Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Jessie Carty's MFA Monday this week reminded me of the good ole' days, when I managed a restaurant bar, festival booths during St. Patrick's Day, and the certification classroom (many others besides alcohol). How I would simply sit, listen as the instructor spoke, and then we took the test. If you did not pass, you did not get certified. I always looked at the questions missed, so I could go over them for future reference.

I never was a big talker in class. If I had questions I would direct them to the other students to see if they got the same message. No message is wrong I believe. We all learn from experience, and even behind the bar we ask our peers what they might think. I know we all get nervous if it is our first experience with responsibility, but I had this memory of a guy...surely you remember that one person in your class...


There Is Always One In The Class

I enjoyed attending certification classes
every other year due to state requirements

meeting new people on a Saturday morning
discussing the aftermath of too much partying

the do’s don’ts if’s and limits of being
under the influence of alcohol and drugs

But there was always this one person
who would ask question after question

as if he did not understand the past five hours
we just watched movies of wrecked cars

with bodies lying all over the highway
it was there spelled out in words on the guidebook

We all wanted to take him out back
during break and ask him what the problem was

If one consumes more per hour than is allowed
mix or did not eat enough food as they

become obnoxious calling you an asshole
or a bitch for not serving them promptly

If their speech begins to slur
they probably are beyond inebriated

The person remains after class to ask even more questions
Could this person be afraid of the responsibility

of being in control of another well being and simply cannot
tell the person they are cut off.

Here is an alternate ending...

I was that person in elementary school during
show and tell when I pulled out my fathers

encyclopedia and began reading
the story of 'The Giants of the Redwood Forest'.

(I remember this only because I was threatened by the bully's who said they were going to beat me up after class if I kept doing that...is that why I got quiet during class, I did not want to bore anyone...self examination can be strange...)

Also, in my newletter from a writer's retreat coming up in March, she gave us this podcast link- How Do You Know When You Have A Book, by the She-Writes group.