Second Acts

James Hatch doesn't do cynicism. His life has no room for the doomed romance and thwarted ideals that fed into F. Scott Fitzgerald's well-worn observation, "There are no second acts in American lives." Perhaps they do occur. Mr. Hatch is the purest manifestation of the stoic exercise to strip away the legend that encrusts them.

The legend, the first act, as it were, was that of a decorated veteran. His recollection of that period reflects an undercurrent of humility, "I went through SEAL training twice. I did multiple deployments and was wounded in combat. Every single day I went to work with much better humans than myself. Every day you showed up for work, you needed to prove your worth."

His second act gives special meaning to gap year. Mr. Hatch, possessing a decades-old high school degree, was accepted at Yale and began his freshman year in the class of 2023 at age 52. Let that sink in and put away for the moment such obvious questions as where things stand now with campus closure (remember this is BV i.e. Before Virus). He wrote this piece after his first full semester, plenty of time to test his mettle (click: Yale Freshman at 52).

The story, however, is not so much about the daunting intellectual challenges faced by one in the years normally associated with cognitive decline. No, the real power of the piece is reflected in its title, "My Semester With the Snowflakes." You will be absolutely moved by his account of the respect, the awe, he feels toward these fellow students, more than thirty years his junior. Equally moving is the respect he has been accorded in return.

While no one is suggesting the Yale class of 2023 typifies that generation's demographic, the student stories are nevertheless quite inspirational. Consider one student's invoking the term "safe space." Eye-roll. Not here, "What she meant by "safe space" was that she was happy to be in an environment where difficult subjects can be discussed openly, without risk of disrespect or harsh judgment." (This black student was quite comfortable discussing things like the Aristotelian idea of some humans being born as "natural slaves"). Talk about Securus Locus.

Equally impressive is Mr. Hatch's openness to overcoming his own sclerotic attitudes. His overriding ambition is bridge-building. He refers to himself as a snowflake with a purple heart. Behold the reptile shedding its skin.