T-U-F-T-S
Today, for no good reason, I am wearing the shirt I was given upon entering Tufts University as a freshman (the front has a logo, and the back says something ridiculous like “JOIN THE STAMPEDE”). I have since transferred from Tufts to NYU, and hold no really strong connection to it. Walking down 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues today, I saw a guy coming the other way wearing a black Tufts University sweatshirt. What to do, what to do? Acknowledge? Ignore? Head nod? Quick chat?
Here’s what happened:
I saw him smiling at me from sort of far away, so I took out one earbud and said “Hey, nice shirt, man,” or something equally innocuous. He laughed and said basically the same thing. Then I felt dishonest and said, “except not really, because I don’t go there anymore or even really like it.” He laughed for a few more seconds than was necessary (a lot of seconds, seriously) then caught his breath and said “I just dropped out.” We were supposed to graduate the same year (next). Then we went our separate ways.
