I still remembered when we’d gone to my uncle’s farm and talked to the old guys at the diner. They were big Notre Dame fans, but my mom had informed them that I would end up at USC. I had a pretty good idea where she was leaning.
“Let’s see what Oklahoma has to say tomorrow before David decides,” Dad said to head her off.
We spent the next half-hour talking about USC. My parents confirmed what I’d been thinking; it was good to know we were on the same page. Mom was pushing for a better education for the long term, while my dad advised we wait before I decided.
Somehow, it sounded like they thought it was their decision to make. I kept the reality to myself because I couldn’t stop the voice in my head from whispering that USC wasn’t the best place for me to go.
I’ll admit that voice might have been Mr. Happy, who wasn’t talking to me right now after I only ‘talked’ to Tawny last weekend. The thought of her … let’s just say that it had crossed my mind.
◊◊◊
I did something I hadn’t done in a while when I had a decision to make: I called Tami. She’d been my childhood best friend and pretty much ran my life through middle school. I figured she would be someone I could bounce things off and get an honest answer.
“This is a surprise. I’d begun to think you lost my number,” Tami teased as we jumped onto video chat.
“I need you to tell me where to go to school,” I said, folding like a house of cards in a hurricane.
She burst out laughing.
“Just when I think you’ve moved on and can run your own life, you come crawling back. Tell me what’s bothering you so I can fix it for you,” she said.
I made a rude comment in response and then laid it out for her. She waited until I was done making my case for both schools before she commented.
“Tell me about the stripper,” Tami said.
“How the heck … you know what? Never mind. I’ll figure this out myself.”
“Quit being a baby. Even though Tim and I don’t see each other anymore, we keep in touch. He mentioned some gorgeous stripper that you just talked to. When I heard that, I knew you were interested in her,” Tami explained.
“Tim has a big mouth.”
“Is it true?” Tami asked.
History told me I either talked to Tami, or she would talk to my mom. I didn’t need Mom learning that I’d gone to a strip club, and one followed me home.
“Sounds about right. She’s a business major and plans to get her MBA. I wanted to learn about Oklahoma’s business school.”
“Tim said you slept with her,” Tami dug.
“All we did was sleep. Nothing untoward happened. I was a perfect gentleman,” I said to defend myself.
Tami rolled her eyes when I said, ‘untoward.’ Sue me. I’d worked on my vocabulary before I took my college entrance exams. Untoward was a great word.
“Do you love her?” Tami asked.
“Jesus! What made you come up with that?” I asked.
“It’s a reasonable assumption. You’re the one who falls for a girl instantly. Just answer the question.”
She might have a point, but that didn’t mean I was about to admit to it.
“I like her, and if I go to Oklahoma, I would want to see if there is something there,” I said.
Tami gave me a big smile that meant she’d gotten her gossip fix, so she was now ready to give me her take on my school choices.
“The safe pick is USC. They have good football and baseball teams; it would be close enough to drive home; and it is the superior choice, educationally. Oklahoma is a better fit, though. It’s in the Midwest and in a smaller town. There is nothing else to compete for their fans’ attention.
“If you help them get a National Championship, you would be a football god there. It would also be easier for you to win the Heisman at Oklahoma because the East Coast voters don’t see many West Coast games. And finally, your quarterbacking would get you a lot more NFL attention there,” she rattled off.
“You don’t think that USC’s education would outweigh Oklahoma’s?” I asked.
“For you, I don’t believe it matters. I look at a college education as a foundation, but real-world experience will soon win out. Whether you go to USC, Oklahoma, or the University of Pennsylvania won’t matter for most people when you’re wheeling and dealing in the real world.
“Can it open doors for you? Absolutely. But I suspect that you being David A. Dawson will do more of that than which college you go to,” she explained.
I thought about everyone I knew in business, and I honestly couldn’t tell you where they went to college, or for that matter, if they had gone at all. It never came up in conversation. I take that back; I knew the Wesleyan clan all had gone to Kentucky, and that Caryn graduated from Berkeley. Maybe I should ask my parents if they used what they learned in college to do their jobs now.
“So, you’re saying that the level of education isn’t important?” I asked.
“To my mind, college is more about growing up and getting the necessary skills to survive in whatever field you decide to go into. Having a degree from USC over Oklahoma might very well make a difference when getting your first job.
