Postmarked:
Kristin Hatfield
Last Wednesday, I changed my route to class. Instead of walking across Guadalupe and
up twenty-first I took a more convoluted path. The wind was blowing so quickly
that it whistled against my ears. I
had opened my bag to get a drink of water when a gust of wind blew into my
backpack and rushed away with my assignment for class. I chased it up staircases, around bushes
and trees, and through walkways.
Finally, in a quadrangle I had never visited during my three years at
the 
class at this
point, so I decided to check it out.
The inscription read:
“Use only for pastgoing mail.” “What is pastgoing mail?” I
wondered. “Did they mean
outgoing?” I sat down on a
cement bench to catch my breath which was still quick from my chase. I thought about the project I had for
Dr. Bump’s class because it involved communicating with a student of the
past. I wondered if this mailbox
could be of any help for my project.
I was feeling rather spontaneous, so I decided to give it a try. I opened my notebook and ripped out a
sheet of paper. I scribbled a note
to Samuel Johnson, the student I had chosen for my project. It read:
Dr.
Johnson,
My
name is Kristin Hatfield and I go to The University of Texas in 2004. I am working on a project about what it
was like to be you at
Sincerely,
Kristin
Hatfield
Not knowing an address, I wrote the following on the front
of the letter: Samuel Johnson, 
this strange quadrangle that held the mysterious
mailbox.
[i] By
the end of the day, I was exhausted. I had forgotten all about the
mailbox. When I got home, there was
a letter in my mailbox, which was written in ornate penmanship. It read:
Kristin,
I
do not know who you are or how you received my contact information. I am interested
you claim to be from the year 2004.
Why do you refer to me as Dr.?
However, I am intrigued by your project. I would be happy to meet with you. Would tomorrow afternoon in front of the
entrance to Pembroke
be suitable?
[ii] Samuel
Johnson
I dropped the letter.
I was excited that the mailbox had actually worked! I was also pleased that Dr. Johnson
wanted to meet me in person! I
quickly ran inside and grabbed a large empty box that I had used to move into
my apartment. I brought it to the
spot of the mysterious mailbox. I
wrote
[iii]
I looked around. The
building in front of me looked like the picture of
Standing against a wall beside the door was a young man
wearing what looked like a cape. He
was looking around curiously. I
approached him. “Are you Dr.
Johnson?” I asked.
“Ah! You must be Kristin,” he said as he looked
me over, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Why do you continue to call me
doctor? I have only just begun my
studies. Please do call me Samuel.”
“Oh.
Well, you become one eventually.”
“Please speak up. I am hard of hearing in this ear,”
he said as he pointed to his left ear.[iv]
“I said that you become a doctor eventually.”[v]
“And how is it that you know this?”
”I
told you in my letter that I am from 2004.
There’s a whole shelf of books on you in the library. In fact, there is a whole age named
after you.”
”That’s interesting. So you know the
future. Let me ask
you—“
“No, let me ask you some questions. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Absolutely, I was just about to take a walk. Care to join me?”
“I’d love to.”
“This is
“Who was the college named after?”
“His name is William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and
he was the University Chancellor.”[vi]
[vii] “Many of the buildings at U.T. are named for influential
members of the faculty. For
example, the building where I spend most of my time is named for Hanson Tufts
Parlin, a former English professor.” [viii]
From what I’ve read about
“Yes,
of course. How is it different at
your school?”
“Well,
we are in colleges depending on what we study. For example, I am in the
[ix] “I
meet with my tutor a couple times a week to discuss readings or research. My
tutor is named Mr. Jorden. ‘He
[is] a very worthy man but a heavy man, and I [do] not profit much by his
instructions. Indeed I [do] not
attend him much.’[x] If you don’t have a tutor, from
whom do you receive instruction?”
“I
just have professors. I could meet
with them a couple times a week during their office hours if I wanted, but I
don’t think it’s the same idea. A group of students ranging from
fifteen-500 is taught by one professor.
Maybe sometime you could come and sit in on one of my classes. Then you’d understand the
difference. Which authors do you study?”
“So
far, I’ve read Homer, Euripides, and some of Epigram. Which are you
studying?”
“Homer
sounds familiar. However I’ve
never heard of the other two. I’m studying Thomas Hardy, Max Beerbohm,
and Louis Carroll.”
[xi] “I
have not heard of a single one.”
As
Dr. Johnson and I spoke, we walked through the great wooden doors and into the
college. As I looked around, I
noticed that the architecture was not as ornate as I expected. The buildings
surrounding us were somewhat plain with a functional appearance. I tried to
remember what I had learned in Architecture class, and I decided that they were
built during the Middle Ages because of the simplistic and practical
appearance. As we proceeded through the grassy
quadrangle, I noticed there was a building under construction.
“Dr. Johnson, what is that building going to
be?”
“I believe it is going to be a chapel. It will be open to Pembroke students
upon its completion.”
[xii] “Are
you required to go chapel?”
“The bells awaken us in the morning and we all go to
chapel before breakfast.”
“Is religion a large part of your studies?”
“Yes,
I’d say it is. Since I came
to the university, I have become more interested in religion. Recently, ‘I took up Law’s Call to the Unconverted…and
this was the first occasion of my thinking in earnest of
Religion.’” [xiii]
I thought of how strange it would be for chapel to be a
requirement at the
“Their dress denotes their rank.”
“Wait, what do you mean by rank?”
“Rank
means their place in the societal hierarchy. I believe there are four different
ranks. I am towards the bottom, as
you might already have realized. I
am what is considered a commoner. Personally I think these divisions are
ridiculous. The noblemen, those at
the top, are allowed to do whatever they please.”
