You have just flunked another test in Economics 5177 and you have decided that the only way you are going to pass the course is by paying a social visit to the professor.
Inside the office door is the ever-typing secretary. After a few minutes of staring at a geranium, pretending you have something to do and clearing your throat, she notices you.
"Is the professor in?" you ask. Pause.
She smiles and starts to blush. "That dirty old man ... oh, excuse me," she says, pulling the dictaphone away from her ear. "Are you looking for the professor? ... He's not in."
You figure you tried and head for Hemenway Gym for some intense competitive basketball. (That is the only kind they know how to play at the Law School.) And there's your professor.
The guy seemed so uncoordinated in class that you always wondered whether he could draw supply and demand curves and lecture at the same time. But here he is in his baby-blue shorts and Pro-Keds crashing the boards.
This is no apparition. This is the Law School Intramural League at Hemenway.
The league has six divisions of about eight teams each. Most of the players are Law School students but the Biochemistry Department has an entry this year.
Professor Lynn Klotz, who teaches Chemistry 61 in his spare time, is a star guard for the team. Unfortunately, he is hobbled with an ankly injury, suffered when he went up for his first rebound of the season.
But Klotz is a veteran of the wars of Hemenway, having played for three years, and he plans to be back. He says, "I've been playing since I was 12; it's always been my favorite sport."
Last year, Klotz says proudly, the team from the Biochemistry Department, staffed by graduate students and faculty, won the B League title. This was no easy task since the A and B Leagues are considered to be "real serious," with ex-college varsity players.
Professor James Wuest, who teaches in Chemistry 20, has also been a participant in the intramurals. "These intramurals are pretty low key," he says. "It's a good way to keep in shape, and it's more interesting than running." He is also an experienced player, having played as a grad student here and before.
Klotz estimates that "there's a bunch of us who are over 35 years old. I had an idea that we should all form one team, call ourselves the Heart Attacks."
Anyway, next time you want to get in good with the professor, grab your sneakers and head for Hemenway. The guy may not be able to explain the stock market but he could give you a few pointers on that turn-around jumper from the top of the key.
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