A Lingering Snack and Question
NEIRAD enilno edition
Some claim it was a religious experience; others say it was no more than a publicity stunt. But as of now what happened, or didn’t happen, in room B-216 is a mystery. On Tuesday September 23, 2008, a B-day at Darien High School, Mr. Francis Janosco’s first period Introduction to Creative Writing class met during the third time slot.
When the nine students in the class entered room B-216 they noticed an unopened bag of Fritos and a single unopened 10oz bottle of Lemon-Lime Gatorade on the corner of the teacher’s desk at the front of the class.
Who can truly resist such an appetizing snack followed by chugging the world’s original thirst-quenching sports drink? Most students can’t, so Wes Blummer kindly asked Mr. Janosco if he could have the bag of Fritos. To which Mr. Janosco sternly replied, “No.” They left the snack behind when the bell rang at 10:17am assuming the unclaimed merchandise would be eaten as no one can resist such delightful free edibles. They may be talented creative writers, but they may lack detective intuition: the food remained untouched one full day later. The Fritos and Gatorade lay waiting the next day at 8:33am.
After a whole day of teachers, students, and janitors cleaning up at the end of the day, both food items were waiting in the exact location resting on the teacher’s work station in B-216. This unexpected largesse sparked a class discussion and even inspired the group to pen their own poems.
Mr. Janosco, a teacher at DHS for the past six years said, “This is one of the most important events that I have witnessed in my years here at DHS. I don’t think anything like this will ever happen again.” Mr Janosco said this momentous event is even more important than the previous most defining moment in his professional life: winning the Westchester County Bowhunting Championship. “Some of us were moved to tears,” he added.
The real question in this situation is why were the bag of Fritos and bottle of Gatorade there in the first place and why did they remain untouched?
Each student seemed to have his or her own opinion. Junior Wes Blummer said, “Someone could be testing the students to see if they would take someone else’s belongings.”
Many students agreed, the school or someone in the school could be determining the trust in students and faculty throughout the school to see if someone would take something that does not belong to them.
Some speculate it could be a calculated move in response to the school’s refusal to sell such delicious snack items in the cafeteria. “It could be a publicity stunt. Since chips and Gatorade are not allowed to be sold in the school someone could be protesting,” senior Isabella Vargas said. But there is that nagging question why the efficient janitors didn’t clean the two objects off the desk at the end of the day.
Two days after the incident the Gatorade had been removed from the desk which gave Blummer the initiative to take the Fritos and eat them. Although both items are now gone this will continue to remain a mystery to Mr. Janosco and his Intro Creative Writing class. The unanswerable questions will float through their minds and inspire thoughtful prose and lingering questions until the answer is found.
Ode to Abandoned Food
O golden lightning strike that sits by fried corn glory,
Dist thou set out to stand so tall?
Or dist thou come upon your throne accidentally?
Hailed from a city far and farther away,
The home of a college I will never see, do you, O liquid golden bliss,
Contain wisdom of what goes on beyond their doors?
Do you, perchance, bestow wisdom of ages from the glow about your sheath?
Or have you, O burst of light, passed on all that you know to the lighter gold,
The crispy folds of fullness ever more?
If I could but pass by my unworthy lips the knowledge you posses
Would I then gain the power to pass through forbidden gates?
Or would I mourn the passing, O force of lemon grace,
That my rough and undeserving hands usurped you of your place?
