Saturday, April 03, 2004 :::
 
When A Mind That Suits was but a lad, his mother would describe him as "bumptious." In the context, the little tike thought she meant active, loud, difficult to control, but she always used it with an implication that it was a fun set of characteristics, within limits. And, as a teacher, A Mind That Suits prefers to have at least one boy or young man who fits that description, as it wakes up everybody else.

And provides comic relief, intentional or not.

Friend Brandon from Wilmington, one of the "bumptious college kids" that runs his favorite coffee shop, was inclined to take exception to the characterization, although he said that, after he looked it up, he could not have picked a better adjective to describe himself. Confident that the dictionary would reveal the good-natured way in which he meant it, A Mind That Suits flipped open the nearest one, only to see "obnoxiously self-assertive." Hmm. Not what he meant at all.

And he realizes now that his mother was criticizing him.

No, actually, she clearly meant it in a more positive way, and the trusty Webster's Collegiate, from which A Mind That Suits learned his rather large vocabulary, does have it in a more neutral way.

But he is not sure that is applies to friend Brandon, the kind of young man who lights up a room.

Or a highway.

He did, it is true, once drive from Wilmington to Orlando to go to a party, turn around, drive back and show up for work on time. Only when one is under 25 is that even vaguely feasible. And it is probably never safe. But it is fun to hear about.

And it is friend Brandon that A Mind That Suits looks forward to seeing when he goes down there, as he is perhaps the only guy who can make a morning spent with surly, demanding people waiting for coffee seem like an adventure. And he is otherwise fun to talk to and spend time with. And unfailingly polite.

But to get back to bumptious, that word applies more accurately to Old Friend Young Joe. See February 28, where he is identified as Young John because he still worked for a large corporation. Fortunately for him, he does no longer does. He is in broadcasting school, for which his personality and booming base voice suit him well, but it means that he does not cross paths with A Mind That Suits nearly often enough. But he was at Ye Olde Neighborhood Pool Hall this week, all smiles and gesticulations, and gave his sagging middle-aged friend a couple of huge bear hugs. Another young guy who lights up the room, and one hopes this broadcasting thing works out.

And now A Mind That Suits must away to catering. A 2:00 Saturday call time at a large ball room implies some lengthy family function, wedding or bar mitzvah. (Graduation if it falls in May or June.) These things all depend on the family: if they are happy, it is a happy party. If they are not, it is just one more battle scene. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." That's how these things work out.




::: posted by A Mind That Suits at 1:21 PM


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What doesn't kill me, makes me laugh... usually.