Here on scholarship

“There is no honor amongst thieves even less with trailer-park debutantes” Early life lesson from a bartender who worked his bottle opener like a scrapyard crane operator dumping rusty Chevys, spun a corkscrew as a master drill press operator teaching an apprentice But that was years ago, when the price of a drink was considered cheap tuition whether auditing the neighborhood class or undergrad-afterthought clubbing Now I know better You pay for the best education paying attention to detail, not with Franklins People tell tales; life instructs, proctors its own tests sometimes you get your grade rarely offers extra credit Life’s tests are not standardized multiple choice essays true/false Just do the homework skip the cramming know it or you don’t Seeing it living it understanding it where, when it all went south when you’ve reached the summit how you did it, maybe could again sometimes you just walk away platitudes, platypus, Plato; you’ve read enough to be dangerous a grandma once told me with sad irony “You buy ‘em books, you buy ‘em books” And never the twain shall meet. What I have learned and can impart from this side of the weathered bar? Be polite, play nice, share your toys Life is not always fair because it isn’t Love and laugh – a lot and with gusto Look both ways before you cross life And never trust a vagabond with a GPS.