15 January 2009

Conversations with the Custodian


Wes is my Tuesday and Thursday afternoon friend.  He is the night time sweeper who cleans my classroom at night.  I stay late those two days and have gotten to know Wes a little bit.  I've heard about his gallivanting in Las Vegas, his fishing trips to Fish Lake, his lost cell phone, his New Zealand girlfriend, his divorce, etc.  Today he told me the world is ending.

It started when he told me the school district is cutting 6 days for each of the part-timers, including him.  Then, we started talking about the doom and gloom of the economy and what's going to happen next.  Wes is convinced that the economy will NOT get better and that this is the end.  He's says it is going to be, in his words, "5 years tops before the anti-Christ comes and everything is just done."  At first I thought he was being a little sarcastic and over-dramatic, but then I realized he was serious.  

He told me he's considering not even putting money into his 401K anymore because he won't live to retirement.  He says it's nothing like during the Depression in the 1930's because there are too many people and too many homes for anything to ever recover.  This is just the end.  Guys that are a lot smarter than him like scientists and philosophers on the radio (he listens to 90.5 FM) agree that the Bible is prophesying that this is the end.

Phew!  I finally shut down my computer, packed up my bag, and told Wes that he should just concentrate on himself, make sure he's got some money saved, some food stored, and is living right.  Then, he simply won't have so much to worry about.  What else do you tell the guy?