JUNTA

while i was home for the weekend, i took the opportunity to meet my father for dinner one evening. we had mongolian food, and almost as soon as we sat down he looked at me and asked, “so do you have any plans for when you come home, or are you going to be a parasite?”

without hesitation, i told him, “muhlenberg college isn’t like other school, dad. my communications degree isn’t about learning a vocations, it’s about higher order thinking that i can attribute to whatever i want to do in life.” what the fuck was i saying? i wondered if he was believing this, because i sure wasn’t. i continued, “we don’t take classes in broadcasting, we don’t learn computer programs for publishing…we spent most of our time dissecting the theory behind different forms of communication, so that we have more to offer the world that simply knowing how to use QARK or read a teleprompter.”

he seemed impressed by my response, so i decided to start stretching a bit, to see if he would take the bait.

“my intimate knowledge of the entertainment industry has enabled me to spot a pattern, which is, people who are rich or famous usually stumble into their fame. the majority of them are not actually talented, but found a way to usurp the system and took advantage of it. once i graduate, i plan on devoting my time, energy and wealth of knowledge to exploting this.” there was a moment of silence before i added, “don’t worry, you’ll be compensated financially once i make it.” despite my inability to verbalize what i’d do, he smiled and nodded. i had him hooked. “i mean, einstein was a clerk in a patent office and look what he did!”

“yeah, but that was a job,” he informed me. i guess i pushed it just a bit too far. i needed to think fast.

“oh, yeah!? so is searching for a way to stumble!”