Spreading Wisdom

Went out to dinner last night. A quaint little diner where they serve fish on Friday. I had broiled fish and it was great.

Clam chowder too.

We also got a bit of a show.

There were three guys seated at the counter and despite the fact they finished up, they sat there just talking.

One guy talked and talked and talked. He even sang a few bars of Maggie May and man, Rod Stewart wouldn’t have been happy.

But he started spreading wisdom regarding Covid.

“I went to a party with four guys. They were all vaccinated. I’m not. They all got Covid within five days. I still haven’t got it! I’m the only guy not vaccinated. I say the vaccination causes Covid.”

One of the other guys was skeptical.

“I’m telling you! The vaccine makes your immune system weak and next thing you know, you get Covid.”

They talked about it for a few more minutes, but soon enough the conversation shifted.

“All this political correctness is going to ruin us,” my new favorite diner guest said. “Used to be you could say the slow kids were retarded, but then we needed to say they were mentally slow, and then the educationally challenged. What’s changed? Nothing! The educationally challenged are still just retarded.”

“Oh Lord,” I whispered to Kathy.

“Same with the Negroes. It went from that to colored to black to African-American. I still don’t know what to call ‘em.”

“Our educational system has failed us,” I whispered.

“You think they’ll be shoving political correctness down our throats when we’re in another Great Depression?” The second guy asked.

They all laughed.

“Hell no! We’re gonna’ be able to call whoever we want whatever we want.”

I kept looking at the guy. He was talking loud and proud and was so sure of himself.

Just spitting wisdom.

And then…

“So, I was having this conversation with one of my students. She happens to be one of the “developmentally challenged” ones so it went right over her head, but I asked if they use to say that she was retarded.”

“What did she say?” The 2nd guy asked.

“Not much! She was educationally challenged!”

They all roared with laughter.

“Student?” Kathy asked. “He’s a teacher?”

“Sounds that way.”

We finished our dinner. I couldn’t take much more.

I thought of something Steven Van Zandt said at the start of the pandemic:

“We’re too stupid to survive this.”

Collectively we are extremely stupid.

Some might even say:

“Educationally challenged.”