mallorys_camera | RTT's Prince Hal Moment and Baalorma's Unsatisfactory Trip to the ER

Every parent of a bright, rebellious kid is constantly on the watch for what I call the Prince Hal Moment – that moment when potential seems as graspable as Excalibur in the stone because other people are finally seeing what you have always seen when you looked down on his sleeping face.

RTT had his Prince Hal Moment last night.

He presented a proposal to the New Roots advisory board for an open campus policy, an extremely well-researched, well-written and politically astute proposal; argued persuasively, respectfully and charmingly on its behalf; and organized a crowd of 60 or so students who showed up in support.

Long term readers may remember that last year RTT was constantly getting into trouble for leaving campus, particularly at lunch time.
New Roots is a charter school founded on the principle of sustainability. We live in the Dryden school district. Ten days or so after we moved here, when I finally roused myself out of my depressive stupor long enough to realize that RTT was technically a truant and I needed to get his ass into school, I enrolled him at Dryden High School – a bad fit I knew instantly. But what could ya do?

“I am not going to Dryden High School!” RTT announced when I announced the cheery news.

“You have no choice in the matter,” I hissed.

“Why can’t I go to the alternative high school in Ithaca?”

“Because we don’t technically live in Ithaca. We don’t pay property taxes in Ithaca, or more to the point, out landlord doesn’t pay property taxes in Ithaca.”

“Why can’t I just keep going to school online?”

“Because our circumstances have changed. We’re not wandering nomads anymore.”

“Well, then, why can’t you just home school me?”

“Right. That was such a success last time I tried.”

Even he had to laugh. But he was adamant. “I’m not going to Dryden.”

Gotta hand it to the kid – when he’s motivated, he’s motivated. Within 5 hours he had come up with Plan B: New Roots, a charter school that had just been started in Ithaca, open to any New York State resident, so long as he or she was fervently committed to the principles of sustainability! Robin and sustainability – now, that was kind of a hilarious thought. Robin and Ithaca – that was a bit more problematic.

The school is housed in the historic Clinton Hotel, right off the Ithaca Commons, a well known trysting place for homeless psychos, drug dealers and feral teens. From the start there have been Incidents – the most noteworthy being a 17 year old girl who disappeared from the Commons during lunchtime last year and was found a week later shacked up with an overweight, 30-something biker in the wilds of Groton. Liability is understandably an important consideration for the school administration.

The other complicating factor is something called Farms To School which is their school lunch program, The teens are served wholesome, healthful foods like whole wheat lasagna and vegetarian chili, and maybe all the other students except RTT just LUV it but RTT loathes it to such a degree that all last year Ben and I had to trade off bringing him pizza for lunch so he wouldn’t pass out from low blood sugar.

In fact the one person on the advisory board who voted against RTT’s proposal did so because she said it would have a negative economic impact on the Farms To School program. So what? I screamed internally. If the Farms to School serves such awful food that the only way it can stay in business is by forcing these kids to subsidize it then it deserves to go belly-up! But gotta hand it to the kid – he was smart enough to realize that Food to Farms is the New Roots third rail, mentioned it only in the most respectful and reverential of ways, even performed an economic analysis proving that the economic impact would be negligible. Way to Obama, RTT!!!

I was very proud of him Very proud.

RTT really can do just about anything. If he’s motivated to do it.

Also tutored yesterday. I’ve been going to Baalorma’s house to tutor which is strictly against Tompkins Learning Center’s rules but I’m glad I’m doing it. For one thing it’s given me the opportunity to get to know her husband a little bit. He’s a mild-mannered guy who spent the first 35 years of his life as a Tibetan monk, and is now some kind of computer analyst. For another thing, Baalorma works every single day of the week, so I’m just happy she’s got the energy to keep up with her English lessons.

Anyway, went there yesterday and Baalorma was in her sweats, looking quite drained. She had a large bandage on her left hand.

“I am making food for my husband and I cut myself,” she explained with a wan smile.

“Ouch!”

“And then I bleed so much that I pass out. My husband called 911 for the – how do you call it?”

“Ambulance,” I said.

“Am-moo-lets,” she repeats gravely. “I hear him calling because I wake up then and I say, No, no, I don’t need it. But he is very worried.”

“Well, yes, of course,” I said. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” We smile at each other and she reaches over and hugs me. “Did they have to give you a blood transfusion or did they just give you IV fluid?”

“IV fluid?”

I pantomime starting an IV and hooking up a banana bag.

“No, they don’t do that.”

“They didn’t?”

“They take my blood, they say I am ok. They send me home.”

“They sent you home! But they sutured your hand?”

“Sootcher?”

“Sewed it.” I mime stitches.

She shakes her head slowly. “They don’t look at my hand.”

“Unbelievable,” I said. “So they did absolutely nothing for you.”

“Nothing,” she says.

“Amazing,” I said. “You probably didn’t bleed that much when you were cut. I mean, unless you nick an artery and start spraying blood, you almost always bleed less than you think you do. It just looks like a lot. Still, it’s concerning that you passed out. I would think you were dehydrated. And you really passed out?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I was here. I was somewhere else. And when I come back to here it is like waking up from a dream.”

“Have you passed out before?”

“Never,” she said.

I look at Baalorma. Her lips are very pale, she could easily be anemic, I think. At the very least they could have lectured her about iron deficiency, urged her to eat more spinach.

I figure the reason Cayuga Medical Center didn’t do anything for her is because she doesn’t speak good English and Cayuga Medical Center ER is staffed by a bunch of racist shitheads.