What follows is an excerpt from my new book, An Honest Living: A Memoir of Peculiar Itineraries. Told primarily from behind the wheel of a school bus—a vantage point from which I explore social anxiety, suburban architecture, political alienation, racial oppression, working-class solidarity, professional malfeasance, and the joy of chauffeuring children to and from school—An Honest Living describes a decade of turbulent post-professorial life and my recent return to the lectern. The book is available here and here.
With friends it’s fine to act like a fool. Professional spaces are more tenuous. Don’t get me wrong, you’re definitely allowed to act like a fool in professional spaces, but the foolishness needs to comply with a certain etiquette. Ghosting colleagues and skipping social functions to smoke weed are a no-no. The professionals prefer foolishness of a loutish or belligerent variety, not the kind that makes life more peaceful.
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