"Misery and Frustration of Caged Animals at Boston Zoo" by Arthur Schatz
It was a crazy first semester of college.
I had trouble adjusting to being away from a strict home and free in the dormitory.
It was lots of fun, but also became an existential 'difficulty' as well.
I heard from a friend that there was a therapist working for the school.
You could go and see her in her office, and all the talking would be confidential.So I told her all my secrets.
The fears enfolded in my life.
Just setting out from home.It turns out her husband was also a therapist.
At another college...
Someone told him their secrets too...
On one typical Friday.And over the weekend that person
Decided to take their own life.
Something I was NOT planning to do.People came bang-bang-banging on my dorm room door.
They said I had to come with them straight away - Now, this minute.
To the Dean of Students' office.Where they told me that I would not be able to leave that room...
Even to pack my bags, until
I either left to the local mental hospital
OR the other nightmare...
Calling my parents and telling them 'my situation.'What was 'the situation' exactly?
I was a young person leaving home for the first time -
Confronting choices of my own and struggling with them.I decided on what I felt would be the lesser of two evils,
But I was very angry at what I saw to be a gross betrayal of my trust.
I pouted.... Big time.
I might have even made Grrr.... Aaargh sounds.
I certainly didn't speak nicely any more.
To them.Someone else was sent to pack my bags and all my belongings
While I sat in that hated room.
And waited for all the things to come together
My parents to come pick me up.Being stubborn, strategic, and choosing the course that would get me back on track,
I had to follow the rules they made up as they went along
To get back into that school, so that I could transfer out at the first opportunity.
Otherwise I probably didn't have a chance at college, and my life would've been a bit different, I expect.I finished all my semester assignments left over after being kicked out hard... and did well.
I had to go for a course of therapy and get a green check mark and letter saying I done good.
I worked until 3am at a factory that sprayed a horrific perfume on me with every other stamp.
No one would eat with me.
I dealt with my parents' disappointment.... which was probably the worst.I got back into the school, got the best grades,
And transferred out at the very first chance.
And finally, I was home.
Lovely, creative, school with excellent multi-disciplinary teachers.Some things work out for the best, oddly.
"Captain Kirk" "Star Trek"
I know there's a lot of hubbub about the new Star Trek movie. Everyone I've talked to has said they thought it very good to excellent. So far.
I definitely want to see it, but it might have to wait until it comes out on blu ray as I have the flu and neither feel up to going out nor wanting to be a contagion on the unsuspecting populace.Flash back to 1975 in the Way Back Machine....
Feeling a bit less dizzy now? Okay!
A different Star Trek with a different Captain Kirk than the new one everyone quips about being so cute with all the good acting.It's the autumn of that year, and I'm a freshman at college. I find a delightful group of friends, most of them older than first years, and one of them in charge of scheduling entertainment for the whole college.
After learning of my interest in entertainment ;), he invited me to join him because:
1-it was a lot of work to do by himself, and
2-he needed to have an actual committee (more than 1 person) for the new college protocol of writing things on chalkboards occasionally.
Basically what that meant was that we were able to pick all the movies we wanted to see over and over in the first row... or in the back taking tickets, pick people to come to speak or perform, etc., etc., etc. It was a great time, and we pulled a lot of stunts - mostly by way of his, N.S.'s, genius.
So we booked William Shatner before the first Star Trek movie came out.We went in the car to pick him up the night of his presentation at the school.He was staying in a motel, which was surprising to us as we thought it would be fancy to be a famous person. But we were basically kids...
We pulled up into a parking space.... and waited for about 20 minutes for him to come down, making jokes all the while about how he would beam down from his room to the bottom of the stairs where we were parked.
But no, he walked down the stairs like a normal human person, carrying a bunch of stuff for his show, which he put in the trunk. We were sitting in the back, with the school's driver doing his job, and all the while, may I call you William?, was going on and on about the pros and cons of doing this new movie offer they had made about Star Trek.
Of course, he felt that he'd moved on from 'that' in life, and wasn't sure whether making a franchise project would pull him backwards in life. He played both sides of the pro and con conversation himself, and very well too - perhaps borne of much practice?
We sat in the back, occasionally looking over at each other and silently giggling while William strategized his road to success.Once in a while we asked him a pre-discussed question or two, and always slanted it in the 'fawning spotlight' direction so that he would actually answer. I'm not proud of being silly, but sometimes I am.... proud.
Anyway, the car finally arrived at the school, and we all got out.My fashion sense at the time was hair cropped shortish and adorned by my dad's coats, which were a number of sizes too big for me... I kind of liked all the space at the time. Thought it was cool.
This is relevant only because as we got out, suddenly Mister Shatner, turned over his left shoulder and said to me, assuming his will would be done, "Boy, could you carry these."Two things...
1-I am not a boy, but a woman, and
2-They were way heavy for me!Luckily my friend, who was a young man, gallantly stepped up to assist with the many pieces. I got the dry cleaning and one suitcase, as I recall....William Shatner went to the place one goes to get into gear for the show.
We went to make sure the sound and light gear were in good working order. The seats were already quickly filling to almost full. We were giddy - it was definitely going to be a standing room only event.We'd done good; the timing was right, with rumors of an actual Star Trek movie swirling about the entertainment media, and Mr. Shatner available for a song.
The lights went down. I held my breath. He came out.... and, I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not THAT!He began by reciting poems in a pale Shakespearean shadow method he'd been writing and practicing. He did it all in that Captain Kirk - emoting and pausing signature way.
When he threw himself tummy-first down on the stage to make a particular point, I put my hand to my mouth, then over my eyes, and finally... I walked out.The reviews were... shall we say, slanted to one side.
I got to meet William Shatner! What a night of waiting in the car and waiting in the hall unable to watch. I'm glad it's part of my life history, as it is a fun story to remember and tell.I always wondered how he survived that belly flop to jump bouyantly back onto his feet. Guess I'll never know.