It's not easy to shock people these days. What used to be nasty secrets-affairs, deceits, various sexual proclivities--are talked about openly on radio and television. The bar for shock value seems to rise a little every year. So you still want to shock someone? Tell them you have never used a bank machine. You will elicit expressions from wide-mouthed shock to raised eyebrows with shades of disdain, to inquiries about the state of your general mental health. Then, the questions: you actually go to the bank? Yes. You stand in line? Yes, the lines are now shorter than at the bank machines. You don't run out of money? No. That's what credit cards and cheques are for.

To date, I've never used a bank card. It's just one more code to remember. One more code in information overload. Between home and work, I have some six or seven access codes which change regularly. There's three for the computer, one for the fax, another for the photocopier, two for voice mails, etc, etc. Coming back from vacation is a memory nightmare.

The bank card was one I could avoid, until the weight of public shame grew too heavy. A few days ago I went to the bank to finally obtain a personal identification number, known as a "PIN" in order to use the card. I noticed the bank machine at my branch had a handwritten sign: out of order. Once inside, two attempts to get a PIN number were unsuccessful. The PIN number machine was on the fritz. I left, still among the uninitiated, feeling slightly vindicated in my distrust of machinery in general. Still, thousands of other people swear by their efficiency and reliability.

As things go, bank machines are now pretty low on the whole technological evolution chain. It's now possible to do most banking via the telephone or the computer. The financial services sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Canadian economy, making the banks even more important in their role as employers and innovators. In this issue, we are pleased to present a profile of John Cleghorn, Chairman and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada, the most profitable bank in the nation. He's a champion of innovation and good corporate leadership. Writer Harvey Schachter, BCom'68, details how John Cleghorn's work ethic developed from his time at McGill. For his part, the former Redmen football player is quick to point out that his organization must constantly figure out new ways to do business and struggle against complacency in the number one position. (No doubt, Mr. Cleghorn knows how to use a bank machine!)

McGill has no shortage of graduates who are leading their fields, and having a few minutes to swap stories is always a great joy. After finishing the editing of her article for this issue, Dr. Christina Zarowsky and I got to talking about this and that, including technology. I confessed about the bank card. She confessed that she's never "surfed the net." The busy doctor, mother, and PhD student can be forgiven for not having time to meander through the infinite files on the World Wide Web. Like many women, she's juggling multiple demands. In this issue, she writes about how she went on a field trip to Ethiopia, and came home with her doctoral research-and a newly adopted baby daughter. You can read her heartfelt tale "Ifrah's Story" inside these pages. Thank you to her her anthropology colleague Caroline Tait, BA'93, for telling me the story over coffee.

With this issue, we welcome a new Montreal advertising representative, Donna Henchey, whose enthusiasm and energy is sure to help our bottom line. She would happy to receive any calls pertaining to advertising. And after a year of faithful service, Assistant Editor Patrick McDonagh is leaving to write his doctoral dissertation which has been on hold since he assumed duties here. At the same time, I'm pleased to welcome Andrew Mullins as Assistant Editor. Andrew is a Montreal short story writer and graduate of the graduate creative writing program at Concordia University. Please feel free to contact either of us with your ideas or suggestions. In this technological age, we're pleased to speak by phone, or even better, face-to-face.