Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Pomegranate Martinis Tomorrow

Tomorrow I leave for Cincinnati to attend the annual conference of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, a conference I have attended 18 times over the last 20 years. This is the 20th year anniversary of the conference, and I've missed only twice. It's a joyful occasion for me to hear some stimulating papers, but also to connect with beloved former grad students who first attended the conference under my chaperonage and are now all grown-up and coming with grad students of their own.

This year I'm not presenting a paper, but giving comments in an Author Meets Critics session on a book called The Ethics of Parenting by Norvin Richards, newly released from Oxford University Press. A lot of my own philosophical work has been in this area - I've written papers on issues ranging from the rise of the use of Ritalin and other behavior-modifying medications for children to conflicts between parents and non-parents in the workplace - so I was pleased to be invited to read Richards's book and reflect on it.

But the best part of the conference will be the pomegranate martinis with Sara and Chris in the hotel bar of this beautiful art deco hotel, the Netherland Plaza Hilton, on the National Register of Historic Places. Oh, I hope they have them again this year! But even if they don't, I imagine that I can find some palatable substitute. And Sara, Chris, and I will talk for hours and hours and hours, listening to the piano player's schmaltzy selections. I can't wait.

No comments:

Post a Comment