Funny thing about life

As an evil parrot, I can be cynical, brash, a bit psychotic and some times downright blunt to the point. And then there are these things that happen in my life that make me curl into fetal position and cry internally like a little nancy. Last Saturday, at work I ran into an old high school teacher who I haven't seen since 1989. She was a science teacher, that for some reason left quite an impression on me. I never did have her as an actual teacher but she hosted this Science Club every Friday afternoon that I was a part of.

About my high school, it was formerly Andrew Jackson High School (it is now some magnet school) and back in the 80s, it had this Vietnam-ish reputation. When I first came to NYC, somehow someone felt that I belonged to this school so for about one and half years I had to endure this misery. Whenever I told people that I was attending this school, they'd first lower their head, nod disapprovingly and if you listened really close ... you'd hear Taps being played. Now dispite the bad reputation of the school, which could be mostly attributed to the students since many of them were complete and utter wanks and tossers, I encountered some of the coolest teachers in NYC. Coming from a British schooling system, I was all prim and proper, and of course this was a welcomed breath of fresh air to most teachers. What ... a student that pays attention in class, does his homework on time and respects us ... ? So yes, I got away with a lot things because of that though I never did take that privilege for granted and abuse it.

So there I was, one Friday afternoon roaming the deserted halls after school, until I came to this room where I heard male and female voices laughing. At first I thought it was a bunch of teens getting all frisky, until I heard this adult voice. My curiousity got the best of me and peaked at the door, and saw bunch of teenagers with beakers and pippettes with chemicals doing these fun experiments. I was intrigued. She saw me standing in the doorway and told me to come in, and before I knew it I was a bona fide member of the Science Club. I remember those Friday afternoons were fun. It was just a handful of boys and girls and this science teacher, and it was pure joy. The last time I saw her was in '89, the year I graduated. Last Saturday, I was behind the circulation desk helping patrons until (as fate would have) I saw this woman approach my terminal. The face was a bit older but not that different and it was familiar. I scanned her card and the name appeared on the screen ... and my mind was soon flooded with a torrent of memories. So I asked her if she ever did teach science at Andrew Jackson and was a host to Friday afternoon Science Clubs. She was stunned. Mostly at the fact that a student would remember her face after nearly two decades and something as trivial as her hosting the Science Club. She gushed that she couldn't remember my name but I didn't mind. For some reason I was just happy to see her. She was glad to see that I was doing well in life. What I never did get to tell her that a lot of the folks that were in that Science Club turned out great. One guy was studying genetics, another studied journalism, I became a techie that is currently in graduate school, one of the girls became a nurse, another became a Marine, and one went one to be a lawyer. Sort of the reverse Breakfast Club. I could mention her name but since the blog can be so undignifed at times I will choose to leave this woman's integrity and dignity intact by not sullying her name with the likes of this blog.

I told this experience to my supervisor and she said something that made me choke inside: I may have probably made that woman's day with such a simple acknowledgement. Who knew that the Evil Parrot could make someone else's day. For the rest of Saturday, I spent it with a knot in my throat.