Proud Papa

At the end of Greek reading group this week, Beth gave me an odd look and asked, “Did any of the prospective students [on whom Seabury spent three days making our best impression] seem at all confused about you?”

I hadn’t noticed anything, but the question was peculiar enough that I pressed Beth for some follow-up. This is what she told me:

“Your daughter was sitting with Lauren and me at the check-in table, and when prospective students signed in, we introduced ourselves. Pippa said that her father was the janitor, but he liked to pretend that he was the New Testament professor.”

She delivered this explanation with so solemn an expression, evidently, that Lauren was a little worried about what the prospective students would think, and some of the prospies asked Beth about it later.

Beth was a little uncertain about filling me in, but it was so spectacularly delicious a notion, and Pippa evidently spoke her lines so convincingly, that I could do nothing but roar with laughter and beam with pride. A father can impart only a few gifts to a child, and her capacity to deliver arrant absurdity with deadpan seriousness counts as a great inheritance from me (and my father and grandfather).

6 thoughts on “Proud Papa

  1. Of course, maybe you are really the janitor and just pretending to be the NT lecturer… however, I’d say you’ve got the look down just right!

  2. Definition of “depressing”: Reading the rants of right and left on the HoB/D listserve.

    Definition of “reinvigorating”: Reading about the antics of AKMA’s daughter.

  3. Hummm. wonder if its worth checking the payscale, hours worked and doing a little math.. she might have a good idea. (Ps 84, vs 10, old translations, comes to mind)

  4. Oh, my. I can totally see her doing that. Sounds like her art explorations have led her to some of the more extreme 20th century movements. Indeed, perhaps you are, in fact, the “Proud dada.” (ducking)

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