Back to School at 50

When I was about 50 yrs old I was not doing much, not working, just hanging out at home and my wife suggested that I try going back to college. Well I tried college after the service and was promptly given the "chuckwagon" [tossed out} after about 2 semesters. They were nice about it and said in my transcript that I was released for poor scholarship. I mean they could have said I was stupid or ignorant. I would hang out in the cafeteria and would drink coffee with some people and when they went to classes I would wait for the next group to come in. I was never a school person {grammer, highschool, etc}. I reminded my wife about this but she said I was more mature now. I thought about it and I said {to myself, I am more mature and reflective,etc}. Another thing I was not sure about was I was 50 and the kids in my class would be 18 or 19. Would I be accepted? Well I went back to Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago Most of the students were from Chicago and commuters. Well I was accepted big time. I had alot of fun, shooting pool, parties etc.

As it was twenty years ago, I might be a little off on every detail. I mean 60 yrs ago I remember like it was yesterday but more recent stuff I might be a little off, but not by much, maybe even hardly.

There were alot of things that were really fun. One of them was I was in a first year biology class and the the maniac that was teaching the class was teaching it like pre med, at least that was what it seemed like to me. Well the first day I came in and the class was filled. He looks around and says that most should consider dropping because they would likely fail. I started thinking was he looking at me. This guy was no nonsense, did not smile and did not engage in small talk. Well I stayed in the class, but the material was hard, I actually studied for it but I also had a game plan with this guy. I used to go up to him after class and ask questions about the material so he would get to know me and see that I was serious about passing. Another thing happened that helped me get a little close to him. There was this guy I knew from one of my classes that I thought could be violent, I heard he once chased a teacher to her office. Anyway I found out this guy was playing racketball with the Biology Prof. so I would let him know I was friends with this nut and would kid the Biology guy about who was a better player. We became somewhat friendly.

Anyway at mid terms or finals cannot remember which, I was sitting in my usual choice of seats, back of the room in case they cut the lights to show a movie and I could put my head back and rest. In the next row to my side was two young kids, a guy and a girl proably just out of highschool. She was also in one of my other classes and she knew the guy, they probably went to the same High school. When the Biology exam started he says to her in a whisper what was the answer to a question and she ignores him. He persists and she keeps on ignoring. Finally he says Jen ,I need the answer what should I do, and she says, go home, take two s---s and die. I started laughing to myself as I did not want the teacher to see me chukling. Well the the kid turns to me and asks me in his whisper what the answer to the question was. Well I have been there myself and I wanted to help him, he was desperate. I don't know why he thought I would know it, I did not exactly win the nobel peace prize in biology. I usually figured out the answers by seeing how many a's, b's, c's,etc., I darkened in. In other words I was guessing. The one he was asking about I thought the answr was B. Now did you ever try and say b without moving your lips. I'm not sure a ventriliquist could. I'm telling him B without moving my lips, and trying not to let the Biology maniac see me. I'm saying B and this moron keeps saying to me, Jay did you say d. jay did you say e, Jay did you say,---. Finally I said B you moron b. The teacher sees and walks to the back of the room, now this guy was capable of ripping your paper up and tossing you out. Now I'm saying to myself all the cultivating I did with this nut is going out the window. Anyway he comes up to me and says Jay I want you to change seats those two are distracting you. I think I had one of the highest grades. Go figure.

Another incident I am not proud of and was not proud when I did it. I was taking a class on etyomolgy. Not a particularrly hard class, but I did not study enough for the final. I realized it when I started looking the material over just before class. It was basically memorizing. I wanted to get a good grade so I reasoned that if I studyed I could have memorized the answers. What did I do? I wrote some info on the palm of my hand. A 50 year old guy cheating. Bad Bad Bad. Old habits are hard to break especially for a corner guy who does not want to let go.

There were alot of things, once in a class on social issues the Prof. tells us to give our personal thoughts about something going on in society, just your feelings, not a right or wrong thing, just your feelings. Well I have been around for alot of yrs. at this point so I told how I felt about the issue. She grades me, almost failing my paper. I said, it was not a right or wrong thing, but I think she said she was dissapointed in my view points. Some of the guys in the class said they would tell her anything she wanted to hear to get a good grade. I could not do this so I came up with an idea based on the corner, just say things that would not mean anything, not what she wanted to hear, and also not what she did not want to hear.

In a sociology class the Prof. was like a 60s burnout, an old hippy dippy. He is telling us that in the 60s the Govt. invaded Detroit with Paratroopers dropping out of planes. In the 60s I was married, don't you think I would have heard about it when it was going on. Also, we have relatives in Detroit, don't you think they would have told us what was going on. THe Prof. was a decent guy in as much as he would let us argue about how preposterous this was. There were twin guys in our class who jus got out of the Army and they would argue also. After class this was a fun topic. There were more things, school was fun, I guess I was maturing.