lllHumor in Action!
Using Humor in
Developing the
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Learning in Action!
A Cross-disciplinary Problem-Based
Learning Environment for Entrepreneurship
Ricky, No Relation to Edgar
Test Version 1.0
(A Work in Progress)
R. Wilburn Clouse, PhD
Vanderbilt University
Ricky, No Relation to Edgar
Storyline by Dennis Bunch
Introduction
In the late fall of my sophomore year of college, I was blessed to have had a class with
Ricky Poe. Ricky was unlike the typical college sophomore, but there was probably little
time in his life that Ricky was “typical.”
In high school, Ricky, a 6’5” all-state athlete in both basketball and baseball, was an
exceptional character. He chose to play collegiate baseball for Arkansas State University
in 1978. Although I had the opportunity to compete against Ricky in high school, it was
in Sophomore Literature and Western Civilization classes that I got to know more about
Ricky Poe than I really needed to.
We, like so many other ASU sophomores before us, were blessed to have the opportunity
to have, Dr. Ross White, for the required course Western Civilization to 1600. The
monotone, drone of the volume-challenged Dr. White has cured epic cases of insomnia.
If you have seen the movie, Ferris Beuleher’s Day Off, you have seen the highly
energized version of Dr. White in the character played by Ben Stein. Dr. White was the
proverbial poster child for the Education Department’s “what-not-to-do” list. With snowwhite hair, a snow-white beard to match and wool blazers that never seemed to end (or be
affected by the change of the season), Dr. White was “famous” for being absolutely
forgettable.
As it happened during the fall semester of 1979 in Northeast Arkansas, the weather
finally began to turn cool. With the cool weather came more zest, more zeal, and more
zap… that is for everyone except Dr. White. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing,
caused the cadence to alter in his delivery of the appointed material. But finally the
immovable object met the irresistible force. Ricky Poe was about to face the challenge,
and no one in the class knew what would lie ahead.
Event
On a beautiful Thursday morning in November at 10:00 a.m. we entered the north-facing
room on the corner of the third floor of the Social Science Building as had been done for
the previous three months. Like every other Tuesday and Thursday, Dr. White entered
the room precisely at 10:00 and began to take roll without saying a word. Looking up
and down the rows, Dr. White glanced intermittently at the role book and marked the
occasional absence. Upon completion, he began the drool routine we had come to
expect.
Unlike every other day, we were about to be treated to an unexpected visitor. Only
minutes into the lecture, the quiet room began to resemble popcorn in a microwave.
Heads began turning, as we looked outside to try and discover the source of a very
distinctive quack! I was sitting three seats from the front of the room in the exact middle
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of the room. Ricky Poe was sitting in a seat beside me to my immediate left. He, like the
rest of us, was looking outside for the errant duck that sounded as if it must be sitting on
the ledge outside our windows.
Dr. White stopped reading from his notes and looked up. This alone was a noteworthy
event. Even Dr. White took a look at the windows, particularly at the back of the room to
see if, indeed, there was a duck on the ledge. After a momentary pause, in which he
spoke not a word, Dr. White resumed his lecture from his notes. The class resumed the
somber note it was accustomed to.
The readings continued for another five minutes uninterrupted. Suddenly, the
disappearing duck was back. The quacking began from the back of the room and
seemingly made its way around the corner of the building and toward the front of the
room. To say that everyone stopped taking notes and looked feverishly for the wayward
waterfowl would be understating the obvious.
Once again, Dr. White stopped his reading, and looked up. This time I noticed a very
different behavior. His gaze didn’t seem to meet the target of the students’. I began to
look where he was looking, but all I noticed was a glancing observation of the class. Dr.
White stopped looking about and actually walked over to one of the windows, opened it
fully and stuck his head out. After looking carefully in both directions, Dr. White calmly
shut the window and returned to his podium without saying a word about the episode…
not a word!
There was a smattering of snickers, but the reserved nature of the class returned as
quickly as Dr. White resumed his readings. I have to admit that at this point I knew a
great story was in the making, but I didn’t have a clue as to the beginning, middle or end.
I just knew it was going to be great.
As sure as a good hunting dog has fleas, the duck simply had to make another nonappearance. The inevitable only took another five minutes. As Dr. White was
enlightening us about a particular event, the exact nature of which I couldn’t possibly
remember with the excitement transpiring, there, in mid-sentence, the duck was back! A
few boisterous souls laughed out loud; I chose the more subdued chuckle; just in case Dr.
White wasn’t bearing down on his notes.
What transpired next was amazing, most of all to a sophomore that attended ASU. Dr.
