De Niro

Yesterday I was sitting in my office and actually having a pretty good day for getting up at 3:30 a.m.—not knowing I had gotten up an hour before I usually do—when my old boss C. came into my office. She was the person who hired me for the position I am in now. She her position her as executive director went back to school and finished her PhD and now is a professor type at the local university. In fact she teaches a disability studies course which is pretty cool. The class is a graduate level class, small and populated by seven or ten focused little graduate students all seeking to make a difference.

In fact, back in October C. asked that I come and present to her class. I figured “why not”. There is not better shot in the arm then yammering in front of a bunch of folks who think you know it all. This stroking is really enough for me, getting to talk about myself. But when the class was over and I was preparing to leave C. in passing mentions that she has a small budget to pay for stipends for guest lectures. I assured her that was nice, and filthy lucre would be nice but really playing professor was enough for me. But know when some drops a bomb like “ we can pay you a little” it starts working on you. C. said she would have to submit the “request for payment” and the University would send the check in a couple of weeks but if I did not get money. I just sort of blew it all off until It got closer to the holidays and extra funding would be appreciated.. I saw C. once or twice over the holidays and subtly hinted that I had not received anything and I would not ask but hey we’re in the middle of recession and so… And again nothing happened an I survived the holidays and wrote off any compensation as a good like in graduate class is payment enough.

So I was more then pleasantly surprised when C. came into the office and handed me an envelope she said had been riding in the bottom of her purse for a couple months turned round and left. The envelope was an official University envelope with my name scrawled across the front. The envelope slightly bulged. Payola!

Sure enough, I tore the envelope open and there were three bills two twenties and a ten. Fifty bucks, cash, salad, de niro! It seem strange though cash, waded up cash, like cash which had been in a purse and pulled out and stuffed in a office envelope and given to someone who thinks their owed. Dianne thinks I am being set up and that is why the cash. I doubt it. I think that perhaps there really never was a stipend or if there was it was taken back or something leaving C. holding the bag and to stop me from asking, everytime she sees me, she thought ‘what the heck’ ergo the cash. No nice crisp check with all the tracking stuff on the attached page. So, I have been paid. I’m happy. I spent most of the “pay off” at my very local Office Depot( which is going out of business). Before C. hurriedly left my office after dropping off the envelope she asked if I would sit on a panel in a couple of week. Sure…no problem.