Being sick, etc., I've fallen behind on my grading. Ashland has been off for "Spring" break this week (we have a pretty good ice storm today), and I finally have to get my act together and grade their papers. It's grueling work. Not that I have that many. There are fewer than two dozen, but they are all identical. The topic was to consider the qualities of their closest friends and discuss their similarities and their differences. Here is what I've learned so far:
- My friends are always there for me. (One guy said that five times in two pages)
- My friends are all totally unique. If I have three or four friends, each is totally unique. They are also very different.
- No, I'm not willing to tell you what makes them unique, nor am I willing to discuss a time when a friend was "there for me." I'll just say it again.
These friendships seem to have absolutely no
content whatsoever. When I get together with Joel, we usually discuss food, religion, and opera, though not in that order. I know that when I'm depressed and sad, I can phone him in the middle of the night and he will listen—sometimes even get me off topic. My students don't have any
content to their friendships, and "being there for me" never seems to include, well, anything. Joel once put in a good word for me so I could get a summer job. He also helped with the gas money when we were going to that job.
I guess I should feel sorry for my students because they live such repetitive, boring, cliché lives. It's sad. Nothing specific ever happens to them. No great road trip to Colorado (like the one I took with my friend Chip). No writers' club meetings (like the ones with my friend John Paul). No waiting for the State Police after wrecking a car (like the time with my friend Jared). No evenings with a lot of wine, cheese, and laughter (like the ones with Joel). It's all just blah!
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