One late-summer day, I went down to the dock of our Huntsville condo to wait for my husband to pick me up to go to our cottage.

There were three people sitting in the Muskoka chairs kept there. I learned their names were Diego, Margarida, and Ian, their son. As I waited for my husband to arrive, we got to know each other a little. I found out that Diego and Margarida were both faculty in the Department of Economics. I told them I was with the Department of Psychiatry, but that I had started in Economics at U of T. Hearing that they were both macroeconomists, I asked whether macroeconomist Allan Hynes was still alive. Just as my husband arrived, I learned from Diego that, unfortunately, Allan had died. Thoughtful about this news, I parted ways with my neighbours. Mindful of the loud motor of the boat, I yelled to the shore that I preferred microeconomics—and that I loved Pareto analysis!

I hadn’t thought about the Department of Economics for a long time, having earned my BA with a minor in Economics in 1980. However, learning of his death, I was interested to know when Allan Hynes had died. We had become friends when I took a summer course in macroeconomics in 1978. Looking for an obituary, I found the one posted by the Department of Economics about Allan.

Allan gave me a “C” in his macroeconomics course. When I asked him why, he offered me what became, perhaps, the most important comment of my academic career.

“Carol, you hate macroeconomics. But you are the smartest person I know,” he said. “One day, you will find what you really love and make your mark on the world.” [Read more…]