“At U.T.,
I can tell if a person is in a sorority or a certain organization by the way
they dress. However, they do not
necessarily get any special privileges.
If there were ranks like that at my university, I bet there would be
protests!”
For the first time since our meeting, there was a silence
in the conversation. I had been so
engrossed in the interview that I did not realize that we were wandering from Pembroke. As I looked around, I found myself in
the middle of a garden. I realized
that we must have left the campus. “Do you often leave
[xiv] “We
are still in
“At U.T. we do not have many large open spaces like
this. We have trees and greenery,
but they are often by or around buildings,” I said as I looked around at
the canopies of trees and lush grassy fields.
“That’s
unfortunate. Many students here just spend their afternoons walking through the
gardens.”
“What else do students do during their free
time?”
“Oh, some students participate in cockfighting,
tennis, cricket, croquet, fencing, or dancing. Some spend time on the river, rowing or
swimming. I prefer riding. I do wish they would establish a riding
school here at
“No one plays football here? Our school revolves
around football. The streets are
deserted when there is a game.”
“I believe football is actually forbidden here. Well,
so is cockfighting, but students do that anyways.”
“Wow.
I—“
“Wait! I forgot one other thing. Quite a few students
engage in drinking. They drink in
their rooms or at taverns.
Sometimes rioting follows.
‘I have drunk three bottles of port without being the worse for
it…
”Students at U.T. spend quite a bit of time at coffee
houses and in bars.”
As we spoke, it began to rain lightly. The dirt path we were walking on slowly
turned to mud. Dr. Johnson did not
appear to notice. However, I was
wearing flip flops and was beginning to feel the gooey mud squish between my
toes. Just as I was examining
the damage, Dr. Johnson said, “Kristin, it has been lovely meeting you. However I must go prepare for
dinner.”
[xvi] “Can
I go with you? I would love to see
what it is like to eat in one of those grand halls.”
“I’m afraid that you’d stand out. You’ll remember that all the
students at
“You’re right. Do you have a few minutes to describe to
me what it is like?”
“What do you mean? We eat in the same manner as all the
colleges.”
“I can assure you that what I am accustomed to is
much different. I might cook a
pizza and eat at my computer desk while I am working on homework, or I might
eat in front of the television. I
can safely say that I have never eaten with all the members of my college at
once”
“First, what are computers and televisions?”
“I don’t know how to even explain what they
are. You will probably never run into one unless you live to be very old.”
“I see.
Our dinner halls consist of two very long tables with a place setting
and a chair for each student.
Perpendicular to these tables is the table for the tutors and masters
which sits slightly elevated from the floor. On the walls are paintings of past
students and influential figures in society.”
“How do you eat in peace with all of those eyes
watching you?”
“Sometimes I feel tense. However, after eating in
the same place every night for a year, I have become accustomed to it.”
“Do you all eat the same meal?”
“Yes, why would they cook multiple meals?”
“What about the vegetarians?”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“Kristin,
I do not want to be rude, but I must get going. I will be late for dinner if I
don’t make haste.”
“You’re right. Before you go, do you have time for one
more question?”
“Go
ahead.”
“What
are you planning for the future?”
“I’m not sure if I will be able to remain at
the university much longer. My
funds are dwindling. I would like
to travel and see other universities. I am really not sure what the
future holds. Good luck with your project, Kristin. Do continue to write me. I am interested to hear more about the
year 2004 and your university is like.”
“I will. Thank you for your help!”
As I watched him walk away in the misty rain, my mind
revisited the day’s events.
Suddenly, Dr. Johnson turned around and yelled out my name.
“Kristin,
wait! I forgot to ask you…What is
“Oh,”
I said laughingly, “Let’s save that discussion for another
time.”
As I turned to walk away, I realized that I had no way of
returning home. “All this
work for my project, and I’ll never be able to turn it in,” I
mumbled as I made my way back to Pembroke.
Initially, I had been so eager to meet with Dr. Johnson that I had not
noticed if my cardboard box had followed me to
On the way to my apartment, I thought about what Dr. Johnson had
said. As I walk around campus, I
may not see a single person I know.
In addition, I eat at different places every day. One of the aspects I love about U.T. is
the diversity. Dr. Johnson must
have recognized
every face he saw while walking around Pembroke. He ate with the same people and in the
same place every day.
Even though he did not complete his studies at 
to their university in the form of monetary
[xviii]
donations. I feel a strong
attachment to U.T., and I want to be associated with it for the rest of my
life. I plan to wear my U.T.
T-shirts for years to come to remind me of my experience there.
I
was curious to find out why Dr. Johnson expressed interest in my project, so I
stopped to go through my notes that I had taken while researching his life. I
found that, “Johnson frequently took time to contemplate life in the
past. Occasionally he enjoyed
escaping pressing realities by conjuring images of society in and famous
personalities of medieval or Elizabethan times, but, more important, he looked
to history for a better perspective on how society, his nation, and the world
evolved into their present states.” [xix]
As it turns out, he would have immensely enjoyed this project! “As he read or learned of the university’s
history and saw at first hand the structures that held some of
I finally reached my apartment. After taking the initial steps into the
apartment, my roommate yelled out, “Kristin, you’re tracking in
mud!” I wondered how my
shoes had gotten so muddy, but then I remembered. I looked down at my shoes and smiled.
(Word Count: 3,002)
Bibliography
Thackrah, John Richard. The University and Colleges of