Indeterminacy 117

The first time the mushroom class was given at the
New School, many people signed up for it. The
registrar was alarmed, telephoned me and asked,
“Where shall we draw the line?” I said if more than
forty people were involved it might be difficult.
Something like that number registered for the
course, but when the field trips actually took
place, there were never more than twenty people in
the woods. Sometimes attendance dropped to a mere
dozen. I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
I forget who it was, but one day in the woods one
of the lady students confessed that when she signed
up for the course it was not with the intention of
tramping through the woods near New York City, fungi
or no fungi. She was interested in going to Europe.
Some airplane company had advertised inexpensive
roundtrip fares purchasable only by adults enrolled
in the New School. People had studied the catalogue
as though it were a menu, looking for the cheapest
course regardless of what was being taught. The lady
who told me this had had a change of mind, or her
particular flight had been postponed, I don’t
remember which. One way or another, she lost
interest in Europe. Another, noticing fungi in
Bavarian and Milanese markets, sent post cards.

- John Cage