Life Lessons Learned in Accounting? Alliterations??

This afternoon I was sitting in my managerial accounting class mult-tasking. I was trying to look intrigued while fighting the urge to nod off like the rest of my sleepy classmates. I don't care how boring the class is, it always upsets me to see people sitting towards the front of the class who stare at the professor open mouthed and roll their head to the side unashamedly and non discretely to check the clock on the wall every couple of minutes. Today there was a woman in her mid to late 30's doing just that. I couldn't help but think to myself, "Come on, really? If you're going to school this late in the game you have way more reason to look interested in what he's saying than the rest of us."

Towards the end of class my professor noticed her roll her lazy head to look at the clock again while letting out a sigh. He began to address her and I thought, boy is she going to get it, this will teach her to look interested. Instead, what happened was a shock to me, and a wake up call to the rest of the class. He asked, "Your father passed away a few days ago didn't he. How are you doing? Are you ok?"

All of my pointing fingers curled into a fist that beat mercilessly on my conscience. She replied that she was doing alright, and he said, "My dad died yesterday."

I gained a great amount of respect for both of them. It must be hard to get up and go to school and try and stay focused with the weight of your loss on your shoulders. It was all she could do to get through another class. And what courage my professor had, to stay and teach a class that few were actually listening to when he could have cancelled to mourn his loss. He must have thought it was important for us that he was there.

It just goes to show that you never know the reasons behind why anyone does anything. Some people may be rude, or treat others badly because they are suffering and don't realize that their behavior is unacceptable. In hard times our minds often move a million miles an hour on auto-pilot and we do things we wouldn't normally do, and say things we wouldn't normally say. We can be so focused on the past or the future that the slippery minutes we grasp at presently, pass into history without a second thought of civility or decorum.

How quick we are to pass judgement and make assumptions. I need not repeat the familiar adage of assumptions and what becomes of us when we assume.

I do still believe that there is no rhyme or reason behind drivers of big trucks. The consistent behavior of trucks on the road has led me to believe that perhaps the reason they drive the way they do is in fact because of the truck. Perhaps it is uncomfortable, or perhaps it doesn't get the gas mileage that they were promised from television ads and checkered suited salespeople. Or perhaps the trucks need an exorcism.