The Red Bowl

I had an Eastern Nutrition class this semester....the final was to have the class over to my house for a Chinese nutrition food fest.

Anyhow, it reminded me of a story about this particular class, and it gives me a chuckle every time I think of it.

Dr. Wang is the instructor of the eastern nutrition class. She is very old school Chinese and is wealthy with knowledge. The down side to this fountain of wisdom, is that her English is very broken and it's extremely difficult to understand.

It was about around our third class meeting that Dr. Wang and I started to know each other. That night I helped her out to her car. It was at that time that we took some time to get to know each other. During the conversation is when she discovered that I lived very close to the school.

That very next day after the class, I received a call from Dr. Wang and a message she had left on my voice mail.

Dr. Wang told me that somehow she had forgotten her "red bowl" from that previous night's class and would I so kindly go over to the school and retrieve it for her?

It was right away that I made a special trip to the school, because I know things have a way of disappearing, and I thought that this particular"red bowl" must be very special.

I'm thinkin', it must be a family heirloom or something like that because it appeared to be really important...I also wanted her to know that I could be someone she could find trustworthy and depend upon.

So when I get over to school, I rush to the room this "red bowl" had been left, but as I walk in I could see that there was absolutely nothing left behind from our prior evening class.

I even went so far as to ask everyone in this room if they had seen the missing "red bowl" ... Nope...just blank stares.

I then went to every conceivable place this "red bowl" could of gone, I checked the lost and found,...no "red bowl" to be found.

I felt bad that my first mission for Dr Wang was a failure, but I knew in my heart I had done my best.

I then picked up the phone and called Dr. Wang's direct line, but her husband Jeff picked up the telephone. He barely speaks any English, but I went ahead and explained to him that I had looked every where for the "red bowl" and sadly it could not be found.

That same week while walking down the hall at school, I happened to see Dr Wang, and I said to her that I was really sorry that I couldn't find her "red bowl". She wondered at the time who would take her "red bowl", and couldn't understand how it could disappear so fast, she made mention that she thought maybe the the janitors must have stolen it.

That next week during class, Dr Wang made a big announcement that her "red bowl" had disappeared and did anyone know about it?

She also went on to tell the class in her pin yin English that I had been nice enough to make a special trip to the school to retrieve her "red bowl", but she guess it had been stolen by the janitor.

She then asked me to stay after class and wait for the janitor and ask if they had seen the "red bowl"...It was apparent that she was determined to find it

Again the very next week at class, Dr Wang was sitting there as usual, and then out of the blue she asked the class if we noticed anything different?

We all looked at her and said no.....

She then held up a blue ball, and so very proudly showed us her replacement to what she said was the "red bowl"...

Dr Wang had never lost a "red bowl"....she had lost her "red BALL", one of those balls you sit on so as to have good posture....

Mystery of the "red bowl" solved.

I about died on the spot!