1 post tagged “spontaneity”

“Good morning Max!  How did you sleep?”

“Not bad Professor.  Hey, I wanted to ask you…”

”Good, good.  Mr. Lin, I want you to pack one bag with three pairs of underwear, three shirts, three everything.  I’ll be at your place in ten minutes.  We are going to Inner Mongolia.”

!!!

The Professor’s been in the sugar again.  She is notorious for her energy levels.  She is almost sixty, but behind the wrinkled façade lies a dynamo fueled by lord knows what.  

In the privacy of the car, she briefs me on our imminent escapade in a hushed voice.  There’s a city called Chifeng where they discovered the ruins of a village.  The village is 8000 years old, and could well be the cradle of Chinese civilization.  She’s been invited to provide counsel on how best to turn the city into a tourist attraction.

We arrive at the airport ten minutes before boarding time.  The professor is hungry, and by the time lunch arrives there is only four minutes to spare.  We inhale our noodles whole.  The professor laughs like a delirious sea captain.

“Oh no!” I cry.  “I promised my uncle we could get dinner this weekend!  I completely forgot.”

I can be such a klutz when it comes to keeping appointments.  The professor lends me her cell and I drop the news on my uncle.  She grabs the phone before I finish, and I’ll be darned if she isn’t baby-talking my fifty year-old uncle.

“Hel-LO, how ARE you?” she coos, like a mother pigeon with a ripe worm.  “Yeah look, Max can’t see you this weekend.  Maybe next time, OK?  Buh-byeeeee!”

I can’t believe it.  But there’s only just enough time for shock and awe.  The boarding call beckons us towards our next adventure, and we’ll miss it if we don’t drop our chopsticks and sprint.