Opinion - Columns - Bill Morem

Published: Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009

Bill Morem: It’s only Greek to a job-hunting geek

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For those of you who don’t indulge in crossword puzzles, the definition of a “roscoe” is an often-used six-across clue that’s an archaic name for a gangster’s revolver or gat.

This comes to mind due to a recent encounter with a Roscoe — Roscoe Mathieu more precisely — and the guy’s, well, a pistol.

Mathieu, pronounced Matthew, is 23, a third generation Morro Bayan and son of Steve Mathieu and Nancy Castle — those masterminds of AGP Video, the outfit that videotapes various government meetings around the county.

A bit of an adventurer, the self-avowed geek is on a single-minded quest for employment — at least that’s what his e-mail stressed.

It read in part: “I can type 120 words per minute, operate a cash register, and I give good phone. I have experience in videography, publishing and printing. Of course, I speak Mandarin, as well as some Cantonese and French. I also read and write Latin, ancient Greek, and Sanskrit. Three of my short stories have been published, as well as two nonfiction pieces; I also double as a copy editor. I’m willing to do telemarketing, farm labor, tutoring, whatever’s available, as long as it pays money and I can go to school after five o’clock.”

OK, if you got to the line, “Of course, I speak Mandarin, as well as some Cantonese and French” and didn’t blink, you probably did a double take at the reading and writing of Latin, ancient Greek and Sanskrit. At least that’s where I pulled my proverbial car to the curb and thought: Cripes, small wonder the guy needs employment; all of those really good-paying Sanskrit-writing jobs have been shipped offshore — for millennia.

Suitably impressed, my first reaction was, ‘Ah, column fodder. Let’s see if this guy’s the real deal.’

Well, he is — and then some — as it turns out.

Roscoe showed up at The Tribune dressed in a blue shirt, khakis, Dan Post boots and a brown fedora propped on a head of black hair that he parts in the middle. Had he carried a whip and satchel, he could have passed for a young Indiana Jones. This makes sense, because he’s attending Cuesta College in pursuit of an eventual degree in anthropology to ultimately live the life of the fictional Jones.

Toward that end, he’s been racking up exploits over the last dozen years. At age 20 he spent a year teaching English in China, hence the Mandarin/Cantonese connection.

“I was always interested in going to Asia, and said as a child that I was going there to eat won-ton everyday — and I did for the first three months while in China.

“I first heard about English teaching and work abroad when I was about 12 years old. When I went on an expedition to China for 10 weeks in 2005, I said, ‘Yes, I want to come back here,’ ” which he did in 2006 to 2007.

He got on the Web site china.org and began plastering his resume until he got a job in Chengdu, the capital of the Chinese province closest to Tibet.

He later taught school from kindergarten to high school in Yangshuo, Xi’an and a small mountain town called Shangluo, as well as in Haikou on Hainan Island. When all was said and done, he laughed, “All you need to teach English in China is to speak English as a native and have a pulse — and the pulse is optional.

“When I left the country, I knew enough Mandarin to flirt and tell bad jokes, and enough Cantonese to order in a restaurant and make love. At this point, if dropped into a Chinatown, I could survive.”

His involvement with Latin, Greek and Sanskrit was also kindled in his childhood.

“Ancient languages are simply codes. When other kids were out partying, I was sitting at home at 14 constructing languages. Understanding linguistics is the key to understanding any language. I can understand the cadence and the rhythm of a language, but that’s all I have as far as a natural gift; the rest is hard work.”

Toward that end, “I was looking into Pali because of an interest in Budd-hism. That led me to Sanskrit, because Sanskrit is close, it’s a sublime language. I learned Latin because I wanted to read Cicero; and taught myself Greek through “Teach Yourself Ancient Greek,” a book I bought at a garage sale, and a copy of Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations” helped.”

Other adventures have included crewing on a wooden sailing ship, which fueled his desire to write “Wooden Ships & Iron Women,” which in his words is, “A pirate psycho drama of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, historical pirate queens of the Caribbean. It’s based on a true story.”

He has a publishing agreement with Hunter’s Media and when it’s published May 29, 2010, “I’ll be selling graphic novels to women. No one knows about Anne Bonny and I intend to fix that.”

OK, he’s something of a young Renaissance man — and says he tries to live a life consistent with natural rights, improvability of man, education and curiosity — but what about a job?

“On-the-job education is essential,” he says. “I’d bring adaptability to the job, and I learn quickly. I’m a geek. But being a geek is to want to know EVERYTHING about a given subject. Being a geek is less a bunch of interests than it is a behavior approaching your interests. Geek is a verb.”

That’s about the size of his parameters. His classes are at night, so he’s looking for day work; he says he can live on about $1,000 a month.

“If you pay me a living wage in something I like to do, I’m willing to clean the toilets.”

If you have something that you think would be a good fit, call him at 458-2051 or send him an e-mail at glorfinstein@yahoo.com

Or contact me at bmorem@thetribunenews.com or call 781-7852.