"You all look tired," she says. "It has been a grueling semester."It was the beginning of spring and after a long, cold, dreary winter, the sun's shinning outside. It's still freezing but the sun's reminding us that the tired cold will eventually go away.
"I tell you what," the short, plumb, brilliant professor says, slamming her hand on the podium flashing an evil grin, "to hell with it today."
She immediately got our attention because it isn't something you often hear in Seminary.
"I want you to leave here now and go find something that makes you happy. Do whatever it is the rest of the day. You can tell me about it tomorrow."
And she throws her notes in her briefcase, shoots the "Professor" stare, and walks out of the room.
"Holy Shit!" we collectively say in a prayerful, Christian sort of way.
And we leave.
The following afternoon, Dr. Davis again takes her position behind the lectern. Smiling, she begins, "I truly hope everyone had a fantastic day yesterday. I prayed for you too. Now today, I want to hear all about it. Everyone is going to share what you did."
Looking at the first student in the first row to her right (Baptists don't do left), she says, "Jimmy you start."
Startled, Jimmy sits bolt upright in his seat. Tall, thin, with a helmet haircut, he looks lost in his flannel shirt. In a deep southern drawl (he helped put the "southern" in Southern Baptists), he reports, "Well mam ... the truth of the matter is ... ummm ... I drank hot apple cider, ate peanut butter crackers and ... ummm... watched "Rocky and Bullwinkle."
I've never seen a distinguished Professor lose it so quickly and laugh so hard.
The room is a spontaneously combustion of laughter.
"Love it!" Dr. Davis said. "I watched Andy and Barney."
The room howls.
One by one we confess. Some went to work, the Library or launched into catching up. Others took walks, naps or the chance to be with their baby. A few prayed in the Chapel. A couple of students had no idea what to do with unstructured time so they did nothing.
I drank beer listening to the new Jimmy Buffett album.
"Of course you did," Dr. Davis sighs.
It was one the most impressionable things that occurred during my Seminary career.
Ann Davis dispensed grace which is always unexpected and shocking.
"It's OK," is how it comes across. "You can go ... you're free ... liberated ... forgiven ...released ... in fact, go do anything you want ... and try to not screw it up."
All these years later, I end conversations by saying, "Enjoy!"
Because we just have this one life and we either will or we won't.
Today ... I hope you enjoy!
That's what I'm going to do.
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