Breaking a Big Break

Edward had just turned 60 and he was very, very close to a big break in his career. He had been a college professor for some 30 years, and he had been informed that his department led by the current dean who was soon to retire was looking to him to take over that senior position. One positive aspect of this big break would be that he would be paid significantly more than what he had been getting as a mere teacher. He could retire earlier, something both he and his wife Edna wanted him to do so that they would spend more time together. There was also the matter of the growing problem that he had been having with students with AI manufactured assignments with all kinds of irrelevant information and utter nonsense. Then there were his students who paid more attention to their cell phones than to what he was trying to teach them. In addition, he had been pressured to abandon the blackboard and chalk teaching that he had been so comfortable with for most of his years as a professor.

All that nonsense would be gone when he was dean. He would be very supportive of those long term professors having the same problems he had been having . Listening to others pain, maybe making a change or two, such as banning the use of cell phones in the classroom, and getting paid a lot more seemed a better place for him to be. And it was coming soon, starting next week when semester was over. This was certainly going to be a big break for him.

Celebrating the Big Break

When he came home after meeting with the dean and his assistants, he told his wife Edna the good news about his promotion. They danced in joy around the living room. Then he said to her. “We should celebrate tomorrow night. I have my final marking to do now, so we can’t do that tonight. Let’s go to the Toby Jug, drink, listen to good music, and eat good Scottish food – mushy peas, blood pudding and all. I heard that “The Rocking Oldies” will be playing. As you know, I jammed with them on the drums years ago, before I even met you.  We two ‘Eds’ will have cause and means to be joyful”. 

Edna smiled, said, “It is so good to hear you being so happy for a change, and not complaining about your work. Friday night will certainly be a night of celebration.”

Edward called his daughter and son about the good news. They were glad to hear that he was going to be earning more money. However, he got a sense that they did not seem so sympathetic about his technology complaints. They were college students after all, and spoke to  him in a tone of voice that seemed to be in sympathy with their peers.

During his time at the college on Friday, he cleaned up his desk, taking what he wanted to save into his car. He was glad that his office was on the ground floor. He then went to a meeting of deans, there just to listen. To him the speakers seemed boring, and out of touch with the reality of teachers work in the 2020s. And they were all wearing suits, something he never did. ‘Oh well,” he thought, “I will do my best to change that. I should be up to it. I won’t let them push me around.”

That Friday Night

           They arrived at the Toby Jug soon after he arrived home. They quickly walked across the floor to a table that was close to where the band would be playing. The band members had set up their instruments and electronic gear, but were nowhere in sight.

           While they were sipping, more ‘knocking back’ their Tennant’s Lager, Edward felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around he saw that it was Josh, the lead singer in the band. Before he could greet his old friend Roger (they had been in a band together when they were both teenagers), he saw an anxious look on Roger’s face, then was asked a telling question:

           “Ed, can you still play the drums. Our new drummer fell down unloading his drums, and we think that he has broken his arm. Whether he has or not that has happened, he cannot drum tonight. Do you still play the drums?”

           Edward replied, “I jam sometimes with a bunch of old guys playing acoustic guitars during the weekend at the Senior Center. Admittedly, I don’t play on a kit, but just a cohon, a wooden box that I beat with brushes I used to use on my snare drum.”

           “Are you willing to play with us tonight. I know that you are familiar with all of the songs that we do, most of which you and I played when we were much younger. What do you say, Ed?”

           Edward flashed a look at his wife, and she nodded her head and smiled. She wanted to encourage him to do something that he so much loved to do.

           He got up on the stage, sat down on the drum stool, picked up the sticks, and was asked what song he wanted to play first. He immediately said, “Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. Edna had beautiful brown eyes, and she loved to hear him sing the song to her on romantic nights, looking lovingly into her eyes.

           Once Edward picked up the drumsticks, he became somewhat nervous about drumming with a band in public, but that soon ended after playing a few songs in the first set. Edna stood up when he walked back to their table after the end of the set and gave him a big hug. He then told her that he had suggested to Josh and the rest of the band that she sing at least one song. “I told them that you have a beautiful voice, and they agreed with my suggestion. What song would you like to sing?”

           It was no surprise to him that she agreed, and told that she wanted to sing “The First Cut Is the Deepest”. They had both ended a long term relationship with other partners a short time before they met, and fell in love. It was a song that they had sung together.      

At the end of the last set Josh asked him to join the band long term, and that they would like Edna to sing a couple of songs with them. The band had a good number of gigs lined up, and a tentative recording contract. Their former drummer, a young man, had been with them only a few weeks, and was not as familiar with and enthusiastic about the old-time music that the band played. Ed said that he would think about it, and tell him for sure by night time on Sunday.

Over the weekend, Ed’s mind went back and forth regarding his future, with thoughts and moods shifting back and forth. Finally, late Sunday afternoon, he spoke out loud to himself, while sitting on the back porch:

“What am I thinking? I know that I cannot turn the AI tide in education, even as a dean, no matter how hard I try. After listening to those guys talk, I think that the job of dean would amount to more of the same kind of frustration that has been wearing me out over the last few years. I would much rather spend my senior years as a musician, and sharing that with Edna.”

On Monday he broke his big break.