{"id":411,"date":"2006-11-08T07:24:46","date_gmt":"2006-11-08T13:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=411"},"modified":"2022-01-02T07:39:24","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T12:39:24","slug":"going-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=411","title":{"rendered":"Going Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had the pleasure recently of attending Homecoming festivities at our alma mater (Hail!) Harding University<\/a>. Here are some shots of the recently retooled campus quad, including the old administration building, the revived and functioning-once-more Lily Pool and the gleaming edifice of the renovated American Heritage Center:<\/p>\n

\"img_0150.JPG\"<\/p>\n

\"img_0143.JPG\"<\/p>\n

\"img_0146.JPG\"<\/p>\n

Number One Son had a chance to look around again as he continues to mull over his college choices, and Eyegal and I had a chance to see old friends and make new ones. I had the pleasure of meeting in person for the first time fellow blogger Full Professor Mark Elrod<\/a> over a delectable (and dirt cheap) breakfast at Bobby’s Family Restaurant<\/a> on the courthouse square. The weather was perfect for the football game on Saturday, and the Bisons came through with a thrilling OT win over Henderson State.<\/a> It wasn’t quite game day in Tuscaloosa<\/a>, but hey, at least our boys won–unlike a certain other team I root for.<\/p>\n

\"dr-joe-think.jpg\"Probably the most memorable event to occur over the weekend was the death of Dr. Joseph Pryor<\/a>, retired professor of physics and V.P. for Academic Affairs at the university. “Dr. Joe” was a beloved man, as humble and gracious as they come, and a Harding legend. With his bow tie and squeaky, geeky tone of voice, his was the image of the quintessential academician.<\/p>\n

He graduated from Harding at the age of 19 and by his early 20s had obtained a PhD in mathematics from LSU (he was for many years the youngest doctoral graduate from that institution). He had planned to be a medical doctor, but Harding president George Benson talked him into returning to his “nourishing mother”<\/a> where he devoted a lifetime to preparing future doctors and scientists for service to God and humanity.<\/p>\n

True story: One winter day in the early 1980s, a severe ice storm passed through Searcy. In chapel that morning, Dr. Joe lectured us on the basic physics of slippery sidewalks.<\/p>\n

\n

“Please exercise extra caution today as you traverse campus since the recent ice storm has drastically reduced the coefficient of friction.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I last saw Dr. Joe two years ago at a Homecoming banquet. He was wheelchair bound and barely responsive, but he tried his best to smile and acknowledge the many friends and alumni who stopped by his table to hug him and pat him on the back. At the close of the evening, we all stood to sing the Harding Alma Mater. Dr. Joe couldn’t stand, but my eyes grew a little misty as I watched him mouth the words of that paean to his beloved school.<\/p>\n

The irony of Dr. Joe going home<\/em> during Homecoming was not lost on any of us as we heard the news Saturday morning that he had passed away the previous day. I wondered, what with so many of his old friends and students gathered together, that he might have thought: Now that I have you all here… <\/em><\/p>\n

You probably know where this is headed by now. Attention Harding alumni everywhere: pause, right where you are, and join me in a rousing chorus of the Alma Mater–in honor of Dr. Joe and for auld lang syne.<\/a> It won’t hurt at all. In fact, it might be a bit like going home.<\/p>\n

\n

Near the foothills of the Ozarks, amid the hill and plain,<\/p>\n

Stands our glorious Alma Mater, Harding is her name.<\/p>\n

Sing the chorus, shout it loudly, echoing through the vale.<\/p>\n

Hail to thee, beloved Haaaaardiiiiiing! Alma Mater Hail!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We had the pleasure recently of attending Homecoming festivities at our alma mater (Hail!) Harding University. Here are some shots of the recently retooled campus quad, including the old administration building, the revived and functioning-once-more Lily…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,32,54,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-harding-university","category-nostalgia","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9878,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411\/revisions\/9878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}