Let me start by saying that when my dad liked something you did, he would say, “I give you an A!!!” So, I never got real A’s, I got verbal ones.
One year, when Oliver was in school at SMC, I decided to join him and audit a cinema course. Stupidly, I walked up to the teacher after the first class to make sure it was okay that I would be auditing. This woman looked back into my eyes, real serious, sort of stern, and said no, she could not let anyone audit. I was a little thrown. I was sorry I walked up to her. I should have just quietly done it. Then she said, “Just sign up and take the class.” Panic set in. I looked back at her and said, “No, I don’t want to have to take tests or study.” She said her one test isn’t very difficult and that there would be only one essay. She acted like it would be easy-breezy. Still panicking, I said in hushed tones, “I have brain damage.” I said that to her. I couldn’t think of anything else. But, to be perfectly honest, I was suffering from terrible brain fog from toxic mold in my bloodstream. That’s another story. Trust me, I was not my normal, sort of sharp, but not-sharp-enough-to-take-a-test self. The teacher assured me this class would be no pressure. (more…)