I was talking to Robert, my bus driver, aka Jazzman, today. He said, "I have the best job in the world. I get to ride around all day, saying hello to people, listening to jazz."
What I like about riding Jazzman's bus is that he makes a point to tell everyone 'how are you doing?" and "have a good evening now, girl!"
He says it in such a way that you really do have a good evening.
I was also talking to D., a student in my class, today. D. is the kind of student anyone would love in their class. He's writing his paper about coltan miners in the Congo. But, as he explained to me, the paper is not really about miners. Because he is not a miner. And he's never been to Congo. So he wrote his paper about the way in which people in the US who use cell phones and laptops can change their behaviors so that miners in the Congo stop getting screwed.
He asked me, how do you do this job? How can you stand to read about such sad horrible things all the time? And then you have to tell your class about these terrible things. And some students are late. And some are checking their blackberries during class. And some students don't really care that much.
I thought, it is conversations like this that make this the best job in the world for me. And I don't think anything will ever top teaching here at the U.
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2 comments:
I'd like to read his paper, or at least get some version of it. What can I do about my electronics consumption to hurt the miners in the Congo a little bit less?
I loved this post. I love Jazzman. Truly love him. He changed my life - know it sounds dramatic, but he brought me so much joy on stressful days at the U. He was the only person I ever saw make my friend Nancy, who was dying from kidney failure, feel like a beautiful woman. She was skinny and very sick and he marveled at her beautiful features and skin so genuinely that she was glowing for days. What a guy.
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