Lester (’48, MBA ’50) and Lorraine Albert (’49) Ageloff

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I enrolled in a 9 am class at CCNY—23rd Street, back from army service, unaware of [train] schedule changes. The first day of school, I was surprised to see an unfamiliar train pass through the Newkirk Avenue station, a train that avoided the east side of Manhattan. Where was the 8:12 express? A proper train did arrive at 8:20, getting me to my 9 am class five minutes late. I had to stand at the back of the classroom for the 50-minute session, with other returning veterans. The next morning I arrived at the station at 8 am, a considerable sacrifice since I held down a part-time job and attended night classes. The 8:05 brought me in 15 minutes early. I was faced with a choice between losing a half-hour’s sleep to be 15 minutes early, or arriving five minutes late to risk the professor’s wrath. I weighed my options carefully—sleep versus seat—and decided.

My regular arrival time became 9:05, subjecting me to the prof’s glare and classmates’ snickers. But those turned out to be the only penalties, because miraculously there was always one seat available for me—and always the same seat. A certain young lady would remove her books from the next chair as I arrived. We began by exchanging smiles, but soon our conversations ignored the professor’s presentations.

I probably was the last to realize that I was being set up, although by then I didn’t care. I learned nothing valuable in that class but Lorraine’s phone number. By Thanksgiving we were dating. We became engaged upon graduation (I with my MBA, she with her MRS).

We celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary in September 2006. Legend says there’s an angel in heaven whose job it is to arrange marriages. Who really changed the BMT schedule? I have a theory.