Just Your Average Day in the Braithwaite

I was sitting in the English building the other day having a conversation with my best friend about the fact that I had completely forgotten to eat the day before. I’m kind of a loud talker, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that the Chair of the English Department (whose office door is literally always open) overheard this conversation. He stood up and walked out of his office.

“Did you say you didn't eat anything yesterday?” he asked my seated friend and I, an imperial figure at six-feet something.

I sheepishly responded, “Well, I ate a McDonald’s chicken sandwich in the morning, but I spent the rest of the day working on my essay, so I didn't remember to eat.”  

He looked only slightly appeased.
“Well, are you at least getting seven hours of sleep a night?” he asked.

I filled with pride, like a five-year-old who gets a gold star, when I was able to say yes to this question.

He looked down past his square framed glasses. “I’m not saying this as a professor, I’m saying this as a father, you really should be eating at least three times a day—healthy foods—and sleeping at least seven hours a night.”

He then went on to lecture me for a minute about keeping myself healthy.

When he finished the lecture he went back into his office—back to his over-flowing workload.

Now I don’t know about you, but I love knowing that I go to a school where a very busy man—the Chair of the English Department who has more on his plate than a glutton at Thanksgiving—takes the time to actually show his students that he cares about them as individuals. He’s like a living Dumbledore, only he doesn't have the long white beard and half-moon glasses (his are square rimmed).