by Gary R. Dobson
Even though my 45th birthday was celebrated in December of 1997, I didn’t consider myself to be in the late August of my years. After all, I still listened to fairly youth-oriented music and played computer games whenever possible. To my way of thinking, enjoyment of these pastimes indicated that I was not a traditional middle-aged person. However, as I soon discovered, many others regarded me as old – quite old in fact. That’s why it might surprise you to learn that I look back on that time with tremendous gratitude and warmth. It was a great learning experience.
While I’m a fairly good writer and speaker, the lack of an undergraduate degree had long been detrimental to my career. I fully believed that possessing a bachelor’s degree would provide more revenue generating avenues for me. With this goal in mind, I made a decision to return to college as a full-time student.
On a January morning at 8 a.m., I drove to one of Chicago’s local colleges. After parking my car, I began walking, with attaché case in-hand, towards the main building. Along the way, I was struck by the fact that I was not only the oldest person in the immediate area, but the only one carrying a briefcase. Everywhere I looked, crowds of 19-20 year olds were trudging off to class. Each of the students had a backpack slung over their shoulder. I made a mental note to purchase a backpack as soon as possible.
Upon entering Room 153 (where I was to attend a Speech 100 lecture), I noticed that each of the students immediately sat upright in their chairs and smiled at me. Apparently they thought that I was the professor.
Within a moment, I settled into a chair, but not one that faced the students. Instantly I began hearing expressions of surprise such as, “Wow! Can you believe it! He’s a student!” and, “He looks older than my father!” Thankfully, my 45-year-old ears didn’t hear the word grandfather.
It was then that the real professor strode into the room. He bellowed, “Hi, everyone.” Then he turned to me. In a rather halting manner, he said, “Oh…ah, good morning.”
If he had said, “Good morning, sir,” I would have bolted from the room and returned home. Upon arrival, I would have reached for a shawl, a cup of tea, and a handful of Glenn Miller recordings.
After I was treated to an interesting two hour lecture, the class ended and students spilled from their seats and headed toward the door. I wondered if my 33-year-old professor and much younger classmates would collectively offer to help me rise from my chair? Sitting in a cramped seat for that period of time had caused my legs to stiffen and feel that they were on their last…well, legs. Apparently, however, “Caring for the Elderly” wasn’t a course that was offered by the college of my choice. Not one single person offered to help me stand up.
Within an hour, I was limping into another classroom. As I took my seat, I distinctly heard one of the jocks mutter, “Hey, what do you think he’s doing in here?” I didn’t bother to listen for the answer to his pointed question. When the instructor finally walked into the room, I noted to my surprise and great delight that she was quite a bit older than me. Suddenly, I felt youthful and rejuvenated. My legs were no longer sore and all seemed well with the world.
Following a recitation of her credentials, the instructor announced that we would be required to write a research paper about the book, “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley. One of the students raised his hand and asked, “Kenneth Branagh was in the movie version, right?” Once again, I felt like a grandfather, as the only film version of this classic that came to mind was the one starring Boris Karloff.
The next morning, I entered a classroom where a lecture series regarding the earth sciences was about to get underway. Of course, my much younger peers were obviously amused and shocked to find an old codger joining them. I didn’t even bother to try and hear their whispered expressions of surprise and commentary.
“Good morning, all,” chirped our barely 32-year-old instructor. He took one look at me and said, “Oh, hi.”
I was pleased that he didn’t feel the need to speak more loudly in hopes that his rather aged student would hear him more clearly. At that time in my life, I hadn’t felt the need to shop for a hearing aid.
At some point during the next two hours he said, “Now we’re going to talk about fossil fuels. Some examples are coal, oil, and gas, which are used for heating purposes. Today, most homes and buildings are heated with natural gas. Years ago, oil was used to generate heat. Before oil, people used coal for this purpose. Does anyone know what was used before coal?” He quickly (and far too naturally) turned towards me.
“Wood, sir, they used wood.”
“Very good, Mr. Dobson.”
I waited for the follow-up question. My answer would have been, “Flint and rock, sir, flint and rock were used to produce fire.” Thankfully, he didn’t pursue the matter. Instead he continued, “Life forms eventually turn into fossil fuels. In fact, our early ancestors are some of today’s fossil fuels.”
The disturbing thought that I was much closer than anyone else in the class to becoming a fossil fuel bore into my mind and heart.
After the classroom cleared, I decided to open communication with my professor. In an effort to be light-hearted about my age, I said, “You know, I feel so darned old in this class. In fact, I am much older than any of the students in my classes. I’m even older than most of my teachers, but I’m really enjoying myself. It’s great to be back in school.” I desperately tried to convince myself this was true.
He responded, “Well, Mr. Dobson. I don’t think of you as being an old student. You are a nontraditional student. There! That sounds much better, doesn’t it!”
“Yes, I guess it does,” I replied. I believed, however, that he was definitely thinking, “Gosh you are old.”
I continued to attend classes and to my surprise, found that I thoroughly enjoyed them. I even began to bond with some of the students. A number of them seemed to find my company appealing. It is true that they were much younger and less road-traveled than I was, but they turned out to be interesting, polite, and witty. That is a wonderful combination.
After finally completing my studies and emerging with a bachelor’s degree, I find that even though I haven’t earned huge salaries since graduation, the memories generated during those years in college were worth their weight in gold. Now, where did I put my Glenn Miller albums? Um, CDs, er DVDs, ah…never mind.
Gary Dobson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in communications from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. He graduated summa cum laude and plans on entering graduate school in 2003. Gary works as a freelance writer, public speaker, and writing and speaking tutor. Currently he is working on two books, one a how-to guide for adults returning to school and the other a compilation of nature stories. Numerous articles written by Gary can be accessed via the Internet.
