I was sitting in college watching two professors getting coffee and wondering about the tradition of wearing academic gowns around campus like so many wandering old Hamlets. But even as I contemplated all the reasons and tried to be sympathetic to tradition and institutions I noticed that they had been looking for the correct tops to their coffee cups for quite some time.

I smiled, amused at the daily troubles of absent minded professors. They were tottering away, pursing their lips and pushing their glasses up their noses when  one of them made a spectacular wave of his arms, as if suddenly and most unexpected from his grey character, he had a wild idea and was about to expound with excited arm waves and a loud voice.

But he had caught his robe on the cafeteria counter and the action had pulled him back suddenly, making him lift his fortunately topped coffee  suddenly into the air.  I watched him as he  carefully backed up and unattached himself and followed his friend in unhurried steps.