Congrats go to winners Michael of Brookline, Massachusetts and Lexie of Maple Valley, Washington who each correctly guessed the name of my school in the contest I held two months ago.
I kept the van and the name of my school secrets for nearly a year for fear of being discovered and kicked out of the parking lot, which would have, of course, made affording grad school loan-free all the more difficult.
Luckily, Duke doesn’t appear to care, and I’m pleased to say that I’m still anonymous on campus despite all the press the van and I have gotten of late.
Award winners, as promised, got an autographed 8 x 10 photo of me and the van with Duke Chapel in the background.
The quote is one of my favorites. It was penned by Chris McCandless, and printed in Krakauer’s Into the Wild:
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”
Michael was kind enough to send a picture back of what he’s done with the picture. Knowing that my face is on a fridge other than a close relative’s never fails to amuse me.
