Friday, April 29, 2005

Showing up, rain, and ambience.

Yesterday was a happy, busy day.

Only three students showed up for class. Three. I started the review for the final and one of them asked if they could just skip the review and start their test early. The other two eagerly agreed.

So I thought, what the heck? And I gave them the test.

And I explained the directions and the procedure, and told them to read each set of directions because every time the directions changed, the procedure changed, and it would determine exactly HOW the questions were to be answered. And whenever any of them had a question about something, I answered it. Two of the three finished. The third student gets to finish up next Tuesday, when the rest of the class begins.

You know, in many aspects of life, just simply showing up when others don't show up, proves something about dedication and responsibility. It impressed me.

And that's good, and that's bad. It's good because it's good to know that SOME people, at least, recognize that showing up is necessary because if you don't show up, you can't do the job. And it's bad, because just showing up should be a given, not a reason for reward.

Dependability is important. We all need to be able to depend on people.

But all is not lost yet, because there are still a few dependable people out there. There are three in that one class. Three out of fifteen.

I'll take them.

Whatta you bet some of the others don't even show up for the final? And whatta you bet they'll be upset when they get their grades?

Anyway. Those three lovely people worked hard all morning. Then I worked hard, listening to panel discussions about community activism and volunteering, and donating a little time to the visitor's table in the entryway of the commons.

Oh, didn't I mention that the college is hosting a huge institute about community connections? Well, we are and it's awesome.

Back in the radical sixties and early seventies, young people held protests, boycotts, demonstrations, etc, to call attention to various societal wrongs. Many of those demos led to the creation of a community institution, such as shelters, food banks, etc. These things still need volunteers and donations to keep them up and running. The college's 'connections' institute reminded us old former hippie-types, and taught the young thangs, about the origin and purpose of many of these agencies, and what needs they still have that people can fulfill.

A few hours of our time every week can change the life of someone we will never know. Or even SAVE a life.

Most of my volunteering experience has been connected with school, but now that that period of my life has ended, I will be checking out other needs in the community that perhaps I could help with. It will be something new for me, but I'm not so old quite yet that something new scares me to death or is just too much trouble to begin. I welcome it. Bring on the new stuff.

After my shift was over, I went back to the lab to do some more work. I was there for about fifteen minutes, and then I looked up and someone was standing in the doorway smiling at me.

Talk about lighting up a room. . . . .

Ahem.

We did some cruising around town, ate pizza at the divine Cafe Pizzaria on Kirkwood, had pictures printed off at Staples, walked around the downtown area looking at jewelry and art galleries; walked into an awards presentation for a local community leader, talked about how we loved everybody on our blogrolls, bragged about our families, and went home. Oh, just you wait, Robin. . . .

Speaking of the Pizzaria, their menus used to have this printed on the back. It was there for a zillion years and it was kind of a shock NOT to see it there any more. It was tradition.

Hub and I used to bring the kids up at least once a week for pizza. It was a smallish, funky place back then, and it hasn't changed a bit. Oh, except for one thing.

I noticed today that their humongous Wurlitzer juke box was gone, and they were piping in the music from a radio station. How the mighty have fallen.

Sure, they were able to crowd another table into the room, but a lot of the 'cool' was gone.

Why do businesses DO that? My kids loved that jukebox when they were little.

So did I. Hub used to give the kids a quarter apiece and they got two songs for that. Yes, it was a long time ago.

The piped-in radio must be cheaper. Sigh.

But the ambience of that huge juke box. . . . . priceless.