Recipe of a fine, young wine

Most of us students are here at IU to learn and educate ourselves. A lot of hard toil in the books and a bit of partying to refresh and clear the clogged brain. Or a lot of partying (as the IU grapevine proudly revealed to me when I set my flip-flop encased toes on campus dirt) and less striving. To each their own, I say. \nWe all gain an experience and expand our knowledge. We cultivate from the sour grape -- green and inexperienced -- that we are when we arrive, and ripen into a mature and enlightened fine wine after four years of sweat and struggle.\nBut I'll stop beating about the vine. I'm here, running loose amidst the MBA guys (the dry shriveled currants of our student population) to quiz and pry as much business know-how I can out of those expertise exuding professionals.\nOkay, I admit it. So I am here to hone up on my investment skills and make plenty of those green wads because I want to be able to purchase a couple of season Saturday night box tickets at the Metropolitan Opera ($5,300) for at least a couple of years while I can still see the performances without increased magnification opera glasses. Or at least be able to experience flying into the edge of space in a MIG-25 Jet Fighter Plane at $12,595 per ride (including plastic bag) once in my lifetime.\nBut there is something I have already picked up upon since arriving in the U.S. three weeks ago. \nIt is an attribute amplified, of course, by what occurred a year ago yesterday. From my perspective of watching all the events unfold, eyes peeled on my personal 42" Flat Plasma Screen wannabe TV in the Netherlands, nose pressed against the CNN broadcasts, I saw something that was astounding. A flood of generosity swept the country and everyone was giving and donating all they could, conveying such noble behavior instigated by the horrendous terrorist acts of Sept.11. The Sept. 11 Fund, formed barely hours following the slaying of over three thousand people in this atrocity, accumulated over half a billion dollars -- $336 million of which has been distributed this past year. More than two million individuals, companies and organizations in the States and worldwide were spurred into compassion and dug deep into their pockets. \nBut such acts of selflessness need not be prompted by tragedy. There are magnificent examples of premeditated generosity already around us. A name which comes to mind is Paul Newman, famed actor turned businessman, rising from the superficial bowels of Hollywood to the pinnacles of selflessness. This is a guy who thought that if his salad dressing was good enough for his friends, it was good enough to go public and instigated 'Newman's Own,' a multi-million dollar food company. All his profits after tax are donated to charities and twenty years later, that's over $100 million. Such an illustration provokes the conviction in me that there are amazing philanthropic traits in all of us. Look around after tucking that well-earned degree under your belt and follow the examples of true inspiration. \nNow I know I will, even if it is at the cost of my one-in-a-lifetime MIG trip.