Tumbling into the water from the deck of a sailboat. Shivering through a subzero night on a straw mattress in China. Radiating calm, as an alumni tour bus hurtles down a narrow mountain road. Dining on half-burnt chicken and unfamiliar animal parts.

Christos Demakes, A&S '62, JD '65, has experienced some unusual adventures in his service to the University of Cincinnati. But he would not trade his 39 years at UC for anything. They have given him "a rich life."

Stories about Demakes' achievements -- and minor mishaps -- encircled him at a retirement celebration in his honor at the Myers Alumni Center last fall. The veteran executive director of alumni affairs even recounted some of the tales himself.

"The memorable lesson I learned from (UC president) Joe Steger was: Don't get in a boat without a life vest," Demakes said. "Even though we were going to be on the boat for a very short time, Joe insisted we wear life vests. Not far from the marina, the boat tipped over. I've never been quite so scared!"

Former university president Henry Winkler and Demakes shared a less hazardous adventure when they visited an alumnus. Their dinner included "very, very, very crisp" chicken -- forgotten on the grill while they all reminisced about campus days. Still, Winkler, A&S '38, MA (A&S) '40, Hon. Doctorate (A&S) '87, pronounced the chicken "terrific" -- exactly the way his mother used to fix it.

On a trip to the Far East, as a guest of the Chinese government, Demakes surprised his fellow travellers. He was so worried about eating unfamiliar foods that he had packed several jars of peanut butter in his suitcase, according to former UC Foundation director Samuel Baker.

"We were treated to all sorts of Chinese delicacies -- thousand-year-old eggs, sea cucumber," Baker recalled. "The shocker was that Chris ate everything our hosts put in front of him, smiling all the while. While the rest of us were pushing food under our rice, Chris was devouring birds' feet, chicken beaks, fish eyes . . . . We began to call him 'the China gourmet.'"

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