Fingerprints...

Many people have books that they reread every year. Mine is David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice. In one of the chapters he tells the story of the year he worked as a Christmas Elf at Macy's in New York City. I've read the book over a half-dozen times, and I laugh out loud every time.

He marvels at how customers in a retail environment somehow think of the exact same things to say when prompted. When Santa asked adults in passing what they wanted for Christmas, the men all said "A new car" and the women said "A new husband," almost without fail. Having worked in retail for over eight years, I can vouch for this phenomenon. If I ask a male customer wandering around looking like they are lost if I can help them find anything, more than half the time they will say "Yeah, my WIFE!," as the grab their stomach in absolute hilarious laughter. Or, if a bar code is not scanning properly, "Oh, I guess it's free!" David Sedaris says it best-- "When all is said and done, the police are right. It all comes down to fingerprints."

This is why I find the story of the guys getting into U.S.Senator Landrieu's office humorous. Apparently their goal was to disable the phones and catch the Senator's staff laughing and making fun of the constituents who can't get through to give their opinion on the health care bill. Having worked in the regional office of a U.S. Senator, I have a little secret-- Every office makes fun of the constituents who call. It isn't because they are stupid or uninformed. Some of them make wonderful points that fall in line with the beliefs of both the elected representatives and that person's staff. But rarely does anyone call with an original idea. A vast majority of the time the caller is reciting verbatim what their favorite liberal or conservative pundit said on the radio just five minutes before. And they get angry with you if they sense you are trying to get them off the phone to move on to the next unoriginal caller. I would usually achieve this by anticipating what they would say and verbalize it before they could.

People often ask me how different it is going back to seminary as an older adult. Here is one answer-- Any time I have what I consider an interesting or thought provoking idea, I no longer believe that the idea originated with me. This can be beneficial because, unlike many younger students, I see my education as being a journey of discovery, not MENSA practice. I may master something, but I'll never be able to lay claim on an idea that is solely my own.

This is one of those posts that has no good ending....