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FOR THOSE with such perverse interests and curiosities—who are genuinely curious about The Quix—the following will give you a very candid—students’ bird’s eye view. It’s virtually the same semester after semester:

I’m somewhat embarrassed by their affections—but proudly so—and given all the givens . . . I’m not too bashful to post them.

The naysayers can go suck rocks.

GIVEN THAT THIS IS THE BLOGGERS AND PERSONAL FORUM. LOL . . . and that I’m again exhibit “A.” . . .

It’s interesting . . . I don’t recall if it was on the mission field or before that . . . probably well before . . . somewhere along the way . . . maybe in the PhD program’s intense group process stuff or the Navy’s CREDO program’s intense group stuff . . . I was pondering the feedback I’d gotten about my . . . uhhhhh . . . personality . . . style etc. Maybe some comments of families along the way added to it . . .

It was a slightly left handed compliment—about how effective I was yet not always that agreeably warm and fuzzy. LOL.

I remember making a conscious decision.

I remember thinking that the flack was not all that much fun. Given my insecurities, frequent enough feelings of isolation etc. did I really want to continue to . . . be such a . . . character . . . in terms of bothering with folks . . . who . . . often enough . . . just as soon not be bothered with. What right did I have, besides all that.

And, there were later plenty of client situations where I revisited the decision . . . where I’d go above and beyond the call of duty and standard stuff to try and trigger, facilitate health and wholeness. Sometimes, after the process was over, I’d ask such families if it was worth all the unique, sometimes paradoxical tactics and no little drama. Should I bother with the next family? The answer was ALWYAS emphatically so.

But what about people on the street I repeatedly asked myself. People who had the fortune/misfortune to brush up against The Quix. Should I continue to bother with them for a sentence worth or a paragraph worth or whatever transpired?

I always kept coming back to . . . WE PASS THIS WAY BUT ONCE . . . let us do whatever good we can . . . regardless of what others think or feel or how they react.

But I can’t do it always very perfectly!

Of course. Particularly The Quix is also human after all! LOL.

So, to this day, I will not all that infrequently say something to folks waiting in line at Walmart near me. Or at restaurants. Or getting gas at Sam’s.

Virtually always, it’s an encouraging something but usually with some thought-provoking component.

And with those who have the fortune/misfortune to be in frequent contact with me . . . colleagues, pottery classmates . . . church members . . . waiters at favorite restaurants etc. the dialogue is protracted over months or longer but also more involved . . . I sometimes risk more misunderstanding or even rejection.

Virtually always, the result is, by God’s Grace, constructive, redemptive . . . sometimes shockingly wonderful.

Sometimes, rather rarely, actually, folks may yell something and stomp off in a huff.

I just know, I don’t want to

STAND BEFORE GOD ALMIGHTY

and have Him say—I GAVE YOU XYZ UNCOOMON SKILLS AND PERCEPTIONS, WHY DIDN’T YOU USE THEM IN THIS CASE to give this person/family another critical chance at life, hope, redemptive growth? Why were you concerned about your own skin, what others thought, safety?

and me stammer around about rejection, propriety, social customs, others’ sensibilities etc.

while HE gazes piercingly at my excuses.

For better or worse, that’s the world and that’s the construction on reality I live with. That’s how I handle my Quixotic thrownness, in existential terms.

I know a little of me can go a long way as Ross Perot’s mother said of him.

I know I can be the other side of insufferable.

But eternity is a very long time.

And I really do want every interaction with anyone who crosses my path to be at least as potentially redemptive as possible.

My last class final exam time was yesterday . . . I often ask my students to write 5-7 sentences that they would say to prospective or new students of mine.

Here’s some excerpts from some of them:

“Dr [Quix] is a very kind guy. Don’t misjudge him.”

“BE OPEN, ***ASK QUESTIONS***—OR YOU’LL REGRET IT!”

“TRUST DR [QUIX].”

“Dr [Quix] isn’t as wierd as he seems on the first day!”

“Be prepared for anything in this class.”

“Be yourself and don’t be afraid to fly your freak flag! Dr [Quix] does.”

“It’s a very fun, interesting, enlightening class.”

“Expect advice you never thought you would imagine.”

“Be prepared to do a lot of thinking.”

“Think outside the box—Dr [Quix] will.”

“The more questions you ask about life, the more you learn about yourself.”

“Be open and honest.”

“Take Dr [Quix’s] advice, 99.9% of the time it is very effective.”

“Dr [Quix] is zaney.”

“Don’t be overwhelmed on the first day.”

“This class is actually really fun.”

“Don’t stress out the first week. The class is good.”

“Be prepared with daily life questions when going to class, you learn a lot.”

“This class is very helpful because you study stuff that you are interested in.”

“Don’t be afraid or stress yourself out. It’s not worth it. About 17 of us made it out alive!”

“Class could be fun, just be open and not shy, because shy-ness doesn’t get you anywhere.”

“Seriously, in the beginning of class you freak out, but please don’t leave Dr [Quix’s] class, he is very caring and would bend over backwards to help a student out!”

[THE LAST 3 WERE FROM THE SAME very shy STUDENT]

“You have a great teacher—listen to what he says.”

“He might seem crazy at 1st but he really is a genius.”

“If you listen to the other people in the class, you will learn to love them.”

“You will learn to love this class if you listen & think about it.”

[the last 4 WERE FROMT HE SAME VERY SHY STUDENT]

“This has been one of the best courses I have ever taken!”

“Dr [Quix] Really helps you in any way possible.”

“You learn so much from the course.”

“Be Careful. Dr [Quix] gets pretty Extreme!”

[The last 4 were from the same fairly quiet student.]

“This class is what you make it. I made it fun so I had a blast.”

“Don’t be scared of him and [his] mimic[-ing things] he’s crazy, he is funny.”

“An awesome class, down to the very last day.”

“One of the funnest classes you can take.”

“Dr [Quix] is a Great instructor, silly, but great.”

“He makes the class interesting and helpful to our daily lives.”

“If you’re concerned about your hearing, don’t take this class.”

[I sometimes yell abruptly and shockingly]

As flattering as the above were, I actually left off some of the more affirming comments. BTW, the students had their documented final grades in their hands before they wrote the above.