TITLE: Unexpected Gifts
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: December 24, 2010  1:50 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
Last evening, my wife and I attended the wedding of one
of my former graduate students.  He is from India, and
his new wife is from Russia.  This was a small ceremony
and party, with only a few of their closest friends.
They will have big celebrations in their homelands next
year to commemorate the marriage with extended family.
This celebration consisted of a simple civil ceremony,
beautiful wedding vows, and lots of fun courtesy of
their multicultural friends.

I was honored that he asked me to attend, and more
honored that he considers me a close enough friend to
invite to such a small and intimate affair.  He arrived
at my university as a student in one of my classes.
Soon, he chose to work with me as his thesis advisor.
In the years since he graduated, we have become
colleagues and friends, talking first about our careers
then about our lives.  I consider him to be a friend of
the highest order.

The academic world sometimes delivers great gifts to
us.  There was no particular reason for this talented,
hard-working, generous, and loyal young man to arrive
on our doorstep, among all the many schools he could
have chosen.  When he did, I received the good fortune
of working with him academically for two years and
then the good fortune of a great friend thereafter.

One of the traditions the groom and bride celebrated
at their wedding was that anyone who wanted to give
a toast could do so.  Nearly everyone in attendance
who knew either of them did so, and the groom himself
spoke several times.  About half way through the
dinner and social time, my friend addressed the group,
answering the often-asked question, how does a young
man from Hyderabad end up at regional university in
the middle of America's cornfields?  He told a story
about the e-mail he and I exchanged as he looked for
an American grad school.  Though we did not know it
at the time, that was the beginning of our friendship.

This story honored me, far beyond the wedding
invitation, and humbled me.  It was an unexpected gift
as the snow began to fall at the outset of the holiday
weekend.

I wish Shri and Katya a lifetime of love and their own
deep friendship.  A friend is an eternal gift.
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