An Adventure Down Alice's Rabbit Hole

I'm in the closing section of an essay on torture, but as my blog title suggest I capriciously exercise the prerogative to go off subject on a tangent: I had lunch with my son in the slums of Baltimore, Maryland, where I slid down the dilapidated, economically depress 'Alice's Rabbit Hole' resident of my son, Jake... Below is an email response to him.

...Alice went timidly up to the door, and knocked. "There's no sort of use in knocking," said the footman, "and that for two reasons.... Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

What is the probability of two Jakes residing in the same dilapidated superstructure, that apparently is, the recycling dumpster site for flaccid, stained mottled mattress, and beer and wine bottles. Actually, I never did spy the 4th floor Jake: With great trepidation, I braved the gritty white-washed stair-well corridor to the forth floor, where I initially turned left and with nervous apprehension pried opened the door; only after, repeatedly knocking and bellowing your name in crescendo. With slow deliberate steps, and your name as my mantra; each step warrant a cry of Jake. I finally came upon a frail, black woman rolled up in a mattress like a sushi-roll, who mustered enough courtesy to grunt and point from whence the direction I just came. I interpreted this gesticulation as an indication you were to be located in the flat across the hall. I quickly retraced my tracks, exited, and repeated the knocking and Jake yelling: I guess that whole mainstream tradition of answering the door seems to be passe'; again, I cautiously opened the door and proceeded, but this time I was meet by a hulking young black man with a Rastafarian-do who politely inquired, "can I help you?" I explained my business, he promptly turned heel-toe and walked away: confounded, I stood my ground and waited, then after a short time lapsed, there appeared a petite young women with a hostess warm smile name Kats and a short, post college age mature demeanor man with a brisk walk, curt tongue, sporting a beard who promptly directed me to 'the' 4th floor Jake's room. The room partition by a bed sheet, when pulled away was shrouded ink-black, impenetrable to discernible vision. Employing a blind man’s tactics I verbally groped with your name as a searching staff from which, I engendered an inarticulate garble groan from the 4th floor Jake. Trying to roust the fourth floor Jake from his slumber and liberate him from the mattress, I implored him to get ready for lunch, he tersely retorted, I don’t think so! So, you can imagine what kind of emotion that evoked; especially, after I had just drove three long hours to have lunch with you: I was a touch irritated. A cauldron of emotions quickly came to a boil, and before a spilling display of disappointment and discontentment erupted, I left the premise. Returning to the car Jake-less, Mary was flummoxed; I relayed the events to her. We decided to go have lunch at the Inner Harbor and attempt a second contact latter. We were in route when you made phone contact.

So, you perception of the initial pick up for lunch was reptilian in warmth was accurate. But, what I want to bring to your attention, that in spite of what one could easily interpret as rude and inconsiderate behavior, I was willing to forgo this in order to have lunch with my son. Please extend my apologies to ‘the’ 4th floor Jake for disturbing his slumber.

And--------as lunch progressed my exothermic emotive attributes began to warm; as would, a lizard sunbathing on a rock, Mary and I drank every word in that flowed describing this new found zeal and enthusiasm you had for teaching the poverty stricken, Baltimore resident children. I was very pleased to hear of this new calling for teaching.

I still strongly encourage you to pursue graduate, doctorate degrees with an end-game in a professorship: possibly in community colleges, where the financially challenge first initiate a run at collegiate academics. Apparently, the political scuttlebutt is, President Obama eyeing the community colleges as recipients for an infusion of capital: More people are attending Community Colleges because a four year degree is too expensive…..

Put on your calendar, please, Josh, your cousin, that currently employed by the Air Force is going to be making a surprise visit in August to Baltimore for training. I was going to come up to take him out to lunch: I was considering making it a Birthday visit, also…

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