USAID AND ROCK & ROLL

I’ve just read the good article in the Wesleyan mag on USAID and the Wes guys who help make its reach truly global. I share the class of ’68 with Chris Holmes, and since we both were flying into Middletown (well, as close as we could get) from the West Coast, we shared layovers in Chicago in the days when jets couldn’t get all the way there in one jump. He was a fine guy then and obviously still is—I’m very proud of his accomplishments.

I don’t know the others mentioned in the piece. I do know, however, that like Mr. Postel, I was on the “social committee” that brought concerts to Wesleyan—in our case, Big Brother and the Holding Company (along with their lead singer, Janis Joplin) to the gym. We also figured out how to do a light show, moving hot oil around on glass slides, for the concert. Postel is quoted in the article as saying he could have had a career in rock and roll. I did go into rock and roll—well, sort of—I’m a visual artist and have used the myriad of skills I learned at Westech to pull off all manner of collaborations, installations, projects, and exhibitions around the world. I’ve even benefited from USAID, which administered a Fulbright I had to Italy in the ’80s. It’s good to remember that the Wesleyan experience prepares all sorts of people for all sorts of gigs, even ones under the radar. Rock and roll indeed.

Don Fels ’68

www.artisthinker.com