judy prince wrote:
>My dear Petcies:
>
>Now I know better the nature of deceit---not thoroughly, but from the role of a deceiver, a role I've always held in the cruelest contempt. Some of you, unknowingly, have participated today in an (originally unintended by me) interactive play.
>
>
It may be a sign of my gullibility (do I hope never to entirely lose
this?) that Judy's mask of Goth did not disturb me. I know damn well
she is not a kid, but who is to say what is or is not appropriate attire
for someone with grandkids? Hang out in Manhattan's weirdly-named
neighborhoods (SoHo, Tribeca or Dumbo) for two hours and you will see
stranger phenomena than a middle-aged woman made up to look like the
electrical department in Home Depot. And why can't a retiree have a
part-time job? Makes sense to me. Pure retirement for some people is a
ticket to boredom and Alzheimer's.
And I'm sorry to say this, but corrupt teachers are part of the real
world landscape: elementary, secondary, university. Some of them may
even teach writing. Ever since my high school Dean of Boys, Gerald
Oglio, accused me of doctoring my schedule card, I've assumed that at
least half the teachers I've met have the disposition of Bad Cop in the
back of the precinct and got into their business because Gitmo hadn't
been opened yet. Very little surprises me in a teacher: grace and
decency in some, and false accusations in others.
Yes, it was deceit, but probably she could have brought it off if she
hadn't been essentially honest. Honest people should not try to sling
manure because they have consciences. Kind of like Laertes getting
knifed with his own poisoned sword. Real creepazoids can and will hide
inconvenient truths. "Oh...did I forget to tell you I'm married? You
were awesome. Now put your clothes back on." "I really wanna work in
this daycare center. Oh. That five years off my resume? Uh...I guess
I forgot to say I did time for child molestation." But Judy owned what
she did. As far as I can tell, her conscience got the better (really)
of her. And it was not ultimately damaging to anyone, but it sure as
hell made me look at some of the daily deceptions I practice even when
I'm trying not to.
Remarkable that several of us on this list, present and former, have
done what was interpreted as sticking our feet in that pile of manure.
The precipitating episode can be almost anything. However, people here
at least are remarkably forgiving.
Ken's Shadow
--
Kenneth Wolman
Proposal Development Department
Room SW334
Sarnoff Corporation
609-734-2538
|