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Night of the Living Fred

davefredman
March 19, 2011

Last week I spoke to a Journalism class at Cape Henlopen for a solid hour which is roughly 55 minutes beyond the most heightened teenage attention span .

I felt I was mildly entertaining still on my game and was careful not to rattle and prattle on and invited students to share with me their passions and talents.

Immediately after my talk as I sank into the throes of post postpartum depression, a very serious looking young man stood in front of me and said, he was very much offended at my cracks about attention deficit disorder and Ritalin and quite frankly "I came hot" because I knew I had said nothing to offend any high school person.

The young man would not relent and I told him he could stay offended that I stood behind nothing I said but out in front and I never turned and ran from those who are offended, appalled or outraged.

And I said he could say what I said was wrong and argue that facts of his position but there was no answer to "I'm offended" and I suggested that was part of his learning rubric for the day whatever that meant.

And what I said in context was that if a 34 year old is diagnosed with ADHD I would have to comment "so what" and that slow acting stimulant drugs prescribed to young adults was a plague on our community and I can argue and prove that and so can every pharmacist that looks across the counter and sighs, "That burnout is A.D.D.?

Now I'm done!

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