Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Deer Poop!

I’m alive! These have been challenging times for everyone—the Covid-19 pandemic being only one of many events to kick off a new “Roaring ‘20s." I also chose to pursue a Master of Science degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Human-Computer Interaction. I just graduated in August and am coming up for air at long last.

I recently discovered several old articles that I never published… oops!

Here’s one misunderstanding that happened at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020!

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Since COVID-19 started, I have been wearing my hearing aids less and less…. This has led to more conversational mishaps at home. Here is just one example…

Dad completed his annual trek up Wheeler Peak, New Mexico’s tallest (13,161 ft) mountain, the night before. I was slowly waking up and perusing the news while waiting for my coffee.

Dad, who had already been up for four hours, amped up with who knows how many cups of coffee, bounces over to the table with something in his hand. “I brought you a piece of deer poop!”

“... Eeeew!" ‘What is so fascinating about this deer poop? I think.

Dad tilts his head, “That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.”

The object in his hand is big, white, and shiny. Deer poops are neither big, nor white, nor shiny. 

“Wait, what is that?”

“It’s a piece of quartz from deer poop,” Dad said again.

“Deer poop?”

“Wheeler Peak!”

The penny dropped and I understood. “Oh! Quartz from Wheeler Peak is much better than deer poop. Thank you.”

I needed waaaaay more coffee. And my hearing aids!