Human Writes: I Stand Here

Writing on Steady Ground | Non-Fiction | Fresh Soup

Illustration based on Google Maps

The first parents’ evening I went to was roughly a decade ago, when our son Lev entered the first grade. The excited teacher explained to the equally-excited parents how the new school year would proceed. Her presentation was very detailed and slightly tiresome, and I could feel my eyelids drooping when a tall and particularly worried mother asked, “What exactly is the school procedure if there’s an earthquake?” The teacher paused for a moment, shut her eyes as if trying to recall some forgotten detail, opened her eyes again, took a few steps towards the classroom exit and stopped in the doorway. Then she said, “In the event of an earthquake, I stand here.” She seemed so determined and focused that it made me feel safe. But the tall mother pressed on: “And what about the students?” The teacher, still standing in the doorway, shrugged her shoulders: “The students? I don’t know. I’m sure it’s written online somewhere.”