26 March 2004 - Friday
A day in the life of Stupid Penguin
Perhaps you are not yet familiar with my friend, Stupid Penguin. Or perhaps you know of him, but still harbor some misconceptions about his character. I intend to rectify this situation. In order to put to rest certain slanderous accusations and base opinions, I took a camera along to document a day in the life of this oft-misunderstood garden ornament.
I became acquainted with Stupid Penguin last semester, when he appeared one evening on the floor of my dorm room (I suspect that he was abandoned by one of the resident assistants in my building). Not wanting to go off and leave the orphaned bird by himself, I took him to class with me that night. He perched on my lap or bookbag, listening attentively as Dr. Watson lectured. Apparently Dr. Watson was somewhat nonplused; he seemed to find it "creepy" that the flamingo was staring at him in his admittedly rather inscrutable manner. From that moment on, the flamingo and I were quite good friends. That night, the flamingo acquired a name, "Stupid Penguin" (or "the Penguin" as a nickname), which was first used by the derisive and ornithologically illiterate Vengeful Cynic. The name is usually good for a double take, so of course the flamingo insists upon keeping it.
The following pictures (click on the thumbnails to enlarge them) were taken today as Stupid Penguin went about his Friday routine.
Every morning Stupid Penguin spends ten minutes at the statue of R. G. LeTourneau, getting inspiration for the day ahead.
The flamingo likes to chat with Drs. J., Kubricht, and Watson -- as well as their muses -- before starting work.
The flamingo goes to the library to study. Occasionally the lack of legs becomes an issue.
Dr. Coppinger seems happy to see Stupid Penguin at first, but becomes rather irate when Stupid Penguin tells him that the students in the Program have yet another scheduling problem. At least Dr. Coppinger's Baylor-type bear bookend still thinks Stupid Penguin is cool.
The flamingo earns his keep by doing odd jobs, first at a desk and then out on the LeTourneau earthmovers.
After a hard day's work, Stupid Penguin checks his mail, goofs off a little in the bookstore, plays on the berm slide, stares off dreamily into space, and vegetates in front of a television set. It's been a good day.
Many thanks to those who helped me with this, especially the professors, Wheeler, Sharon, and Sharpton. It was a lot of fun.
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