Guest post: "Beatitudes for a Chemistry Department"

from "one we all have known."

Blessed are those who address the administrative assistants kindly.
They shall reap attentive loyalty.

Blessed are those who have patience with the safety officers.
They shall encounter few obstructions to waste disposal.

Blessed are the compassionate overworked teaching assistants.
Their influence on the lives of undergraduates may be profound.

Blessed are the postdocs who seek thoughtful advice from magnetic resonance.
Their samples will be run with care and the data interpreted with scrutiny.

Blessed are those who heed instructions for sample preparation.
They ensure the amiable nature of mass spectrometry staff.

Blessed are those who speak humbly to the storeroom clerks.
They will be notified of their deliveries with alacrity and shall not want for pipettes.

Blessed are those who approach the graduate advisor with reverent appreciation.
Their funding and insurance will continue uninterrupted despite obstacles of bureaucracy.

Blessed are those who remember janitorial staff before discarding shards of glass in the trash.
They shall sleep well in the knowledge they caused no suffering in the night.

Blessed are those who are grateful for the invisible support they receive.
The whole of the Department of Chemistry is theirs.

with apologies to Matthew.