By Ryan ReehThe Daily Northwestern
“It’s like some people never left high school,” said one of my friends from high school over Winter Break. “I’m glad I left all of that behind.” Then she proceeded to talk about all of the drama in her life, mainly between her and other high school friends of hers.
Sounds like our high school reunion’s going to be tense. But is all of this melodrama really necessary to impress people?
To make connections with some people, there has to be a problem (past or present) between you and them or some other third party. Sometimes these ties lead to new, original plot lines in our stories, but more often than not, these friendships restart all that garbage you left behind. Like long-running soap operas: “These are the Days of Our Lives.”
Case in point: this past week when astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested by police for allegedly trying to kidnap Colleen Shipman, a love rival for the affection of William Oefelein, a fellow astronaut. What’s unusual about the story is not the alleged kidnapping or the fact that NASA astronauts are often stressed out before missions – its that Nowak drove cross country, equipped with a diaper, pepper spray, a BB-gun, a new steel mallet, a knife and rubber tubing.
I feel for Nowak who, besides this one little snafu, seemed perfectly qualified for the job. But NASA thinks all these connections with her co-workers caused her to flip out. And I suspect the longer this story drags on, the more the drama will be piled on.
It’s funny then that the girl who gave me my start in journalism way back in junior year of high school called me up to tell me she’s visiting during her Spring Break.
Now don’t get me wrong: I’m excited that she’s coming to visit. I don’t get many tourists to my room, but to be honest, I’m a little nervous. There is no need to impress her, but after some years of lost contact, I feel the need to inject all the details of my college life with some prolonged drama that may or may not have happened. With all the little twists and turns, she’ll be here until next Spring Break.
Long story short: With personal friends, the problems of the past should avoid the disfunction of these old issues. Inevitably every event is connected to every other event, much like a soap opera. But spare the petty melodrama – otherwise, the plot will get ridiculous.
Mission control really needs to bring this Nowak story back down to Earth.
Reach Ryan Reeh at [email protected].
