Breaking Bad

One of the things I am most proud of is our kids and how they’ve done in school. Our 24-year-old son just started graduate school at University of Santa Barbara. And he’s got the full ride covered, including his living expenses. He’s always been a resourceful guy, and it helps that he’s academically brilliant. He must get that from his mother.

Our 16-year-old daughter is the same but different. She’s involved in all kinds of extracurricular activities – cheerleading, basketball, show choir, hula and Tahitian dance. And yet she maintains her grades and is in the National Honor Society. She carries a good GPA and is well-balanced. She also must get that from her mom.

Recently, she missed school for a short period of time and so did not completely grasp some of the math that was taught during her absence. Her mother felt that, in order to maintain her status, we should seek out a tutor. Our daughter first hesitated, but my wife insisted and went on a search for a capable tutor.

She did this by going to a recommended and safe online site that pairs students with vetted tutors. Several responded, but we went with the first who did. He wanted to meet first, in order to see what kind of service he could provide.

That’s where I came in. It was my job to take our daughter to this first meeting. He told me to meet up at a particular Starbucks location. Said he’s a “haole” guy sitting by the window. When we got there, my daughter sent me to scout out and find the tutor. I walked in and scanned the seats by the largest window area. Luckily, there was only one “haole” guy near the window and was the only one sitting alone. But he looked like a college student and was on his laptop using earbuds. I walked up and stood right in front of him. He looked up as I asked, “Are you the math guy?” He had a disturbed look on his face and he removed the earbuds.

He stood up and said, “I’m not a dealer, you got the wrong guy!” I then realized that he must have thought I said, “Are you the meth guy?” Just then my daughter located the real tutor, so I made a hasty departure from the table.

Could have been worse, he could have thought I was trolling for an eharmony.com connection.