Karin's Adventures

Sometimes the seemingly unrelated little things that I hear about on random occasions provide food for thought and insight into the bigger, maybe even global, picture.

I hadn't even noticed this woman who was spending entire days in one of our study lounges, obviously not studying anything. She was watching movies on her laptop most of the time. Someone else noticed her, though, and was curious enough to ask. The woman's story may be nothing unusual, given the place where she lives - but I find it jaw-dropping, given the place where I used to live.

Her son is a student at Indiana Tech. They live in Ohio, maybe two hours East of Fort Wayne. Recently the student totaled his car. The family can't afford to buy a car, and the woman doesn't want to be stuck without a car at home. She probably also doesn't want to take the risk of her son wrecking another vehicle. A college education is expensive, and very important for the son's future. She doesn't want the boy to miss out on that.

So what does this mother do, given the lack of public transportation and shortage of money? She drives her son to school in the mornings, then spends her days sitting in a study lounge while he is in classes, and then drives home again late at night.