Blogs

By Dean Norman

Dennis took a course in architecture at UCLA. The instructor told the students to design a building. His design for a restaurant was given a C grade.

“I think I deserve a better grade,” said Dennis. “At least a B+ or maybe an A.”

The instructor didn't agree. He said the design was not very good.

“Well, I got $10,000 for it from the restaurant chain that asked me to make the design. They are going to build restaurants all over the country using this design.”

The instructor was upset. “You weren't supposed to make a design that you could sell. It was just an academic assignment.”

Dennis didn't get a better grade, but he did alright with his architectural training. He returned to his hometown in Salmon, Idaho, and designed a shopping center. It included his restaurant, which attracted a lot of customers; a music shop; and an outdoor equipment store where Dennis sold cross country ski gear.

When I met him, he had a deal with the local Ford dealership to design a new building. His compensation would be a new, extended body, four-wheel-drive, pickup truck.

The academic world and the real world are sort of parallel universes that only intersect at a few points. A grade C in one might be more valuable in the other.

— Dean Norman

Dean Norman is a cartoonist and humor writer, whose work has appeared in greeting cards,The New Yorker, MAD Magazine, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine and The Kansas City Star. He's also written comedy for cartoon shows and written and illustrated children's books. He illustrated a cartoon book for Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland Metroparks Adventures.