Elec- tWicity

I once had a chemistry professor named Dewey D. Davis, or, as he liked to call himself, 3-D.  He did admit that since he had his PHD, 4-D (Doctor Dewey, etc.) was probably more correct, but he had been known as 3-D forever, and it just felt right.

With heavy horn rimmed glasses, bow tie and a white short-sleeved dress shirt complete with pen-filled pocket protector, Dr. D was the quintessential geek.  He could have (may have) served as the prototype for the Robert Carradine character in Revenge of the Nerds.

Note – I haven't heard anything about Dr. D in years, so I tried a Google search.  Amazingly, I learned that Texas has had two professors named Dewey D. Davis.  The other was a professor of education, and the first faculty member hired at UT San Antonio.  There is also a felon named Dewey D. Davis, currently being sought on a bond- jumping warrant.  Didn’t find anything about my Dr. D, but he definitely wasn’t either of those guys.

Dr. Davis was extremely bright, and knew his subject inside and out, but he had a couple of jarring quirks of speech that made it difficult to concentrate on his lectures.  He consistently said proglem – with a g - instead of problem, and he always said electwicity.

I took it as long as I could, then finally asked for a meeting in his office.  I told him that I found the matter embarrassing for both of us, but I wondered if he was aware he was mispronouncing those words, and if so, if he was doing it on purpose.

At first he didn’t believe me, but I assured him that it was true, and particularly shocking since he did not seem to have any sort of speech impediment.  After all, I had heard him correctly say electron, electric and electrical. I had even heard him call a questionable statement problematic.  I told him that I was afraid it was hindering his effectiveness as an instructor.

Finally, he said thank you, but it was a frosty thanks.  I felt that he was never quite as friendly after that meeting, but that may have been my imagination.  To his credit, he always treated me fairly and I got a good grade in his class.

I did hear him say proglem once after that, but only once.  When he said it, he stopped, cleared his throat, and corrected himself.

I never heard him say electwicity again.