Mardi Gras is Upon Thee
I'm so excited the parades are starting. For me it's the best part of New Orleans. I cherish going to the parades with my kids Kalypso and Gilgamesh, perhaps because I get more throws when they're present. Last night was the first parade in the Uptown area. I couldn't go because I am in a play here on campus. The play is Counselor at Law, and it is a very good one. The director and producer are great, and it is exciting to be part of a production. I did this before my first year at Xavier. I was in A Raisin in the Sun. One student last night was a real pain in the butt. The director cut a small part of a scene because the actors were having a problems memorizing their lines. Anyway, this actor decided that he was going to walk out and not be part of the play. His part is pretty substantial, and this action would have seriously ruined the production. He stayed in the end, after much fighting, but it was disturbing for me to see such arrogance and selfishness and rudeness coming from an 18 year old. A select few of the kids that go to school here are quite spoiled, and they treat the faculty and staff like household servants. Like we're being paid to do whatever the students should desire. I realize it is important to see the potential in students, and to look past all the problems associated with adolescence and see the adults and leaders that they are on the verge of becoming. It is also important not to lose sight of the mission of the university, and to not be obsessed by a few negative elements. I need to be more of a glass half full kind of person, but it is hard sometimes. The demands of teaching in a school like this are very demanding. In addition, trying to maintain a stellar publishing record can exhaust you. It has been nice to see students mature over the years, and most of the students here at Xavier are what makes this place so special.