MANIC MAY... and it was (Part 44e)

Nothing more was said and I really don’t remember how we said goodnight. I knew I had to visit my Grandparents before going back to school and decided to do it first thing the next morning. I’ll admit I had devised a devious plan to get my grandfather to loan me some money and that it was the driving force behind my visit. He, of course, was excited to see me. Ironically, he had just gotten off the phone with AJ, his horse trainer and my Summer boss, before I arrived. He told me that AJ was due to ship into the track nearby to my college on the following Monday. That was the subject of my plea to my grandfather for money... that AJ had told me that he was going to ship into the track in mid May and when he didn’t I was out two weeks pay. Luckily, he bought it and proceeded to give (loan) me $100. But there was more as he told me that his two best horses were not being shipped to where I was going to be working but would be racing at the track near the city. He said that he wanted to see them race before he couldn’t travel anymore. (He had an arthritic hip and bad circulation in that leg) It was sort of a blow to me as I really enjoyed being a part of the training of his horses and watching them race. When I left I felt a bit bad because I knew how hard he’d take it when the news of my having to go to Summer school got to him. That, and how he’d be really upset if and when Elle’s and my engagement was released to the papers by her mother. Even though I had the money I didn’t feel that good about it.

Elle was feeling a little better by the time I got back. Nothing more was said about her father’s offer and what we were going to do about getting married. I was happy that she didn’t bring it up. We had lunch at my house and, unfortunately, she heard my mother lace into me again for not bringing any study materials home with me. It was obvious to her that I hadn’t told my mother about skipping the Psych exam so, later on, she was all over me about that. Other than getting the $100 from my grandfather, the day was not going all that well for me. Elle wasn’t up to doing much so, as I remember it, the day just drifted away.

Friday was Memorial Day so, for my trip back, I had the Indianapolis 500 race on radio to entertain me. That was the only thing I could find that was positive. Both my parents gave me another “talking to“ about being serious about college at breakfast. Elle was all teary about the fact that it would be a long time until she saw me again. I do remember driving down the road from my house and actually being glad to leave.

The trip back was easy. Being a racing fan, the radio play by play kept my attention and made time pass quickly. There were eight laps left in the race when I pulled into the parking lot behind the fraternity and I sat there and listened as Jimmy Bryant won. I’d been a fan of his so that made me happy. When I walked into the foyer I couldn’t help but see this big note posted on the fraternity crest telling me to report to the Dean of students at the administration building ASAP . It was posted the prior afternoon and, with the day being a holiday, I knew they were closed. I had no idea what it was about so it was just one more thing to worry about until Monday.

I made it through the exam, worrying about why I was summoned to see the Dean the whole way through. It certainly didn’t help my performance on the exam. Once there I had to wait for a while, increasing my uneasiness. Inside his office he wasted no time in letting me know why I was there... ”Where were you for the Psychology exam?“ I’d love to know what the expression on my face was when I heard that. The question caught me flat footed and I just plain reacted, not thinking of the consequences of what I was saying.

Basically, what went down was the following; When I didn’t show up for the exam and wasn’t on the infirmary list, Professor W went bonkers and reported me to the Dean. It would take far to long to give the details so suffice it to say that I let the Dean know everything that had gone on between the Professor and I and my term paper. AND, the bizaare way he ran the class. I fully expected to have the Dean stop me but he let me ramble on. When I finished he didn’t say a word but called to his secretary to get hold my advisor immediately. I was then asked to wait outside. It was maybe a half hour when I saw my advisor walk in. When he saw me he looked away. I sat there for another half hour before he walked out. I was then told to go inside. I had absolutely no idea what to expect and certainly didn’t expect an apology.

Long story short... He admitted that bringing Professor W back was a mistake. My advisor was chastised for not following through with what he had told me he would do on my behalf with Professor W. (The reason was that my advisor was intimidated by the Professor). My mistake was in not showing up for the exam. If I had and had ended up failing the course I would’ve had recourse. But the rules were clear that failure to not take a scheduled exam without a prior excuse (ie; infirmary list) called for a WF (withdrawn failure). So, that meant I was SOL... or so I thought.

To be continued...