From Tabusintac to Tokyo | Page 8

that was bothering him; he never had much of a head for alcohol.
I know it seems ungracious to complain about a free meal. But this is only in retrospect. At the time, I was as polite and grateful as my immature personality allowed me to be. I have dined out (so to speak) on this incident over excellent dinners many times in the past twenty years or so. It makes an excellent story. I have nothing to complain about.
And I should be grateful that it wasn't worse. My younger brother, who followed in my steps at Bridges, dined many times at McFish's. He had sheep hearts one night for dinner.
P.S. In spite of the picture I have painted of McFish's frugal way with a dollar, he was always a generous man with his time and vittles. I remember that he cracked open a bottle of 35-year old wine and shared it with undergrads whose age was half that of the wine. While the bottle was only big enough so that we each got about two ounces, it was certainly the best, smoothest vino that I had ever tasted.
Unlike many of his contemporaries and successors, McFish had a vision for how affairs in our residence and university should be arranged. While he might not have been right every time, and while he had a tendency to drive his colleagues mad, he made his case fearlessly and tirelessly.
He was an educator in the truest sense of the word; aside from his duties as a professor, he worked diligently to broaden the horizons of his charges even though we were too callow to see beyond the toes of our sneakers.

How Coffee Led To My Education
In one of Robertson Davies' books, a British paper's obituary for the main character reads in part, "a€|went to school in Canada, was educated in Britain". The implication is that you can get your basics in the Colonies, but by God, if you want a good education, you better come to the Mother Country.
That does bring up a good point. When I went to university to take engineering, I didn't really think about education; I was going to get a degree that was going to get me a job doing something cool and nifty. If you had asked me what an education was, I would have shrugged and told you that's what I was currently getting.
In the 25 or so years since being ejected from UNB, sheepskin in my hot little hand, I've had occasion to think about what an education looks like and what it was I actually took away with me.
I realized that universities are not really about getting jobs in the cold, cruel world. When I was working away at Electrical Engineering, I took math, field theory, properties of materials, electric machines and a whole bunch of other stuff that didn't stick in my head longer than it took to write the exam.
(A couple of insights into the engineering world: Civil Engineering students always seemed to have a lot of time on their hands as opposed to us Electrical types. Then it occurred to me that, in CE there are just two rules to remember: a) you can't push on a rope and b) if it moves, it's broken. The amazing thing is not that a whole field of endeavour can be summed up in two rules. No, the really amazing thing is that it takes a Civil Engineer four years to learn them.
My second insight: Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.)
When looking for my first job, I discovered that I was both over, and under, qualified for any job I might land. Engineering curricula, as developed by PhD's, many of whom have never had a job outside university, tend to focus on technical skill development.
My point is this: you can get trained as an engineer in the many fine universities here in Canada. You will not get any broader training in dealing with your fellow man or woman. And what's really important if you are going to work with a plethora of individuals both high and low, smart and stupid, is to work well with others.
In those days, my personality could charitably be described as "obnoxiously misanthropic". After many years of shock, psycho and drug therapy, I have improved to the point where my significant other, the charming Ms. D, will describe me as "misanthropic". But I digress.
At various times in my professional life, I have been asked to mentor someone. In my own contrary way, I have tried to make the case that mentoring is a two-way street. People will not necessarily accept your mentorship just because you think they need it. In my not-so-humble opinion, it's not just about giving advice and telling someone how to do something; it's also about