Sunday, September 8, 2013

Starring in the News

Oh man.

I was on television.

Don't ask me why I admitted that I have a boy in the school district when the news crew showed up at the dog park, but I did. All the other people started moving away when the guy began to set up his camera. I stood there, umming, and uhhing, as the reporter asked me questions about the teacher's contract. I admitted that I wasn't keen on extending my boy's summer but that I wanted the teachers to get a good deal. I even managed to say that a good education was good for the future of our community. They cut that part.

The whole thing was mortifying.

I was afraid I was going to cry. Why would I cry over the teachers ratifying a new contract? I was more worried about the argument Nick had with Adrian this morning. If the kids were off from school because the school district didn't want to pay the teachers a decent wage and make some attempt for the class sizes to be normal, then Nick and I would head off on some adventure with his friends. I didn't mind.

What I minded was the thought of having to speak into a microphone.

Do you remember in the movie 'Bridget Jones's Diary,' how Bridget would get to rambling in front of a crowd and dig herself deeper and deeper into the mire? Do you remember how she said she feels like an idiot most of the time anyway? At that moment, as I stood in front of that expensive camera, I could hear those words, 'I feel like an idiot most of the time anyway.'

And it nearly made me cry.

So, now, I've seen the footage. I've looked at the way they edited it. Teddy pranced in the foreground. He was fabulous, a grin on his innocent face. I looked and sounded like me, not so good, but not quite an idiot. I was what they wanted me to be, a concerned parent who likes teachers and values their work. Teddy was the star.

And he didn't say a word.

Thank you for listening, jb

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