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Tribute to Steve Ryan

George Cronk
(3/26/02)

The number one pop song of 1945 was "Rum and Coca-Cola," recorded by the Andrews Sisters. Hearing that song when I was a kid was the first time I ever heard of the drink, rum and coke. I have two other associations with rum and coke.

Some years ago, I was in Varna, Bulgaria, attending a philosophy conference. I discovered – to my dismay – that the bars in that Black Sea resort served lots of beer, wine, and straight vodka and rum, but no mixed drinks. So I decided to concoct a mixed drink of my own. In one of the hotel bars, I ordered a glass of Coca-Cola (which came with no ice) and a shot of rum. With the bartender, the waiter, and everyone else in the bar looking at me as though I was crazy, I sipped about two ounces of Coke, and then I poured the shot of rum into the Coke glass, making my own (warm) version of a rum and coke. That is the only time in my life that I have actually drunk a rum and coke.

Years later, I got to know and become close friends with Steve Ryan. Steve liked drinking beer, but his mixed drink of choice was rum and coke. As I understand it, the unabridged version of that drink contains 2 oz of Barbados Rum, 2 oz of Dark rum, 1 oz of Bacardi 151 proof rum, 6 oz of Coca-Cola, and a half-ounce of fresh lime juice. It is all mixed together and then served in a tall glass with ice, garnished with a lime wedge. Steve did not order the drink that way. Instead, he preferred a simpler version containing about three ounces of rum and about eight ounces of Coca-Cola, served in a tall glass with a slice of lime.

These days, I like vodka gimlets and gin martinis. However, the next time the Friday afternoon faculty group gets together down at Biagio's, I think I will have a rum and coke in honor of Steve.

In addition to enjoying a drink now and then, Steve was active in many other sectors of life.

He played rugby for about sixteen years. He played softball, baseball, and rough touch football right up to the end of his life.

In softball and baseball, he could run, hit, play center field and other positions. He was right-handed, but he batted lefty, and he did so very effectively, hitting over .400. He was also the player-manager of the world champion BCC Faculty Softball Team. (The last part of that last sentence is a bit of an exaggeration.)

Steve played touch football almost every Sunday during every winter for the past twenty years or so. Although he was 53, he played as though he was 10 or 15 years younger. He understood how to play the game, and he knew his strengths and limitations. He played receiver and defensive back. As a receiver, he had good hands, ran solid pass patterns, and had good foot speed. He was able to make impressive catches on most days; he also made impressive bloopers every once in a while. Steve usually scored a touchdown or two every Sunday. As a defensive back, he was a smart player. He played within his game and tried to force the players he was covering to play to their weaknesses. On rare occasions, he played quarterback. That only happened when the other quarterbacks were having bad games. Quarterbacking was not Steve's strong point, but he usually managed to confuse the defense with his play-calling (and many times the offense too!).

Steve was a member of the BCC Department of English for almost thirty years.

He served actively and productively on many important college committees, including the Promotion and Sabbatical Leave Committee, the Curriculum Committee, the General Education Committee, and others. He headed special committees that worked out possible solutions to the College's parking and class scheduling problems.

He was elected to two terms as head of the English Department and did a very good job in that capacity. Serving his colleagues and the College as head of his department was one of the things he enjoyed most during his time at BCC.

He was always a staunch supporter of the BCC Faculty Association. He was elected vice president of the Association for the 2000-2001 academic year and then re-elected for 2001-2002. In that capacity, he played a central role in negotiating the new 2001-2004 Faculty Contract. Even before he was an Association officer, he had convinced the BCCFA leadership to press for a catch-up provision for faculty who have served the College for more than twenty-five years but who are not yet at the top of the guide. That provision became and remains part of our Contract. While serving as vice president of the Association, he developed the concept that led to the salary enhancement that is now in effect for newer faculty. He actually understood the Contract. He even understood the salary guide. He knew and could explain what one-eighth of a step means!

Steve was widely recognized as an excellent classroom instructor. He taught English Composition, ALP courses, American Literature, and Social Aspects of Literature.

For many years, he had his students evaluate him, using a narrative form of his own devising. He was strongly opposed to the use of quantitative evaluation forms. However, whether narrative or quantitative in form, his student evaluations were always excellent.

He was a specialist on American Literature, Drama, and Shakespeare.

He was an expert on the work of playwright David Mamet. He wrote a doctoral dissertation and published several important journal articles on Mamet's work.

He also wrote a very good novel, "O'Leary's Law," which I read twice when it was in manuscript form and which I have read again in its final published form.

In the field of drama, Steve was active as a producer, director, and writer. He wrote and produced radio plays, and his stage productions at BCC were always excellent. I will never forget his Little Theatre productions of Mamet's "American Buffalo" and "The Water Engine," Keysey's "Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?," and Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lugnasa."

And, of course, he was, for years and years, a very active and contributing member of this body, the BCC Faculty Senate.

Steve was intelligent and interesting. He had a good sense of humor. He was easy to talk to and to drink with. I had many conversations (and arguments) with him on political, philosophical, and literary subjects. In controversy, he was persistent in pressing his point of view, but he was never overly aggressive and certainly never offensive. He was a reasonable and cheerful man. He was a force for good at the College and in the world. *

I will miss him.

I'm sure that we will all miss him.

* A younger faculty member has written the following about Steve: "Steve always had time for everyone and seemed to know who everyone was. He knew something about everyone and always had time for them. It didn't matter who that person was. I think Steve was in touch with the "little" person just as much as he was in touch with everyone else. When I first started teaching at BCC, he knew me by name and always had time for me and seemed to take an interest in me as a colleague and as a person. He knew all the adjuncts in English and made them feel part of the Department. From what I have heard from others, this is something many people noticed. It also seemed that everyone knew who Steve was, and no one I know had anything negative to say about him."