The Oedipus Mix Up..

    
My college days were the best..Not only did i find English Literature interesting, it was also a lot of fun ..especially the classical Literature..As much as i love everything about college, one particular incident is unforgettable..

Our professor for classical literature was our HOD (Head of the Department) and we called her 'Speeding bullet' ( SB )..She was a petite lady, with a soft voice and a kind face but she spoke so fast that she was always mixing up her words ..Like the time she said, "You girls need to embarrass (instead of embrace) your inner self"..and she sure was embarrassed the minute she realized her mistake ..(so her name SB)..

Greek Literature is very interesting but a tad confusing.. with so many Gods and Demi gods, their gazillion affairs, their fun and  frolick with the divine and mortals alike.. And as if this wasn't enough, throw in a professor  like SB, and boom  ..welcome to the world of mix ups..The rumor in class was that her lectures will confuse even the Gods in Mount Olympus ..

Now back to my unforgettable incident..
It was one of those hot summer afternoons and right after lunch SB walked in with her trusted red binder filled with notes..i heard a couple of yawns from the rows behind me and i was trying hard to stifle a yawn myself..But mercifully the great Zeus and his brood kept me awake for the next hour or so..SB was telling us the fable of Oedipus Rex.His story in short goes as such..Cursed and abandoned as a baby, Oedipus unknowingly  fulfills the curse by  killing his father, marrying his mother and becomes the king..Once he realizes his mistake, he blinds himself..
The God's seem to have had a thing for horrid curses and a weird sense of humor..

SB started to talk about Oedipus' childhood and the curse .After an hour's rambling she came to the part where he killed his father and married the mother..
If only she stayed with the story and had not gone into the psychological aspect of it..She was telling us about the stage in a boy's life they call Oedipus Rex period..In layman's terms she was describing a ' Mama's Boy' ..And just when i thought things couldn't get any worse..SB dropped the bomb shell...Thank God we were a girls only college..For her next statement would have scarred a boy for life ..
With a straight face and in the lullaby tone of her's she said, ' in a certain age, boys love their moms so much that they even make love to them in their dreams'..

What in the world?? and just like that my half closed eyes snapped open and i shook my head to wake myself from the  dream ..it must surely be a dream. Even SB was not capable of getting her words so messed up, i thought to myself .... Looking at Shoba my best friend, i knew i was wrong ..Shoba had the same shocked expression on her face and her eyes were as wide as saucers..We both turned back just in time to see our HOD realizing her tongue twist and looking around to see if any of us had noticed..oops!! too bad we did..But thankfully for SB's sake most of the class was half a sleep..Once the shock of the statement settled, i wanted to laugh out loud, and had to bite my tongue hard to control my escaping snickers..Later that day Shoba and myself had a laughing fit and almost split our sides...

Its been so long now, since college, but it still brings a smile, the memories of SB and her good old Greek Literature classes..I wonder what she was trying to say, before her embarrassing tongue twist..i guess i'll never know..