v.c. was yet another student of mine from a class. it was very interesting to work with him. he was a cop and a marine reserve who had seen combat in the current war. on the surface, we would have been completely incompatible. yet i thoroughly enjoyed working with him. perhaps it was being able to chat during breaks while smoking on cigarettes. it might have also been his observational humor. i think he was frustrated talking about race and sexism and other "soft" issues while he went out in the world not sure whether he would be shot at or not. but he tried very hard, and managed to offer acute observations on stereotypes, sometimes trapped in confrontational wrapping.