California. Listening to America’s top scientists is always fascinating – and always reminds me of how utterly vapid U.S. politics has become. Of all the so-called professionals, politicians – especially Republican politicians – live in a world drenched in drivel and denial.

Curators Sarah Kelly Oehler and Emerson Bowyer lecturing, respectively, on the Art Institute of Chicago’s Whistler’s Mother exhibit and current Rodin exhibit. “Art is the signature of civilization,” as Beverly Sills once said. Taking the opportunity to learn from Chicago’s world-class museums is one of the many perks of living in a great city.

Mel Brooks. The creator of three of the funniest films of all time – “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” – can make me laugh just by walking onto stage. I’m still so grateful to Ed Underhill for inviting me to join him, David L. Baumgartner and Brian Boholst for a hilarious afternoon at the Chicago Theater.

Investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. The annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha is nicknamed, “Woodstock for Capitalists.” The advice on investing is extraordinary. The common-sense wisdom is priceless.

Kathleen Carpenter. She’s one of the world’s better human beings – and a walking encyclopedia of Chicago architecture. You don’t really get to know Chicago until you study Chicago from the river and Kathleen’s river tour for the Chicago Architecture Foundation is the way to go.

Vice President Joe Biden. He dedicated the new Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center – and gave it the full-Biden. “If there are angels in Heaven,” he told the standing-room-only crowd at one point, “I know they’re nurses.”