The day I was one of The Crimson Intelligentsia.
Deception.
I don’t do it well. Maybe that’s why I don’t like it?
If I could create fantastical scenarios about my life convincingly, I’d certainly have a more entertaining blog.
But alas, with me what you see is what you get.
Playing along with MamaKat’s prompts this week, I chose number 2: Write about a time you pretended to be someone you aren’t.
Funny how this teensy, almost infinitesimal vignette in my life came back to me.
* * *
In my early 20’s, I was at Emory University studying law.
From time to time, I would drift down from the looney-bin atop the hill that was the law school to the main campus bookstore. To get a Coke, some pencils, a Coffee Nip or two.
One time I was puttering around lost in some vacuous thought when I heard a terse, adversarial hiss…
“What year did you graduate?”
Huh?
Looking up, I saw a slight man in a rumpled blue oxford with a scruffy beard and even scruffier eyes — that were trained on moi.
<<< light bulb goes off over young Jamie’s head >>>
My sweatshirt. He referred to the sweatshirt I wore.
A college friend had visited Harvard and all she brought me was a lousy sweatshirt. (Hey, that could be a catchy t-shirt slogan.)
It was just like this only white. What now would be considered way cool retro — which of course back then was just your average Harvard sweatshirt from their bookstore.
Now back to the guy.
Call me bad — but I summed him up in three seconds:
Emory prof. Went to Harvard. Wants everyone to know he went to Harvard because we are at Emory and weren’t Ivy League material.
And he sure as heck didn’t think I received a favorable letter from the Harvard Admissions Office.
Note: One thing supersedes my no deception rule. Arrogance.
I HATE any little whiff of it.
So without even thinking in a completely an involuntary, vomitory reaction I replied,
“1985.”
His jaw dropped faster than the Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World. Then embarrassment washed over his face. He looked so completely undone that for a moment I actually felt sorry for him. (Only for a moment…)
I smiled a fake intelligentsia smile and darted away for fear he would ask me some smart person question and the dupe would be up.
I’m bad.
But it was fun.
Have you ever pretended to be something you weren’t?
