As you may know, I've taken off from teaching this semester to write. However, being a friend to the writing lab staff, when asked to help grade Hofstra's Writing Proficiency Exam yesterday and today, I went.
There was a tutoring session going on when I arrived today, a female student whose paper had something to do with hardboiled fiction. The student was looking for a word to describe the portrayal of women in HB, a synonym for "mean." The tutor consulted me, and I came up with "unsavory," which seemed to fit the tutee's thinking. When the tutor explained that I was a fan and writer of the stuff, the tutee asked me:
"You like it?"
"I'm not sure this is the best time to tell you."
"Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler...They seem so misogynistic."
"Well, they are dated." Ever the diplomat.
I hemmed and hawed the rest of the way, trying to salvage my good name from her lima bean and brussel sprout-distaste for Dash and Ray, while feeling exactly like Chekov on the run from 20th century Navy security in Star Trek IV:
"Scotty, now would be a good time."
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