White looked over the top of his low-framed reading glasses and announced that class
was dismissed. No mention of the distracting duck was made, no reason for the abrupt
dismissal… only a reprieve from the remaining hour of class. A stunned class began to
slowly rise to their feet and look at one another with some apprehension. Had we heard
him correctly? A few of the less academically inclined fellows took the opportunity and
bolted from the room. I immediately began to wonder if they had anything to with the
disappearing duck.
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I looked over at Ricky and raised an eyebrow; his response was classic Poe. “I’ve got an
hour to kill and some butt to kick, let’s go play some hoops!” We were not the last to get
out of our seats to leave, nor were we the first. But as we began to walk out of the room,
Dr. White spoke to Ricky. He simply said, “Mr. Poe, I would like to see you in my office
now.”
I didn’t think the end of the world was upon us, but I had once been asked to see a
professor “after class” and it was not a pleasant experience. Knowing that it was I that
Ricky had intentions of kicking around the basketball court, I followed him to the outer
offices where Dr. White’s office was located. I stood outside and heard the conversation
of a lifetime.
Dr. White began the conversation by asking Ricky, “Mr. Poe, would please explain why
you acted as you did today in my class?” This question floored me. I sat next to Ricky
the entire class. Not a word came out of his mouth, not a single inappropriate gesture,
look or action took place. I was dumbfounded. And Ricky’s response was even more
puzzling.
Ricky Poe began by saying that he was indeed sorry about “his behavior” and that it
would not happen again. Ricky pressed on by saying that the monotony of class was
driving him crazy and he simply wanted to “lighten things up.” Now I really was lost.
The guy I was sitting beside, the same guy who didn’t even chuckle during the third
“visit” from the phantom waterfowl, was now admitting to disturbing class! But how,
and when? How had I missed what was going on right beside me?
Ricky then asked of Dr. White, “Can you tell me what gave me away?” The reply was
too much for me to miss. I immediately positioned myself in the hall where I could see
through the doorway when Dr. White responded; “I saw your throat move during the
serenade.” But the truly amazing detail is that he told Ricky Poe what he wanted to know
without moving his lips or a single muscle in his throat! Dr. Ross White was a
ventriloquist, and obviously quite good.
Dr. White dismissed Ricky with the admonition to not repeat the prank. As we walked
across the street to the HPER Building, I had a million questions, but not one that could
catch the spirit of what just went on. As we talked, Ricky informed me that he had
practiced ventriloquism for quite some time, but that he had just found out that Dr. Ross
White was quite adept at the art. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Reflecting back on that episode, I think a great deal of Ricky Poe’s willingness to become
a distraction was generated, at least in part, from a sense of despair about the class. He
was the only person in class that had the strength of conviction to bring the issue to Dr.
White’s attention. Could he have been in serious trouble for such a prank? That was a
potential outcome from his actions, but a highly observant individual like Ricky Poe
wasn’t about to take such risks without a calculated and detailed strategy. Having gained
information about Dr. White’s ventriloquist ability, Ricky had a connection little, if any,
others possessed.
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Conclusion
The results of the episode proved to be beneficial to everyone. The class actually took a
turn toward inclusiveness. Discussions and interactive measures became the norm. The
second half of the Western Civilization course was offered through several other
professors. The overwhelming majority chooses to take the course under Dr. White.
Although the monotone nature never actually left, the strict adherence to reading personal
note was discontinued. Classes were much more interactive and personal.
Certainly Ricky Poe took a huge gamble. But he did not take the risk without first
measuring the odds, however rudimentary the process. A risk-taker was able to develop a
closer interpersonal relationship between one professor and a class full of sophomores
who grew to see him as a person and particularly as one who had a sense of humor.
As pointed out in John Morreall’s book, Humor Works, Ricky Poe was not an individual
who subscribed to the theory that play was the opposite of work. Ricky was a solid
student, but one with a perspective that class could be enjoyable as well as entertaining.
We, as a class, were in a mindset that limited the mental flexibility that Morreall
discusses. The creativity exhibited by Ricky Poe was tremendous, but it was done in a
highly calculated manner. No one, and I mean no one, knew of Ricky’s intention to bring
a duck to the ledge of the building. The fact remains; Ricky was highly proficient at the
task. I sat beside him and believed that the sound was coming from outside, when in fact
the noise emanated from beside me.
In reflecting back on the event, I am still amazed at the effect it had on the class. I am
further amazed that I didn’t have a clue about the sounds originating less than four feet
from me. The experience is one that I will treasure always. And although I would have
guessed it, the episode confirmed that although they share a last name, Ricky and Edgar
are not related.
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