My friend's last book was "Influences". Today, we discussed people, especially teachers, who influenced us. I thought of Prof. John Lewis, who did many things, but brought my attention to the classmate to whom I have been married for 58 years. I thought of Prof. Onion, who made the challenges facing the early French royalty trying to unify the country real by getting us to use our thinking caps to tell how to go about the job. I thought of a third professor whose name eludes me that didn't like my attitude. I wasn't fond of his, either.
When I think of influences or rather influencers (a modern use of the term to mean someone on YouTube or Instagram is not where I am going), I think of books. I had a fun course with graduate students, accredited and experienced teachers, about books that mattered to us sometime during our lives. I always mentioned C.S. Lewis and Jacques Barzun. John Kemeny and John Tukey are less well-known but they helped me with my graduate studies and dissertation.
Lately, I have been influenced by "Incognito" by Eagleman and "The Hungry Brain" by Guyenet and "Our Towns" by Fallows and Fallows. The novels of Tony Hillerman and Alexander McCall Smith. The Buddhist and Zen writings of Jack Kornfield, Dan Harris, Jay Michaelson, Charlotte Beck, Pema Chodron and Sylvia Boorstein have influenced me very much. The history books "What Hath God Wrought" and "Fear Itself" and "Mr. Lincoln's T-mails" mattered and matter still.
