A Tribute, an Old Challenge Revisited, and an Amplification

I still prefer to consider myself a young academic turk. Nonetheless, the graying hair and beard that confront me in the mirror each morning—both easily discernible without eyeglasses—suggest otherwise. Rather than bemoan my journey to decrepitude, I choose to embrace my self-declared elder-statesman status by exploiting the one accommodation typically extended to senior academicians: to comment on their discipline from a blatantly personal perspective. Thus, I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this text honoring Shelby.