Friday, April 27, 2007

Variations On A Theme

One more school post to finish out the week. My mother was mortified when I told this story on a recent visit home. It was the first time she'd heard it.

Again with the background... I'll be quick because there are only a two relevant facts that my mom knew that you don't. a) Once upon a time, my brother was a painter. He was pretty good at it; he ended up getting a fine arts degree. b) There were two art teachers at my high school. I had them both. There was Mrs. Lathrop, the redheaded divorcee with the sporty red vintage Mustang convertable. I'm guessing she had a good lawyer. I had her first. Then there was crusty old Mrs. Lowe, who had been at the school forever. I had her second.

See, I said I'd be quick. Now that you're up to speed...

One day after school, I was walking down the hall, minding my own business, when I passed the two art teachers, deep in conversation. Out of nowhere, Mrs. Lowe interrupted their conversation to tell me "You know, you're not nearly as good a painter as your brother."

Without missing a beat, I responded "That's OK, you're not nearly as good an art teacher as Mrs. Lathrop," and kept walking, leaving poor Mrs. Lathrop in stitches while Mrs. Lowe just stood there at a loss for words.

8 comments:

BeckEye said...

That's awesome. If you have any regrets in your life, you can at least look back at that moment and be perfectly content that you said/did the perfect thing.

Foofa said...

That is hilarious. What bad and horrible teachers you have had.

Jenny Jenny Flannery said...

You're a rock star with the quips. I bow down.

Tanya Espanya said...

Honk! That is perfect! Well done!

vikkitikkitavi said...

Nice when the snappy comeback stars align, isn't it?

deadspot said...

Yeah, remembering the look on her face still makes me laugh.

They weren't all horrible, Natalie, it's just that the stories about the horrible ones are so much more entertaining.

My Snark Fu is strong, Flan. Sarcasm runs in my family.

Ha! Made you honk!

Yeah, Vikki. It was just one of those times where the right response came at the right time and you say it without even pausing to think. It was just a little bit glorious.

Dale said...

How many heroes can I have? Excellent work DeadSpot. And when you say you had her first...

Writeprocrastinator said...

"Sarcasm runs in my family."

At such a young age? Absolutely, it's in the genes.