I would like to extend to Lance my heartfelt congratulations on his 30 years of teaching at SUNY-Albany. I can honestly say that he was the most enthusiastic and dedicated professor I had during my education. Now that the obligatory kudos have been stated, let's have some fun!
There is no doubt that Lance was the most entertaining professor I ever encountered. His assault on the English langauge resembles Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea; leave a scorched earth and take no prisoners. Thankfully, I can't even begin to remember most of his cliches, bad puns, bad metaphors, bad alliterations, etc. Just the other day Matt Pyle and I tried to remember the infamous one about the deck chairs on the Titanic! There is no doubt, though, that Lance was a master when it came to cliches and puns. When thinking of a musical analogy, is he like Horowitz and the piano? Perlman and the violin? Or Casals and the cello? No, Lance's puns were like a Wagnerian opera (i.e., an constant barrage that feels like it would never end!). For me the most memorable class was ATM 611, when myself and a quiet, mild- mannered fellow student named Bob Weisman (you might remember him, Lance) kept a daily running count of his cliches. I dug out my notebook from this class. I encountered this entry from October 2, 1984: after reeling off 3 cliches at machine gun speed (numbers 4-6 for that day) I wrote "He's rolling now!", and when #7 came out I wrote "Look out, Walter Payton!". Bob and I took this class the same semester we took the PhD exam so we needed some diversion. For the record, I counted 108 cliches in that class, with a daily record of 12 in the last class of the semester, in which Lance was dissecting the Uccellini President's Day Storm papers with a meat cleaver.
I also noted bad metaphors (there were a few of them) and even the number of times Lance launched into one of his Bad Data (or Lack of Data) Sermons on the Mount. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment!
Lance, I again congratulate you and I know that your best days lie ahead.
Eric
At one map discussion before a really big storm event about 8-9 years ago, Lance was holding court and said that he was contacted by the media about the coming storm. He then said, "I wonder how they got my number?" There was a short quiet pause after which I chimed in from the back of the room: "Lance, they must have previously used the men's room here..."
I am forever indebted to Lance for his patience with me as a somewhat recalcitrant student. Two relevant incidents come to mind. Shortly after the beginning of the Spring 1974 semester, I nervously entered his office, introduced myself and said that I wanted to conduct an independent study project under his supervision that semester on the subject of east coast winter cyclones. Given the lateness of this request, his reaction was understandable: "Well, nothing like waiting until the last minute!" Nevertheless, he agreed and the project extended over several semesters, culminating in my Macelwane Award-winning paper on this work. To say that this changed the course of my career plans is an understatement!
One day a few years later, with less than 24 hours before I was to give a presentation on my term paper in Lance's General Circulation course, I (with equal nervousness) walked into his office and announced that I didn't like my term paper topic and wanted to change it to "blocking". His reaction again was predictable: "Well, nothing like an 11th hour decision!" He then recited from memory, in his inimitable fashion, a long list of appropriate references and sent me on my way. The rest, as we say, is history; when your message arrived I was in the middle of writing my latest manuscript on blocking!
Congratulations to Lance for 30 years of mentoring students like me and for educating a generation of synoptic meteorologists.
Sincerely...Steve Colucci
Lance,
Congratulations on 30 years of teaching! The high quality and large number of students in different meteorology jobs today is a testament to your sizable influence on the field. I have been honored to have studied under you and I find myself extremely thankful for that on a frequent basis.
If I ever land a faculty job, there are many aspects of my teaching and advising that will be developed from your insightful and creative teaching style.
Sorry I can't be there personally to congratulate you!
Dave Schultz
Sorry -- in peru at the moment with a bad connection. wish the old fart my best on 5 may.
Anton Seimon
I'd love to forward a copy of the Rugrats episode "Passover" in which the 4-year-old Angelica (in the role of the Egyptian Pharaoh) tries to get breakfast the morning after freeing the Hebrew slaves (played by babies in this episode). When asking for cereal or milk, her servant says that the slave which gathered that item was freed:
Angelica/Pharaoh: And can you tell me what moron let the milk slave go?
Taskmaster: Uh, you did.
Angelica/Pharaoh: So, I'll just settle for a nice warm bath.
(Taskmaster shakes his head)
Angelica/Pharaoh: Don't tell me I threw out the baby with the bath water, too! (one of Lance's favorite cliches)
I guess you'll just have to settle for Lance's experience at chairing a session at the Mesoscale Conference at Penn State in 1985 or 1986. During the question and answer session, someone cracked a lame joke and Lance laughed with his infamous sabre-saw laugh. The rest of the audience laughed, but only after Lance launched his laugh directly into the microphone. For weeks afterward, all the graduate students would do the "Lance Bosart Laugh-a-like Contest" any time he walked into the weather lab!
Also, any reference to the Presidents' Day storm as "the most over-researched storm in meteorological history" would be welcomed.
If none of this worked, I can always try to send the governor of Minnesota out there (I've had quite enough of him after 3 months).
Bob Weisman
Return to Lance Bosart 30 Years of Teaching home page.