Congratulations to Pat Conner!

Yesterday was the department's big retirement party for former department chair, former director of the WVU Press, and Eberly Centennial Professor of English Pat Conner. TCH regrets that we didn't get pictures of Pat holding forth from the stairs at Laura Brady and Tim Sweet's house. Pat said he'd keep his remarks brief, and, you know what, he did! Maybe too brief, in fact; I for one enjoy Pat's stories and would have liked to have heard a bit more about the midget and the madman hired the same year as Pat. Also, did you know that among Pat's theatrical credits is a turn as Uncle Willie in a production Philadelphia Story? Wish we had a photo of that...

And as Pat assured us, he'll continue his research. As regular readers of the blog know, Pat is pretty hot stuff in his field. Remember that post about Our Recent Achievements? Well, while the rest of us were achieving at a respectable level, Pat was busy presenting papers at a conference in, oh, Malta, among other locales, and basking in the glory of two upcoming sessions in his honor at the 46th International Congress of Medieval Studies to be held in Kalamazoo in May 2011. In addition to those sessions—"Rethinking Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: Papers in Honor of Patrick W. Conner" and "Anglo-Saxon Exeter and Its Afterlife: Papers in Honor Patrick W. Conner"—the international "Sources of Anglo-Saxon Culture" is sponsoring a third session, "Anglo-Saxon Studies in the Digital Age: A Session in Honor of Pat Conner." Quite frankly with this level of fame it's a wonder Pat ever had time for us!

Of course thanks to our hosts, Laura and Tim, for allowing us to drape our coats all over the place and for providing the food and the decorations, the memory book and—get this—a card basket! Do these two think of everything or what?

But most of all, congratulations and thanks and best wishes and happy trails and good stories and martinis to Pat for all he's done for the department and the university and for the friendship he's so generously extended to all of us.