HMMM ...

It's a chilly summer morning in Buckingham.
One of those mornings that have me wondering if stepping out to go for class is not a thinly disguised punishment for all my sins.
There's a greater good, a bigger picture, a price to be won ... I repeat the usual pep talk that is now almost a ritual.
Normally, once the discussions start, it is worth any trouble. I love being here. Being surrounded by knowledge. Enjoying the sheer brilliance of the brains in one room - endlessly fascinating.
Today, the class is discussing legal entitlement and beneficiary rights.
I watch my fellow student - the really old African man make faces all through the class. Something is seriously bordering his mind about this area of law.
He shifts in his seat, squints his eyes, scratches his head and then rests his head on his palm ... then he repeats the process ... again, again ...
He has my attention now. I'm watching him like an eagle.
Then I see it - a resolve. It's edged on his forehead, he has come to some conclusion. I see him try to catch the lecturer's attention. He doesn't get the lecturer's attention.
Eventually, he raises a frail finger - I'm giddy with anticipation, cant wait to hear about this brain wave from a wise man's musings ... he speaks ... "Why is the law like that?"
Hmmmm ... is my only reaction.