The Thing About Joe

 

The thing about Joe wasn’t something easily seen by the other children, and only one of his teachers noticed it. Joe had a gift that was almost an obsession and although he didn’t really articulate it, Joe knew he was very different from his little friends.

 

          It first blossomed in math class.  Joe’s teacher, Linda Jayborn, had handed out Tuesday’s exam like she always had, but this time it was filled with story problems.  She pretty much knew all of her students and how they were doing in class, but it came as quite a surprise as she sat at home that night grading the tests and saw Joe’s paper.

 

          Not only had Joe solved the math problems, but he had also added pages to each of the stories.  Linda was amazed at his creativity and humor.  She laughed and snickered as she read each story, and she knew in an instant that Joe was a very special boy.  She was busting to show the other teachers, especially Joe’s English instructor, Mary Elliott.  In fact, she began to wonder if Mary already knew.

 

          Linda went back to the beginning of Joe’s pages just to read the first story problem again.

 

          A train left Boston at 3 PM.  It was traveling at 70 MPH heading for Tulsa.  Also, at 3 PM, a train left Tulsa heading for Boston, traveling at 81 MPH.  Which train would be closer to Boston when they reached Columbus, Ohio?

 

Joe’s Answer – Page 1

 

          Columbus, Ohio is exactly the half-way point between Tulsa and Boston, so the trains would be an equal distance to Boston.  That, however, is not the problem.  The conductor on the Tulsa line, Ned Parker, unbeknownst to his immediate supervisor, has been undergoing treatment for his addiction to Gummy Bears.  The Cherokee Railroad employee manual is quite specific with respect to addictions of any kind.  Even though, on weekends, Ned plays baseball on the Cherokee Railroad league, if this issue came out it would be his third strike.

Teacher's comments;

Joe, I appreciate your efforts but does it make sense that one train was going faster than the other and yet they both reached Columbus at the same time?   And although it has been clinically proven that there are addictive properties in Gummy Bears, Ned's conversations with his counselor would be considered privileged, vis-à-vis the landmark case of Orlando vs Nabisco 1967 ?  Really Joe, get your act together or you'll find yourself repeating the 5th grade.   

C -

You can do better