College

Well. The past two weeks have been interesting, as some of you may have gathered from sporadic communication. Some of this is bad interesting (yes, professors expect people to read something the length of Ben Hur in two days), and some is good. Yesterday, especially, was awesome. Observe:

I arrived at 8:00 (A.M.) to practice organ. This is really cool. There’s a button to release all the stops, which makes “Mary Had A Little Lamb” sound very impressive. Then there are specific stops that result in a sound like string instruments, or flutes, or a trumpet.

I could only practice for about half an hour because I had to go to economics class. I’ve enjoyed this class so far, although we have to do a lot of presentations, and since the focus is sports, we have to use sports examples as much as possible. Today, a student was explaining the Laffer Curve and attempting to relate it to football. The professor decided this student had talked enough, so he stopped taking notes, stood up, and (keep in mind, he’s about 5’2” and round, with very white hair) did a spectacular flying tackle. Unfortunately, economics class got out early because we had to evacuate the building. We happen to meet in the science building (Econ doesn’t have its own), and I think there had been an accident in one of the biology labs.

Since I usually study in the music building, I headed over there to wait for my next class. On my way, I passed a dog playing in the fountain and a little kid riding a scooter atop the concrete benches (it was warm, and people frequently come through from the surrounding neighborhoods).

I had just gotten inside the music building when the doors of the elevator opened and five large men, dressed in black and with faces masked, burst out lugging the upstairs piano. They waved around some weapons and mumbled some muffled threats (masks do not conduct sound well) as they hauled the piano out the door. The people outside stopped to stare, and the men were halfway down the steps when someone yelled, “Hey!” The men dropped their weapons, dropped the piano, and bolted. I don’t think anyone was actually annoyed at them for moving it; we’re just a little puzzled why they would want it. It hasn’t had strings for years.

On my way to history, I encountered the dog from the fountain and the entire collection of biology professors, barking and debating, respectively. The professors and the crowd they were drawing were discussing the best way to entrap the three-foot ant lion digging a hole by the flagpole. No one seems to know how the creature got loose, but one of the students told me it was a complicated series of events, beginning with an algae bloom in the fish tank.

The history professor was in a good mood today, so he taught with the windows wide open. Since he has a carrying voice, the surrounding campus heard his entire lecture—not to mention that he played taps on the shofar.

The way back to the parking lot passes the music building, and after history I discovered one of the chemistry professors halfway inside the piano (which was still on the steps). The music faculty were very excited, but they said they couldn’t explain until they’d spoken to the college president. From the way they were talking, though, I suspect they're hoping they might be able to hire an accompanist.

But what really made my day was that, when I got home, Mom had made chocolate-chip cookies.