Oatstanding... Right?

One morning towards the very end of spring break I woke up and decided that the thing I really wanted right now was a nice warm cup of oatmeal with delicious de-frosted blueberries from the Retreat. I checked my watch. 8:30. I wasn't sure what I was doing up this early, but the good news was, the Retreat had just opened, so I put on my jeans and coat and headed out into the miserable and dreary morning.

Life at the Retreat was in full swing, but alas, the pot of gooey, steamy oatmeal was not yet in its place. It'll be about five minutes, the lady behind the counter informed me. No problem, I replied and went over to examine the yoghurt flavors. Five minutes later I made my way back over to the oatmeal stand. It's almost ready, just five more minutes. Okay, no big deal.

Fifteen minutes and five-and-a-half New York Times articles later, I was still standing by the empty heating pad, waiting for my oatmeal, when a few key members of the Vassar administration joined me. There were maybe five or six of them, greeting each other, chattering away. When is this oatmeal going to be done? Five minutes, came a voice from the kitchen. Don't trust them, I said half-jokingly. I've been here for over fifteen. This oatmeal better be fabulous. They laughed.

Five minutes later someone came out of the kitchen with the pot of oatmeal. It smelled wonderful--not that watery, kind-of-oatmeal smell but the full-bodied, hearty odor of grains boiled just right. My cup was already prepared, one quarter full of blueberries, a few raisins thrown in for flavor and just a touch of honey. My stomach grumbled hungrily at the sight of the steaming pot...

Why, there's hardly anything in here! one of the admin ladies said, helping herself to it, There's maybe about five scoops total of oatmeal in this pot! Well, I'm glad I got here early, said the other lady behind her, and I'm glad I'm second in line.

So, I watched them all go in front of me. In the end, there was just a little bit left at the bottom, and I managed to fill my cup about three quarters of the way. Still, I walked away thinking, if the administration of our school can't even play fair in the oatmeal line, how fair are they playing with the $49,250/year my family is turning over into their hands?

Just a thought.

~Radish