“Do you have any questions?” they asked at my interview for the position of Psychology and Sociology instructor. I had been told that potential employers ask this question at job interviews so I had been rehearsing intelligent-sounding responses. “Where do you see this college going in the future?” David Cothrun, President of Taft College at that time, prophetically responded, “I don’t see it moving from where it is right now.” True to his prediction, it hasn’t budged an inch in the last seven years.
Time passed and we got a new president, Roe Darnell, a visionary leader. His motto was, “If you don’t want change, don’t hire me because I can guarantee there will be changes.” He was right too. Although the campus is still located at 29 Emmons Park Drive, it’s presently undergoing a face-lift.
We’ve been under construction now for… Gee! Has it only been 136 years? It seems longer. But I’m not complaining. The Administration Building is something to behold, the Library is a wonder, even the temporary buildings are longer, lower, and wider.
It’s just that I’m kind of tired of walking in the street. Six weeks ago I asked a worker when we might be allowed to walk on the sidewalks again. He said (and this is a direct quote), “As soon as you get tired of walking in the street.” Imagine my joy to hear that it was fixed last December!
As an aside, I have discovered that there are certain people in this world that you must kiss up to. These include anyone that touches your food, for obvious reasons, and all secretaries because a boss can only fire you but a secretary can mess up your paperwork for life. Also on the list is James Benzick (a Skilled Maintenance Worker at the college) unless you don’t need heating or air conditioning.
The other day I saw James talking to a person who looked rather important. Since they were both looking and pointing at the fenced-in construction area, I assumed that the stranger wearing the gold chain was the Grand Poobah Contractor and introduced myself. (I think his name was Doug.) Then I asked him when we might get our walkways back.
Here is another one of life’s little lessons: If you ask a contractor when a project will be completed, he will tell you more than you want to know. “First we have to…, then there’s the…, and they were late delivering the… so that pushed us back another seven weeks...” Sometime later, I smiled and asked when we might get to walk on our beloved sidewalks again.
“Two weeks!” He actually said that! Just like in the movie the Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. In the movie, the contractors and workers always walked off laughing after delivering this line. Because Doug didn’t, I made a mental note of the date and waited on baited breath. Two weeks came and went. At this writing, it has been three weeks and I am still treading the asphalt of Emmons Park Drive. However, our sidewalks, located on the other side of the chain-link fence, are the best looking walkways I have ever seen. And I suppose if they continue to keep people off of them, our beautiful sidewalks will last forever.
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