Somebody, Anybody, Nobody Dec 28/12

December 28, 2012 

Several days ago, I noticed Jim in conversation with the Foreigner liaison staff about his concern with the frayed and jumbled wiring that extends from the various teacher desks to the hub at the back of the room. It is dangerous. Not only might someone trip over it and fall on the ceramic floor, but such an event would cause havoc with the wiring. “Somebody ought to do something about that.” Jim commented he has been trying for five years to get someone to fix it, which reminded me of this little story,

 

“about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

 

Looking around, I agreed with Everybody that the entire office was an unholy dusty mess. There was a stack of drama costumes and accessories that has been sitting in one corner for five years, one of the returned teachers noted. It is the perfect home for the mice and rat that live in the walls. “Somebody ought to do something about that,” was said.  But nobody wanted to take the chance of coming across evidence of Anybody living in the stack.  As it turned out, they’d left a few pebbles behind, but thankfully, no babies lived there. 

There was a bookshelf at the desk behind mine, full of teaching materials and junk from the past 5 years. The teacher whose desk it is has only made one 5 minute appearance in our office in the past 4 months, preferring to use his desk at another building where the Chinese principal also hangs out the majority of the time. The principal also has a desk where he uses the phone every couple of days. The Chinese math teacher has, over time, spread his belongings across 3 desks. His primary desk has enuf space where ancient unmarked student work has accumulated for his phone and day book. A second desk with a computer that I have never seen used has a stack of old school publications dating back 5 years. And the third has on it the computer that is the tower for the printer. There, the Math teacher spends the bulk of his non-classroom time watching internet movies or playing video games. The microwave ovens, one filthy and unused, one new and functioning, sits on an old desk in which the drawers do not function properly.

So, I decided that somebody would do something about it, and spent an afternoon doing it. I boxed up the drama costumes that the drama teacher had volunteered 6 weeks ago to take home and wash. I moved the paper cupboard, and filled it with the three cases of paper stacked around. I asked the Chinese principal whether it would be possible for me to use the bookshelf for English teaching and learning materials. He said that would be fine and he would ask the teacher whose materials they were to look them over and decide what he needed or could be stored or discarded. I boxed them up, in order, with spines visible and moved the shelf behind my desk. I moved the unused microwave up high on another shelf, out of reach. Anybody could see I was struggling with the weight and bulk of getting the microwave onto that high shelf, but Nobody wanted to be blamed if a body didn’t like the changes. I moved the bookshelf that had been on my desk and with Jim’s permission, put it on his desk to hold the eclectic stack of fiction he likes to read, but which is stacked so high it was in danger of falling off. In fact, when we moved the desk to the hallway, they did topple off.  I reassured Jim that I had carefully re-stacked his books in just the same sequence as they had been so that he could find them easily. He caustically noted that the big red one was out of place, and I replied that that one did have to be stacked as “oversize”. I could put up a “go to” note, if he’d like! But alas, he thinks he can remember its new place. I turned the printer desk around, and placed it against the wall so that there is a safe walking space.  It still shows lots of movies, but I haven’t noticed games lately!

And low and behold, when I went to the Suguo store in the evening they had been doing some renovations and there was a strip of aluminum that I harvested to encase the cords. So the following day, I untangled that mess, replacing the frayed cords with two that were in better condition and had been going nowhere. And I coiled the three cords that were among the mess, but also unused. Now the cords are enclosed, protected, and not a tripping hazard.

Jim left a note on my desk, I paraphrase, “It needed doing. And somebody did it. Thanks, Somebody.” When the Chinese principal came by, he commented that the office looks much better now. I have no idea when or whether the boxed books will disappear. I'd give it five years, till the next "Somebody" comes along.

 

The next day my principal dropped by and, hardly able to contain himself, noted there was a desk in the hallway and would we like to have it moved into that empty space at the back of the room.  "No, Charlie.  No, Charlie, definitely not."

 I recall a similar thing in The Pas in 2001. My long 17000 square foot pie shaped lot was bisected by a driveway leading to the garage doors off the back lane. I thought this a big waste of backyard space and decided the doors of the garage ought to lead from the front street. So I made the plan, hired a contractor to install a front garage door and fence a gate and yard space where the driveway had been. Mark next door was amazed to see a casual conversation transformed to reality in the space of two weeks. I never knew really how to interpret Mark’s comment, as male chauvinism or acknowledgement of my feminist independence. In any case, when I told this story to Jim, he had a different take, saying that’s what a little education does. Of course, getting to know Mark better showed me his comments could not have been chauvinistic at all as he is one of the most liberated men I know.

Till next post, stay well, send comments and questions, and take care. Happy 2013 to you all.