It was one of those rare moments when the planets align.
I was watching "Jeopardy!" last week. The Final Jeopardy question dealt with the French Revolution. The three contestants missed it. I nailed it! Bang!
No, I didn't nail it. Dr. John Barrett nailed it. He was one of my Marywood College professors. The courses were Roots of the Modern World in my freshman year and Peoples of the 20th Century in my sophomore year. They were Marywood fancy names for World History I and II.
When I saw and heard the question, I was immediately transported to the building you see above, right side, a classroom on the first floor, facing the back of the building. The year was 1979.
Let me tell you about Dr. Barrett. I've never met a teacher or professor who knew his material so well, and had so much enthusiasm for it. No one knew World History, especially the French Revolution, better. I'm sorry It took me 42 years and a cheesy game show to realize it. Back in the day, all I wanted to do was get out of that class and go over to the radio station to play the Doobies and Floyd.
By the way, it was a B in both World History courses.
It took 42 years, but those courses paid off.
I am in the process of trying to track the guy down to say "thank you" for the "Jeopardy!" win and for being a damned good professor. He needs to know he did make a difference, and it goes far beyond "Jeopardy!"
Thank you!
