october 8 2009: arrogance lesson

10/8/09

Showing up at Dad’s, I find him in bed, but not asleep. He’s very surprised to see me and asks what time it is. When I tell him it’s 5 o’clock, he thinks I mean 5am, and I can’t convince him otherwise. When his friend Peter calls, he wonders why he’s calling at such an odd hour. To me, he says, “your parents don’t complain about early business?” “You are my parent,” I tell him. “So, I have to pay you,” he says. “No, you don’t,” I tell him, surprised by the twist the conversation has taken. “Yes, I do,” he insists.

“Big Kate is at an Arabic lesson,” I tell Dad. “An arrogance lesson?” he asks. “No, an Arabic lesson,” I clarify. “What’s that mean?” he wants to know. “Arabic is a language,” I explain.

“How old are you?” Dad asks me for what seems like the millionth time. “33,” I answer. “Mini, mini, mini,” he comments.

He’s struggling with his words, getting words that have the same sounds or rhythm mixed up. He starts a sentence, “I, under the underhand . . . “ when he means “I, on the other hand . . . “

“I’m very unused to this,” Dad declares. I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Unused to what?” I ask. “This usage of philosophy,” he responds. We have not been discussing anything remotely philosophical. “Oh,” I say, lost. “So you’ll have to be very careful,” he continues, “this should be an adventure.”