Bathroom Talk Redux

       How often have you heard the expression “You had to be there to appreciate it?”  Such was the case when I was with a group of fifth grade students on a field trip.

     The chaperones—myself included—were staying in a house and sharing the bathrooms; there were a girls’, a boys’, and an off-the-common-room-unisex bathrooms. 

     In the middle of the day, rain forced us all to be in the house.  At one point, I opened the door to the bathroom off of the common room.  To my surprise, the student sitting and facing me instantly locked eyes with me.  Without hesitation he, rather than being embarrassed, crinkled his eyebrows in indignation and with an even tone said, “Duude.”  I immediately lowered my eyes, humbly saying, “Oops.  Sorry.”  I quickly exited backwards and closed the door.  The faculty member sitting and typing on her computer at the nearby table said, "Oh, sorry.  Fred doesn’t like to lock doors, and I was supposed to be standing watch for him."

Editor’s note: To get a better sense of what it was like being there and the beauty of Fred's clever communication, click on this Bud Light clip to see the different meanings of dude intonations for different situations.  Very funny.