This past Monday was Martin Luther King Day so we weren’t back in school until Tuesday at which time we discovered that the school’s ancient furnace had malfunctioned over the weekend and it went unnoticed until the administration showed up that morning. It was as cold in that building as the proverbial witch’s portal for nursing. The administrative offices in the adjacent structure, however, were toasty warm.
Observing right away that I could see my breath during first period, I approached the instructor, a woman near my age bundled up like a print ad for Chapstick.
OSV: You’ve noticed, of course, that there’s no heat in here.
INSTRUCTOR: It goes without saying that we should all dress in layers.
OSV: I’m wearing two shirts, corduroy jeans, gloves, a scarf, boots and a winter coat.
INSTRUCTOR: Then you should be okay.
OSV: For what? Herding sheep in the Himalayas? I have tests all day today.
INSTRUCTOR: I’m sure they’re trying very hard to repair the furnace.
OSV: Is that before or after they deposit the tuition check I just dropped off?
INSTRUCTOR: I feel your pain. Learning can be a challenge.
OSV: (unresponsive with a body temp approaching dry ice)
The day was a write-off in every way imaginable and by the time we all trudged out at 2:30 we shared a nagging headache and a recurrent need to pee. I went home to sit on a heating pad and brew some jasmine green tea. After turning on the news, I discovered that while I was freezing, actor Heath Ledger was dying. The rest of the hour was filled with on-air speculation as to the cause of his untimely death, endless babble about what might have happened. Call me crazy but I remember when the news actually reported the news and not every passing thought of those delivering it in a grab for maximum airtime.
Son came over for dinner and because it’s his favorite and we like it too, I picked up Peruvian chicken and Jalea, a South American feast of assorted fried seafood with a kick-ass sauce. Son walked in wearing a silky-soft brushed fleece Armani pullover that I wished I’d been wearing at my College of Siberia that afternoon. Husband arrived home and told Son that he’d taken a phone call during the week from the out-of-state university Son graduated from last year.
HUSBAND: Your alma mater called the other day asking for you.
SON: Do they owe me money?
HUSBAND: I don’t think so. I believe they’re trying to get your current address so they can stay in touch with their alumni.
SON: What did you tell them?
HUSBAND: I told them you weren’t here. What would you like me to tell them?
SON: Tell them I’m updating my records and I need to know the best way to reach them.
HUSBAND: In case they want to send you money.
SON: Exactly.
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