a past example of how i take nothing for granted

Still in Madison. Because I was tenured early by the department here, I did not actually know that the department was meeting to vote on my tenure until after they already had. Then I received an e-mail from the chair. My response to this e-mail has apparently now become part of Wisconsin Sociology lore. Which is that, before telling anyone else or replying to the chair's message, I forwarded her message to one of the senior colleagues to whom I'm closest and asked him for confirmation. Well, more specifically, what I actually asked him was: "Is this some kind of incredibly cruel practical joke?" `Twasn't!