TheBanyanTree: Sons

[Jim Miller]

On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 10:36 AM, Teague, Julie Anna <jateague at indiana.edu>wrote:

> Quoting Laura Hicks <wolfljsh at gmail.com>:
>
>  On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 12:06 PM, Teague, Julie Anna
>> <jateague at indiana.edu>wrote:
>>
>
> And speaking of spewing literary quotes, my darling younger son--the one
> who nearly flunked out of high school because he didn't do any of the
> homework whatsoever (he didn't need to, he figured, since he already knew
> the material) and who is now in community college trying to prove that he
> is as smart as he actually is--quoted Sophocles to me the other day.  "An
> unexamined life is not worth living," he tells me, "Discuss."  Funny kid,
> that one.  He got an A+ on his first philosophy test.  If college can
> manage to keep him entertained, he might deign to do the work.
>
> Ha Julie,

A discussions of Sons. Our oldest refused to study or do any of the work.
Mostly he had the staff fooled. He simply took the tests and passed. In
scouts his nickname was "computer brain". We tried to get the schools to
challenge him. They didn't, and he continued reading his Star Trek books in
class, instead of working at anything. In frustration, when he was 14, we
went to Gonzaga University, (state schools wouldn't talk unless he had a
degree) where they agreed that if he could pass the tests, he would be
admitted. First semester: same habits; nearly flunked out. After that, he
dug in and remained on the Dean's list until he graduated. Being in a
Jesuit school, he discovered philosophy and cruised again. he loved the
rhetoric and discussion, and he could argue with the best of them. (Not
always a good thing, but that is another story)

He loved school. Oh my goodness; "he'll stay forever" if I don't quit
paying. Six years later; in a different school, I asked him how long it
would take to graduate. "Two quarters", he said. He was working part time.
I told him he had two quarters and then he would pay rent. He doubled up
classes, placing a recorder in conflicting lectures, and graduated in one
quarter. (couldn't care less about graduation ceremonies) Two weeks later
he moved to an apartment in the middle of the night. Yea! mission
accomplished.

That genius isn't without it's headaches, but the boy turns 45 next week
and has a very successful work career. No, you will likely never hear of
him, but he is in demand at what he does so well. Power and monetary reward
are not his goal. He currently works for Microsoft and they tolerate his
people skills shortcomings. I don't know how long he will stay there,
although he seems quite comfortable remaining obscure. And still the
headhunters ring in monthly.

Yes, mom and dad are proud, but often we consider that a little more
typical would certainly have been, and "still" would be less stressful for
us. Did you know that parent's ideas and opinions rarely count now?

Jim