One day, many years ago, I was reading my students’ latest essays. At the
time, I was in a room that was “split” – there was a folding wall between them.
The wall was supposed to be sound-proof, but, it was more – how shall I
describe it? – not sound proof. The class on the other side was pretty unruly.
At one point, the teacher called out: “Excuuuusse me…”
Noise continued.
“Excuuuuuuuuse me….”
Continued cacophony.
“ExcUUUUUse me!”
And, in the back of the room, a single student’s voice wafted through, a clarion voice below the general chaos. He was speaking to himself, really, but the
science of acoustics is a fascinating thing. I may have been the only person to
have heard his comment – his response to the teacher’s “ExcUUUUUUse me!”
He said, “Why? Did you fart?”
I laughed. I laughed hysterically. (I was alone – what was
the harm?) But, after I recovered, I realized that the kid had a point.
