Still Bucking Trends, Though Old

WHEN I TURNED SIXTY several years ago, I decided to go back to college for free. Years before I had spent a pleasant eternity in college, in Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral programs, then had pursued a stange and equally interesting career in teaching, and retired. This time it would be all for fun, no pressure, if I fail I fail, and, best of all, tuition free. In journalism class I sat with about two hundred nineteen year olds, I was the only one in class who took notes the old fashioned way, with pen and paper. The professor, an old fossil about ten years my senior and nearing retirement, said to the class one day: "I notice that the girls on campus all wear shorts and T shirts with the name of their sorority on them. When I was in college the 'co-eds' actually dressed up to attend class." Red flag. The old fossil insults half the class. Hell, dude, when you were in college the cars all had cranks. Moron alert. In retalliation, I started wearing y Rolling Stones T shirt, lips and tongue, to class. The kids loved it. The fossil did not. Pressing the point, I went by his office, and asked him if he was familiar with Chris Hedges, knowing he would be, wanting his reaction. Our mutual dislike already in evidence, his reaction clearly showed that he did not like Chris Hedges, the world's best journalist. "Oh yes", said the fossil, "He's..um different." Different indeed. Chris hedges has inserted himself into every danger spot in the world, the Middle East, Central America, Serbia, reporting on the violence and its consequences, constantly risking his life to elucidate his readers. Fossil either hates Hedges because of jealousy, or because Hedges is a left wing progressive who tells the truth about the complete corruption of prevailing economic and political systems, rather than going along for the ride and for a nice, safe, comfortable academic career, like a certain fossil. But, I had accomplished my goal, to make sure that this sixty year old doctorate holder presented himself as an inveterate Rolling Stones and Chris hedges fan, to the uncouth fossil. I dropped the class. I am still appmalled and horrifed that I ever set foot in his class, like the memory of just having beaten the onrushing train across the tracks by ignoring the warning signal, and regretting it. Everywhere I venture into public, pre pandeic of during it (there is no "post" pandemic, nor any sign that there will ever be such a thing), I am somewhat appalled at the zombie robotic conformity of thought of the American people, including in academia, supposedly the bastian of free thinking and originality. No wonder my teachigng career was so tempestuous. A high school primciple once asked me why I was telling my classes that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist, and I answered his question by asked him: "Why do you think I would do that? Give me your best guess." I never taught anywhere, high school or college, for very long.