If nothing else, all this will give you a taste of teen life in the seventies.
4. I was not an athlete
The Presidential Fitness Campaign was a big deal in schools. We had to do all these tests, and if we passed them, the President would send us a certificate. I guess they missed my name on the list, because I never got mine.
The worst of the tests was the sit-up test. I mean, not everyone can do a pull-up, but anyone can do at least thirty sit-ups in a minute, right? Not me. When the teacher yelled out a girl's name, the partner (the person sitting on her feet) was supposed to yell out her score, so everyone else could hear. Presumably this was to motivate us to acheive higher scores. "Nine," my partner whispered. "NINE?" the teacher yelled. "NINE?" Then she looked around at her audience. My loving and supportive peers. Everyone laughed. I just about died of humiliation.
5. I was a musician
In sixth grade I found out I had a nice voice. In seventh grade I took as many choir classes as I could. When it came time to audition for the school play, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," I was nervous and afraid I wouldn't get a part, and then I would be embarrassed. Too bad no one made me go and try anyway. All my friends went, and every single one of them got a part. Later I found out the director wanted to cast me as Peppermint Patty, but since I didn't audition she couldn't offer me a part. My life might have been so different . . .
6. On the campaign trail
All that fear and nervousness about the school play didn't stop me from running for office. I really wanted to be on Student Council. I don't remember why. But I reasoned that I couldn't run for President, because that would be too stuck up--too sure of my own popularity. So I ran for VP instead, because that would give me an idea of whether or not I was popular, without me having to claim that I was. You follow the logic, I'm sure. I lost to Andrea Boatwright, who looked just like Farrah Fawcett. She was my enemy evermore. One of the girls on the committee that counted the votes told me I only lost by four votes. I'm pretty sure that was a lie, because I never knew anything true to come out of her mouth, but it was nice of her to try and comfort me.
2 comments:
You would have been a great Pepperment Patty! I wish my friends would have made me try out for Oklahoma -- I would have loved to be Ado Annie. It would have been so fun to sing "I can't say no," because I'd never said yes! (Actually, I'd never been asked). As it turned out, the girl that got the part was taller than Will. It's a TRAVESTY, I tell you.
Love the flashbacks to your JH life! I think we would have been great friends back then, too.
I was also not an althete. But the gym teacher loved me. But I never got anything better than a B in gym.
Then I went to high school where gym was combined with health studies. So I got an A in gym for the first time.
I went back to tell my jr. high school gym teacher that I got an A in gym. She said, "That was obviously because of a health test."
Ouch.
Post a Comment