Times like these

A story to help you sleep at night...

This is a conversation I had with a friend on GTalk... instead of editing this conversation, I'm going to keep it in its entirety, for the most part. I really hope you enjoi this story. The names in this story have been changed to protect the identity of the speakers.. except me.. I'm Dave.

Preeti: dude
duuuuude
Dave: whattup chica
Preeti: insane yo
inSANE
*INSANE&
INSANE
Dave: agreed
AGREED
Preeti: everything is coming together to screw us so bad
Dave: i just want to run and hide
take PTO for a month and forget about everything, come back when it's all fixed
Preeti: i know it's ridiculous and sad
hahahaha
hell yeah
and even our developers (-s as it's just one) are screwing us
guess who's work i have to fucking triple check
Dave: (name of perp)?
Preeti: yessir
i dont have TIME for that bullshit
Dave: sadness looms
this reminds me of a funny story
i hope it makes you laugh
Preeti: do tell

Dave: I took a "Juvenile Delinquency" class in college.. the professor was the Uncle of my good friend and Department Head and Advisor, Eve Waltermaurer....the Uncle was a probate lawyer for family court

very old school..stern as shit

Preeti: whoa....nuhhuh..

Dave: He would arrive to class on rainy days with rubber covers for his uber fancy shoes (although, he wasn\'t snobby, he was very protective of his belongings in a non-selfish way.. if at all possible)

everyday, rain or shine, he had is tea and umbrella with his 50 yr old suitcase. He was a pleasantly plump older man, 60's, chubby nose, curly and thick white hair

his glasses rested lazily on the tip of his chubby nose, not allowing them to fall, even while wandering up and down the classroom

He had very little experience with non-whites (surprising for a teacher/lawyer) and wasn't privy to Political Correct terms, or the new trend in America where Non Whites actually go to school (go figure)

his exposure in this class was an eye opener for him as many students got on his case for random insensitive (even though he had no intentions) comments. I felt bad for him b/c students would gang up on him when he said these things

you could see how new he was and how sorry he was for upsetting anyone

Anyways... he arrived one evening for class on a rainy day.. head hanging low, no umbrella in hand and no tea... his shoes though.. were still covered in his "booties" he slipped off his shoes and sat with his head in his hands.. I walked towards him to comfort him (having known him in an out of class) and asked what the problem was",

he looked up at me, soaked hair and face and said "I forgot my umbrella and spilled my tea on my new shirt that Eve got me for Easter, I just want to go home and cry."

It appeared, during this moment, that the students and the stress of teaching college had gotten to him and he wanted to give up and just never come back.

Preeti: okie...go on this is good

Dave: So we went through our 3 hr class, which was tough enough as is with this crowd. He had no energy and the class seemed to replicate that feeling. The rain fell and the quad became blackened with the night.

Class ended with no formal fairwells and students began to lazily pour into the hallway. The professor didn\'t budge at the passerby's and continued to stare at his table waiting for his tea to appear and for his stained shirt to be dry again

Preeti: right.

Dave: when everyone left I walked over to him and had a conversation about social awakenings, and dealing with people who you've never dealt with before, seeing as how I had this same awakening only 3 yrs earlier when I started school he made valid and thoughtful commentary as to how he felt he should've adjusted, b/c despite race, class, or gender . . . everyone is different and everyone provides you with a social awakening in one way or another

we spoke a bit more at Jazzmans, the local tea/coffee shop on campus as he outlined why he went into juvenile law including family and probate law. He said he truly wanted to unify people from different worlds and that he, after one bad semester, felt he had undone all of the good he ever did.

Preeti : wow
Dave: he left me with one message that sticks strong.. I even think about it when shit hits the fan here and on every project..
Preeti: do tell
Dave: Count your blessings twice.. one bad apple should never spoil the bunch
and if all else fails... drink whiskey, listen to louis armstrong, and tell everyone else to fuck off
the end
Preeti: hahahahah
nice!
would love to
let's get together
8/18
and just drink, bitch and relax
Dave: exactly
who cares if we bitch all night and day.. just get it out, vent till you're blue and enjoi yourself in the process
then you'll love life again
Preeti: hell yeah!
okie let's do it

posted by David Malloy @ 4:36 PM